"We all need to build a personal ark . . . And we shouldn’t wait until it starts raining, but prepare in advance. This has been the message of all the prophets in this dispensation . . . as well as the prophets of old.
"Unfortunately we don’t always heed the clear warnings of our prophets. We coast complacently along until calamity strikes, and then we panic.
"When it starts raining, it is too late to begin building the ark. However, we do need to listen to the Lord’s spokesmen. We need to calmly continue to move ahead and prepare for what will surely come. We need not panic or fear, for if we are prepared, spiritually and temporally, we and our families will survive any flood. Our arks will float on a sea of faith if our works have been steadily and surely preparing for the future." (W. Don Ladd, October 1994 General Conference)
A chill is definitely in the air and makes me want to hunker down under the covers for a long winter nap.
I had to stop into Walmart a few days ago and thought I would pick up bananas while there. They usually have the cases stacked around the display they have to load them on and usually they are really green but I walked around the boxes everyone of them look like they should be made into banana bread already. My husband said they were probably sitting on the ocean, he probably is right. But that makes one think, what else is sitting out there??
I did notice some empty shelves but also noted finally they have distilled water again.
I ran into Jo Ann's for something, a fast in and out, it was around eleven and I was the only one there which was weird but I saw something I bought years ago now. I guess it was a paper border punch that I bought, the regular price was $5.99. I am sure I used a coupon back then as it was a high price to me then but it grabbed my attention. It is now $17.99. So not even if there was a half price coupon would I have paid that so things have gone up. I don't go shopping enough to notice prices as I limit trips and wear a mask. Gas here is $3.18. It jumped 14 cents in last few days.
I was watching a podcast where the lady said we need to study the Tightwad Gazette to become more frugal in these times and she is right...time to pull those out again. I saw another that said we need to make our own mixes to help cut costs...she is right too.
I try to store the basic items that are in mixes like flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and shortening. Think of all the different things you can make out of those ingredients. If you add yeast to that, there are many more items you can make. So be sure you have the basics on hand. If you purchase a mix from the store you can just make what the mix is for but if you have the basics you can make many things.
http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2017/08/make-your-own-mix-in-jar-kits-prepare.html - here is a great site on making mixes.
http://preparednessnibblesandbits.blogspot.com/search/label/Dehydrated%20Apples%20Recipes - I dehydrate apples to use all year long and this is my favorite site for making applesauce from dried apples.
https://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/ - I put this in every so often as it is hard to find but it is also a good site. When the box mix went to giant macaroni I did not like that and doing my own was much better. Again, storing the basics helps to make what you want.
https://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-long-grain-wild-rice-mix/ this is on her site too.
I included these two sites because we need to know how to make stuff ourselves.
https://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/my-top-10-muffin-hacks/ - very good information in this.
https://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/cranberry-orange-pecan-muffins/ - this is the recipe that she mentions, I had to look up baking emulsion though, I thought it was just flavoring and yes, it is just flavoring.
https://extension.usu.edu/sanpete/files/Soup_or_Sauce_SOS_Mix.pdf - this is my favorite, I once opened a can of soup timing it to ready to eat, then I timed this and they took the same amount of time. I have the SOS Mix copied on index cards, I punched a hole through it and put it on a ring and have it right by my jar of mix.
I know I have repeated myself on these mixes but it is because they are my favorite and now more than ever we need to have things that will help us through tight times.
http://my-extraordinary-life.blogspot.com/2012/05/home-made-boston-style-baked-beans.html - here is a recipe for those beans we store.
http://heart-hands-home.blogspot.com/2011/11/gingerbread-mix.html - this is a good mix to have on hand this time of year.
http://heart-hands-home.blogspot.com/search/label/cheesemaking - this is very good to have on hand, I've done it to see how it works and it is great.
https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/faculty_archives/cameron/homemade_mixes.pdf - homemade mixes from 1952.
https://recipegoldmine.com/packet/packet.html - this isn't a mix but I love foil dinners.
Find your most inexpensive recipes, make a binder of them and you will have them all together. This really helps with meal planning.
Planning your meals with these recipes will free up funds to purchase more supplies. With colder weather, homemade soups are very frugal - serve with homemade rolls and a dessert and you have a terrific meal for less.
If you have things on hand to make bread items this is a great first step - flour, salt, sugar, yeast, oil or shortening and water. You can make so many different bread items out of these ingredients. As we saw at the beginning of the pandemic, it was hard to get yeast and such so be getting yeast in. I do not buy the little packets, instead I get yeast in bulk. I keep a quart jar of yeast in my refrigerator - this is what I call my using jar. I keep many bags in the freezer. I have never had to bring them to room temperature, I just use directly from my using jar. I have also used directly from the freezer and it still made no difference. I know some will say to bring to room temperature, but it is not necessary.
I store flour in a five gallon bucket. I lay two bay leaves on top of the flour, affix the lid, label and date it. When our kids were still at home, I would go through one of these buckets a month for the four of us. The buckets hold twenty lbs. That should help you to know how much you need. Keep in mind I was doing everything from scratch.
Missy says pick some projects you like to do for the long winter months ahead.
Gus says keep being safe because the pandemic is not finished with us yet.
