SHIRA KATANIA

Living Homes by Thomas J. Elpel is becoming our favorite literary resource on our current favorite subject: independant, efficient living.

Sam and I have been browsing the Ashland Public Library on thursdays, permitting Sam gets the day off work on our date day, and we enjoy shaking off the cold with a cup and an hour to circulate through the shelves together. We check out old and new movies,(Vertigo and Jezebel...I love that young Better Davis...also, Pricilla, Queen of the Desert... :D ), Sam likes the Spanish section; my spanish improves.

We are getting on fine here at 270 Dead Indian (the "Dead" on the sign has been vandalized). Sam works on preparing the garden for growing, prunes the trees, mulches, cuts the damned bamboo!
I help a bit in and out of the house, plan for improvements and reorganization, plus I've taken on the frightening, the daunting dedication to straighten out that BARN!
The beautiful winter birds sound great as an alarm as we wake up inside the mock-coffin that is called bed in the smaller motorhome.
Sam and my relationship is improved with this move back in with the folks. Sam and dad are developing that great relationship that everyone has developed with dad. Mom admires Sam for his work ethic and for his good manners.
We are trying to get good recycling ethics going round here, as well as a goal for future on site recycling of rainwater and perhaps, in the future, waste and all scrap and most garbage. What a goal!
Sophia's life seems improved too. She's a self-motivated learner, so I am thrilled about kindergarden. We spend more time together as a family. We are preparing meals with Dad. We are learning to be humble.
I just love some of the books we've found on various topics parallel our lifestyle goals...
I'll share a few:

Living Homes by Thomas J. Elpel (well thopught and covers layers of aspects-he really went 100% tide and true by using total ethically green means of publishing)

Green from the Ground Up by David Johnston & Scott Gibson

Independant Builder by Sam Clark

we have found that our quest for living autonomously be

This year has brought relief and good change. I passed my Math class and graduated with a bachelors in studio art from Southern Oregon; Sam got his residency (aka, green card) which meant no more lawyer bills! neutralization of debt and a lot less stress on our plates; Sophia started kindergarten at Bellview; we all moved into a nice duplex tucked away on an Ashland alley with our two friends and their Sophie's-age son; Sam and I shared our first year anniversary; Sophia turned 5 on the 5th; I turned 25...

Pretty soon our roommate, Gwyn who was recently accepted to graduate studies @ Ohio State, will be leaving which means a move for us too.

Graciously, my parents have agreed to the idea of my little family bunking down in the 40-foot (wish it were the Beaver) Holiday rambler...if we can get it to function. This is sort of a dream for me (despite complications of living near the folks) because Mom and Dad's land has so much potential and much to offer. Sam has steady work and with the utilization of the great wisdom betwixt Diana's frugility-smarts and Dennis's autonomous living-smarts we hope to build the type of lifestyle we long for and dream of; living off the land, using less, making more, learning more and depending much, oh much less. I am, at this very point of time, figuring out how to use a sewing machine, working on an idea for a children's book of Shakespeare, and exploring the ideas of becoming a "progressive pioneer"... a great term I recently was introduced to.

Oh, sweet Ashland IS a good place to be such with the ever-growing support of farmer's markets and food co-ops and overall the growing possibility of leading a much more independent lifestyle here.

Ok. I also having been influenced, have been reading and almost finished with, by the Little House on the Prairie books. Sam and I crave the IDEA of a separation from the all encompassing monetary system, but for the moment all we can take is baby steps; to try to be less dependent and to be a more autonomous unit. Gardens; homemade and recycled cloth, paper and products; biking and walking whenever possible; buying and using only what we NEED, and locally and handmade at that...these are just some of the simple and sensible ideas we have (not to sound redundant or overly idyllic).

My aim is to eventually work out of my home in a practical, progressive and sustainable manner. These days everyone around me seems to be spouting the overflowing word "sustainable" but this word is the very essence of what could turn our position as humans living off the earth, around.

Anyway, dang-it, I was so blessed to have parents who taught me these ideas from an early age...wisdom I never took advantage of.

Now I'm kicking myself for not learning to sew from my mother, or how to master gardening from my father.

My goal is to learn from those who practice my ideals.

I am open to any feedback and advice! I would love to talk about these issues as they are my favorite topic to date. Sam and I have found some really nice blogs and documentaries on these topics that I will try to be posting and discussing when I can.

So far I love these two blogs a lot:

http://placetobloom.blogspot.com
www.progressivepioneer.com