It is a tradition in August to talk about what we are doing to get ready for winter here at the Holler Homestead. Why? Because waiting until that first frost to have things set is a terrible idea and leads to several days of no sleep and lots of activity. Today, I will share how we plan activities for a busy fall, in advance of winter, to be better prepared for the harsh realities of below freezing temperatures in a state ill prepared for its weather patterns.
Up this week:
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
Free Rocket Mass Heater Plans from Paul Wheaton
Show Sponsor: Paul Wheaton of Wheaton Labs and Permies.com
Looking to learn about permaculture, grow your skills, and accelerate your path towards self-sufficiency? Check out Paul Wheaton's permaculture bootcamp at Wheaton Labs! Learn permaculture earthworks, gardening, rocket heating technology and more, all under the guidance of the Duke of Permaculture himself!
https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp/?f=495
If you're interested in Rocket Mass Heaters, which can heat a home with as little as 10% of the wood consumed by conventional woodstoves, Paul Wheaton is offering FREE rocket mass heater plans to the LFTN community when you sign up for the permies newsletter. Snatch those up here: https://permies.com/goodies/7/lftn
Frugality tip: Add on from Christian
After hearing the tip from Anna about the watered down dish soap I had to reply to expand on it, this might not warrant sharing on the show.
I have been using watered down dawn for a few years and it never even occurred to me that it might be saving me money. I mix it even thinner than Anna, more like 1/4 or 1/5, and I put it in used foaming hand soap bottles from bath and body works. It dispenses from them no problem once watered down. I use this almost exclusively when hand washing dishes as I use them, and I use it to wash my hands a lot too. Since it's good on food grease it works well on oil and grime from mechanical work, so I use it regularly to wash my hands while working in the garage and I set myself up another bottle at work. It's way more gentle and I personally find it just as effective, if not better, than the gritty mechanic's soaps (like gojo orange, if you're familiar). Come to think of it, this has probably saved me a bit of money there since I don't buy that stuff at all anymore, probably more than I might save on dishes.
Weekly Shopping Report from Joe for 8/28/2022
We made four stops on our weekly shopping run. The first stop was Community Chest to donate a box of books, an exercise chair we have not been using, and some miscellaneous other things. Second was Dollar Tree, where I grabbed a drink and we picked up a few other items. I wanted some ointment from the Health aisle, but there was none left. I saw a lot of empty hooks in that section, which is a big change from a month or two ago, when they were very well stocked.
Stop #3 was Home Depot. A 2x4x8 is $4.75. I know not long ago it was $4.98, but I don't remember if that was last week or a little longer. They have plenty of stock of lumber, tools, batteries, and LED bulbs.
Aldi was last. The store was very crowded, but I think just because it was late Saturday morning; I didn't see people panic-buying. Inventory looked good, except for limited quantities of meats. For example there was pork loin, but no tenderloin. Beef looked pretty sparse too, but there were enough different cuts of various meats to at least cover all the shelves.
I don't recall seeing any face diapers. I think the Kung Flu narrative is finally collapsing. At my last fill during the week, I paid $4.399/gallon for untainted regular gasoline.
I understand the sixth largest refinery in the country has been shut down due to an electrical fire. They're in Indiana, and they and a few surrounding states (Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin come to mind) have declared states of emergency, and the parasites at DOT have waived hour restrictions on truckers so they can bring in fuel.
Operation Independence
Main topic of the Show: Winter Is Coming
Why now?
Steps: Brainstorm, categorize: No Kill, Comfort, SHTF
Livestock
Humans
Pets: backup plans
Gardens
Water Gardens
Fuel and Backups
No kill list:
Comfort list
SHTF Plans
Membership Plug
MeWe reminder
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
What would it be like to go off to a very remote location in Fall 2019 and not return until Summer 2022. Remote as in no news, no social media, no current events? Shadow of a Wolk joins us to talk about some of the culture shock things he experienced upon returning to the US in a post-pandemic world.
Show Resources
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we talk about the mysterious link between humans and plants, permaculture, current events, and more with Xavier Hawk and John Willis.
Show Resources
Phireon.com
Main content of the show
Replay of the Wednesday Live on Youtube.
https://youtu.be/ykSHnNUB-4I
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we talk about permaculture, current events, coming events, and more with Billy Bond and John Willis.
Sponsorships Launching - Who the first one is.
A word from our sponsor: Paul Wheaton
Want to SKIP the ratrace, and develop your skills towards an independent, self-sustaining lifestyle? Or maybe you want to find somebody you can trust to hand over your homestead to when you're gone. Check out Paul Wheaton's SKIP book to learn more about how he's connecting aging landowners with eager young people who are willing to take over their life's work.
https://permies.com/wiki/160690f495/physical-copy-SKIP-book
Show Resources
Main content of the show
Replay of the Wednesday Live on Youtube.
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we catch-up on integrating LGD’s with our sheep, homestead bootcamp, creating a new garden bed, getting ready to leave, and more.
A word on next week - Nicole is out but there will be shows.
Email feedback to nicole@livingfreeintennessee.com
Forage
Livestock
Grow
Holler Neighbors/Community
Infrastructure
Finances
Membership Plug
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we talk about starting your own business, content creation, attitude adjustments, Self Reliance Festival and more with Toolman Tim Cook and John Willis.
Show Resources
Youtube replay video
https://youtu.be/UKXBUh6udB8
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we talk about getting ready for our first round of homestead bootcamp with a listener who purchased land and wants to come here and see up close and personal what it is like. I will cover how it came to pass, what we did to prepare, and what the next few days have in store for our first participant.
Live this week:
Oct 28-29 Food Forest Class - a few seats left! Sign up here.
Email feedback to nicole@livingfreeintennessee.com
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
Frugality Tip
I have a tip on how to stretch your dishwashing liquid. This has cut down the amount that I buy to one large bottle or two medium bottles per year.
I take an old wine or other see through bottle and wash it out thoroughly. I fill it 2/3 of the way with water and add 1/3 dishwashing liquid. I top the bottle with a spout so that I can easily pour it onto a sponge or into my hands for washing up. The kind of spout I use is like those you would see on oil and vinegar or liquor bottles and can be picked up in most big chain stores or liquor stores for a couple couple of bucks.
When refilling the bottle add the water first! This should be done in a very slow stream to prevent a lot of bubbling. If you do get some bubbles they will go away once the mixture settles.
This has made my life so much easier and the bottle with the spout is much more attractive than an ugly bottle of dawn on my kitchen countertop. I’m including a photo of my freshly filled bottle below.
Anna
Shopping Report
Weekly Shopping Report for Powell, TN 08/13/2022 (JOE)
We've resumed doing our shopping on Saturday, partly in case another trip is needed. So far, I think I've had to make a second trip only when something happens like a cat needs to go to the vet or the USPS slackers have failed to make a delivery.
Today's first stop was Dollar General Market, mostly for cat food and some craft items. We walked around a little more than usual, and found the store pretty well-stocked. I think I saw limited quantities of some things, but no glaring holes.
Second was Dollar [-twenty five] Tree, mostly to look, but I got a drink there. They have decent quantities of second-tier but still well-known brands.
Third was Hobby Lobby, mostly for sewing stuff. The store was full of merchandise, and we had essentially no wait to check out as multiple lines were open.
Fourth was Home Depot. A 2x4x8 had dropped further, to $4.75. We did not find the bucket of patching goo we wanted; maybe they've stopped carrying it? Batteries, tools of all kinds, and lumber were all plentiful.
Last was Aldi. Stock levels were all good. I'm not sure that anything changed significantly, but our particular combination of items did produce a higher bill than we've had lately.
The last time I filled up, untainted regular had dropped to $4.899/gallon.
Operation Independence
Main topic of the Show: Homestead Bootcamp
What is Homestead Bootcamp and how did it come to be
What we hope to achieve with it
How did we prepare?
What a typical program looks like
#My3Things: Poultry, Sheep, Garden Bed
A word on the chaos
My hope for homestead bootcamp and mentoring programs in general
Membership Plug
MeWe reminder
Make it a great week!
Song:
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
In this week’s update, we will talk about sheep recovery, new animals coming to the homestead, planning a food forest, and late summer garden bounty.
Forage
Livestock
Grow
Holler Neighbors/Community
Infrastructure
Finances
Membership Plug
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
NOTE: The original upload cut of at minute 35 - I have replaced this file. Refresh your download to get that handled.
Today we talk about starting your own business, content creation, attitude adjustments, Self Reliance Festival and more with Toolman Tim Cook and John Willis.
Show Resources
Youtube replay video
https://youtu.be/UKXBUh6udB8
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today, I share my journey of dealing with loss on the homestead because if you enter into livestock, some will die – and some will die because of you. If you grow plants, many will die - and they will die because of you.
Network Update: Open House and Homesteader Swap Meet Last Weekend.
Save the Date: Tickets go on Sale Saturday for the Food Forest Class at my place. Oct 28-29
DEADLINE WEDNESDAY! Email community events and meetups to nicole@livingfreeintennessee.com
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
Frugality Tip
Another time saver: Setting up your canning system
Shopping Report Update - 08/04/2022
We missed a couple of things on Tuesday, so did some more shopping last night, since we've got the replacement refrigerator to restock.
Right after leaving work, I went to the Aldi which is not our usual one. I only rarely visit that one, because some of their prices are a little higher than the two Aldi stores we regularly visit. There were holes all over the place. The store looked rather picked and sad. Entire produce bins and shelf sections were empty. There was very little meat, and almost no fish, but they did have some chicken thighs, and I got the last pork loin. Their pet food area has always been paltry.
After dinner, we went to our usual Food City. Most shelves looked full, but there were a few things missing or limited. There was very little natural peanut butter, and none of the large jars. Even the stuff with waste added was limited to small and medium jars. There was a lot of flour, but very little unbleached. They had decent amounts and variety of cat food. Some varieties of eggs were in short supply or absent.
The changes I am seeing are not in a good direction.
Operation Independence
Main topic of the Show: 4 Phases of Loss on the Homestead
Why
Phase One: Deeply Hurt, Debt
Phase Two: Deeply Hurt, Self Loathing or Blame
Phase Three: Deeply Hurt: Anger
Phase Four: Deeply Hurt: Acceptance
What about you?
Membership Plug
MeWe reminder
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we catch up on 2 weeks of homestead updates, discuss a sick lamb, produce overwhelm, and more.
Forage
Livestock
Grow
Holler Neighbors/Community
Infrastructure
Finances
Membership Plug
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we talk about international and US politics, monkeypox, growing food, the swale class, and more with Jack Spirko and John Willis.
Show Resources
Main content of the show
Replay of the Tuesday Live on Youtube.
https://youtu.be/_imqfsQ9Jlw
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources
Today we have a fun conversation with Bradley Bleasdale: Raw milk producer, freedom fellow, and founder of a preparedness training center.
Open House: Saturday 9am-1pm. Bring a dish to share. 605 Long Branch Rd, Lancaster, TN
Tales from the Prepper Pantry
Frugality Tip
TIME SAVER
This tip saves time, which IS money, right? If you think this idea applies to your Frugality Tip section, here's what I got:
I have a printout of all of the recipes that I use frequently. It's called my Frequent Recipes Cheat Sheet. ALL of the recipes (at least 50) are on 1 sheet of paper (front and back). They're not detailed at all, just the ingredients and oven temp, basically. Since I make them so often, I don't need all of the individual steps. This saves me tons of time because I don't have to look up recipes on my phone, computer, or big ole recipe book. Bonus tips: you can keep it in a plastic sheet protector so it doesn't get dirty, AND you can use a magnetic clip to hang it or stick it to your upper cabinet handle right in front of your face while you're cooking. Saves me so.much.time.
Operation Independence
Working on a video project with Billy Bond from footage gathered at the Swale Workshop.
Main topic of the Show: Choosing Liberty with Bradley Bleasdale
About Bradley:
Make it a great week!
GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.
Community
Advisory Board
Resources