As you plan, store, and use your food daily, one thing becomes clear: It needs replenished, and we’re much more dependent on systems and stores than we might have realized.  Right now, many more of us are feeling vulnerable.
 
Fortunately, restocking is simpler than starting from scratch. But that ‘dependency’ issue?  Hardly anybody can be completely self-reliant in this right now.  And we’re made to learn from and help each other. More self-sufficiency, however, is better than less. And almost everyone can grow some sort of food, even if it’s herbs in a pot on the windowsill, or tomatoes in a planter on the porch. You can even grow some vegetables without needing to buy seeds.
 
Ezra Taft Benson- an apostle at the time, who had also served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture-- gave us excellent advice 40 years ago.  He said,

“There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own.
 
“The counsel from Church authorities has been consistent over the years and is well summarized in these words:
‘First, and above and beyond everything else, let us live righteously. …
‘Let us avoid debt as we would avoid a plague; where we are now in debt, let us get out of debt; if not today, then tomorrow.
‘Let us straitly and strictly live within our incomes, and save a little.
‘Let every head of every household see to it that he has on hand enough food and clothing, and, where possible, fuel also, for at least a year ahead. You of small means put your money in foodstuffs and wearing apparel, not in stocks and bonds; you of large means will think you know how to care for yourselves, but I may venture to suggest that you do not speculate. Let every head of every household aim to own his own home, free from mortgage. Let every man who has a garden spot, garden it; every man who owns a farm, farm it.’ (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., in Conference Report, Apr. 1937, p. 26.)
 
“You do not need to go into debt, may I add, to obtain a year’s supply. Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account. Save a little for storage each pay-check. Can or bottle fruit and vegetables from your gardens and orchards. Learn how to preserve food through drying and possibly freezing. Make your storage a part of your budget. Store seeds and have sufficient tools on hand to do the job. If you are saving and planning for a second car or a TV set or some item which merely adds to your comfort or pleasure, you may need to change your priorities. We urge you to do this prayerfully and do it now.
 
“I speak with a feeling of great urgency. I have seen what the days of tribulation can do to people. I have seen hunger stalk the streets of Europe. I have witnessed the appalling, emaciated shadows of human figures. I have seen women and children scavenge army garbage dumps for scraps of food. Those scenes and nameless faces cannot be erased from my memory.”
 __________________________
Meanwhile, gardening season is here-- a beautiful time of year! It’s best to wait until about Mothers Day to plant frost-sensitive vegetables, but everything else can be planted now here along the Wasatch Front.
 
Here are blog posts you might like:
Starting on Your Spring Garden 
 
Start Thinking 'Garden'

Gardening 101

The Early Garden

What Brigham Young said about wheat vs. gold

How to Prune and Fertilize Trees and Shrubs

Or just click on the 'Gardening' category at the bottom of this page if you're on a mobile device; to the right if you're on a regular computer. 
___________________________
Below is information from two of my local resources—the USU Extension office and a local nursery, but it’s helpful stuff for anyone, anywhere.

Your state Extension office has tons of resources.  Here in Utah, it’s the Utah State University Extension office.  Replace “Utah” with any other state name, run a search online, and you’ll find lots of gardening and yard that is specific to your area.

Here are three new gardening videos to help you get started in your garden; they’re from the Utah extension, but these are good advice for any location: 
·         How to Start Vegetable Seeds Indoors 
·         ​How to Start and Grow Sweet Potatoes 
·         How to Create Soil Blocks 
There’s also a great book, Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs guidebook and other gardening resources through their online book store.  One resource I’ve used quite a bit is their free online book, “Common Weeds of the Yard and Garden.”  Use it, and you’ll know better what to weed out, and what to keep.  And it's super useful to know what your soil actually needs to be healthy, before shelling out serious money on fertilizers or supplements.  You can get your soil analyzed, here. (I have this done at every house we've lived in, as we're getting started growing things there.)

The USU Extension has a gardening group on Facebook, called Utah's Gardening Experts.  Post photos, share your knowledge, or ask questions and get help from your fellow gardeners and Extension experts. Join the group here.

The Extension offers online courses. They’re usually $25, but are currently $15 with code GARDEN2020. The code will automatically apply at checkout if you use the link below.   Browse courses.
--------------------
April (Mid-Spring) Gardening Tips from Glover Nursery

They also have an article on Victory Gardens: 4 Steps to a Bountiful Harvest
_______________

What will you grow this year?

Painting: Gathering Almond Blossoms, John William Waterhouse.
That farm we lived on was two hours from stores. We shopped once a month, for our family of 9. We drank 6 gallons of milk a week, and there was no way to fit 24 gallons of milk in the fridge after shopping. So Mom bought 6 gallons each month. She always kept a storeroom full of basic foods, including powdered milk. As we needed milk, each jug was mixed with 3 gallons of powdered milk, to make 4 gallons. That way the 6 gallons became 2 dozen.
We raised beef cattle, so we had our own beef. A neighbor across the river raised hogs, and we’d trade him beef for pork. We had a huge garden- we grew almost all of our vegetables, and Mom was insistent on that 5 or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables. The only vegetables I remember buying were frozen peas and tomato sauce. Elderberries, chokecherries, and currants grew wild on the farm, so we picked and made jelly from them. We grew strawberries and had a huge raspberry patch. We stored our garden carrots  through the winter in an insulated pit in the garden. We canned and bottled a lot, froze corn, zucchini, asparagus, spinach. If we didn’t have something for a recipe we wanted, we came up with a substitute, or went without.

It was a different mindset, a different way of living.  What we’re seeing now reminds us of how fragile our modern way of life is, and helps us better appreciate traditional ways, including making and filling a family storehouse. Now I live in a valley with one million other people, and I can’t do all the things we did on the farm.  But I can grow food and preserve it, store and waste less.

What about Hoarding?

People who store are sometimes accused of hoarding. And sometimes they ARE hoarding.  So what is the difference between preparing and hoarding?
​
‘Hoarding’ involves selfishness or coveting on one or both sides of the equation. On one side, it could merely mean somebody is upset at what you have-- coveting-- and on the other side, you might be acting like a dragon clutching its pile of gold and belching fire at anyone who comes near. There’s God’s way of preparing for the future, and there are a whole bunch of other ways.  God’s way includes loving your neighbor as yourself. Use that as your guideline for building and using food storage. Don’t build in a way that takes from others who need it.  Building a godly family storehouse is “is founded on the doctrines of love, service, work, self-reliance, and stewardship”.

What is the ideal to work towards in building a family storehouse?

A two-week basic water supply, a financial reserve,  a three-month supply of everyday food and recipes to use it, a good supply of basic foods that store a very long time, and the skills to use them. That will give you stability and security, and helps you be calm through new adjustments.  That supply of basic foods that have a 10-30+ year shelf life will help you and your neighbors weather some of the worst life-storms.
Real peace comes through loving and serving God and your fellow men. Sometimes ‘feeding his sheep’ is literal, especially with those in your house.

How to do it

You’ll want to make a plan and implement it carefully, wisely, and lovingly. Don’t go into debt for it, purchase more when prices and demand are low. Purchase less when prices and demand are high.  Learning to waste less will go a long way toward helping you build your family storehouse.
Details of how to do this are on the page called “52 Weeks of Building Storage”. Read through the links beginning on Week 1.  There are more helps on that page, including- charts for how to build a 3-month supply in 6 months or less, and a buying schedule for building a year supply in 6 months or less.

How do I begin building my family storehouse? Find info from Week 1

First, be determined that this is going to happen, starting today. "All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place"!  Pray to see how to do this. 

The next step in getting your family storehouse is to  take inventory of what you have.   (All stores have to take inventory! At least yearly.) Get a notebook or a clipboard, and write down all the food you have in the house.  Group them in categories that make sense to you.  

Go through your budget and see where you can free up some money; you can build a 3 month supply in 6 months , under normal circumstances, with about an extra $15-20/person/week.

My experience has been that because of the way you ideally shop for this short-term storage, it costs considerably less than your regular-meals budget.  Can you afford it?  The way I see it, I can’t afford NOT to have a family storehouse.  Most of my shelf-stable grocery items are purchased when each is on sale, usually at 30-70% off the regular price.

Where Do I Get the Money?

-Waste Less
-Cut money somewhere else. Vacations. Gifts. Extras. 
-Grow and Glean
-Buy Smart!
.

• Waste less—the average family of 4 throws away more than $2000 of food every year. That alone could fund your food storage!
• Budget it in. This is much easier when you’re shopping sales and reducing what you waste.
  • Replace more meat with a cheaper protein source like beans or eggs.
  • Cut your entertainment or eating-out budget.
  • Sell a ‘luxury item’
  • Skip a vacation; buy food and supplies instead
• Grow and Glean
• Shop Smart – SOS method
  • Buy when others don’t want it
  • Shop sales—for what’s on your list. Stick to the foods on your plan
  • Know your prices.  Then you recognize when something is a stock-up price.
    ​

​Now where in the world are you going to fit the necessary food into your house?  If you have a cool, dark room available, that's perfect. 
find a place you can store shelf-stable food, Get a shelf, and Set it up.
That's it!

There are posts on my website with FAQs, including what you need to know about expiration dates on cans and packages. Skim through that 52 Weeks page to find them.

What is the point of being more self reliant?

The most obvious is family security. But if we stop there, we’ve missed the point. We’re all family.  Self reliance allows us to help and strengthen others.  Our families are the basic foundation of society. How goes the family, goes the nation. 

You can be a chayil woman, a powerful force for good in your home and in your neighborhood.


Do you have any questions?  Leave a comment, or email me at [email protected] 

“Self-reliance is a product of our work and under-girds all other welfare practices. It is an essential element in our spiritual as well as our temporal well-being. Regarding this principle, President Marion G. Romney has said: “Let us work for what we need. Let us be self-reliant and independent. Salvation can be obtained on no other principle. Salvation is an individual matter, and we must work out our own salvation in temporal as well as in spiritual things.”
(In Welfare Services Meeting Report, 2 Oct. 1976, p. 13.), quoted in “In the Lord’s Own Way” Elder Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, May 1986

“Prophets see ahead. They see the harrowing dangers the adversary has placed or will yet place in our path. Prophets also foresee the grand possibilities and privileges awaiting those who listen with the intent to obey.”
-Neil L. Anderson, quoting then-Elder Russell M. Nelson, in “The Eye of Faith”, April 2019 
 
Recently, I ran across a talk that Harold B. Lee-- then of the Twelve Apostles-- gave during the middle of World War II.  He shared several things that the First Presidency had asked the people to do in the few years before, and what happened afterwards nationally that made it apparent that our prophets were prophetic in their counsel. The biggest takeaway for me was the pattern of counsel given and how it later proved them prophets, though not given in a manner we'd usually consider as 'prophesying'. I highly recommend reading it; there was a lot of Church history that meshed with bits I knew of WWII history.  And there were pieces I had to look up.

"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”(2 Peter 1:19-21)  "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)  "Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments."(D&C 1:17) 

Prophecy most often comes in the form of commandments, not as "thus saith the Lord" or "this is going to happen" statements.  (President Nelson has, however, given plenty of prophetic promises too. I have a list you can see if you want it.)

Here's more of the pattern.

In 1998 and 2000, President Gordon B. Hinckley said he couldn't get Pharoah's dream of the seven good and seven bad years off his mind, and said, "There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed."    In 2001, when the Twin Towers were destroyed, the stock market fell a huge amount.  It wasn't a huge deal economically for long, but it was for a little while. And 7 years later, a huge shift in the economy occurred.

In 2007 the church (First Presidency) published the "All is Safely Gathered In" guides for financial safety and food storage. They created food storage packs at the Home Storage Centers- those boxes with 6 big cans in them. Each included wheat, rice, milk, the All Is Safely Gathered In booklets. In January 2008 this information was shared again through the Church News.

Do you know what happened at the end of September 2008?

It was the stock market crash, followed by 'the Great Recession', from which the nation has only recently recovered.

Have you ever noticed that the Church is always ahead of the curve, whatever the curve happens to be?

A couple months ago, the First Presidency sent bishops a letter and a lesson outline, asking them to use one of the two next possible 5th Sundays (2nd hour block) to teach "Being Wise in Managing our Finances" to their ward members.  This included an impressive amount of cautions concerning investing, like this line- "Do not invest if you cannot afford to lose your investment".  

The Lord works through small and simple means- including through living prophets' counsel and commandments.
 
As Harold B. Lee said in his talk,

"We as a people seem to be willing to accept many of the ancient prophecies as having been literally fulfilled but when we see prophecies fulfilled in our own day we are prone to question and to express some doubts. As the Master said, ' . . A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country'  Mark 6:4 and he might have added, 'Save in his own time'."

What else have our modern prophets said? Here are several quotes.

“Liv[ing] principles of self-reliance and provident living… are essential things which must be done before nonessential things. … What a different world and Church this would be if every Latter-day Saint sister… was self-reliant enough to be able to give freely of her knowledge, talents, and resources”.  -Julie B. Beck, "What Latter-day Saint Women Do Best"

“Loving God and loving our neighbors is the doctrinal foundation" of all programs in the church.  "Teach members to provide for themselves and their families and to assist the poor and needy in the Lord’s way.”
-M. Russell Ballard, “The True, Pure and Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ”

“A cardinal principle of the gospel is to prepare for the day of scarcity. Work, industry, frugality are part of the royal order of life… Inspired preparation rests on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, obedience, and a provident lifestyle. Members should not go to extremes, but they should begin. We call upon priesthood bearers to store sufficient so that you and your family can weather the vicissitudes of life.” 
-Keith B. McMullin, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/lay-up-in-store?lang=eng  
 
“There is a careful way and a casual way to do everything, including living the gospel.” 
-Becky Craven, “Careful versus Casual”
 
"We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ. That is the litmus test . . . for our lives. In the days ahead, a casual commitment to Christ will not carry us through." 
-Sheri L. Dew, "We Are Women of God"

“How do we become self-reliant? We become self-reliant through obtaining sufficient knowledge, education, and literacy; by managing money and resources wisely, being spiritually strong, preparing for emergencies and eventualities; and by having physical health and social and emotional well-being”.
-Julie B. Beck,  Basic Principles of Welfare and Self-Reliance, 4)

"Self-reliance is taking responsibility for our own spiritual and temporal welfare and for those whom Heavenly Father has entrusted to our care. Only when we are self-reliant can we truly emulate the Savior in serving and blessing others. It is important to understand that self-reliance is a means to an end. Our ultimate goal is to become like the Savior, and that goal is enhanced by our unselfish service to others. Our ability to serve is increased or diminished by the level of our self-reliance.”
-Robert D. Hales, "Becoming Self-Reliant"

“There may be…times when we recognize a need but feel inadequate to respond, assuming that what we have to offer is insufficient. To do just as He did, however, is to minister by giving what we are capable of giving and to trust that the Lord will magnify our efforts to bless our “fellow travelers on this mortal journey.” … Although we may feel that our efforts are inadequate, … small and simple acts are powerful because they invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost”.
-W. Christopher Waddell, “Just as He Did”

“the Holy Spirit affirmed two things to me. First, the work of ministering to temporal needs is vital and must continue. The second was unexpected, yet powerful and clear. It was this: beyond selfless service, it is supremely important to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
-D. Todd Christofferson, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return”

The week 4 assignment:
Going off your new Inventory Shopping List and this week’s sales, buy the 3 months’ worth of as many different items as you can as your new budget allows. This plan calls for buying your 3 month foods each week over the next 18 weeks. From now on, I'll refer to this as B for 3. 

My friend Heidi recommends this inventory app- you scan items and they’re automatically entered.  I can’t vouch for it yet, but she loves it.

How can you afford to buy all this extra food?

Waste less- this saves $$ on your regular food budget, freeing up money. Did you know the average family of 4 throws away more than $2000 of food every year?  (See ways to waste less, here.)  This alone has the potential to completely fund your food storage!

Budget it in- in addition to freeing up money by reducing the food you waste, there are other ways to find money you already have.    Plan on finding $14/person/week.  Vaughn J. Featherstone gave a talk years ago on how to get your full year’s worth of food within just one year.  He recommends sitting down as a family and deciding on ways.  Some of his suggestions include

-skip going on a vacation; use the money for food storage, and spend the time on growing a garden.

-at Christmas time, designate 25-50% of the regular gift budget for food storage.
-make your clothes last longer.  Don’t replace anything that still has good use in it, and mend or repair what can be.

- cut your entertainment budget by 50%.  Find memory-building activities that are free.

-Sell a ‘luxury item’ like a snowmobile, ATV, boat, camper, etc.  (Modern note: If you have a storage unit, sell what’s in it; use the proceeds --and the rent savings-- for food.)

-watch the grocery sales, buy extra when what you need is on sale.

-reduce the meat you buy and switch in a protein source that costs less. Buy less ice cream, candy, chips, magazines… whatever is tempting to you there.  Spend the difference on what’s on your inventory purchase list.
 
If after going through Elder Featherstone’s suggestions it still looks impossible, pray to see what you can do.  Ways will open. God is still a God of miracles!

Grow and Glean- Grow the food you can- berry bushes can fit easily in a landscape, as can fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables.  Gleaning- when a neighbor has too many zucchini or tomatoes, volunteer to take some.  Use them in recipes, freeze them, bottle them, dehydrate them-- seasoned dried zucchini slices are great for snacking! Very often there are people around who have fruit trees they don't harvest. Knock on a door and ask!  Usually they're a little sad about it going to waste otherwise, and grateful to have someone use it.

Buy smart – My dad laughingly said he learned in college about the ‘SOS’ Method. This can mean Stay Out of Stores or Stock up On Sales.  Both have their place and their limits.

Stay Out of Stores-- the fewer times a week or month you visit stores, the less money you will spend there!  

Stock up when things are on sale- know what the regular prices are, so you can recognize a good price.  Buy as much of your 3 month's worth as you can fit in the budget.  (Remember it’s only a ‘deal’ if you were going to buy it anyway.  Don’t buy stuff just because it’s on sale. Be intentional!)  If chicken is an amazing price, you can buy a case or however much your family will use; divide it into meal-size freezer bags, raw or cooked, or bottle it to store on the shelf.

Buy when others don’t want it.  Buy foods that are marked down because they are at or near the ‘best by’ date.  (The date matters much less on some foods than others.)  Work this week’s sale produce into your meals and snacks.  Ask the produce guy at the grocery store if they have too many bananas; several times I’ve been able to buy a 40-lb case of bananas for $10 or even $5.  That’s enough for about three rounds of filling my dehydrator with sliced bananas, plus a batch or two of banana bread for the freezer.  (My kids adore home dried bananas.)   Some stores give away their day-old bread and other bakery items rather than marking them down.  If you’re local, give me a call; I have access to some of this and am looking for people to share with!

Know the best places to buy things - call around or look online. But don’t spend too much time running from place to place. Remember the first SOS.

Two places you might not have considered that have great deals are the Home Storage Centers -- you can buy in person or order online-- and NPS-- a store that sells inventory overage, lost and missing freight.(This is in Salt Lake and Utah counties only.  Other areas may have similar stores.)
Again, if you’re local, I’m glad to show you around at either place.  NPS has amazing deals- including on GF and dairy-free items-- but not everything there is inexpensive. I tend to shop there once every couple months, and get a lot of what’s good.


How can you afford to build your food storage?  
-Waste Less
-Budget it In
-Grow and Glean
-Buy Smart!

​Now that you've decided it's time to prepare for your family and neighbors, where in the world are you going to fit the necessary food into your house?  If you have a cool, dark room available, that's perfect.  If you're struggling to come up with a place to put food storage, read through these reader-generated suggestions: 
​
​Small spaces solution list 

Wherever it is—a spare room, a spare corner of an occupied room, a corner of a basement, in an insulated garage or shed, in a closet—you will certainly want at least one shelf to store on.  Find one and set it up.  Strong shelves (ones that can handle at least a couple hundred pounds per level) can be purchased at stores like Lowe’s, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Costco. One 4’x2’x8’ shelf will typically cost between $70-120. 

If you'd like some ideas on earthquake-proofing your shelves, see here.

To sum up, your task this week is to find a place you can store shelf-stable food,

Get a shelf, and

Set it up.

That's it!

Food storage challenge of the week:

Take inventory of what you have.   Include your fridge,  freezer,  pantry,  basement, ... wherever you have food on hand.

Years ago,  Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone suggested three steps to building your food storage:
1- Inventory what you have

2- decide what you will need to bring levels to where they should be.  That gets broken into a couple steps because now the Church recommends having a 3- month supply of your everyday food,  in addition to the long - term storage foods for a year's supply.   More on that later.

3- Work out a time schedule for when you'll have that 3- month and/or year of food.   I'll send more on how to afford that,  next week.

Then,  of course,  begin.   Or, rather,  continue: you already have begun if you have even one can or box of food on hand! 

- Rhonda

"The Lord will make it possible, if we make a firm commitment, for every Latter-day Saint family to have a year’s supply of food reserves…. All we have to do is to decide, commit to do it, and then keep the commitment. Miracles will take place; the way will be opened… We will prove through our actions our willingness to follow our beloved prophet and the Brethren, which will bring security to us and our families.” 
-Vaughn J. Featherstone

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1976/04/food-storage?lang=eng

Elderberry syrup is known as a wonderful immunity booster and antiviral- which means it'll help knock down the flu or any other virus-caused illness.  It's also really, really delicious on pancakes.  Or a splash added to desserts or fruit salads.  Or brushed on a spice cake.  Or mixed with chilled sparkling water.  Or... you get the idea.
 Now that there's a jar in my fridge, I may have to watch to be sure my children don't sneak in and use up all my 'medicine'.   Just for that reason, I wax-sealed the lids on the jars I plan to share with others.  

I've already used it.  My family has had a nasty cold or flu this week; we've had missed school days and work days from it.  Yesterday it hit me hard, and felt like it was on the verge of turning into bronchitis or pneumonia.  I've been taking either elderberry infusion (tea) or the syrup at least three times a day since feeling it come on a couple days ago, and today I feel much better.  I suppose that may or may not have anything to do with the elderberries... but I'm keeping the routine up until I'm better!  Yum.

I started with 2 pounds of berries, used a steam juicer, and the first 2-3 cups of juice were nice and dark; strong enough to use without boiling to condense it.  The longer the berries steamed, though, the lighter the juice got, so I boiled down the last three cups to yield about 1 1/2 cups.

You'll notice in the photos below that some of those berries don't look exactly the same as the others... I have a young hawthorn tree.  It produces berries, but not yet enough to make a batch of anything yet.  The haw berries are said to be good for reducing inflammation (as well as normalizing blood pressure and helping strengthen and regulate the heart)- so I threw them in with my elderberries.  Honey is used in this instead of sugar because of its soothing, anti-inflammatory, and healing properties.

If you want to make a wax seal, paraffin works great.  I had a small ball of red cheese wax I'd saved, and used that.

Elderberry Syrup
Start with 2-3 cups elderberry juice (depending on strength)- if not strong, boil to reduce to 2 cups.  To the warm, NOT hot juice (if you want to preserve the enzymes if using raw honey), stir in these ingredients:
2 cups honey
5 drops ginger essential oil
3 drops cinnamon essential oil
2 drops clove essential oil

Store in the refrigerator.  Probably best used within a couple months- though I've had syrups stay nice for a year, refrigerated.  You could store them longer if you seal them in sterilized jars. 

To use medicinally, take a tablespoon straight or mixed in 6-8 oz warm water, every 3 hours if you're sick and an adult, or take once a day as a general immunity booster.  See the label below for more details.  

If you want to start with berries but don't have a steam juicer, and want to use the spices themselves instead of essential oils, combine 4 oz (2/3 c.) berries in 3 ½ c. water, a thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and ½ tsp. cloves; Simmer until water is reduced by almost half; strain, pressing on the berries.  Cool until just warm, stir in honey.

On a related note, you can use jelly to make gourmet pancake syrup:  see here.

Saturday was work-in-the-yard-before-the-storm-hits day.

The garden needed prepared for the winter: potatoes dug, the now-dry corn cobs pulled from their perches on the stalks, the final beets pulled, more chard and broccoli harvested, dry and tangled tomato vines yanked from the fence they'd been trained on, carrots prepared to stay through the winter.  Tilling would have been nice, but between the garden and what was going on in the house, there wasn't enough time to get to it.  As it was, I only got halfway through the garden list.  But my kids finally got the house clean -- the weekly deeper-cleaning--  along with a post hole dug and fence repaired with my husband.  With a lot of reminders. (The kids, that is...)

While stripping corn cobs from the stalks, I felt something sharp on the pad of my ring finger. When I looked, a large drop of blood pooled up immediately; I had sliced my finger on a corn husk.  I turned back to my work, but felt something wet running down the finger.  Looking again, I saw that it was bleeding quickly, leaving small spatters of blood on the ground.  Turns out that the cut was fairly deep. I ignored it for another few minutes, but the bleeding had not slowed.  Not wanting to stop my work lest the chickens -- who were in the garden too-- would get to the corn, I looked around, found some still-growing plaintain, and tore a leaf off.  The leaves are not only known for helping stop bleeding and helping heal, but have strong fibers running through them.  I wrapped the leaf around my wound, winding the trailing fiber around an extra couple times.  

It stayed on snugly while I worked, and the tightness was soothing.  When I pulled it off ten minutes later, the bleeding had stopped completely.  It didn't restart, either, when I finally -carefully- washed off the dried blood.  This stuff works!

My husband laughed when he heard the story, and said it was "so MacGyver-ish".

I took that as a high compliment.

Homemade Turmeric ointment!

About a year ago my right ankle swelled up and became tender to the touch.  There was no recent injury that I knew of.  After a few days, I wrapped it with an Ace bandage.  The swelling went down under the bandage, only to pop up on the top of my foot.  After wrapping the top of my foot, the swelling moved to the other side of my ankle.  Weird.  At that point, I got online to look for how to pull down swelling.  What I found was an ancient Ayurvedic medicine: turmeric and salt.  Well, those were two ingredients I had on hand, and easy to mix.  
I tried it: applied it to a folded damp paper towel, slapped it on the ankle, and wrapped it to make it stay in place.

Lo and behold-- after a day, the ankle was less painful.  After two days, the swelling was gone.  GONE!  And it didn’t come back. My ankle was stained bright yellow for a week, but, hey, it felt great.

Turns out that turmeric contains curcumin, a powerful anti-inflammatory.  There is lots of evidence that this kitchen spice is also effective against cancer, arthritis, preventing and reversing Alzheimer's, and more.

What about the salt?  You know how it kills snails: it pulls water through cell walls, essentially dehydrating them.  This is an example of osmosis.  It works on the same principle to pull extra water out of your skin or underlying tissues.  I used RealSalt because it includes trace minerals.  The salt and turmeric reinforce aspects of each other.

The basic mixture is 2 parts turmeric to one part salt, then mix with just enough water or oil to make a paste.  If you use water, it's considered an actual paste; if you use oil, it's technically an ointment.  Water might help it penetrate your skin better, but curcumin is fat-soluble, so it might be more potent as an ointment.  I don't know for sure; it just seemed logical to use the oil, which has healing properties itself if you use either coconut oil or olive oil.  Curcumin's bioavailability is said to increase if you add something with quercetin.  Dock (sorrel) has large amounts; so does apple, broccoli, cranberries, and more.  Since I didn’t find anything in my house and yard while I was mixing that was easy to use that wouldn’t spoil in it, I skipped that part.  Maybe next time I’ll dry some dock and heat it for a couple hours with the coconut oil base.  Or add a little green drink powder.  It still works fine without it; there was no quercetin in what I used on my ankle.  

This new batch also contains a couple essential oils this time around (didn't with my ankle), to hopefully enhance the healing properties; this will go on a leg injured by falling down the stairs, made worse by a lack of circulation and movement, now suffering- months later- with fluid in the joints and pain. Rosemary is relaxing, a good tonic for nervous and circulatory systems, and helps increase vigor and energy.  Ginger relaxes blood vessels is a strong circulatory stimulant, and is often used in massage oils and to relieve aches and pains.   A standard amount of essential oils for topical use is 1 drop essential oil per 25 mL of carrier oil, or about 5 drops per ¼ cup oil.

Please remember that anyone can be allergic to foods; don't use ingredients you've had reactions to, and watch for new reactions.  When you apply this to your skin, wrap it with something that doesn't matter if it gets stained- because it will!  (Turmeric is also a great fabric dye.)

Here are the quantities I used for this batch:

4 Tbsp. turmeric (1/4 c.)
2 Tbsp. RealSalt
2 Tbsp. coconut oil or olive oil (I used coconut oil)
2 drops rosemary oil, optional
2 drops ginger oil, optional

Best stored in a small glass jar. Babyfood jars are great.

Upcoming 2014 Utah Legislation-
Ending Compulsory Education

Utah state senator Aaron Osmond has announced that in 2014 he’ll sponsor a bill proposing to end compulsory education in Utah. The announcement got national attention, as Utah would be the first state to have this in a hundred years if it passes.  

There is a bit of panic and a lot of misunderstanding about this. 

“Compulsory education” is not the same as “public education”, and under his proposal, public education would remain solidly in place.  What would change is the parents’ ability to determine what is best for their child, would give teachers more respect by not forcing those who don’t want to be there on them, and would return the role of the state as a supporter of the family—the basic unit of society-- rather than the current view of the family being the supporter of the state. 

The principle involved here is whether or not we will allow parents to make decisions based on their own projected outcomes, or whether they’ll be compelled to do what bureaucrats think best for their children.  I believe the purpose of life is for each person to learn from their own choices and learning and the consequences that naturally follow.  We are much less likely to learn –or value the chance to learn- when we’re forced into anything.  Our current system’s promise is that every person will turn out to be ‘educated’, without regard to individual preference, agency, or voluntary dedication.  They fail, as they must.

I have children in public school, in a charter school, and homeschool.  Even though I’m ‘allowed’ to homeschool, the state requires me to get their permission to take care of my own children’s education, to promise to have them in ‘school’ for a certain number of hours and days, and to teach them the same topics the state Board of Education determined were most necessary.  This is wrong for a few reasons. 

• Do individuals and families exist to serve the state, or does the state exist to protect natural rights of individuals and families?  
• My children, not having to compete for attention with 30 other students in a class, can get their work done in fewer hours.  
• There are multiple reasons for education- and the UBOE’s objectives are not the same as mine.
• There’s never enough time to get everything done that anyone would like; I want to spend the limited time with my children teaching them things I think most important in helping them be hardworking, loving, responsible people who search for wisdom and reach out to others on their own initiative.
  

Before acting on your fears that Utah will suddenly be a hotbed of juvenile delinquents and welfare recipients if this law passes, please research the history of compulsory education and what the alternatives yield.  Some good places to start are (please at least watch the video! the same one as embedded above):

• Youtube video: ABE 2012 Conference- Ending Compulsory Education by Oak Norton
• www.nocompulsoryeducation.org 
• LibertasUtah.org blog article “The Presumption of State Stewardship Over Children”

________________________________________________________________________
In addition, this will help relieve the huge financial burden that comes with our local student population predicted to double over the next 15-20 years.

  According to http://boostup.org we currently have a 24% dropout rate in Utah. I think that this will not change much when ending compulsory education.  Others are worried that some parents are lazy and will not have their children attend- but I believe these parents are highly motivated to have the children at school where others take care of them and leave the parents with free time during the day. 

What about those who worry that children not educated at a school (home-schooled) will end up on the welfare rolls?

Look at the track record of those who ARE in public education!  Two years ago (2011) we had about 32 million households who receive means-tested government assistance like school lunches, Medicaid, and food stamps, and 49% of American household have at least one member who receive some sort of government assistance.  And the numbers continue to climb.  We have a government that discourages personal initiative and effort, and protects us from the natural consequences of our actions, which would yield growth, understanding, and drive.

Here's something else that Oak (the guy from the vid above) has said:
"Why don't parents parent? Because once the state takes that authority from a parent, they are absolved of responsibility. If you want parents to parent again, give them back the authority and responsibility so they are empowered. If their child doesn't want to go to school, it's not the state's job to call the child a criminal and force him/her to school, it's then the parent's job to teach the child (perhaps with the help of concerned family and neighbors) the value of an education. If the child doesn't see the value, he/she won't learn. You can't teach someone who refuses to learn and you only hinder those who are there to learn. Removing compulsory education will help children become self-motivated just like we expect of them in college. It's not going to introduce child labor and sweat shops. It's going to open up new paths in education as educators innovate to provide a reason for those children to be in school."

 “Many people want the government to protect the consumer.  A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government.” –Milton Friedman

"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." — James Madison

In the War in Heaven, some were willing to trade their agency to choose, for promises of security. Christ’s plan is for agency, personal effort, and learning from natural consequences-- the path that leads to personal, meaningful growth; Satan’s plan is of control and coercion.

"We must be careful that we are not led to accept or support in any way any organization, cause or measure which, in its remotest effect, would jeopardize free agency, whether it be in politics, government, religion, employment, education, or any other field. It is not enough for us to be sincere in what we support. We must be right!” -Marion G. Romney


Summary of my thoughts- I see this as an issue of whether the parents or the state is the ultimate authority over each child, and also as a perfect example of the continuation of the War in Heaven. In addition, scaling back the arm of government to its proper role here will have cost benefits.

Earlier this month there was a news story about a Florida father who found a note composed by his son as a school assignment where the boy wrote that he is willing to give up natural rights in exchange security. The dad is fuming.  On a related note, Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC recently turned heads by declaring that not only do our children belong to the community instead of the parents, but that citizens can vote “to impinge on individual freedoms in order to advance a common good."  Wait, others get to choose what my children are taught, in the name of what’s good for the collective?  That’s what’s happening now, and promising to become worse.

Many of us are upset because of the indoctrination in the schools.  

Want to fix it?  Here's the first problem:  there is no way to avoid "indoctrination"; the word literally means to teach or impress some kind of doctrine or principle.  There's no escaping it when any kind of teaching is the goal.

So, do I indoctrinate my children?   You bet! --if you're looking at the original meaning.  Any time you teach something, you 'indoctrinate'.  One of my parental responsibilities is to teach: to raise my children in light and truth. Because of this, my freedom of religion is also inextricably tied to how and what my children are taught:  I'm accountable to God for what I do or don't teach.  Nowadays most people only think of the negative connotation of ‘indoctrinate’- which has become the politically correct definition- the kind of teaching that stifles critical thinking.  More than one side sees the other as being guilty of this.

What we're actually upset with, then, is WHO is teaching WHAT to our children.  That leads to the main problem- our school system and its curriculum is set up with little to no local input, answerable to officials in varying levels of government.  Even more concerning, Common Core makes this issue increase dramatically.   One solution to the issue is to homeschool, but that is not an attractive or viable option for many people.  In addition, Common Core even stretches its tentacles into homeschooling through its database tracking system for all children, preschool through age 20, and by rewriting pre-college tests like the ACT.  

Here's what would solve the problem:  (1) return to local control of schools- and by this I mean the principal and the teachers of any one particular school, who will now make their own curriculum choices, including -gasp!- whatever religious instruction is wanted, and answer directly to the children's parents instead of government, and (2) allow parents to have their child attend whichever school they wish to attend; since each school will develop its own flavor of 'indoctrination', the parents can choose what is closest to their own beliefs.    Instead, now government arrogantly glosses over parental responsibility and attempts to replace God by making us all accountable to them. 

The family is the basic unit of society, with parental rights and responsibilities, and as such, parents should have the ultimate say in how the children are raised and what they are taught.  Let the schools be directly accountable to parents and recognize that the parents will eventually answer to God for how they teach, train, and treat their children.  As parents and citizens, please stand up for your rights to keep the federal government of our domain.