Being really nice to all my neighbors and friends and family. We all need to hang together when times are tough. I remember one winter we had a really bad ice storm and I had a kerosene heater to lend to an elderly neighbor. She was so thankful and still remembers that. I have wood burning stoves and a good supply of wood so I did not need the heater. My son went over and set it up for her. You would have thought he was the savior himself the way she raved. Let's all make an effort this week to see that our neighbors are okay even if they are not our favorite people in the world (I have some that aren't. But I'm going to be nice and offer stuff from my garden, and let them know we're stocked up on extra batteries. What the heck, it's so easy to be nice for a few minutes. -- Marie

I must say as a stay at home mom in east Texas we have been spending a lot of time outside this past week. My son notices the little messages at the bottom of the screen on the TV and with everything going on we have been watching PBS or outside enjoying the weather. With everything looking like we are heading into war, we have been seriously trying to figure out how to garden. Last year we grew a few tomatoes, green beans and squash. This year we planted 5 new fruit trees (to add to 3 already in the yard) and are planning on growing extra vegetables to try to put some up for the winter months. We even got a dehydrator to save space on the things we put back and hoping it will have a good long shelf life. Also we are going to try to grow melons this year.
We aren't truly homesteaders yet but we are sure looking into information and checking up on what everyone knows that works well.

I tried to start a preparednes forum over at suggestions but not many were interested. There is a lot of info out there and ways to stock your pantry so you can live from it for months.

I made friends with the lady at the produce stand, and the guy at the butcher shop. They both give me stuff they were going to toss out if I ask, then I can freeze or can it. The butcher will give me fat trimmings to use to make soap for free.

Basically, be sure you know your neighbors and what they can do for you, and what you can do for them.

Good to have a skill to barter, too. I babysit, pull weeds, and garden for neighbors if they have something I want. I babysit for the guy who mows my lawn so he can play golf one night a week, and he cuts my yard for free.

If I see someone with fruit trees in their yard, I'll barter out something for that if they want.

You'd be surprised what people will take in trade. I watch my friend's thrift shop occasionally for her, and she gives me all the clothes and other things I can use.

Hey Minnie TX; I'm sure interested in a preparedness site! I'm new to Gardenweb forums and would support you in one. I run a home daycare and sit for a great Mormon family who has pointed us to many paths here in Kansas. We've started only last summer on planning ahead and laying in a "year's pantry" and I tell you it covers a lot and can be family addictive. At least here in our family it has brought us together regarding likes/dislikes and airing of ideas. This spring we are planting 3 types of potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes and I'm sprouting my own sweet potato slips. We only have 2 acres outside of town we plan to move to within 2 years, but have a shed up, most of it disked up and plans for a root cellar this summer/fall. I roam garage sales for GOOD canning jars (no nicks on top) and have been practicing canning since 9/11. I collect sites on internet that promote self-sufficiency, and go to the library for books on canning, garden seed saving, etc. Then I go to Barnes and Noble to their out-of-print site and get those old books for next to nothing. I've got quite a library. I believe it never hurts to look ahead and be prepared or in our case semi-prepared!

We too are preparing for a possible unstable future. We are creating an eco-village. This is a totally self-sustainable environment. We recently bought 40 acres in NW Arizona (land prices there are $196 to $695 per acre) to create this community. We are building a dome house and barn, putting up 5 to 10 hoop houses to grow a year round garden, using a closed water system, composting toilets and solar/wind energy. We have researched for the last several years and finally are making this a reality. We have another family that will be joining us within a year also. We are very excited. We plan to sell our produce at local restaurants and farmer's markets. We also plan to raise chickens for meat and eggs, rabbits for meat and fur, goats for milk, and whatever else we can think of that may be an asset to our community. This is a venture that is possible. If you can look up on Google "eco-villages". There are some well established communities already that were prepared during the Y2K scare. They are happy they are already prepared. I like living the "old ways". I was raised on a farm and look forward to getting back to that rural way of life.
If I can help anyone by answering any questions I'd be happy to. The more people who are prepared for hard times the better for the planet.
Willow

Willow, What are hoop houses?

Rindalin, a hoop house is a greenhouse sort of affair made with (usually) PVC arched over in a semicircle and then covered with UV resistant plastic. It looks kind of like a transparent quonset hut. Sometimes they are fixed to a foundation, sometimes they are moveable so you can use them in the spring and fall to extend the growing season but move them off the growing beds during the summer.

i've learned quite a bit from my LDS neighbors......for example........they recommend having at least one year of the basics--wheat, salt, powdered milk and honey.....a body can live quite a long time with this alone......but we also store a variety of legumes. after our years supply of the basics, then we work on extras......spices, canned goods, soaps and toiletries.....the list goes on and on....and its very daunting at first glance......but we find if we tackle one thing at a time, it's much more "do-able"

Last Christmas, having little disposable income (now, there's a surprise....sigh) we invited the neighbors in the two closest houses to "Soup Night", every Wednesday in January and February. The basic premise was that I would make a huge pot of soup, and I would provide bowls and utensils. Anyone could come, anyone could bring a guest, no one had to rsvp or anything. You could come emptyhanded if you were having a rough week or you could bring a salad, a dessert, bread, or a bottle of wine. But no one needed to plan what they would bring ahead of time.

Some weeks we had just the core of eight people, and some weeks we had over 30. I think nearly eighty different people were here at least one of the weeks. We met people who lived nearby who know our neighbors well, but whom we'd only waved to in passing. We introduced out-of-town friends who were passing through to everyone, and our grown kids, who decided this was extremely cool, brought their friends and co-workers home from other parts of the state.

Some weeks we had a good balance of food; some weeks we had five desserts and no salad, and one memorable week we had six bottles of wine, one loaf of bread, and the soup. A neighbor on a fixed income brought one apple each of fourteen varieties, and we had a sampling session for dessert one night. No one ever left hungry, and everyone stayed, every week, until the 10 pm deadline we'd agreed on earlier.

As a result of our Soup Nights, we've pooled resources to rent equipment, swapped odds and ends that have accumulated on our properties, traded stories about experiences with local servicepeople and vendors, introduced each other to new people, heard local history from old-time residents, swapped services, helped each other out. We shared recipes and celebrated my son's engagement together and mourned the loss of a neighbor's beloved dog. We listened to bluegrass one week, classical the next, jazz the next. We commiserated over the high cost of, well, everything, and shared worries about the war.

I really only started it because it was winter, I was bored and lonely, and I wanted to do something interesting for Christmas for our neighbors. But the end results were just incredible. People stop me in the hardware store and ask if we're doing it again next year (we are) and could they come some night. I didn't, initially, think of it as a hard-times sort of thing - but it is. Not only did that pot of soup stretch incredibly far, we forged a sense of community that had previously been lacking. We all miss it, but agreed that January and February was the perfect time for it, and we're looking forward to Soup Nights next year.

katie

Hi Katie,

I dropped by this forum by chance. I was looking for some hedging info and got overwhelmed by the amount of info and opened this thread almost by accident. I was taken by your post and just wanted to let you know that.

Soup night is a great idea. What a success for you and your community. I'm in a suburban CT area, most people here commute to NYC daily and there's very little sense of community. I'm lucky to be on a cul-de-sac with lots of kids and lovely neighbors, but outside of my block, many of the people here are not particularly kind. There is a lot of money here (not on my block! but in the surrounding communities)and I think it makes people more distant and untrusting. They are always counting and comparing instead of sharing and enjoying.

Best wishes to you!

AM

Here is a nice website for Preparedness Enjoy

lots of good info and places to find out things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Be Prepared

I'm in a suburban CT area, most people here commute to NYC daily and there's very little sense of community. I'm lucky to be on a cul-de-sac with lots of kids and lovely neighbors, but outside of my block, many of the people here are not particularly kind. There is a lot of money here (not on my block! but in the surrounding communities)and I think it makes people more distant and untrusting. They are always counting and comparing instead of sharing and enjoying.

Best wishes to you!

AM

Hi AM,
I too live in Southeastern CT and find since moving to our home I have made possibly 2 friends. I am the kind of guy that can talk the ear off a squirrel and everyone says to my wife and kids I am friendly. But there you have it. CT is not a overly friendly place. In 6 years of talking to anyone that would walk by or anyone I met where ever I would go only 2 people I could say were friendly enough to come by and chat. They are 2 wonderful elderly nieghbors. go figure? Smitty