The Tattler Tale—Canning Heaven

Some of you are definitely going to regret reading this, especially those of you who do any type of canning.

When it comes to canning I often ask myself why someone never came up with an alternative to the flat lid portion that has to be replaced all the time.  I mean really, for over 75 years we’ve been doing canning the same way.  Well, hang on to your Blackberry’s folks, ’cause enlightenment has come—to a man no less! *grin* Go figure. (Seriously, I’m shocked that it wasn’t a woman who thought of this since it’s usually women who do the canning in the home.)

Two weekends ago I found the Holy Grail of canning supplies—REUSABLE CANNING LIDS!! Yes, there IS a God and he inspired a unique man by the name of Loren Steig from Michigan (we can’t all have the good fortune of being Buckeyes, I guess). 

Four Everyday Reasons for Food Surplus


I recently heard a quote from a famous man who played a big role in the settling and development of this beautiful mountainous area I live in. He warned that there would come a time in which if we did not grow our food, we would not want to eat it. I don’t know at this juncture whether or not he was being prophetic or if he was simply admonishing the settlers in this area to beware of that food which they may be offered by those who would harm them; still this quote has been on my mind a lot in the past week.

Self-Employment Series–When to Hire & When to RUN!

Employees can be a huge liability for any small business owner. But the right employee can also be a wise investment and boon to a business.  So in the interest of helping our readers be successfully self-employed, and in order to better financially prepared, I’m going to pass on a few key snippets of wisdom that many small business owners have to learn that hard way.I hope it saves you a whole lot of headaches in the future so that your business can thrive in response to all of your hard work.

First of all, many small business owners actually hire an employee way too soon.  Let me explain what I mean by that.

It’s NOW, not When

I frequently hear people say something like “Well, when everything goes South, it won’t matter if we have paid our mortgage.  “When the earthquakes and the tempests take place, it won’t make any different whether I have water or not. Or “When the EMP hits, it won’t matter if I have a concealed carry permit.” To be quite frank, this kind of thinking is flawed. Our need for preparedness is not due to a single, massive, chaotic event.  While I don’t dismiss a belief that there will be such an event, I firmly believe that we will be wise to properly anticipate the series of events which may seem quite devastating at first blush, but unfortunately, as foreign or perhaps unfathomable as they may seem, they qualify for key aspects of preparedness to be deployed right now. Whether it’s the Second Coming, the end of the world as we know it, or World War III,

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Ten Principles of Preparedness: #10 Communication

In the second season of one of my favorite television shows, “Jericho”, there was a perfect illustration of what can happen if reliable communication does not exist (I recommend you renting this two-season series or at least catching some of it on hulu.com). While communication is the last aspect of the Principles of Preparedness, this doesn’t mean it’s insignificant in any way. In fact,  there’s a lot of danger, panic, relying on misinformation and chaos that can arise, all from the lack of communication. (more…)

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Blind Bedazzling-Gold & Silver Reviewed

goldI suppose I have to address this issue sooner or later. What do I think about buying gold and silver to hedge against a financial collapse? Personally, I’d pass.

Among the 10 Principles of Preparedness, the Principle of Financial Preparedness is Number Nine in order of prioritization. If times get so tough that one feels like they have to rely on gold and silver, there are a heck of a lot worse problems that will come to the forefront which will have nothing to do with traditional currency.

Several years ago I had

Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite

 

It’s a famine, an earthquake, no, wait, it just might be a plague! A plague of some of the smallest, yet most inconvenient creatures known to man, and feared by every Hospitality Industry Manager—bed bugs. Whether you’re dealing with it now or in an uncomfortable time in the future, I felt that this particular topic merited my attention.

Move over Broadway, you’ve got a competitor for the spotlight now. And don’t let the news headlines fool you. It’s actually much worse than you’re hearing.

As bed bugs creep out NYC, tourists crawl away

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What the KittenTaught

Nearly three months ago my husband and I went to our credit union to conduct some business.  As he waited in the car, I went inside.  Standing at the teller’s window I couldn’t help but notice the stifled but evident excitement around me. No. Sorry to say it wasn’t because of something great I was wearing or my new hairstyle. It was because another one of the employees was bringing in a bin of tiny kittens to bid one last goodbye before she took them to a “no-kill shelter.”   Uh-Oh. I knew I was in trouble. I knew that I would end up taking one of these babies home.  Having had two wonderful cats for over 14 years and lost them, I wasn’t inclined to try and replace them and their space in my heart. But this was certainly different.  These were the tiniest kittens I had ever seen.

Apparently the mother cat had delivered her litter of kittens somewhere in the bushes next to the credit union. The employees kept watch over them and when the mother went away for more than a day, they even attempted to feed them.  But one little black and white rascal wasn’t eating. I knew that if someone didn’t take her, who would be willing to hand-feed her every couple of hours, she wouldn’t make it