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It’s 3 January 2023, the start of a brand new year. Most traditions have this image of the “OLD year” (an old man) handing over the torch to the “NEW year” (depicted by a baby). Well, this is how my year started…
I had a “key scare” this morning. My work keys got lost, and it’s the only set there is! Not very bright, I know, but welcome to public service. Anyhow, I found them, but not before cussing out every single thief that I have ever crossed paths with. No, I am not going to take those words back. Those guys deserve every syllable, regardless of whether they were involved in this morning’s stress session or not.
In the heat of that search, I contacted my (potential) Ukrainian legal representative (I still have to formally appoint him!) and asked him to get the ball rolling by sending me the necessary forms. My passport is being processed, and the sooner the formal paperwork starts, the better. Yes, I know. There is a war on. But I still want to hit the country running, being as prepared as possible. Especially if their bureaucracy takes as long as bureaucracies usually take!
I found a good name for the LLC, too. It’s bland enough to be used for just about anything that I plan to do, but also descriptive enough not to confuse people. Additionally, it translates well, and that is what is most important.
So… what will I be doing in Ukraine?
Permaculture policy is to spend a year observing the land, to see how it moves with the seasons, and begin to get a feeling for the climate of the place. That is what I shall do as far as the land is concerned.
However, most of the houses that I am looking at are small, dilapidated, and date from the not-so-glorious days of the USSR. As I said in a previous post, it seems as if some architect got the order to draw up four different plans, create about 10 versions of each and then make a few dozen copies to distribute to the builders. They really only look different from the outside.
However, the houses that I am interested in are all heated by brick woodstoves, which I think is a wonderful idea! Big rocket heaters…
So much for the background.
What I want to do, is to create a YouTube channel, documenting my life in Ukraine. It won’t be just another homesteading channel – heaven knows we have enough of them! – but maybe focus on village life as well, especially in the aftermath of the 2022 orc invasion. I also want to modernize the house and its outbuildings somewhat. No, I won’t be messing with the things that clearly work, but there’s no reason why I can’t bring in some Western conveniences and decor. If I can marry the two styles, I shall.
I also want to blog. A lot. And monetize it without making it look cheap and tacky. (BIG challenge, I know!)
And finally, I want to write stories and other books. Mostly in English, but it would be cool if they can be translated.
As for the outside, I shall probably be concentrating on small-scale farming, preserving the harvest as it comes in, sharing and swopping with friends and neighbors, and generally living a peaceful rural life, filled with handicrafts and reading and the things that “normal” 9-5 people simply don’t do.
That’s the ideal, on paper, anyway. The reality will be cold and muddy and in a language that I won’t always be able to make myself to be properly understood. There will still be corruption and bad infrastructure and weird rules and laws to contend with, not to mention any ancient traditions and conventions that I may or may not unwittingly break.
The alternative, however, really scares me. South Africa is a lawless state, run by an utterly corrupt government that in turn supports utterly corrupt, lawless regimes. Growing old here as a single white woman is not my idea of fun, and in spite of the indisputable fact that the country that I want to go to is currently involved in an extremely bloody fight for survival, its general crime level (albeit high for Europe) isn’t even 10% of the one here!
Worth it!
Release the Hooligan!
