A Sustainable Life
It all started when we unplugged the TV cable. We’re now in our fourth month without TV, cable or otherwise. I didn’t even watch the Super Bowl, which apparently was actually super this year. Without cable we don’t get Fox (not a total loss, I might add), and no one invited me to a Super Bowl party, so no SB this year. But, I’m getting off point.
In addition to unplugging the cable, we’ve also started baking bread. Don’t yawn yet, because I do have a point here. No bakeries exist in our area — none. No Panera, no mom-and-pop bakeries, nothing. We’ve been driving to Greensboro (63/miles one-way) to shop and buy bread. With the price of gas at $3/gal, we’ve cut back on that. So, the alternative was to bake our own. I am probably the only person on the planet who subscribes to both Dwell and Mother Earth News. MEN had a great recipe for “no-knead bread” that a 4-year old could make. Well, it took us three tries (we don’t have a 4-year old handy), but we finally had a beautiful, brown, crusty loaf of homemade bread fresh out of the oven yesterday. It was gone by today.
In addition, we pulled the window air conditioners out of our den and dining room downstairs. Of course, it’s February here in Virginia, so this is not a problem right now. Call me in August and I’ll give you a report then.
But, today I really did it. I ordered a buck saw from Lehman’s. Lehman’s is the supplier to the Amish (I know this is beginning to sound weird), and I got a wonderful Amish-made buck saw to cut up some fallen trees at the back of our yard. I did this for 2 reasons:
- Debbie will not let me buy a chain saw. I had one once and lost my privileges. I will not go into the details, but it was close.
- I used to pay $40 a week to a personal trainer at the gym. Can you believe that? One arm exercise I did was very much like the push-pull of the buck saw, only I didn’t have any firewood when I finished.
Finally, I am reading a wonderfully written book, At Home In Nature, by Rebecca Kneale Gould. It’s subtitled Modern Homesteading and Spiritual Practice In America. Gould writes about the experiences of homesteaders from Thoreau to modern day examples, and of the spiritual quest each seems to be on. A quest to find the essence of themselves by spending time in nature. So, this year we’re planning a garden, too. It’s all very strange for this city boy who hated to cut grass until about two years ago.
Mostly, we want a sustainable life in our small town. We feel it a part of our calling — like the ancient Celtic monks and nuns who lived a rhythm of work and prayer and service to the community. Oh, I’m looking at reel mowers, too. — Amicus Dei
Not that I’m bashing–love your simple lifestyle and I haven’t missed a TV in two years, no set, not just no cable–but I do highly recommend an electronic bread maker. You just pop the ingredients in, and a few hours later warm tasty bread. You can even set a timer so it’s ready right before a meal, or for breakfast. Ok, so it’s not really simple and you get what you pay for so I’d recommend an expensive one, but they use fresh ingredients, no preservatives, and you don’t have to tie up the oven.
http://adamjcopeland.com
Adam Copeland
February 8, 2008 at 9:56 am
I saw the no knead bread recipe in the New York Times’s The Minimalist section. I didn’t think the Amish saw was weird, but then again I grew up close to Amish country. You might be interested in how the Amish are changing many of their practices because of the economic effects of the technology and information revolutions—many of them are getting connected with other Amish communities via the Internet, which goes into their barns and not homes (homes cannot have electricity).
Thom
February 8, 2008 at 10:41 am
Chuck,
Get a rope and tie yourself off. It is clear you are getting swept away. Feel free to come and visit me and the family in August. We’ll probably still be using the AC.
In all seriousness, you are living my dream. Maybe one day me and the wife will be where you and Debbie are. For now we are still trying to discipline ourselves into not eating so much bread.
Tim
PS If you do stop by you can have the bread machine we never use.
Tim Wade
February 10, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I would (almost) whole-heartedly endorse the push reel mower. We live in Denver, so lush grass in August isn’t a problem, and our yard is small, so the twice-as-long task of mowing isn’t a big deal. If you can stand it, they are obviously much much better for air quality than any gas mower. One unseen benefit.. the quiet operation and much lower chance of throwing debris means the kids don’t have to stay 100′ away while I mow. The blades have to be sharpened every season, but I found a hardware store that will sharpen for $25. Good luck.
A Blackmun
February 11, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Wow. I too love nature (I purposely got lost in the woods by my house today). I have found no better place to get close to God than when I’m surrounded by His creation.
We’re in the Seattle area so most homes don’t have AC anyway. But if you’re in most of the country I’m not sure what the benefit is of not using it? Anyway, blessing on your journey.
Steve Leddy
February 12, 2008 at 7:07 pm
My apologies to everyone for being so long in responding to your great comments. Turns out the simple life is not the quick life, but I guess that’s to be expected. Anyway, thanks for your encouragement, advice, warnings, and other goodwill gestures. Debbie and I have started a new blog, Eden’s Path, to chronicle our simple life journey. You can find it at http://edenspath.wordpress.com
We’ll soon have it linked to edenspath.net. Thanks, Chuck
Chuck Warnock
February 17, 2008 at 10:01 pm