1. What state/province/country are you in and what is your climate like? We live in Vermont and the climate here changes by the minute. Right now we are having the wettest year on history since 1938 which is making life interesting. Yearly we have from about May until September for our growing season so we have to make the best of it.
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? I am married and I have a beautiful son who is 15.
3. How would you define self sufficiency? I would love to never have to go to the supermarket but rather to produce everything I need at home. I realize things like gas and cars I will never be able to produce, but it would be good to make as much as I can.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? I would run a garden to grow whatever food I needed plus making my own cheese, meat and pasta. I would love to go solar and rely as little as possible on buying to help me to survive.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? Not a house but I have built my own barns, tool sheds and chicken coops. I need to become a better carpenter before I try making my own house.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? My husband was a welder for over 16 years so he does whatever I need.
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? My son had a transplant in 2008 and is doing amazing. Frankly buying things for him to eat at a store is scary due to all the recalls. One wrong item could kill him. He started me on becoming self sufficient and now I'm hooked.
8 Cloth or paper? Not sure what you mean by this, paper towels versus cloth (definitely cloth, they can be washed and reused)
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? I grow my own eggs and chicken and process them myself when they are ready. I do not order the chicks but grow them myself from eggs raised on the property. We have pigs, goats, and sheep also for meat so we do not purchase meat products from the store. We also grow our own vegetable and feed both ourselves and our animals from what we grow. We have fruit trees and bushes and collect and preserve the fruit as they ripen. We also compost everything that can be composted so we do not throw out much. We make our own cheese and are learning to make our own soap from goat milk. I would like to learn more about other ways I can be self sufficient other than growing all our own food.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I can't give up my car because I have to make it to work. Also my husband would not give up on television and internet because he works as a computer guru and needs those for his work.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Definitely
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Usually outside on my horse. Inside is too boxed in.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Not a semi but definitely the tractor.
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? We are learning how to spin wool and make cheese and dog food. Once I get good enough that I can be sure I won't mess up I would love to teach others.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Yes, horse, goat, sheep, pig, chicken and soon to come will be turkey, duck, cow and possibly quail.
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? I have used a wood lathe before but I am definitely not an expert.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? I grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, garlic, edible flowers and I want to grow nuts as well but have to find trees for my area.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? No sadly I am allergic to fish so I don't fish at all.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? Here at the house I have 2 acres. There is another property that we use that is 15 acres where we house the larger animals and do our processing.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? I am a definite handy man as much as I can be I hate calling others to fix things for me. Not sure if that's what you mean.
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? Free range eggs and chicken. I sell to others what I have grown that is extra. Also jams and jellies and applesauce made from our fruit trees and canned pickles.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? Wow tough one there is so much to learn...probably animal husbandry, business, cooking, canning, hunting and field dressing, gardening and botany and herbal cooking and medicine. All things I hunt and peck for because I can't find it all in one place.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? Some but I am still a novice at it.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Very herbs can be spiritual, healing, and great to eat too.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? I would love to live somewhere warm but I would miss my mountains too much
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? No the house we bought has an oil furnace (ick) We would love to change it out and put in a wood stove for heat and cooking and it is on our house remodel plan. I was drawn to this place because it is an old farmhouse built in 1900 with a lot of history in it's walls.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? My ideal super hero would make everyone get along and end the wars and violence that's everywhere. My villain would steal the worlds children and make them kill people even if they didn't want to.
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? They are slowly converting. They no longer look at me like I am the crazy women with all those animals hehe.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? Yes definitely. I can't do raw milk because of my son but I know how to home pasteurize it so that we can still drink it safely and we do grow our own eggs and make all our own food.
30. What was your MOS? Um...not sure ??
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? Yes we have a lot of wild herbs in the wooded areas, plus there are mushrooms and vegetables that are wild around here. My husband hunts and I can dress anything out if necessary. It adds a bunch to our food through the winter.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? I am a natural gardener and grow just about everything we need. I also can what I grow and freeze what I can't can. I can process meat myself as well so our freezer doesn't empty out ever. I make my own dog food for our dog. I also am pretty handy at fixing anything that breaks, which happens a lot here.
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? I would love to live in a place where we were not dependent on others for things we need. Hard to do being dependent on pharmacies, gas stations and satellite for everyday needs.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? We are researching solar energy but right now the cost for that is more than what I pay for my regular electric bill. Still checking out all my options.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? Ouch no clue lol
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? No not possible since we need access to pharmacies, phones for medical support and internet to work.
37. In what do you trust? Myself my family and my capabilities not much else.
38. Do you make things yourself to save money? Yes we take our own meals to work and school and are working on converting to not spending in other areas of our life as well. We also sell things we make at the farm to support other areas of our life.
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? Nah I have always been a Scottish penny pincher so to speak. I think if anything it has gotten worse. I would much rather save my own seeds for the following year rather than buying and if I can make it myself I do or if I need something I haunt the free sections of Craigslist patiently waiting.
2. How many people are in your family? Marital status? I am married and I have a beautiful son who is 15.
3. How would you define self sufficiency? I would love to never have to go to the supermarket but rather to produce everything I need at home. I realize things like gas and cars I will never be able to produce, but it would be good to make as much as I can.
4. What would you do with your spare time if you had any resources you needed? I would run a garden to grow whatever food I needed plus making my own cheese, meat and pasta. I would love to go solar and rely as little as possible on buying to help me to survive.
5. Have you ever built a house , or other types of building? Do you want to? Not a house but I have built my own barns, tool sheds and chicken coops. I need to become a better carpenter before I try making my own house.
6. Can you weld? Steel, aluminum, MiG, TiG, stick, Oxy-Acet? My husband was a welder for over 16 years so he does whatever I need.
7. Who or what inspired you to become more self sufficient? My son had a transplant in 2008 and is doing amazing. Frankly buying things for him to eat at a store is scary due to all the recalls. One wrong item could kill him. He started me on becoming self sufficient and now I'm hooked.
8 Cloth or paper? Not sure what you mean by this, paper towels versus cloth (definitely cloth, they can be washed and reused)
9. In what ways are you self sufficient now and in what ways would you like to learn more? I grow my own eggs and chicken and process them myself when they are ready. I do not order the chicks but grow them myself from eggs raised on the property. We have pigs, goats, and sheep also for meat so we do not purchase meat products from the store. We also grow our own vegetable and feed both ourselves and our animals from what we grow. We have fruit trees and bushes and collect and preserve the fruit as they ripen. We also compost everything that can be composted so we do not throw out much. We make our own cheese and are learning to make our own soap from goat milk. I would like to learn more about other ways I can be self sufficient other than growing all our own food.
10. In what way(s) will you never choose to become self sufficient? I can't give up my car because I have to make it to work. Also my husband would not give up on television and internet because he works as a computer guru and needs those for his work.
11. Are you interested in stocking up for future needs? Definitely
12. Where do you end up when you sink into yourself, away from the outside world? Usually outside on my horse. Inside is too boxed in.
13. Can you drive a farm tractor or a semi? Not a semi but definitely the tractor.
14. Do you make crafts or useful items? Would you want to teach others how to do these? We are learning how to spin wool and make cheese and dog food. Once I get good enough that I can be sure I won't mess up I would love to teach others.
15. Can you have legally livestock where you are at? Do you have any? What kinds? Yes, horse, goat, sheep, pig, chicken and soon to come will be turkey, duck, cow and possibly quail.
16. Can you operate a lathe? Metal, wood? I have used a wood lathe before but I am definitely not an expert.
17. Do you like to garden? If so, what do you enjoy growing? I grow vegetables, fruit, herbs, garlic, edible flowers and I want to grow nuts as well but have to find trees for my area.
18. Do you fish? Bait or explosives? No sadly I am allergic to fish so I don't fish at all.
19. How much space/land do you have or rent? City? Country? Here at the house I have 2 acres. There is another property that we use that is 15 acres where we house the larger animals and do our processing.
20. Are you a Novice, Technician, General, Advanced? ARRL? I am a definite handy man as much as I can be I hate calling others to fix things for me. Not sure if that's what you mean.
21. What is your self sufficient specialty? Or what one would you like to learn? Free range eggs and chicken. I sell to others what I have grown that is extra. Also jams and jellies and applesauce made from our fruit trees and canned pickles.
22. If you could create a degree and curriculum, what would you major in and what classes would you take? Wow tough one there is so much to learn...probably animal husbandry, business, cooking, canning, hunting and field dressing, gardening and botany and herbal cooking and medicine. All things I hunt and peck for because I can't find it all in one place.
23. Do you do wood work? framing, finish, cabinet? Some but I am still a novice at it.
24. Are you interested in herbal medicine? Very herbs can be spiritual, healing, and great to eat too.
25. If you could live any place you chose, where would it be? I would love to live somewhere warm but I would miss my mountains too much
26. Do you use a wood stove for heating or cooking? No the house we bought has an oil furnace (ick) We would love to change it out and put in a wood stove for heat and cooking and it is on our house remodel plan. I was drawn to this place because it is an old farmhouse built in 1900 with a lot of history in it's walls.
27. What would your ideal super hero/villain be? My ideal super hero would make everyone get along and end the wars and violence that's everywhere. My villain would steal the worlds children and make them kill people even if they didn't want to.
28. Are your family or friends also interested in self sufficiency? They are slowly converting. They no longer look at me like I am the crazy women with all those animals hehe.
29. Do you like to cook? Are you interested in whole foods and natural foods? raw milk? farm fresh eggs? Yes definitely. I can't do raw milk because of my son but I know how to home pasteurize it so that we can still drink it safely and we do grow our own eggs and make all our own food.
30. What was your MOS? Um...not sure ??
31. Do you forage or hunt for part of your food needs? Yes we have a lot of wild herbs in the wooded areas, plus there are mushrooms and vegetables that are wild around here. My husband hunts and I can dress anything out if necessary. It adds a bunch to our food through the winter.
32. What skills do you have that help you be more self sufficient? I am a natural gardener and grow just about everything we need. I also can what I grow and freeze what I can't can. I can process meat myself as well so our freezer doesn't empty out ever. I make my own dog food for our dog. I also am pretty handy at fixing anything that breaks, which happens a lot here.
33. In which fictional universe would you most like to live? I would love to live in a place where we were not dependent on others for things we need. Hard to do being dependent on pharmacies, gas stations and satellite for everyday needs.
34. Do you have solar panels? Plans to use solar energy? We are researching solar energy but right now the cost for that is more than what I pay for my regular electric bill. Still checking out all my options.
35 What is the mass/weight ratio of a European swallow carrying a coconut from the tropics to England? Ouch no clue lol
36. Have you ever lived completely off grid? Would you like to? No not possible since we need access to pharmacies, phones for medical support and internet to work.
37. In what do you trust? Myself my family and my capabilities not much else.
38. Do you make things yourself to save money? Yes we take our own meals to work and school and are working on converting to not spending in other areas of our life as well. We also sell things we make at the farm to support other areas of our life.
39. Has trying to be more self-sufficient changed your attitude or habits about money/spending? Nah I have always been a Scottish penny pincher so to speak. I think if anything it has gotten worse. I would much rather save my own seeds for the following year rather than buying and if I can make it myself I do or if I need something I haunt the free sections of Craigslist patiently waiting.
What do you have going on in your garden for fall? Do you have cold -frames or do you use a greenhouse?
