What a nightmare

Last night at work was a freaking nightmare. When I got there, I got the lovely news that EVERYTHING was broken, from rehang all the way through the end of my department, debone. First shift left us a lot of stuff to do that they couldn't finish because of the breakdowns, but we still got out at a reasonable time. It could have been a lot worse than it was, that is for sure. I wore my old rubber boots with the fuzzy liners last night, and while my feet are a bit sore as they don't have any real support or cushion in them, at least I came out of the night with dry, warmish feet.

I got a bit more needlework done and some writing done yesterday, which was nice, and today I'm going in a bit later than I have so I can get a bit more cleaning done around here. My bedroom trash can is overflowing again and the cat boxes need a deep cleaning, plus my desk in the living room has become a cat playpen for some reason, so sometime this week, I've got to get at that and redo it as well so it's neater. And apparently, my poor sneakers are cat toys. Raffles and Tink love to play with the laces and rub their faces all over them! Bouncer and Smudge just sprawl on the bed and snooze at my feet. Ah, the joys of winter homesteading.

I really, really need my more or less one-room cabin, lol. Someday, I'll have what I want, and I won't be retirement age when I get it, either. Plans are for it all to happen in the next ten years or less, and each day that goes by brings me a step closer to it. I'm blessed with reasonably okay health (I could have better heart health, but what can you do when it's enlarged and skips beats on a regular basis?), loving cats, good friends, a decent place to live, and a good job. I am often surprised, however, with everyone who tells me that I inspire them by the life I lead. I love y'all, but y'all are WEIRD. I get told frequently also how folks would love to life the kind of life I do, with the homesteading and all, and I want to ask them, so what's stopping you? You can homestead even in the city. Self-reliance is a way of life, and anybody can do it.

Don't believe me? Get a few ebooks on urban homesteading, or homesteading in the city, or microfarming. I know people who grow all their non-meat food in their backyard and they only have a quarter-acre of land. Check into vertical gardening and hydroponics as well. Heck, if you're in an apartment, see about putting some plants on the roof, or a few pots on your balcony. If you really can't grow anything anywhere, just stock up on non-perishables like crazy. You wouldn't believe the hidey holes you've got going to waste for food storage - corners of cupboards, behind the couch, under the TV stand, under the bed, in the closet (shelves and floors). Minimalize to what you really need and get rid of stuff that you never use to make more space for storing food. (This also negates the need to run to the store and fight crowds while dealing with empty store shelves in case of an emergency of some kind.) Seriously, homesteading is more a state of mind than anything else. If you're doing things to make yourself more self-reliant, you are homesteading. Go ahead. Jump on in! The water's just fine!

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