Why we're here.

I am widely known among family and friends as a chronic blog-creator entirely lacking in motivation to perpetuate content production and maintenance of said blogs. I kid you not, I've probably had two or three dozen blogs in my lifetime, none of which have come into fruition. I feel a pretty massive sense of obligation to have a blog or regular writing outlet of some sort, as a self- and university-proclaimed professional writer and English nerd. I put a lot of pressure on myself to write often and about meaningful things, but like I said before, that never really happens. My blogs always become unfocused and neglected, and then I beat myself up over it and give up a short time later.

It wasn't until I really found myself in a niche that I could think of countless potential posts of informative and/or humorous nature truly deserving of their own blog. (Well, there's that, and I worry that my Instagram friends are kind of tired of all of my chicken and mycology pictures, so I began exploring other outlets for those. Congratulations; you've found yourself in that location.)

Anyway, in May of this year I quit my job as an English instructor at a local college and finally felt OK about acknowledging that maybe I'm just not cut out for a 9-5. My dear husband has never put pressure on me to work, and even encourages me to stay home where he knows my anxieties are at a minimum and where I can do all the things I love the most. Up until recently, I felt an incredible sense of guilt over not having a paying job because, yeah, I am like over my eyeballs in student load debt, am capable, skilled, healthy, out of school, and ambitious, so I oblige myself to work for pay--except that I inevitably become miserable in whatever employment setting I find myself in. I don't just mean miserable though, but depressed, uncomfortable, lost-feeling, self-conscious, and then lethargic and useless when I come home. It's not a pretty sight. I can't hang, and I'm not afraid to admit it. 

Of course I know how incredibly fortunate I am to not have to suck it up, go out, and work for someone. But growing up in a family of women who have always worked full-time jobs, sometimes I feel like there's something wrong with me because I don't crave a career. Except, there's not a thing wrong with me. I just have different priorities and a different way of reaching my goals, and this is not to say that I'm not capable of working extremely hard. I simply prefer to work extremely hard for my family, and not for anyone else. 

If I can't afford something, I don't go work for someone to make the money to buy it. Instead, with my own two hands, I simply try to make, scavenge, or fix whatever it is I'm in need of. If I can't make it, find it, or purchase it within my means, I know then that I likely do not need it. It's pretty simple. 

One of the primary intentions of this blog is not to prove, per se, that one can absolutely provide for his/her family without going out and working for someone else, but to illustrate it for you day-to-day. The idea of "providing" isn't limited to bringing home the money necessary to pay for the things that keep your family going. "Providing" means just that: providing your family the things it needs to be healthy, happy, and protected, regardless of the whole money thing. 

I'll go one step further to explain that "self-sufficiency" (which is what my husband and I aspire for, relatively speaking) is the absolute antithesis of relying on someone else's services and money for your own livelihood. It can be damn-near impossible to create a self-sustaining system at your dwelling when everybody that lives there is out in the world making lots of money and providing services for somebody else.

What I have found that many people fail to do is look right in front of them, in their own yards for example, to find wonderfully wholesome, natural, things that can help give themselves and their families a good, happy life. Your food and drink is out there. Your medicine is out there. Your fuel is out there. Your building materials are out there. So is your entertainment, and possibly even some transportation! What more does anyone need?

Through the Captain & Rosemary blog, I plan to share with you all of my findings, experiences, research, and know-how pertaining to the creation of a simpler and more self-sufficient lifestyle, specifically here in the Deep South. 

Topics of discussion shall include, but are not limited to:

• Raising backyard chickens for eggs, meat (eventually), and entertainment (inevitably)
• Seasonal flower and vegetable gardening (most pertinent for plant hardiness zones 7 & 8)
• Amateur mycology (the study of fungi/mushrooms); edibles & inedibles  
• Foraging; all the easily overlooked tasty bits that can be found as soon as you step out of your front door, and all the way down your favorite walking trails
• Home improvement projects
• Canning
• Sewing & crochet
• Arts & crafts
• Bargain hunting

I hope you find C&R informative, inspiring and, if nothing else, humorous. If you have any suggestions for content or blog development, please don't hesitate to send feedback via comments or email. Please remember that Captain & Rosemary fosters open-mindedness, and don't forget that this weirdness is just my way of doing things. I am of the belief that what I'm doing here isn't hurting anyone else, so that's reason enough to be respectful, right!?

Please be patient as I continue to improve and add fresh content to the site. We're only just getting started, after all!

Thanks for visiting.
Much love,
Cara