> >I am comforted to find that James has accepted, if not embraced, the
> relevance of at least partial machine-powered homesteading.
Oh I do. Mainly I eschew using machines when they really don't save all
that much work if indeed they aren't more work. I use a knife instead of a
vegetable processor, fewer dishes rather than use a dishwasher (a great deal
of our food is eaten with chop sticks and a single bowl), a broom instead of
a vacuum cleaner (we have one, a modified shop vac, but it isn't used unless
it's really needed), clothesline instead of a dryer, sourdough bread rather
than a bread machine, etc.
Then there is the gray area where doing it manually IS some more work, but
not that much more work. I don't know how your grist mill is configured,
although ours is indeed a bit of work, it's not that bad. The 10 yo can do
it, not ten pounds of flour at a time, but enough for biscuits. The cross
cut
saw and axe are more work than a chainsaw (although not usually much more
time), but not nearly as much more as is imagined. A roto-tiller is not
appropriate for my type of gardening, but make no mistake turning the whole
thing with a shovel is more sweat than a tiller. But I'm just not in a
'get-er-done' attitude in the garden.
There are things I just can't do manually in anything like an equitable
way. I can't freeze food or keep lights going without a really LOT of
effort.
We could do without both, but I'd rather not.