Holding Patterns and More Plans

We are still in a holding pattern, waiting for the closing on our new home with the growing season slipping away one warm day at a time. I'm disappointed, but there's no point in dwelling on my frustration. So I've turned my attention to reading books, blogs, magazines, and anything else I can get my hands on and working my plans down to finer and finer details.

In place of the progress reports I had hoped to have to share by now, I've decided to share my thoughts on some of the things I'm reading and how they are shaping my path even before I take the first step. So a few times a week, I'll be posting about something I've read that has given me pause, added a new idea to my homesteading plans, or brought my attention to a previously unnoticed facet of the issues that set me on this path.

One thing that has been taking shape in my mind even longer than the idea of personal self-sufficiency is shopping locally. The economy in Michigan has been struggling well before the recent housing and credit crises pushed the issue into the national spotlight, and I've long felt that buying from local business whenever I can is one way to show support for the people around me and the community I am a part of. It is extremely gratifying to see more and more people latching on to the idea of supporting local business, and in keeping with that I'm also going to be sharing some of the baby steps we've taken and some of the businesses we're supporting as we shift a growing percentage of our money away from the "big boxes" in favor of spending locally.

In this vein, I'd like to link a flyer I came across on another Michigan locavore blog, One Acre Farm, highlighting businesses and products made in our great state and the impact buying local can have on our troubled economy. It is far from all inclusive, but it is an excellent starting point and illustrates the remarkable diversity that can be found right here at home.