Alaska is becoming more and more likely the location we will be homesteading. I detest the cold, but the only other place that is tax-free is Texas, which may not stay that way. I do not want to homestead somewhere, not have a "full-time job" and lose my home because of it, simply because some bureaucrat decided I needed to support him. I want to live in area with no government, including public schools, police, fire department, etc. I want to defend my own land, school my own children(yes I do intend to have internet access so they can get online), and protect my own home and family. I have the highest respect for law-enforcement, but I see it as my job, nobody else's. Basically, I want to out in the middle of nowhere taking care of me and mine.

I am coming up with a design, which will, of course, depend on the local terrain, to create an all-in-one underground or similar-type house, barn and greenhouse so I never have to leave the warmth. Cold, as you may recall, is painful for me. I will need a reliable source of water, artificial lighting and a source of energy for it(I imagine solar is out in the winter!) good stores of dried, canned and frozen foods of various types and a whole heck of a lot of determination. I know I can do this, but I need to do even more research first as well as stocking up on a lot of things!

For now, I have time. I don't believe the world will end or the grocery stores will run out any time soon. Heritage plants will still be able to be purchased next year, and so will chickens, cattle, goats, bees, and rabbits. 2012 will be just the same as 2011. Unfortunately.

Blessed Be.

I am currently reading "Strong Survival: The Life and Times of a Mountain Woman" by Cliffie Strong. There a quite a few good ideas in it so far, and I haven't even read all that far in it. I have also read several other homesteading books, which I will list when I find them.

Blessed Be.

I have been researching homesteading while disabled. There seems to be little on the subject. I did find one blog on homesteading with chronic pain and it seems to be a very good one. Chronic pain, as my readers know, is the reason I am disabled. I hope to be able to eliminate the pain soon and become employed to earn money to accomplish my dream of homesteading, but I'm certain this pain will never completely leave. That's fine, I am an excellent improviser. I have been working on ideas on using various degrees of my disability to my advantage, even, gods help me, should I be confined to a wheelchair. When I am certain an idea will work, through trial and error, I will gladly post them here. Meanwhile, I am am continuing my research and implementing much of what I learn in my daily life.

I've discovered that I may have to homestead alone. The person with whom I would have gone has made it quite clear she doesn't feel the need to leave the bedroom, let alone do daily chores. It will be lonely, but I'll survive. I always have.

I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Blessed Be.

I realized this morning that the reason I want to homestead so badly is to prove to myself and everybody else that I do have what it takes to survive. Of course, I also want myself and my family to have nothing but fresh, healthy food and fresh, clean air. To raise livestock where they can have the most humane treatment before moving on to the next life. To know I did everything I could to help nature heal herself. I want to solve problems and work hard. And I want to never be a burden the way I am now.
Anyway, I found some inexpensive solar panels I could buy, but I'd also need other items just to get them to work without destroying my computer. Whenever I have a computer, that is!
I'm trying to find out what I can do, job wise, so I can save money to live until we move and be able to purchase the items(and the land) we will need.
It turns out that it's difficult to grow fruit in Alaska. No apples may be the deal breaker. I was planning to convert apples into pectin for canning. Unless there's another way to preserve fruit, aside from drying and freezing, that is. I do plan to do both, but I would really like to be able to can as well.
Although I will likely freeze a large portion of or food that's produced, I will most likely do it outside. We won't have more electric than we need to run the computer. That's the plan, anyway. We don't WANT surplus electric. We're trying to get away from modern conveniences.
The computer, of course, would be a necessity. Unlike a fridge or freezer. I plan to have a pressure canner that I can place on the(wood burning) stove, as well as various other items we can use without power or petrolium products. Ironically, if we move to Alaska and receive residency there, we'll be elegable for over a thousand dollars a year, from petrolium drilling operations. That's per person. I plan to save it if we get it and sock it away in case we need it. With barter, I certainly hope we don't!
A thousand dollars a year doesn't seem like very much, until you realize we won't be spending money once we get there. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a backup plan. You never know when a glacier might hit the homestead or something. I'm kidding, of course.
I hope everyone reading this has a chance to fulfill THEIR dreams! Blessed be!

I'm sure that after my last post, many of you are thinking that I don't want to work. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm actually a very hard worker and am usually working despite being in severe pain. I have to. Nobody else will! Whenever I move to the homestead, when I can afford it, I still intend to work hard, harder than ever. Not only do I believe I can do it, I'm looking forward to it!
Homesteading is hard, often grueling, work. There are risks, there are just as many benefits. My family will eat nothing but fresh, organic food part of the year and carefully, lovingly canned food the rest. They won't have a choice. I'd also like to have a greenhouse, if possible. But that's in the future. Right now, I'm trying to figure out exactly what we need, the absolute necessities.
I've been spending all day gathering supplies and doing research. I wish we could find someone who actually does this to talk to in person. That would be a big help! Maybe he/she could show us a few things. The organic store in town has a few shops about self-sustainability, I wonder if I could attend. I'll have to find out. I hope my family would be interested, as well. That would be perfect!

I have this dream. I want to live on a homestead without spending money. Yes, you read right, after the initial investment, I don't want to have to spend A PENNY. I don't even want to look at the stuff. This brought me to a realization, though. In order to live in a cashless society with a barter-based economy, I would need to invest money. A lot of money. Thousands of dollars. Much more than I could ever earn on my current salary. I just can't sock any away in this money-based society. I can't afford to. So I'll have to wait. I spend my days doing research, my nights dreaming. I know I'll need a lot of supplies, but I am ahead in one way. I already have a place to stay once we find a place to put it. I have a camper. I've been learning many things about wilderness living and will be sharing them here in the weeks and months ahead. Will you follow me here on my journey? Only time will tell!