Preparing for the unknown...

I try to keep things pretty light on here, but in view of recent events, perhaps I will share what I've been thinking about for the past several months.
The disaster in Japan has brought it back to the forefront. My heart aches for the Japanese as their lives have been turned totally upside down and I can't imagine what I would do if the same happened to us. If you are like me, many of you are probably thinking, how does this radiation thing affect us? Will it affect us? What if our nuclear plants have a problem? Are bombed? What if???? 
  So I researched the number of nuclear plants and their locations in the US, and oh my, it was eye opening, especially if you live on the east coast. You can view information on that here. If you wish to see a worldwide list, you can find that here. There is a site you put in your zip code to see how far from one you live. You can find that here. We were 52 miles from the nearest reactor, which put us 2 miles out of the 'likely contamination zone'. Is that good news? Hmmm, will all depend on the prevailing winds at the time. As we are looking to buy a house, this added another factor to the equation one doesn't usually think about when relocating. (And I was more concerned about being too close to a wind farm. Great.)
 I have been also researching preparedness/survival sites, with one of the most interesting here. My brother reads this site daily, and is preparing the best he can for his family in case of TEOTWAWKI (and acronym for 'the end of the world as we know it'). This could mean anything from a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina to all out war, and everything in between. In other words, here I've been worrying about such mundane things as not having many good restaurants in the neighborhood, or hating to shop for groceries on the weekend, when some type of disaster could befall us any minute! Ok, perhaps not that quickly, but it has certainly added some perspective to my life, that's for sure. I started thinking about our ancestors, and how they did it. The pioneers, before electricity. Before gas. Fossil fuels. Wow... 

I was talking to my Dad this week about what he experienced growing up. His folks did everything for themselves. I mean EVERYTHING! They raised all their own meat, did the butchering, smoking, canning, preserving. Farmed 160 acres with horses, Queenie and Bessie. Raised cows, chickens, pigs. Rendered lard. The old farm even had a windmill, which doesn't remember being in operation. They rigged up some kind of small motor to run things when they needed water, if I remember rightly. So yes, they had access to fossil fuels, but in the early days, didn't utilize it much. He said they only went to the store for flour, sugar, salt and pepper, spices, but not much else. They had their own milk, cream, butter, eggs, lard, (he remembers the days he came home from school to this awful smell - Ma was rendering lard that day :0)) 5 kids grew up on that farm, and then in the 1960's, my folks bought the farm from them (it was down to 40 acres then, and a 'new' house had been built on the old homestead (a 1950's cape). The old barn was torn down, and a new pole barn erected. I've since lamented to Dad about tearing down this neat old barn, and he too thinks maybe they should have tried to salvage it, but a new barn was all the thing at the time. 
Anyway, I digress a bit here. SO, then I've been reading Revelations, Jeremiah, Daniel, Luke, and other places in the Bible that predicts future events, and I am starting to see how some of these things could come about. Like in Luke 21, it talks about 'On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.' Can you say tsunami? Underwater earthquakes? Meteor showers? Quite a few events can trigger this.
^{Then in verse 26} 'People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' I am now envisioning meteor showers, asteroids, comets, and I'm sure there are things I don't know much about yet, like solar flares, etc. Now lets just consider for instance, if even one of these events, or a nuclear event perhaps, were to shut down power for, let's say, a week. Maybe a month. Maybe 2. Maybe longer. Do you have enough groceries to last that long? Do you have access to water that doesn't require electricity to pump it? Do you have a fuel source that isn't reliant on an electric trigger to get the oil going?
Uummm... nope. We rent, for one thing. We do have a fireplace, but it certainly isn't fuel efficient, and we do not have a wood pile. We also have a well, but it requires an electric pump to make it any good. I DO have a pretty good suppy of groceries, and I am a pretty good cook. I can bake bread, and we eat home prepared and cooked meals. I avoid the prepared aisles at the supermarket, as I am getting more and more conscience about reading food labels and realizing how sodium and fat laden alot of that stuff is. Besides, I can make it better tasting and more wholesome from scratch. AND save money doing it! :0) But that's a subject for another post. I could write more, but I think I will close with this. I think it's only prudent to prepare as best as we can, with what we have, in these basic areas. Running potable water. A way to heat without electricity. A way to cook without electricity. Make sure you can prepare the most basic of food, have the supplies, and practice doing it, so you won't be caught unprepared at the last minute. There are some good Proverbs in regards to this.

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them;
the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." - Proverbs 22:3

I am a moderate person, in that I don't like to get on a bandwagon unless I'm darn sure of where it's going and what it's about. I don't like extremes. So my take is this: Our grandparents had to 'put up' stuff in preparation for winter, hard times, etc. So there is nothing wrong with having a mindset of doing the same thing.
We've had a good life for a long time in this country, relatively speaking (especially when you think about 3rd world countries and the quality of their lives), and I think perhaps we've gotta bit soft, at least speaking for myself here. We've forgotten some of the old ways of thinking. Of doing. Caught up in the 'mundane unimportant stuff in the grand scheme of things'. I for one, can't believe my thinking over the years. 'It won't happen here. It won't happen to me, I'm not going to give it a second thought'.
I'm sure many others have said the same thing, and then a major ice storm hit, and they were suddenly without power - for WEEKS!
In some cases, the roads were so bad that stores couldn't replenish their stock, if people could even GET to the stores. Gas stations couldn't sell because there was no power to run their pumps or their debit/credit card terminals. People couldn't get cash because the ATMs were down (think after hours) So many things that I had never considered before. Because we are SO USED TO CONVENIENCE here.
Ok. I did say I was winding down, didn't I. Alright. That's enough to get you thinking for today. I will write more specifically in future posts. Let me know your thoughts, but please be kind! :0)
This was not an exhaustive or super organized article on the subject, just a conversation on what's on my mind this morning. I just know that I don't want to be caught anymore unawares or vulnerable than I have to be. My plan? Get informed. Do research. Get prepared. Learn new skills. Change my mindset. I figure anything I do in this is a step in the right direction. Don't you think?


PS I was going to edit some of my errors in spelling, etc., except when I converted the text to yellow, I can't see it now in the compose area. AND, it's typing incredibly slow this morning - very frustrating. So just bear with the errors and omitted words, ok? Thank you!

Sigh. It's that time of year again. Madly trying to find a homestead to buy. At least one that we can afford. I'm sure you've heard me lamenting how expensive it is here in the northeast. Oh yeah. Especially here in CT.
Yes, there are some places less (not much, and if you include the extra cost of gas, doesn't really save much), but that involves about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs travel to work for my DH.

(Mom and I with my horse Cricket back on the farm in Indiana in the late 1970's. Is that really skinny me? Wow...that sure was a long time ago!)

We really didn't want to have to do that, as he has about 10 more years to retirement. Why is the grass always greener too far away??
I am trying to lower my expectations, but for a farm girl, that is really hard. I'm down to 2 acres. How can a farm girl go any lower than that??? I grew up on a 40 acres and 100 acre farm. 2 acres isn't expecting much. (In fact, the idea of just 2 acres just about kills me, but I'm willing if I have to)
I've been reading these wonderful blogs about homesteading, and I would just so love the opportunity to try it before I get too old. I know, mid 40's isn't that old, but I sure don't feel like 20 anymore, that's for sure, lol!
I started going to the gym this winter, and I can't believe how much my legs ache. In the evening, I can hardly walk when I first get up from sitting. What is this?? I never used to have that problem. I feel like a cripple. I don't know...sigh.
Anyway, the homesteading thing. I want so much for a few acres to grow stuff. I want to grow a small orchard, maybe 1/2 dozen apple trees (love Cortland and Ginger Gold!) plus a plum, apricot, a couple of peach (love peaches and nectarines - the native ones are so good here!) and nectarine... Then I'd like to try growing raspberry, blueberry and blackberry bushes. Maybe even a strawberry bed like my mother used to have when I was growing up. (Unfortunately, it was growing over the septic/leach field area, and had to be torn up when that needed replacing.
It pays to plan ahead, huh?) And of course, a nice veggie and herb garden. I love lavender and rosemary, although rosemary struggles here unless it's in a very protected southern exposure.
Did I mention flowers? I LOVE LOVE LOVE flowers. I can't wait to grow peonies, roses, hydrangea.. things I haven't been able to grow while renting. Very hard to move these large bushes. Then the many kinds of perennials one can grow in zone 6. It's wonderful! (this is coming from a girl who spent 16 years in gardening zone 3B/4a! :0))
I have flower beds here that I've tended for 3 years, and boy are some of them really spreading. It's going to be a challenge relocating my bed of bee balm, which grew from 2 or 3 plants to an area about 8 feet x 5 feet. They sure like to migrate.

(how am I going to relocate this bed of plants???)

I would love a nice bed of tall phlox in different colors. They smell so good! And a permanent place for my clematis. I have 4 or 5 out there, but I need permanent trellises to really enjoy them. I love clematis, and would love several varieties.
OH, I forget to mention lilacs. They smell wonderful too, and there are many varieties of those. My mother used to cut several bunches every spring and have bouquets around the house while I was growing up. I can still remember the large green glass vase she used on the dining room table. And...the little spiders that used to come along for the trip inside. :0)
Not only do I want to grow all sorts of wonderful things (and hire several helpers to take care of these acres of things - no, just kidding! It will be me, just me.) but I'd like to raise a few animals too. My dh and I would like to raise a few chickens for eggs. Maybe a few for meat eventually, but that would involve either finding a local processor or doing it ourselves (not there yet, ) and I would dearly love to have a horse or two again. I grew up with horses, was passionate about them, and now my neighbors has 5 of them that I have enjoyed watching all winter across our little marsh.

I guess I digressed a bit here. Back to homesteading. I would also love a clothesline. Nothing like the smell of freshly dried towels and sheets on the line. And nighties too! So lovely when getting into bed and the fresh linen smell just wafts around you as you settle in for the night.

Well, enough of that. I think you get the picture. And I'm sure I've said most of this in other posts last year. Nothing has changed, I guess. I've been trying to convince myself to just buy a small home on a 1/2 acre and get it over with. But the though of it just about kills me. It's like being condemned to a half life. I'm sure it wouldn't be quite that bad, but for a girl who loves to be outdoors planting something and hanging around a barn, it seems that way sometimes.
I feel like it's my last 'kick at the can' and if I don't do it know, it may never happen. Well, Lord willing and we are able to find something, perhaps I can still have part of my dream, if not all of it. My prayer is that either we find something we like that we can afford and live with, or the Lord helps me to change my way of thinking. More often that not, it's usually a combination. I'm learning to be open. :0)

I've reminded myself this morning that I am allowed to be happy. Yes, I am. At least for this moment in time. I am reminding myself once again, because I seem to forget. No matter my troubles or concerns, I must allow myself space to just be happy. To smile at everyone or no one at all. To take a deep breathe, turn up the corners of my mouth, clear my mind, and just be. To think happy thoughts. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Philippians 4:8 This is such a great verse. It encourages us to dwell on good things, not the negative, etc. It seems we can fall into a rut of always dwelling on the negative or unpleasant in our lives. In fact, this can even lead to depression, or at least be a big contributing factor. I believe this verse is a protection for us, good advise. A guide to our thought life. God wants us to live wholesome lives, with a sound mind. And I am all for that. 

So this morning, I am thinking good thoughts. Taking a break from dwelling on all the major decisions we are facing this spring, the relationships we wish were better, the life we want that seems just out of reach...whatever you are facing right now, just open your mental closet door and shove them in there for a bit. 

Read the Word, listen to some uplifting music, count your blessings, spend some time with God, and renew your perspective. Really, it does help. It may not fix everything that's wrong in your life, but changing ones perspective or just deciding the let God handle it for awhile can relieve that mental pressure. Remember, you are allowed to be happy.

March came in like a lamb...

but has been roaring ever since. At least here in the northeast. Rain, rain and more rain. Flooding of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers. Oh the joy...
At least the snow is disappearing. I thought it would take until the first of May, with the record amount of snow we received this winter, but with 3 - 5 inches of rain, it's amazing how fast it can disappear. We were away up north for a week, and came home to mostly bare lawns. Wow. Our upper driveway had at least 3 feet of snow in it, and now it's mostly gravel. So there is definitely an upside to rain. And not being in a flood zone is very helpful too. :0)
Actually, rain is good for us, if we could just moderate it a bit, since we had a drought last summer. Our well would run dry if we used any more than absolutely necessary. I had to get creative for awhile to conserve and water my flowers, but it worked out ok. So we really do need the extra moisture, even though it's not exactly how we would have planned it.
My columbine and iris are coming up rapidly. The iris never dies off here during the winter like it did up in Maine. Their location on the sunny protected south side of the garage also helps. Perhaps I should have planted the lavender on that side...hmmm. My biggest lavender bush seems to have survived so far this winter. I have noticed that a more mature plant has a better chance than small younger ones. Perhaps I should be buying the gallon sized pots instead of the little 4"?
Signs of spring are popping up everywhere. Robins are singing, the male cardinals are courting their beloveds. And the bicycle lady went by yesterday in her vintage 1950's green bicycle with it's cute little white basket. Good for her! She may stand out among the racing cyclist crowd, but she's getting her exercise and doing her part for the environment. :0)
Which reminds me, shall I go to the gym today, or walk here along the road? Neither sounds appealing at the moment. Darn. Sure do wish exercising was more fun. Perhaps I should buy a 1950's vintage bicycle...

Happy New Year...belatedly!

Seems I'm getting a rather late start on my first post of the new year. Hmmm....that doesn't bode well, does it. Oh well. On we go.
We are hunkering down for our second major storm - the first being one being the day after Christmas, arriving on my parents coattails, as it were. They are calling for 12" - 16" and wind. I pulled of two pitchers and one bucket of water. It would be nice if we didn't lost power, but it's good to be prepared in this state of a zillion trees. I like trees, don't get me wrong. In fact, I am very fond of old trees especially, and love the variety, but they do tend to be a problem in stormy and windy situations. Not as bad since last year when they came down our road bush hogging. Now that was noisy, and a bit sad, but it had to be done. Power is a nice thing indeed! Now if we just had a woodstove...sigh.
I didn't make any resolutions this year. I have made resolutions for like 20 years, but, unfortunately, as I reviewed my journal, I failed to make most of them happen. I think my success rate is like 5%. Maybe less, I could be over optimistic here. :0)
I did go back to the gym though. After paying for a year in which I didn't go (my bad), it was certainly time. (I go to Planet Fitness, in case you are wondering if I spent scads of money on an expensive gym membership, ah, no. Wouldn't do that. :)) Still, it was rather shameful that I put things off as long as I did. And I am glad I am going back. The only thing is that I need an IPod.
I need my own music. I have the earphones to listen to one of 12 TV's they have on the ceiling, but to tell the truth, I'm just not really a talk shoe/news/shopping network kind of girl. Ok, maybe if Boyd's bears comes back on, or those beautiful Tiffany lamps...
I ended up watching HGTV yesterday. I do like that channel. However, it doesn't really promote that tempo you need to really get a good workout on the treadmill. In fact it can be rather distracting.
So, I have been doing some homework, and had really decided on a Zune player, until I gave the IPod a second look. It really does have more features, and not too much extra money. I am in love with Pandora (have you tried it?) and have been making some music purchases off of Amazon. That could end up being rather addicting!
AND...I have these great Joyce Meyer CD's that I can download onto my computer in MP3 format, and then upload onto the Zune or IPod and can then take to the gym with me! In fact, she also has podcasts on her website that I can also download. Cool, huh?!
So I could get a dual 'workout'. I can't wait to try it.
Other than that, I have slowly working the cookies, candy and other sugary treats out of the house from Christmas. My mom bought me TWO Crunchie bars from Canada. They are so good! But oh so bad. Basically spun sugar coated in chocolate. What more could you want?
Also, the Frerrero Rocher Rondo (did I spell that right?), which are mighty tasty, and the last of the Russell Stover chocolates. Not to mention the Dried Cherry Apricot White Chocolate Scones, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and Scotcheroos in the freezer. Sigh. At least the Cinnamon rolls are gone now. Thanks Dad! :0)
I bought a box of Candy Canes for 99 cents to put on the Christmas tree, and you know, they are pretty tasty! I sat here last night and went through 1/2 of one while reading my book. Better than chips, right?
Speaking of books (better leave off the food before I get hungry again!) I am reading the Lilian Jackson Braun series about 'The Cat Who...' (all her book start with that sentence and end with things like "saw Red, or played Post Office, etc.) A series about an ex crime reporter who ends up adopting 2 Siamese cats and the adventures they fall into, basically murder mysteries. The cats contribute clues in their own way - very catlike. Seems Ms. Braun has 2 Siamese, so her portrayal of them is very accurate, and fun. These are light murder mysteries, like M. C. Beaton's, another of my favorite authors. I am sure enjoying my local library. Too bad I stayed away from it for so long.
Oh, which reminds me, I am going to try out audio books from my libary which you can download online. That might be an option for my Zune or IPod if I get bored and need a change.

Well. For a girl who thinks some electronics are just evil, I am planning on getting some enjoyment from them! Ha! Like most everything in life, I guess the key is moderation, right?
Well, that's it for the food and literary column today. I wish you a prosperous and blessed 2011. :0)