I found this book at the library, and it got me thinking. Do I just want to "prep" to be ready for any eventuality, or is my preference that I learn skills to enable me and my family to survive through anything. Store versus grow. Prep versus skill.
Okay, I can't imagine living without toilet paper, so I'll store LOTS of that until I can figure out an alternative. Meanwhile, I'd rather prepare for things that could/might/maybe/will happen by learning how to take care of myself, just like our ancestors did not so long ago.
Have you read this book? It's by Linda Cockburn who now lives in Tasmania. She and her hubby and young son did a 6 month experiment in which they spent almost no money, just on essentials like utilities, medical expenses, etc. She admits they weren't perfect, but they did the best they could, and are even now striving to live "lighter" on the earth.
What do you think?
Showing posts with label Ramble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramble. Show all posts
Update on our family's swine flu
I still have it, bad. Hubby came down with it yesterday. Kid woke up with a cough this morning.
HOWEVER, I'm starting to feel better, so is Hubby, and the Kid might not get a full-blown case of the swine flu. So.... we're thinking that all of the herbal supplements and other precautions we took are helping us beat this. Between the goldenseal, echinacea, garlic, vitamins d and c, multi-vitamin, and eating fairly health with fruits and veggies, this thing is starting to subside.
Keep using hand sanitizer. Lysol your house at least once a day. Sanitize laundry (especially hand towels, wash cloths, handkerchiefs, etc.) with vinegar in the rinse cycle. At the first sign of a cough, increase your supplements. Use vapor chest rub when possible, keeping a shirt on to prevent the goo from getting on pillows and sheets. Get a good night of sleep, propping your head up if you can. LOTS of fluids (water, herbal tea, 100% fruit juice)... try to 6-8 ounces an hour. Eat lots of veggies and fruits, simple proteins, whole grains. Stay away from all dairy, unless it's made out of rice or soy milk. Have bananas, rice (or rice cakes/rice crackers), applesauce and gatorade on hand if tummy troubles start up. Take it easy ... don't do too much (like I did today: 3 loads of laundry, cooked dinner, unpacked 2 boxes, and cleaned the kitchen).
I'll keep you updated as I can. I plan to sleep most of the night and probably most of tomorrow. Stay well.
HOWEVER, I'm starting to feel better, so is Hubby, and the Kid might not get a full-blown case of the swine flu. So.... we're thinking that all of the herbal supplements and other precautions we took are helping us beat this. Between the goldenseal, echinacea, garlic, vitamins d and c, multi-vitamin, and eating fairly health with fruits and veggies, this thing is starting to subside.
Keep using hand sanitizer. Lysol your house at least once a day. Sanitize laundry (especially hand towels, wash cloths, handkerchiefs, etc.) with vinegar in the rinse cycle. At the first sign of a cough, increase your supplements. Use vapor chest rub when possible, keeping a shirt on to prevent the goo from getting on pillows and sheets. Get a good night of sleep, propping your head up if you can. LOTS of fluids (water, herbal tea, 100% fruit juice)... try to 6-8 ounces an hour. Eat lots of veggies and fruits, simple proteins, whole grains. Stay away from all dairy, unless it's made out of rice or soy milk. Have bananas, rice (or rice cakes/rice crackers), applesauce and gatorade on hand if tummy troubles start up. Take it easy ... don't do too much (like I did today: 3 loads of laundry, cooked dinner, unpacked 2 boxes, and cleaned the kitchen).
I'll keep you updated as I can. I plan to sleep most of the night and probably most of tomorrow. Stay well.
He's Tired (long post)
Here's a copy of what I found in my e-mail this morning. Not that I agree with it all, but it gave me pause to think. Perhaps it will you too. (Note: although it's attributed to Robert A Hall, a former State Senator, I can't guarantee it.)
= = = = = = = = =
"I'm Tired" by Robert A. Hall
I'll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were Scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.
I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help but if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our Paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.
I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros, and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Christian People of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won't multiculturalism be beautiful?
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight Offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because
they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning Teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.
I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois. I believe "a man should be judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin." But, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children hurts minorities more than anyone. I think it's very cool
that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.
I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural Expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful. That thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential Time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress, that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his, that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a Clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic Schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue, or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love And tolerance.
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.
I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think gay people choose to be gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military... Those are the citizens we need.
I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure.
Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years-and still are? Not even lose. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq , or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers-bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois, where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet as well. I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers, and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars being called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.
= = = = = = = = =
"I'm Tired" by Robert A. Hall
I'll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were Scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.
I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to “keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help but if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our Paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them with their own money.
I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros, and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Christian People of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won't multiculturalism be beautiful?
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight Offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because
they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning Teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.
I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois. I believe "a man should be judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin." But, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children hurts minorities more than anyone. I think it's very cool
that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation Proclamation. I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.
I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural Expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful. That thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential Time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress, that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his, that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as potentially the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a Clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic Schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue, or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love And tolerance.
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.
I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think gay people choose to be gay, but I damn sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.
I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, “Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person, who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military... Those are the citizens we need.
I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure.
Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years-and still are? Not even lose. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq , or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.
I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers-bums are bipartisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship. I live in Illinois, where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years. Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet as well. I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers, and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars being called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.
Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.
Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts State Senate.
Westport's argument over a wall
Take a look at this article: http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/comments/24745/ - if we can't get along over a wall, put up to protect the homeowners from people who drive onto their property, then how are we supposed to make it through TEOTWAWKI?
Come on, Jeffrey and Elizabeth Lillien... get a life. You obviously have lots of money - I read where you paid in the neighborhood of a million dollars for your home. Find something else to occupy your time, or hey, how about you stand outside of that rock wall with a sign that says "slow down"! That way, the Hancocks won't need a wall!
Geez. What a litigious society.
Come on, Jeffrey and Elizabeth Lillien... get a life. You obviously have lots of money - I read where you paid in the neighborhood of a million dollars for your home. Find something else to occupy your time, or hey, how about you stand outside of that rock wall with a sign that says "slow down"! That way, the Hancocks won't need a wall!
Geez. What a litigious society.
My Rambling Prepping Thoughts
As most of you know, we're getting our house ready to sell. We've redone most of the landscaping and tried/still trying to kill weeds. I'm planting flowers for the first time, to make the landscaping look nice, but I hate growing flowers because they have no medical or nutritional value. We're fixing up the inside, painting, storing most of our stuff, and arranging furniture. Our savings has dwindled down to nothing, leaving exactly nothing to pay commissions of buyer and seller agents. I've thrown my back out and hurt my legs and shoulders so badly that I can't sleep at night and pop pain relievers day and night. Every other day we're running down to the basement to wait out tornado warnings and the accompanying hail that bashes against those flowers and the few berry plants we'll be moving with us. It's raining right now, with thunder so loud the whole house shakes.
I hate this.
I don't want to pack. Or redecorate. Or spend money on a house we need to get rid of. I want to write. To work with my kid's schoolwork and plan his next semester. I want to raise my garden and dehydrate the harvests. I want to keep my stored items where I put them, and not in boxes in a storage unit a mile away. I want to sleep for more than 3 or 4 hours. I want even a few hours of painlessness.
But selling this house will be worth it. Right?
This horrible town has such strict rules. We can't have chickens or bees or farm animals. We get ticketed for not moving our cars often enough (even if they are on our driveway) and ticketed for weeds taller than a few inches. Our across-the-street-neighbor is horrible and mean and bent on doing everything he can to own the world. Our next-door-neighbor, the one who got drunk and ran down part of our fence, is raising grandkids who are little monsters, and has a speedboat (mind you, we're nowhere near water) that he hasn't moved in a year, and it's full of water that breeds mosquitos and god-kn0ws what else.
Our next place will be our final homestead, where we can have the animals and plants we want. And less stairs!
But is it really? Our final home, I mean.
I hate the turns this government has taken over the last 9 years. We, the People, have lost so many of our rights. Every phone call or e-mail or text message or blog entry is screened for certain words that could label me/us as domestic terrorists. Sure, we could buy our perfect homestead in the next 3 months but could we keep it? It seems like any ole government agency could decide they need rights to our land and just take it away. That doesn't seem right, does it? Plus property taxes are rising but those same property values are falling. Again, doesn't seem right!
I thought Obama would make things better, but ammo is tagged and counted now? My freedoms are disappearing, albeit a slower rate than when Bush was Prez. I feel confined and locked-in. Like I'm not in America any more.
Yes, I'm a prepper. I grow and store our familly's food. I learn how to defend my home and my family. I learn valuable skills, like making medicine from herbs and candles from beeswax and elderberries. I know how to make paper. I'm figuring out how to grow cotton and to spin and weave it.
But will anything I've done make a difference if the government takes away my home and civil rights?
In the end, will it matter?
I hate this.
I don't want to pack. Or redecorate. Or spend money on a house we need to get rid of. I want to write. To work with my kid's schoolwork and plan his next semester. I want to raise my garden and dehydrate the harvests. I want to keep my stored items where I put them, and not in boxes in a storage unit a mile away. I want to sleep for more than 3 or 4 hours. I want even a few hours of painlessness.
But selling this house will be worth it. Right?
This horrible town has such strict rules. We can't have chickens or bees or farm animals. We get ticketed for not moving our cars often enough (even if they are on our driveway) and ticketed for weeds taller than a few inches. Our across-the-street-neighbor is horrible and mean and bent on doing everything he can to own the world. Our next-door-neighbor, the one who got drunk and ran down part of our fence, is raising grandkids who are little monsters, and has a speedboat (mind you, we're nowhere near water) that he hasn't moved in a year, and it's full of water that breeds mosquitos and god-kn0ws what else.
Our next place will be our final homestead, where we can have the animals and plants we want. And less stairs!
But is it really? Our final home, I mean.
I hate the turns this government has taken over the last 9 years. We, the People, have lost so many of our rights. Every phone call or e-mail or text message or blog entry is screened for certain words that could label me/us as domestic terrorists. Sure, we could buy our perfect homestead in the next 3 months but could we keep it? It seems like any ole government agency could decide they need rights to our land and just take it away. That doesn't seem right, does it? Plus property taxes are rising but those same property values are falling. Again, doesn't seem right!
I thought Obama would make things better, but ammo is tagged and counted now? My freedoms are disappearing, albeit a slower rate than when Bush was Prez. I feel confined and locked-in. Like I'm not in America any more.
Yes, I'm a prepper. I grow and store our familly's food. I learn how to defend my home and my family. I learn valuable skills, like making medicine from herbs and candles from beeswax and elderberries. I know how to make paper. I'm figuring out how to grow cotton and to spin and weave it.
But will anything I've done make a difference if the government takes away my home and civil rights?
In the end, will it matter?
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