There’s been a series of changes on the homestead recently. Im financially independent once again. Supporting a homestead on 3.5 to 4 hours of work a day took some careful budgeting and so it meant cutting out a lot of the herbal interventions i was taking for depression and rheumatoid arthritis. Luxuries like frozen fruit, oatmeal, cashews, chocolate, pasta sauce, and hemp milk had to go too. I buy two packages of brown rice pasta a week and then spend 20 to 25 dollars on fruit and veg at the discount produce warehouse on wednesdays. I eat two large meals a day rather than three normal ones and that prevents me from having to use plastic bags to cart lunch to and from work. It also means i dont have to carry floss and a toothbrush and touch my dental retainers in a facility that could hold germs during the work day. I can keep my mask on the whole time. Luckily my sister gave me a whole bag of chocolates she didnt like the flavor of weeks ago and i am stocked up with chocolates for a while so there is that luxury for now. I will have a square once in a while after dinner if nobody is terribly ill at work. Ive cancelled the internet so the only access to youtube is now via unlimited data on my phone. You cant watch youtube and do things on the phone at once so i’ve taken to listening to podcasts. Beautiful anonymous is a favorite where random anonymous people call a hotline and whoever gets through gets to talk to the host about anything for one hour and the only rule is they cant say their name. British scandal is a pretty entertaining podcast where they combine historical research and dramatized renditions of events in famous peoples lives/careers. Its good entertainment. Armchair expert started some new spinoff podcasts and my favorite is called armchair anonymous. Listeners call in and share stories about a specified topic. Morbid – listener tales are also great episodes of the podcast “morbid” where two women that present crime stories have their listeners call in and tell about ones they lived through. My all time new favorite podcast is called “desert island discs” and it is a show in which famous people tell and then play the eight music songs, 2 books, and 1 luxury item they would take if they were going to be left on a desert island alone. You get to hear some amazing bits of music, learn things about people you wouldn’t have thought to ask about, and theres often a history lesson hidden in the episode about what was going on in a certain decade the person was growing up in. Also in my docket is grounded with louis theroux, office ladies (a rewatch podcast about my FAVORITE show, the office), ologies with alie ward, phil in the blanks, the rewatchables, science vs, spilled milk, storytime with seth rogan, stuff you should know, unashamed with phil and jase robertson, and you’re dead to me. I’m open to suggestions if anyone has another interesting one to add to the list. I keep the window unit set only to heat if it gets down to a certain temperature and i dont have more than one light on at a time. I think i’ve now worked it out to a spot where the dogs, chickens, and i can live happily without dipping into the savings and i dont have to get a corporation job and leave the little haven of sanity where nursing home residents are treated kindly and half the rooms are empty to keep a good staff to patient ratio. It means we may not be adding that persimmon, plum, and apple tree in march but we have enough fruit trees for now. Its not as if the addition is time sensitive. We can add those to the orchard any year. More trees equals more blankets in the winter, more to water, and more to worry about. The eclectic little orchard is big enough for now. It means i will have to tuck tail next year and make nice with the discount pet-care clinic i had a row with a year ago over the way someone spoke to me regarding heart-worm meds, because its 100s of dollars cheaper to purchase dog meds there. However, for now it is worked out and everything has a way forward presently. I have come to one conclusion during the past week. It’s been a quiet week and its been peaceful. There are many people in this world which i care about and always will, but those i speak to on the regular moving forwards will have to be a part of this new peace. Im looking to spend my time around people who are kind, accountable, and have a discussion vs a fight. I see the gray hairs popping up amongst the brown. I see the crows feet at my eyes and i dont want to waste any more time being in turmoil. I want peace in my life, and i will seek peace, and i hope others i care about find the same.