Hi Evelyn,
I read your longer post last night but was too late to reply as I went to bed. I am not sure why you edited it because it was interesting to read your childhood into adulthood.
I too have always lived simply my whole life.
My first 6 years we lived on a small acreage in a very rural area and my Dad had a transport business, he had a couple of trucks to haul livestock, wool, gravel - what ever his customers needed hauled. The school bus driver and taxi as well as he did the mechanical work on them all.
The house was very tiny with 4 children and 3 adults, Dad's eldest unmarried son Jimmy lived with us on and off for many years he was like my Surrogate dad living in it, my elder brother Ross and I had the front porch which was sealed off as our bedroom and was just big enough for two small beds. We had our own electricity or Powerhouse as it was called - I wish I knew how Mum and Dad ran this because it sure would be great to know now so we could use the same system here..Mum learned to milk the cows, feed pigs and other animals, catch chicken, wring their neck, clean it to cook it along with ducks, fish etc that she never had anything to do with as a city girl.
My mother had been a city girl all her life, living in a beautiful home with tile floor and tiled walls inside and plaster on the outside (sort of stucco) as my Grandfather was a builder and Plaster by trade, with running hot and cold water and the only flush toilet (everyone else still had out houses) in their street for quite some years, they also had a bathroom - my aunts and Mum use to tell me the story that they would charge their friends a penny to come and flush the toilet.LOL.
After Mum and Dad were married they lived in the home that I grew up in from 6 until I got married as they rented it out to relocate to the country.
After Dad decided to sell out his business and move about 3 miles away he took down the Powerhouse and moved it onto his land and used this as his kitchen /dinning room and brought a Army hut which he used as the bedroom. Only the water caught off the guttering on the rooves of the two buildings into a water tank (water tanks are always used in the rural areas for their water supply) with the faucet outside for water and his outhouse - no bathroom or telephone. He had a neighbour across the road should he have to call us or we him..and he lived there from Monday - Friday and came home for the weekend or when he needed extra help for his farm work we would go stay with him for the weekend. Dad lived on the farm for 10 years and I had a weekend Dad.
Mum moved us all to their house which was totally trashed and debris left all over by the renters. The only way to get these renters out of the house was to have it condemned by the Town Council and the police evict them. The house had to be totally remodeled while we lived there and I remember we had rats coming inside and being placed up on the table armed with a cue stick to attack it as it went by, while my mother and any of my siblings ran around with brooms, fire shovel etc to hit it on the head.. My fear of rats..My sister was engaged and was getting married 4 months after we all moved.
My mother cooked on an Arga stove and Ross and I would sit up on the big lids that covered the hot plates to keep warm, one lid was hotter than the other and it was a fight to get on the cool one first..fond memories. Every Monday Mum had a weeks worth of washing that took her all day to do because of the coloured piles she had to sort them into, on the old wringer washing machine and tubs to rinse out, then hang outside on the clothes line. Up until I left New Zealand I always hung my washing out on the revolving clothes line, except on wet days when they went into the dryer. Everyone had a clothes line which I have not seen anyone in the States with one.
From birth until I left my marriage I moved 3 times...
James and I trying to get back to the more basics of life again. Chickens, quail, my worm compost that took quite awhile before the worms came to live and do their stuff. I reckon a milking goat would be nice to have next as I have been drinking powdered goats milk in my coffee instead of creamer or cows milk.
James and I made our first batch of soap and after waiting 3 weeks for it to cure I used a bar today in my shower and it soaped up nicely. I took a bar over to my neighbour to ask her to test and let me know what she thought of it too. I made a 2nd batch over the weekend changing some of the oil quantities and putting in powdered goats milk instead of butter milk. I am enjoying the experimentation's to see what will feel better.
Amanda
Quote:
You know Amanda, when we see living conditions like these people have to endure should make all of us more thankful for what we have. These are nothing more than hovels these people are living in and until this gentleman came up with an affordable solution, for the most part they lived in the dark almost 24/7.
Quote:
Hi Helen, Evelyn and all
This video you shared Helen looked very intriguing and I hope that it works for these people for a long time - imagine being in the dark all day on a beautiful sunny day outside, because we all like sunlight coming into our homes which perks us up and also kills off bugs etc that like to lurk in the dark corners. UGH!
I had to do a search for the serene because I did not know what it was or heard of this word and found it was like a bleach / chlorine they put into the water, I guess so it does not go cloudy and loose the effectiveness of the light.
Amanda
Quote:
Hello there!
This a simple but amazing idea....
This could have applications even in the western world. Can you think of some?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0_4qFrxw_4