It must be hard work?

A lovely quote ( a tweet actually) from a kind lady I follow has got me thinking. In response to me mentioning we are bee-keepers she put the following OMG! How wonderful. I did go and read your profile and most intriguing too. What a wonderful life. Hard work I am sure x

Its a common myth I think that growing your own is 'hard work' ditto bees and chickens. Yes there are some Saturdays of hard digging but that's preferable to an hour 3 times a week on a treadmill in a gym and the fresh air is nicer, frankly. There is always something to do certainly but we thrive on that, as well as the plot, bees and chickens there is baking and processing of harvests to do plus crafts, sewing and knitting to keep me entertained personally. My knitting has gone up a level since I went to the downsizer fibre weekend and I can now knit a sock so I'm looking forward to dark winter evenings when its nice to snuggle up and make something. Its all a learning curve which is what drives me and keeps me wanting to live like this. But its not hard work, not as I see it.

In some ways I often feel I'm being lazy because I don't work outside the home so 1) I don't earn and 2) can have 'days off' if I choose. The flexibility is in part because there is rarely something that has to be done right this minute. I ought to have scythed the plot paths this week but I'm stuck at home with a shocking cold and have had eldest laid at home with it as well. The paths will wait. I've finished off the ends of 2 knitted dishcloths and a scarf and completed knitting a second scarf instead so not idle as such but rested and hopefully feeling better soon.

Looking at the other part of the quote; I was flattered and sometimes its a good wake-up call to be seen from outside - we are sometimes too busy being 'us' to look outside to see how others see things or worse imagine that others see us one way when that's not how we're seen at all.

I suppose the other important aspect is the multidimensional aspect of being Me! I can't be defined in one word ( I'm taking that as a good thing but I can see from others perspective that it might not be seen as such - it does add a layer of complication to introductions) and I'm going to try and list it all here - I'm a mum, wife, daughter, sister, friend, relation, OU student, allotmenteer, bee-keeper, chicken keeper, Downsizer, druid, blogger/writer, pilates 'student', passionate about doing our bit for the environment and Oxfam volunteer. I also love cooking, baking and preserving, sewing, knitting and other crafts ( note often given to self; You Do Not Need Another Hobby) I like country walks and photography, roaring log fires and jigsaw puzzles. I read lots of magazines and can't resist books in general. I love all sorts of music and am fond of my ipod which has an eclectic mix of stuff on there. I can 'present' and am the announcer at the school fete and would like to develop that part of me - shall we do podcasts do you think?. I'm quite techy and am in to social media like Twitter and Blip.fm and am interested in the development of web2.0 I love learning new stuff, am open-minded and will join in with your enthusiasm for what ever you're in to. I would never wish to just be defined by my 'job', I always wish to be and importantly do more than that -don't you?

It comes back I suppose to my concept of Authentic living; its about being a multidimensional human not just some cog in a giant wheel that is not of our own making. Retaining control and enthusiasm for living, learning and evolving. A free range mum not a battery 'something' or other. I'm not saying its right for everyone but I get deep satisfaction about all that we do from having toasted homemade bread with our honey on it, to making a meal out of homegrown ingredients to being able to avoid the supermarket to making my own socks. Its not hard work to feel satisfied with life and all that we achieve. (coming home from work via the supermarket to a readymeal in front of the telly; now that is hard work to me)

So it is a fascinating life and I'm so pleased to be living it :-) !