Frank and I were having a discussion over lunch today involving the immigrant invasion in Europe. Frank asked me how the leaders of these countries could continue to make such poor decisions. Decisions that will ultimately lead to the demise of their countries and populations. My response? Name one good leader of one country in the world. We couldn't think of any.
Name one leader that is making sound financial decisions.
Name one leader that is protecting the rights and freedoms of the citizens.
Name one country that is making decisions that are boosting free enterprise and the independent businessman.
Name one country that is providing healthy food that is not laced with pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and GMO poison producing seeds.
Name one country that has enough jobs.
Name one country that has maintained it's infrastructure so that it can withstand the onslaught of population growth.
Name one country that can produce enough food to feed it's people.
Name one country that can withstand a major cyber attack of it's electrical grid, financial institutions or military infrastructure.
Name one country that gets along with all the other countries.
Name one leader that is not a power hungry, control freak.
Name one country where the freedom of the people has increased instead of decreased over the last decade.
Name one country where bigotry and hatred has not increased over the last few years.
Name one country where privacy has not been given away in the name of protection and security.
Name one country where the leaders have not done all in their power to disarm the populace.
Name one country where the government doesn't have an us against them (the people) attitude.
Name one...........
I wish we could.
Where does this leave us? We have yet to find out, but it won't be long. It really doesn't matter who the leaders are anymore. They all belong to the same club, drive the same cars, eat the same food and spout the same mantra. Some of them try to put their own special, personal twist on the message, but it's all the same. Everything else is a distraction. You have to dig down really deep to get beyond all of the everyday lies and deception to see what is happening to the world. What you uncover is unbelievable, gets worse every minute of every day, and unfortunately, there is nothing we can do but watch it unfold and try to prepare for a survival scenario of unknown origin. Don't be fooled by the stupidity and distractions placed before you. Keep your wits about you or this thing that is coming will devour you. Don't get on the truck.
Until next time - Fern
Well, not really a wreck, but in a great deal of disarray compared to a normal day. Today we accomplished a long, long term goal. We had the windows in our house replaced. This house was built around 1983 and the windows were in pretty sad shape. Many of them had moisture between the two panes that limits visibility. When we moved in there was this yucky brown ick growing on the inside of most of them. Needless to say, replacing them has been on our project list for a while.
To prepare for this event we needed to move everything away from the inside and outside of the windows to allow the installers access. That was yesterday. We finally finished all of that at about 9:30 last night. Frank also had to remove all of the blinds, which he finished this morning when he took down the ones in the bedroom.
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| Old window |
The installers from Window World arrived right on time, were professional, courteous and hard workers. They had our old windows removed and the new windows installed in three hours. There were nine windows in all. I found it rather disconcerting to have strangers walking in and out of the house, going into every room, tearing out the old windows, and making a big mess in the process. But these men were very efficient and did excellent work. They put down tarps below every window outside and drop cloths on the inside. This minimized the mess and made their clean up quick and easy.
We never had any question about what kind of windows we
were going to have installed. Double hung. Why? Ventilation. We have
porches down the length of our house on the east and west sides. This is
the same format of the house Frank and I built, not had built, but
built ourselves, back in the 1990's at our first homestead. With the
porches on both sides of the house, and double hung windows, we can
create a cross ventilation that will greatly enhance cooling the house
when we no longer have electricity and air conditioning.
Yes, these windows are part of our preparation for the coming collapse. They are tangible investments in our comfort in the future. If it is raining, no problem, we can still ventilate the house under the porches. If it is a hot summer evening, we can draw in the cooler air from the east porch. Having double hung windows is a great addition to our home that we are very excited about.
For now, we are tired. We have the minimal required window shades and curtains up for the evening. Tomorrow we need to clean all of the windows, which will be easy to do since they tilt in. Then we will need to reinstall more shades and think about how we are going to trim out the exterior. Fortunately, there isn't any rain forecast until next Tuesday. That will give us a little time to get that chore completed. We're thinking 1 x 6 cedar with an oil stain. That would look nice and should last a long while.
With all of the moving around of furniture and things on the porch, it has provided us with many opportunities to clean and dust things that don't get moved very often. We're also thinking to rearrange some of the shelving in the pantry to better accommodate our jars of canned goods from the garden.
Speaking of the garden. There are tomatoes, green beans and three kinds of squash blooming. We should be able to have our first meal of fresh yellow squash in a few days. While the men were tearing up the house this morning, I escaped out to the garden and gave many plants a good dose of diatomaceous earth. I hope it helps make a dent in the slugs and cabbage worms. There are a number of cabbages trying to make heads, despite the worms and slugs. I also found some damage from some squash vine borers. I am tempted to reorder more beneficial insects since I think most of ours either drowned or got washed away in the last deluge we had. But the class I am attending about beneficial insects is Saturday, so I think I will wait and see what I can learn there.
Life is busy, very, very busy. There are so many indicators pointing toward some sort of tremendous downturn, outright collapse or shutdown, that we feel it is very important to accomplish some of the things on our list of projects that are geared toward our survival. We have several more things in the wings that we'll show you before long. Investing in learning and tangibles that will increase our ability to make it on our own is more important than ever. We could leave what little money we have in the bank in the hope that it will still be there when the economy collapses, or we can invest it in our minds and in our homestead. Which one makes more sense? Which one will help us survive? Some folks have a problem with spending what they have, just in case. I find great security and comfort knowing we are investing in ourselves, our lives, and our ability to perform those tasks that are needed everyday to live. That's what we're about, and that's what we want to do. Live. And this is how we do it.
Until next time - Fern
Hello, Fern here. I am borrowing Frank's introductory line for my one and only radio post.
I wanted to give a little different perspective about radio communications. Gentlemen, this will be good information for you. I hope to give you the perspective of a wife and a woman. Ladies, this post is really for you. Frank and I have very different interest levels, knowledge and interaction with our radio equipment. Like he has said in a couple of his posts, I need to be able to turn it on, key the microphone, and talk. I need to be able to talk to him just about anywhere I am. He is my knight in shining armor and I need to be able to call him from anywhere if I am a damsel in distress, or I just want to tell him how beautiful the sunrise is, or if there are beautiful flowers and tomatoes in the garden. I just need to always be able to get in touch with him if the need arises.
Let me back up a bit. Frank recently did a post about OPSEC communications which I thought was very valuable. I wanted folks to see how our use of radios has grown into an every day habit. It hasn't always been this way. In fact, it hasn't been very long at all since we began understanding and implementing radio communications as part of a very necessary piece of our daily operational security. So, I want to share with you my take on how I have come to depend upon, trust in, and need to have a radio with me anytime we are apart. Even if I am just out in the garden or in the barn, I have a radio with me all the time. And to monitor any communication I may wish to send, Frank listens to our Alinco base station in the shack, or his handheld.
You see, when we got to the point that we knew our move from Alaska was going to entail two vehicles with two U-Haul trailers and we wouldn't be able to talk to each other for about 12 days, I knew that just wouldn't do. We spend the vast majority of our time together and talk a lot. We were making one of the biggest moves of our lives, and I wanted to be able to talk to my husband. So, being the man he is, he came up with a great solution. He got us two handheld radios that would easily allow us to talk between vehicles. Yea! It made all the difference in the world to me, and it also introduced us to the world of radio.
Some time after we arrived, probably after we got our goat herd and I was spending more time in the barn, we started using them some around the farm. At first, honestly, I thought they were a pain to keep up with. I
remember feeling like they were in the way, awkward to carry, and I just didn't like it. I also found talking on them to be odd, and I didn't like that either. I didn't like knowing that others could listen to our conversations. But as time went by, there were several times they came in very handy. Like the time I went out to check on one of our first does and found she was having babies out in the pasture. I tried to call Frank on the radio, but the battery was just about dead and the only thing it would transmit was a beep. But he knew it was me and that I needed him. This saved me the trip back to the house, and I was able to start moving the goats into the barn. And in a very short period of time, there he was to help me.
I can't tell you when we realized how much these radios could increase our daily communications and security around the farm. I just gradually began to find more comfortable ways to carry them. Then, after we began using the commercial radios, I started using a microphone on mine. I find it easier to hear what Frank is saying when I have it clipped to the top of my shirt. I also find it easier to just key the mic instead of having to take the radio off of the loop on my work jeans or out of my coat pocket. I like the ease of the microphone much better. Frank doesn't. That's okay. We have each found a way that works well, is comfortable, and is effective.
Ladies, one of the main reasons I have come to appreciate the use of these radios is because Frank can be assured of my safety and I know that I can call him if I need something. We live off the beaten track and I like to
be out and about on our place. We have developed certain phrases we use when I arrive at the barn to milk the goats and another one when I leave there. We have also picked out a phrase to use in case something is very wrong and the other needs to come immediately, whether we are at home or on the road. We have practiced not using names and specific words identifying locations, not even using the words barn, house, etc. Every so often, we will slip and still identify a person or place. You would be surprised how much you have to train yourself to talk in a different way when you are putting information out on the airwaves where anyone can hear you. And the need for that practice is why you need to be set up and using whatever radios work for you long before a real, long term emergency occurs. If you wait until you really need them, it will be too late.
A while back, Frank and I both got our ham radio licenses. He has told everyone the only reason I did that was for him, and that is true. It is an interest he has and is something we felt we needed to do so he would be able to listen and communicate around the neighborhood, around the country and around the world in case of a disaster or collapse. We truly feel this ability will increase our
safety and security when and if that time comes. And we truly believe it is coming. We went to a few classes to learn something about the ham tests. Frank has taught me much about frequencies, different types of radios and some about antennas. We discuss things frequently, but I do not have anywhere near the knowledge he does, nor do I want to learn any more than I need to know. To pass the General test, I took over 100 practice tests and basically memorized the test. I have only talked on the repeater to other hams a handful of times, less than 10, since receiving my license. I have no desire to be involved in the 'ham' world at all. My only reason for being involved in radio at all is to communicate with my husband, who is my protector.
So, ladies, I encourage you to become involved in finding a means of being able to communicate with your family should all 'normal' means of communication become unavailable. Radio, in some form or fashion, will be available. To find out more about what may suit your situation, you will have to go and read Frank's Radio Communication posts. There is no way I can explain or teach you any of that. I have found over time that I have come to depend upon being able to talk to Frank, either here at home, or out on the road. He has given me this precious gift. Ask your husband for this same gift. It could be a matter of life and death.
Until next time - Fern
