So that all the pecuniary outgoes, excepting for washing and mending, which for the most part were done out of the house, and their bills have not yet been received . . . were
House, $28 12 1/2
Farm one year, 14 72 1/2
Food eight months, 8 74
Clothing &c., eight months, 8 40 3/4
Oil, &c., eight months, 2 00
In all, $61 99 3/4
~~ From Walden by Henry David Thoreau
I realize that things will be different in the deep dark depths of December, but right now we are creating more energy than we use. A laptop surprisingly takes little energy, our kids are happy about this one. With LED and the compact florescent bulbs (and daylight hours), the power consumed by lighting is insignificant. Greg even uses power tools almost daily. The only quirk to our 1000 watt system is laundry. Last fall, Greg could no longer patch together our washer of 15 years. We ended up with an energy efficient model, which is still our highest wattage appliance. To do laundry we need a sunny day with everything else turned off and we do not generate enough electricity to run an electric drier. As of right now we are hanging clothes to dry. We are a family of four with different cleanliness standards than the days of Thoreau and he paid someone else to do his laundry. How would it be to have the means to pay someone to do all your drudgery so that you could spend time doing what you love? One of my weaknesses is getting too caught up in getting work done and not taking time to enjoy the moment. Living in the country is helping to teach me to take those moments. There are birds to watch, the little ones that chase the hawks away are my favorite... now I need to take time to learn all their names. The sky is so amazingly big with clouds that just hang there slowly forming pictures, a constant kaleidoscope. The sunsets are my moment. As a child I loved to watch the sun set. Our house in Logan didn't have a Western view, so having missed this daily routine for many years, it is the one moment I always make time for. Sunrise too is amazing as the world gradually blooms in color like the hand painting of a black and white photo. It is good to be living a type of Walden with Wife and Kids.
