5 Bad Things, Earthquakes, and a Prepper Recipe

Hi everyone! How are you? Have you gone crazy yet, with this spring-winter-spring-summer-winter-type of weather we've been having?? I'm certain (almost) that spring will officially be here....one of these days!!


A few things today.....Did you see this article by John Hawkins? It's entitled '5 Things That Will Happen To You When America Goes Bankrupt'. I don't know about you but I like to read articles like this because they bring me back to reality. Not the day-to-day reality of life, but the reality of what I truly believe it coming. It's impossible to think that we can continue on in the way we've been going in this country. There is a big crash coming. I fear that the longer it takes to get here, the worse it will be. MMPaints, a contributor here, lives in southern IL and she says that the economic tide in her area is very rough. Things are not going well at all, and the downturn in the economy is quite obvious. Well, I live in the northern part of the state, and it's pretty much business-as-usual up here. Shopping malls are full of shoppers, Walmart is as busy as ever, restaurants are jammed packed with eaters. Aside from an increase in foreclosed homes, you'd never think there was any financial trouble by looking at what's going on up here. If you live in an area like I do, make sure you keep reading articles like the one I mentioned so you remember what's really going on and why you should continue to prep.


Have you heard of this 'exercise' that the state of IL and a few others states are taking part in? The Great Central U.S. Shake Out! It's taking place April 28th. It's a drill that coincides with Earthquake Preparedness Month. The New Madrid and Wabash Valley seismic zones are located in southern IL (and continue through other states). The exercise is an opportunity for schools and businesses to practice the instruction to 'Drop, Cover, and Hold On'. During an earthquake we're instructed to Drop to the ground; take Cover under a desk or table; and Hold On to the furniture until the shaking ends. If you're interested in learning more about this Great Central U.S. Shake Out, or other facets of earthquake preparedness, visit the ready.illinois.gov website and click the earthquake preparedness link.


I'm always looking for good recipes that use food storage, and I found a good one this week in one of my recipe books! Oats are a big part of my food storage and they're extremely healthy. The problem is that many people don't like to eat them. I love to eat them, but even I have gotten tired of my regular bowl of oatmeal lately. So, I was more than excited to find this scrumptious recipe! You'll use ingredients that (I hope) you already have in your pantry.

Crispy Breakfast Slices
3 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups quick-cooking oats (or whole oats and cook longer)
butter
In a saucepan, bring water, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to a boil. Stir in oats. Return to a boil; cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Pour into a greased 8-1/2-in. x 4-1/2-in. x 2-1/2-in. loaf pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Unmold and cut into 1/2-in. slices. Fry in butter in a skillet over medium heat until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Serve with syrup if desired.
*I also added some of my dehydrated apple slices and raisins. You could add any dried fruits or nuts that you have on hand for added nutrition and taste.

I hope you like the recipe. I thought it was quite tasty!


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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What Did You Do To Prep This Week? and November Challenge

Hi everyone!! It's been a while since we've asked the question, "What did you do to prep this week?" Since I've been doing alot of prepping stuff lately, that's all that is on my mind this morning. I feel like the time that we have to prep is running short.......do you feel it? Our cities are broke, our states are broke, the fed gov is broke, way too many households are broke! It's like a house of cards that is about to tumble. We're on a ride that we can't get off of, no matter how hard we try. The only thing we can do is prepare for the crash. It's coming, folks. We're entering the holiday season, which is the most delightful time of year! But, we CANNOT forget about our preps.

My November challenge for you is to take stock of your baking items. November and December always see great sales on flour, sugar, spices, and other baking items. Check your stock, see what is lacking, and use the upcoming holidays sales to stock up on whatever you need.

As far as what I've done to prep this week......I pulled all the carrots from the garden. WOW!! What a harvest! I've never grown so many huge carrots in my life! Yesterday my sister came and we scrubbed, peeled, cut and canned all of the big ones that we could. The smaller ones are left and will be eaten raw. I also dehydrated a few pounds of apples, and froze some apples for use in apple crisp (thinking ahead to deserts)!

I'm getting together with my sister and our 2 closest girlfriends to do a prepping check-up at each gal's house. We are planning to do one house next week. We'll take stock of what they have, figure out what their strengths and weakness are in their preps, and help them figure out what the next step is. I'm VERY excited!! I'll come back next week and let you know how it goes!

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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Visit the Illinois Forum at http://www.illinoispreppersnetwork.net/

More Sobering News......and Encouragements

Hi everyone!! Well, I read this article this morning by Peter Schiff and it really.......it really bummed me out. You know some days you can read something and you're okay, but then read the same thing another day and it really 'bums you out'! That's how this article affected me today. Mr. Schiff discusses what he believes is coming in our economy, and it isn't pretty. Of course, I've always believed it to be true, but today.......*sigh*........the truth hurts.


The paragraph that really got me is the last paragraph of the article which states, "In the end, our bubble economy will not just deflate, it will burst. The dollar will collapse, consumer prices will skyrocket, real credit will completely evaporate, millions more will lose their jobs, and our economy will change in ways few of us can imagine. Our standard of living will plummet and legions of middle- and upper-class Americans will be impoverished. It is not a pretty picture, but unfortunately, it's the one our government is painting. Unfortunately, we are running out of time to change artists." Ugh.


Folks, time is running out. I know we say that all the time, but we don't know the day nor the hour that it will hit us. In fact, every minute of every day we're slowly ticking down into the pit that Peter discusses. PREP NOW!! Seriously, you don't know how much time you have. Take advantage of sales, learn new skills, start planning next year's garden, buy some seeds. DO SOMETHING!!


I try to live self-imposed simplicity. Part of living that way is making do when you don't have exactly what you need. I'd like to encourage you to learn to 'make do'. Making burgers for dinner and don't have buns? Make do! Either use bread or go bun-less. Run out of bread for the kid's lunches? Whip out your recipe box and make a loaf. (They'll enjoy it so much more!) Need buttermilk for a recipe? Better dig out your milk and lemon juice. What I'm saying is, don't run to the store for everything you're missing. Just make do. Figure out what you can do with what's in your house. It's an adventure. It's good for your brain, your family, and your pantry. And it's good practice for when the store might not be available.


Stay alert, folks! Take advantage of holiday sales you come across, and continue to learn new skills. 'Time's a' wastin'!


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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This and That

Hi everyone! In the life of a prepper-homesteader, spring is one of the busiest times of the year! There are gardens to plant and weed. (Oh, the weeds are TREMENDOUS this year!) Newspapers and mulch need to be laid. There are new chicks to tend, chick coops to refinish (new roof, specifically). Grass needs mowing. Trees need trimming, and transplanting. Weeds need pulling. (Oops, did I already say weeds? Yeah, we've got alot of 'em here!) That is the stuff of life around our homestead lately. You see, all those jars of security that I want to put up in the fall, well I've got to be tending (prepping) for that now by doing all of the above work to ensure there will be a good crop.

Summer is the time to relax, take-it-easy, be at your leisure. Enjoy this time, but also be diligent in your preps. Don't forget that any sort of emergency could be just around the corner. Stay alert. To that end, here is a great article that was posted by Northwoods at the Wisconsin Preppers Network. It is 24 experts recommendations on what they believe will be coming in the end of this year and into the next few years. These are the trusted experts, not the government's "it's a jobless recovery" experts! Take heed!

You know how someone with a British accent can say something horrible and it sounds great?? Well, here's a link to a British show where the economic collapse is explained in under 3 minutes. It's a hoot! Well, really it's a sad reality, but given with humor. Check it out if you'd like a giggle!

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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Join the APN Forum at http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.net/
Visit the Illinois Forum at http://www.illinoispreppersnetwork.net/