Sustaining your family

An amazing news on the status of many friends right now is a foreboding or feeling of impending incident that is on the horizon. Some could be the after effects of disappointment on politics not going as planned but what if it's more?

In many of the blogs, messages and even on Pinterest I have seen a surge in prepping or become self sufficient. This is a topic that I have been interested in for sometime, which in some respects has kept me quiet about the subject due to opinions of others that I could be a religious nut (which to some level I am), in a cult, radical or militant (No gun hoarding here!).

So where do I fall? I believe in preparing for the uncertainty of the times we are living in. Whether it be from crazy storms or economy collapse or a future war (Oversea or on our soil). I see no reason that one shouldn't know simple ways to get along if the power goes out for the weekend or longer.

I have wrote on Preparedness in older posts, check out my Labels!

Where do you start?

The easy stuff-
Candles/Lantern
Matches
Flashlights
Extra batteries
Spare clothes
Easy to prepare food
Battery operated Radio/Hand crank NOAA Radio
Hand crank for cell phone
Blankets
Child needs
Womanly needs
Water
Gas/Kerosene/Lamp Oil
Generator
First aid kit
Can opener

The longer the outage or problem on top of the above items you may want to add other things.

Check out your local library/thrift/antique shop for books on:
Homesteading
Living off the grid
Prepping
Herbs/gardening
Canning
Farming
Small scale/backyard farming
Blogs
Pinterest- OH MY GOSH SUPER ADDICTING. Watch for the time warp. I swear I lose hours drooling over the ideas that I will never do. BIG CHEESY GRIN!

Call local Extension Center, State Park, Boy/Girl scout (kids) for information outdoor skills, canning or survival. Don't break the bank these things! Start small! Buy a few extra canned goods or dry goods a week if you can swing it. Start canning all year around when produce/meat is on sale. Look to yard sales, rummage sale/thrift/antique stores to find things you needs. Freecycle.org is great to find things and to also get rid of the clutter in your home.

I can't see paying hundreds or thousands of dollars on some of these homesteading/survival seminars. Educate yourself. There are a ton of blogs on these subjects! Network in your area with like-minded folks. Be safe and keep aware of local and world wide events once in a while.

Now as long as it's not zombies we are all good! Joke around here. My biggest fear, besides my ex, is zombies...

God bless!

Mel

Back in the saddle again!

Boy oh boy! I have felt so BLAH for so long it's pitiful! Now I run between this blog, my hopewhentherewasnone blog, littlecriesandlullabiesdoula and redrumhotel blog. And I have been neglecting everything lately. No excuse really. Just have not felt like doing much of anything.

But I have made Rose water (which I forgot to put in the fridge and it molded DUH!), Oil of: Oregano, Rose, Lavender, Orange, Lemon, Cinnamon. Also, Coop refresher (Lavender/Peppermint), and 6 Quart jars of Apple Cider Vinegar. I also canned several things over the summer!

I did propagate my African Violet and made 3 little plants a few months ago! YIPPEE!

Call it a pity party for me, but sheesh already, I'm tired of feeling tired!

So! Today I-

1) Surfed the web- a horrible habit and my addiction to Pinterest is way too crazy!
2) SSSHHHH!- I wrapped a few gifts I have been collecting here and there.
3) Went outdoors to muck out the chicken coop... and checked on the new meat and 2 hens also the eggs I have incubating (my last batch was sad and out of 9 only 2 hatched but died SAD FACE!) Cleaned they're cage too!
4) Checked on the new additions to our bunny hutch! Jess's bunny birthed 2 little one's yesterday.
5) Started domestic stuff- Laundry, dishes
6) Started dinner- Chicken chili and Cream of Potato soup (Panera copy cat)













7) Broke open my Sewing machine and repurposed 3 T-shirts into bags, repurposed a kitchen towel into an apron for Mini Man and made a bread bag. Now I'm itching to do more! I see an Owl of some sort in my future!




















I feel more accomplished today. A few projects out of the way.
Planning on a few more smaller ones perhaps tomorrow.
Keep your fingers crossed!

Pinterest

Facebook? What's that?
Stumbleupon? Who?

I have a confession I am totally addicted. I need a fix daily of pins! I adore pinterest with all of it's lovely pictures, blogs, crafts and ideas!

I manage to get lost on here for hours! I search for so many random things that I feel so energized and excited to try or do new things! Such as, a pin I found to continue to grow green onions or Mouthwatering Sunday buns, or for the information on vinegar. Oh,my! I'm all twitterpatted just thinking about logging back on!

My mind is a whirl of things I want to try, can't believe I didn't think of and day dreams of what could be.

Oh pinterest you wicked site! Stealing my time away with the lure of luscious goodies, fit women, fun crafts and far away places!

What's that? I hear someone calling me... It's pinterest awaiting for my return! SQUEAL! I have have farm porn (not what you think!) to look at and garden journal ideas to pin! I'm coming my sweet...

You can find me there! Melinda Campos See ya soon!

BIG CHEESY GRIN!

 Mini man is growing up so FAST! At this time whenever the camera comes out there goes a huge cheesy grin! Where does the time go? He reminds me so much of Alex when she was his age.

Great news many of my seeds are now seedlings! HOORAY!  Now if I can get them passed this stage I think I will be good.
We have a rabbit hutch that Terry is fixing up, so we should have a rabbit joining our family soon. I found this really neat idea for placing your hutch over your compost pile for warmth and to add to the pile. I shared this with Terry and the next hutch he makes he will make it so this can be done. I have so overgrown my compost pile which in some ways is kind of sad. It reminds me of how much waste from my kitchen scraps and paper towels we use. And yes I am still dashing in the garbage can for a eggshell or banana peel because someone forgot to put it in the compost container.

The family has decided I have a problem and they are talking intervention. I told Terry I was looking at porn... Farm stuff that is. GIGGLE! I find chicken coops, garden plans, bee blogs, farm blogs and I catergorized them as porn. My addiction with blogs and now Pinterest is so crazy. I have well over 100 blogs I subscribe to... Actually the total is slightly higher then that... roughly about 700 blogs. I know I have a problem!

Perhaps it is not only for the need to educate myself about things but the need to find normalcy or read about someone elses drama filled life for a change. I find that if I read other Domestic Abuse blogs I sort of sink into a funk, due to the similarity to my own past. There are times when even my own blogs have just taken a back seat to everything lately.

I pray Spring comes soon! I feel I have so much to look forward to and I feel rewarded in my life right now. Even when I am blue I feel very happy to be where I am. So happy that I have found a spark of love I hadn't ever known imaginable. Oh we have our issues but nothing like what I had before. Thank you Lord for everything I am and all you provide for me!

I found this on pinterest today and it is a subtle reminder to let things go. God's got it!

To crochet or not to crochet...

that is the question!

In all seriousness something went terribly wrong with my "Blanket" (Afghan) of course I'm not working a pattern, heck I don't need no stinkin instructions! I just doodled through this with practicing various stitches, single, double, triple crochet. I was so gleeful! I felt so proud and thrilled to about my creation! My Mom and Middle Sister (Mandy) are so talented when it comes to crafting and Mandy with her talented knitting needles that I felt that I could tackle this, right?

I did take a few days off and did I mention in those few days when I was sick I forgot the stitches and so I made up what I thought was right? So I'm stitching and stitching tonight so proud that I am zooming through my rows so quickly. After the fourth time around I realize something is off. I hold up my creation and...



I find...

RUFFLES!

Now what?

Go on chuckle!

I know what I need to do, I just feel a bit sad in doing so. Of course there has been some adult joking between Terry and I what to use this for, and Jess thought it would make a great doily or sippy cozy. Back to the drawing board for me! I have been youtubing how to crochet and found some really great videos!

Bethinx1 has some really good easy to understand tutorials. I like that she goes slowly enough and talks about what she is stitching. In the meantime I was checking out Toothbrush rugs that my gal pal Peggy was telling me about. Then pinterest, oh my I can get lost on there! Check my boards out, Melinda Campos.

Well back to rolling up the yarn! SIGH!