Christmas Ponderings

I'm just messing around today, trying to get out of cooking because there's a pile of dishes needing washed first. I was on eBay looking for a deal or 2 on canning jar lids, none to be found, and under related searches was "survival foods" so I clicked on it. 101 items listed, some were priced reasonable, some not. MRE's, canned chicken, peanut butter, etc. Interesting....

Anyway, my thoughts of the day were about canning jar lids. I've got plenty of jars, most of them full of what my garden produces to feed us. But it struck me that the lids are a one time use item. So, of course, that nagging little voice in my head tells me I need to check my lid stock. Turns out, I've only got about a year and a half of lids! For me, that just will not do. I can't help but feel that the troubles this country is headed for will last longer than a year and a half. So, now I am on the hunt for more canning lids. Easy enough to find but this will still drive me crazy until remedied.

LOL, no rest for the wicked I guess...


Christmas wishes for everyone and thanks to a few more...

Hermit, Degringolade, Pearls, Scout, Bullseye, Scavenger, Chris W, Green Apple Orchard,Survivalist News, Urban Survivalist, Mayberry, Shy Wolf, Ozark Momma, Bison Survival, Andy and Mel, Jeff and Farmergeek...
Thanks for joining me, helping me, entertaining me and teaching me...

Merry Christmas and God bless

Christmas kittens

There he is, the evil orange spawn and his sidekick in crime... anybody want a kittie for Christmas?

It's still freezing rain here but everybody is tucked up in a barn or in the house. Supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow, no wonder I can't kick this flu/cold!

The news is real reassuring tonite, isn't it? Global recession, people in Zimbabwe starving, riots in Greece... and at my house, the silent dreams of destructive kittens...

everyday disappointments we have

Life is usually pretty darn good here. We may not be rolling in the dough but we've got food and shelter and family. Our distractions are our livestock and gardens, our weekly skeet shoot, seasonal hunting, you know, farm stuff. Every once in a while, farming is a great disappointment. Today for instance, was a bad day. It was like the rest of the country here last night, damn cold. This morning wasn't any different. I woke up to my pot of coffee and cigarette like usual, looked over at my window garden to see the first stab of the day. Half my garden was kitten damaged. Seems the small evil orange spawn I saved from freezing to death a month ago decided to help me garden. I walked around the corner of the kitchen island and about stepped in a pile of goo. Seems his sister helped him and is now ill. I've spent most the day following her around with paper towels, the poor thing. She bit me good when I medicated her with the scours stuff. They are just 10 or so weeks old so I just can't throw them out and I don't have the heart to kill them. Tip of the ice berg tho. My thoroughbred broodmare decided she was upset about something and kicked a hole in my barn wall. I got pecked by the English Game Cock and one of my buck rabbits didn't make it thru the night. He seemed alright the night before, oh well.

I'm still sporting this flu/cold or whatever it is so I'm not in the best of moods anyway so today was just a bad day all around. At least my bread and venison roast came out good. It's just coming on 8pm and I'm wiped out. Daughter will need picked up in town around 9:30 so I can't put an end to the day yet.

Business as usual

Well, I guess I'm not doing a very good job getting my ideas out to people in my area. I spent 45 minutes in Sam's Club today buying a few preps(yeast and spices I don't grow very well or can't) and I was deeply disappointed by what I saw. The items being purchased around me were flat screen TV's, and high end electronics, etc. The grocery side of the store was almost completely empty of people. I saw 2 older couples besides myself purchasing food.

Marion Illinois is a decent sized city. Across from Sam's is an indoor mall with the parking lots packed with cars. Just as many cars driving around as there always has been full of people that complain about being broke. The Ryans buffet parking lot looked like they were giving something away free from all the cars in it.

I don't understand this at all. Thousands of people right here in southern Illinois are a breath away from car reposession and mortgage default and they're running around burning gas like it's free and eating out? Spending money on big screen TV's and jewelery?

Oh, the cashier at Sam's gave me the wierdest look and asked me if I was out of all those things at home. Of course, par for my personality, I was just mildly rude and said "Ya think?" Geez, I just bought 7 items, it's not like I had a cart full or something.

So, I have officially passed the 9 month mark on my food prep. I can continue to cook exactly like I do now for 9 months for my family of 4 without any other source of food like the garden or the livestock, just counting what I've prepped. I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Nobody tell hubby, but I have a couple extra dollars saved up, I'm going to buy a pound or 2 of gloria Jeans flavored coffee for Christmas. Now, don't get all excited, I love my home grown Arabica, but I'll kill over a cup of Chocolate Carmel Truffle coffee from Gloria Jeans! I'm gonna surprise him with it Christmas morning :) Of course he'll be pleased but he'll say something like, "where's the Arabica?" just to mess with me....