Photo: Fiona in a bee suit with smoker
My name is Fiona Nevile. I want to share our journey towards our goal of partial self sufficiency. It is such a satisfying, old fashioned endeavour, that provides moments of glowing pride alongside the occasional smelly disaster.
I started this blog after we decided to invest in our future. Retirement looms in a few years time. Before I fell ill I often worked in houses where people had recently retired. Usually they were testing the water. They had plans that they had dreamt about and tweaked for years:
- Raising a few chickens
- A small vegetable patch
- Bees
- Homemade wine and liqueurs
- And the individual extras which could include stock car racing, dabbling on the Stock Exchange, breeding terrapins, planning the trip of a lifetime and dreaming about a lottery win that would finance the lot.
Watching from the sidelines, I realised that often the first four of these interests can take years to get up and running. So I decided to start early. These activities are so satisfying that within months I was peering over the parapet. Why not cure and smoke our own bacon and make salami? How about making sausages and homemade butter? And where could we find food for free?
Six years later we are investing in now as well as our future retirement.
Why just plan for the future? Investing in now can be a bumpy ride but generally we’ve found that it’s fun and our quality of life is so much better than before. Each week our horizons expand.
This website charts our journey towards deluxe self sufficiency and beyond. Our aim is to live like kings on the lowest possible budget. Visit our new forum for inspiration and ideas from our readers.
My articles have appeared online in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Chicago Sun Times and many other publications. Use the ‘contact us’ tab to speak to me. Writing commissions are always welcome.
Some people like to visit us here at the Cottage Smallholder.
Because I have been ill and unable to work since July 09 we decided to host advertising on the Cottage Smallholder site from December 09. Click here for more details.
a brief potted history of Fiona’s career, which has ended up in our attempt at partial self-sufficiency.
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FD
Thank you for a wonderful site. I have bookmarked a fair few of your recipes to try and will let you know how I get on. I’m especially excited about the marzipan! I am also making your quick Chritmas Cake.
I’m truly aspiring to your way of life, but walking out the front door has a way of bringing me back down to earth with a bang! I live in a terraced street in Liverpool…however your Christmas cake will be enjoyed by the Mother in Law in Ely and my Mum in London!
Thanks again for the great site…am off now to find out how to make gin! I can always forage when visiting the in-laws! Mmmm…
Hi Rob
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to leave such a heartening comment. Delighted that you are enjoying the blog.
John Seymour’s book is a joy! Best check that they haven’t already discovered the tome as it is the number one self sufficiency book.
Hi Fiona,
I just wanted to leave a note to say I’ve spent most of the weekend browsing through your site since discovering it on Saturday morning (I can’t quite remember how!) – thank you for providing such an entertaining and well written blog; and thank you also for giving me a number of christmas present ideas for my parents, who are very into self-sufficiency – John Seymour sounds like the bible they’ve been looking for!
I’ll be back often – your recipes look fantastic, too!
Thanks again,
Rob
Hi Martyn,
Thank you. Much appreciated!
Your excellent site is going around the world…
http://martyn-dormer.livejournal.com/friends
Thanks for getting back so quickly – I can relax and enjoy another “sample taste” this evening.
I also put almond essence in a couple of bottles, tried it for the first time yesterday – definitely worth doing!
Hi Catherine,
Don’t panic there are tiny amounts of cyanide in fruit stones and apple pips etc. The amounts are so infinitesimal they will not effect you.
However. The Romans used fruit kernels to kill enemies. You need an enormous amount and they were cleaver in the way they processed them.
Lots of people add almond essence to their sloe gin. We always do.
Hi again, I have just (I know – prematurely) started to sample this years sloe gin. I have to say it tastes wonderful already so I’m not sure how much will get to mature fully! However, it has a very pleasant almond scent which I have been told could be cyanide from the stones…..should I be woried of can I just go ahead and enjoy. As a first time sloe gin maker I’m not sure what is normal.
Thanks
Catherine
Hi Marion,
Delighted that you are enjoying the site.
Farming and cheese making – what a wonderful combination. Cheese making is something that I’d really like to get into one day.
Thanks for leaving a comment.
Love your site! It’s full of ideas. I just have to be carefull that I don’t get carried away and forget about my work (farming/cheesemaking).
The comment above about being covered in jam and no dinner on the table sounds very familiar to me, luckily my husband eats jam too :).