If you would have told my five year old self that I would be a homesteader on the eve of my thirtieth year, I would have thought that you were crazy. Even as I sat eagerly helping my grandmother make pound upon pound of egg noodles from scratch, being covered head to toe with flour, and begging her "just one little bite mawmaw paweeze 'cause I'm a pwincess!"
If you would have told my nine year old self that I would be using the skills of knitting, crochet, sewing and hand quilting to make money I would have laughed at you because I was going to grow up to be a veterinarian. Yet there I was sitting with my great granny (I miss you gran!) bent enthusiastically over my very first crochet project which would begin my love of all things fiver artistry.
If you would have told my 12 year old self that I would can over 400 pounds of fruit and vegetables from my garden every year I would have told you that it was impossible and I was going to marry a millionaire. Then I would have gone right back to helping my mom and grandma process tomatoes, green beans, and pickles.
If you would have told my 15 year old self that I would be trying to teach my children the value of learning 'old fashioned skills of hunting, fishing, hand sewing, canning, gardening, animal husbandry, and hard manual labor I would not have believed you because I was never having children as I tried to teach my 5 year old sister her ABCs
If you would have told my 19 year old self that I was about to step on the path to self sufficiency I would have laughed bitterly because at that point I finally learned what bills were and self sufficient lifestyle were a pipe sream.
If you would have told my 22 year old self that even though at that moment my whole world was falling apart, that by 24 I would meet the man who would take my little boy as his own and reset me back on the path to nature and life, I would have screamed at you. I would have told you to piss off because men lie and cheat and all deserve hell.
Which brings me to my 24th year. When I started eating my doubts. When I was set upon a blind date with the mountain man by my parents. I went to placate their demands and by the end of the night I would be intrigued by the man who would steal my heart, and be a father to my son when his father stepped out, and ultimately would father my little children.it was at this point that I would begin a 6 year journey returning to the land and life I had left at 19 and rebelled against from an early age in thought but not deed.
Here I am almost 30 years old. I knit hats and scarves for my family every year. I see dresses for my daughter and myself. I quilt and do odd seamstressing for fill in cash. I garden and can to lower our grocery bill. The mountain man and I hunt and fish to lower that grocery further. We raise chickens for eggs and meat and it goes down further still. We foster bees for healthy ecosystems in our garden. We harvest rainwater to offset the cost of watering our garden. We brew wine. We bake bread from scratch. We make egg noodles. And all the while I marvel at how early I began my education that led me to this homesteading lifestyle.
I owe a debt of gratitude to so many people. My grandmother for teaching me how to make noodles and pickles. My mom for teaching me how to process food for shelf stability and how to care for a garden and bake. My granny for teaching me how to crochet and cook. My aunt Anita for teaching me how to sew. My father for teaching me how to shoot and hunt and fish and cook and build and repair. My cousin Alisa for getting me to think outside of the box. My husbands grandma for teaching me how to quilt and the ladies of my church for helping me to refine my skills quilting. My husband for gently guiding me back to the life I love.
I owe my lifestyle to my upbringing and my success to those who were patient enough to share those skills with me.
From my heart to you, God bless you!
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