Ten Things I am Thankful For

  

Of course,  it would be a lot longer list than ten, the things in my life that I am truly thankful for.  Family, friends, freedom, health, hundreds of small and not so small things in my life everyday that I am more grateful for, than I can express.

After visiting with my daughters and their families this holiday, I found my mind wandering on the trips home. Full of more food than I normally eat in two or three days, the hum of the car made it hard to keep my eyes open; I tried to persuade my old mind to be productive.  I tried to think of the things I needed to get done in the short time before Christmas, tried to think of what is going to happen in the next chapter of the new book, tried to figure how I could trick or blackmail myself into exercising, tried to decide should I put the tree up this weekend or not? My pecan pie poisoned brain just refused to get serious.

Now, I am home, my comfy warm-up pants on, hot cocoa sitting defiantly and dangerously near the keyboard, hypnotized as usual by this screen. And, here are the ten "lesser" blessings that I am thankful for:

     1.  Sweatpants with the magic of elastic waist bands

     2.  That my family likes cornbread dressing (prepared in a casserole pan) not "stuffing" of soggy bread and god knows what...did you say oysters! that's fish for gracious sakes... crammed in the gaping end of the turkey.

     3. That the sweet adorable voices and giggles of my grand children, which become shriller as the day goes on, don't live at my house.

    4.  That the stuffed dog that barks out "Oh-come-all-ye-faithful..." and many more cheerful favorites, will only have the lifespan of a month and then be smothered in the plastic tote for another year. 

    5.  Big bottles of wine

    6.  That I am of an age, to say "Oh, ya'll go ahead and go for a walk.  I'll stay here by the fire with the kids.  It's above freezing now? How nice for you, but somebody has to stay. Don't worry for me."

    7.  That the "mature" family members get the real beds

    8.  That there are only half a dozen football games in one day

    9.  Cocoa and SoCo. Wonderful creamy hot cocoa with tiny marshmallows and a capful of Southern Comfort.

    10.  That I can still laugh at the aggravating, anxiety filled and perfectly amazing things in my very fortunate life.

Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite.  JO

   

    

A Tip or Two

Several of my readers, like Teresa, have sent me nice notes, saying that they are not "preppers", but my books make them consider the need for some disaster preparation.   I love it that my beliefs wrapped up in the fiction that I enjoy writing, do show through.

 I used to laugh a bit at my mother-in-law. My tough and independent MIL had lived through an era in American history when times were very hard for many, the Depression.  So many people that remembered those times, vowed to never be hungry again.  She was frugal and conservative.  I thought it was a bit crazy to drive across town, waste a dollar's worth of gas to use a coupon that would save you 50 cents. Bless her heart, she lived to be nearly 100. When we moved her from her apartment to nursing care, underneath the bed in the spare room were flat boxes of canned goods; in various cabinets and closets were boxes of Kleenex and other paper and beauty supplies. Extra this and that, stuck in dozens of different places.

That habit had always just rubbed against my obsessive compulsive dislike of clutter.  I did not like to have more than I really would need in a short time, on hand.  I am now here to testify that I have completely changed my tune. I have come to appreciate very much, her ways of saving.  I don't believe that you have to spend a lot of money, be excessive or be a hoarder to be prepared for any one of many unexpected events that could occur in our world today.  One of the most convincing things that I heard, was when a "prepper" person on a site, said, "My husband suddenly was laid off. The food and extra supplies that we had stored got us through a very hard time. When we were able, he was working again, we started to replenish our stores."  You see? it does not have to be a Fire From the Sky catastrophe in order for being prepared to pay off.

Here is just a few suggestions that I like for everyday, on a shoe string preppers:

               Buy food that you like and regularly eat. If you don't like spinach now, don't buy cans and store them. 

              If you bought 1 lb. of a dried food...rice, pasta, beans...AND  2 cans of food, every week, in a year, you would have 52 lbs. of dried food and 104 cans of food.  All of that would fit under a bed or on a shelf in a closet.  When you buy just an occasional two of something and put one up, it will add up and it won't bust your budget.

             The same theory applies to storing some extra water.  Filling a couple of soda bottles a week will add up.  I now have had about 100 gallons of water for nearly a year.  I plan to start slowly emptying those on my yard or plants and refilling. I am thinking about just using a colored dot to let me know that I have refilled and change colors in another year. 

*A note here.  Don't get all hung up on, the water will be contaminated from the plastic (a little bleach, another good item to have, will purify a lot of water) or the food won't keep for fifty years.  Just get started, worry about long term later. 

The picture is of crackers and vanilla wafers that I "dry canned".  That is my very favorite  idea. Don't they look pretty?  They are over a year old and will stay fresh for a lot longer. I also have jars of things such as Hamburger Helper mixes.  Very simple.  Put clean jars and lids in a cold oven, turn it to 250 and slowly heat them, about 30 minutes. Remove, fill with your dry goods and seal.  You will shortly hear the "pop" of the lid as it seals down.  Easy. 

I have to say that these are not ideas for those folks that are way into long term prepping and food storage.  These are just for beginners and things that anyone can do and find a bit of space for. We all have to walk before we run.  Have fun and get prepared.

The DumbDay Preppers

My list of things that make me crazy is extensive and you might say "fluid". Something is always pushing the first thing off of the list, something more outrageous and mind boggling than what was sitting there.  I have vowed to stay away from politics on this blog. Frankly because the state of present day government and politics is enough to make me want to, zombie like, follow those lemming rats right off the side of the cliff.

When something does aggravate me to the point of suicidal rat state, I would like to sit cross legged on the floor, make little circles with my fingers, sing ohm-m-m and breathe deep. The problem is, I can not sit with my legs crossed or ever rise again from such a position, my finger wants to send a different message, the ohm would be more of a scream and some things make me so blasted mad that  I can't breathe.

It's pretty hard to knock off my eternal number one on my list, it's pushed down on occasion but always returns to the top.  The fact that my tax dollars, my hard earned money pays for people to have FREE cell phones.  I can barely restrain myself from plowing over the idiots that paid for them their self and go two miles an hour in front of me, just chatting and texting away, with my big old gas guzzling SUV. The idea that I am paying for someone's device of death just makes that insane feeling creep up my spine. 

Today, friends, something just pushed that right off the top of the list. This is the subject that I promised would often be discussed here. I am a prepper. Perhaps not the queen of preppers, but I do believe in preparing for unexpected and unpleasant events.  I do, quite regularly watch Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic channel. Did you get that? National Geographic, the folks that bring us awesome and stunning depictions of the beauty of the earth, of the animals, of the wonders. I watch, DDP with curiosity, thinking that most often they have stories of over the top preppers. Not your everday average person, but people with lots of money and not near as much sense. Still, I watch.

Then, last evening, Nat Geo joined the rest of the immoral idiots who run that giant manure spreader, Television. They decided to make their little drama about a blanking criminal that claims he will pillage and plunder his neighbors when the S--t Hits The Fan. That low life, that sprawling mass of stupid, broadcast on national television that he is not wasting his time preparing for survival, he is planning to take what you have prepared. If that does not put the thick "do-do" icing on the cake, I don't know what does.  I could Rave On like Buddy Holly, but I am not. National Geographic Doomsday Preppers insulted preppers,...Hell, they insulted humans JO


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Am I an Author?

What a question it is, am I actually an author?  Less than a year ago, I decided that I wanted an e-reader because I have always loved to read, but I found that it was harder and harder to read the words in printed books. So, I bought an Amazon Kindle and was so enjoying it.

My friends and family will tell you that I am a person who has never been at a loss for words. I am really a words person.  I have had some blogs, always wrote letters about the hubby and I's travels, events in my life etc. Now at my mature age, I am even quite popular (sadly) at writing the epitaphs of those I love and lose.  Sometimes, my friends would say, "Oh, you should write a book or something."  That's a nice and intriguing thought, but honestly in the day when that would have meant agents, publishers, editors and more, it really was never feasible for me. Then this amazing thing, the internet and even more amazing, independent publishing evolved.  Suddenly, things that had been completely improbable become very possible. Even the hubby said, why not, go for it. Of course, the poor man was looking for his personal relief from my constant banter at any cost. 

My e-reader became a catalyst and a pathway for my writing to become public. I had become very interested and actually a believer in the prepper philosophy.  I didn't doubt the likelihood of several catastrophic scenarios occurring in America. I just did not see how a person could go wrong by being at least prepared on a minimum level for survival of such events. My love of writing and my interest in the prepper philosophy came together.  I went from voraciously reading dystopian type fiction to writing it. 

I have published in e-book form and in two paperbook volumes, five books in the category of Dystopian Science Fiction, this year.  I self published my first book, with the thought that maybe twenty of my friends and family would read it. I expected that I would give it to most of those readers. To my and the spouses astonishment, far more than twenty actually bought and read my book.  Books, II, III and IV followed and just this last week, my fifth.

My point here, is if you have ever thought that you might like to write...do it!  The world is wide open for you.  I admit that it does take a tough skin.  Amidst all the nice and encouraging readers that I have been blessed with, there are no lack of those perfectly willing to tell me where I have gone wrong. Indeed, many have expressed the opinion that I suck at writing, grammar, punctuation; perhaps am too stupid to be alive. Finally, I have climbed over that small mountain and stand on the rise and shout, "Who gives a rat's old behind, what you think!"

It's  an astounding new world out there, miraculous and scary, fun and horrific at the same time. Don't miss out on it.  Do it, try it, go for it.  At the very least, open your eyes, take a deep breath and experience it. Whether it's as small as painting your toe nails purple or as huge as changing locations, making a move.  May your eyes open each day to a new possibility and your heart give you the courage to live it.  JO

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