Saturday, May 30, 2009

Apartment Homestead

If you are reading this blog, the chance is you know I knit. (duh)

For those of you who knit will understand how enpowering it is to realise what you can do with your hands after all these years living in a society where we are trained to be consumers. Many of us got addicted to this 'high' of satisfaction. Among some of us, the creativity take a life of itself. After knitting, some of us got hooked on spinning, crocheting, sewing, beading, etc. It was no exception for me but I guess my addiction has totally changed my life....literarily.

So after knitting, I started on crocheting, I made a few simple projects. This addiction never got really big. Then I started on spinning since everyone said being able to make your own yarn will allow you to have more choice on fiber content, the quality of yarn and you also said it is very relaxing. I like relax, so I got this. Then, I got into sewing. I got a few projects done and then I started to be really busy that I didn't blog very much, I will post those in due course.

After realising that my hands can be more useful than typing on the computer in an office all day, it got me thinking. I am sure many of you guys been through that stage too! 'Can I do something with my hands and earn a living? I enjoy doing what I do so much more than staring at the screen all day in a cubicle farm!' My answer to this is, I know I cannot be a professional crafter. I enjoy what I do but more in a lifestyle way than in a commercial way. If I have to knit for a living, I know I wouldn't enjoy it as much. Maybe I am a selfish person, I just simply can't give my handknit away! No, not even for money.

But it does get me thinking each time when I was about to buy something, 'can I make this?' This way of thinking has literarily totally changed my life. Instead of thinking of buying immediately, I start by thinking of I can make something first. Sometimes, I would try to think of ways to get around with it. Instead of throwing away a pair of broken jeans, maybe I can cut it and turn it into a shopping bag? This wonderful T shirt which got lovely pattern, maybe I can turn it into dishcloth? cushion? carpet if I got many of these and weave them together?

Then it got me to realise how much I hate working in an office like a working bee, soon after we got the global financial crisis confirmed that we are indeed disposable working bees. Then I said, 'feck that and I have to have control of my life instead of someone dispose of me one day like a garage because they have lost certain billions by bad decision'. (The truth that I understand by working in a corporate is that, you are not a human but a figure, if they need to cut cost and layoff 300 people, then they close their eyes and pick 300 people. They won't care if you have a dying mother, a baby to feed or whatever life situation you are in, coz you don't have a life in the corporate world, you are a number.) So it got me into an escape path to self-employed. I am sure being self-employed have a lot of tough side, but at least I got my own schedule, I work when I need to, not to stare at the screen to pretend I am busy when there is nothing to do and at the end of it, I got the last bit of dignity to know when I will be starving instead of someone dispose of me.

Then I came across this blog. And finally I got into this...





The man and I have been havesting the ever growing butterhead salad. As you can see in the photos, there are herbs, beans and peas growing strong. Here you got the tomatoes, pepper, rockets, more herbs. Larmlarm the King seems to be enjoying the veggie garden very much, maybe it is in their instinct to love the big nature.



Our first ever homegrown dinner.



No, not the potato, we didn't grow them, we will one day though...



Here it is, butterhead salad with baby leaves, potato salad with parsley and omelette with chives.


Link

And you knew what I was going to say, homegrown veggie taste so much better.

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