baby steps

I love doing "pioneer" stuff. Things I've done today-- Read scriptures and prayed. Exercised by walking around the lake at the park near our house. Cooked and ate oatmeal with flaxseed for breakfast. Took care of the chickens. Homeschooled my daughter. S~ dissected a mole the cat had caught. It was the first mammal she's dissected. Made laundry soap from homemade soap. Washed my laundry with that homemade laundry soap. Did the dishes with homemade soap and scrubbed the dishes with a dish rag I knitted. Puttered around the garden. Spun wool. Wrung out the deerskins. Cooked a ham (on a great sale from the grocery) and cut up the meat in 1/2 lb chunks for several future meals. Boiled up the bone for future soups. Used food storage to make lunch. Worked on reading the Book of Mormon in Chinese. Cleaned the bathtub with nature cleaners (vinegar and cream of tartar). Collected eggs from the chickens. Sat around talking with the kids and a beloved friend (this is known as family home evening). All these things qualify as homestead type activities because I didn't pay anyone else to do it for me OR I used very basic ingredients OR I used my own materials. I consider walking around the lake just as good as working out at a gym. The ham serves as several meals instead of buying meat in smaller (more expensive) portions. Reading the Book of Mormon in Chinese is my language study, instead of attending a class. Having an evening with my family is a lovely way of entertaining ourselves, better than watching TV or going to the mall. I like to think some of the stuff I'm doing will eventually be useful. The deerskins will eventually be clothing. The yarn will eventually be an afgan.

I did a bunch of other stuff that doesn't really qualify as homesteady (phone calls, balancing the checkbook, shopping, watching funny youtube videos, writing on this blog). But it feels good to think that I am making progress on this pioneer adventure. I'm doing more than I used to. I'm taking baby steps toward simple living.