[quote user="Brandy"] [quote user="happygerl"]Has anyone else felt this way?[/quote] I have a different sort of problem. My daughter,who will be nineteen come October, has not yet passed her driving test to get a license. This has limited her ability to find decent paying jobs and has put her in the position of struggling ...

 At it's most basic, self-sufficiency is a state of mind. What is your first impulse when faced with a problem? You are at a crossroads. Most of my friends automatically think, "How much will this cost when I find someone to solve my problem?" A self-sufficient person's first thought is, "How can I solve this problem ...

[quote user="Edey"]  The desire to have the Victorian house is sort of there, with the pretty lace and decoration and all, but I'm just too lazy to maintain all that. I want my time to go to creative endeavors, not cleaning house 18 hours a day to present an image.  Edey  [/quote]   I think it is OK for ...

[quote user="Pat"] Part of the fun of burning wood is that first fire in the fall. It always smells so good and feels so good!  How much wood do you estimate you'll need for the winter? I've been trying to remember how many cords we used to burn, but can't. We heated and cooked exclusively with wood for quite awhile, ...

[quote user="Edey"]It took a long time for me to realize that crystal and silver and china just wasn't my style. I've got too much country in my background.  Pfaltzgraf would have been more my style, but even that wasn't affordable. [/quote]  I know what you mean. We may never have gotten into Pfaltzgraf if we ...

[quote user="Edey"]My first house had one of those kitchen sinks I call a miniature bathtub.[/quote]  Those are nice! When my wife wanted a new kitchen for our 20th anniversary, we picked a stainless steel sink with the holes for the faucet and handles on one side. That left space for a much bigger sink on the other. We also got ...

 [quote user="Walt34"]I found this web site: http://www.lehmans.com/ At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to advertise for them (I'm not) they have a lot of old-fashioned appliances and things that would appeal to those who want to go back in time or just be self-sufficient. [/quote] Really cool place! ...

[quote user="rolo"]Borrowed that phrase "too good for everyday" from another thread on this site.  Self sufficiency is a part of simple living.  How many of us have perfectly good, unused or barely used items packed away because the item is "too good for everyday"?[/quote]  About the only things we ...

 [quote user="Edey"] My feelings are that if a machine has a badly damaged paint job but can be saved by repainting and made usable again, I'd go for that then trying to maintain a possible antique value of the original but badly damaged finish. There are some beautiful car paint colors available, so it is a useful idea.  ...

 [quote user="littlepitcher"] Those ashes work fine on steps or sidewalks, too, to keep from breaking a hip or leg. My old firewood box was a two-bin laundry sink, painted antique green and beige, with the firewood on one side, kindling on the other.  A coal scuttle painted in the same colors worked fine for ashes.  Both ...