I wish I wanted to....

In Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat Pray Love, she was telling one of her friends that she was going to go India in search for divinity, the friend said "Oh there is a part of me that so wishes I wanted to do that....but I really no desire whatsoever."

I have a friend who inspires me in more ways then she probably realizes and her blog and most of the links on her blog are for homesteading and going back to doing things more naturally, having food stores, reusing/recycling and cutting back on spending. I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading her blog and the other blogs similar to hers. I love all the challenges and beautiful meanings of life they come across in their journey. They are all so inspiring, creative and extraordinary. But....that line that Elizabeth Gilbert's friend said to her when she was going to India is the line I think of when I read some of the homesteading blogs -- how I wish I really wanted to do it.

I picked up a book a the library Loving and Leaving the Good Life by Helen Nearing. The book synopsis from goodreads.com: "Helen and Scott Nearing wrote Living the Good Life and many other best-selling books about working hard, living simply and self-sufficiently while saving time for fun and pursuits of the intellect. This is a book written by Helen after Scott died (at 100 years old!) and is a story of love and living....Inspiring and moving, this is a "how-to" book about facing life with delight and with eyes open." I am really enjoying it. I think anyone who does homesteading really would enjoy this book and get a lot from it. I believe the Nearing's other books on homesteading/living off the land came before this one but this is the one I found at my library. I enjoy reading of different experiences and life journeys and the Nearing's is very different from my own but very touching and thoughtful.

So that book along with my friends blog and other similar blogs creates my little fantasy of homesteading but then reality hits me. I am not a homesteading type person. I can't imagine milking a goat to have our own milk and make cheese - it just isn't something I could do. I had a flower garden and herb garden when I lived in Topeka and enjoyed both. I loved feeling the earth in my hands as I planted the bulbs and seeds. And seeing the life of the plants and flowers spring through and grow. But it was really hard for me to keep up with it because of my allergies. After I go out to spray weeds in our yard, it takes me a day to get back to breathing normally. So it isn't something I can have here in Grand Junction as it isn't fair to want it and ask Michael to do the up keep work for it. I don't can because I don't have a garden which I guess shouldn't stop me if I just go to the farmers market. There are so many things homesteaders write about that I am amazed how well they just seem to work through it -- where I would be panicked or give up.

But of course some of the ideas I read, I am trying to implement. Such as I am trying my hand at making my own bread verse buying it as it would be cheaper/healtheir. It is always easier to have flour, yeast and salt to make bread then actually stock up on store bought bread. Food storing is something I hope to do more of when we get a bigger home so I can have a freezer. But for now doing the things I can do -- such as making my own bread. (Though my first loaf isn't going well this morning -- not raising -- but not giving up).

I also try to reuse things -- round oatmeal containers become containers for ribbon in my studio. Many things I recycle for art -- the foil seals on cans of peanuts -- I have used in art many times, the mesh bags that veggies come in, the crates berries and cherry tomato come make great patterns on paper. We get a big big can of peanuts at Sam's. And I trying to think of ways to use those cans. They are bigger then coffee cans. I am hoping to utilize a few for storage in my studio - always can use storage in there. But looking to see if there are other ways I can use them in our house. I know I could even decorate the outsides of them if I didn't want them to just look like a tin can. There are many little things I do but I am sure there are other things I could do that aren't living off the land but that could help in creating a "good life" for Michael and I.

I think we get so used to running through drive through instead of making lunch or picking up a new item when an old item isn't quite working right. We see a hole in a shirt and throw it out instead of repairing it and getting a little more life out of it. We upgrade and upscale instead of using things until they don't work anymore. It is easy to think of going to Wal-Mart or Target before going to a thrift store to see if you could find something to reuse instead of buying new. There are so many things everyday we could do to help in not making a lasting imprint on the world. There are so many things we could do to cut spending and have more room in our budget to get to our goals. There are so many things we could do to appreciate all that we have available to us. So the blogs inspire me to think outside the box. I dream of homesteading -- all the way but I know the reality of me. There are some modern conveniences I don't want to give up. But all that said the blogs do remind me I do have options that I can apply to my life. I am thankful for being able to get a glimpse into their journey and that they inspire me in mine.

Here is a link to my friend Kathie's blog-- be sure to check out her links also. Her and those she links to are amazing people doing extraordinary work on making a good life.