Just pottering around

I have a wonderful life.  I work in my community and am praised by one and all for doing it.  The truth is I get a lot more out of it than I give.  I am suited to the welfare sector.  These are my people, this is familiar territory. I grew up working class and I have gone back to being working class after living my middle years cashed up and spending. Now I'm back where I belong and I'm loving it.  But if my truth is fairly told, despite the fact that I love my voluntary work, I prefer being at home.  I might work harder and smarter at work and meet some very interesting people, but home is where my heart is.

Here at home I can potter around and work to my own rhythm.  What I do here is not decided by who walks through the door, or by a committee, a deadline or what day it is.  Here my work plans are my own invention; here I do what I want to do and juggle the tasks of my day to suit myself.  There is a lot to be said for carrying out daily tasks according to a rhythm rather than working to a strict plan.  While I've been at home since Friday, I've had a loose idea of what needed doing in my head and have accomplished it all with time left over to watch a movie I recorded (How to Make an American Quilt) and several much needed sleeps in "my" chair in the loungeroom.  

Poor man's bread - scones for lunch.

So what did I do?  I got through all my household chores like baking bread, making the bed, cleaning, cooking and washing the floor.  I forgot the bread once or twice and we ended up having poor man's bread (scones) for lunch.  When I'm properly in my rhythm, the bread making just follows what comes before it and leads on to what comes after it but I've been so haphazard with the bread lately, not being here on my regular days, that it is forgotten about until it's too late.  That is why a regular rhythm works so well, it doesn't have to be thought about, it just happens.

I tested making the soap in different containers.

In addition to the normal daily tasks, I made more liquid soap and I have to tell you it was much easier the second time around.  I used this recipe from here and it made about two litres/quarts of soap.  I use this for shampoo, hand wash, stain remover and washing dishes. It does an excellent job without making my hands feel dry and itchy.  When I made the soap this time I experimented on which container was the best - a saucepan, and a different oil.  I used mainly rice bran oil with a cup of coconut oil.  Next time I make it, I'll look for different recipes and start modifying so I get a soap that suits us well and uses the oils I usually have here at home.   And next time I'll take photos so I can write a tutorial on liquid soap making.

 Liquid soap being sequestered before being bottled and used.

But I do not work alone, this is a two person operation.  Looking out into the backyard while I wash the dishes I see a vegetable garden starting again almost from scratch.  That is Hanno's pride and joy and one of the important home-based projects that sustain us in a very thrifty manner.  Working on those tasks that support and feed us is a great way to spend our time.  We feel capable and independent looking after ourselves, our days are spent in a productive and enriching way and we know that what we do with our time results in us eating organic food that we probably wouldn't be able to afford otherwise.

When family and friends phone us and ask about what we've been doing, I usually say: "oh, we're just pottering around the place." And that is exactly what we're doing but it means so much more than that.  It means we decide what we'll do each day, no other person tells us how to spend out time, and that we work here together for the benefit of us both, which forges stronger bonds that are now impossible to break.

Floors were washed.

As I work in my home I often think about all of us working towards the common goal  of simplifying our lives.  Being part of this large group makes me feel connected, even though we're all vast distances apart.  We probably won't ever sit down and have morning tea together, but I know I can come in here and tell you about my day, and learn about yours.  Clicking on links takes me to far off places, shows me how similar and different we all are and make me feel exactly how I want to feel - independent and connected.