Sunday Stroke Survival: Why I Still Keep a Prepper's Pantry

I wasn't a hoarder as a prepper before my stroke. I never bought more than a year's worth of anything, except for paper goods but that came in handy post stroke. I could make my own laundry, bath, and dishwasher soap if I needed to in a pinch. In fact, I still do many of the things I wrote about in my book living post stroke. I actually challenged myself after my stroke to find ways that I could still function with adaptation.

So today, I'm living on a homestead eeking my way towards being self sufficient. Mentally and physically, I'm a lot better off for it. That brings me today's topic, why I still keep a prepper's pantry.

I watched a YouTube video of a large family mom creating a month's worth of freezer meals. She ended up creating 42 freezer meals in about sixteen hours. It was fascinating to watch. Watch for yourself here. All the time I was watching her I kept a watch on how much trash she generated, and how much time and money she wasted. With a garden and precanning ingredients, she could have saved hours of cooking. Granted, she just went shopping and picked what needed while I spent almost six months growing, processing, and prepping my ingredients, but to each their own.

I also make most pastas except for formed shells and macaroni. Grind my own flour. Make my own sausage and butcher carcasses of meat down to the minutest form. But again that me being self reliant, and knowing where my meat comes from. For this endeavor, I went "shopping" in my food store pantry. I used my handy dandy shopping cart to help me carry in all that I needed.

To prove my point and down sizing the recipes for two servings versus twelve,  I replicated her menus sort of. I added quite a few whole meat meals and seafood dishes. In Operation Empty the Freezer last summer, found me canning meats, spaghetti sauces, ground beef and turkey. I'll make about 2 cases (24 pints)of chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, vegetable, and pork broth on hand. They are the by products of eating real, whole foods and butchering your own homesteading efforts.

So what did I put in my freezer for a month's worth of meals?

Panned meals (32)
3 beef spaghetti bakes
3 beef lasagnas
2 beef and lamb meatballs with duchess potatoes
3 green chicken enchiladas
3 seafood stuffed pasta shells in a beurre blanc sauce
3 pork chops  with stuffing
3 seared lamb chops over Mediterranean couscous
3 beef burritos
3 cheese and spinach ravioli with meat sauce
3 grilled chicken thighs over yellow rice
1 shepherd's pie
2 chicken pot pies
Bagged meals (10)
2 shrimp and smoked turkey sausage jambalaya
2 shrimp lomein
2 grilled chicken and vegetable stir fry with rice
2 marinated London broil with roasted vegetables
1 chicken marsala with rice
1 herb marinade lamb shoulder with peas and duchess potatoes

For a total of 42 meals!

The difference in what was produced... I made my own ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, sour cream, and yogurt from locally sourced pasture fed cow's for milk. All the beef, lamb, and pork which we didn't raise were antibiotic and chemical free. 80% of the seasonings and blends used were done by me. Total time to put it all together was 5 hours after raiding my prepper's pantry. Of course, that doesn't include time and labor to procure and process it all.

 I also included desserts (4 total-cheesecake, peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies,  peach and apple turnovers) and breakfast menus (waffles with sausage, pancakes with bacon, crumpets, and french toast) to my freezer which added another 2 hours. Plus, there's always the fall back of granola, or grits and eggs for breakfast too.

With possibility of surgeries, injuries, blah days, and who knows what days ahead, it's nice to know that these meals are available when Mel or I need them. You never know what life is going to throw at you or when. Keeping a stocked panty pays dividend.

Nothing is impossible.

Wednesday Writerly Ways ~ Taking up the Gauntlet

This week on my blogs I've been talking about challenges, in case you hadn't notice. On Tuesday, I used the word challenge and compared it to Don Quixote tilting at windmills. Taking up the challenge to be an author and what it takes.

Imagine if you will, you are a medieval knight on a crusade to conquer the dragon, a fierce, fire breathing beast set on burning or devouring anything its path. That's you sitting astride the horse in heavy armor, lance in your hand and sword at your side.

Your crusade

• to write
• to edit
• to find an agent
• to get a publisher

Your goal is to protect hearth and home. Knowing they are secure by your actions. Seems pretty lofty and daunting doesn't it?

The challenges or obstacles:

To Write
There are several things you need to write before you even start your story.

• The kernel- the basic idea of the story whether it be an idea or question that needs to be answered. For my current WIP (work in progress)- What if you looked at the things you do during recovery as humor instead of woe for abilities you've lost?
• The talent and creativity- knowledge of how to get the words to play well with each  other to support the kernel. This can be the hardest part even with extensive knowledge of the subject. It is also one of the things that I love about writing and one of the most challenging.
• Figuring out the beginning, middle, and the end.
• The time to get it all on paper or in your computer. Stolen moments where you work towards your dreams or goals. IMHO (in my humble opinion) If you aren't working towards your dreams or goals, you are just taking up space. You will be forever discontented. 
• It takes a lot of words to carry your point across and complete your manuscript. Is your kernel strong enough? In my case, forty short stories and growing.

To Edit
Perchance to publish.

• This gets tricky because it based on your knowledge and your knowledge may NOT be correct.
• Having other eyes to catch mistakes be it a critique group or hire an editor.
• It has to perfect or nearly perfect to get an agent or publisher. They get millions of submissions a year. Yours has GOT to stand out.
• Don't be in a life long commitment to what you wrote the way you wrote it. You may love it and others hate it.
• Can your take constructive criticism? Have you got a thick enough skin? Better at this stage than when the public gives it. The readers are your livelihood. They put the margarine on your bread and ask for more.

Getting an agent and publisher are mute points if you plan on indie publishing as I did. But, to go indie the first two points need to be spot on. The readers of indie published books hold the writer to a higher standard than traditionally published authors. After all, there is no middle man to blame.

Are you ready to gird your armor, face the dragon, and take up the gauntlet?

Keep writing and loving the Lord.

Tuesday Tumbling Term ~ Challenge

Today's word is challenge. All writers face challenges while researching, writing, and publishing their books.

 chal·lenge
noun
1. a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.
2. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.: Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.
3. a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.
4. a demand to explain, justify, etc.: a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.
5. difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

 Many have taken up the gauntlet where it's been thrown to the ground. To play Don Quixote tilting at windmills seeing dragons where none are. Sometimes that's what it feels like to be a writer, a wanna-be knight.

As writers, we tilt with writing through self doubts. We break our lances on grammar and syntax trying to get it right. We push through the sulfur smelling stench of dragon's breath to find and agent or publisher who will ask for entire manuscripts, possibly accept them, and pay us. We write in speculation that someone out there will like what we wrote and the way we wrote it. All the time charging forward at the windmill.

A writer's life is not easy. It is full of pitfalls, rejections, and challenges. It's a call to battle, a contest of millions that have written words on paper. Sacrifices made gladly hoping for a fulfilled dream. You could insert any challenge into the spot. But this blog is for writers and wanna-be authors in this world including this one.

Being an indie author is a harder challenge, in my opinion. It's a choice to dabble in every aspect of publishing, as well as writing. To researching new ways to advertise your product in a way it stands out among the competition. To learn or outsource things you don't know like formatting, cover art, and editing. Knowing how to manage your time and money wisely.

I read recently to be an expert at anything you have to put 10,000 hours into it. Based on a 40-hour a week work week that's roughly 4.8 years. Hmm, interesting. I'm an expert in a dozen fields or more including writing which I've done for over thirty. Do I feel like an expert? Nope. I still find new challenges within writing to keep me learning so how can I be an expert?

What does it take to take up a challenge like writing? Patience, skill, talent, creativity, and sometimes, just dumb luck. Know the odds and ignore them.Tilt at windmills and slay dragons. Take the challenge to heart and soul, and let no one dissuaded you.

Keep writing and loving the Lord.