Working a job in the city never worked for me...

We live a life of simple elegance. We try to learn how to work smarter, not harder as we grow older. From 1984 until Christmas 2007 we had a handpump in the kitchen for our water and a sawdust outhouse for our biffy...and the sauna cogenerated hot water for a shower from a 12volt bilge pump. We still have those luxuries, but we dug a hole out from the side of our underground house and built a 9 foot by 14 foot space which has a clawfoot tub, sink, demand water heater and stool...and a washing machine...and dryer...both of which are run off our inverter. We appreciate the luxuries, but still heat with wood, cook with wood and gas...we still have our james washer and the clothes line for summers...We have built garden beds closer to the kitchen door for immediate consumption of greens and herbs...Our wood is under cover in sheds (full)...our pantry, tempered by the earth, remains 45 degrees in Winter and 55 degrees in summer. Our sunfrost refrigerator and sundanzer freezer run easily off the power from our pv panels. Our gardens are irrigated by a dankoff solar pump. We don't see it as adversarial, we see it as symbiotic...cooperative...elegant.