A Whole Heap

I have a secret..... well, not so much a secret but definitely something we don't readily talk about in public:) We keep most of the evidence hidden away. Tucked in cabinets and packed under the stairs and spilling out from under the beds:) No, its not clutter or dirt or an overabundance of clothes or toys.

So, to what hidden habit am I referring?

I am afraid I have become a food and survival hoarder. I guess the word hoarder is a little extreme. I have been watching the show "Hoarders; Buried Alive" and I promise its nothing like this:

Not yet anyway ;) So maybe a better word would be preparer? Is that a word?

But seriously, this is something that Steve and I feel is so important right now. Not because we feel like the end of the world is coming or anything. But we all have to admit that things have been getting weird. Inflation is quickly coming. Food, gas, corn, sugar, coffee and wheat are just a few of the everyday items that are going to cost significantly more in the coming months. Think I am an alarmist ? Check out this article. Even if you aren't a Fox News fan, the rising costs of daily necessities can't be denied. Take canned goods for instance. The rising cost of metals including tin and aluminum trickles all the way down to the store shelves in the form of canned food. There is a prediction that later this year, the price of canned goods will increase by 5% and will rival the increase the rising price of oil. Now I know that doesn't sound alarming yet but compound that with the rising costs of other things, it adds up fast. Thank God that Texas has been virtually untouched by major unemployment, foreclosures and rising food and fuel costs. But we won't be immune forever.

Okay, stepping down off of my soapbox now and back to the beginning of our stockpiling journey.

Very much like researching homeschooling curriculum's, investigating how to begin stockpiling food and supplies is OVERWHELMING to say the least. There are so many articles, books,websites that can help. Some are a little extreme and in my opinion crazy but if you search long enough, you will come across some keepers.

I am going to share just a few that helped me get started. Now, I am still learning and in the beginning stages myself. I am nowhere near where we would like to be but our first goal was to get enough surplus that we could survive, food wise, for one week and then gradually move to our first big goal of 3 months. Why 3 months? That is the average length of time that it takes to find a new job if you lose your current one. If Steve were to be unemployed, we would like to have the basic necessities, food, household items and medical supplies, taken care of so that would be one cost that would not have to be factored in.

I started with this resource: Food Storage Binder

These two ladies have put together a simple and clear plan for short term and long term storage. They provide lists and supplies that are essential for survival in a storm, car, power outage and all the way to a major catastrophe; and so much more. They send weekly updates to add to your binder as well as inventory sheets, legal document storage, checklists, worksheets and recipes. It costs about $17 to download but so worth it. This resource really helped me organize my thoughts and goals to efficiently. It's a must!!

Also, check out my sidebar of blogs I read. "The Harried Housemaker" shares her journey from the beginning. She has been doing preparedness for about a year. She has some great ideas, recipes and she also shares her "don't" items from experience. Another blog that is totally fabulous is "Prepared LDS family". She has great recipes as well as storage advice when you have small spaces or no storage space at all. Both of these ladies have been great resources!!

I hope to share my journey here. So far, we have right at a week's worth of storage. So technically, we could survive with no electricity for about 7 days. I am going to compile a list of what we have so far and some of our future plans next time. They include water storage, gardening and outdoor cooking.

So, if after reading this, you don't think I am crazy, I hope I can encourage any of you that are thinking about or have begun this too. Maybe we can work together on becoming more self-sufficient and better stewards.

Happy Hoarding!

For Once, I Don't Want Them to Get Along

This is a new way to get the boys to do unwanted chores for me. When they are getting aggressive with one another, have them beat rugs!

Sometimes I have found myself plotting how to get them to fight so I can get my rugs clean :)

Asian Pear Jam

To see the recipe in it's entirety; click Pick Your Own

Heritage, History and Hullabaloo

A couple of weeks ago, the boys and I took a quick trip to Austin and College Station with my parents. It really was a whirlwind of a trip but we packed a lot in in 2 days.

My blood runs deep in Texas. I am a 7th generation Texans with roots that reach all the way back to the second colony of Stephen F. Austin. Texas is a very special place to me and my family and so we want to instill that Texas pride in our boys. Although Steve isn't from Texas, his heart is and he is just as proud of our heritage as I am. We have had several significant ancestors in Texas History. This trip was focused on visiting one special site. There is a memorial placed near a small creek in North Austin. It is the site of the Wilbarger Massacre of 1833. My great great great grandfather, Thomas Christian, was part of a surveying expedition when Comanche Indians surrounded them and attacked. Thomas Christian and another man died there but Josiah Wilbarger, although scalped and left for dead, survived and managed to live another 11 years. An article about my grandmother and her story is HERE. The boys and I went to the memorial as well as the river embankment where they were attacked.

We also went to visit the capital building and the museum. This was a very fun and educational day for us. We spent hours exploring, reading and learning about government and the amazingly rich and diverse history of Texas.

And of course, on our way home, we had to go through Aggieland!! We have not been back in so long that Ethan and Isaac don't remember. Texas A&M is another family tradition and one we hope to pass on to the boys. I think they got a little Aggie fever when we were there. We drove by mine and Steve's little trailer we lived in while he was in school. Then we took the boys by our first home we owned and Ethan's first house. Next was the most important stop..... Freebirds for lunch of course. Best burritos EVER!!! Last but certainly not least, was a stop on campus to take the boys to the College of Architecture where Steve lived for 5 years of his life. It was completely surreal to see the boys walking the halls that Steve and I did before they were ever even a thought to us. It is so amazing how time flies by like that. It's been 11 years since we lived there. While on campus, we also had to stop by and take a picture of the Visualization Lab in the College of Architecture. This is where only 18 of the best of the best of programmers go to learn to make CGI movies. These kids are drafted even before graduation to Disney, Pixar and/or LucasArts. So you know Ethan's new goal now. Get in that college! He hasn't stopped talking about it or stopped wearing his A&M sweatshirt since. AWWWW... gotta be proud.

Short but sweet update. Life is zooming by at an alarming speed and I am definitely in the slow lane. I also thought I would try my hand at online scrapping. I HATE to scrapbook but with a program like Picnik, it's really fun!

Until next time.......

Homemade Applesauce

I have always wanted to try to make homemade applesauce. We go through so many apples a week that I never have any leftover to try. Isaac loves apples and usually eats at least 2 a day. So this time, I went to the store and intentionally bought about a dozen more than usual with the intention of making applesauce. When Isaac saw all of the apples in the cart, he got so excited. He thought he was going to get to eat those all by himself. When I told him that they were for making applesauce, he said "I guess that's an ok thing to do with them."

This is my new favorite website "Pick Your Own". It has the best recipes for canning, homemade jams and jellies and links to local farmers where you can pick your own veggies and fruits.

This recipe is from Gooseberry Patch "Dinner$ on a Dime" . It is so easy and fast.

Recipe:

* 10-12 apples, cored, peeled and cubed

* 3/4 c. apple juice

* Optional: 1/2 cup of sugar or substitute (I didn't add any extra sugar)

* Optional: 1 t. cinnamon (I didn't add any cinnamon b/c I knew I would be using the applesauce for baking)

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker: toss to mix. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours. serve warm or keep refrigerated in a covered container. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I canned mine so that I could keep it longer. I added some pictures of the process of making and canning:

I love my peeler, corer and slicer from Pampered Chef

Hardly any work and it only took about 10 minutes to peel, core and slice 12 apples

Once all of the apples are peeled and sliced, all you do is put them in a crock pot, add sugar and/or juice and turn on the crock pot

It takes all day for the apples to soften. The smell in the house is fantastic. Once the apples are soft, I added them to my Foley Food Mill. This was a Christmas gift from my mom and I have used it A LOT.

Once all of the apples are strained through the mill, you have applesauce. It's that easy !!

Then the canning began. You have to make sure your jars are sanitized in the dishwasher and that you are using new lids and rings. New lids and rings are essential when canning because you have to have a good tight seal or the food will spoil. Once a ring has been used, you can not be sure that integrity of the seal is good. I have ordered Tattlers. The are reusable and so it should cut down on the over all cost of lids. They are kinda pricey up front but with our greenhouse going up at the end of the month, I will be doing a lot of canning and so it's worth it to me.

The ball all in one canning kit is also a must. It includes a funnel, lid wand, jar lifter and bubble remover. A pressure cooker or a water canner is also essential.

You can get these kits at Wal-Mart for about $40. If you are going to splurge and get the pressure cooker, it will cost about $65.

Once the jars are filled, you boil them for about 15 minutes. You will know that they are done if you push on the top of the lid and you do not hear a popping sound. If you go to Pick Your Own from the link above, it gives you some great hints to make sure your lids are secure.

While the applesauce was canning, I decided to take the leftover apple peels and make a few apple chips. The peeler doesn't leave large pieces like they would had I peeled them by hand but a few turned out ok.

I mixed together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkled it over the top. I baked them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 300 degrees.

They came out so good and crisp. They were an hit with the boys.

Well, that was my first attempt at the applesauce making business. I know this will be done quite often when apple picking season comes in the fall.

Now I have 6 jars of applesauce to either eat or bake with. I have already made applesauce bread that was successful at my ladies bible study. I will have to share that recipe at a later date.