Feeling Empowered

I just finished Old Fashioned on Purpose by Jill Winger. I love this book! I love that she talks about old fashion habits, routines, and ways of living that can slow down life and make it more satisfying. As I was reading it, I decided to follow her advice about my garden. I had been planning to try to find a way to put part of it in the back yard and some in the front yard because I thought it would be weird to have my front yard covered in fruits and vegetables. She suggested that people living in neighborhoods could tear out their grass and just make it a garden. I don't have an HOA, so this is actually a possibility for me. I have already started to ready the front yard for this. When my neighbor asked what I was doing in the yard, I told him my plans. He seemed to actually like the idea. I can't wait to get this idea really going!

I am also going to work on cultivate a community. In the book, she talks about ways to do this. I have wanted to host dinners more often (I haven't done it since my friend who did it a lot moved). I think I can do it on a small scale periodically. I am currently thinking maybe I'll see if I can get something put together for Memorial Day. I have also been talking about putting together a knitting/crocheting circle for a few years. I even had a plan almost in place with someone at church. We just didn't have a place to do it because my dogs are crazy and she was living with her parents. Now, I know I can reserve a room at the library. (I don't know why I didn't know this sooner. Sean literally did it with his D&D club the summer after he graduated.) I don't know how to recruit people for it, but I want to get it done. 

In the final chapter, she makes the point that if you are considering to doing something, think about it instinctively. When you think about it, do you really hate the idea of doing it or are you just scared because it is something new? I have been considering learning to fix sewing machines and starting a business from my home doing that. I know there is a market for it in my area because the only shop I know of in town has closed. That means people need to either learn how to do it themselves, or they have to drive at least 30 minutes to have it done. I have been diagnosing and fixing mine and Noels machines for a while and have gotten fairly good at cleaning and oiling them as needed. I would love to learn more and really be able to fix machines. Making some money on the side would be an added bonus. I just need to find the classes to learn it which I know can be found online.