Saturday, March 28, 2009

The Slightest Ripple



We have been working on a deal to buy a diesel truck capable of pulling our 5th wheel. The old man that owns it is ready to move back to Montana to be with his family. He also had his RV up for sale. He wanted 3k for the truck and 5 k for the 5th wheel. Hubby made a deal with him as the old man has no clue as to how he is going to sell the RV. Anything over the 5k we split. So I listed it on Craigslist. Multiple postings every week....the old mans phone starts ringing. I am happy to say that yesterday he sold the RV for $9000. Which with the money we have already given him makes the truck OURS!!!! Granted it still needs some work and we still have to tag it, register it, and get the insurance. But hey? That's not a big deal. We can now pull the trailer outta here if necessary!! And that was the plan!! We plan to sell my old van for a few hundred bucks and use that money to get the truck on the road.

DH and I have been talking alot lately about the state of unrest so many of us are feeling these days. We have made a decision to plant alot more than just the new garden space this year.

I have always been a nut for flowers and a pretty yard. My profile pic here is a picture from last summer. By that time the big flower bed had been confiscated for tomato's. This year due to the ever increasing gloom and doom , I told him that if he wanted he could plow it all under and plant veggies. I ment it. Of course we won't go to that extreme but I have decided to use every plant container we own to grow something in this year.

I have signed up for an online canning class ( just waiting for an email confirmation ) and will become a canning fool this summer. I am also going to learn to can meat and learn to dehydrate foods. As they say in Texas Holdem.... I'm all in!

I've come to realize over the years that plans are fluid. They can change at the slightest ripple of wind. Not so much most of the time to even notice the change. A re-arrangement of sorts. A stretching and bending , expanding and constricting with the flow of life, restructure of the old if you will.

I feel the winds of change coming. I can almost touch it. I feel it that strongly at times. At times like these I find it a good time to re-examine where everything stands in my personal life. To recognize the nuances and adjust plans to the liquidity of life's ever evolving, everchanging plan.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Growing Food in Times of Scarcity



I found this over at JRW's site and felt compelled to share it here. I for one am re-thinking my prepping. Joe and I talked it over and I won't be growing flowers in my hanging baskets this year. We are going to get a load of dirt this afternoon from down by the barn. I will have potato's planted by this evening. I have been pushed into a more aggressive plan by this article. And as I have said before....Hey if I'm wrong...I still have my preps.


http://stevequayle.com/News.alert/06_Prep_tips/090325.grow.food.scarcity.html


Growing Food in Times of Scarcity




Today I got a call from a very good friend and one that has contact with some pretty prominent people. He was so sad, scared and worried, didn't want to pass on bad news but felt he should let me know. One of his close friends has a good source of information plus a high security clearance informed him that over the summer you would see more and more deployment by the military, come the end of summer into the early fall there "WILL" be martial law. The food source is being dried up gradually. Food will become so scarce and expensive families will be going hungry. This will be the start of a civil uprising and the military will be called into service to quell the looting, stealing, killing and destruction of property. This is all planned. Believe it or not but at least take the time to prepare for it just in case.

I am not telling you this is the gospel but I know where the information came from and it is certainly a credible source.

People, it more than likely cannot be stopped.. WAKE UP...You can still protect your family from most of the hard times with some planning. Do you want to see your children's eyes with hunger in them? Do you want to be on your knees begging for food ? I don't and I won't.

It is the beginning of spring now. Plant every square inch of land you can find, buy pots, buy dirt, buy food and put it away now while it is still here.

Those of you that say you don't have room... MAKE ROOM.. there are so many ways to increase space for your gardens, use your imagination.

How about a wall of food? simple, use PVC pipe, hook it to a rack or your fence or your patio supports. I have done this before just to see if it worked and to dress up a area of our patio that was not that attractive. I used 6" PVC pipes 10 feet long. just packed with good dirt and wired screen over the ends to allow drainage. Drilled holes in the pipe and planted. I grew flowers but vegetables can be grown just as easily. Just think.. put the smaller plants on the top tier, larger ones below. The only drawback is watering which with smaller containers you have to do regularly or you could just install a drip system?

How about planting your potatoes, asparagus and peanuts in bags? Easy to do and so much more prolific in production. Find some of the Tyvec we used for banners and signs during the campaign, cut into 4' lengths, stitch up two sides making a sack, poke holes for drainage in the bottom and add dirt. Plant all those potato eyes in the bags, add more compost or good dirt. As the plant grows add more dirt and when they are ready to harvest just dump out the bags, there are your future dinners. One bag can produce up to 30 pounds of potatoes. Do the same for Peanuts. The bags can be lined up alongside your garage, house, any out of the way place. ( Don't try using paper bags they will of course fall apart when wet)

How about all of those hanging baskets you saved from last years flowers? Cut holes in the bottoms and use coffee filters to keep in the dirt. Plant your cukes, squash, any vining plant in these and watch them grow. Easy to harvest and prolific producers as long as you keep them moist and fertilized. Ever heard of the upside down planters? Make your own.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday starting some seeds for the garden. Easy and relaxing work. I splurged and bought some new 6 pack containers which comes with a bottom tray and a top clear plastic dome cover to protect the seedlings from being washed away by heavy rain, cold, etc.

I like to use a sterile medium, Peat Moss and Perlite, it is free of diseases and bugs and insures a good start to your little plants. Use one part Perlite with 20 parts peat and you will have a perfect medium for starting anything.


Get your hands dirty and fill your little pots with the mix, leave about a half inch on the top of each section. Put in your seeds ( usually 2 seeds per container) add more soil to cover the seeds and press it down to insure good contact with the medium... Make sure you wet your peat mixture down before filling the containers. Peat is hard to wet totally and takes some mixing by hand to insure it is wet all the way through.

Then just cover and wait for nature to take its course:


Tim brought in a truck load of ruined hay to mulch our garden with and will get that on the garden tomorrow. Then the real work begins.. planting peas, beans, okra, peppers, eggplants and all the greens I love so much.. collards, kale, mustard and broccoli. These will do well even with some cold nights left to go.

Please people stock up your pantry, have enough food for your family for at least 6 months. A year would be better but I know how much it costs. Don't listen to the experts, buy what you normally eat no need to stock up on items that are recomended but you rarely eat. Make sure you have enough salt, sugar, oil, coffee, tea, chocolate and spices of all kinds. These will be the things people forget to store up on and will become good items to barter. Flour is already becoming scarce in our area, corn meal the same, Meat will become so expensive it will be out of reach for most of us but by buying now and canning it ( freezing is ok but if your power is cut off your meat will spoil so I just can it all) I must have 10 cases of hamburger canned, beef stew, Chicken "N" dumplings, Pork Chops, vegetable soups and spagetti sauce all ready to go. Just open the jar and heat and eat. So much better than the store brands and you know exactly what is in them. Roasts can be canned also very easily. If you don't have a pressure canner yet get one by hook or crook. It will be a Godsend if things go sour and I think they will shortly.

Think about building a dehydrator, easy to build, I used one of those closet bags for hanging suits etc and replaced the plastic with screen wire. Added shelves and I can hang it outside in the fresh air with all the vegetables on it to air dry. The indians did it hundreds of years ago and it is still a good idea. Dried food lasts a long time, can be stored easily and is ready to just add water and heat and eat.

Everyone is busy buying all the expensive water purifiers.. why? Build one.. easy.. look at how a alcohol still is built, make a small one. You will be making distilled water in no time. I made one out of a old pressure cooker just take off the jiggler and attach a metal or glass tube ( The first one I made used Aquarium tubing )to run to your water bottle. fill the cooker, turn it on and just watch the water start coming out of the spout. All the impurities will remain in the cooker and only pure steam will be put out to condense back into water. Add a pinch of salt to make it have some taste and you are in business.

When you go to the flea markets, yard sales etc make sure to snap up any and all canning jars and lids, you will need to can your produce for the next winters use.

Please take heed and start today. There is no time to lose and if you wait you may be one of the ones that are just begging for help from our wonderful Government which means you have to obey. You have to comply, you have to agree to be what ever they want you to be or you could just be left to starve !

DO NOT make your plans known to your neighbors unless they are also doing the same thing. When the SHTF there will be so many people on the streets looking for food for their families you will be a target. Just remember even a honest hardworking Christian will turn to anything to feed his children. He will steal, lie, even kill to keep his children from starving. Wouldn't you?



Thursday, March 26, 2009

Bacon And Eggs


The garden is in. Now comes the wait and see part. All we can do now is to watch nature's progress and help it out where we can.

The sky's have blessed us with sweet spring rain. Something we have not seen nearly of for the couple of years. Texas is in one of the worst droughts in recorded history. And so each and every time it rains it is a blessing.

I have set myself on a course this year to learn all I can about canning and all things related. I don't know how far I will get, or how good I will be at it , but that's not really the point is it?
I will be fine. There are too many people and too many places to turn to for help if I find myself overwhelmed. One thing I am not afraid of is to ask for help. Oh, and I signed up for a free online canning class. More to come on that when I know more.

I have made revisions to my food prepping agenda. I think it is the right choice.

I have decided to back down off my" prepared food" prepping for a couple of months ( unless of course there is the DEAL I just can't pass up! ) and focus on finding a canner and collecting jars and lids. Wait... what was I thinking! It's not backing off the food prepping....its going head on full steam ahead.
The canner and the jars will be with us for years, and as long as HR 875 doesn't put us out of buisness then these things are solid investments and will provide years of service to our food storage needs. Bacon and Eggs folks! How complicated can you make it?
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

An Evening of Good Reading


Ask and you shall be given? Tuesday morning about 6am I woke up to an almost misting kind of rain that lasted till well after 2pm. And rain again this evening. I can just feel the garden drinking in mother nature. Seeds straining to shed their shells and reach for the sky. Another chance at more rain tomorrow....and I say bring it on!

I spent my evening reading. Turned off the TV and just did some pleasure reading. I spent the better part of two hours reading The View from TreeSongs old blogs. That chick can write! I knew there was a reason I started following her blogs!!

I also spent quite a bit of time reading the Ornery Bastards blog. That man is to be admired for his convictions. And he's sooo funny!! Gotta love real and funny all rolled into one. Well I do anyway!

Well I'm off for the next two days and there are always things to be done. I think the first thing I will do is sleep in until I WANT to get up. You have to have your priorities right? It's been a long week.

There is something to be said for taking care of yourself....giving yourself some "downtime". Sometimes people forget that. I think it is important to your well-being. A re-charging of the batteries as it were.

So to all of you that made my evening intertaining (I only mentioned a couple) Thanks for a great evening!

Monday, March 23, 2009

The Garden is In


It's official! The garden is in. Still need my banana peppers and the bell's. No big deal. We put alot of seeds in so we have to make sure to keep the ground moist enough for germination. With the severe drought we have been in this is going to take alot of a attention. We do have well water so it won't be so hard on us waterwise. Thing is .... the wind has been blowing hard for the last two days. Gusts up to 40 mph comming from the south southeast.
So the trick now is to keep the ground moist enough so as not to have the seeds uncovered. As an example, spinach is planted at 1/4". In dry soil that would have been blow away yesterday. We are going to have to really watch the moisture level so as not to under or overwater. But watch it we will! It's only a little bump at the first of spring...There will be garden drama all summer long. It's to be expected. Stay Tuned!

Oh say hello to my poker dog! She was a pound puppy. Catahula Cur and a smart sweet-tempered baby. Her name is B.B. cause the little card on the cage said black and blue. You can't see it here but shes got a bit of a mereled coat. Most people don't know what breed she is. They look at her head shape and think pit bull. I assure you she is not. I gave the kittys a pic so I thought I outta give her a staring role too!!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Campaign For Liberty — HR 875 The food police, criminalizing organic farming and the backyard gardener, and violation of the 10th amendment

Campaign For Liberty — HR 875 The food police, criminalizing organic farming and the backyard gardener, and violation of the 10th amendment

The Garden and HR875


Well it's official! Spring is here!! There's nothing like waving good bye to winter. Joe got the water plumbed to the garden today so we are another step closer to getting stuff in the ground. We went to the nursery ( we support our local organic nurseries) and picked up our goodies for the garden.

I about fell out when he asked me if we wanted more tomato's this year. As in "Do you want to put in more?" Last year was my first time to can tomato's. We had 6 Celebrity plants last year. I canned till I was glad I ran out of jars. (I just didn't go buy more lol) We also gave tomato's to friends and family until they quit saying yes when I asked if they wanted to take some home! So this year we will be doing 6 again.

We have decided on the following veggies. Tomato's, jalepeno's, serrano peppers, corn (just a little),yellow squash, okra, radish's, purple hull peas, pinto's, speckled beans, cantaloupe, spinach, and carrots. I'm going to have my work cut out for me this summer as I will be learning to can veggies, but I am oh so excited at learning. I have had people from the APN forums tell me about planting borage around the tomato's. They say it keeps those nasty lill green catapilars off the tomato's and it also is a bee attracter. I want to check into that. Heck I didn't know what borage was till yesterday.
I still don't have a canner. One of my neighbors said she might know someone who might be interested in selling hers. She's an older woman who no longer cans. So I will be looking into that.

Let me tell you what happened while we were at the nursery yesterday. We were at the register checking out and Joe asked the guy if he had heard of HR 875. I was shocked when he said he hadn't. I began to tell him just the basics ( as it pertains to the home gardener) and the look of growing shock on his face was almost priceless. It was as if a light went off in his head. I saw a sheeple become "enlightened". I want to do that again!

I thought ok - Let me try this again. I work with and around sheeple every day. So I went to work today and was telling one of my co-workers about the legislation. He was dumbfounded. He grew up gardening and it was apparent that this information upset him. He made me promise to bring him the information. He hasn't got a computer so I will be printing up some reading material for him tonite. He told me that if this were true he would be spreading the word to everyine he knows. I have found a way to help spread the news without having people look at me like I have on my foil hat.

And so now I have a new mission. I will spread this information to anyone who will listen. I started yesterday and will not stop until this legislation is stopped. Hopefully before it makes it out of committee.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I Love My FoodSaver

I love my FoodSaver!!

I found a really cool trick for using your regular left over jars. You can use most any kind of jar with one of those pop top seal jars....like salsa, jelly, etc...The ones with the ruber seals work too. I take my bulk cheese and store it in jars to keep it fresh with no mold. That half a bell pepper that I didn't use for dinner? You guessed it... it's in a jar and still good after a couple of weeks instead of a few days.
This trick I didn't know till I stumbled on it one day. Which is the way I usually end up finding stuff. This one is cool... check it out here. Cin over at the AmericanPreppersNetwork forum asked me for clarification on the how- to's and so here it is.


Please forgive my feeble attempt at trying to get this on video. DH you can blame for the camera work. Anyway here it is in all it's glory!!
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Sunday, March 15, 2009

GRRRR


Well I have missed a few days of work due to this awful cold. I just haven't felt like doing much of anything. I'm so glad to be feeling better. :) It's back to work tomorrow. Missing 5 days work is gonna put us back a bit but we will be fine.

The new Alex Jones movie has been released. " The Obama Deception" It is eye-opening and down right scary. I think this is one of the most MUST SEE movie out there right now.

Then we have the HR 875 legislation whose broad language could actually make gardening or raising chickens or rabbits or whatever illegal. I have so much to say on that I don't know where to begin ....so for today....I won't.

I have been doing alot of reading during my time off. Maybe too much. I am overwhelmed with all the things going on in our country and around the world. It seems that things are moving faster and faster and the direction doesn't look good.

So here's what I think I'm gonna do. I'm going to continue to prep. That's it. We have been given the opportunity of seeing into the future and it's not looking good.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Simply Because We Choose To


I was raised with the belief that if you wanted something you saved for it. My grandparents and my Dad never had a single credit card. Nor have I. The same goes for the hubby. He has detested banks since I have known him. ( 15 years ) The only reason we have a bank account is for paying bills and internet purchases. Oh, and I had to open the account , because he refused. " What's wrong with paying them the old fashioned way?" Until he started shopping online. ;)

When my kids were little I would start Christmas Shopping in October. Layaway was my best friend. Pay a little off every week. By the time Christmas rolled around I was ready. The shopping was done and I didn't stress over the last minute trips n such. Besides, it was a great way to "hide" the gifts from the kids till Christmas.

I miss layaway. The idea of paying for something BEFORE you get it has apparently been lost. It's just too easy to pull out the trusty credit card and get it NOW. Instant gratification. People have let themselves become way too comfortable with that concept. We don't have a new car or a fancy 4 bedroom house we can't afford. or credit card bills we can't pay off. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be so in debt.. The trailer is paid for as are the vehicle's. I can honestly say we are debt free. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be so in debt.

The only people we owe each month are the cable guys, insurance, and the phone. Oh wait, we do have NetFlix. Hmmm.... springs comming.... I think i will be canceling it anyway. There won't be time to watch movies. It's our entertainment expense and we could easily do with out it. Joe takes care of the rent and electric by working here in the park. We trade and barter when we can. That is how we are paying for the new (old) truck. We still have prep work to do....but who doesen't? It is an ongoing thing and much work still to be done. It's ok though. As long as we are am making forward progress.

We live simply- simply because we choose to.

Old Ho Gets a Second Chance


An old hoe can be given second chance at a new life!!!


All it took for this one was a closet dowel , the hoe head (hehe) and a screw from an old microwave.
Joe was removing the transformer out of for another project.
He read somewhere about making a welder out of two microwave transistors. Of course now he has to try it.

So now he's on the lookout for another. Shouldn't take long there seems to be one in the dumpster.

Rain At Last


It's finally raining!!
It's supposed to rain until Friday. Lord knows we need it.

JT finished mixing in the dirt and got the final tilling of the beds done yesterday after work. Just in time for a nice soaking. Things will be in the ground soon.

I caught a cold and called in to work today. I feel crappy but I do have three days until I have to go back to work. Maybe I can get caught up on some chores that I've been putting off.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

I Can Feel Spring In The Air



This is the first project Joe worked on today~


Well it's been a long but quite satisfying day. Work flew by ( which is always good!) and before I knew it I was clocking out! Stopped at the grocery store and bought another package of $3.99 lb T-Bones. I mean really..... It's a heck of a deal. And I am ALL about a good deal!

We are trying to help our elderly neighbor sell his RV. He doesnt have internet so I have listed his trailer for him on Craig's List. I didn't realize how you have to keep on top of that.
Joe volunteered to go give it a good wash. It looks wayyy better. I'm going to take some pictures tomorrow so I can post them on another ad.


Here's the best part of the day~~ We broke ground on the new garden site. Joe did the tilling and I played the rock hound. He will bringing in some good composted dirt tomorrow from down at the old barn. I'm SO EXCITED!!! There's a great pleasure in getting your hands in the dirt. Feeling spring yelling......I'M ALMOST HERE!

I hadn't thought about it much until today. I realized that the garden also gives me my flowerbeds back. How cool is that! That makes me one happy chick! No more tomato's n peppers where my flowers ought to be. LOL
I'm doing a happy dance. Live is good!

I sometimes have to remind myself of that. I get all caught up in the stuff going on in the world. We all do. It's good to step back from it all and just count the blessings that are in your life. I can moan and groan about how bad things are ....Or .... I can sit back , watch the sunset over that garden plot, and envision all those veggies.

Friday, March 6, 2009

What's it Gonna Hurt?


I've not personally tried my hand at rabbit raising.... unless you count the feeding and watering. Oh and the mucking out of the aftermath of the feeding and watering. Been there done that as a kid. I do know I want to. We all know the benefits. The lean meat , the fast rate of breeding, the worm cultivation, and the rabbit poop factor.

I am trying to get the DH to build me some hutches. It's ....uhhh... well lets just say he's not opposed to the idea but the timing is off for us. Maybe later this year. We shall see.

Right now we are focusing on getting the truck and getting the garden tilled. First things first right?
Sometimes you just have to let things flow as they will. It seems that when you try to push life ...all you get is resistence. Who needs that? I prefer to take life as it is handed to me and use all my skills (or lack of) and once in awhile ......just once in awhile.......go for that two point conversion. LOL whats it gonna hurt?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

At Least I Tried


Sometimes I am just overwhelmed at all the things going on in our world. The worst part is that I feel cut off from most of the world I deal with.
It amazes me that 99% of the people I deal with on a daily basis haven't got a clue.
Not a whimper or a whine.
Not an outraged or even irritated person in the mix. Not a single clue. This should scare the hell out of us all.
I try to talk with my co-workers . I talk with my customers. I get the blank expressions and the what the f**k stares. I would love to say that people are becoming more aware of what's happening in the United States but I just don't see it. That scares me. How bad is it supposed to get before people wake up?
I get so FRUSTRATED. But in the meantime, I continue to do all I can to prepare. What can it hurt? If the sheeple are right- well -then I have cool tools and a lil food on back up. At least I TRIED!