Monday Message

"Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. We could refer to all the components of personal and family preparedness, not in relation to holocaust or disaster, but in cultivating a life-style that is on a day-to-day basis its own reward." (President Spencer W. Kimball)

Really it is easier than one would think. If your storage was in and you were making chicken and rice casserole and it called for one can of chicken, one can cream of mushroom soup and rice, you'd use those items and then on your grocery list you would write each of them down. When you come home from the store, just stick those items at the back of the shelf.

It is kind of like bookkeeping.

If we make it a practice, it will work great. If you are building a storage, get two of those items. It will add up. Remember, use the oldest first, that will keep it rotated. I don't care who you are, cans just go bad sometimes. I have gotten cans that are years old and one goes bad. I have gotten brand new cans and one goes bad...nothing you can do.

In weaving, as you get ready to measure your warp, you have to take into account loom waste. It makes a frugal person shudder to have any waste but in weaving there is some waste because you cannot weave all the way to the end. You just have to accept it as part of weaving...do you decide not to weave because of it? No, it is part of the plan. Now when the project is done and cut off the loom, you can tie the next warp onto the waste if you are doing another of that project, or you could use it to tie off warp threads or find another project to use the waste in.

So I think if you choose not to get any storage because it might go bad, that would not be helpful to your family if you had a hardship come. For example, our ignition thingy went out in our oven, we have the part ordered and is on the way. We will install it to cut the cost but this was an unexpected expense. We will take it from the grocery budget as we have things in storage. 

This is why we have storage, to help even out those hard time things. Also having alternative ways to fix food in this case is helpful as well, like a crockpot or two. A microwave, a toaster oven, that sort of thing.  

When we moved here with our little girls so very many years ago, we had no stove and no refrigerator in the house that was useable. We had a freezer, a crockpot with a base that was like a small griddle, a microwave and a waffle iron. Was it more challenging? Yes, it was. Think of what one needs. Just take eggs for example, usually you need two. I would have to freeze the rest. Milk, we used smaller containers, again freezing the milk. Leftovers can be frozen. This was no short time without a refrigerator and stove. We came when it was hot. We had fourteen dollars, two kids and a cat. We had storage, family close by. I am a huge one for moving your storage with you since we always needed it when we got where we moved to. 

This was a really hard move. We moved from the east coast back to Iowa. This house was the only thing to rent, later we bought it. The house was targeted for demolition so it was in horrible condition.  Luckily the items in the freezer stayed frozen. It was hard at that time but we used our storage and cooked on those items I listed. We made French toast in the waffle iron and it became a favorite. We call it eggy waffle and it's very good. 

We made do. It was summer, so soon my husband got some illustrating jobs and we were able to get either a used stove or a used refrigerator for a hundred dollars. My preference was a stove. So we borrowed a truck from my sister-in-law and we were going to pick it up but before we left I wanted to check the free little paper to see if any of the yard sales listed had a better price. I looked through it - no stoves but one had two used refrigerators for fifteen dollars. So we went there and got one of the refrigerators and went and got the stove, so that indeed was a red letter day.

As time went on I found an electric frying pan at a yard sale. I picked it up thinking I sure could have used that during that time. I still have it as well. One other time a similar part went out in the oven we had. As I was getting ready to stick in an angel food cake I knew it went out right away since I always preheat the oven. I remembered reading somewhere that you could bake an angel food cake in an electric skillet if it was tall enough so I thought I would try. Yes, it is a tall electric skillet and yes, it cooked that cake.

These show that life doesn't always go smoothly.  Things happen...they always happen. My husband's mom always said if you got a dollar, something would always happened that would take two.

So having storage is so important for me to have. It has always gotten us through the rough times.

The part for our oven will be here on Tuesday where we will make the repair ourselves. We have watched how to do it on YouTube.

This week has been a very busy week here.

Gus eats too fast so this trick of using a muffin tin was given to us by our daughter. So I got out an extra mini muffin tin and they did not mind the change in containers, it has slowed him a little which helps.

It is that dreaded time of the year...raspberry picking time, hoping it soon is over. Usually it is done by the fourth of July but it may go a bit longer this year. I have made two batches of raspberry jam. The rest I have frozen and will make more jam on a cooler day in the fall.

The Easter Lilies were so pretty this year.

Even dandelions look pretty this year. We haven't had a lot of them, I wonder if because we have now been dry for so long...

It's so dry, I have had to start watering the garden. I had been waiting longer between watering but in this heat I have had to do more often. I'm trying not to raise the water bill too much. I water just the plants and not the spaces that I left for the vining things. I went to toss in some dill seed and oh my it was like digging a brick plus deep cracks.  The plants look good though.

This is the green bean seed I saved from last year. This year I thought having them grow up the porch would look pretty and easier to pick so I throw out the cat's water on it every day when I give them fresh water. Trying to conserve the water, I also water the salad pot on the porch and a geranium. Also, some tomatoes by the porch. They are a cherry type. I saved the seed from last year too. I squished the guts out of a few onto a paper napkin and let them dry. Then when the time comes to plant, I just rip off a spot of napkin with seeds on and plant it. I have done this a couple years now it is kind of like seed tape.

By the time you read this post raspberry picking will be well over and I will have a big smile to be done.

July first started the Tour De Fleece which I just kind of do more spinning at that time when I can. Other spinners join together and spin in teams. It is to go at same time as Tour De France.

At the time I'm writing this, they set the carnival up across the street for the Fourth of July.

Missy says keep working on building those skills.

Gus says I am not fast enough to have gotten the cutest pic with crossed paws but he says keep working at the storage and growing things, even if you hate picking raspberries.