Bumps in the Road

So, we had set out already this week on a dry-run of sorts with menu planning and preparation.  As I mentioned before, K. and I work long hours across a schedule of alternating shifts and she was quick to point out that I’d erred in my assumptions that the menu I’d picked would even come close to working for her needs.  Not at all surprised that K. would disagree with me on something that I drafted, I told her it was fine… A GOOD PREPAREDNESS PLAN IS WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.

If you try and force yourself into a way of living that is entirely alien to you for the sake of “making it”, or hold fast to the idea that “I’d do it if I have to”, you will not make it and you will never practice and be able to do it when you had to.  Life is about living and the goal here for us is to assess our needs, our lives and what we can do to better ourselves for the time when we need to draw upon our own resources.  If you cannot tolerate the idea of eating green beans (which I can whole-heartedly agree with), then having an endless supply of them just isn’t a good idea for your personal preparedness, is it?

K. utilized my sister’s blog, Dinner Done Yesterday, and found several recipes that she was delighted to undertake (Jesse’s Breakfast Muesli and lemon ricotta pancakes are delicious!) and ones that were easily portable for the expectant mom on the go.  We ensured we had the ingredients for the week and we were off with our revised schedule.  So far, the meals I’ve been home for have been great.  We planned ahead and have our allotment of snacks (peanut butter crackers for me, sour cream and onion chips for K.) and I haven’t heard any mutterings about wanting to veer off of the menu but once – a celebration dinner out for K. after her grand performance during her NRA Pistol course, and who wouldn’t take their baby momma out for a treat after besting her class while freezing her tail on a cold outdoor range all day?

But, the week naturally had other bumps in the road; our water barrels did not arrive.  With some fair negotiation skills, I was able to find a good deal on replacements from Craigslist and will have an entry showing how to connect rain barrels in series for collection and setting up distribution to a garden/drain for collection in a bucket in a few days.  Remember, even in the mundane survival depends on a positive attitude and resourceful mindset.

All in all, our week here has started well and I hope yours has done the same.  I’ll be posting the revision to our menu on my Pages under “The Week in Preview” so you can see the before and after adjustments.

Coming up this week and next: Water barrels, exploring Zeer pots and the construction of ferrocement water containers as functional garden pieces.