SHTF - Information?

[Beekissed]

So, then my question remains, what do we(the SS) aspirants THINK will really happen and how do we expect to interact with what we imagine will be the changes caused by TEOTWAWKI.

I won't get into what I think will be the "S" ~but as for me and my house? I don't expect to be here!

If I'm here for part of the "S" I will just keep livin', doing what I do, helping others when I can, and letting God sort out the details. Frankly, I don't really dwell on it much and this is not why I live SS.

I live SS because it makes the most sense to me. I don't hoard food or store up great amounts nor "prep" for a disaster. I just live each day as sensibly as I can.

I learn new SS skills because I've always felt it behooves each person to be as accomplished and versatile as possible....it just makes one more useful and fulfilled to not be so helpless and weak when it comes to living in this world.

 

[Farmfresh]

I live SS because it makes the most sense to me. I don't hoard food or store up great amounts nor "prep" for a disaster. I just live each day as sensibly as I can.

I agree completely!! The 'S' I prepare for is a power outage, job loss, ice storm, government issues. If the SHTF and we have a zombie invasion I am probably going down in the first wave. I am too broke down, old and decrepit to make it long without meds and health care.

I live SS mostly because it is a cheaper, and FAR better way to live. I am actually living this life, not just eating the slop the commercials tell me to eat. If I was to live as one of the masses I would miss the baby chicks in the brooder, the smell of warm dirt in the spring time and the adventure of hunting out zucchini amidst the jungle of green. I would lose the pleasure of eating a delicious meal, better than any I could ever buy at a restaurant, and the satisfaction of knowing that everything on that plate came from my own backyard.

 

[DuppyDo]

Yes, it is wonderful FarmFresh, gather the fresh eggs, extract the honey from comb,walk around the yard, pick some heritage red raspberries an grab a ripe fig.Canning garden veggies and even chicken.. Heating my home with wood , i love it...been doing it for yrs and wouldn't have it any other way...Yeah, its hard work and get tougher as i age.SS lifestyle is a wholesome path,as well as wise...
I do these things and live in the moment..still, i prepare for a unknown future, the best i can.
Rabbits as food , cheesemaking and pressing fruits for beverage are on my future agenda..
I only hope i can find younger family members i can pass this along to, for as i get older,i'll be able to do less. The younger ones are off doing other things, that they embrace in their techy generation... Oh well,there will still time for them to see, i hope..

 

[Farmfresh]

Or maybe not family members! I actually had a young friend of the family call me last night wanting to learn how to can applesauce!! She is a friend of my D1 and knows about my "weird hobby". I offered to teach her anything she wants to learn and she was SO excited!

This economy has LOTS of people trying to save money, store some food and learn skills. The SHTF fear is real and tangible.

 

[DuppyDo]

Thats true, Farmfresh...perhaps none of the younger in mine or other families will embrace these ideals. As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink..!
It's a good thing for sure to teach any younger or older person, for that matter, wanting to know how to be more self reliant and prepared. Like you said the economics of the day, are moving more people in the SS direction..
Weird hobby...lol I think not..

 

[Beekissed]

As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink..!

I once heard an oldster say this a little differently. He said, "You can lead a horse to water and you really can't make him drink....but you can sure salt his feed and MAKE him thirsty!"

I would say the current economy and the probably future one just may be the salted feed that will cause many people to start drinking in the SS lifestyle.

 

[i_am2bz]

I offered to teach her anything she wants to learn and she was SO excited!

Wish I lived near you or someone like you, FF! Everything I've picked up about being SS is from a book, TV show, or trial & error (and now this forum!). Had a neighbor a long time ago who got me into gardening & canning, but that's it. I'd LOVE to have someone who could SHOW me how to do things; I'm one of those types that has to SEE it, then do it myself to "get it."

 

[Farmfresh]

i_am2bz don't feel too bad, almost everything I learned about SS I learned on my own from a book as well. My Grandma Nettie was doing lots of this stuff way back when I was a kid and I WAS around it, but like most kids I wasn't paying very close attention. :/

The only SS skill I actually learned from her was how to make bread. I was a really great baker as well - then I found out I am CELIAC! Somethings are just not fair.

BTW I LOVE the "salt the feed" quote! I always considered a more direct approach. When we needed to get a liquid into a horse we just tubed it in!

 

[Emerald]

I offered to teach her anything she wants to learn and she was SO excited!

Wish I lived near you or someone like you, FF! Everything I've picked up about being SS is from a book, TV show, or trial & error (and now this forum!). Had a neighbor a long time ago who got me into gardening & canning, but that's it. I'd LOVE to have someone who could SHOW me how to do things; I'm one of those types that has to SEE it, then do it myself to "get it."

There are so many different videos on line now days that you can almost learn to do anything!
I myself love to learn things but am a "read and research every little thing about what I want to do" first type gal and then I stress doing it the first time and then I do the "smack self in forehead thing" when I find out how easy it was to do! lol
But I am also a eternal learner-I hear about something new and just have to learn and do it! It is like it is compulsive or something. in the past few years I have taught myself how to--
Make yogurt and yocheese and regular cheese(not too many types yet, need to build a cheese cave lol).
expanded my bread making into pastry and croissants!
Brine and smoke many different meats, my favorite--BACON!
Made an Earth Oven for pizza and bread in the summer when it is just too hot to bake indoors.
Learned to make fondant from scratch for my grand daughter cuz she wanted a little mermaid cake.
Learned to make country wine last year.
And that is only scratching the surface... Next on the agenda--maybe talking hubby into letting me make a rocket mass stove for the house--keep us all warm in the winter.

 

[i_am2bz]

There are so many different videos on line now days that you can almost learn to do anything!

I'm just realizing that now...I spent the weekend watching videos on youtube about making different kinds of home-made water filters.

I live from paycheck to paycheck, mostly, so can only buy a book every few months or so. Finding "free" stuff on the internet is the way to go!