Why We Prepare

My son and his family visited me last week.  Always a joy!  During the conversation one of my adult granddaughters remarked that I was the most prepared person she knows.  And that got me to thinking about why this lifestyle is so important to me. 

Many moons ago when my 4 children were young, I found myself in a bad place.  Single Mom.  My job disappeared.  The bills continued.  We were living in a house that was on a plot of land where a garden could not be planted.  Hills and pine forest don't work well for planting seeds.

Before I could get our lives back under control, I ran out of food.  There is little more terrifying than to have hungry children and nothing to feed them.

I loaded my kids into the car.  We drove the few miles to my aunt and uncle's house.  It was late in the afternoon.  I knew that my aunt would insist we stay for supper.

The fact that my kids could eat outweighed the humiliation of not being able to take care of them myself.

Thankfully, things changed for the better right away.  Found another job.  Bought groceries.  Fed my family.

But then I did one more thing.  I moved.

Found an old farmhouse out in the middle of nowhere.  It was affordable.  It had a huge garden area.  It had a shed to house chickens.  There was an old car sitting on the property.  A friend spotted it and said he sure could use that rusted out car for parts.  Worked out a deal where he got the car and I got a milk cow.  Kids now had a source of milk and cream and butter.

You do what you have to do.  To this day, more years later than I care to count, I still feel like if one of my kids or grands or great-grands came to me hungry and I had nothing to feed them, I think it might break this old heart.

Those of us who are living this lifestyle, for that is exactly what preparedness is, have a story.  Most of us have gone through circumstances that brought us to this place.  Whatever the reason, the decision to prepare for bad times is one of the best deccisions we can make.

  

Bat Guano Crazy

 It seems that we are there.  Common sense has left the building and is replaced by insanity.

I live in Minnesota.  My apartment is located in a western suburb of Minneapolis.  So far, things seem quiet here.  But for how long?

I have been watching the local news concerning the events, including all of the deportation efforts.  And I am having a hard time understanding all of the objections to removing criminals from our country.  Seems to me that when a person decides to break our laws the minute they step onto United States soil, that person should not be surprised when they have to go back where they came from.

But what bothers me the most is the raw hatred of many of our citizens.  Minnesota nice?  Really?  The Minnesota Nice thing used to be true.  It still is outside the cities.  I am sure there are still good people living in Minneapolis.  Sadly, those are not the ones we hear about.  We hear about those who have stolen vast amounts of money from the rest of us.  We hear about those who do everything in their power to prevent law enforcement from rounding up the criminals.  And we hear the wailing of those who haven't yet figured out that if one plays stupid games like trying to run over officers, chances are pretty good they will win stupid prizes.

I have tried all my life to be a person who is fair, especially with those of different ethnicities.  Gowing up in the era of the Civil Rights Movement made me more aware.  But now I find that it is not the race of people I am angry with, but those who think it is OK to move into my state and steal billions of dollars from our citizens.

That ticks me off!

As does those who think it is OK to do everything in their power to prevent law enforcement from doing their jobs.  I'm pretty sure that some would want law enforcement to do their jobs if a crisis arose in their lives.  But not in this case. 

It is my prayer that the obnoxious Minnesota leaders - the ones who caused this mess in the first place - be put into handcuffs and orange jumpsuits, for that is exactly where they belong.

This and That

 Thinking about my Dad today.  I was loudly complaining one day years ago, after weeding the garden and mucking out the hog barn.  Dirty, sweaty and crabby I was.  Dad, in his usual calm fashion, informed me that there was no shame in being dirty from hard, honest work.  The shame came in when the dirt was from slovenly behavior and laziness.

This same Dad, when I was 12 years old, had me convinced that the new lawn mower sitting in the middle of the front yard, was indeed my birthday present.  He let me fuss and stew about that for maybe 15 minutes, after which he handed me the bat and baseball glove I had been begging for.  My family may not be famous, but we are known for having working senses of humor.  :)

I have some interesting conversations with the home health care nurses that I see three days a week.  Lately, they have been telling me about the overabundance of "Karen" types they deal with.  The kind of person who gets their knickers in a twist if the nurse is 5 minutes late in coming to care for them.  The ones who fail to understand that these traveling angels of mercy have 10 to 12 patients to see in a day and these patients reside miles apart.  Not to mention the one who thinks the nurse should vacuum their carpet and dust their furniture.  Really?

Yesterday was my grocery delivery day.  I have had the same delivery guy for several years now.  I know that he is honest and truthful.  In answering a question, he tells me that as far as he can see, the current tariffs aren't having much of an impact on the grocery stores as yet.  We have been hearing that store shelves will be empty, but so far, at least in my area, that hasn't happened.

However, someone who works for a large company that makes a variety of machines for lawn care as well as for other purposes, tells me that there is a problem with getting the parts needed to build the machines.  Plus, their overseas sales have dropped dramatically.  

I suppose there will be a variety of outcomes with this tariff thing.  I am not knowledgeable enough with the subject to offer an opinion.  I just hope and pray that we as a nation can find a way to be civil and friendly and happy and productive again.

I find that keeping up with all of the crazy in this world is challenging.  I have gotten to the place where I spend a small amount of time on what passes for news.  The rest of my time is spent on the things that matter to me.

Phone calls and visits with kids and grands are at the very top of my list.  My son gave me an iPad and programmed it for FaceTime.  So from time to time I get a face to face visit with family.  The most fun is when I get to go on a FT walk when they take the dog for a walk. For someone who is housebound, a walk down a trail while watching the pup scouring the bushes for bunnies, is a pure delight.

Prices in the grocery stores are still ridiculously high.  Don't expect that to change any time soon.  So I am getting back to making my own instead of relying on store bought.  Mixes, like hot chocolate and flavored rice and soup using dehydrated veggies.  Jennifer over at Prep School Daily has a ton of recipes and ideas for this kind of thing.  Her blog is listed on the right of this page.

And then there are the activities that I do just because we all need some joy in our lives.  Things that make me happy.  Genealogy research.  Sewing quilts.  Crocheting afghans.  And soon, I hope, scrapbooking old family photos.

We can either let ourselves dwell on the gloom and doom we see on the news or the internet and as a result, live in fear, or we can live our lives the way they are meant to be lived.  Keep an eye on what is happening around us, but enjoying life as much as possible.  

I choose the latter.

More Preps

 So, I'm pretty sure you have heard all the rumors floating around these days.  The economy is about to crash.  World war is just around the corner.  The store shelves will soon be empty.

Might happen.  Might not.  We just don't know.  

What we do know is that the smart thing to do is to make sure we are as ready as we can be for whatever happens.

I'm not canning as much these days as I was before I began having problems with the new canning lids.  My large canner holds 18 pints.  The last canner load I did wound up with only half the jars sealing.  I then invested in one of those electric canners.  This one is a Nesco brand.  Same problems with lids not sealing.  Has to be the lids.  The Nesco works great for everything else.  Sigh.

I live alone.  I get busy with one project or another and often don't want to stop to cook a full meal.   I found that by canning a bit of meat plus veggies together in a pint jar, along with some appropriate seasonings and broth, I have a meal that only requires a couple of minutes in the microwave and dinner is served.  

Because of the problems with canning lids, I decided to put together similar meals using dehydrated foods that can be cooked in a crockpot, with the meat added close to the end of the cooking time.  I'm not using recipes but am just tossing together what sounds good to me.  Some are just assorted dehydrated foods like carrots, onions, peppers, diced potatoes, celery, etc.  Others include pasta, packaged separately, as pasta doesn't need a long cooking time.

We are nothing if not problem solvers.  Unable to properly home can?  Put together dehydrated meals.  Should the grocery store shelves become bare?  By now we should have enough put back to get through that particular crisis.  

I pray nothing bad happens.  But if it does, we are ready.  Or we should be.  As we always say, "Keep stacking.  Keep praying.  And may God bless."

Happy Easter

I grew up with church pastors who weren't afraid to preach fire and brimstone.  Who often made us feel uncomfortable because we knew we weren't living as we should, and they pointed that fact out to us.  Who told us that we needed to beg forgiveness of our Creator.  Who told us that the alternative was an eternity of misery.

Where are the truth telling ministers?  As I am unable to get out to church services these days, I have found services online to watch.  To my dismay, many of the messages are watered down versions of the sermons of old.  It is like those preaching are afraid to hurt the feelings of their congregations.  Many seem like they are more interested in having a band play on stage than they are in preaching the gospel.

Some time back we managed to eliminate God from schools, courthouses, public places.  Some communities banned the manger scene at Christmas time.  Others arrested those who dared to preach God's Word on street corners.  

And just look at where we as a country are now.  We are a divided nation.  Hate and discontent are common.  Bible teachings are being ignored.  Truth might hurt someone's feelings, after all.

I do not expect anyone to believe as I do.  But I would hope that we would remember that this day is not all about colored eggs and bunnies, but is a day to remember the One who suffered a horrible death and then rose from the tomb to save us all.

We need Jesus more than ever now.

Sometimes...

 things actually work out.

You may remember that in a previous post I was bemoaning the fact that one of my nurses was clueless when it came to being prepared.

Same nurse.  Yesterday.  Telling me about her purchases to be stored for future emergencies.  Asking my advice about pressure canners.  Wanting to know how I store water in an apartment where I can't have those huge water storage containers.

She told me that her husband has been interested in preparing and was delighted that she now thinks it is a good idea.  Feel like together, they can accomplish something good.

This gives me reason to hope.  Sometimes when we are surrounded by people who live in a world that is not real, we tend to feel like all is lost.  Then along comes someone who restores our faith in the human race.

Thank you, God.

Having Fun

 Sometimes I think we have forgotten how to have fun.  

We get caught up in news reports and podcasts and YouTube videos that are screaming at the top of their lungs how we are in such trouble that we all will surely die.  Soon.

I know that I have been guilty of that sort of behavior.  Previous rants on this blog are the proof.  And chances are pretty good that another rant or two could show up here.

But a couple of things happened yesterday that got me to thinking about this.

Two of my kids spent time with their Mom.  I understand they are busy with their families and their jobs, so finding time for visits isn't easy.  I so enjoyed seeing them, hugging them and hearing about what is happening in their lives.

And secondly, I received an email from a friend who lives in another part of this great country.  He sent me photos of the landscape in his area, including orchards in full bloom and mountains in the background.  We don't have much for mountains here in Minnesota.  The view was a treat.

Both experiences were fun.  Brightened my day.  Left me with smiles.

Seems to me we need more fun and less fear and anxiety.  Granted, we do need to know what is going on around us.  We can't be ready for the bad stuff that happens unless we pay attention.

What we do not need is to be living in fear.  So many of those in charge prefer to keep us fearful.  Scared people are much easier to control.  Folks who are confident and positive in attitude don't tend to knuckle under to every elite or politician who wants total control.

We spend time and money preparing for whatever comes at us that is not good.  We can also enjoy this life we are blessed to have.

Don't forget how to have fun.