MEN was really fun but it had its downside. I have a lot of work that needs to be done and a five-day hole hurts. A friend of mine went to the cape and brought back a pile of cranberries that need to be sauced. The squash should be harvested as does the end of the sweet corn. I still have 200 pounds of apples to get processed and then there’s the potatoes. It’s all doable but just before I went to PA, I had a run in with a cider press and yesterday went to the doctor to find I have a blood blister in my calf muscle and really should stay off my feet for a bit. Fat chance.
The other downside to being away is the food. Don’t get me wrong. The food was pretty good, excellent in some cases and goodness knows, there was a lot of it, but getting back to my own food was wonderful. It’s not just eating it, wonderful for sure, but I missed preparing it even more. Last night, achy leg or not, I just had to cook. I made some pork chops from our butchered piggies, baked in cider and onions. I cooked multi-colored carrots in cider, brown sugar, nutmeg and butter, mashed potatoes with butter and cream from the dairy up the road. Karen sliced up gorgeous tomatoes, as large as a saucer and sweet/tart fabulous. Add in some applesauce and dilly beans and you have a feast for the tongue. The sighs of contentment were grace enough for me.
I have a neighbor who wants to learn to can. I want to learn to knit so we’ve arranged a swap. I think I’m getting the better end of the deal as canning is pretty straight-forward and knitting is anything but, at least for the creatively and finger challenged. I fell in love with some gorgeous fiber rabbits at the fair and there is no way I can justify getting any unless I learn to do something with the fur.
I know a lot of you want to get details on the doomer/prepper show. I really don’t feel comfortable sharing them on a public site. The people were very nice and I suppose they’re happy enough with the results. We aren’t your bunker dwelling, gun- toting preppers. We believe that our current trajectory is unsustainable in terms of food and climate and the economy and that it’s wise to prepare for a great deal of dislocation should any of our systems fail. That said, the purpose of any show like this to entertain rather than educate. Are we sorry we did it? Yes, but we also hold only ourselves responsible. We should have had a much better picture of just what we were getting into. They did their job and you can’t fault them for it.
September 29, 2011 at 8:47 am
Hi Kathy,
The last three blogs (from this week) that I’ve gotten e-mailed to me are just grey boxes with no writing. Is it just me or is this happending to others ?
September 29, 2011 at 9:20 am
I’m getting the same thing. I have to go to my dashboard and approve from there. I have no idea. Anybody els?
September 29, 2011 at 9:37 am
You are so busy doing what needs to be done but please try to take it a little easy by staying off your feet some – don’t want to make it harder.
Remember cranberries can be frozen as is and sauced later.
September 29, 2011 at 10:02 am
“I know a lot of you want to get details on the doomer/prepper show. I really don’t feel comfortable sharing them on a public site….Are we sorry we did it? Yes, but we also hold only ourselves responsible. ”
Huh? I’m obviously missing something here.
Did you happen to see Harvey Ussery at the MEN fair? He’s got a great book on small-scale poultry coming out and I know he gave a few talks there. He’s my chicken guru.
Take it easy on that leg. Not letting injuries heal can lead to far worse incapacitation later on. I know you know this, but sometimes people need to be reminded of the advice they would give to others.
September 29, 2011 at 10:29 am
I am taking it easy. Having it rain in buckets is making it easier for me. I didn’t get to see Harvey. I did go to Carol Ekarius’s presentation on chosing poultry breeds. We participated in a dommers and preppers show, hoping to show the other side of prepping which is planning to live in an energy constrained future. The problem is that we have no way of knowing what lands on the cutting room floor and we fear looking crazy. They have an agenda and they are better than we are at manipulating the situation. There is no point in crying over what’s done. We just move on with lessons learned.
September 29, 2011 at 12:41 pm
I am so sorry about the show, coming from NatGeo I was hoping for better. I know you’ve refused other shows and considering some I’ve seen recently, refusal was wise choice. Coming from the food end of the spectrum, the desire to trust the producers has to be there, afterall isn’t one of the biggest networks out there devoted to cooking? They don’t make Alice Waters look like a loon and she helped spawn a multi-billion dollar industry around growing organic. Why shouldn’t there be a niche for you?
Life being what it is, your segment will most likely show following a program on famine or water shortages, erosion of cropland, loss of fisheries, something serious and a few will actually consider the real connection between such issues and the need for a full pantry.
To borrow a line form Lyle Lovett – ‘I understand too little too late, I realise there are things you say and do you can never take back, but what would you be if you didn’t even try?’ Hopefully the effort won’t have been a loss.
September 29, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Thanks Kitty. That’s the only sensible way to look at it.
September 29, 2011 at 7:46 pm
To borrow a line form Lyle Lovett – ‘I understand too little too late, I realise there are things you say and do you can never take back, but what would you be if you didn’t even try?’
way2tired, great quote and in my opinion especially fitting for these times.
Thanks,
Barbara
September 30, 2011 at 9:25 am
I went to the NatGeo site and watched a couple of videos. I’m not sure if my opinion will help how you feel, but….
Those of us who are preppers, not just for the sake of the world ending, but to make sure our families get the best of what is available now and in the future (uncertain or not), the people profiled on the show are honest, hardworking, eco-responsible people and that is to be respected. The “media” types writing it up are to be pitied because when and if THEY are ever in a position where the food supply is limited or completely contaminated, etc., their sarcasm and thinly veiled contempt will not feed them. AND, the people watching this particular show on a “not so main stream” network are probably preppers, too! Kathy, you guys did the right thing for the right reasons – you are continuing to get the message out there – not that the world is going end, but that everyone should be responsible enough to their families and the planet they call home to prepare for tomorrow sustainably.
You and your book made me a convert to a simpler lifestyle, and I am sure the NatGeo show is going to make others, like me, begin to think clearly about their choices in this uncertain economy.
P.
September 30, 2011 at 9:44 am
Comments like this make writing the joy it is. Thank you.
September 30, 2011 at 10:24 am
We took a short Annv. vacation last week and are no paying the price as well! Ha But it was worth it to have some down time, we appreciate our home and all the going on’s better when we have gotten away from it all. I understand your regret in sharing with others on what could be a show that you don’t agree with but all you can do is share with others how to care for thier families and not wait for the goverment to step in. The past few years we have purchased copies of your books as gifts for folks who are always quick to say if anything happens we are headed to your house. I have enough to do to keep up for my own family I need friends and loved ones to get busy for themselfs. Thank you for your blog, you keep me on my toes!!
September 30, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Kathy, thank you for having been willing to risk biased editing in order to have a possible broader venue for educating others and spreading the word.
If anyone doubts we’re in deep doo-doo, they should check out Guy McPherson’s video presentation on his blog, at http://guymcpherson.com/2011/09/couchsurfing-with-my-soapbox/. I was awake almost all night last night, once the inescapable facts sunk in. Catastrophic environmental or equally distressing economic collapse, pick your poison. We’re going to have at least one, quite likely both.
(Sorry, that last bit’s not as uplifting as I’d like.) 😦
So I’m especially grateful for your warm generosity and compassion today. Thanks!