Self Sufficiency Skills

There's a blog that I read from time to time.  Recently, the blogger wrote about people being a resource or a liability in tough times, and the type of skills one may need to cultivate for survival during tough times.  You can read more about her thoughts at the following link:  http://chiotsrun.com/2012/01/24/a-resource-or-a-liability/

What I found interesting about this topic (which happens to be a popular "trend" at the moment) was that many of these skills necessary for survival were constantly practiced in my household when I was growing up.  For example, my mom and grandmother grew their own vegetables every summer, saved seeds, sewed and mended clothing, were knowledgeable of herbal remedies, knew how to butcher meat and dehydrate meat.  My father , who also possessed some of these skills, hunted and knew how to create shelter.  These skills were really indicative of my parents' cultural background and upbringing.  This was how they lived their lives when they were young, at the same time it was how my parents made ends meet.

A few of these skills got passed along to my siblings and me, but unfortunately we were ignorant and didn't see the value of learning and honing these skills.  As an adult, I now really appreciate the skills my parents tired to instill in my siblings and me.  I know in the last two years, I thought a lot about being more self sufficient and have tried to pick up some self sufficiency skills.  For example, I know how to crochet, sew and mend (a little bit);  I have learned to can, preserving food through pickling and jamming; I've learned to save seeds and propagate plants; and I know how to grow my own fruits and vegetables suitable for my climate.  At the same time, living by a lake provides the benefit of being able to fish.  I continue to think about ways in which I can be more self sufficient and what skills I could better hone.  Of course, I'm still learning.  At some point, I also realize that to be even more self sufficient, I need to just got back to my origins and consume whatever is available to me.

So what skills have you developed or would like to develop in order to be more self sufficient?

Looking at the Sky

I'm an avid fan of the sky.  Not only do I love gazing at it, noticing the cloud formations or the brilliant stars, but I love taking pictures of it.  Unfortunately, I often don't have my digital SLR with me when the "perfect" moment is upon me.  I do, however, have a decent camera on my phone that helps me capture the moment.  All of the pictures in this post were taken last year and were taken with my phone camera.

 

The two pictures above were taken when I was in an airplane flying back to Minnesota from Chicago, Illinois.  I didn't think the pictures were going to come out all that great, considering the big thick double pane glass window that separated me from the outside.  Yet, I still can't help but be impressed by how clear the pictures were, considering the circumstances.  I remember being awestruck by the very blue sky and wanting to capture the moment.

 

Also, because I have a very long commute, I often drive early in the morning and late in the evening.  This often means that I generally get to see the sun rise and set on most days.  The picture above and below were taken in a parking lot somewhere in St. Paul, Minnesota while I was in the middle of running an errand.  The setting sun set the sky ablaze with color and the clouds were quite stunning.

As for the two pictures below, it was taken during the early morning near Fresno, California while I was dropping my brother off at work.  The sun was rising as we were passing some unfarmed-agricultural land.  It was such a quiet moment and somewhat melancholic.  I remember the sky being a bit hazy and as the sun rose, its colors quickly became a bit muted and less intense.  Thus, I remember trying to capture as much of the sun's rosy glow before it was swallowed up by the vast gray sky.

Well, I hope you take a moment and enjoy the wonderful sky, regardless of where you are at.  At the same time, regardless of what type of camera you have available to you, I hope you take the time to capture its beauty.

Looks Like a Turtle

[Taken October 22, 2011.]

Old Songs

Have I mentioned that I've been feeling really sad lately?   (I meant this question to be rhetorical only.)  Much of my sadness is due to the loss of a friendship.  So in trying to deal with my sadness, I've reacquainted myself with some old songs that I listened to in my youth (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WenewlIRJ-c&feature=related  AND http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYIrIyynXoQ).  The funny thing is that my Friend hates this band with a passion because they don't actually play any musical instruments.  Yet, I can't help but listen to these songs and think of my Friend.  (Please don't be disappointed in me, Friend.  You know I have better taste in music than this, but there's just something about the irony of these songs/this band that makes me think of you.)

I don't mean to think too much about my Friend.  It just happened that I was having a conversation with a Person and that Person unintentionally made some callous comments to me.  Those comments then had the unintended effect of making me miss my Friend.  Oh well . . .  I will deal with my situation as best as I can.  I promise I will try not to post too much about my sad sad life here.  I actually just wanted to share some old songs from my past.  Just ignore the video aspect of each of the videos because the images can be pretty cheesy.  Here are a bunch of other songs that I've been reacquainting myself with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZlXMuptBdo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDa7bwHFCG8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWiRAx9SFW8

Hope you enjoy, especially if you understand the language.

It Will Snow . . .

I don't think I post enough pictures on my blog depicting the snow and cold.  So, for today I thought I might as well put up pictures showing the weather around my area.  The pictures were taken about a week ago, on January 14th, but they are still reflective of the weather outside (and my mood). I think you can barely see the outline of the sun in the picture below, although it almost looks like a snowflake.

It was really really cold last week and there has been a little snow.  I don't mind it snowing, so long as it's only an inch or two.  Then, there is a day or two where the sun might peek through the clouds, but for the most part it has been dark and dreary.  Well, I think it's time I find a good book to read and distract me from all this dreariness.

Hope all is well in your world.  Hope it's not so cold and dreary where you are at.

Despite the Mix Up . . .

For some reason, I thought that yesterday, January 10th, was Wednesday; thus, I posted my picture for Wordless Wednesday.  As we all know, today is Wednesday.  Rather than go through the hassle of changing yesterday's posting and repost, I thought to myself, "meh . . . lets just go with the flow."  So, to make up for yesterday's snafu, I've opted to just write what I was going to write for yesterday, when it was Tuesday.

As you can tell from my previous post, I'm going through a sad period in my life again.  I am sad and am very worn (I'm also getting over a really bad cold too).  I feel as if I'm going through the same emotions I felt a year ago.  I think the biggest lesson I'm learning from this experience (again) is that I need to let go, despite how much I don't want to let go.  This time, I'm really going to follow through.

At the same time, I'm finally taking time out for myself.  I've become a hermit.  I've only been going to work and talking to family members.  I've only talked with friends on an "as-needed" basis.  I know I have people around me that I can go to for support, but I do realize that I need to figure out my situation by myself and at my own pace.  I also need to reevaluate my life again.  Prior to having to let my Friend go, I've been thinking and asking myself, "What kind of life do I want?" and "Is this the life I've envisioned for myself?"  I have to rethink and reevaluate my answers to these questions, especially considering my situation with my Friend.  Time does heal all wounds, and I know that I will be better and stronger in the long run.

Oh well, please don't let me sadden you too.  I hope all is well with you all in your necks of the woods. 

Impromptu Performance

[Fresno, CA. Taken December 28, 2011.]

Goodbye Friend

My Friend, of the last eight years, and I have finally decided to part ways.  I know that my life isn't all that empty and I have people around me that care about me, yet I can't help but feel lonely and empty.

He said he was lost and needed to find himself.  I know he wasn't looking for my blessings to go find himself, but in some way I gave him my blessings because I really had to let him go.  I think he and I will always be connected in some way (probably through my family members), but this time there's a finality to our goodbye that I can't explain.

Have I ever told you how wonderful and special this friend is, not only to me but as a person?  He's such a wonderful person.  He looked out for me and loved me for me.  I'm sorry that I was not a better person to him.  At the same time, in talking with him, I have learned things that I didn't know.  I wish he could have been more expressive to me and told me more.  Oh well . . . it's a lesson learned and if there is another chance, I know what I have to do.  

Friend, I only wish you the best.  Please find yourself and your heart again.  I know the world's out there waiting for you.  Don't let this little state, known as Minnesota, confine you.  If I haven't told you, I want to let you know that I'm so proud of you, all that you have accomplished, and will accomplish, all that you have given and shown to me, and I only wish and want the best for you.  

Friend, thank you for your friendship, your kindness, and most importantly, your love.  I know that I would not be where I am without you.  THANK YOU.  I will always love you.  Maybe we say goodbye today so that we can meet again to say hello again.  Lastly, please know, that I will always carry you in my heart.

Books of 2011

I fell short of my personal goal of reading at least twelve books this past year.  I came close, but not close enough.  I will say that I started many books but just couldn't finish.  Anyhow, I still want to post my list of books that I read in the last year.

As you can see, I read a lot of classics.  That had a lot to do with me getting a smart phone earlier in the year and having a Kindle app on the phone.  Still, I think my favorite book from the list is Kaya McLauren's On the Divinity of Second Chances.  I randomly picked the book up from the library shelf and really enjoyed the story.  I thought the book was well written and I loved the theme of second chances, which was incorporated throughout the entire book.  The next book that I really loved is Kate Walbert's The Gardens of Kyoto.  It is such a haunting book and so very well written.

So without further ado, the following are the books I read this past year:

1. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
3. Letters from a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart
4. The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
5. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
6. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
7. Losing Graceland by Micah Nathan
8. On the Divinity of Second Chances by Kaya McLauren
9. The Gardens of Kyoto by Kate Walbert
10. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
11. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

What Resolutions?

When I was younger, I would make New Year's resolutions at the beginning of each year.  Like many resolutions, it became forgotten or ignored as the year passed by.  At some point, as I got older, I realized that it was pointless to make resolutions if I wasn't going to follow through.  I also felt that resolutions were a short term solution and meant only to be achieved during that year; thus, once achieved, (or forgotten/ignored) it's forgotten.  So I decided that each year, I would strive to make myself and my life a little bit better.  I found that this method worked a lot better because I actually worked on some component of my life and many of the changes I made continued to be with me year after year.

So this year, I told myself that I would like to work on several aspects of my personal life.  For example, I want to be more patient with my family members and I want to communicate more often with them so that I can get to know them better.  At the same time, I also want to be more thoughtful of people and put them higher on my priority list.  In reflecting on this past year, I realized that I focused too much on work and work related deadlines that I often forgot to return people's calls, email, texts, and letter correspondences.  It's not intentional and I know many understand that I do have a pretty hectic schedule.  Yet, don't we all have busy schedules, and I realized that busy or not, I need to be more prompt in responding back to people.  Lastly, I told myself that I need to follow through on many of my projects.  I feel as if this is something I have been working on for a while now, but I will follow through on my projects.  I will start and finish some of my projects (e.g. the reupholstery of my chairs).

So do you make New Year's resolutions?  What aspect of your life would you like to improve?

Eggplant-Colored Shoes

[Fresno, CA. Taken December 28, 2011.]