Introduction

I guess it's only fair that if I decide to start blogging, I should introduce myself.  I'm Wes.  I live in Cincinnati, in one of the Hilltop Communities, a group of suburbs that occupy the hills above Cincinnati.  I live in the shadow of what was once a healthy, upper middle class suburb.  Now, we're a relatively intact group of majestic, decaying homes, like a group of old ladies, ragged from time and neglect, with their heads held high.  Like many twenty-somethings, I have a college degree, but it is of little use in a failing economy, though my field should theoretically be some of the most important work occurring right now.

I studied Historic Preservation, and Architectural History.  While it may seem to buildings what Anthropology is to Humans, hear me out.  Preservation is a "labor-intensive" process.  Anyone who has ever worked on an old house knows that.  However, they fail to see "labor-intensive" as a foil to "materials-intensive."  That simply means more money is spent on people rather than materials in old buildings, as opposed to more money going to materials with new construction.  This serves several purposes.  One:  A building that gets torn down usually goes into a landfill.  Well, it doesn't if you don't tear it down.  Two:  More skilled laborers are required to repair a building.  Sure, there may be some shrinkage in the materials supply industry, but that tends to offer lower wages than skilled labor anyway.  Three:  People like old buildings.  So many people say they don't like them, but they visit places like Boston, Salem, Savannah, Charleston, New Orleans, San Francisco, etc.  Why?  Because the buildings are prettier, the layouts more walkable, and there always seems to be a sense of community lacking in their cookie cutter suburban neighborhoods.  So...Heritage Tourism is always a big part of local economies in places like the aforementioned ones. 

I'm also sort of a jack-of-all trades.  Master of none, of course.  I think that gender roles are kind of stupid.  We're good at what we're good at.  I always sucked at sports, and I hate yardwork, but I'm a decent cook, a pretty damn good baker, and I know my way around a sewing machine.  That said, I still mow the yard (please don't ask me to rake), attempt small car and appliance repairs, wire and re-wire stuff.  I build things.  I do it all.  The theme of singleness will be a thread that gets woven through the fabric of my thoughts, because as many people realize, whether you are single or not, if you're the only person with the can-do mindset, you're still on your own.  I own my house, and even though I have a tenant and a housemate, I am still the "head of the household", and the "lady of the household" if you will.  I am the singular representative of my domestic sphere.  How about that?

I recently read a book entitled, "Radical Homemaking," that deals with people who have generally eschewed the confines of the traditional work environment, instead replacing it with time honored skills that use one's own labors to save money, and create a healthier sphere of living.  It is a way of life that builds community and brings people together, instead of dividing, and excluding them, or forcing them to retreat to an impersonal online community. (You know, like the one we're creating here)  I find that the more time people spend communicating via non face-to-face means, the more poorly people function in the "real world."  I think there can be a balance that both engages the world constructively and still value the retreat to the most comprehensive realm of information and communication known to mankind.

I want to plant a garden, and I want to can stuff.  I want a closer relationship to the world around me.  I grew up in the country, and my family lives on a farm (though they don't farm), but I finally see the value in a lifestyle that I was always eager to leave behind.  I think the reality was not that I didn't see any value in good morals, and a community of tightly knit, helpful people.  I just didn't see the value in the close-mindedness that often accompanies such places.  I'm still a social liberal.  I'm just a fiscal conservative.  That means I'll probably drag some politics in at times too.  Hey, it can't all be fun and games.

Anyway, up until this point in my life, I've never read more than an occasional blog, let alone created one.  But join me as we plan, plant, sow and harvest, ideas, livelihoods, gardens, and grassroots.