During this pandemic (our family is now entering week 9), it has been nearly impossible to get any alone time, but observing each of us, I am learning so much. Speaking about myself only, I have noticed that I flow in and out of a mix of emotions, even in the course of a day. We have been fortunate, so far, and I feel guilt, privilege, and gratitude all rolled into one untidy bundle. I, like many, have found this whole event to be stressful, but there are some things we are doing that keep us busy, ease some of the stress, and feel productive.
Growing an edible garden. With a small yard, we are growing in scattered little plots.
We are in a part of Northern California where our shelter-in-place orders have been extended through May 31, with uncertainty beyond that. These weeks at home have had difficult and joyful spots, growth and regression. Among the positives, however, have been the space and necessity that we lean into our more resourceful, DIY tendencies. As I said in my previous post, I am choosing light; seeing the brightness of this time and living more lightly on the planet. (It is one way I manage my anxiety.) Living lightly is something M and I have always aligned on, but I had been feeling like we had drifted in the past 5 years or so. (We spent an entire year buying nothing new when the kids were younger, but that would be so much harder now!)
Homemade sauerkraut and homemade yogurt.
Sheltering in place has shown us a few things.
It quickly became clear to us that our tendency to be prepared was helpful. Preparation has been a tool I have used for years, initially because being prepared saves us money, more recently because it saves us time and addresses environmental risks (earthquakes and wildfires) and food allergies and sensitivities, and in shelter-in-place, it has saved us from additional worry.
As more and more people have jumped into urban homesteading, it gave me an awareness of how much our family already does ourselves, and if there is an urban homestead wagon, we were already on it.
Muffins and granola. We make granola weekly and the recipe is my gluten free version of a recipe I brought home from summer camp when I was 12.
I have enjoyed the challenge of making things work during this time when zipping out to buy and telephoning to hire haven't been options. Within the first 3 weeks of shelter-in-place, we had multiple things break. Between us, we had the skills and resources to repair or work out an alternative. This time has had me reflecting on lessons my grandparents and parents shared, and the phrase 'use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.' We are not lacking for anything, but I certainly don't want anything to go to waste and I am extra eager for us to take care of what we do have. These desires are emphasized by the desire to avoid contact with others.
The reasoning is bizarre and unprecedented, but the resulting resourcefulness and simplicity are welcomed, and the decreased environmental impact is so very good.
Line dried laundry and plastic bags (washed and reused, yes). Do you see rags hanging there? We use a lot of cloth; rags, napkins, towels, feminine, and when we had babies, diapers. We have used cloth wipes, too, but we do use toilet paper when it can be purchased.
The photos in this post are a sampling of simple actions and recipes we were already using long before this pandemic. In addition, we have a chest freezer to stock on on sale foods and bulk cooked meals. We are crafty and make things we need through woodworking, sewing, other fiber arts, and more. (Yup, we have made masks right along with everyone else!)
While we had chickens for years, we don't currently. We talked about getting chicks last year, but didn't have the bandwidth. We do now, and so chicks are on their way to us. We have cleaned out the coop and are excited for the coming additions to our little homestead. We keep trying new things, too. I just made a batch of rice milk and while I bake a lot from scratch, I want to try making my own gluten-free sourdough starter for gluten-free sourdough bread.
I hope to look back on this time and see the creativity, the light, and the need for less that resulted from it.
What roots have you returned to during this time?
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