Think today is somebody's birthday, but can't remember whose... Too many Libras, dammit all...
Am doing some reading for my class which is disturbing me. We're reading three or four different books at the same time, so I'm not going to run down a list of book summaries or anything; just going to give you the overview of what's bugging me...
One thing that several of the books have in common is discussion of these practical things... Like: instead of throwing away chicken bones, saving them and using them to make soap. Like: instead of buying your tomatoes at the store, growing them in the backyard. Like: doing your own mending instead of throwing shirts away. Like, making your own blankets instead of buying them. Like, making braided rugs out of old rags.
This shit BOTHERS me...
If all the grocery stores on the planet closed this week, I would have no idea how to find food. I don't know how to kill things, I don't know how to grow things, and I don't know what I could eat from the forests.
If I was cold and there was no heat in my apartment, I wouldn't know how to create warmth without burning the building down.
If I needed a rug, or a broom, or a new shirt, or a piece of furniture, and there were no malls, thrift stores, or Evergreen Free Box, I wouldn't have any idea how to acquire those things, or make them.
What I'm talking about is so fucking basic it's DUMB.
I DO know how to make butter. I also know how to crochet and how to sew. I can also cook fairly well without throwing away much. I know how to walk long distances and I don't need a car.
Aside from those things, I'm completely dependent on modern conveniences. It's fucking depressing. I'm this allegedly independent person, and here I am thinking there's no other way to get food but going to Denny's or going to Thriftway? Please!
According to popular family legend, my great-grandmother was Amish. I bet SHE made her own brooms. None of this buying pre-made pie crusts at the grocery store for HER, right?
I aspire to be more connected to the things I consume and the things I own. I aspire to know how the fuck to make things or gain things that I need, without relying on other people. I aspire to get the rest of my reading done without getting depressed...
~Helena*