It's The End Of The World As We Know It...

Let’s get a few things straight right off the bat!

First, I don’t actually believe this is the End Times, biblical or otherwise. This is not the apocalypse. But it is scary as hell to be living in a world ravaged by an invisible threat, one that moves as easily as we breathe.
Second, even before the crisis caused by COVID-19, concern has been growing for, well, fifty years that we are living in a way that is unsustainable to the planet on the whole.
We are living in a pivotal point in history, one that will likely define humanity beyond our own lifetimes. The way the world looks in a hundred years hinges on the decisions we make today.
Third, I am going to endeavour to be as empowering as humanly possible. Knowing how to do things is the single fastest way to grow confidence and, for people like me, to decrease anxiety about living in such an uncertain world.

I’m doing this as much for myself as for anyone else.

The odd part is that I’ve had the idea for over over five years to write a non-fiction book of practical things people don’t often know how to do themselves that make them more self-sufficient or independent of powered technologies.
It began as an idea for a book of knitting patterns that could all be done on a limited number of sets of needles, but it took on a life of its own as I realized how many lost or mostly-forgotten skills would come in handy, how people who had ‘niche’ practical skills, tradespeople, and members of groups like the Society for Creative Anachronism would be some of the most useful people on the planet in the case of complete social breakdown (and a lack of grid-electricity).

Some skills are common (like gardening), some a little more niche (like making your own cheese), and some are skills I’m sure a lot more of us WISH we had than actually do (bicycle maintenance is looking mighty useful…) but they are all amazingly fun or useful skills to have.
I kept putting off working on this because it requires a lot of research to do something that research-heavy for someone as perfectionistic as me. I also kept putting it off until I felt better. Until after I wrote *that other particular* book. Until next year when I could give it the time and space it deserved. Because, as much as it was always a bit of a joke of a title, it has always been a idea I truly believe in.
And, although everyone and their cat is probably starting a blog this week, it felt like the right thing for me to do, mostly to keep my own anxiety in check while distracting myself by trying to be helpful.

Stay tuned as I delve into things that are fun to know how to do! Some, you may already know how to do. Some may be entirely new to you. Some will be dead simple for a lot of people. Some will… not. But hopefully, they will all be empowering in a time when so many of us feel powerless.
I spent today ringing in the Vernal Equinox by setting up my BRAND NEW garden nursery, planting bulbs that did not get planted last fall (whoops!), and starting all my nightshade seeds (praying that I can plant them on the May long weekend), which I’ll talk about more tomorrow!

If there is anyone out there who has a REQUEST for something I could cover, or who would like to contribute/guest-blog, etc, I would LOVELOVELOVE to collaborate or see what I can do to cover certain topics!

If we have to face an apocalypse, we might as well do it in style!
~ mer