Chilly Morning and A Morning Ramble

It was 60 degrees in the house this morning. We let the fire die out early in the night which meant waking up in a cold house. Such is the nature of heating with wood. Its work to keep the house warm. Might seem a bit romantic to think of sitting by the toasty stove watching the flames flickering and it is, but its a lot of work. Kindling to gather, wood "crumbs" needing to be cleaned up daily by the inside wood pile. Then there is the constant need to bring in wood from the big wood pile outside. There is the work of keeping the fire going, and regulating it so you are not making creosote or getting it so hot you have a flue fire. But even with all that, I can't imagine NOT heating with wood. It costs us about $200 a year to heat the house. We use downed and dead wood, so our wood is cheap. We like using downed wood, its natures way and not just mans destruction.
So many mornings in winter the stove not only heats us but serves as a means to making breakfast, making coffee for the morning and later in the afternoon allowing me to simmer soup for supper.
It's not that I always enjoy doing things the hard way, although there is an amazing amount of satisfaction to this kind of life, but Emery and I believe strongly in living independently, not being dependant on utility companies. We like that we don't have to sit and complain about the rising costs of fuel. We like living with no debt. We like spending money on what we consider worthy causes. Not fattening the pockets of oil companies. We like not using fossil fuel any more than we must. Its the same for the clothesline thing. Its just one more way to not use electricity or gas. There is more we could do in that area. We are not perfect by any means. We have lots of room for improvement and much to learn.
We like growing our own food for a couple reasons. We know what we are eating and its better than paying for a gym membership. Along with the added benefit of being outside where you can think about life and it seems like a bit of a holy experience to work the land.
Many of my generation chose early on to live differently than our parents. Choosing to not be so bound up making money and seeking to have more things. Making the choice to live in a way that we considered more "real" less "plastic" was the term often used for the rather picture perfect life portrayed on shows like Leave it to Beaver. So often in real life, families looked great from the outside but the family was something very different in private life. So many of my generation wanted to be able to express themselves no matter how they were feeling and it seemed that you needed open communication for that in the family and you needed a dad that was not out working all the time to fulfill the great American dream and you needed a mom that was less concerned with keeping up with the Jones' for that too. I suspect many of my generation in the early days headed off for the woods so they could feel connected to the land, to life. To feel the earth under your toes and dress in a way that expressed what you felt inside and where there was not all the pressure to be a certain way. You had to do things the old fashioned way to achieve that and stay off grid, stay away from being dictated by the "17 jewels that dictate the rules" and by having things like big mortgages and lots of monthly bills, let alone feel the joy of "loving mother nature" by stepping lightly on her. The desire for this simple kind of living was born in part to the need to be yourself, not play the game of looking like the perfect family or have a family that is cold and not connected by anything more than having the same address. We all watched the movie Love Story and felt the pain of Oliver's cold relationship with his father and wanted to give our children something very different. That meant staying far away from the pursuit of material wealth. Some of us stayed on that path and some just followed in their parents footsteps after a while. Now, folks pursue the simple life but often for the simple reason of decluttering their life, making life easier by not having so much stuff after having to deal with it for so long. The reasons have changed since the 70's and that's no doubt a good thing in many ways. We are no longer needing to fight for a place where we can be real. It's the "in" thing to be "green and its the "in" thing to talk about living simply, as long as its not too complicated or makes you look odd. Its a good marketing ploy too now. Things simple and things green sell. Those words make us comfortable spending a bit more money than we intended. Some folks today live simply for religious reasons, thinking that if its old fashioned, then maybe its not so tainted with sin or maybe it will keep us from the sinful nature of modern life. Not so. Nice thought but our hearts are what keeps us on the straight and narrow, not a life without the Internet or a car. Might take away some of the temptations but is as old as mankind with or without modern technology. And hard work doesn't keep you so tired you won't sin.
Since its Thanksgiving time we might want to look back to the pilgrims for some interesting facts about the simple life and "sin".
An intriguing analysis by the University of Virginia found that 11% of the marriages at Plymouth Colony had births from premarital sex. The same analysis estimates that as many as 50% of the Pilgrims engaged in premarital sex. That's not something that fits the modern image of the staid Pilgrim.
Another interesting fact, drunkenness was discouraged at Plymouth, but beer was accepted as a drink for men, women and children. The daily ration on the Mayflower was a gallon a day for each individual. That's a lot of beer for anyone, let alone a child !
Governor William Bradford wrote frankly about some of the serious offences that took place during that time in "Of Plymouth Plantation." A great site for information about William Bradford can be found by clicking his name
Simple living is sought after for as many reasons as there are the people that seek it. The definition can be as varied as the application. Its really all about what works for you to keep your life going in the direction you want. I kinda think we all have an obligation to step lightly on this earth so its around long enough for generations to come.