Independence Days week ending 5/2/09

Well, I've been trying to post my Independence Days updates on Mondays, but we've been passing a non-swine-flu-virus around our family, so I'm a little behind. Last week's Independence Days activities were a little out of the ordinary for me. It's been raining for almost two weeks now, so working in the garden hasn't been much of an option. Then came swine flu. I mean, not to our house, but to the world. After marinating in all of the H1N1 hysteria for days now, I've realized that I'm actually much less afraid of H1N1 than I am of public/government responses. The H1N1 bug itself, at least in its current form seems to be fairly mild. The one confirmed case in our state did not require hospitalization.

I realized, though, that if I woke up to unexpected school closings one morning and the cupboards were bare - well, then I may have to be hospitalized. So the combination of swine flu and inclement weather brought the food storage issue to the forefront for me. And you know what? I'm really glad it did. I have been intimidated by the idea of starting a food storage system - I mean, where do you begin? Doomers (and I use that term affectionately) recommend having enough food on hand to feed your family and animals for 6-12 months. That just seems crazy overwhelming to me.

A couple of years ago, as The Ice Storm of The Century was rolling into town, I was trying to do my regular grocery shopping. I found myself in a crowded, poorly-stocked grocery store. And the worst part was that I was stuck in line for two hours surrounded by anxious and panicky shoppers. I would prefer not to repeat that experience again. So, instead of trying to prepare for the apocalypse in one fell swoop, I decided to start small. I asked myself: If getting to the store is likely to be inconvenient for a couple of weeks, what would I need to have on hand to make that time as "normal" (I use that term loosely for my crew) and comfortable as possible? That simplified things greatly for me and gave me a good jumping off point. And I can tell you that it has paid off for me big time this week. Getting to the grocery store this week would have been really inconvenient and probably would have resulted in a lot of fast-food dinners. But a little prep has truly gone a long way and this has been a valuable lesson for me.

Store something/Prep something: brown rice, dried pinto beans, TVP, canned fruit & veggies, canned beans, sweet treats (hard candy, hot chocolate, popsicles), cereal, canned soup, ramen noodles (keeps morale high around here), pasta, spaghetti sauce, cheese, mac-n-cheese, flour, Tylenol - adults and kids, ibuprofen - adults and kids, benadryl, imodium, vitamins, dog and cat food, vinegar, bleach

Reduce waste/reduce dependence: made bread, made a batch of laundry detergent, worked on knitted washcloths for Mothers Day gifts, sorted recycling

Learn a new skill: Read a book about herb gardening

So, don't get overwhelmed by tasks that seem larger-than-life. That is really the point behind the Independence Days challenge, after all: do what you can, no matter how small it seems and do a little bit everyday. Small changes applied over time really do add up.

Take care and keep on truckin'!
Brooke