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Hi, this wonderful puppy who is named Gigie who is about 4 months old and a Aussie mix...she will make a wonderful family dog with some training (she's still very young) and has a sweet nature...you can find Gigie at the Sun City K-9 Dog Rescue...she's waiting for the right family.Could that be you?
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Some have suggested going back to older times, and getting off of the grid..at first, I didn't realize what they were talking about...but now I know....going back to the time before electricity, running water and inside toilets...like how the Amish live...I don't know how many would like to give up all the modern conveniences we have today, especially hot showers at any time but I discovered one blog where one family is going for it....her blog is called Living off the grid at Elclectic Culture Farm...I am following this blog as I find it interesting and wonder how a young family with small children will cope....if it were me, what would I miss the most and what would I consider the most challenging?
First, I think I would miss having hot water and having to work so hard with the laundry. We seem to do a lot of it with the two boys....hanging the clothes out to dry isn't so bad.
Second, I am not fond of outhouses, especially at night....my grandparents had a lake cabin and we used an outhouse...they used a woodburning stove at the cabin and not hot water either...but it wasn't too fun to get up in the night to either trapse out to the outhouse or use the chamber pot that was in the bedroom. As a child, I didn't like either...
No microwave, no TV, they are using battery charged radios and will be logging their adventure on a battery charged laptop computer. No, they are not becoming Amish, but she does say in the blog, the Amish around the area have been very nice to them and are helping them adjust. The Amish family who sold them the farm left behind some of their equipment for them to use which was great.
Anyway, what are the two things you would miss the most? Is this the kind of lifestyle you could adjust to?
I'll just say, I pray I never have to adjust to it! Electricity and indoor plumbing are probably the two things I'd miss most.
ReplyDeleteI can remember, as a small child, visiting relatives who didn't have indoor plumbing. I was terrified of the outhouse, even during the light of day. I still shudder remembering my experiences. Ish!
I would jump at the chance just to see how long I could live that way! I wonder how much that family paid for the place???
ReplyDeleteI second the first comment! As quaint and peaceful as the Amish lifestyle seems I don't think I could live without electricity and DEFINITELY not without indoor plumbing! When I was young my family drove through Lancaster, PA and visited some farms. It was beautiful and I loved it, but I couldn't do it myself.
ReplyDeleteDani, this lifestyle has always attracted me. We are taking small steps at our home to make some changes toward that end. I, too, will be following her blog closely for ideas and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteRunning water would be a tough one for me, but Jeffrey is talking about digging a well. We have begun heating our home with wood only ~ a small step but a way to begin the journey.
Smiles,
Lea
Me, live without air conditioning -- in Texas?? That's not quaint; that's nuts! Saving money is a good thing; living like you're in a 3rd world country when you don't have to is another.
ReplyDeleteBut it may come to that!
wow I think the most trouble I would find other than the indoor plumbing issue is where would I get my yarn fix? I dont know how to shave a sheep!
ReplyDeleteAir conditioning would be another biggy for me too, Kay...don't think I could take not having even a fan in our 110 heat out here!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me wonder why settlers ever even settled here (Texas) in the first place. They surely must have arrived during winter and thought to themselves, "wow, what a nice climate"; and by the time summer rolled around, they already had their homes steaded.
ReplyDeleteI mean, seriously, what guy would show up here in August when it was 105 with 80% humidity and turn to his wife and say "Mildred, I think we're going to love it here".
Just to clarify, that would be the middle to eastern half of Texas with the 80% humidity. I understand the other half is quite arid. ;-)
We would love to live off the grid - but only in the meaning of off the utility company grid. Our goal this year was to install both wind and solar power for the place - but have decided to hold on to that sizeable investment (around $20,000 for a basic system) for the time being. I do not like outdoor toilets and would rig up something for hot water (have done that before - passive solar words great). If I HAD to I can do whatever it takes. My grandparents settled in Texas as small time farmers in central Texas - I remember well the mats they'd wet down and put over various windows in their house - breeze comes through air is cooled voila instant air conditioning. People live in far more rugged climates - they just don't expect to have a precise temperature in their homes, they dress and plan their day around the weather. I don't see a lot of glamour in living very primitively but then I'm in my 60's and have DONE it already.
ReplyDeleteOK, first let me say that six summers in Eastern Texas about killed me! So did several summers in Tucson! (and no, it's not dry heat in the summer because of the monsoon season, try 108 degrees and 90% humidity!) Heat is not something I handle well! BUT, living off the grid does not mean going back in time the way you are suggesting. First of all, I think most people who live off the grid, or partially do, use generators that are powered by deisel engines run by solar or water or wind power. You learn to use only what you need, when you need it, like taking shorter showers, and not using electric lights unless absolutely necessary. You could run a washing machine and dryer off the generator, but more than likely you are going to conserve that energy and use a wringer washer and hang your clothes outside whenever possible. And you wouldn't have to use an outhouse...there are chemical toilets or (more green-minded) composting toilets that can be purchased that don't flush but use other means to decompose waste. Wood-burning stoves, incidently, are not that eco-friendly, but there are lots of other alternatives for heating and cooking. Check out Mother Earth News...it's a great source of this kind of information.
ReplyDeleteI could do it. I wish I had a cabin right now to do it in! But alas, we aren't there yet! Thanks for posting this...it's interesting!
Marie
Cooling the air by running it through a wet met does feel nice in non-humid conditions. Where I lived the first 14 years of my life, in Oklahoma, water coolers in windows were very common. Of course they ran off electricity, but the general concept was the same. I can even remember my mom putting a bag of ice in a washtub and pointing the fan down towards the ice. The air would deflect off the ice onto us, cooled down. A short-lived effort, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteHere in the very humid climate where I live, if you don't have air-conditioning, mold is a terrible problem. Water coolers simply are not an efficient means of keeping cool in our very humid climate.