Inventory Check: Rice

I read an article recently that rice is getting ready to zoom up in price, probably by the beginning of Year 2010. We have several 25-pound bags of rice from one of those warehouse clubs, but I never got around to pouring them into buckets and sealing them. I wonder if they are ok, or if they are riddled with bugs or have mouse-chew-holes?

Next week I'll be checking our rice stock. With 2 out of 3 people in this family being on a gluten-free diet, we heavily depend on rice, and will need it in stock while we experiment with growing it ourselves.

Have you checked your stock of rice lately? It's cheap, filling, and somewhat nutritious. Plus, it's versatile.

Possible Change to Blog

I asked this question on two of my other blogs but thought I'd ask it here too ...

Keeping up with these blogs is very time consuming ... not that I mind, usually! We're getting ready to embark on an intensive homesteading adventure, and may not be able to work on blogs daily.

So... I'm thinking about combining our blogs (cooking, gardening, homesteading, survival, storage, homeschooling, etc.) into one. I would eventually move posts to the new and combined blog.

We have a lot of readers, and I value your opinion. Thoughts?

"Living the Good Life"

I found this book at the library, and it got me thinking. Do I just want to "prep" to be ready for any eventuality, or is my preference that I learn skills to enable me and my family to survive through anything. Store versus grow. Prep versus skill.

Okay, I can't imagine living without toilet paper, so I'll store LOTS of that until I can figure out an alternative. Meanwhile, I'd rather prepare for things that could/might/maybe/will happen by learning how to take care of myself, just like our ancestors did not so long ago.

Have you read this book? It's by Linda Cockburn who now lives in Tasmania. She and her hubby and young son did a 6 month experiment in which they spent almost no money, just on essentials like utilities, medical expenses, etc. She admits they weren't perfect, but they did the best they could, and are even now striving to live "lighter" on the earth.

What do you think?

Healthy except for cough

Boy howdy, this flu thing hit us hard! Well, it hit me hard. I came down with it first, and it took me the longest to get rid of it. Still have the cough but I'm not feverish and not contagious.

Hubby got the seasonal flu shot, and 3 days later got hit with the swine flu. He was only down 3 days, but yes, still has the cough.

The Kid got it last and was down 4 days, and still has the cough. For someone who has only been sick 5-6 times in his entire 13 years of life, he didn't know what to do with himself. I gave him a break on doing schoolwork, and he's just now catching up.

I'm sure we would have been worse off if we hadn't prepped and taken our supplements. If you haven't come down with the swine flu yet, you probably will. Make sure you're eating healthy, taking your supplements, and have stockpiled plenty of cough medicine, fever reducer, rehydratin drinks, clean water, and tissues/toilet paper.

Be healthy!


p.s. Hubby heard someone calling the H1N1 the "hini" (hi-nee) flu! Appropo, don't you think?

Another Health Update

Hubby's already back to work! His bout with this swine flu was horrific for 2 days, better on Day 3 and back to work on Day 4. Other than a cough and feeling a little tired, he's just fine.

The 13 yr old Kid is on Day 2, still with a high fever and cough. But he's already feeling better. Unbelievable.

Me, I'm still sick.

Guess it's my "compromised immune system" but it seems like the precautions, supplements, and healthy eating helps reduce the severity and longevity of this thing.

Meanwhile, I hope to start posting something else soon! Thanks for all of the e-mails of good thoughts and speedy recovery. Vikki

Update on our family's swine flu

I still have it, bad. Hubby came down with it yesterday. Kid woke up with a cough this morning.

HOWEVER, I'm starting to feel better, so is Hubby, and the Kid might not get a full-blown case of the swine flu. So.... we're thinking that all of the herbal supplements and other precautions we took are helping us beat this. Between the goldenseal, echinacea, garlic, vitamins d and c, multi-vitamin, and eating fairly health with fruits and veggies, this thing is starting to subside.

Keep using hand sanitizer. Lysol your house at least once a day. Sanitize laundry (especially hand towels, wash cloths, handkerchiefs, etc.) with vinegar in the rinse cycle. At the first sign of a cough, increase your supplements. Use vapor chest rub when possible, keeping a shirt on to prevent the goo from getting on pillows and sheets. Get a good night of sleep, propping your head up if you can. LOTS of fluids (water, herbal tea, 100% fruit juice)... try to 6-8 ounces an hour. Eat lots of veggies and fruits, simple proteins, whole grains. Stay away from all dairy, unless it's made out of rice or soy milk. Have bananas, rice (or rice cakes/rice crackers), applesauce and gatorade on hand if tummy troubles start up. Take it easy ... don't do too much (like I did today: 3 loads of laundry, cooked dinner, unpacked 2 boxes, and cleaned the kitchen).

I'll keep you updated as I can. I plan to sleep most of the night and probably most of tomorrow. Stay well.

Prepping saved me and Hubby

I have the swine flu. Again. It's much worse this time. Can't believe I got it, despite my prepping, taking supplements, eating healthy, and using hand sanitizer. But still, I got it and can barely move (only online to check messages and write this, then it's back to bed).

Last night I was practically crying. My throat hurts so much. The tamiflu has given me the trots. The constant coughing has hurt my ribs. Headache and general body aches. You get the picture.

Suddenly I remembered that as we were packing up our house to move here, I had made a special "flu" box. Hubby remembered where it was and grabbed it. I found the vapor chest rub, cough medicine, lozenges, ibuprofen, elderberry syrup, and more. I swept up these wonderful goodies in my arms and cried. Family already thinks I'm nuts; this just clenched it.

I sucked on a zinc lozenge while I planned my attack on this virus. This thing is not gonna beat me. I actually slept most of last night. Nyquil-Wal-mart-brand is wonderful.

Believe me, Hubby is glad that I packed that box. Otherwise, I was planning to send him out for flu supplies. Thankfully I also had stocked up on tissues (on my 2nd box since Saturday), food my family can fix for themselves, hand sanitizer, bottled water, tea bags, and much more.

Be well, people. This thing is a nightmare.