Tuesday, November 10, 2015

On self sufficiency

Moving to the country and living off our land is not a plan to be completely self sufficient. We won't grow our own flour, or rice or chocolate or coffee or other items not suited to our climate.
In the last few years I taken to looking at self sufficiency on an item by item basis. The big picture can seem so large it is not worth starting to colour in even a corner of it.
Bite sized pieces though make it enjoyable and it needs to be fun and give some form of satisfaction to keep up the habit.
Quince Jelly is my favourite jams I try to make it every year.
This batch is one I remembered to photograph before we starting eating it. 
This year we have been self sufficient in jam. Last year for six months we were self sufficient in soap too. I have some more soap being pressed and dried at the moment.
Each item is another step out of consumerism. As long as we are walking in the right direction however many steps we can take at one time is enough for me.

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5 Favourite Sights Seen

  • 1996 Watching tropical lightning turn night to day, outside a little wooden church in a small village in Sabah.
  • 2004 Flying down the Rainbow Valley at 8000ft in a cessna on a clear blue day.
  • 2003 Seeing and hearing Michael Schmacher rolling out of the pit garage in his Ferrari in Hungary.
  • 2009 Chancing upon 100 or more dolphins just off the Kaikoura Coast swimming around, jumping out of the water, doing somersaults and generally having fun.
  • 2006 Finding a pool at the bottom of a waterfall in the bush at Kaikoura that was full of playing baby seals.