Perhaps when you listen to the news you hear "blah, blah, blah, resin price increases, blah, blah, blah."  Well, after today, you may hear this bit of news a bit differently. This isn’t exactly something that you would expect to see in the mainstream news, but you will get the info here because it’s important to your ability to be aware and be prepared.

When I’m teaching my coupon boot camp class, one of my rules of thumb is to only cut a coupon if you would purchase that item if it was free or cheap. Since I don’t have children or cats that has eliminated my need to mess with coupons that have anything to do with either of those categories. However, for nearly a year now, I’ve been ignoring that advice in some respects, and the results have felt wonderful.

Several years ago my mother and brother got back from grocery shopping. The car was packed full of items to bring in. Back and forth and back and forth they went from the car to the kitchen bringing in all of their goods. When they were all finished, my mother plopped herself on the couch, committed to not move another muscle. In an intentional melodramatic voice she then asked my brother if he would be willing to carry her into her room so she could go to bed.  My brother responded, “Ok, Mom. But I’ll have to make two trips.” (Mom suddenly had a burst of energy as she chased my brother around the house in an attempt to give him a good swat.)

Have you ever had one of those moments in which you were so wiped out that you didn’t even want to get up to go to the bathroom?  

by Kellene

As crazy as it sound, I periodically engage in debates with another person or a cause privately in my mind. Ok. Yes, sometimes I do say things out loud just to see how they sound.  It’s how I formulate an articulate and sound argument on a particular issue.  I think I started it as a teenager when I plotted how I was going to rationally get away with pushing the envelope with my mother’s rules.  So, today, I am going to let you in on an argument that I’ve been having with myself and the imaginary USDA persons who believe that bottled butter is bad due to potential botulism poisoning.  I still hear so many of the concerns caused by the fictional USDA warnings about bottling butter. And I think it’s ridiculous—as is clearly noted in my previous article. So hear it goes folks…

by Kellene

Today’s article is brought to us by one of my favorites in the world of practical preparedness, Wendy Dewitt. I am posting her tutorial information on rocket stoves with her permission.

Admittedly, I haven’t jumped on the rocket stove band wagon primarily because I really do have plenty of options already. I have the butane stove that I use with my pressure cooker.  I have charcoals and a three-tiered Dutch oven cooking system.