Why Do You Do It?

Today's Weather	To Do List	View From My Window
Sunny	Nothing Special

Today's blog is  more of a refresher for myself than anything else, but first of all, a little something for SFT. You asked if I had any veggie recipes ideas and I said, not really. Ha ha, sorry about that but I don't concentrate on what I'm making. I tend to live in the moment. I really should start putting together a recipe book to pass on to my daughter but she usually gets the same reply when she asks about my cooking.
"How much of this or that do I put in Mum?"
"I can't remember. Put in whatever you like, it will be okay"

Anyway, here's a veggie dish I made this evening after I discovered broccoli in the Coop for 19p.

Slice potatoes and red onion and par boil.

Cut the broccoli, pour on boiling water from the kettle and leave it to blanch until the potatoes are ready

In another pan, mix some milk, grated cheddar, a clove of garlic, a handful of Parmesan and a knob of butter

When the potatoes are ready drain them and the broccoli. Put the broccoli in a casserole dish, layer the potatoes on top, pour over the cheese sauce, sprinkle salt, pepper and chilli powder over the potatoes, add a couple of slices of fresh tomato and pop it in the oven for half an hour.

Okay, on to today's ramble. I was asked why I live the way that I live.
"I don't know"was my answer. So I pondered it again throughout the day. I still don't really know the answer.
Why not?
I enjoy it?
It's interesting?
It's a challenge?
God only knows?

In the past I have had all the trappings of a luxury lifestyle. Buy when I want to, go on holiday at the drop of a hat. Have a day off if I fancied it.
Did all that make me happy? Yes, of course it did
Do I miss it? Yes occasionally, but there is nothing stopping me from returning to that life style if I want to.

Why did I decide to live frugally and 'drop out'? I woke up one morning and decided to, that's why. I simply woke up and decided that I wanted to do it. I sold the business, sold my house, rented a property and threw myself into it. Or at least I thought I had thrown myself into it.
I had no real idea what I was getting into, I had no plan, no fixed term or agenda.The kids had left home years ago and were settled in their own lives, I was divorced, it was just me the dogs and the daily grind. I was bored.
Back then, the only knowledge I had of acorns was the the little pipes that my Grandad used to make for me and my brother by removing the acorn and tossing it over his shoulder, popping the stem in our mouths and getting us to say "oo arrr"

Once I started to get the hang of it, it was fun, but it still didn't feel like it was enough. I wasn't getting the full benefit. I still used to fill the car to the brim, spend on things that I didn't really need, go on holiday etc.
So I decided enough was enough and if I was to get anything out of this at all, I had to become destitute.
What I did was to let my money filter away to the point that I had to work hard to maintain the frugal lifestyle. I didn't move a muscle in the direction of paid work. I lived on what I had. But I was kidding myself, I wasn't living a frugal lifestyle, I was stupidly plunging myself into a world of misery.
It was a disaster. In fact it was such a disaster that I ended up being unemployed for the first time in my life.
After 7 months I found a job on fixed term appointment for 12 months. When it ended I was back on the unemployment line and after searching for a job for a few weeks, it dawned on me that I didn't want to return to the daily grind and I had actually enjoyed life prior to the fixed term job. So I didn't return. I signed off, went back to simple living and I have been here ever since.
This time, I had to do it properly. So far it's going well.
Now, I can go down to my last few pennies and it doesn't worry me in the slightest. When I get money from eBay, part time jobs, odd jobs etc, I pay my rent, put money on the gas and electric meters and make sure that the dogs are fed.

One year on I still have no agenda nor purpose. I have no mortgage to clear, I'm not saving up for anything, I'm not doing it as an experiment, I have no idea WHY I'm doing it. All I know is that I am enjoying life immensely. Will I ever return to my old life? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. At the moment I still have a lot to discover about my new life and since I started following everyone's blogs on here, I am learning all sorts of new and amazing things that I want to try, especially since I decided to throw myself into crafting.

I suppose I initially started out on this life style shortly after I got the dogs. I would spend hours every day walking with them and started taking notice of the changing seasons. I saw things like this and wondered if I could eat them or if I would die after doing so.

I started thinking about lost skills, things that I had been taught by my parents, grand parents and aunties; things that used to be everyday occurrences. I thought about how I had spent my life trying to build up enough savings to be a lady of leisure and how I could never achieve it because I everything I did work wise, was for other people and not myself.. If I stopped I wouldn't have an income, if I carried on I wouldn't be a lady of leisure. What the heck is a lady of leisure anyway.
Now, I know the answer.
I am.

When I sold up and rented, I met the lady who is now my best friend and we developed a bond like sisters. I watched her forage, and fill her yard with junk prior to remodelling it and selling on eBay. I stepped away as if I didn't know her when she stood at the till, with a queue a mile long behind us and bartered with the shop assistant. These days I do it myself.
I already knew about skip diving and a bit about foraging but she was at another level. She didn't need to do it, she just enjoyed it and it rubbed off on me. She, like many others, have full time jobs and live frugally because she enjoys it. How you all do that I don't know, I admire you for holding down a job and living frugally. It was all too much like extra work for me when I worked for a living. I couldn't find a balance.
I had to opt for one or the other and I went for frugal. I didn't realise how hard it would be and was even more surprised when I realised how satisfying it is.
Back at the start I thought I was doing it deliberately. It turned out that I did it through necessity, but now, even though I work a lot harder than I used to when i was employed, it doesn't feel like work. It has purpose, it has reward, it has meaning.

Why Do I Do It?

Because I love it.
I am finally a Lady of Leisure.
Leisure has nothing to do with laying on a beach in the sun. Leisure is freedom and the degree of freedom is a personal thing. I have found mine.

A longish post but I hope you enjoyed the read and didn't get too bored.
Take care

PS. Mum? I still have no idea what I can bring to the Tea Party :D I will get my thinking cap on