Preparedness...bit by bit.



variegated sage backed up by a sage in bloom.


I've slowed down in the Preparedness department the past couple weeks...mainly just focusing on getting the garden planted. And so far, so good. We've got tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans, lettuce, zucchini and squash and herbs. Not enough for survival, but I imagine enough to keep us from starving.

I've also set aside a LOT of empty milk jugs over the past several weeks for extra water for "washing and flushing"...and they were beginning to pile up. So last week I loaded the utility sink in the garage full of milk jugs and filled them with water. I plan on doing another batch today.

I also bought a few extra cans of beans and a few packages of pasta. I found a plastic shoe box that I had in the garage holding stuff that I no longer needed so I emptied it out and am going to use it to store the small emergency supplies...soaps, matches, travel shampoos, can opener...stuff like that.

It's funny how just filling up those water jugs gave me a sense of accomplishment. They've been sitting around empty for weeks...and then when the storms hit...and when Osama was killed...I started to get a little concerned. I would be so upset if a disaster DID take place and here I am sitting around with a bunch of empty milk jugs. Saving milk jugs isn't helping anybody if they're left empty!

Have you started your preparation? Join in the Preparedness Challenge...great ideas and lots of encouragement. It's better to be safe than sorry.

neighbors.

Oh my...the girls are being LOUD this morning! Good thing my neighbors find it humorous...or I could be in a lot of trouble.

We are getting new next door neighbors...they are going to be moving in over the next couple of days. They are a young couple...this is their first home...and they seem very nice. I went out to introduce myself to them yesterday...and then warned them that I have four chickens. "Oh! We want to get chickens, too!"

YES!

And, as it turns out, they know the young couple down the street as well as the pastor across the street. They were all walking up and down past our house last night and finally The Pastor shouts our names from the sidewalk, "Hey Takacs' (pronounced Tack-us), did you meet your new neighbors?" We went out front to chat a bit...and then the young man from down the street asked if we wanted to be part of the Memorial Day celebration he and his wife are putting together...like a block party, a "stroll" of sorts. I'm thinking my offering will be DIY hot fudge sundaes.

As we talked a little more I learned that the young man down the street and his wife are going to raise rabbits...for manure and for...food. He was excited to hear we had chickens...said they'd wanted to but opted for rabbits instead...then mentioned something about bartering. Um...heck yeahhhh...!

I was really happy last night as I thought about all of this...new, nice, God-loving neighbors, like-minded about self-sufficiency, possible opportunities to barter...it's an answer to prayer it seems. And then there's always that little whisper in the back of my mind about the possibility of needing to be prepared through hard times...and it's nice to know that others around us are thinking the same way.

Planting the garden.

tomato plant.

We planted our vegetable garden yesterday. Finally! We've had our poor little vegetable plants sitting on the table on the deck for two weeks! (Or is it three?) I have to say...they look a lot happier in the ground.

We also, thanks to my helpful husband (who is getting into this whole garden thing), have a drip watering system installed. Each plant has its own little water spout...it's wonderful! No more hand watering. Well, except for the lettuce and the herbs and trees in pots. But that's fine...the majority of the watering will be done by timer.

We planted 10, yes, 10 tomato plants. Um...not sure what we were thinking. Actually, I do know what we were thinking...SALSA. We love homemade salsa. And we love it with fresh tomatoes and peppers from our garden. So there ya go.

Speaking of peppers...we planted six of them. Two jalapeno, two Anaheim, a purple bell pepper (because I love purple in the garden and do NOT like eggplant) and an heirloom purple hot pepper. It oughtta look pretty in the salsa. It says it's also good dried and made into mole for enchilada sauce. Sounds good!

Walla Walla onions...

We also planted one cucumber, because I'm really the only one who eats them...one zucchini plant (although I am going to plant a few more seeds as we all like zucchini...especially prepared this way) and one Blue Hubbard squash...because they're a gray blue, I think they'll look pretty in the garden, and I wanted to try something new.

For the first time, we are going to try our hand at growing onions. I've never grown onions before...so I'm excited to see how it works out. I got Walla Walla onions. It's what they had at the garden center...and we sort of bought them on a whim so I hadn't done any research as to which ones would be best to grow. Eventually I'll have my act together (I hope) and be a more organized gardener. Eventually...

Until then...we garden on the edge. Seth used to call me the "loose canon mom on the edge"...maybe we can change that to the "loose canon gardener on the edge"!



purple garden gloves...thanks Mavis!



Today I'm going to get back out there and plant some seeds...green beans, lettuce and cantaloupe. Oh...and a few more zucchini seeds and some sunflowers! I got two varieties...I hope they come up. Ian and I planted some right before the days and days of rain and none of them sprouted. (Or they sprouted but I didn't know it and the chickens found the sprouts before I could! I'll never know.)

I purchased some herbs yesterday...more sage, basil, parsley and thyme (quite possibly my favorite)...two varieties, English and creeping. We have a sage plant that survived from last year. It's not pretty...but it's alive. It grew out from under a pot somehow...so it's stem is really long and the actual growth is about a foot away from where it's rooted.

Like I said...it's not pretty. But it's alive. So...it stays.

It was a great day to get outside and plant. At the warmest point I think it was about 80-something degrees. But there was a breeze off and on so it kept it quite cool.

Not to mention, the pecan tree still hasn't been trimmed. And it provides more shade than we want. We're still waiting on PG&E to come by and trim the parts that are dangerously close to the power lines so we can get a tree trimmer in to prune the rest. Can't wait...it's shading a lot of our garden expansion. Sort of defeating the purpose, ya know?

Welp...better get a move on. I've got lots to do today. Gotta get those seeds planted, dust and vacuum, clean the bathroom, mop the kitchen floor and try and keep up with the laundry piles!

How was your weekend? Did you get any gardening done?

Getting away...and being prepared.

On Thursday morning I packed up my boys and we headed to Donner Lake to visit my aunt and uncle. They recently purchased a cabin on the lake and invited us to come and stay with them.

Chris was on a roll at work and made the decision to stay home. Which was fine...but it made me more aware of traveling with my kids to a place I hadn't traveled before with the possibility of snow fall while traveling. I wasn't nervous...but I was definitely thinking a little deeper while packing.

I'm thinking you're all familiar with the story of The Donner Party...and trust me, this was at the forefront of my mind as I preparing for the trip. You'd have thought we were staying with my aunt and uncle for a week the way I packed!

I packed extra blankets and extra warm clothes for all of us. I had a case of water in the back of the car for sports practices and such...so I just left it there. I packed extra food, too...not a lot, but enough for an emergency.

I'm happy to say the drive up was uneventful. We listened to music, stopped for lunch and marveled at the snow along the way. It was so beautiful. Perfect for our mini getaway...

After a nice visit, a little shopping, an overnight stay and some playing in the snow we packed up the car and headed home. It was snowing a little on the way, and I'd never driven in snow, but it was fine. And so pretty. And I felt good knowing that should we have a problem or run into a sudden storm and road closure, the boys and I would be fine until help arrived. (I know, I know...I've been told I can be a bit of a drama queen. But hey...what if there HAD been an emergency? Who'd be the drama queen THEN?! Huh?!)

Anyway...it was a great 24 hours...and a lot of fun! Glad we were able to have a mini getaway and spend some time with family. Thank you D and Hyla...we had a great time!

Backyard improvements...DIY

Our poor backyard has been neglected for a very long time. When we moved in many years ago it consisted of a medium size pecan tree, some berry vines that didn't produce edible fruit and two unkempt cherry plum trees. Now the pecan tree is gargantuan and the berries and one plum tree are gone. Our poor little home had been badly neglected before we moved in so the yard was dirt. And it remained dirt. And...it still is dirt.  But not for long.

My husband and I finally agreed on a garden design that will work for us. It's very simple. And that's a good thing. In the past I wanted a cottage garden...soft edges, flowers everywhere, fluff. Now I have adopted Grandpa Fred's point of view, "Why grow it if you can't eat it?"  This is what we have in mind...

Right now the pecan tree branches span across the yard and a bit over the deck. They shade the back of the yard and much of the garden space. I've got calls in to tree trimmers for bids on having it cut way back. This has to be done to make room for SUN...we need sun for the grass, sun for the chickens and sun for the garden. It would be nice if the tree were to go permanently...but it is very expensive to have it removed...so a trim it is.

To get started, the weekend before last we moved the chicken coop. I love having chickens. But I do not love how messy and destructive they are. I like to let them free-range...but I don't like that they tear up my garden, scratch through my flower pots and poop everywhere! It was time for a change.

We moved the coop behind the shed (that little white building on the left) so now they're between the shed and the back fence. This makes much more sense in the "design" of the backyard. They've got their coop still...but now it's inside a spacious run just for them. They still get to "free-range"...but now it's just a bit more controlled.

The girls may beg to differ as they pace back and forth at the new gate, pining away for the days they were free to eat our innocent seedlings and poop on our deck. But...in time they'll get used to it. They've already found a new dust bathing area...and eventually I will have a sandy area for them as well as some greenery. They'll be OK. They've got it better than many!

Just this past weekend we extended our garden area. It's now about 3 times the size it was! What am I going to do with all that space?!! (I'm sure I'll figure it out...) The garden now spans from the back of the house to the back fence. We installed posts and wire fencing to match the chicken run. It's not fancy. It's actually very utilitarian. But that's fine. At this point, I just want it done. So cost effective utilitarian works for me.

Here's the new garden area...from the wood fence to the newly installed wire fence. And you can see in the foreground the ground tilled up...that will be grass. If you can imagine me standing and taking the picture, the chickens are behind me, opposite the garden area. Poor girls...they'll be able to see it but not get to it. So mean...I know. But don't worry...they'll get plenty of goodies. They always do!

This is a closer shot of the garden and the garden gate the boys built for me a couple of years ago. I think it works perfectly!

Productivity sure does feel good. I can't wait until it's all done and planted and we can sit out on our deck, enjoy a barbecue of grilled veggies from the garden...and look out on a nice yard.

Preparedness Challenge: what I did this week.

I'm on a budget. A pretty tight one. So adding more to the list than what we need right now is a challenge in and of itself.

But I I believe it's important to be prepared for a possible emergency. During the week, while I'm out shopping for what we need for the house I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for bargains on items that I can add to the emergency stash without edging into the weekly budget too much. The soap for example...3 bars for a dollar. The dog food...2 cans for 89 cents. A box of Band-aids and onion salt...each a dollar. (Forgot to put those on the list...oops.) Every little bit helps...and makes me feel all that more accomplished and prepared.

Oh...and I thought of a few things to add to my lists that I somehow forgot to include last week! Those items are: foil, tarp(s), towels/rags, paper plates and TOILET PAPER. How could I forget TP? That would NOT have been pretty.

If you weren't here last week, and would like copies of detailed supply lists, click on the "Printables" button on the top navigation bar. There you'll find links for free, helpful lists you can use to check off items as you acquire them. Print them out...then be sure and add these items! Especially toilet paper for crying out loud!

Wanna join the Challenge?

(Wanna make a cute catalog card list? Go here.)

Are you prepared? And FREE print outs!

**Quick reminder...about the GIVEAWAY! Go here for a chance to win! The Drawing is later this afternoon!**

I am loving this Preparedness Challenge! (Amy...you rule!) I am the type that needs someone, or something, to hold me accountable to following through with...something. Anything. Everything! Whatever it is!

I joined the PC (Preparedness Challenge) a couple weeks ago...and now, throughout the week, I think of ways to better prepare my family for a possible emergency. And I think of it more because I feel I have to answer to YOU. Well, that and the thought of not being able to provide for my kids in an emergency situation about pushes me over the edge.

This past week I did quite a few things to prepare for an emergency. I bought 6 more gallons of water, a dozen boxes of matches and a few more cans of prepared foods such as chili and baked beans. I was talking to my mom about this whole "preparedness" thing last week...and she brought up a good point...what if we don't have water to prepare food with?

It made me stop and think...because I have been setting things aside with the assumption that I will have some sort of water supply to prepare things such as beans and rice and dried soups. But there is a good possibility that we won't have access to water with the exception of whatever I've set aside. It was a good point...and urged me to pick up some ready-made canned goods to add to the stores.

I also gathered travel size shampoo, conditioner and lotion from our time away last weekend. I don't usually bring those things home...they just take up room in the linen closet. But this time I thought they'd be good to add to the supplies for the PC. Those and a small sewing kit I came across a week or so ago in the junk drawer.

The main thing I did, though, was to make Master Lists of everything I want to have in my 3-month Emergency Storage. I am a list maker...I need to see it on paper...write it down...check it off...or I forget. And I was getting overwhelmed with going to this site and this site and that site...gathering info, trying to remember everything I needed...wanted...could possibly need, etc.

So...I decided to make myself Master Lists. I took all of the information I felt was important from several difference sites and put it all on three lists. So now I can print them out, see what I need, check it off when I have it...done.

I also wanted to share these Master Lists with you. Keep in mind that these are the items I think we'll need, and use. The lists are also a guideline...your family may not eat what my family will. Or need what my family needs.

Would you like a Master List for yourself? Follow these links and print them out:

Emergency Food List
Emergency Non-Food Items List
First Aid Kit Supplies

I will be ordering some of these items from Emergency Essentials (follow the link in my sidebar). I like the idea of powdered milk, powdered peanut butter and potato flakes. No...not gourmet. Or local. But these are things that my family goes through a LOT of and will definitely get used up. And if we get to the point of survival, I won't be concerned with what's in the food or where it came from, as long as I am able to feed my kids.

Not to mention, the items from Emergency Essentials have a long storage life due to the way their stored. I can't do any better at this point...so this is a plus for me.

I also want to share a link to a Food Calculator put together by LDS. You just plug in your numbers and it generates a list for you. This is the list I used to create my own list...adding some things and taking away others.

This preparing business sure does make me feel better. I have yet to really get it organized...right now it's all sort of piled on and around a few shelves in the garage. "Organize pantry shelves in garage" is on my to-do list...still. (ahem) Next week...for sure...*wink*.

What have you done to prepare? Do tell..!

General housekeeping...

A couple of things...

• I'm still working on my Disaster/Emergency Kit...and want to encourage YOU to work on YOURS, too. I feel pretty strongly about this...not wanting any of my family or friends to be caught "with their pants down" so to speak!! I am putting together a Master List of supplies for myself...and will share with you when I get it finished. As I've mentioned before, my friend Amy at Homestead Revival (don't you just love that name?) is hosting a Preparedness Challenge to help get us motivated and ready...just in case. Again...we're not fretting or frantic here. Just acting on that sense of "calm urgency" I talked about yesterday...better to be safe than sorry, right? (Oh...and if you have a Nugget grocery store in your area, they have gallons of Crystal Geyser water on sale 2/$1 this week...not bad!)
• I'm getting ready to make some changes around here...so if Give a Girl a Fig looks a bit out of sorts...a bit wonky...a bit disheveled...it's because she's getting dolled up. It's time for a few changes...a little freshening up. She needs to clean up her act a bit...what can I say? She takes after me!
• My washing machine broke yesterday. This has absolutely nothing to do with Give a Girl a Fig...I just felt the need to share...because I'm bummed. And because my laundry pile is growing as I type. My husband took a look at the washer last night...tore it apart, tore the laundry area apart...only to realize, it was a job for a professional. And not a professional cabinet maker! (Darnit.) I'll be calling a repairman in a few minutes...I pray it's a simple and inexpensive fix.

OK...off to start this rainy, gray day. I pray you are all well...that you are committed to putting together preparedness kits...and that your washing machines are working!

Proverbs 21:5

The plans of the diligent lead to profit
   as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Wednesday in the Word

Ezekiel 12:1-3

1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.

3 “Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people.

* * * * * * * *

Over the past several weeks God has been bombarding me with Jeremiah 29...specifically verse 11, "For I know the plans I have for you...". Each morning I get up...turn on the coffee pot then sit down to read my bible a few minutes while the coffee perks. And each morning I say a little prayer asking God to lead me to the scripture He wants me to read. For weeks...the same thing..."For I know the plans I have for you...". And...can I be honest here? I'm getting a little tired of Jeremiah 29. I'm getting a little frustrated that He's not giving me another scripture! A different scripture. I think to myself, "OK God, I got it...yes, yes...You know the plans You have for me...yes...yes...I get it. Now...what else?! What's next?"

But...maybe I don't get it. Maybe I don't have it at all. This is usually the case when God puts something in front of me over and over and over again. It's not that He can't think of anything else to say to me. No. Not at all. More than likely it's that I haven't heard Him good enough yet. More than likely He continues to give me the same scripture...or the same lesson...many times over because I have yet to learn what He's trying to tell me.

In the meantime, while I try to let the lesson sink in...I continue to wait on God. And you know...waiting on God is HARD. I feel like I've been waiting on Him for a long time. Waiting for my creative breakthrough...waiting for my call in life....waiting for the business to improve...waiting for everything. There have been times when I've taken things into my own hands...thinking that maybe God wanted me to be brave...to take that first step of faith...and then open the flood gates of whatever it is I've stepped out about...only to find that I stepped in the wrong direction. Or...stepped too soon.

I don't know...life is hard. Walking with God is hard. Waiting...is hard. Not knowing is hard. Trying to explain to others where you are at spiritually...and having them look at you like you have three heads...is hard. I guess it's not for everyone to understand. Sometimes, things are just between me and God. Or you and God. Sometimes...not being understood by others just could mean you are on the right track with God.

However...ALL that aside...this morning I was actually given a different scripture. Ezekiel 12. And one of the first verses says, "...pack your belongings for exile...". This confirmed for me that God is calling me to be prepared...calling us to be prepared. With everything going on in the world I feel a sense of responsibility to prepare. Not a sense of worry...or of panic. But more a sense of calm urgency. I saw an interview with a young man from Japan last week...he said they had a lot of rice stored...but only a few jars of pickles and even fewer cans of meat for his family to survive on for who knows how long? I realized that I wanted to be better prepared than that...for any situation...because you really just never know. Since the tsunami in Japan I keep imagining that we have some sort of emergency here in the US...and there I sit, with my family, with no means of caring for them. And the worst part is that I knew I should prepare...I knew I should store food, and water...I knew that I should put together a First Aid Kit...I knew these things...yet did not do them.

So...seeing as how my word of the year is DO...I have taken some steps to be prepared. Just in case. I'm not worried...I'm not frantic...I'm just determined to be ready should the need arise. I am following along with my friend Amy at Homestead Revival...she's doing a preparedness challenge that is very helpful and full of good information. I am feeling prompted to put together a 3-month supply of food, water and other supplies. If we only need it for a week...or a month...then that means I have some to share with others. Some lost kids that can't find their parents? The old couple down the street? You never know.

My plan is to get a few extra items each time I go to the store...whatever is on sale more than likely...and add it to the preparedness pile. Extra rice, extra beans, extra canned items, extra first aid items, extra water. I am also saving my milk jugs, filling them with tap water and setting them aside to use for washing and flushing should that be necessary. Storage is a bit of an issue for those of you who know how small my house is. But...it's just a good excuse for me to rearrange and reorganize a few shelves in the garage...a job I've been putting off for long enough!

Anyway...I know today's Wednesday in the Word is a bit jumbled... and scattered. It's just where my thoughts are lately...welcome to my world!

oh how I love a rainy Saturday...

It is raining...a lot. And even more is expected. If you've been reading here for any amount of time you probably know that this makes me very happy.

I've got pork in the crock pot (aka my wife)...flour tortillas are defrosting. Essentially, dinner is ready. This makes me very happy.

Found a good book at the library the other day...can't wait to really "dig in". (Oh...yes...I did.)

I joined this challenge...wanna join, too? To start I bought two gallons of water at the store yesterday. It's a start!

It's a good day to piece together a jigsaw puzzle. We did one last weekend and it was really fun. It was a great family activity. The only problem is...we don't have another puzzle! I think we'll have to pick up another...

I've been trying my hand at zentangles. It's basically doodling...but with a fancier name. I came across zentangles several years ago but had never tried it. But recently I started spending some time at Swap-bot and ended up joining a zentangle exchange. As well as a few others! We'll see how that goes...it seems some of the swappers at Swap-bot can be a bit...difficult...and not nice. Hopefully I won't run into any meanies.

Oh...and I had mentioned that I was going to cut some bangs..? Well...I did...sort of. They're more like...a long layer. I sorta chickened out as I am wont to do when it comes to my hair. Bangs are just so...high-maintenance. And...I am not.

Well...the dishes aren't going to wash themselves. I better get a move on...

What have you got going on today?