Are You Prepping?

Pine needle basket. Completed 4-5-2026.

 It's the day after Easter. I hope everyone had a nice holiday. I spent it at home making some food ahead of time for a guest that will be arriving today and staying for a few days. I also worked on another pine needle basket. I love the craft as it keeps me calm during these unsettled times. Speaking of which, are you prepping? Food prices are only going to get higher, so buying more shelf stable items now is a must if you can afford to stock up. We live in a high humidity climate that has lots of bugs, so dry goods don't store for as long as they should in their original packaging. I decided to by a vacuum sealer for dry canning. I saw a demo of this neat little gadget and bought one right away along with a case of mason jars.

Dry goods like pasta, rice, beans, flour, sugar, potato flakes, etc., can be dry canned. Once the air is removed, the product can last for many more years in the jar. There are packets that you can buy to add to the jar that will slowly remove the air and create a tight seal, but I bought this automatic jar sealer instead because it's just so darn neat! It even came with some labels, a can opener. and extra lids in two sizes.

It works on large mouth  and small mouth canning jars. You just put it over your jar with a sealing lid, press a button and about 40 seconds later, it's air tight and sealed. 

I don't know how to can fruits and vegetables, but I have a neighbor that does and I asked her if I could watch her next time she works on a batch. Unfortunately, it's something I never learned to do. I think the jars look so nice on the shelf and this helped make space in my cabinets for other things. 

Here is another handy gizmo I bought for emergencies, but ended up using it every day. It's an over the cup coffee dripper. All you need to do is boil water and pour it over your coffee grinds right into your cup. You don't need the paper filter, but I use it for easier cleanup.

These come in many variations, from metal, to plastic to ceramic. This one is metal and cost about $10. 

There are outdoor things you can do to prep as well. My husband got us some firewood and made this handy holder to stack it in using scrap wood we had lying around. 

He also planted some corn, peppers and tomatoes in our raised beds along with some flowers to attract pollinators. We have water barrels all over our property for watering plants, or if necessary, to flush toilets. If you follow Cash Only Living blog, here is a handy post of things you should have on hand to prepare for a power outage. She has lots of other cost saving tips as well. 

These are only a handful of things you can do to prepare for higher food prices, shortages, or power failures, if it comes to that. With hurricane season coming up in June, we always need to prep for that anyway. There are many prepper people you can follow on social media. Some are fear mongers, others are more practical and reassuring to keep you from panicking. Next time you go grocery shopping, pick up some extra canned or dry goods if you can. If you have any preparedness tips, please leave them in the comments. Thanks for stopping by! 

Busy Hands, Quiet Mind.

 

If I don't stay busy, my mind will start wandering and worrying about things I can't control. I've been keeping busy with a variety of different hobbies so as not to get burned out on any one thing. I crafted a couple more pine needle baskets. This one with the crow center came out the best so far. 

The bottom is just as pretty as the top. 

And I made another one with a tree center. 

And now I'm working on a sea turtle using colored thread. 

I was thinking about al the rocks I still have in my craft inventory and thought about trying something different with them. Have you ever heard or seen rock wrapping? Here is an article about it. 

Tsutsumu: The Japanese Zen Art of Weaving with Ancient Rocks

So I thought I would try it. I found a video online that showed how to weave around a rock using a wooden washer. I just happened to have found a rusty old metal washer and I used that instead. It came out pretty nice.

Then I made one with an old nail.

And one with a decorative metal knob.

It's an unusual craft and kind of frustrating as it takes a lot of finger gymnastics to hold everything in place and keep it from unraveling while working on it, but eventually, I got the hang of it and I like the final result. 

I do these crafts in my "she room" while watching a movie or a tv series or while listening to music or maybe a podcast. I take breaks to go for walks and sometimes I work in the garden. I think it's wise to take up a relaxing hobby in these stressful times to stay sane. 

Thanks for visiting! 
 

Another little basket.

 I finally got around to making another basket. I waited too long after the class I took in March to start it so I forgot a lot, but after a couple of restarts, I figured it out. I used waxed thread instead of the wider sinew and I liked it much better. 

I have a neighbor who has a craft business and makes a lot of laser cut wood things, so I asked him if he could make me some basket centers. I showed him examples of what I wanted and he was able to knock them out in no time at all. 

I really like the trees and got started on a new basket as soon as I had a free day with no other commitments. It took me two days to complete it. It's not perfect, but it's not bad for a beginner.

I really like this hobby!