During my stay here at The Ranch, I had a bit of a problem to deal with. The dryer had gone out. I had arranged for a visit by the local repairman (Sears seems to be the one in the area). Sure enough, the heating element was gone and it has not been upgraded like many other parts (I suspected the heating element, but after watching some Tube of You videos, suddenly there were a lot more possibilities).
The part was ordered. Sure enough, it was a three day turnaround which might get here but turned out to be a 7 day turnaround (so after the part arrives, I will ask Uisdean Ruadh to open the house up and then lock it back down). Which meant I had a week's worth of laundry that needed doing before I left
Enter the wood stove.
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| T-shirts and socks on ironing board; skivvies (not pictured) on hearth |
It is not an ideal system of course; things will take a while to dry and likely will be drying until tomorrow. But it was a ready solution to a problem.
Which got me to thinking about something like the wood stove.
It has a multitude of uses. It heats the house of course - well, mostly the living room and the office and to a lesser extent, the dining room and the kitchen (bedrooms, you are out of luck). And I use it to heat water when I am here for tea (ideally if I had a french press, for coffee as well). When the power went out last year, I used it to make dinner (noodles) and used it just for fun while I was here to make ramen. And now, I have found another (albeit not completely ideal) use.
It represents independence, the ability to make do for one's self. As long as there is the stove and a supply of wood (and an occasional chimney sweep), one is not dependent on the larger system for several things.
The drier is a great convenience of course, and I do love the way clothes feel coming straight out of it. And so is the central heating that we have here. But I can make do (at least during my visits) without both).
A useful thing, that wood stove. But more useful still for what it represents.
It is freedom.
It is freedom from a lot of things. Freedom from dependence on the power grid. Freedom from dependence on the company that runs the power grid and the governments (local, state, federal) that are somehow involved with overseeing the power grid. Freedom from fear in the event of a power failure. Freedom from freezing at night. Freedom from being unable to cook anything.
Freedom to roast a marshmallow if I desired as well, I suppose.
It strikes that this freedom, this lack of dependence, is what Our Political And Social Betters (OPASB) hate. They hate the idea that people can live their lives without oversight. They hate the fact that people can provide for themselves instead of relying on the social constructs, companies, and government. They especially hate the fact that those who do such things are not "leaning in" to the idea of centralization but are "leaning out" - sometimes as quickly as they can.
Perhaps, someday, someone will make a flag for the independent lifestyle. Might I suggest we plant a wood stove in the middle of that? It is a symbol of both independence and independent living.
I like the idea of a flag representing the independent lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteYour post reminds me of something I did years and years agoThe weather was bad and I couldn't get to the laundromat, so I washed the essential items in the bathtub. I wrung them out and pinned all of our socks to the blades of a ceiling fan and turned it on. It helped!
That sounds brilliant Leigh (I like the mental image of socks flapping in the breeze).
DeleteIf I were smarter or more artistic, I would come up with one. But I do not wonder if a non-political symbol of the independent lifestyle is an idea whose time has come.
I'm all for non-political, but suspect there are folks out there who would take issue and politicize it anyway. Just because of the belief that "everything's about politics."
DeleteIn my years of homestead blogging, I've been distinctly disinterested in politics, yet rudely criticized for using words like "self-sufficient" and "Independence." I reckon they think it's political because they don't know how to see the world any other way.
Leigh, it is sad that words like "self-sufficient" and "independent" have come to acquire such associations. It is somewhat interesting, in that I am sure there are many folks on the "other side of the aisle" that believe in those same things. It would be nice if the all of us could get together and set politics aside.
DeleteBut yes - our society is now set up to view everything in a political cast - either you are "with" or "against" me based on my own set of beliefs. It is not promising.
A flag eh? Some folks already use a flag TB, the Gadsden flag. However, use of that might end with you on a government watch list with the current state of affairs.......:) Always wanted a wood stove but the expense...... The home is heated by a boiler with slant fin baseboard radiators and the laundry room has them along one wall. There are clotheslines, about 14 feet long each, hung to dry the laundry. Good use of an available item to dry out washed laundry, there are collapsible drying racks also.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - I would say my version of the flag is less "offensive" to some than the Gasden flag, but giving the fact that wood burning is also frowned up, I do not wonder if it will eventually be there too.
DeleteWood stoves can be expensive - especially if you do not have a ready supply of wood. Sounds like you have made the best of your situation.
You need one of those contraptions that every Amish house has in the area for drying clothes in the winter time next to the wood store. It has a multitude of wooden dowel arms that flip up and array in a circle to allow air to reach all sides of the clothes. I'm guessing it would cut drying time to hours versus all day.
ReplyDeleteMany of my peers freak out when weather like this is coming that has a real possibility of causing snow laden trees to take out power lines for extended periods of time. They talk about the hardship it will be. I on the other hand look forward to lighting a fire and spending the day reading and cooking on my (horrendous and should be banned) gas cooktop.
Ed, I actually thought of that after the fact, but a drying rack would not be a bad idea here.
DeleteIt strikes me as odd that your peers react that way. I assume most of them have lived in your locale for some years and know this is a possibility. Why not prepare and make the most of it?
I assume most of their fear is that they will be bored because there will be no electricity to power their television or smart device. Very few people have hobbies that don't require electricity these days.
DeleteThat is a pretty astute observation Ed - either their hobbies involve a television, smart device, or computer, or they have to go somewhere outside of the home or local area (and by local, I mean walking) to perform said activity.
DeleteI have one of the clothes drying racks that Ed mentions. Came in quite handy when our dryer went out. If you shake the clothes to mimic the wind, that will help with the roughness some.
ReplyDeleteI would enjoy a wood stove, but not possible in our "new home".
Safe trip when you go, TB.
You all be safe and God bless.
Linda, it just sounds like a good back up idea.
DeleteMy grandparents had a wood stove in their trailer, but that was years ago and perhaps codes have changed.
It's a sad thought when something we "Own" has limits on how we use it.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting posting at Rural Revolution:
http://www.rural-revolution.com/2024/01/silent-depression.html
Many truths here.
It is, Michael. It is sadder to me that people would actively push us into a less independent lifestyle because it makes "them" feel better.
DeleteI did indeed see that article. Lots of truth there.
"Makes them feel better"?
DeleteIt's about CONTROL. Independent people are a threat to "Our Democracy".
As for the silent depression the "Impressive Job Report" of last Friday was already revised with over a 50% reduction of jobs "Created". So far this is the 5th quarterly Jobs Report that that revision has quietly been done a week or so later.
So Soviet of them:
“We know that they are lying, they know that they are lying, they even know that we know they are lying, we also know that they know we know they are lying too, they of course know that we certainly know they know we know they are lying too as well, but they are still lying. In our country, the lie has become not just moral category, but the pillar industry of this country.”
― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Ah, but many of them will not say that word Michael. They simply "feel better" that people are being managed appropriately - not them of course, other people.
Delete