Recently I made a list of the things I’d like to either finish, continue or do for the first time. I consider myself a life-long learner, and have an interest in many topics. Of course, my main focus over the past year or so has been learning homestead skills, frugal living, and just generally trying to bring my focus more toward home and family.
So here is my list – in no particular order 
- Experiment with growing salad greens indoors
- Make yogurt
- Make cheese
- Make herb infused oils and vinegars
- Sew more – possible projects: table runner, reusable bread bags, tote bag
- Make herbal tinctures
- Finish weaving a complete rag rug
- Bake with my fresh ground grains regularly
- Try Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
- Plant another raised bed
- Figure out and use my Aladdin Lamp
- Use solar oven at least once a week
- Install and use a clothes line
- Study and take first CLEP test
- Start learning Hebrew
There are so many things I need to improve upon, and many more I want to learn! I guess this is really a list of goals, some easily attainable, some that will have to broken down into baby steps.
I’ve been tearing old sheets for my first rug – my cat seems to approve of the color!
My small garden is getting a bit unruly, but still producing enough tomatoes for us to eat each week, along with basil. A couple volunteer tomatoes have popped up in the second raised bed, so I moved them to a better spot in that bed and will see if they make it.
Some of my garden plants are growing in containers. Most of them are herbs, but I do have strawberries and Sugar Baby watermelons growing as well.
My dear husband is now out of work. He spends most of his day looking and applying for jobs on line. I have been able to take advantage of having him home to get some little projects done. We’re also realizing that the steps I’ve taken to be more frugal and learn homemaking skills are a real help now that we have very little income. With the job market the way it is down here, the jobs that are available pay much less than he was making before, so we’ll be constantly adjusting our budget so we can live within our means and (hopefully) be able to keep our house.
Through this challenging time, we are so glad to have been taking steps to cut back and be more self-sustaining. Although it might not seem like we’ve come very far, just not having to buy tomatoes, bread and herbal tea is a help to our budget. I have over a hundred pounds of wheat and other grains, so homemade pancakes, breads and muffins cost very little to make. I love collecting fresh eggs, but they do have a cost (we buy feed for the hens). My ultimate goal is to grow enough food for both us and our livestock, but that will take some time. Still, on our current budget, we would not be able to afford as MANY eggs as we now use, and we certainly could not buy farm, fresh eggs like we get everyday from our backyard!
So, do you have a list? I’d love to hear what is on YOUR “Dream and Do” list!
Hi Cindy, what a great list. I do not have a list like that on paper, just lots of things floating around in my head. I will try to write one out. I have been simplifying things especially in terms of what (food esp.) we buy and how we buy it. I have been making no-knead bread for 8 months and love that savings. we can’t have chickens where we live or I would already have them, but I did find fresh eggs to buy close to home. You already know I have been making soap. I will let you know when I figure out how to “fix/save” that botched batch last week. I did go ahead and make another batch – and it was successful and the mold worked great – thank you for your help with that!! I try really hard not to buy pre-packaged and processed foods. We are in the process of fencing in a garden in the back yard. the fence is to keep the deer out. it will be raised also so I can bring in some good dirt to get it started. I am shooting for a late summer early fall planting. I remember reading about your solar cooking in one of your post and would like to learn more about that. When we lived in Palm Springs I built a little dehydrating box to set in the sun and used it for sun drying tomatoes. It worked great, so know reading about your solar backing that interests me. Yougart will be on my list. We already have a great clothes line and I haven’t used a dryer in over 2 years. In fact when we moved to TX we gave it away. We also have installed some rain collection tanks around the house (600 gallons so far) and still have plans for another 1000+. That will be a big help with the veg garden throughout the summer here. Love your black kitty by the way. One of our is black with big yellow eyes and that little face of your sticking out of the sheet strips reminds me of ours. You looming sounds wonderful too by the way. Thanks for all you share and I will be sending positive vibes your way for your husbands job search. Emily
You mentioned rain collection tanks – that is something else that was on my list when it was “swimming in my mind”. I’ll have to get it on paper! Thanks for the reminder
Hi! It’s my first time visiting your blog and I’m very excited to see you’re sharing your tips and experiences with beginners like me! Thank you! I’m so sorry to hear that your hubby is out of work right now. I pray that he is able to find good work very soon. At the moment, I’m not worried about a job loss for my hubby but can foresee how easily it can happen in his industry. That’s a big part of the reason that we have begun to grow veggies in the yard and I’ve been trying to learn useful skills. Should we have to make the decision not to pay the electric bill due to lack of funds, I’d like very much to already know how to live without it. Until then, I’m doing all I can to reduce the bill we have now. We’re hanging a clothes line this week!!!! Yay! And since our over-abundance of veggies is starting to come in (we’re shocked at how productive our first ever garden has been so far), my newest adventure is learning to can/preserve food. Wish me luck! LOL
Adding your blog to my faves now so I can keep checking back for more awesome updates and info. Thanks!
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Hi Cindy,
I enjoyed looking around here this morning while drinking my morning tea.
One thing on my to-do-list is to add more basic cooking recipes to my collection. The basic kind on the Bisquick idea. A simple base recipe that can be changed and used many ways.
Hope you post more about your rug, it will be fun to see how you are going to make it. This is something I also have wanted to try but just haven’t started to even figure out how to do it yet.
The other thing I need to add to my list is to stock up on extra oil lamp parts. I have a couple of extra wicks but the seem to get used before I know it and then there aren’t any around when I need one. Your lamp is just lovely.
I added your blog to my favorite list and will be back for a visit again. Have a wonderful day and I will put your family in my prayers for all the job hunting that is being done. I too am looking for a job. It’s not easy.
Karyn