Wow.

A lot has happened since I last wrote you for the monthly update. This website is one of the things that has changed. In mid-March, I moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress which is already better. I also had to get hosting for the blog since I left Blogger which Google hosts. Call me paranoid, but I have struggled to be comfortable with Google anything this last year and even before that.

However, the blog was down for two weeks while almost eleven years of content was moved to the new site. I don’t understand much of the techie stuff, but Blogger uses a different format than WordPress making the migration difficult. Once they got the migration going, it only took three hours for him to do. Pedro at Epik was fantastic and I couldn’t be happier to be live again.

In the meantime, there will be a new website design coming to make this site more streamlined and easier to manage/use. I’m excited to see what the new website will look like!

Also, I learned I need to learn about websites and more. I used to be fairly techie and lost some skills over time. I need to make time to learn about domains, website set-up, hosting, and more. This did not seem like a skill I needed, but I am starting to think differently.

What is on my mind and how am I prepping right now?

Health. I need to figure out how to get some energy back asap. I know that I have changes to make and have already started on them. My blood pressure is still not good. I am on medication for it, but the numbers are not going down very quickly. My doctor has told me that sugar and salt have just as much impact on my blood pressure as stress. I have been making changes to my diet and I do feel better on the days when I keep my sugar intake to a minimum. I also needed to eat more protein and aim for 20-30 grams of protein with every meal. These are small changes that I can make, but I need to be consistent.

Food storage. The world is definitely showing some strain on the food supply system. Sometimes it’s hard to know if that is just the media talking or if something is actually wrong. I believe that something is wrong, but having a global food supply system is bound to have problems. Relying on other countries to supply our food and the U.S. supplying food to the world was bound to be interrupted.

I am continuing with my current food storage system. I stockpile what I can, grow what I can, and try to find local sources of food when possible. The local producers will need our business more than ever this year, and I will try to get to the farmer’s market as much as possible. I have my seeds started for the garden this year and will hopefully have everything planted by Mother’s Day. Fingers crossed.

Chickens. I have baby laying chicks coming on April 5th. I am so excited about this! It’s been four years since we have had babies here at the farm. I still have four layers from that batch, and unbelievably, they are still laying. I have thought about doing more in terms of meat birds, but I need to think about it some more.

Vehicles. In January, the Ford Escape had the transmission go out of it. Maybe it was fixable, but I decided that perhaps another vehicle was in order. With the market being insane, I took my time finding another vehicle I could pay cash for. I did get a 2009 Ford Expedition. It does need a little work, but it has four-wheel drive and can tow trailers and hopefully the camper with no problems. Four-wheel drive is essential in the winter in Iowa.

My thoughts

We are firmly in inflation and will be for at least 1-2 years. Food supply shortages, gas increases, and overall prices will not change for a while. I don’t see much changing because we do not have competent leadership to guide us out of this mess. I don’t mean that just politically, either.

We are in a mess. Plain and simple. No one wants to fix it because it’s not affecting the people in charge or global leadership. They keep playing games with money and power. In the meantime, we are the pawns.

Sometimes I am at a loss at how to be better prepared or tell you how to be better prepared. I have been at this prepping game for years now and I feel like I need to keep doing the same things. Over the years, the need to be self-sufficient has been overwhelming for me. It feels like the right path to be on. I find myself asking how to do better and be better prepared.

I find myself asking how I can be prepared if we are attacked. I think a cyberattack or some way to knock out the grid will be a strong possibility. We need to be prepared to be without the internet and power for extended periods of time. That is scary to think about, but I would rather be prepared than be surprised.

I hope you are all actively preparing in a way that makes sense to you. Keep your head on a swivel and be ready.

Thanks for reading,
Erica

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