In Perspective

Getting ready for work around here on the homestead isn't anything like getting ready for work, used to be.
With winter coming on, I am so much more aware of this wonderful blessing . . . even on icy mornings, especially on icy mornings!  When I get up and get the coffee going, I check the thermometer out the back door.  As always, this gives me a pretty good idea as to how to dress and what to expect in the way of ice.

It seems as I get older, extreme temperatures either way are more noticeable, and in that realization, I am even more thankful to be on the homestead.  Some might consider my lifestyle more work, but I see it differently.  I have a number of friends who tell me they don't know how I get so much done, and I appreciate the kind words, but there are a number of things I don't do in any given day.

I don't have to get dressed for polite society every day for a "real job."  I don't have to drive to work, which means much less stress for me and anywhere from an hour to two of my day that aren't spent dealing with crazy traffic.  Considering the number of frightening videos posted about our current police protection, I am truly grateful to not be out driving, daily!

In addition to this wonderful blessing of not having to drive to work; in less than an hour, I am able to complete the morning chores and be back in the house sipping a nice hot cup of coffee long before 9 am.  Spring through fall, there are more chores, what with chicks, kids, bottle calves, gardening, and milking, but the weather is more temperate and there's no ice to break.

Working from home, with the internet ministry, publication, and my business, I am able to have a load of laundry going while I'm writing or responding to e-mails.   Ingredients for products have the proper cooling and curing time, while I am able to do other things.  The kitchen and what should be a dining room are arranged in such a manner, in my home, I actually got brave enough last summer to have the pressure canner in operation while I worked on some articles.  Homesteading in this age of computer technology offers such a unique opportunity in that I walk this acreage daily, travel the world by internet, and do everything from running a business, to canning, to laundry in about 450 square feet of my home.  That is also a perk, in that I'm rarely in the rest of the house, except to clean.  So the living room, main bathroom, and guest rooms are ready for weary travelers in a moment's notice.

Now my secret of getting so much done in a day, is out.  There are a number of things I don't have to do!