If you love a back-to-your-roots lifestyle, using old-fashioned skills, and time-tested homesteading practices, you have come to the right place.
My name is Anja and I am so glad you stopped by!
My roots
I grew up in Germany where my grandparents and their sometimes old-fashioned way of life were a big inspiration to me – unbeknownst to me at the time.
With a huge garden, they were mostly self-sustaining. They ate simple, healthy, and real food. They lived a very sustainable lifestyle.
I watched them harvest and juice elderberries so we could drink the warm juice in the winter. I helped them harvest herbs, fruits, and vegetables from their garden.
When staying with them, I often went to one of the dairy farms in the village to fetch fresh milk that was still warm. And I learned how to make sourdough bread from a recipe that is generations old. We ate good homemade food.
My grandparents lived an organic lifestyle before that was even a word. I remember how my great-aunt was washing her hair with beer and egg. I was baking with whole wheat when even in Germany that was considered pretty “granola” 😉
Back to my roots
In 1996, I moved to Northern California. We live in Our beautiful 1910 Gabled Home that is a shingle-style Victorian. My handy handsome husband is my biggest supporter. My two sons are adolescents now but I so much loved the whole parenting journey. They went to a school that was all about organic food from scratch and crafts, yep, both of them knitted a pair of socks.
I love being creative! You can find me in the kitchen making food or thinking about a new recipe. Or trying to figure out how to make something that I would otherwise buy. Sometimes, I am trying to figure out how to make something that you can only buy in Germany.
I might be sewing another Dirndl dress or slipcover. Or I might be knitting something beautiful and useful.
However, anything I do has to be simple and easy. I don’t like when things become too complicated!
When I am not in the kitchen or making things, you can often find me on a mat teaching or practicing yoga, in the hills hiking with our dog, in the saddle of a horse, or deep under water, marveling at fish.
On this blog, I am sharing my passions and endeavors. I hope that you, too, enjoy learning about a more simple, beautiful, healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
My grandparents have passed away but their spirit lives on in this home. I have inherited a lot of their furniture and other heirlooms – but most importantly, their homesteading way of life.
