Stockpiling

I have been reading a lot of blogs about stockpiling lately and decided to throw my two pennies worth in! Stockpiling is not just for emergency preparedness – but rather it is a way of life for many people – particularly those who closely adhere to a budget – which nowadays is nearly everyone I know! To me, stockpiling means keeping staples on hand and buying often-used items when they are on sale. It also means that I cook large quantities of dishes we like a lot and freezing them to have on-hand for a quick meal. Some folks call this OAMC (once a month cooking), but I am not that organized – I cook large quantities when the mood strikes me or when I get a really good deal on one of the main ingredients, like meat. I like having meals ready to pull out of the freezer on those days when I am not inspired to cook! The other “stockpiling” thing I do is canning and/or dehydrating – “putting up” as my Grandma called it. We are blessed in this nation to have access to many fruits and vegetables all year long – but when something is in season, especially if it is grown locally, I take full advantage of the low prices and can, freeze or dehydrate for future use. My garden also provides many of the things I use – herbs, veggies, etc. But you don’t have to have a huge garden to take advantage of this way of living. It only makes sense to me to be able to put together a healthy meal, or luscious homemade baked goods by going to my pantry or freezer and pulling out everything I need. Check out some of these ideas for yourself, if you are interested in saving time, money and, sometimes, your sanity! Get started by visiting Rhonda at her wonderful Blog down---to---earth - she even has photos of her pantry and some good recipes as well!

Never Forget

As I was driving in to work this morning I reflected back to my drive into work on September 11, 2001. As I was leaving the driveway my husband said that he heard that a “plane had hit a high rise in New York City.” As horrible as that sounded, I could not even begin to imagine what that really meant! As I began my trek I found a radio station that was broadcasting the news and heard, much to my horror, that it was so much more than what I originally thought. Then, as I arrived at the office and turned on the television in our conference room I became even more horrified as I realized that this was no accident – and then watched in stunned amazement as yet another plane flew directly into the other tower.

There are lessons to be learned from this horrific attack and I pray that we will never forget those lessons.

May God bless ~

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

Adventures

This has been a wonderful day! We have had some rain here in the Valley of the Sun these last couple of days, so this morning I got up early and went to check to make sure no damage was done in the garden after the heavy winds. All is well – nothing was uprooted or pounded into the ground. The sunflowers are going to seed, the morning glories are blooming and the pumpkins are just peeking through the soil (I got them in a little late, but I think they will do fine). Then I began prepping for my weekend cooking-for-the-freezer fest while sipping a delicious cup of coffee and enjoying having my doors and windows open for the first time in ages – a nice breeze was flowing through the house and for a change it was not dust-laden. We left around 9:00 a.m. and drove smack dab into a gully washer! It was wonderful!! Well, it was until we got within a couple of blocks of our destination and the road was closed – but fortunately my husband knows the Valley like the back of his hand and wound us around through some old neighborhoods (my how things have changed in that area!) until we arrived at our destination. We got soaked getting from the car to the entrance of the warehouse and even more soaked, if possible, getting back to the car with our purchase. Yes, I suppose we could have turned around and gone home to wait until the rain passed, but what fun is that?? It was quite the adventure and we loved every minute of it. God has blessed our Valley with some much needed rain and it is supposed to continue through the long weekend and I plan to enjoy it while it lasts! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend – and take my advice – grab your adventures where you can and enjoy them to the fullest!