House

As I've told you before, I am married. Been married for 2 years.

The thing is I am sick and tired of renting. We both work, we should be able to afford it. Carlos works in a government agency and is a Permanent employee, so if for some reason they fire him he can take them to the wringers. He has JOB SECURITY!

I think. The rules are being rewritten as we speak, with all this ressession this, depression that. We might be all going to hell in a laundry basket.

As for myself, after two years working as a temp in the medical equipment industry, I was hired as a regular employee. Mind you, during these two years they had to lay off 5% of their workforce, High Management orders. I saw some good people go. At least one of them is still working for the company as an outside resource or something.

After all of this, they opened up a position for me. I still can't decide if I am in more or less danger of getting the axe. The pay is good, though, and I think I will invest it on some preps for the End of the World.

I am trying not to be too optimistic just in case, but things are NOT looking gloomy. We have a reasonable expectation of monetary health.

We have no children.

We should be able to afford a friggin house.

I can imagine it completely. Blame it on my rural upbringing, but the most important part is the garden. I would have it fenced front and back.

I would take a heavy metal testing kit when we go to check out houses.Want to make sure I can eat what I produce.

On the front lawn would be the citrus trees. I have one small lemon tree that will take center stage. I found a sprouting seed inside a store bought lemon on the day Carlos and I married. Talk about a good omen. So I planted it in a little bucket. Two years. It is smallish, container grown, but looks healthy. Very symbolical.

Anyways, this front garden would hold the citrus. Lemons, oranges, mandarins, and Dekopon, a weird Japanese orange that should fit in very well, if I ever find a seller. So if the S ever does HTF, we will not die of scurvy, at least. Heh.

I once saw something I want to imitate. It was a grape vine, growing from one of those little strips of bare earth they leave in front of some urban plots, as if to convince someone that they have a lawn. Seriously, it was like two feet wide and five feet long. The owners planted the vine, then trained it to reach the roof of the house where they had built a trellis, so that the leaves would go up and the fruit hang down. Loved it.

I would have to check what varieties of grape do well in the Caribbean heat. Grapes and Passionfruit.

Passionfruit is easy. They take care of themselves.

On the backyard I imagine stacks of yucca, yams, manioc and other root vegetables. I saw this somewhere done with potatoes. They used old tires, filled one with earth, placed the seed potatoes, placed spacers and stacked the next tire on top of it. Rinse and repeat.

Potatoes would not work in PR. Our yearly weather pattern goes like this: Rain season, Storm season, Second rain season, and "dry" season. Not all that dry, really; only in comparison.

Anyway, this method is similar enough to the way our Taino indians grew their root crops. It should work.

Plantains and bananas, for sure. Cabbage. Maybe a bit of sugarcane. Should be great to give bits to children.

Maybe a few chickens, if the local codes allow them. If they don't, I'll get quiet chickens.

I talked about a goat day or so ago, and my husband looked at me like I was crazy. So maybe I'm taking my daydreaming too far.

Sigh. It would be good, though.