Happy Thanksgiving! Also, how bad roads changed our plans...

We are celebrating Thanksgiving here in Idaho for the first time in I don't know how many years. We usually head down to Utah to celebrate it with some of my family, and that was the intention again this year--until the road conditions influenced our decision to just turn around and stay home yesterday. We had heard about the storm that had hit in Utah the night before, (and it had actually gone through our area leaving much snow to shovel in its wake) looked at the weather reports and internet maps, looked outside at the sunny sky, and decided to go for it. We packed up and headed out---and made it about 6 miles from home before we saw the first slide-off.

I asked my husband as we came up on it if he thought the driver needed help. At first he thought there was no one in the car, but I was pretty sure that there was--and out came the driver. From the way it looked, the young man must have just slid off the road right before we approached.

My husband pulled over. By the time I turned around to see how things were going, there was another car pulled over as well. My husband and the other helpful driver got out and attempted to help push the vehicle back on the road. Things were not going too well, and meanwhile many other cars, trucks, you name it, were crawling along side us on the slick roads. There was even a tow truck that paused as it was passing us, but we later figured the driver was checking to see who exactly he was supposed to be helping. He didn't say anything to the men who were working on getting the car back on to the road, but eventually drove on. My husband later said that he thought that one of the reasons that the cars were moving so slowly was that there was a major crash further up the road.

Thankfully, another driver with a truck pulled up to help after a while. He had a tow rope, and my husband came back to let us know what was going on before going back to help push the car back on to the road. Once the tow rope gentleman stopped to help, it wasn't long before they had success. Thanks helpful other driver and tow rope gentleman!!

When my husband got back, we talked about the rate that the traffic was going, the road conditions, and all factors involved, and we decided to take the next exit and turn around and go home. Great disappointment for everyone, but when I called and explained the situation my parents were glad because besides the slick roads the temperatures last night were forecasted to be rather (read: extremely) brutal, and they were worried if we got stuck in any way it would be in really unfortunate circumstances.

We finally got back on the road. Before we got to the next exit (sometimes traveling at about 5 miles an hour) we saw at least one more slide off before we got to what was a serious accident--what looked like a van upside down. I am hoping no one was hurt--there was no ambulance, although there were a number of people who were trying to help. I think we made a good choice in staying home--it was brutally cold last night, and we heard later about one person who took two hours to travel a route that is usually a 30-minute drive. To continue on our journey would have been nerve-wracking and long, long, long, even barring any unforeseen accidents... Turns out the person my husband helped was from Utah, so I hope he made it home alright.

Snow, cold weather, icy conditions with (occasionally) horrendous roads, and trucks equipped with tow ropes--that's Idaho.
Stopping and helping someone who needs a hand--and stopping and helping when there are already people helping---that's America.

We've certainly got a lot to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Stay safe, and best wishes to you and yours!

Sometimes you just need other people--or at least someone else's jeep

A couple of weekends ago we found ourselves in a scenario that perhaps many people find themselves in, especially in Idaho. It snowed. This is fun when you have no place to go. It is not fun when the accumulation on the road is such that you and just about everyone else on the road is in danger of being stuck. One of our neighbors told me she got stuck three times before she got out of the neighborhood. Another told me that she got stuck in the driveway and promptly went inside and told her husband she was taking the truck. That morning my husband got out while he was driving and helped someone who was stuck in the middle of the road. While we were together as a family, we did not get stuck. But conditions were a little worse when my husband was out in a neighborhood helping a moving party...

Our neighborhood was not the only one in bad shape that day, and my husband said the neighborhood where he was helping load furniture, etc., was in even worst condition than ours was. When he was ready to go, things were not looking good because the snow was so high in the road that he was getting stuck just trying to leave. So someone else there offered to tow him out to one of the main roads with his jeep. My husband accepted. I'm not sure my husband had even met that gentleman before that morning, and I don't remember hearing his name, so it is unlikely that I know him. In any case, if he is reading, I say thank you!

I have been thinking about that situation (because, obviously, I have not been writing about it :) for awhile. There are times when you are just going to need other people. I suppose that there are scenarios where you could do all of the heavy lifting/pushing/ trying to extricate your vehicle from a snowdrift all by yourself until you finally got to where you were going. I suppose. I'm sure that there are some people that have situated themselves so that they really wouldn't ever need other people, and they have the self-sufficiency aspect down to an art. But I think that most of us would need other people in at least some ways in certain emergency situations, and those situations are different depending on where you live.

Who will you call if the power goes out and you have no alternative source of heat when it is -14 with a windchill of -26? (Ah, Idaho.) What if you have an earthquake, and have to evacuate? What if your probable weather emergency is a hurricane? A tornado? A flood? A mudslide? A heatwave? What if your probable emergency is of a financial nature, and you find yourselves in need of shelter or other basic necessities? What if the probable emergency has to do with a situation that requires defense of property, and you need strength of numbers to protect you and yours? I'm sure that there are more emergencies that could occur, but those are the ones that come to mind.

There are many ways that we can prepare ourselves so that we need minimal/no help during emergency situations, but there are also many emergency situations that are likely to eventually lead to our seeking help from other people. My husband and I have discussed some of the scenarios that might lead us to seek out other people (most likely family members) but we still have work to do in this area. For us there would likely be a plan A and plan B at least. But we do think that it would be best to have a plan with the people we would seek out in an emergency situation, so that there would be less confusion and better transfer of supplies, etc. if an emergency were to arise.

What about you? What is your most likely emergency situation where you would need the assistance of other people? Do you have a plan? We're still working on one here, and are so grateful that we still have some time to do so, and are hoping that we would never have to put such a plan into action.

Just so you know, don't come to us if you need to be towed by a jeep. However, if you get stuck in the snow in our neighborhood, don't be surprised if my husband shows up with a snowshovel. Hey, you do what you can... :)

The camera is back (plus more about pumpkins)

For wonderful information, for the whole process from growing to preserving pumpkins, check out the comments on my previous post. Thanks to Kristen, Anonymous, and Stephanie--another case of me finding out about things I didn't know I didn't know from my internet friends!

My husband found a cord that works with our camera, (hurray!!) so without further ado, a look at some of this year's pumpkins--

I would put this gem in the "green suits me so I'm not planning on changing anytime soon" category:

Then there is, as there was last year, a candidate for "most likely to be ripe in time for use as a jack-o-lantern" category:



And finally, there is the "we will keep you guessing" category, as in when will these little buddies be ready for harvest (if ever, in the case of the one on the left)... :



Ah, well. We have a few more, but these are the ones that made it into the photo shoot. Just glad the camera can be used with the computer again, and that it is highly likely that we will end up with more pumpkin puree in the freezer eventually....

The sure thing about this post is that there is valuable information in the comments left on my last post. If you have questions about pumpkins, be sure to check them out--you'll be glad you did.

Hearing the warnings

Just read this article about the devastating earthquake in Italy. I don't know what to say to those affected, except that I send my heartfelt condolences and am sorry for your loss.

What is particularly disturbing is that in the article, a seismologist had tried to warn people that the earthquake was coming. But because he wasn't exactly right about when it would hit, he was publicly taken to task. From the article:

"Indeed, a little-noticed controversy had erupted the week before, after Giampaolo Giuliani, a seismologist at the nearby Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Abruzzo, predicted, following months of small tremors in the area, that a much bigger jolt was on its way. The researcher had said that a "disastrous" earthquake would strike on March 29, but when it didn't, Guido Bertolaso, head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency, officially denounced Giuliani in court last week for "false alarm." "These imbeciles enjoy spreading false news," Bertolaso was quoted as saying. "Everyone knows that you can't predict earthquakes."

Tragic. This situation makes me ask myself a few questions:

--What would I have done in this situation? If someone said, "Insert devastating tragedy here would happen on insert date here, would I have a place to go to get away from the dangers associated with such a situation?

--Even if insert devastating tragedy here didn't happen, would I be sorry about the improvements I made to survive such a tragedy-- i.e. stronger building structures, emergency food supplies, emergency shelter supplies, etc. --or would they be something I would be glad I prepared with/had on hand anyway?

---Would I think that just because not all the details were exactly right, that nothing the person said who was doing the warning had any validity?

There are a lot of emergency preparation sites out there, which have a lot of helpful information. Some of these I have quoted, and linked. Some more I will probably quote and/or link in the future. We may not agree on everything, but we agree on at least one thing: everyone needs to be prepared for emergencies. The reasons we think emergencies may come--problems with the economy, pandemic, disruption in transportation of goods, to name a few--may differ, but in the end, if you have no food/water/supplies in an emergency situation, will it really matter which kind of circumstances led to your situation?

If/when an emergency situation takes place, there may be some people who are currently trying to warn people to be prepared who, because they were ignored, may say, like the seismologist in the article above, "Someone owes me an apology". But I also think that the vast majority of bloggers/writers/speakers who are trying to help people get prepared by blogging/writing/speaking about emergency preparation would say, as he did, after such a situation, "I am devastated but also angry." It may be presumptuous, but I think the whole reason that most bloggers blog on this subject is to try to ensure that any emergency that takes place will be less devastating for everyone, whether they know the people involved or not.

Please get as many emergency supplies in storage as you can, within your means. Even if your favorite blogger(s) may not get the details exactly right as to the reasons why/when you may need them, I don't think you'll ever be sorry to have emergency resources on hand.....

May be a little off-topic, but it might help someone

It occurs to me that someone might pass by this blog who is already having difficult times. A site I found, I think a couple of years ago, is Modest Needs. People in all kinds of situations apply for their grants, and people send in donations to fund specific expenses. People can ask for help with car repairs, gas bills, medical bills--something that they need help to pay so that they can keep their heads above water during difficult times. From what I've read, although it has been a while, is that applying for the grants is not difficult, and it sounds like those employed in the organization are very helpful.

If you need help, apply. Not everyone gets funded, but you won't even have a chance if you don't apply. If you can help fund a grant, please consider doing so. Right in the website header it has the words: "Small Change. A World of Difference." Some of the contributions may be small, but they add up. Sometimes, if we work together, we can do an awful lot to help each other.

I hope that if you are having difficult times right now, that things get better for you soon. Check out Modest Needs, and see if they can help you. And if you need to apply for a grant, I hope that you get it.

The more information, the better...

Well, if the purpose of inventory was to worry that I didn't have enough of something in storage, it worked--would it surprise you if I mentioned that our emergency preparedness purchases this week consisted of rice, rice and more rice? Yeah, at this count, it really is only rice in the running... :)

One of my older polls consisted of the following question and answers:

How do you share information about food storage?

I don't talk about food storage with other people 20%
I talk about food storage with people who have the same mindset that I do 54%
I share a blog with the world to encourage others to improve their food storage 25%
I have e-mailed people about the importance of food storage 20%
I belong to a food storage group who does group buys and has members who help each other prepare 8%
I have taught classes on food storage 11%
I talk to anyone I can about food storage 20%
I have written letters/newsletters about food storage 5%

Thanks for participating in my polls, and thanks for the work you are doing in getting prepared and/or getting other people prepared. It's not always easy to talk about food storage or to get prepared ourselves for a variety of reasons, but it is encouraging to see that people are doing a variety of things to help themselves and others to make progress in this area.

One thing that I find encouraging is that there is now an American Preppers Network, and that as a result, a lot more people are writing about topics that will help people to get more prepared for emergency situations. I have linked to them on this page, but I won't have room for all fifty links, so I will leave up the links that I had before this network went up, and you can link to the American Preppers Site for updated information. A lot of the states have been spoken for, but some have not, so if you want to get involved, and blog rather than talk about emergency preparedness, this might be for you. If your state's website has already been claimed, I'm sure that the blogger in charge would appreciate your input. Even if it is not your state, I'm sure that contributions on any topic that applies would be appreciated, and if (like at Idaho Preppers, hint, hint :) you are willing to post but want to remain anonymous, you can send in a comment, and it could end up showing up as a post with the credit given to your blogger name of choice. At any rate, there is a lot more information showing up, and shared information that will help in an emergency is always welcome.

In the end, if you don't want to blog/talk/whatever about emergency preparedness, I hope that at least you are doing some preparation for you and yours. After all, actions speak louder than words.... :)

Who will you do emergency preparation for?

You know I really wish I knew how to manipulate the font on the post title a little more. If I did, it would look like this: Who will you do emergency preparation for?

We have quite a few picture books around here, one of which is called "Mr. Badger's New House". (Written and illustrated by Robin Muller, published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC, copyright 2002 by Robin Muller. Ah, now hopefully no one will be angered, or worse, come after me... :) The gist of at least part of the story is that Mr. Badger likes his house, but when things go wrong, he ignores the problems, until one day there is a big storm. In the aftermath, he looks at the challenges of fixing what is wrong and decides that he can't do it, so he decides that it is time to move. He purchases a new house, and Grandmother Mouse moves into the old one, despite the fact that Mr. Badger tells her all about the problems that need fixing. She's not worried, and tells Mr. Badger that someone will fix those problems for her.

Grandmother Mouse is right. When Mr. Badger is invited to visit his old home (more than once) he eventually ends up fixing the house for her. There is more than that to the story, so I leave you to visit to your local bookstore or library to find out (while hopefully leaving myself in the good graces of the author--it's a charming book.)

When I read this book lately, it occured to me that this little scenario could be applied to food storage. Then as I have been writing this, it appears that it could be applied in more ways than one---how ignoring problems that are evident can become bigger and harder to fix until they basically become an emergency, how not even trying to take care of necessary tasks guarantees failure, how much we can actually do when we decide to try to do something--you get the idea. However, I'm sticking with the idea that prompted the post title--Mr. Badger wasn't willing to do the repairs that the house needed for his own benefit, even though he really liked his house. But he was willing to do the repairs for someone else. What aren't you/I/we doing in terms of emergency preparation that we would be willing and able to do for someone else, if we would just try?

It's kind of a personal question, so I will leave you to your own thought processes. But for purposes of illustration, I'll share one thing that I have begun doing since I have really started to get prepared that I am willing to do for my family but had no desire to even try just for myself. Many of you may laugh (but hopefully not decide to never read my blog again) when I say that I never wanted to bake my own bread-- among other things, I was afraid that I would kill the yeast. There were many rationalizations for this behavior--way back when bread was more affordable, making my own bread was a lot more time-consuming than buying it off the shelf, etc.--so I ignored the fact that I should probably be learning this oh-so-useful skill. When I realized that having flour and oil and yeast in storage was nice and all, but I didn't know what I was going to do with it all to feed my family, I couldn't ignore the problem that I didn't know how to make bread anymore. I had to roll up my sleeves and try, just like Mr. Badger did. And when I did try, it worked out, just like it did for Mr. Badger. And just like Mr. Badger let things slide when it was just him that was affected, but fixed those same things for Grandmother Mouse, what I am willing to do for my children can be vastly different than what I am willing to do when I have only myself to consider.

Long story short? (Too late... :) I do emergency preparation much more efficiently for my family. Even though my skills are still extremely limited in the bread-making category (ok, I have like one recipe down pat) I can do something with my preparation supplies to make sure that there is food on the table. It's a good feeling. I should repeat that feeling with a bigger variety of bread recipes....

So, back to the post title question--who will you do emergency preparation for? You/we/I may be able to stomach meal after meal of rice and beans/live in temperatures a lot lower than comfortable/have less light to do things by, etc., but what about those for whom we are responsible? How well do we want to be prepared for their benefit? And I have to mention (and hope that it is not too much of a spoiler) that although Mr. Badger is motivated to do the things that need doing by Grandmother Mouse, he does benefit from his own labors in the end, though I won't spell out the details. This will most likely ring true for us as well if we need to deal with an emergency situation--even though we prepare with the welfare of others in mind, it is highly likely that we will share in the good things that result from our efforts. Even if we don't, the ones that we did do the work for will still reap the benefits.

Just something to think about. Thanks to Robin Muller for the story that prompted this post--I highly recommend it. Admittedly, every new effort that I have made has not met with the same success when it comes to my emergency preparation (you can check my previous posts to verify this unfortunate fact) but I would rather make mistakes before an emergency so things will work out better during one. Can you think of something that you can do for others in terms of emergency preparation that you don't necessarily want to do just for yourself?

I, as mentioned, could always improve on that bread-making thing....

In the small world category...

Imagine my surprise when I looked over at Utah Preppers Website today and saw information from an e-mail the poster had received that was the same e-mail I had also received from my best source (Mom). I checked with my best source, and even though I know that I have mentioned this at least one other place on the internet, she doesn't care if everyone knows that she's from Utah, so the proverbial cat is out of the bag--my best source lives in Utah. Thing is, she belongs to a food storage group, and I get their e-mails through her. Then, when I see something that I need, she adds my order to hers, keeps it at her house until either we visit my parents or they visit us, and everyone wins. (OK, let's be honest, in this case, we, the out-of-staters, are clearly the winners in this scenario.) Since we only buy the really long-term storage items this way, our order can sit at their house indefinitely, hypothetically, but usually that's not the case, though sometimes it does take awhile. Keeping our unwieldy food storage at their house for extended periods of time...family's good that way. :)

The food storage group mentioned is a great resource for those who want to stock up on food storage--because they order in bulk, the prices are lower, and since so many people are ordering, there are more people in their area that are prepared in case of an emergency. What if you don't have family, as I do, that belongs to such a group, or don't live in Utah? Did you know that there are other state prepper's networks on the internet that could help you with emergency preparedness? The ones that I am aware of are:

The Texas Prepper's Network

The Kentucky Preppers Network

Some of the information may be general, and not specific to these particular geographical areas, and that information is helpful to everyone. Some of the information may be specifically helpful for residents of said states, and may help you and/or your family if you live there, and may be especially helpful if you think that you're alone in your emergency preparedness activities. You're not. And some of the information might not apply to you, or may include activities that you are not interested in--find the things that you are interested in, and use them to better your preparation and supplies. Not everyone eats/drinks the same things, but everyone eats and drinks, and you have to have supplies to do so if you have an emergency situation arise.

Do you live in Texas, Kentucky, or Utah? If not, perhaps you can start a network of your own for your state. I have considered (oh so verrrry briefly, and it was more of a fleeting thought, really) starting one for my state, but if you haven't read my disclaimer on not being an expert lately, look to the right....and down.... I really don't think that I am the best representative for my state, and I know there are other bloggers out there from my state. I do hope that eventually there will be more and more state blogs out there so that people in the same area can help and strengthen each other before and/or in case they have an emergency. One of the things that I love about the internet is that now I feel like I have friends from all over the country, and the world, who are also trying to get prepared for any situation that might happen, and I learn from reading their blogs and the information and techniques they are willing to share. Everybody wins.

After all, there is strength in numbers. United we stand.

It can be scary when a door gets closed...

It can be scary when a door gets closed. It can be even scarier when multiple doors of opportunity get closed, as is happening in the business world as stores shut down due to the economy. Isn't there a saying about when a door closes, open a window? That's why I think that it's important that we have a window to open, even (and maybe especially) if it's in our own home in the form of the things we have stored in the way of emergency preparedness supplies. If we already own what we need and have it available in our storage space, we have a lot less to worry about in terms of which stores stay open, and which are forced to close.

I have heard about stores closing, but I have thought more about it since reading this post on the Cordite Country website while I was blog-hopping. When I saw on their list that JC Penney was closing some stores after January, I went out searching to find out more about what was going on with other specific companies as a result of everything that is going on with the economy. The article that I found here didn't mention JC Penney, but there are still a few names of companies that are having problems that are familiar to me on it. There is a link to the full article on that page, and the news isn't good (and I found the accompanying photos to be rather depressing as well).

None of the companies mentioned here probably have as great as an impact on my shopping habits as does JC Penney, but it does bother me that Safeway is having problems--it's a food chain. That and the newspaper group mentioned--I know that we have the internet, but it would be scary to have limited access to the press because of economics, especially if a non-biased source runs out of money, and a press source with a biased agenda is the only one available. With limited sources, I would think that it would be difficult to determine which was which.

So that's the bad news. The good news is that at the time that I am writing this, the companies mentioned are only struggling, not completely gone. If I find out that the JC Penney closures extend to my community, I will probably stock up on children's clothes before my location closes, if I have the means and opportunity. If you find that one of the companies listed has things that you need to have in stock, it would probably be wise to stock up before it's too late. My opinion? I bet you can't guess :), but I say get some food in before it becomes less available. Eating never goes out of style, and if we plan wisely, we can get what we need while we still have so many choices. You may have noticed a theme that runs through my blog-- I love to have choices. That holds true for food. It holds true for clothes and other basic needs. I plan to exercise my choices while I still have some, and I hope that you will as well.

We are pretty frugal around here--to give you an example, we are currently looking for a vehicle to replace our 18-year-old car, that we bought used, and which recently demonstrated attributes that will be too expensive for us to repair and still be able to justify keeping it. We usually try to "wear things out." I doubt that that many stores depend on our constant patronage to raise their revenue. But we do need the basics plus we like to have some non-essentials, and hopefully we will be able to get ourselves well-prepared before even harder times come. You may have noticed that my current poll is centered on the problem of store closures, and I will tell you what I think, at least in part. The stores closing bother me--yes, because of the restriction of choices, but more because it means that more people will find themselves unemployed and struggling. To those who have found themselves more directly involved in the problems of the "doors closing", whether due to employment or lack of resources in your area, I hope that things get better for you soon, and that you have enough of a window in terms of preparedness to make your life easier. For those of us who can help, I certainly hope that we will where we can. The more we prepare ourselves, the bigger the window we create, and hopefully, the greater the opportunity to share...

Experience is the hardest teacher...

I heard a quote the other day that I really liked: "Experience is the hardest teacher: first comes the test, then the lesson." Just because I like the quote, however, doesn't mean that I like learning from experience when the lessons are difficult--in fact, in those cases I would prefer to learn things "secondhand" so to speak, and learn from other peoples' experience instead. That doesn't necessarily mean that other peoples' experiences had to be bad--I just mean, if someone has more knowledge and experience than I do, it would be wise of me to listen to what they have to say and factor it into my own plans to hopefully have a less difficult lesson myself. This can apply for lessons that are life-saving, as well as those that just make our lives easier.

Before I had children that were old enough to get out of the door by themselves, I heard what happened to a family in our area. One day, while the father was changing a diaper on the baby, an older child, who was not that much older, walked out the door and into the street, which happens to be one of the busiest streets around here. A bus driver saw the child and picked him/her up. When authorities returned the child to the parents, they told them that they needed to get a chain on the door to avoid a repeat performance of the incident.

I may have forgotten some of the exact details of this story, but I remembered the lesson involved, and there was some kind of lock on the upper part of our doors (and there still is, except for a door we recently replaced... gotta get that fixed) before this kind of thing could ever become an issue. Having seen the street mentioned, it still horrifies me that the child was out on it, and I can only imagine the feelings of the parent, when, after the short amount of time it takes to change a diaper, the toddler was nowhere to be found until the authorities showed up. I don't know if my own children would ever do that--but I don't want to find out. The thing is, I think that it's human nature to read about something or see it on TV and think that the kind of emergency that we're reading/hearing about will never happen to us. That may be so--maybe it never will. Then again, maybe it will. Are we willing to take the chance that it won't, and not do all that we can to be prepared?

There is (ahh, you knew this was coming) the long-term preparation for disaster that we can make by getting our houses in order by storing food/water/other necessities. Then there are things that we can learn and pick up from other peoples' experiences if we are looking to learn and are paying attention. I like a recent post over at iPrepared, where it cites stories of people who in one case were brilliant and bought enough water to line their dining room, and in another case were brilliant and filled up every container they could with water so that they would have enough to make waiting out and cleaning up after Hurricane Ike easier. I love that idea--I have some water stored, but I don't usually sit around with every possible container in my house filled with water. If I had to stay in place in a situation where water would be cut off and/or undrinkable, and I had a little advance warning, I would now think to fill up everything I could with water. If you have small children, you would have to take that into account, so you wouldn't make your house a dangerous place to be with water sitting around where it could be a hazard, but if you are thinking ahead, a well thought-out plan could eliminate problems with that as well. There is so much to learn from the experiences of other people, if we are paying attention.

Then there are some people who are kind enough to share their experience and knowledge without us having to go looking. In my last post I pointed out that soon we will have a wood stove insert in our house. I was amazed by the comments that people left, full of detailed and helpful information that I needed to know. Quite frankly, it made me a little nervous to find out how much I have to learn, and gave me a lot more questions to ask the stove representative before I start using it. I am very grateful that people took the time to write in and share their knowledge and experience, from how much wood they have needed, (now I hope that we can afford to feed the thing :) and ways that they have stored it, to advice on how to keep it from being hazardous to the family (read: avoiding a chimney fire) by making sure that you keep it properly maintained. Check out the comments on that post. There is a lot of useful information.

Then there are people who are willing to share their experiences/knowledge in blogs. On a recent poll that I put up, one issue that people had was finding space in which to put their food storage. In looking around at blogs that I read, I found an example of storing in plain sight over at Stealth Survival, and an example of some things to do to add food storage space at Safely Gathered In. The information is out there, and even in cases where relying solely on your own experience to be your "teacher" wouldn't be that painful, why reinvent the wheel when there are others willing to share what they've learned?

I, for one, am grateful that a lot of people don't sit by and figure that because they had the "hardest teacher" everyone else should have to go through the same things as well. Learning from other people is a great way to get more prepared for emergencies, to avoid emergencies, and to survive emergencies. I hope to keep learning, and better yet, apply what I've learned, should it be necessary. In this case, you gotta love "hand-me-downs".... :)

Being neighborly

Well, first a word about the economy problems that escalated yesterday--and a word is about all that I'm qualified to say on the subject--if the economy causes some/all of us/only me/only you to have a personal emergency in the near or far future, anything that we are able to put aside now will help us then. It may mean that at least we have something to eat. Or it may mean that because we have that food stored, we will be able to meet other expenses. If you are already facing your emergency, please do what you can, and I hope that it turns out well quickly for you. There are so many ways that people can find themselves in need of food storage, that it's scary, but the more that we are able to do, the better off we will be. That's why I'm working on it. It's not easy, but in the long run it will be worth it.

Something that has made our lives easier lately is being neighborly. That old adage of what goes around comes around is true at times, and lately what has been happening is that what goes around in a trickle comes around in a flood. (I guess that means that I better be sure that the things that I am doing are good things... :) I'll give you a couple of examples. For purposes of this example, I am going to call my neighbors Bartholomew, Wenceslas, Theodore, and Chad. Yeah, we have to maintain privacy around here. Anyway, here it goes....

Not too long ago my husband took some raspberries over to Bartholomew's house, and at the time explained (this will be in my words, not his, since I wasn't there) that because his peach tree, that hangs over our shared fence, is not immune to gravity, nor to a small child's hands messing around, some of his peaches were lost to him, for which we were very sorry. Bartholomew graciously said that we could help ourselves to his peaches. As evidence of Bartholomew's generosity, I present to you his peach tree, as seen from our backyard:

Bartholomew's generosity did not end there, however. When he returned the dish that my husband had delivered the raspberries in, he also handed me a large bag of apples. So we got back a lot more than we gave him--but I think just the increase of good will trumps the fruit by a long shot, and as you can see, the potential fruit harvest was quite large.

Then there were Wenceslas and Theodore, who came by unasked to help my husband remove a rather unsightly bush from our front yard. I guess they noticed what was going on, and showed up with a truck and the equipment to yank that stump right out of the ground. Our family vehicle is not really built for that kind of activity, so it is much appreciated. Before I talked to my husband and found out how helpful Wenceslas and Theodore had been, I encountered Wenceslas myself.

I was calling my children in for dinner while simultaneously chasing them down the street, when Wenceslas came up to me with about 1/2 a box of apples. Here is the gist and not exact content of the conversation that took place:

W: Hey, do you want these apples? We've been doing everything we can with apples, and we just had too many, could you use them?

Me: Well, um....I don't know if we could use all of them.

W: Well, we just have too many of them, maybe if you could just use some of them...

Me: Well, ok, but if we can't use all of them, we just won't tell you.

W: Hey, that's fine. My next stop for these was the dumpster. (Hands over box)

Me: Ok, thanks! (Resumes chasing children)

Now, you may remember that we already had a big bag of apples that we had from Bartholomew. And these apples, though I did not examine them closely, were rescued from a dumpster run. I thought that at the very least, I could make it easier on him (isn't it easier to throw other people's things away than your own? :) and just dispose of them myself. I don't know how to can, and I don't have a juicer, and I already had a big bag of apples to use before they were fit for a dumpster run. What to do?

It was here that something that I've learned from my blogging neighbors came to mind. In an effort to build up suspense about what happened with the apples, (yes, I am totally kidding, but if you want it to be suspenseful...) let me tell you about some of the things that I have gained by being a neighbor in the blogosphere:

-- a ton of useful information from people who are willing to comment. Just a couple of examples: Thanks to gl and Bustednuckles, who left comments on my tenting post explaining why there was so much mesh on the thing, and options and possible problems concerning air mattresses and camping pads. Thanks to Stephanie and Nancy, who left comments on my post about using canned beans--suggesting canning your own beans, or drying them, and even left instructions and a recipe.

-- a ton of useful information from people who write blogs themselves. Posts by people like Riverwalker over at Stealth Survival, who has included posts on food tips, among many other useful emergency preparation topics. You can find out about what other people are doing to get better prepared in general, that would end up improving your situation in an emergency, like a wood stove purchase over at Woody's Rocky Ridge, or canning over at Johnson Family Farm (these people have almost convinced me that a pressure canner does not have to be a scary thing). Not to scare you away from my recipes, but check out Safely Gathered In for more food storage recipes--they have pictures with theirs. There are people that are literally living off the beaten path, and are willing to share their knowledge and experiences with others, found at blogs like Wretha's Adventures Living 100% Off Grid, or Homesteading Hickory Hills.

The list could really go on and on, and just like with our neighbors that live down the street, we may (and probably will) not agree with everything they do/say/blog about. But the benefits that come from sharing and learning from each other in the blogging neighborhood are huge. I am trying to help other people by recording what I learn and by writing about my own experiences. What I gain from other people blogging is like that flood return on a trickle. So my appreciation goes out to those mentioned, as well as those not mentioned--the list would be too long. But I'll probably mention more in later posts... :)

So whatever happened to those apples? Even before I went inside, I (having read about what happens over at Homesteading Hickory Hills, where they never waste anything) had thought about yet another neighbor, Chad, who owns horses. I do not know where they are, but I know that he owns them, and since I do not have pets of the apple-eating variety, I thought the apples, so close to dumpster status, may have been of use to him. Later, when my husband and I talked about the apples and he said maybe Chad would want them, I did say," Yeah, I was wondering about that myself...", but everyone knows that the credit goes to the person who says it out loud first... :)

The apples were delivered to Chad. I assume he was happy. Wenceslas was happy to be done with the apples. Bartholomew liked the raspberries, and we like peaches and apples. We also like having that stump out of our front yard. So what does this have to do with food storage? Quite a bit, actually:

--Having good will between neighbors can only help should an emergency situation arise where you need to help each other. If you don't know your neighbors, they may still help you, but it is easier to ask for help or offer help when you are dealing with people you already know.

--The apple incident was a good example of how, if we don't improve our skills while we can, we may have missed opportunities. I hate (actually more than you know) to hold myself up as a bad example, but just think of what I could have done with those apples had I known how to can, or at least been proficient at and had equipment for juicing. I didn't entirely waste the apples, but I could have put them to a greater use for my family had I had the skills. Just some more things for me to work on, and an example of a missed opportunity.

--If you end up with something you can't use, chances are good that someone else might be able to use it. This is true of those apples, and it is true of many things. Then, there are other types of resources that you "give," like Theodore and Wenceslas gave their time, and the use of their equipment without being asked. Some things, like the apples, needn't be wasted, even if they are, in your mind, "ready for the dumpster." And sometimes, the things that you give are not actually things that you will lose, except for a little of your time, but your neighbors will really appreciate it.

Whew, a little long-winded. This is one of those times that I am glad that I don't employ those gadgets on my blog that would show me how quickly people stop reading :) (if those even exist). In any case, being neighborly and having neighbors can bring big returns--in your neighborhood or in the blogosphere. I am glad that I have both.

Polls and Resources

The following are the results from the last two polls that I put up about food storage:

When it comes to the basic staple of wheat, I:

--Have not yet stored any 30%
--Have some, and am knowledgeable about using it in recipes 38%
--Have some, and am searching for some (or more) ways to use it 30%

No one chose the other options. Speaking personally, I fall squarely in the "have some, and am searching for some (or more) ways to use it" category. I have a brand new, operated by elbow grease hand grinder that has never, to my knowledge, seen the outside of the box. I could elaborate on why that is, but in the end it is all excuses, and does nothing for my food storage- using prowess. Some things just need to change. That said, it's interesting the things that happen when you start to talk to other people about actually using your food storage. A sampling:

--I have known for years that my husband grew up eating "cracked wheat cereal", but have never made it myself. My husband has offered to show me how to make it. I mentioned this cereal when his parents were visiting not too long ago, and soon afterwards we received an e-mail asking us if we wanted their wheat grinder (also elbow-grease operated). How can you turn down a free, tried and true wheat grinder? We couldn't. It soon arrived on our porch. We now own two wheat grinders. I am running out of excuses.....

--I mentioned to another friend that I was looking for ways to use our wheat. She said that some people used to just put the wheat in a thermos, cover it with hot water, put the lid on, and leave it over night. They would then have cereal in the morning. I have not tried this personally. But I will most likely be searching for a thermos soon.....

--If you haven't checked out the Friday's Food Fancy posts on Jacobus Family Blogspot, (listed as a resource to the right as well) I don't think I can recommend them highly enough. The recipes are geared toward using your food storage, and the tips and links are excellent as well. Not too long ago, author Peggy Layton was mentioned, because she has written about cooking with food storage. So, being me, I used the local library to see if any of her books were available. The catalogue indicated that yes, there was a book written by this author that would be of interest to me, and yes, it was in. Problem was, it was not where it was supposed to be. I left empty-handed.
Soon after, one of my friends, who I have swapped recipes with, and discussed food storage with, came by to visit and handed me a book by Peggy Layton called Cookin' with Home Storage. A happy coincidence for me, and I now have more work to do to try out these recipes....

So what's my point? Sometimes, if you ask, you will find out that you have more resources available to you--recipes, knowledge, suggestions, or more. You may not end up with an additional wheat grinder on your porch, but if you ask around, you might be able to find someone with the knowledge of where to find used equipment at a good price that would help you to put your food storage to good or better use. For one example of this, you might want to check out recent posts at Johnson Family Farm--talk about knowing how to use a flea market to your advantage. Even if there is not a flea market in your area, there may be other places to go for good deals that other people do know about. You could exchange recipes, books, knowledge, you get the picture. Power in numbers can lead to power in knowledge, just because we help each other.

Now for that other poll I mentioned back in the day... :)

When it comes to the basic staple of beans, I:

Have not yet stored any 7%
Have the canned variety 30%
Have the dry variety 30%
Have some, and am knowledgeable about using beans in recipes 53%
Have some, and searching for some (or more) ways to use them 38%
Have some, but they are strictly for emergencies, and I will figure out how to use them then 15%

Personally, I now have more knowledge about using dry beans, but need to learn to use the canned beans as well. A last resource that you may want to consider? The comments on the blogs that you read. Nancy was kind enough to include a bean recipe in the comments section of my last post with the list of bean recipes, (thanks, Nancy!) so now I have another recipe to try, and it looks tasty. You may want to try it yourself... :)