About The Blog

Growing up in suburban New Jersey, mostly in apartment complexes I never had a yard of my own. As an adult, I found myself interested in planting, and living cleaner, and closer to Earth. It started simple, with growing a small herb garden in my window. Instantly I felt pride and considered myself a farmer, as I picked my own fresh basil every day. I wanted to expand on this. I started renting a house with a small yard, and immediately wanted a garden. I planted tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, carrots, and all your basic veggies on a 4'X8' plot. I started thinking about chickens, and fresh eggs. Chickens are cute, I can handle them, I think. At the time the rental home I lived in didn't allow any livestock. In a few years my family and I bought a house, and the first thing I did was grade my garden to a 40' X 40' plot. The very next thing I did, was order some day old baby chicks. Then I added some fruit trees and berry bushes. This was really exciting for me, and I found that I truly loved this kind of life. After a few flocks of chickens, I found myself wanting more animals, and added some goats and beehives to the home. Since then, I have begun goat breeding, and will endeavor to milk the goats, and make cheese, butter, heavy cream, and yogurt. In the winter when I couldn't garden, I taught myself to knit, make homemade soap. With my new and improved garden space I also have been learning to preserve food by canning & freezing. I really love the idea of learning how to live in a self-sufficient manner.  I am still learning, and love to share what I have learned along the way, I started writing about my passions, my thoughts, and curious wonderings about self-sufficient lifestyles. I founded Retrophilia with a mission to give others a taste of what goes on in my mind, and offer a platform for sharing and discussion.