Why a Mainer would survive this economic crisis

First of all they are tough. Why do I say this? Because it is a harsh unforgiving climate in this tundra of a wilderness and I have learned quite a lot in just living here a few years. I also say this while snow is flying outside my window and having to remember to feed the wood to my wood stove or I will pay for it later... I moved up here for many reasons as I have already mentioned and I really had no idea of what I was getting into when I did. I wanted to learn to be more of who I truly was-a writer and an artist. I also had a dreams of owning a farm in these very same foothills. I used to live in Southeastern Mass and would drive up to Quebec City and on the way would look out the window and wonder what it would be like to live in this area. It was just a dream many years ago and I never thought I would be living it-or even what it would really entail.

I grew up relatively sheltered and in a small neighborhood where I had to be in when the street lights went on. I loved it and sometimes even miss the familiarity of those streets lights that would comfort me to sleep. Though I never forgot the real reason why I came here. That is what keeps me going in really tough times.

I lived a normal suburban life and commuted to work like my parents on route 128 north towards Boston. Getting a cup of Joe at the many stops of D-Donuts on the way. Parking in a public lot, high heels clicking the security of the life I had grown familiar with. Keys in my hand in case of being mugged... I never knew how fragile that life really was.

My youngest daughter is special needs and the daycares had trouble with her. Being single mother-even when I was married (I had always been the one to maintain the home and bills-long story). I had to find a new daycare and what she truly needed-and that could work with her issues. I had to give my notice to my job in Quincy-a job that I loved. The local day care at the time cost $95 a day. I was a property claims examiner for an insurance company and loved the people that I worked with, though did not make that much money-plus I very rarely had any financial help from either husband (now both ex-husbands). It was a secure job. But like a lot of people-I had to solve the problem at home and find a new daycare-none would take her, so I had to leave work-Also, my home mortgage was originally fixed for four years and it had turned into a variable-I had to sell the house. Thus, after a search on the Internet-I found my home. I was really looking for stability. I took a look around the life I was leading and for the first time-saw how shaky that it really was. I wanted to find a way to provide stability for my daughters. It was not going to work in Massachusetts. There was so much in that state that was shaky and life was not going to hold out the way I was living it. We were living a life that had many things in it that could have easily been left out-but not there. I was sick of competing with neighbors who I did not really know-for the neatest yard and the most electronics. I wanted to live a life that I felt was worth living without worrying about the little things that never really meant much to begin with. I wrote a list of what the real priorities in life should be and what I needed to do to get there. The best place for that was in Maine. Not the way I knew life-but what it should be. With genuine values-and not what the neighbors thought....

I wrote a list of what I really wanted out of life. First thing was Stability. I made the decision to leave the state that I grew up in an head for totally unfamiliar surroundings in search of this stability. I knew that in Maine I would find it. I wanted to learn to live a more frugal life and to live off the land. I wanted to become self-sufficient. This was a major goal and I had no idea how to go about it!

Upon finding this farm, I had to learn how to start one (it had not been an active farm in over 40 years-I had been told)-or resurrect it. I also had to learn how to maintain it and to feed the girls and live a normal life on it as well. This was not as easy as it sounds.

I had learned in the process, from many people who grew up here-how to overcome anything and to make everything work. I had very little money to begin with-all had gone into a house and acres surrounding. I logged the land to provide money to fence some of the land for animals and learned how to make a chicken coop from boards left over-from neighbors.

My garden is huge and I have learned how to freeze most of the food and veggies to take out over the winter to make sauces out of them. While we had the chickens-we had fresh eggs. Some of my friends know how to live without any running water or electricity and to survive in this climate happily. I have learned a lot of tricks in survival and how to eat with a budget that would make most people faint. It is done and we eat well. I have free heat from the wood on my land and wood stove. I have shoveled feet of snow-sometimes weekly just to get my car out of the driveway.

I have tortured my girls and by taking away cable for a few months-this did not last long since it nearly killed me! I figure if I can use that to get them to do their chores-it is well worth it! I have also learned the pay the few extra dollars for TIVO-so they can record their programs-the animals cannot wait for it to be convenient for someone to take care of them. Since we have no lights in the barn-the chores need to be done before it gets dark. My girls help maintain this farm and are much better than I ever was at their age. I came home and plopped my books at the top of the stairs and parked myself on the sofa to watch MTV for hours on end! My girls get up early each day and help me to bring the sheep out in the fields, break the ice in the buckets left out each night-to get more water from the sink in the kitchen and haul it back out. They bring up fresh firewood for the day from the basement and take the dogs out. They help me with the chores in cleaning the house as well. We are a team in this house and I am very proud of them. I got rid of the Internet for years and have finally decided to go back on-mainly because I wanted to sell the hats from the farm on the net-since I have no time to sell them locally. I go on power-school and keep in touch with their teachers so I know what they have due in school and their recent grades.

They also help me with the wool. They are always around during the sheering time and help bag the wool. Together we skirt it (Separate the good from the bad wool) and wash it and hang it out to dry. Then we card it-that is the hardest to get them to do. Though I have compromised and let them do my share of the housework-so I can catch up on it (mainly with the spinning and carding of the wool and crocheting the hats and other items). They each can crochet and will be learning how to spin the wool hopefully this year. They are already experts at the drop spindle. As I mentioned, I am very proud of them.

Most of the people in my town have farms and this is nothing new. Most of the kids here have their work on school and then the work on the family farm. On my road alone, there are people who raise animals for meat-such as chickens, beef, and pork. The kids chores are to feed them.

We have also learned to go without often, since I live in an area where the pay is pretty scarce. I am thankful to have a day job-to support our life and farm and need the farm money for the little extras. We have very few bills-mostly utilities and property taxes, clothes and food that we can't grow on the farm.

I have learned many ways to take care of my farm, home and kids from people who grew up here that are very wise. It is important in Maine for kids to be kids. We let our kids roam in the wilderness out back and instead of street lights calling them in at night-they can wander as long as they hear my car horn. We have a lot of acreage out back. My girls are certainly explorers and always love to be outdoors. They are always coming back in with something they have found out in the woods. They have also learned to carry a small pocket-knife-just in case. There are many critters out there. They also have to take a dog with them in case they get lost. Sometimes the dogs have wandered off and have come back after trying to herd a skunk or porcupine! They still have not learned from those experiences and each year I wonder when the next adventure will be-when I have to pick out the quills from my poor puppies!

We have a fire pit out back and listen to the loons and coy dogs at night and other sounds that we have grown used to. The fields light up with lightning bugs and surround us with billions of glittering stars. Above us is another light display complete with the Milky Way (I have heard that Maine is one of the few places where is is always seen). It is amazing to even camp out in the back yard. We do live in Vacation land after all!!

We have learned how to get water from a brook and to boil it and to cook on a camp stove. I have learned how to eat well spending under $60 a week-with some of the food stored over winter to supplement. Our clothes are sturdy and are bought to last. I can wash clothes in a brook as well (I learned that camping) and have learned how to hang them to dry-there is actually an art to that-in hanging them so they won't wrinkle!

When I first moved up here I asked my Mom how to hang up clothes on the line and she did not know-she always had clothes dryers. I had to ask a neighbor! I hang them up in the center of my house and it serves as a free humidifier! Cuts costs on the electric bills drastically. I wanted to get an antique clothes washer-one that did not use electricity-though having three girls-put the reality out of that one! It would take a month to wash their weekly clothes! So, I settled for hanging them up in the yard-below freezing and in the house-in winter.

I have also dried a lot of herbs from the garden and put them on a pot of water on the wood stove-it smells wonderful and adds more moisture. It is very dry inland in the winter and I had never suffered such before moving here. I was always close to the ocean where there was some moisture in the air-up here it can be brutal if you are not used to it. Moisturizer is key. A co-worker had mentioned an old favorite here called "Corn-huskers" Lotion-there really is such a thing! I am using it daily-because most of the products out on the market are not designed for life in Maine!

The clothes too! My budget is Wal-Mart. I used to love designer labels and have grown a much different attitude living here. That it does not make much sense spending the money on something that would not last to a life on the farm. I have found new brands up here that have become useful like the classic LL Bean-most of that works since it is made in Maine. Also Carhart. I have found that men's clothes are much more durable to working on a farm and have actually stole my ex-husbands flannels for going out to the barn. Mine were cute and all-though very light and did not keep me warm. I am also trying to find a pair boot that will last and am still looking. I last purchased cute boots at a Mall in Quebec City-very pretty and not cheap. Well, after one winter on my farm and over eight feet of snow-hand shoveling most of the driveway myself-all winter--they did not last. Near the end of the season my cute little boots fell apart! The sole popped off and I had to borrow some scotch tape from work so I could drive home in them! I had to wear my clogs until the winter ended-not fun at all! This winter, I bought the nice pair of boots for work and the cheep pair from Wal-Mart for the barn. It seems to be working. Especially-since I do not have to scrape off my boots before going into work!!

I have learned to use minimal electricity and have florescent lights all around my house. I make sure the lights are off in other rooms because I love the electric bill being under $50 a month. Each year I learn many new things and each year I try to outdo myself in saving more and more money. I learned that with a wood stove-the wood might be free-being from my own property-but the electric bills became vulnerable. The wood stove only heats a main portion of my house leaving the outer rooms cold and naturally the kitchen and bathroom are two of those rooms-along with my bedroom. Those rooms froze. I went out-to purchase electric heaters to take care of that! When it is cold here-it is beyond frigid! I remember many nights cuddled up in my bed with twenty blankets with my daughter shivering-hating the cold! I would see my breath outside of the covers and slept with my thermals and even slippers sometimes! You could see the ice forming on the windows. Unfortunately-the cold does not make the brain work that efficiently-when you are that cold and when I hooked up the electric heaters in the kitchen, bathroom, basement-for the pipes not freezing, and the bedroom-it was warm temporarily-until I got the bill! I am still reeling at that one! My bill for November was $58 and then in December had jumped to $220! Ouch. We were warm certainly-but snuggly-no! So, naturally I cut down the usage to putting them on only when the temp was below 35 degrees. Which was pretty much most of the time, until-only at nights. When I got the bill in February- I nearly had a cardiac and put an immediate stop to all of the electric heaters and fans. You need fans to circulate the heat from the stove. I shut off the heater down in the basement. We are getting well over a foot of snow tonight and I will go out early in the morning to shovel out my car to go to work and try to bank snow around the house to keep the pipes from freezing as well. No more fans and heaters-only the stove! If it gets much colder-than we will all sleep in the living room by the wood stove! If the pipes freeze in the basement-then we will go outside and bring in buckets of snow to thaw by the wood stove to cook and bathe with! I will wait for them (the pipes) to thaw in the Spring if I have to! As you can see I am very stubborn and am trying to survive. I have learned many lessons and take pride in living off very little. We now have a gas stove-so we can cook if we lose electricity and it can keep that side of the house warm if needed. I also have many handmade quilts and blankets to keep us warm and am learning more card games from my daughters. We have kerosene lamps to read by and many many books.

I love trying to figure out more ways to save money and to live a content life and I have learned much from my neighbors and friends here. I know the best places to swim and had to problem getting rid of my swimming pool. We bought one up from Mass and it lasted a year. I have since learned the most beautiful places to swim where only the locals know about and are absolutely free and gorgeous to boot!

I have also learned about something neat here that everyone seems to know how to make- Coffee-Brandy. This is something they make from special recipes and is delicious and definitely only for adults-it can warm you up on a a cold winter night by the wood stove or by the camp fire on a chilly Maine evening. The recipe is a little different and I could get hurt if I told even one of them. But is is delicious! They pretty much all know how to make it here. I have never heard of it before moving here.

So, I think that most of the places that I have been around the world-and I have traveled-only the Mainer seems to have a grip on what really matters and how to survive off very little and to be content. That is the key-contentment. You can be poor and be absolutely miserable-or you can live a rich and meaningful life and know what really counts. People here get that. They know that in tough times-people need to be there for one another and I see it almost every day. I had never seen that before. I was surrounded by many people- and felt alone-not here though. If someone is down and something happened like a house burning down. The community would gather together and build a new house and find food and clothes for the family. A lot of people do not have house insurance and have lost everything. Most fires are caused by kerosene heaters-because if they do not have a wood stove-most cannot afford oil and have old heaters. A lot of people fix things and build their own houses and even put in the electrical systems themselves-this causes alot of fires in Maine-especially out here in the wilderness. The town would gather and help that family. I have seen this on many occasions.

We all are facing tough times because of the economy and tough times are not strange to life up here. They have grown accustomed to helping people out-often when they have little to give or spare themselves. They help because they know that someday-it might be them who might need it someday. I suppose this kind of attitude has been lost in the suburbs and cities where families are far apart. People know that my family is far away and have reached out to help me on occasion. People in Maine know what is important; family, friends and a life of happiness. To help others in need-because it might be you someday. To live off the land-because it is better for you and it gives you a wonderful pride knowing where the food on the table comes from. To let kids be kids-chores give them a pride as well in that they are helping the family and learn responsibility. Letting kids be kids-we laugh when our kids get dirty. We let our kids drive snowmobiles and four-wheelers (if you are lucky enough to have them) and to run out in the woods-as long as they bring a dog. We let them fish in the marshes out back and come back in so muddy they have to be hosed down. We let them climb on the farm animals and to take the dogs out on leashes to lead them out on their sleds down monster hills. We let them climb on the sheep until they are kicked off! We let them walk across the fences in the fields and to catch thousands of fireflies in glass jars.... They might come inside dirty and bruised from a long day of play-but they are content-tired and most of all-happy! They also might have a million patches on their jeans from how rugged they are-but they come home and cuddle with me by the wood stove or camp fire at night after a full belly from food grown mostly on our farm!

Most of the time I love this life and am rarely reminded of how frugal we live-until I leave this area. You can easily get lost in the cocoon of life in the mountains of western Maine-it seems to be separated from the rest of the world. The pace is slower here and when you go into town-you can guarantee that you will meet up with at least three people that you know-I have actually counted more and more the longer that I have been here. It is amazing! I can go into town totally sick-and I have just this Tuesday-in my pajamas to buy some medicine (I have found out that I am actually allergic to my wood stove and have had to stock up on sinus medicine). Naturally I bumped into two people who knew me and chuckled after they made fun of me in my sickened state. "Ayuh, think ya might jest be 'llergic ta that stove o' yours!" You think! Achoo!

I have not cared about dressing up since I don't have to even at work. The moral is so low-they let go of a lot of people recently and to cheer us up have let us wear jeans to work. It does help. A lot of my dress pants need thermals and the jeans are a little warmer.

Up here time is alot slower and there is no such thing as traffic. You keep your eyes glued to the news for the latest storms to know when to park your car at the end of the driveway and the make sure you have enough food for the house and animals in the barn. You go to work-look out for moose- and drive home- and look out for moose. You get home, take care of the farm and kids and wood-pretty simple. That is the way life should be. There are no angry people waiting in line-people are not in a rush here. You don't have to have a fancy house-no one cares-if you can even see your neighbors. Mowing the lawns-you can really get away without doing even that. My lwnmower kept breaking down and I had noticed that a neighbor down the road had some sheep tied on stakes and moved them about durng the week to different spots. That was how I purchased my first sheep. I didn't know how to fix my lawnmower! I also loved the idea that I did not have to rake my leaves. I have a monster yard. My parents decided to build a home up here and my father went out and purchased a John Deer to mow the lawn and to play farmer. I am fine without-the lawn mowed-I do have sheep-but it makes him happy! I think I am going to buy him a cowboy hat! He loves it when I call him when the sheep break out of the fences-because he will get on his four-wheeler and chase them all back into the barn! It is really funny and I have actually let them out on purpose when his favorite Wimbleton Tennis Tournament was on-to see what he would do-he forgot about the tennis and hopped on the four-wheeler and went in pursuit of those sheep-with a great big smile on his face! I definately think I will get him that hat!

Never boring in Cheddahville........