Skills I would like to learn.

I posted last week about the progress Chris and I feel we've made on the road to self-sufficiency. We are always learning, and yet there are so many skills we both still want to learn. We've only just begun our journey along this particular path, to be sure.

When Everett at Living a Simple Life posted the other day a list of things he wished he could do, and then tagged me as one of the bloggers he invited to do the same, I thought why not? It would be fun to make my own list of skills I'd like to learn or improve upon, either now or some time in the future.

To begin, I really need to improve my skills in gardening. My vegetable garden was mostly a failure this year, so I guess I could say I have no skill at all in this area yet. Next year though, I'm going to try something slightly easier and try growing herbs in our small backyard--for both medicinal and culinary use.

Which brings me to my next point--I want to learn a lot more about herbs and their uses. I've been fascinated by herbs since I was a girl and always wanted a pungently scented herb garden of my own, but for some reason I never got around to it. I would even like to learn how to create my own herbal salves, teas and tinctures.

Although I have done some simple canning this year, I know very little about food preservation and I would love to learn more and do more. Someday, I want to learn how to create a real root cellar.

I do have basic breakmaking skills, but I have yet to try my hand at sourdough and I've been meaning to for so long.

I want to learn how to raise chickens and goats, but these are things I can't try for now, being in the city.

I believe that a family being able to create their own entertainment is a valuable self-sufficiency skill. With this in mind, I really want to brush up my musical skills. I used to be proficient at the piano many years ago, but no more. And I have a violin in my upstairs closet that has been gathering dust for years too.

My sewing skills are still fairly weak, I need to learn so much more. Particularly, I am very interested in quilting and I hope to start my first project very soon (just gathering the scraps needed!).

I see so many bloggers posting pictures of knitted hats or mittens they apparently whipped up in no time...I don't know how they do it because I am all thumbs when it comes to knitting and the patterns look like ancient Greek to me. I'm sure if I stick at it though I'll figure it out eventually.

I used to draw constantly--in fact, my husband and I met in highschool art class. I'd love to get back into sketching and perhaps even improve on my previous skills. What would really thrill me, is to make my own gardening journals and draw in my own illustrations of the different herbs I've grown. Yes, I know, I'm geeky. :)

I have also been interested in soap making and candle making for some time. I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to those or not! There just aren't enough hours in a day...

One last thing--I'd love to be able to identify more wild plants, and especially to identify edible plants. In general, I'd like to learn some basic wilderness survival skills since I know virtually nothing along those lines at the moment, and hey, you never know...   I think this upcoming winter will be a good one for me to do a lot of reading, and work on what skills I may. Looking over the list, I have so much still to learn...it makes me happy to think about it, because I know that whatever happens in my life, I will never be bored.

Dear readers, please leave a comment telling me what skills you would like to learn, or better yet, post a list on your blog. :)

Comments

[citysister]

It sounds like a lot of the things I want/need to work on myself.

[Leigh]

Hi Laura Jeanne. I wanted to return the visit and thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. You have so many things on your list that I should have included on mine. It seems that there is always something new to learn and master, no matter the subject matter. I can tell you though, that I learn more from my mistakes than from books. I had a lot of gardening failures this year too, but those will help me do better next year. I really like your blog and am subscribing to you too!

[anita kaiser]

Love your list Laura. We have so many things in common - I had no idea (although a small inkling has been growing since reading the blog!). My main thing I'd like to be better at is being able to figure out which plants are edible...........the wild foraging is such an amazing thing.

[Liz]

Those are all things on my list of skills to master -- except I haven't mastered bread making yet -- which is what I'm focusing on trying to teach myself right now, so far without much success. I think the main thing I would like to learn though is how to manage to do it all . . . but what I have learned in the last few years is just pick one thing, do things one step at a time and have patience. My problem is I make a list like that and what to know how to do everything on it by next week. But the process of having a baby (how long that takes, and what an amazing payoff it is -- and then the continual long process that goes too fast after the munchkin arrives) taught me to slow down and trust in longer processes.

[viggie]

Excellent list! I've either been doing for the last year or am already working on learning all of these skills (well except sketching)

[Lani]

Found your site through Living a Simple Life. Excellent list! Look forward to keeping up with your blog.

[Abbie]

I do not have the crafting skills to even attempt most of what is on your list. Gardening is absolutely a skill I work on and learn more about constantly.
And this may sound weird but mothering is on my list of things to learn more about. It just doesn't come naturally to me. I want to learn patience, how to have energy on 3 hours of sleep, how to keep things out of the mouth of my baby while also playing pretend with tiny doll house pieces, and how to not snap at my girls for nothing when my patience has worn too thin.
For wild edibles you should check out Sam Thayer. I have attended several workshops of his. His writing style is great and the books are SO helpful!

[Laura Jeanne]

Abbie, I don't think mothering comes naturally to anyone! I for one am working on my patience all the time, too...

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm off to Google him. :)

[renee @ FIMBY]

If you find a few more hours in your day you might enjoy my soap making resources here:
http://fimby.tougas.net/homemade-soap-body

Found you from Plain and Joyful Living.

[Emily Holzer]

I enjoyed looking at your list. I used to keep a list that looked a lot like yours when I was a teenager. There are always things we dream of knowing and always things we know but can improve upon.
In all my dreaming, I have found that the way to learn things is to choose one and focus. I know it's oh so hard to choose, but of course there are some helpful restraints and opportunities. For example, don't do too much thinking about gardening right now, because you can't act on your impulses until spring. Let those crafts that call to you in these cold months find a home. Also keep open to the opportunities, like a friend or neighbor or family member who can teach you or do a project with you. My sister and I made a quilt for our other sister as a graduation gift. I asked my Aunt for a croqueting lesson and some materials for Christmas one year. I canned with a friend and then split the produce.
I have a hard time committing to learning something new. I get ten books from the library, all about crafts I don't know, and think I can just look at them and do them all. Sometimes lots of books can be hindering. Find one really good instructive one and follow it's directions all the way through (for example canning). Once you do it one way, you can then look at other materials and understand how it's different, for better or for worse.
Restrict your self to one craft/project at a time and just dive in! Good luck in all your projects!