Plans for the week...

My seed order came in a week or so ago. I purchased from both Johnny's and Seed Savers. I have had good success with the seeds from both places.

In my pile of seeds are:

Trophy Tomato
October Bean
Charlevoix Dark Beans
Butternut Squash
Detroit Dark Red Beets
Premium Late Flat Cabbage
Snow Fancy's Pickling Cucumbers
Negovia Carrots
Butterhead Lettuce
Yellow Onions
San Marzano Tomato
Provider Bush Beans
Jade Bush Beans
and...

Conquistador Celery. I have never planted celery before, but I sure do use a lot of it. These seeds must be started this week in order to be ready to plant outside at the end of May. This is the earliest I have planted seeds indoors.

In light of our discussion on the economy and surviving a depression, I don't think we can ignore the importance of growing some of your own food. I have been gardening on one level or another for about 15 years. This will be my third year for starting my own seeds. I learn a little bit more about it each year that I do it.

If you have never planted any vegetables before, I always recommend starting with crops that are easy to grow and that you like to eat. I discovered that there is no point in growing zucchini if I am the only one who will eat it no matter how prolific it is. Also, if you are planning on planting peppers or tomatoes, find a local nursery or garden center that has what you want and buy your transplants from them. Your first year is probably not the year to try growing your own transplants. I was not planning to take the time today to get into a lengthy discussion about gardening, but I will be writing about my progress as the season progresses. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about the topic. I am not an expert, but I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability.

We are winding up the hockey seasons. Next week are the championship games. Then I can start sleeping in a little longer on Saturday morning. The 4-H season is just coming into full swing however. Carolyn had a great public presentation yesterday. In two weeks, Natalie has her horse bowl regional competition. We will have a couple more practices between now and then. I will try to remember to take my camera with me to these events. I forgot it yesterday.

Lastly, I am knee deep in planning next year's curriculum. My planning process begins in January and is usually completed by the end of March before the catalog prices increase.

I will keep you posted on how my seed starting activities progress this week. Also look for more discussions on preparedness.

Buy socks...

Thank you to all who decided to take the quiz yesterday and shared their results. Many found the results to be fairly accurate. If you haven't taken the quiz yet, please do so, and share your results.

The economic news today is not shocking, but it has the DOW taking a tumble at the moment. The GDP numbers are in for the 4th quarter of 2008, and they are showing a contraction larger than the economist had figured. It looks like the government may be owning up to 36% of Citibank as well.

I mentioned a few days ago that I would be delving into practical suggestions for dealing with a recession or even a depression. If you read any article on the Internet on this topic, you can boil down your recession/depression proofing preparations into three areas: pay off debt, save what you can and stock-up on what you will need. Furthermore, stockpiling or having a reserve of goods and raw materials can be broken down into these categories: food, personal hygiene and clothing. Yes, some of you might have other categories, but these are mine.

Clothing is the area that I would like to focus on today. I had not thought about stockpiling clothing, but as I read more and more articles from survivors of the Great Depression, I discovered a couple of things. Shoes and socks or stockings were a very needed and often expensive item during the Depression era. I read many stories of people using cardboard inside their shoes to extend their wearability. Socks are another item that wear out quickly. I don't know about you, but I do not know how to darn a sock. I don't even have a darning needle. So, I am planning to pick up some extra bags of socks and underwear for the members of my family. I think this is just smart.

Sewing skills would be beneficial in leaner times. It seems that women and men who could sew did all right with their clothing needs. I have a lot of fabric that I intended to used for different clothing items. I never got those garments made, but I still have the cloth to use for whatever I might need. Learn how to sew a pair of pajama pants. Teach your children these skills as well so that they can help. Right now, clothing is very inexpensive, but this might not always be the case. A devalued dollar will make even a six pack of socks unattainable for many.

Every family must make their own decisions on how to wisely spend the resources that they are given. I hope that this gives you some food for thought today.

Examining the past...

All around us these days people are talking about the economy. Some are worried and seem paralyzed by this fear. Others are concerned yet are taking proactive steps to plan for the security of themselves and their families. The final group of people are those who go about as though all was sunshine and lollipops. They don't believe anything serious will happen, and find those of use who do to be depressing and gloomy. I am in the group of concerned people who have chosen to take some active steps to plan for the worst, but I hope for the best.

I have been studying the "Great" Depression for some time now. The stories of the people who lived through it intrigue me. At the peak of the Depression, my grandmother was fifteen years old. I am sure she had some great stories to tell. Unfortunately, grandma passed away over five years ago. Everyday we are losing the people who can give us insight into this time in history. Soon we won't have their wisdom and insight.

As I read through interviews and articles written by and about those who lived through the 1930's in America, I am struck by two things. First I see a value system and an attitude in these people that seems to be lost to Americans today. Secondly, these people can teach us many practical lessons as we try to navigate through these uncertain financial times.

I would like to devote some time on my blog to pursuing the values, attitudes and practical lessons that our grandparents, great-grandparents and their peers can teach us. I hope you will join me.

Stocking the pantry...

Yesterday the headline of Yahoo finance said, "Half-million jobs vanish as economy deteriorates."

The article went on to say, "A record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage was either at least a month behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported."

This caused my dear friend, Ranae and I to continue our on-going discussion about the economy and being prepared by stocking up on pantry and personal hygiene items. One point that came up in our discussion was where to start if you haven't prepared in either of these areas. Should you begin pantry storage or linen closet storage. My thought is that even though cleanliness is next to godliness food is my priorety. For several years now, I have been storing white flour, rolled oats, quick oats, Prairie Gold wheat berries, evaporated cane juice crystals and Sucanat. I store them in 5-6 gallon buckets in my basement. Each bucket has a gamma seal lid except for the Sucanat. The Sucanat is stored in an airtight pet food container that was never used for pet food. I buy 50-100# of each of these items at a time. Typically I can buy 100# of wheat berries and flour but only 50# of oats and sugars. When my supply gets low, I buy more. Typically, I do not have to replace them all at once. This helps the pocket book.

Here is a look at the buckets.

I also have two chrome storage shelves in the basement for canned goods, condiments, and other food stuffs.

Last year I canned a lot more than I did this year. This year we had too much water, and my garden was flooded twice during the season. I did not can tomatoes, but for about 6 weeks this fall I bought 4-6 cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato puree when the local grocery store had them on sale for $0.69 per 28 ounce can. I worked my way up to about 30 cans. I do this for many things that the store puts on sale.

I don't think stocking up means you have to blow your grocery budget. For me I just have to pay attention and match my need to the sales.

I am not very well stocked up in my linen closet. That is going to be the next area I tackle. Also, I would really like a 4-6 month supply of cat food, but I haven't gotten that far.

On a final note, I also refilled prescriptions today even though I do not need a refill right now. I want to have prescriptions on hand in the event that my husband would lose his job, and we didn't have insurance. It would help for a while.