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
Hi Tammy
Thanks for leaving a comment. I reckon that it’s the bread that makes the meatballs so melt in the mouth.
Delighted that you enjoyed them!
just tried your pork meatball recipe, previous attempts at making meatballs not successful with the little critters being too dry and tasteless- my husband says they are delicious….
Hi Ancel
Thanks for leaving this comment. You have a beautiful site too. Loved reading about your adventures in Costa Rica!
beautiful site, great title. fun to read. wishing you well from a different climate, different garden, but same lessons and similar issues,
Hi Erica
I do hope that this recipe turns out well for you. I love it!
it is 17:46 on 17th april am just trying out your slow roasted belly pork has been in the oven for 5 mins!! ill let you know how it turns out!!
Erica
Hi Grace
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. So pleased that you are enjoying the site!
Hello, Fiona-
I stumbled across your site a few weeks ago, and have enjoyed reading it immensely! I do hope to try out some of the recipes- they sound delicious-especially the pork pies- haven’t had a decent one in years. I was born in England but moved across the pond as a child aeons ago. At times your posts make me wish I’d never left- although I had no choice in the matter at the time.
Thank you for a lovely site-
Grace
Hi Anne
Gosh, it’s a small world isn’t it!
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi there, found you over on http://casalba.wordpress.com/. What caught my eye was you mentioning Newmarket…I have a few friends there, and my mum lives in Exning.