Friday, August 19, 2011

Welcome to our Newest Blog!!

Those familiar with the lifetime projects blog may have noticed that, while remodeling, some pages just aren't there anymore.

Don't worry, they haven't disappeared, they have moved over to our brand-new blog: Suburban Quest!

Please join me in visiting and welcoming the newest blog to the family. I sat down with myself for a one-on-one interview (split personality not withstanding) about this new blog, the reasons for its creation and what it hopes to accomplish.

Q: So...why start a new blog?
A: We wanted to keep Lifetime Projects focused on the family projects that we were currently doing, along with the coupons and deals that were being offered. Sometimes, when a blog becomes too diverse, it confuses people, and it makes it too hard to find what people are looking for. It's best to keep it simple.

Q: But didn't your self-sufficiency start out as a family project?
A: Certain aspects of it did. Remember, each family project has the underlying purpose of "can we do it?" and finding out if we can succeed or not. Things like cooking food from scratch, not using boxed mixes, and gardening that were started as family projects, have now become part of our everyday lives, and we'd like to showcase those for the long-term part that they hold for us.

Q: What exactly is the "Quest" in "Suburban Quest"?
A: To become self-sufficient. As much as possible, anyway. Growing our own food, baking our own bread, making our own dairy products except for milk, canning, preserving...someday we even hope to be "off the grid" as far as our energy usage.

Q: You make it sound like you're willing to go back to living in the 1800's. Is that true?
A: Yes...and no. I am comfortable with the technology of today, although I'm not one that can't live without a cell phone. My phone isn't even a smartphone - it just lets people talk to me. I don't text. I do, however, find reading accounts of life in the 1800's to be fascinating. They worked hard, especially on the frontier and while homesteading, but they were independent and fun-loving people, strongly tied to family, their committments, and their land. Would I personally like to go back and live in the 1800's? Not really. I may like how it sounded, but I also like indoor plumbing!

Q: So what have you already done in this "quest"?
A: Well, we have a 300 square foot garden, and I started canning extensively about two years ago. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We cook from scratch for everything that we eat, and with the exception of meat and eggs, we try not to buy anything pre-packaged. We also don't buy any bread and purchase as little bread products, such as buns or rolls, as possible. I have so far learned to make bread, pie crusts, cakes, and rolls from scratch. I've learned how to cook all over again from recipes, and am still testing some out. We haven't had the money necessary to look into renewable energy sources yet, but hopefully soon we'll take it one step further (at least with the food) and start making our own cheese and butter.

Q: It sounds like a lot, and yet it doesn't sound like much, if you don't mind my saying so.
A: It is, and it isn't. You're right. But, just like everything else, it will take time to do. We want to do this right, and jumping into something with both feet overnight isn't going to do anyone any good. We're just going to get overwhelmed that way, and we'll quit because of that. So we'll keep going, take it slow, and see what happens.

Q: What will the new blog talk about?
A: Different things. Where we've been. Where we're going. What we do along the way to get there. Trials and failures, and successes. What we do differently or experiment with. We'd like to talk about favorite family recipes and canning processes. For example, within the next couple of days, pictures will be posted of tonight's harvest from the garden. Things like that. We'll also do book reviews and talk about self-suffiency in general, along with commenting on interesting articles or things that have caught our eye.

Q: And the "suburban" part in "Suburban Quest" means...?
A: Exactly what it says. It's where we live - in the suburbs. We're actually in a planned subdivision of all places to be...trying hard to carve out a space for ourselves.

Q: How much land do you have, exactly?
A: About 1/3 of an acre, but because the house is set back, we actually have about 1/4 that we can use.

Q: So why not move? Get a small or large farm, or even acquire some more land?
A: (smiles) Have you seen the housing market lately? No, seriously, that's just not an option right now. For one, we have to be at least halfway close to civilization for my husband's job, which in truth allows us some freedom in becoming self-sufficient, since his income is steady. And in all honesty, we started the garden before thinking about moving, intending just to raise a small portion of our food. Then price increases started hitting, the economy took a nosedive, we started expanding to more and more vegetables, and now, with the investment we've already made, it just makes more sense to stay here, rather than move.

Q: Is 100% self-sufficiency possible in the suburbs?
A: I think so. I'm not sure yet. There are other families doing the same thing - there's a family out in California that, 10 years ago or so, actually started raising everything they eat on 1/10 of an acre in the middle of Pasadena. They've been successful, and I'm hoping we can be too.

Q: So you're looking to be just like them?
A: Again, yes and no. They're vegetarians, and I'm not, so we're going to have to find a credible meat source somewhere. I'm not sure that we can raise absolutely everything that we need to eat from what land we have, but hopefully we can trade for what we don't have and, sometime in our life, need to spend as little cash or money as possible.

Q: Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. Good luck!
A: Thanks! I couldn't do it without my family. My mom helps, my husband is wonderful and our son is just great with outside work. We all work at it together, so it's not as though it's one person's responsibility to keep the whole thing going.

Hopefully this interview answers questions about the new blog, Suburban Quest. Feel free to check it out and subscribe - new visitors are always welcome!

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