Let's Talk

 

The past year, I have battled with a nagging gut feeling that I could not put a finger on. Sometimes, it would ease, but not go away. When that happens, I know something is trying to get my attention. With the whirlwind that goes on in my brain, I understand why catching and holding onto a single thought sometimes takes awhile. I am not small or narrow minded, I think locally and globally. I am not an expert on anything, but I have knowledge of a lot of areas. Therefore, a single thought...just rarely happens. 

I have spent the course of a decade, working to make my family as self-sufficient as possible. We live very rural, so part of that is due to our geographical location. The other part, however, felt like a need. You will find I "feel" things, and that is my gut/intuition trying to push me toward my path in life. I have felt/intuitively believed that we needed to be a majority self-sufficient and not dependent on much. With a 2 year pause, it set back my intuitive knowing of where we needed to be. I've been playing catch up now for 4 years...and we still are not there. With that said, I am at a dead run to get where we need to be as quickly as possible now. 

I know many will take the rest of this blog as political, but I can promise you, it's not. There are 2 sides but it's not R vs. D.  It's government vs. the people. So, understand that. I do not want to get off course here, so moving on!  I have spent YEARS, telling people to always keep some sort of food supply. I usually start reminding people in the Fall, for the Winter months. However, right now, if you don't have a minimum of 6 months of supply of food, water, supplies, etc. you better get to hopping! While the MSM is all wrapped up in the Depp trial, they are neglecting to inform the people of the supply chain mess. As of the last time I checked, China had shut down it's 2 major ports - Shanghai, and Bejing. There tens of thousands or more, ships camped out; not able to get in or out of those ports. Such a large portion of the goods and even food, we have today is being shipped from China. Do you understand what this means for our supplies here in the states? It means, as shelves empty, there is NOTHING coming into our ports to replenish those empty shelves. Sure, the backlog of ships in our own ports have diminished, that is because there are no more coming in! Use your heads! Whether this is deliberate or not is not of my concern. My concern is We The People! Are you and your family, your pets - will you survive the fallout? 

Recently, I shared a video on my social media, once I shared it with my family. I was pretty irritated by their response, so I can only imagine how few others actually watched it and took action. You can binge watch NetFlix but you can't watch an hour video on things to consider to make sure you and your family survive whatever chaos is coming down the pike? You can watch hours of NCIS or whatever, but can't sit still enough to watch a video of importance?! Herein lies the problem with so many. For several generations, we have had it easy! We have always had an abundance. We have had things at our fingertips for 30+ years. We have been able to consume till our hearts are content. Do any of you remember just 2 years ago, when the toilet paper shelves were empty? Do you remember how many people were in panic mode?! Imagine, that 100 fold bigger, when the actual food is disappearing! Imagine not being able to feed your kids, grandkids, or pets! Imagine being given a ration as they did just 2 years ago. What would you do if you could only buy 1 or 2 cans of vegetables, and 1 or 2 pounds of meat. Personally, I will not be standing in a breadline...and before I get grief, you all have no idea how close we are! When economists are stating we are in a recession, food processing plants are catching on fire or having planes flown into them, ships are stopped coming out of China, and our fuel supply costs are doubled from just 18 months ago. You better be getting your head on right. I'm not saying to go out and become a prepper with years of supplies. I am saying you better plan for a minimum of 6 months. Even when the Chinese open up there ports, we are looking at the minimum of 6 months to replenish what we get. So, you are looking at about a year of supplies. For most of us, that isn't possible - between our financial status and actual space...it's not necessarily realistic. Even though it should be. 

I am a huge supporter of growing and raising your own foods, preserving them, and buying locally produced foods. However, I am not above buying items that have a long shelf life. Meaning, canned goods, boxed goods, dried foods; those types of things. In the video I shared, there were a lot of great ideas that not everyone would think of, some even I didn't. I know there are several that will be slow on the uptake, but I hope you will start now - even if it's just $20 a week in items you can stock pile. Here's a few things that I personally, believe should be on the list of items to start stocking up on:

Canned goods - (soups, vegetables, stews), water - (bottled and gallons), first aid supplies, pet & livestock foods/minerals, veterinary supplies, paper products - (no, don't make a shortage of toilet paper again - but figure out what you go through in a month and pick up a package every week till you reach where you need to be - paper cups/plates if you use them, storage containers/bags, paper towels), coffee or your go to beverages(coffee, tea bags, filters, etc.), spices(you can store these in air-tight containers for months, sugar, salt, flour, corn starch, and even canned goods can be made palatable with some spice), seeds, gardening tools(even if you plant in containers, having hand tools will help), cleaning supplies - no matter what is happening in the world, we feel better when there is cleanliness - household and body! 

This is a short list! Start learning who your local farmers/gardeners are! There are so many that are happy to sell directly and cut out the middlemen. Learn the art of bartering. Become friends with your local farmers/gardeners, egg lady, and those that have a skill you don't. If you are in a relationship - stop behaving like a loath and become a partner in the prep work. If you have children, include them - even if that means dragging them kicking and screaming. We are in some seriously troubling times, and the economic outlooks are looking worse by the day! It's time we are all going back to our roots and using a more productive than consumable mind set. Start researching depression era recipes and lessons learned during that time. There is some incredible sources for both online! 

Folks, we need to be proactive. We need to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. Start preparing your pantries for as long of a span as you can, as quickly as you can. You may be able to use those extra items to barter or trade with, if need be. You may be able to help someone else, down the road with whatever extras you can get now. Think about your own family, and your neighbors. It's past time to pull our heads out of the sand. It's time to get busy, to get prepared; so we can weather the storm that is here and the bigger storm that is knocking at our doors. 

Many blessings!

Salli

Coffee Chat

 

Good Morning, Ya'll!!! I have a laundry list I want to chat about today. I hope you'll stay with me through this! Just in case, Make this day count!! Be kind!! 

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love to learn! Homeschooling my children was truly one of the BEST decisions I have ever been forced to make. While it became my charge to educate these amazing young people, it forced me to start relearning, myself. It actually took me on a path of learning far beyond my wildest dreams. Not just in the areas of the generalized education but more so into fields of study that are NOT taught to our young people - BUT SHOULD BE! There are too many areas to remember off the top of my head, but slowing down enough to see the world through a lense, learning the different plants - which one are poison and which one are edible, gestation periods for everything from chickens to sheep to cows, the anatomy of these livestock and how to help the birthing process along, how to use plants for healing, how to make food from scratch, how to raise and grow food, how to preserve food, and so much more. I'm not going to say this is easy, because God knows, there are days I want to pull out my hair! It so far beyond worth it, that those rough days are few and far between. No, I don't socialize my children. They learn to interact with people of all ages, from every walk of life, and they develop their own opinions. They learn to think for themselves, through critical thinking, instead of having a mass mindset. It has been a journey of them learning to observe, listen, educate themselves, and develop their own thought process; in every area of life. 

I could go on for days about the value of parents being their children's educators, but I won't. I know there are many people that disagree with this. That does, however, bring me another subject. When did it become acceptable for people to judge the way other's live? I know, this has gone on for eons. It just seems that lately, these keyboard warriors now have a means to say something online or through the telephone, that they wouldn't have the backbone to say in person. People have become very ugly. I may not agree with other people's choices, but I am not God, therefore, who am I to judge anyone?! Can I disagree with behaviors, absolutely! Is it my job to berate someone else's beliefs? Nope! The only way I will make that judgement, is if it effects me or my family directly! Otherwise, YOU DO YOU!!! I don't know the choices you had to work with, I don't know all the details. Can I be judgemental? Good Lord, can I!!! I'm a work in progress! I am not likely to jump on someone's social media, and call out an opinion I disagree with, but I will voice my opinion, on my own social media. If you choose to jump on my personal page, and degrade/belittle/be ugly about my opinion on MY page, you will probably get called out, unless I don't find your opinion of value or I don't ever hear from you otherwise. I don't have the time or energy to deal with stupid!!! Keep your opinions to your social media. 

I have spent years trying to better myself, through a LOT of adversity. The good Lord knows, I am no where even close to perfect! However, with that mindset, that began prior to the birth of my first child, came the biggest push after my cancer and treatments, and again after almost losing my youngest child to adverse reactions to vaccines. Since then, I continually push myself to do and be better. After nearly 25 years, you'd think things would be easier. Sadly, while I have tried to better myself, I've had a lot of hiccups and outside interference that has made for several setbacks. Thus, I've had a roller coaster ride of emotions and experiences. Some incredible, some not-so-much! I took on the challenge of learning to live a completely different lifestyle than I grew up in, and honestly...I don't think I've too bad! Although, I'm still learning there too. I took a path that was not "typical" almost every single time; the road didn't seem to make sense to the direction I wanted to go. I didn't want to follow the masses. The "M" is typically silent. Has it made life tougher? Oh, hell yes!! Especially, when you catch grief from nearly every direction. Has it been worth it, to this point? Oh My God, YES!!!! 

I know so many "homesteaders" and we are all receiving so much grief for what we do, and how we live. Typically, from people that still follow the news, or think they still have freedom and haven't realized that in less than a year...they could basically starve to death because the supply chain is already halted. I talk about my little farm, a lot! We are not big farmers, nor are we hobby farmers. Homesteaders are working towards self-sufficiency, we are working to care for our families, neighbors, communities. We don't just produce lip service to the theory of God, Family, Country. It's who we are. It doesn't matter the religion, the region or any other divisive terms used by government. It is our calling, it is in our hearts and on our minds 24/7. We understand what working our asses off means. It means spending 6 months preparing for every "what if" of the next 6 months. For many, it means working an 8-9 hour job, then coming home and working another 6-8 hours or more on the home place. It means late night/early morning calls from neighbors needing help....and actually being there to help, at a moments notice! It means helping those that can't help themselves. It means trying to show others, by example, of how life once was. It means no vacations, no frivolous purchases, and learning to manage with bare minimum. The best example I've heard, from Patara at Appalacia's Homestead - "people living in the Appalacia region didn't know there was a depression until after it was over, because that was how they always lived." When you learn to live with bare minimum, taking care of your family, neighbors, community and living off the land; the outside world has little effect on your life. Living in the ways of past days, isn't stupid! It's the smartest way to live. You know all those empty store shelves...the ones fixing to get emptier? My family will still have food to eat. It may not be what we want, or the Starbucks Coffee drinks my daughter and I splurge on...but we will not starve to death! I know, I have heard it locally...and through other homestead videos, all these people talking about just going out to hunt wildlife when there isn't meat in the grocery stores. Guess what, YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE, has the same thoughts. What's that going to mean? It means a bunch of desperate, hungry idiots all out in the woods with guns or fishing poles, fighting it out. You heads for more than a hat rack!! While you're at it...how are you going to clot a gun shot wound or open lesion without a first aid kit or hospital? Do you know what plants do exactly that?  I seriously doubt it! What are you going to do if you get sick, and there's no medicine to get? What about your precious pets? What are you going to do when there's no pet food left at the stores? How are you going to feed them? My hope is that you won't just let them starve! For those with livestock, how are you going to get feed, if there's no crops due to fertilizer shortage, and no crops can be grown? 

So, let's run with that last thought for a minute! Shortages...we are all seeing them. If you're not, you need to pull your head out of the sand, you're not an ostrich! There are several articles in Zero Hedge, about this subject of shortages. Union Pacific railroad reducing shipments of fertilizer through the spring planting season, is just one. So, let's just break this down. Reduced fertilizer for crops that now require it, just to produce. Shortage on fertilizer = shortage of grains. What do these grain shortages mean for us, the consumer? Think about what grain goes into: foods - cereals, breads, pet foods. Grain for livestock - cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats. This means that farmers won't be able to use fertilizers, afford fertilizers or seed, and guess what? THAT EFFECTS EVERY SINGLE PERSON ALIVE! That means the bare shelves you see today, will look like a smorgasbord, in about 8 months! If that long. Still on the subject of shortages, let's look at our supply chain. It's a mess, we've all heard this...it's even on the fake news. Through the big, bad illness, we heard about all the back log of ships sitting in our ports to unload. Are you aware that China, where the majority of our products now come from, has shut down their ports?! Shanghai, one of their biggest ports, has THOUSANDS of ships, anchored because they can NOT load. What does that mean for supplies to the USA? It means in 6 months or less, our store shelves WILL BE empty! 

So, let's think logically for just a minute. I know I am just one of thousands that have been preaching about keeping a minimum of a 6 month supply of necessities. Is it going to take some "journalist" to tell you it's ok to prepare yourself for whatever hardships are coming? If that's what it's going to take, I am sorry. That will probably be too late. Where are the supposed leaders of religious communities during this? Why are the preachers not telling their congregations to prepare themselves? Are they not supposed to be looking out for them?! Realistically, where is our elected leadership or even local community leaders urging their citizens to prepare? Ya'll, if you are waiting for some kind of giant billboard or flashing light as a sign....let this be it!!! I can tell you, I get all kinds of B.S. for my preaching, for my urging and frankly...I have taken it to heart from time to time. I, along with many others, have had enough. If you want to starve to death, I guess that is your choice. If you are not attempting to boost your pantry-even if it's just a handful of things every week, if you haven't learned to grow and preserve your own food, if you are laughing at those of us stating the obvious...you are in a world of trouble, friend! I've grown tired of preaching to deaf ears. If you want to learn, if you want to hear suggestions, I will gladly share all I can! IF you choose to remain willfully ignorant, and just run off with your head, sit down, shut up and move on! My family will not starve, my animals will not starve, and I will defend my family/farm till they pry the still smoking gun from cold dead fingers!!!

So, I had great plans to keep this lite, but I'm pissed! I gave to much credit to the ability of people to see patterns that have resulted in hardships for the average Americans, for DECADES. Instead, people are turning a blind eye and depending on a government or person to come rescue them. Go ask the Native Americans how that worked for them. I have had to readjust my own spirit from too much stupidity and ignorance that touched my life. However, you can bet your ass, I am healing and coming back stronger and more determined, than ever! So, while I get my spirit right with God, and within, I'm going to end today with a blessing of peace, love, light and everyone finding the sign they need to protect themselves and their loved ones during these times of turmoil. 

God Bless!