What Can We Do

 Whenever I see a news broadcast, it is filled with hype and speculation.  Will Trump win.  Will Biden win.  Will Sidney Powell really release the Kraken.  Will Rudy and Company prove their case for fraud. Will there be more lockdowns.  Will there be more restrictions.  Will the vaccine be mandatory.  On and on and on - hair on fire from talking heads and pundits and all the rest.

Short answer - I don't know. 

There are all sorts of people out there with advice.  Some good - others not so much.  There are those who are convinced the only path to survival is to pack up and move to some remote location.  Others recommend attending protests, carrying signs and marching to get the desired results.  Still others think that a strongly worded  letter to congress critters will help.    

Personally, I have my doubts.  If I were still in my twenties, I might seriously consider moving, but I am a 74 year old granny with health issues.  Not gonna happen.  Neither will you find me carrying a sign and shouting slogans.  And my representatives haven't given a rodent's behind about my opinion for decades.  So what can I do?

I can first and foremost remember that God is still on His throne.  He is the one in charge and it is His will that shall be done.  

I can pray for the safety and well being of friends and family.  I can pray they will be spared the truckload of ugly that seems to be headed our way.

And I can live.  I can live without allowing the fear that politicians and media wish to dump on me.  I can live by enjoying what I have and those I love, to the fullest.  I can do what makes me happy.

And I can continue to 'stack it to the rafters.'  We hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  And I will continue to pay attention to what is happening in the world around me.  Forewarned is forearmed.  But I will not let it suck the life and joy from me.

So today, the bones, skin and scraps from yesterday's turkey are simmering on the stove, creating a delicious turkey broth that will be canned tomorrow.  That makes me happy.  And later today I will eat leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner.  That makes me happy, with a bonus happy that tonight I don't have to cook.  And later I will email friends.  Staying in touch makes me happy.

In the end, we as individuals can not change whatever is headed our way.  But we can hope and we can pray.  And we can trust God.  And we can enjoy life as much as is possible.

That will drive the 'powers that be' nuts.  :)

Happy Thanksgiving

I know this year for many, Thanksgiving will not be the same traditional gathering with friends and family.  And I know that 2020 has been a year the likes of which I would rather not repeat.  But even so, there is much to be thankful for.

I am thankful for family, for even though I can't see most of them just now, their phone calls - hearing their voices - hearing about what they have been doing - brings me more joy than they know.

I am thankful for friends who stay in touch.  They keep me from feeling isolated and they keep me informed about what is going on in our crazy world and most importantly, they make me smile.

I am thankful for each and every one of you who visit this silly little blog.  For without all of you, this whole thing would be pointless.  I enjoy your comments and I have the added benefit of learning much from them.  You all are greatly appreciated.

So enjoy your Thanksgiving even if it isn't what we would prefer.  May God bless each and every one of you and keep you safe. 

With a grateful heart,

Vicki

I Was Gonna Rant

I really was.  There has been much to rant about in the last couple of days.

Our Governor here in Minnesota is at it again.  This time his power grab has had an effect on several members of my family.  He cost one of my sons one of his jobs.  He made some of my grandchildren cry by depriving them of proper schooling, of their recreational and competitive sports and is isolating them in front of computers instead of allowing them to be with their friends doing kid stuff.

I also had a pretty good rant going about the state of our national election.  I had lots to say about cheaters and fraud and corruption.

But here's the thing.

They have finally worn me down.  The politicians and the pundits and the newscasters.  I am so done with it all.

I don't want to see any more press conferences from either side.  I want to see proof in a court of law and I want this election to be decided one way or another.

I don't want to hear any more governors telling me how very sorry they are and that they feel our pain and oh, yeah, you no longer have a job and you can't go to school and you can't go to the gym and forget about that funeral for your Grandmother or that wedding of your niece and sorry, but your grandson can no longer go for religious instruction for his Confirmation.  And forget about a traditional Thanksgiving and you probably won't be with family at Christmas either.

And most of all I don't want to hear about a 12 year old friend of my grandson being caught using Google to search for ways to commit suicide.

I want our lives back.  I don't want a new normal.  I liked the old normal just fine.  I want our country back.  It used to be a pretty good place to be.  

I wonder what would happen if everybody just stood up and in unison yelled "NO MORE!"

Another Canning Marathon

My youngest son delivered a quarter beef to me on Wednesday.  For several years he has been getting beef from a farmer who lives just a couple of miles from his house.  The farmer doesn't sell directly to the public, but to a select group of customers.  David still had beef in his freezer so I was able to take that order.  

There was a total of 165 lbs. of meat.  I sorted the meat out, setting some of it out to thaw and stacked the rest in the freezer.  David had done the math and with processing and packaging at a local butcher, it came out to less cost per pound than a pound of hamburger at our local big box grocery.  And I really like the idea of supporting a local farmer.

So Thursday I spent the day canning meat.  I ended up with 33 pints of hamburger, 3 pints of stew meat and 12 pints of beef roast.  

The stew meat and roasts were packed into jars raw.  The hamburger was browned and then packed into jars.  I didn't use any liquid in any of them.  They were all canned for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure for my elevation.

So with the meat in the freezer and the meat in jars, I have enough to last my oldest son and I for a long time.  

Now is not the time to ease up on prepping.  No matter how the election turns out in the end, I think we are in for a rough time.  As a dear friend often says, "Stack it to the rafters.  We're gonna need every crumb."  

My Quiet Life - Not Today

Every now and then I have mentioned my quiet life.  Today was not one of those quiet days.

My son Duane lives in the apartment next door.  On the other side of his apartment is another, occupied by a younger married couple.  I have not met them, but Duane tells me the wife is a pleasant person who works to support them both.  The husband apparently has some serious mental issues.  Duane has seen him outside in the parking lot back of our building, running around swinging a machete.

This afternoon Duane came into my apartment to tell me about what was happening.  He said the guy next door to him had been crashing about in his apartment.  Then Duane saw him in the parking lot, wielding a baseball bat, taking swings at parked vehicles.  Someone called the police.

I listened to the scanner for a while to see what was happening.  At one point the guy had a gas can and  lighter and was threatening to set the can on fire.  The police were trying to talk him out of the apartment.  Eventually he did start a fire in the apartment and that was when the talk ended and he was taken out, hopefully to a hospital for some help.

The fire department was on stand-by and quickly put the fire out.  But there was a lot of smoke and the building was evacuated.  A firemen helped me down the stairs.  A business owner a couple of doors down the street offered to let Duane and me stay in his office.  It was cold.  It was raining.  We were grateful.

When the smoke had cleared, two firemen helped me back up the stairs to my apartment.  My phone began ringing almost as soon as I was back home.  The kids were checking up on their brother and mother.  One of them had driven here but couldn't get close as the streets surrounding my building had been closed off.

I am none the worse for wear, with the exception of a bit of embarrassment at walking down the street wearing my floor length robe and big, fuzzy socks over my leg wraps.   If I had known I was going out for the evening, I would have dressed for the occasion.  :)

God bless all those, and there were a lot of them, who came to take care of a very bad situation.  And if you are so inclined, please offer a prayer for the fellow who caused all of this.  It must be terrifying to be living with the demons of the mind that would make someone do the things he did.

And now, if you please, I will go back to my quiet life.  

It Ain't Over Yet

I have to admit to a little bit of panic when I read about the voting results this morning.  But then I realized that just because the Media proclaims a winner, that doesn't make it so.  The Media does not certify election results. 

There are reports of a considerable amount of shenanigans going on in the counting of ballots.  President Trump's attorneys are headed to the courts to address these issues.

Nobody knows if the outcome of the election will change.  That remains to be seen.  But until the election is certified for one candidate or the other, all we can do is wait.  

And have some faith that occasionally, wrong is punished and right wins.

Are We Ready?

Several people I know have made last minute shopping trips just in case the post election violence threatened by the left leaning crazies comes to pass.  My last grocery order filled in most of the gaps in my food storage.  My order for this week includes fresh fruit and vegetables and items that I would like to have but can live without should the delivery become impossible.  I have also decided to wait on ordering a couple of items online, for the same reason.  If the promised chaos happens, who knows what might happen to my order.

And isn't it sad that we are not only held hostage by a pandemic that isn't, but also by those who wish to rip apart a perfectly good nation.  Never in my lifetime have I seen such complete insanity and such efforts to try to keep 'we the people' under the thumbs of those who think they know better than we do on how we need to live our lives.  A pox on them all.

In the meantime, life goes on here in my little corner of the world.  Having put off cleaning out my chest freezer for about as long as I could, that is happening now.  I found several freezer bags full of homemade vegetable soup that I thawed and canned, giving me 7 quarts to add to the shelves.  The closer I get to the bottom, the more I am finding stuff that has lived there far too long.  Several bags of squash had to be tossed as well as a badly freezer burned pizza.  Being only a couple of inches over 5 feet tall, reaching the bottom of the freezer is a challenge, but thankfully there is one long, tall son living next door who says he will drag out the rest of what is left in the bottom.  

While waiting to see what our future holds, I have been having a bit of fun.  A friend sent me some packets of micro greens seeds and I planted one of them in a shoebox size container of potting soil.  Looks to be about a gazillion tiny plants growing and when they are big enough I will snip them off and use them in a salad.

I also dehydrated six bunches of celery last week, so I saved the root ends and set them in another shoebox size plastic container, adding about an inch and a half of water.  I now have celery growing from all six roots, the largest stalks being about 4 inches tall.  I think I will just leave them alone, adding water when needed, and see just how tall they will grow.

It obviously takes very little to amuse me.  :)

I pray the promised riots do not happen, but I am not counting on it.  Many are taking the threat seriously.  It is reported that Texas has the National Guard on standby in the largest cities.  I have seen reports of other states doing the same.  All across the country store owners are busy boarding up their windows.  Some governors and mayors have recommended that stores stay closed on election day.  If that many folks are taking the threat seriously, we will do the same.  

Thankfully, we are stocked well enough to hunker down for a long time, if necessary.  I pray that things stay calm and peaceful, but judging by what this year has already given us, I am not counting on it.

Stay as safe as possible, my friends.  Most of us have been prepping for whatever crisis happens.  It is my personal belief that we are on the threshold right now.  I really hope I am wrong.