At least where it once was feasible...

Keep in mind, as you listen to this song, that Greenwood's intent in the term "American"means what you and I believe in, not what the Collective Borg-set in Warshing a Ton subscribe to...





I Know I've been a bit off with my writing lately; The weekend is upon us, though!
Take Care; I'll be back full bore in a jiffy..

HermitJim read it HERE

Yall let ol' Catman off the hook; you know he's stuck out in Caliphony...

I forward that the perp who committed this heinous act (or shall we use poetic license and call it what it truly is-- a heinous "hacked") had just left one site for another, was reading this site, and Evil persuaded this poor lost Satan-Worshipping soul to add the three together a' la' Saturday Night Live.

Foul Beast! How dare you cause me fruitless hours at work from laughing to the point of tears interfering...

SLAINTE!

First Amendment first; the Second might take two hands...

Cygnus

Hook 'Em Hornzombies...

Hmm.. wonder who or what would possessed somebody to...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484326,00.html

Slainte!

No Better Words

Bare Bones Survival

Do this, add $2/day in 'luxury items', and count your blessings...

http://bisonsurvivalblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/prep-rehash.html

Bison Tacos

Uh, no offense, dude...

Dinner started last night when I had some ground bison show up in the reefer.
Right along side a new onion. And red tomato. Um, there was come of those cheap-ass mushrooms, too-- you know, the button-type...

So find a knife, a counter, the onion, the 'shrooms..

Onions(~1/2 cut to desired size); 1/2 pkg. mushrooms cut accordingly.

Marinade:
Worchestershire Sauce
Soyu (Soy Sauce)
Balsamic Vinegar
3 tbsp. Fajita seasoning
some "extra" beer

In one container, put cut onions and mushrooms; top with Marinade;

Crumble raw ground meat into a separate container and season/ marinade according to divine guidance.

NEXT DAY
In a 10" cast iron skillet, brown 1# ground bison meat
When ~75% done, add onion/ mushroom marinaded mix from the night before. Keep meat covered to retain moisture.

Sides Served C'est Soir:

grated cheese blend-- white and yellow cheddars
diced tomato
chopped onion
lettuce (bib)
warm flour tortillas
Sour cream
salsa
pinto beans (no reefer should lack a bowlfull or three of these most diverse "leftovers"...)

All's I did was marinade the ground meat (did start with a very lean choice, if you note..) overnight, then commence to individually dishing up sides while the buffler sauteed.
Add some pickled Jalapenos (which I did, neglecting to menu 'till now!)...

Some Assembly Required...

Take your warm tortilla; sprinkle a little of that cheese blend inside...
Meat Mix on top-- helps the cheese melt, too.
Some fresh tomatoes, onions, lettuce.

Extra sour cream, please. Thank you.
(You're welcome...)

Salsa, sour cream, and a pickled jalapeno on the side; three tacos later you'll claim Nirvana

Don't forget to scramble three eggs for mixing with the leftovers tomorrow; got breakfast and lunch tacos, as well as dinner, off of one stove-firing.

Slainte!

Cygnus

Changing Dates...

And then she said "Maybe the purple one..."

OHHH, wait. Not that kind of changing that kind of date...

What I'm thinking is, come aught&9, when I wants to be leaving the rat racetrack and heading for them thar hills. My goal has been june/july 2009.

It's gotta move. Up in the year, or back. The latter seems more feasible (and certainly less desirable!).
The reasons are purely Cyclical...

I arrive in the middle of summer, I'd have left a good spring garden somewhere, and be late in starting a fall garden in Mo.
If I arrive earlier, I chance my first zone 5/6 spring crop.

Get there in fall '09 and I bring in remaining fruit trees that need wintering over. I have ~4 months more to stock up for the winter-over; after a second summer in the current garden area with all the it's proffered canned goods, gives me a good head start.

And much as the reality sucks, a new vehicle will needs be bought/ traded for long before the move. A Park Avenue isn't going to cut it on the unpaved C.R.'s of the Show-Me-State. Preferably a truck, van suv or (Cygnus' pref.) a JEEP. Cj5, 4x4. Simple engine, open, rugged...

Digress! Digress!
O.K., Regress...

Point is, may be better to show a bug-out goal puts me in 'town' at a seasonally favorable time. So I vote Sept. 21, 2010

Yep-- the Equinox again.

(G'head; keep thinking the dates arbitrary, the significance negligible.)

Love flexibility, I do...

Slainte!

Cygnus

Exersise Every Commercial!

You heard me!

So It's monday night, and it's only been eighteen months since you discovered "LOST". Sure, you're gonna be glued to the futan, catching up on what's REALLY going on!

Done your yoga for the day? Hmm... What about A good anaerobic stretch, like in high school before Volleyball or football practice?

"FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY TO LIFE...'
Qtd from Joe Hyams' ZEN IN THE MARTIAL ARTS

So watch Lost-- but first commercial comes around, do this:

1) get a glass of water.

not soda. not tea. water, please, for you, for me

2) Sit forward on to the edge of your posterior gravitational neutralizer...

(your couch or rocker, nimrod...)

3) Hold your hands out to your sides, at shoulder height

4) Move your hands in a circle, forward five complete circles, then backward five circles.

Relax your arms.

Continue pondering just exactly how old Backgammon is...

When a used car commercial stuns you out of your LOST reverie once again, do this:

1) move forward to the edge of your sweetheart's lap. (Uh, face FORWARD, atta lady...)

2) Beginning with arms hanging loosely by your side, Keep your elbows straight, and fists in a line with your ears (works to the front or the side); raise fists to shoulder height AND THEN, AND ONLY THEN, SHRUG YOUR SHOULDERS (hint: say "I Dunno", and shrug accordingly..)

Feel the 'pickup' action your neck/ trapezius (upper back/ neck) "squinched" into?

You're working your 'pull' muscles in the deltoid (commonly known as the shoulder) group.

Shoulders are a great "push-pull" muscle; what I mean by this is your pectoralis (chest) is primarily a push group, in conjunction with your delts (shoulders) and triceps ('backarms')
Your latissimus dorsi, or "wings" as they are often referred to, are a primary pull group, along with the Biceps (frontarms) and, again, the delts.

Think about you might use the two different groups for a single purpose-- such as pushing a shopping cart... You use the cart's momentum in forward speed to turn onto the oreo isle by pulling back on one corner of the buggy and pushing the opposite corner 'faster' or more forcefully. Now turn the opposite way.

See how you feel your body diametrically push-/pull-ing/
This is the balance I look to effect every workout (currently two days/week for 45 -60 min per session = ~1.5-2.0 hrs ANAEROBIC per semanis)

Do the shoulder winds listed above twice a week while watching Spongebob with the two-year-old. Back straight-- neither arched nor humped.


Use your imagination to come up with one push- mocking exersize, and one pull... (ex: imaginary pullups; pushing away the Coffee Breath office faction..)

All it takes is to do some counted set of body motion every time a commercial interrupts your alpha-state with coherent thought. Coherently work through a decided range of motion about five times every 30 minutes( the approx. # of commercial breaks you'll get during 30 min of brauinwashin.. uh, I mean brainwashing!). Do this for one 30-minute session per nacht.
Qatre Nachts per semanis. (4Xweek for sheeple who don'k know frenc, german and that other lingua)

Stay loose and limber, and remember to breathe right... (in through the nose, out throught the mouth).

Slainte!

Le Poison Le Poison, je t'Aim le Le Poison

Anchovies, Anyone?!?

Tonight:
1) more canned goods 3/$1.00
2) stewed tomatoes 2/$1.00
3) 4 lbs rice $1.66

Maybe I should quit posting updates; if sheeple ever learn to read, I'll look like a menu...

Oh, also picked up a cast iron set, 5-piece, including:

1* 4.5 qt. dutch oven
*W/ lid
*10.5" skillet
*8" skillet
*griddle

Total cost < $44.00

forgot to eyeball-shop firearms; Uncle is interested in a piece or three...

Kinda taps me for the next eight days... but worth every Ducat.

Slainte!

17 Months To Go...

And the week's peps continue tomorrow

With a front-end alignment on Mollymaroon ( the buick, once my home, now gateway to the Ozarks) comes spare tire check, some fix-a-flat, the plug kit w/rubber reamer... Probably get the oil changed on the nearing-180,000 mile engine (~4.5k since last change).
Alignment: ~$70.00
Oil Change:$17.00=$87.00
Tire patch/fix-a flat~$15.00=$102.00

Tonight saw several cans of canned meat go in the pantry, plus some organic whole-wheat flour so HermitJim kin keep me in bread via his new Dutch oven we'll purchase tomorrow... I get the skillets out of the package Lodge set-- less than buying the 10" skillet, 11.5" skillet, 7" griddle, dutch oven, and maybe a smaller skillet as well, and a cornbread sticks pan -- as separate items. I'll post on the actual price and pieces after the actual purchase tomorrow, though even as separate items Academy's prices run parallel to or less than wallyworld's... More than on par with my $2.00/day target, though the storage (pantry/prep items) only ran $9.11, after you add the asspaper and beer-- never wanna run out of either of those two..!!!

Oh, and seed orders--order, singular-- go out tomorrow. SSE/Heritage Farms in Decorah, Ia. Getting greedy on my seed stock; I don't really have the space for the 5 varieties of open-pollinated tomatoes that I'm ordering...

So I say, but I still have all this fenceline, and some container pots for patio/single-plant gardening. Add some chicken wire or kite string and a few nails or screws and you have a customizable trellis system for vine/pole variety veggies and fruits.

Let's see... with the $$ put aside towards future housing-- be it a converted horse trailer, a pop-up--whatever; with pantry items; with auto-repairs/preventative maintenance; with tomorrow's set-aside dollars (probably near $66.60) going towards usable gear, weekly preps total nearly $300.00.

My target is $2.00/day.

$300.00/7= ~$42.85/day.

17 months until I bug out. All will go well until then-- because I have the power to make it do so.

Slainte, Folks!

Cygnus

Cranberry Zombie

More Zombie Action

This time courtesy of the Cranberries (or-ys.. Not sure) Good song either way, and It's been "in my head", so hearing's to catharsis...




Slainte, Folks!

Internet Access.. Help Us "How-To"...

Go here, folks, and leave comments and recommendations in the comments section.

All input is greatly appreciated..

Cygnus

Coffee with the Hermit: I Need Some Help Here...

I Stood Corrected About T.V. News. (For a Few Minutes. Only.)

Ten minutes ago I was once again caught at the dinner table whilst tv news spewed forth.
But...
This time I have to say I was impressed. For once in my life, I heard a newscaster blatantly lambast the American court system and stand up for a the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Damn near fell out of my chair! By the end of Dobbs' rant-- and no bones about it folks, that's what he did, verbally pummeling not only the court system but congerssmembers, the NRA to a degree, and a slew of other deserving spineless pieces of offal that grace orifices of power-- I was grinning from ear to ear and affirmatively nodding my noodle so vigorously you'd have thought I was at a Metallica concert!

I'm sure many of you are familiar with our esteemed gubmint's case against one (sp?) Olafsen; for those who aren't and are interested, do a google search... [after completing my post, I searched EVERYWHERE; can't find any hint on the case; not one iota on cnn, the nra--nothing. nada. ZIP. Sad; very sad. proves my last paragraph. Or my sad search skills!] My point here is not to familiarize you with details; many more and better-qualified (Ken? Care to give it a go?) than I can do that. I just wanted to say that I do believe tonight was the first time in my ill-lustrious forty-one years that watching a newscast caused a shit-eating grin wider than my native state (the Lone Star one, folks; that's a pretty darn big grin! And a lot o' cloaca consumption... Guess yall got some crappy post-reading coming in the future HARHAR!!!).

Now, where are these types of media personae EVERY SINGLE DAY? Chances are, deeper than nose-deep up Mr Bigshot's anal sphincter...

What Are Your Chances Of Surviving...

A Zombie Apocalypse?

(Hehe! Sorry to all my prepper cohorts! I couldn't resist!)


56%

Thought I'd throw a little fun yall's way! Saw this and you guys immediately came to mind.

And here's one in special honor of HermitJim!





On a serious note-- I'm headed to them thar hills!!!

O.k., so I won't go until March, and it'll only be for three days... I need to do a test run to my property. Get the lay of the land (well, find the place, first!), scope out the nearest neighbors, and just generally breathe the fresh air for a long weekend.

I don't have any edifice at all on the place, as I just bought it. No electricity. No running water...
A TEST RUN. Find out how ready I really am, what I'd be lacking for immediate survival if TSHTF and I had to bug out. Sure, kind of unfair-- I know the trip is coming so can prepare, but...

Don't we ALL? AIN'T WE ALL?

A few days camping in the Ozarks, in March (when it is likely to still be a bit nippy [read: downright frigid to this warm-natured Texas boy] will be a real-live wake-up call. Damn straight I'm gonna be extra-diligent in preparing for the venture; even a weekend hiking, or a day fishing, or an hour frolicking through the local strip mall can fast become a life-or-death scenario. I'll take everything I can think of that I'll need.

But ain't there always something we forgot, or left behind, or will 'discover' we need(ed)?

Better on a 'practice' trip than the real deal... It'll allow me to become even more vigilant.
Name of the ... well, it ain't a "game", now is it?

All that, and I get to skip work for a few days and bask in the Magic of the Hills! HAR!
I'll take plenty of photos!

And of course I'll keep prepping in the interim, in case the new Hat(field)s in the Oval Orifice bring the real McCoy on before then...

More soon, folks.

Cygnus

Here's Your Hope And Change!

Of course you have to change a few words-- He's President Obammy now, not Senator nor P-elect...

Senate Bill 2433....It's Already Started

IT'S ALREADY STARTED FOLKS...BE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON!

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2433/text

SENATE BILL S. 2433

According to David Bossie, President of the group 'Citizens United
for American Sovereignty based out ofMerrifield, Virginia ,
website:http://www.citizensunited.org/

The above mentioned Senate Bill (S. 2433) is a piece of
legislation in the works that all Americans need to know
about...and know now! This Bill, sponsored by none other than our
"President elect" Sen. Barrack Obama, with the backing of Joe
Biden on the Foreign Relations Committee, and liberal democrats in
Congress, is nothing short of a massive giveaway of American
wealth around the world, and a betrayal of the public trust,
because, if passed, this bill would give over many aspects of our
sovereignty to the United Nations.

The noble sounding name of this bill, "The Global Poverty Act" is
actually a Global Tax, payable to the United Nations, that will be
required of all American taxpayers. If passed in the Senate, the
House has already passed it, this bill would require the U.S. to
increase our foreign aid by $65 BILLION per year, or $845 BILLION
over the next 13 years! That's on top of the billions of dollars
in foreign aid that we already pay out! In addition to the
economic burdens this potential law would place on our precarious
economy, the bill, if passed in the Senate, would also endanger
our constitutionally protected rights and freedoms by obligating
us to meet certain United Nations mandates. According to Senator
Obama, we should establish these United Nations' goals as
benchmarks for U. S. spending. What are they?

The creation of a U.N. International Criminal Court having power
to try and convict American citizens and soldiers without any
protection from the U.S. Constitution.

A standing United Nations Army forcing U.S. soldiers to serve
under U.N. command. A Gun Ban on all small arms and light
weapons...which would repeal our Second Amendment right to bear
arms.
The ratification of the "Kyoto" global warming treaty and numerous
other anti-American measures.

Recently, the Senate Subcommittee on Foreign Relations (where Sen.
Joe Biden sits) approved this plan by a voice vote without any
discussion! Why all the secrecy? If Senators Obama and Biden are
so proud of this legislation, then why don't they bring it out
into the light of day and let the American people have a look at
it instead of hiding it behind closed doors and sneaking it
through Congress for late night votes? It may be only a matter of
time before this dangerous legislation reaches a floor vote in
the full body of the Senate.

Please write or call, email your representatives, the White House,
the media, or anyone you think will listen, and express your
opinions regarding this Global Tax giveaway and betrayal of the
American people at a time when our nation and our people are
already heavily burdened with the threats of our freedom and
economic prosperity.

Is this the "change and hope" people voted for?

Please send this email to as many folks out there on your networks
as you
can ASAP! Find out more, just do a search for Senate Bill 2433.

I'm still watching...

Cygnus

Neutral. For now...

I'm seeing two sides of the coin about the Inaugural event of today; that's to be expected considering the varied posts I follow.

I made one comment so far on one of those posts. I am going to refrain from more, either here or there. Sure, I have an opinion. We've all heard the saying about what those are like and how they smell...

It's early, folks. Let the excitement of the event in and of itself die down. Let's all watch (and by that I mean I will let y'all watch for me; I don't do telly) and see how it goes. I'll opine, good or bad, by using the same standard I have for the last ~16 years: how things actually are. Mostly I gauge that by observation; watching you, listening in general, feeling the tides...

For now, Zen. Do not act; react. After all, only time will tell, right? Otherwise opinion is all it amounts to.

And time being, I'm keeping mine neutral.

Take care, people.

Cygnus

Progress, Shown in Reverse...

No; no pictures of your Satan, nor his voice from playing the records backwards (never did figure that trick out...)
I'm toying with a gift from "Santa" [aka me mum!]. I downloaded the images in order that I wanted them to appear to show progression, but alas! the last loaded on the top o' the page!
[Help, ye more technologically literate!] [ Got it now;. Y'all suffer through for the night; the next time they'll be in desired order! Saves me having to change the title of the post... A most daunting task...!] So anyhow, here is the newly expanded garden; I received permission to 'kill some more grass' [too bad it weren't the smokable variety!] and more than doubled the growspace in the process...
The area covered by the blue tarp is ~5' wide [inside the masonry bricks] by ~12' length.
The photo view is from the N.E corner... That's my bedroom window ( with 'Smoky Kitty' hop box (ladder) underneath...)

The next photo was taken early Jan 2009. While heading out to weed the garden, I believed all the previous summer's plants frost-dead. Lowen B. Hauld [my optometrist! you should call his orifice...], these sneaky faux peppers were fruiting down in the cinderblock hole [would that I were so lucky!]; (faux: the pepper variety is called 'Fooled You'. They look just like a jalapeno, but are a 65-day maturing mild knock-off (boy will I have some fun with THESE this summer! Ha!). Nanny ( me grams... her yard!) says the plants have come back on their own two years running. Gotta love the Gulf Coast for gardening weather!

This was the photo I wanted to open the blog with; the day I went out to begin expansion. This is the view from the S.E. corner. Our father Sol still riding his chariot so far south through the skies, the northern bricks are only now beginning to get sun... but @ ~ 33 degrees longitude the entire bed will receive more than 8 hours' light come the Vernal Equinox, and about 12 hrs. thru the solstice.
Molly, give me the heat ANY DAY! Texas bred and cornbread fed, baby!
Ha!
I can't wait until posts here show even more progress... I know the compost pile needs be moved before the tarp is removed for bed expansion (the bed, as seen in this photo, is ~5'x9'; the expansion keeps the 5' width but adds ~12' length, for a total bedding area of 5x22, or `122 ft^2.) But what I mean is, when the pictures show melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, beans... you know; standard kitchen edibles!

Y'all folks take care. See ya on the morrow...

Cygnus

Filibuster

You ever get the feeling.. no, awake in the knowledge.. that you have said

WWAAAAAAAAYYYYY too much?

on Recent Preps

I haven't written anything of late on my 18-month bug-out plan to head to them thar hills.. Here's a quick update:

Not a lot of food going in the pantry this past week; kind of a small payday. But I ain't been lax-- the buick needed new tires. She got two-- front ones. This coming payday-- Friday-- she gets her front end aligned, an oil change, and several 'small' items. Small is in quotes because these things are not so high on most priority lists (or weren't on mine...)
But they should be. For instance, having two new tires means watching for air pressure changes during their 'break-in' period. So when I go down to the local Habib's to air 'em up (because I don't have a[n auto] battery-generated air pump-- costing me three quarters of a washington, btw; Fuc#!ng ripoff!) I notice one of the back tires is nearly flat. WTF???
HermitJim and me were not two days prior talking about the transportation 'emergency' needs. [Seems we thunk this minor crisis into existence!]

Point is, a can or two of 'fix-a-flat', a car- battery-operated air pump, and a plug kit are also going in the trunk this coming Freya's Day. Fairly minimal cost that could save a lot of future woes.

Also doled out insurance money for the buick last payday (evil legal extortion in my books, but had to be done. Hey, after we go to thru the coming revolution, let's make insurance optional, eh?). [Seems the buick needs a name... what should we call her? All maroon, exterior and interior; clean save for the banging I gave the driver's side when someone moved a road on me one night... What do y'all suggest? And sure she's maroon, but I'm a Longhorn, so keep that in mind...] N.E. Who... Insurance, two new tires.. Oh, and filled 'er up w/ petrol. After all that I was left with about four washingtons for the next two weeks...

But it needed to be done, and I HAVE to, and do, count the auto investments as preps. (Preventative maintenance. Thanks, Mayberry, for the reminder.) In the coming week I will make up for pantry neglect by doubling up. Fortune smiles on this ol' bird; the new job will allow me to double my daily offerings, going from ~$2 per diem to ~$4. And on top of the afore-mentioned air pump, alignment, Fix-A-Flat etc. I'll throw in an LED flashlight, just for good measure.

I do want to add that there's been a lot of commentary of late from people-- I mean "our kind", the preppers-- about others (sheeple? not if they're catching on...) waking up; 'smelling the coffee', as it were. Seems a lot more folk are starting to recognize the value of growing their own food, of preparing for a rainy day. To recognize the clusterfucking we are receiving from ol' Uncle Sammie.
All's I can say is "HALLELUYA!!!"

I beg you folks to keep on ranting, keep on putting the Truth out there, to keep on bloging ... Ears are tuning in; eyes are opening. No way we've had no sway. And even if we ain't, the uninformed needs guidance.

You folks ARE that guiding medium. So keep pluggin' and chuggin' away!

More Soon..

Cygnus

Honest Scrap

Just paid a visit to Not Lazy Housewife @ So Domestic [I KNOW; I did it intentionally... because I sense the truth, o spunky one...]. A few days back she honored me with an 'award', and I needed to review the guidelines. My prize? I'm supposed to bare my soul by listing ten "Honest Truths" about myself.

If that's an award, I think I'd rather be punished...

Just kidding. Atually, I'm one of my favorite topics! (Darn! Shoulda used that as one of the ten; now I gotta come up with MORE stuff...sigh.............)

And come to think of it, maybe it's y'all who're gonna be punished! ha! Ah well, you can always maneuver the mouse arrow to the little red 'x' in the upper right corner. (I might if I's you..)

A cool thing, too, is, understanding grammar like I do, I can make a bunch of tripe up, because the two words... oh wait; I'm thinking of double negatives. Nothing negative about 'Honest' or 'Truth' (redundant, maybe...) Darnit twice!! Now I gotta "dig deep".

Well then, if that be the case, and in honor of my newest sweethear-- um, I mean 'Follower', sure-- the answers herein contain not a HINT of falsification. Because, didn't your Mommy say never lie?

Of course she did. And she knows best... [The tv series may have been mis-titled...]

Now, on to blowin' smoke up Uranu... OH, uh, I mean.. tellin' you "stuff" about me.


My 10 honest Truths:

1) I am an athlete.

Asked "what do you do?", most Americans will respond "Oh! I'm an accountant!" or "I do I.T Consulting"; in other words, they give their career.
Folks, that's what you do FOR A LIVING. That's your J.O.B.

Play this game: if you won the lottery yesterday, what would you be doing today (besides paperwork to collect, understandably...)?

I'd be working towards an invite to that little ol' race they have in Hawaii every year 'round about October.
And redpointing Astroman.
Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Until I had enough jumps to be sycophant to a BASE-jumper...

2) My Biggest Fear: Rejection.
Misanthrope that I am, I long, as does every human being, for acceptance from my peers.
I've heard orifice [office; I love to bend words...] gossip about someone whose abilities, in mine eyes, far exceed that of those who were doing the yammering...
I always picture ME in the hot seat. And it bothers me; I don't wanna be wrong...
[Who T.F. does?!?!]

3) I have no trade, no career. I know a little bit about a lot o' s%*t; kinda a jackoff of all trades.

4) I pluck the "middle" eyebrow away with tweezers. Despite the words to the modern country song (which I cut for save for the eyebrow thing), "I'm still a guy",100% MAN. Male, too; you can be the latter and not the former... I'm definitely BOTH.

5) Half the time I seem mad but it's just the way I express humor. Being sardonic is a fine art-- one that is highly underrated-- and usually (in my case anyhow) misconstrued as anger. I guess years of pessimism and hard luck can't help but shine their dark light (if that's not to mixy a metaphor!) on my funnybone...

6) I love to cook; I can clean; I know how to sew; "I can skin a buck, I can run a trot line..."

7) I hate "WORK". Work is a four-letter word. I don't mind bustin' my a$, but the 'W' word to me means sucking up. No bones about it (and no pun intended...). Let me alone with a shovel, some seeds, a hen house, an apiary; grant me some yeast... Let me build a geodesic dome to sit in and read come evening...

8) I cry. Gentlemen, if YOU don't, you ain't. Period.

9) Where on the Goddess Green Earth is my Yew Berry? I mean, I ain't no Jondolar (and love Jetamio because of her raven hair and unconditional desire for J... but I digress. I always do, and revel in doing so...) but stand fast in KNOWING that SOME DAY I will fulfill the Dream of Oengus...

10) Who'd a thunk an old high school dropout would achieve an Associate of Arts degree Summa Cum Laude? A driving force was the desire to go back to flight school and earn my Certified Flight Instructor's license. Figured in such a competitive field, an ex-con could use every bit of advantage he could muster. That, and looking smart (looking so, not necessarily being so... :o) could help a bit in conquering #2...


Wow! that weren't TOO bad...

Now for the Passing Along to seven people; problem is, I don't think I know seven people-- that whole misanthrope thingie... But a very close friend of mine whom I'd not heard from in far too long called me in the midst of my typing this. She doesn't blog, but suggested I send this via email. I'm going to count her as #1 of my seven. She also said that "misery loves company" (sure, she didn't coin the phrase; you know what I meant!). So, since I suffered through, I honor these following six with the same opportunity:

1) Jeanie "with the light brown hair" Turner. (Remember those four words, woman...)
2) Catman
3) Bullseye
4) HermitJim
5) Kenneth The Conqueror
6) Andy&Mel Lowe


And I'm gonna cheat, claiming #6 counts as two! Because I really don't know six people...

Al right you folks, I hereby present you with the Honest Scrap Award!!!

In all fairness, I read yall's blogs every day and realize that each post is a revelation of self. The award is in your hands; my reward is the second half of that first sentence.

Do with it as you will!

LOL

Cygnus

Whatever Happened to the Hamburgler?

I don't know what in the world brought that to mind. There I was, standing in the kitchen, eating a pimento cheese foldover the sink and otherwise minding my own business when WHAMO! right out of the clear blue sky the question posed itself.

Now why do you suppose that is?

Yes, I accept that I am crazier than a left-handed football bat; that's got nothing to do with it.

(I don't think...)

Ah! That last statement... maybe we're on to something here...

Bandaids for a Heart Attack

First let me send a heartfelt THANKS! to LazyHousewife @ SoNotDomestic for wanting me to bare my soul. When, or IF, rather, I find it, I'll do that post (just kiddin' ya. Kinda. About the soul thingie, that is. Yes I have one. This weekend i'll dust it off, gaze into the windows to it's.. um.. uh, it's eyes, and let yall know ten things it wants you to know about it.)

Now, let's break out the calamine, some hydrogen peroxide and maybe the vaporub and a humidifier and talk about today's post title.


That's what the nation is doing, businesses and people alike, in the face of the constantly-worsening economic picture.

Oh, i forgot-- Obammy's a-comin! It'll all be good.

The idjit box was on during dinner at granny's table tonight, so I was made to endure the packaged tripe that is served up for news these days (no offense, cowgut...). These YEARS, actually; besides hockey (which i watch maybe four times a year. Until playoffs...) I haven't watched tv in any form[ O.K., there was The Gilmore Girls, faithfully every tuesday night-- great writers, that show had-- and, when I could, Felicity, because Kerri Russell in that red curly hair is quite simply the cutest woman on the face of the planet] especially news-- local or national-- for literally decades now. (2, thank you for asking. Physically I'm 40-ish, but age is a state of mind anyhow.) I actually quoted said title to grams, only to draw snippy retort (forgot, i'm crazy, what with thinking the woes are real and stockin' all that"extra" food and whatnot...)

Back in the real world-- the blogosphere-- I see fellow traveler Catman has had a recent similar discombobulation... he mentions how the media "are almost gleeful over the economic situations...".

Of course that brought this song to mind:




Gotta love the applicable-to-today's-world lyrics:

"You don't really wanna find out what's goin' on
you don't really wanna know just how far it's gone;
just leave well enough alone"

And the closer:

"We can do the inuendo, we can dance and sing
And when it's said and done we haven't told you a thing;
We all know that crap is king! ..."

It certainly is. That is why you really should BUY BISON"S CRAP!!!!


Take care, folks.

Cygnus

Can O' Worms

I'm going to open one; likely the first of many posts on this topic.

BE FOREWARNED:

If you ain't a Constitutional Bill of Rights advocate, best to venture on at this juncture...

Check out THIS site. As an 'ex-offender' I am very much interested in whether I can even BORROW a gun to hunt with.

Ol' Grits raises some interesting points, as do his commentators.

So, can I 'borrow' a gun to hunt deer? In the hills of the Ozarks? In the deserts of West Texas?

How 'bout in Washington, District of Columbia, to hunt..[ I dunno; what they got?!?]???


I needs help, My fellow bloggers, for someday soon i vanquish to to them thar hills.

Can I hunt on them? With My Own Gun?!?!

Can you not tax me?

Can I vote???

More Soon... I'm tired [obvious?],

[no apologies for being 'spot on']

My Mistake

FOREMOST: CORRECTION TO YESTERDAY'S POST TITLE

365.24219... but seeing as how i actually write my posts the prior evening, i stand correct! Nyana-Nyana-Boo-Boo!!

Now, for tonight's meeting:

[picture me standing before you] "Hi; my name is Cygnus, and I'm a blogaholic"

[You all , in unison] "Hi Cygnus!" ['s ok if you thought it with a lower-case 'c'; i use that meself time to time...]

It's true, folks. And sure i'm sounding a bit goofy tonight (why change now...). Probably chalk it up to excessive injection of input to the brainstem after several recent long periods of forced withdrawl [working full-time, I have to be away from the keyboard fix, go hours on end without the thousand yard slack-faced screen stare...]

Imagine... No partaking of [expressing] my own musings. Not even a chance of sharing a bloggle via commentary. Heck, even denial of coveting your cups-running-over, of me viewing thirstily form a distance.

Inability to concentrate on tasks at hand in the office due to thoughts drifting towards the euphoria of that first pouring (forth of words).

Swerving off the highway (of coherent thought) and even the access roads (of summation), into the ditches (tangents of roads that could be)...

And when at last i do arrive home? Shun time with the family! Excessive hiding alone in my room, mouse in hand, unwilling to put it down! " NO, I WON'T SHARE [the computer] DAMN YOU!! CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"

And I'll tell ya, folks, I don't think the pain of (this) addiction will EVER be worse than the pain of withdrawl (from the ROM).

It's said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Look into mine and do you know what you'll see?

[XP is] "Loading Your Settings..."

Thanks for listening. I feel better just having shared my testimony... Now, anybody care to join me at the local (Wi-Fi) watering hole?


Cygnus

Post-Scriptum: I erringly thought I'd titled yesterday's post '364.2421'...hence the opening sentence. Got the days right, but missed the decimal!
See how bad this addiction is?!? I can't think straight, I tell ya!

365.2124

That's how many days ago I became a "free" man.

Some days it seems like so little progress made. But a quick inventory...

Got a vehicle, free and clear (let's not mention the legal extortion that is insurance...)

Finally started a permanent job (and I use the term permanent loosely, if only from my own rose-colored desires), one day shy of a calendar year from "release".

Reconnected with a family member and discovered so many parallels in mindset that you'd think we were relat.. oh, wait... A new-found mentor and friend to share the dream with.

And what of that ultimate dream? The 'Old School' American one I've nourished, cherished, and relished for YEARS? Of my own seclusion in the woods, of a "hobby" farm?

Less than a year to date of earning ANY cash for labor, you know the Swan's story; if you don't (or even if you do , at risk of redundancy), to whit:

I'm on my way to "owning" 2.1 acres in the Ozarks. Paid the down payment as soon as I could.

Less than a full solar year...

Could have been a worse one.

May the next one be as prosperous. And by the same token, leave me still feeling like I ain't through... on my way, but never, until called home, THROUGH.

Thanks to everyone on my read list for inspiration, support, and ideas. Keep Blogging. I need it...!

Cygnus

Being Watched

She, or rather her household, must be/ have been.

She'd left for work about 7:30 pm. Her schedule is sporadic, being an assistant manager of a fast food dig. Her daughters are usually home during the evening, but had chosen this saturday nite (yesterday) to visit the mall.

Arriving back home at 9:30 or so, the daughters' first sign of foul play was lights on in the "apartment"-- mom doesn't do that ("didn't", she told me later that night; "I will now").

Now... too late for this time; maybe preventative if/when again...

The daughters approach the door cautiously. It's open. Mom CERTAINLY doesn't do that.

The house was in shambles. A new flat screen television, gone. Jewelry, ditto. Even little toddler video toys-- you know, anything appearing to have any value whatsoever.

Granted, shi+ happens. Especially in big cities like Houston.

But even here I've let my guard down. Maybe a bit abrasive with a total stranger being an a$$ in a store. A bit closer to light variety of road rage than the calm side. We've all heard the stories...

Three people live on the premise here; generally at least one of us is home at any given time, so chances are less that a smash-and-grab burglary like the one my manager above went through will go down here.

But probably not much less.

It is a wake-up call for me; a sign that it's time once again to make every effort to get the hell out of Dodge.

Corners just got sharper, and I'll be honing the blade with which I cut them, or tuning up the engine to take 'em faster if you prefer that analogy. Ol' Honest Abe will be feeling a stronger pinch.

Burglary of a house-- of someone's other than 'mine' to boot-- may not be TEOTWAWKI, but it's still not any world I care to inhabit. Add to that, that when TSHTF, big cities like h-town will be first in line to go totally chaotic.

I gots to get to them thar hills; it's only a matter of time before it's my house, or my car or pantry-- but time moves slower in some places.

That, and you got a lot more space to see 'em coming; you can get a better aim...

Stay alert, folks.

Cygnus

BEAUTY-FULL

Anybody caught a glimpse of the Full Moon (Goddess) rising in the East c'est soir?

She's beautiful, Round (as a Full Mother-To-Be always is) and the deepest yellow i've sen in many a moon (pun or not depends on your physical observations).

The clouds here in H-town moved to obscure her tonight, but not before i was allowed my eyes' worth.

And, as i was weeding the garden whilst viewing, WORTH is/was a good adjective. Because usually i'm not...

[Multi-choice Quiz: Usually not WHAT?]

A) Weeding
B) Viewing
C) Worthy

Just curious who else is watching...

Cygus

WHUH???

I have to wonder why, or how, someone who grew up in the lean years of the Great Depression chooses to be critical of a preparatory mindset.

Seriously.

And said someone with a better-stocked pantry than my paltry one!

My Uncle made a insightful guess a few days back: maybe it is an unconscious desire to suppress those difficult times.

Maybe. Okay, yes, even.

STILL...

What's wrong with me "saving for a rainy day"? I mean, let's look at a summation from the front page of today's Houston Post:

"Unemployment soared to 7.2% last month, but even that gloomy figure may mask the degree to which the job market is in a tailspin.

The fine print of friday's report showed that a broader measure of joblessness-- which includes people who are working part-time but would prefer a full-time job and people who want work but have given up looking-- rose... to 13.5%

...Employers cut 524,000 jobs last month, 2.6 million over the course of 2008. companies not only slashed workers, but also cut back on hours for their remaining employees, [leaving those remaining with] the shortest average workweek on record.

The unemployment rate is at a 16-year high. The growing army of the unemployed, at 11.1 million, is nearly 50% bigger than at the start of the recession a year ago."

By Neil Irwin--Washington Post



[And the above-mentioned person is, as I type, reading that very paper, and watches t.v.news every night (packagd as we know that source is , they ain't been all cheery of late) . And ignoring who knows how many other signs...]

And I'm certain I ain't the only one who has noticed that gasoline prices are on the rise again-- a near 20-cent increase almost overnight, at least here in the Big H.

But I'm silly for preparing; for buying a little extra food every time I shop; for desiring a pressure canner/cooker.( Honestly, when I was asked "What on Earth do you want a pressure cooker for?", I was so slack-jawed baffled that I couldn't answer.Whuh??? I finally said " I plan on having a really big garden". That garnered a snicker. And THAT got me pissed...)

I was able to hold my tongue, then and now. Lydia made a good point in her comment @ HermitJim's site today, having an answer at the ready for grocery clerks who might wonder verbally about bulk food purchases.

I really don't understand, folks (nor do I understand folks-- no comma). But maybe I ain't meant to.

I'll just go about my merry if "convoluted" way. And come a simple move to the country and a wait on garden production there, or TEOTWAWKI, I'll have me green beans set aside.

That's all I got for now, friends. Thanks for droppin' by.

Cygnus

Exerpts

This is an excerpt from E.A. Poe's poem "Alone".

From childhood's hour I have not been
     As others were; I have not seen
     As others saw; I could not bring
     My passions from a common spring.
     From the same source I have not taken
     My sorrow; I could not awaken
     My heart to joy at the same tone;
     And all I loved, I loved alone


The verse has been rolling through my mind of late;
thought I'd share it.
Likely we've all felt this way to some degree

Cygnus

Like Minds

Just had a real good talk with my uncle, real and good because we hit on making plans and formulating contingencies for and towards bugging out.

It's nice to have all you folks out there to share ideas with, to glean knowledge from, and to generally help in not feeling alone in a world full of blind sheeple-- you know, the wackos that think we're wacko for gearing up.

Ken said this more succinctly than I will, but it's folks like him, and Catman, and Bullseye, and Mayberry and a plethora of others so numerous I haven't even started to tap... you are the ones to whom I refer.
[And KUDOS to all the ones already out there 'doing it', such as Treesong, I Drive My Tractor In Pearls, One Acre Homestead, Phelan, Wretha... we ain't alone, folks!! Lead On, Ladies!!!]

Anyhow, over the next few days the Hermit and I will pow-wow about various aspects of readiness. Our plans are to make a journey to one soon, both eventually, pieces of property (one desert 'junk land', one forested seclusion), to scout not only the lay of the land but also "practice what you preach". [Who was it recently posted on "practice camping trips"? Bison? Ah well...the idea was sound.] This will also serve to familiarize ourselves with routes to & fro.. kinda a recon mission.
Yeah; I like that word...

Also on the agenda is consolidation of goods-- not so much to share them, as share their ideas: "Oh! i aint thought of that!" and/or "I needs one of them..." kinda thinking.

We're also going to plan for two different scenarios, one wherein we are capable of teaming up for the inevitable pulling out of the hell that is Houston, and one where two is not an option...

Above all, our plan is to KEEP PLANNING. Keep a low profile, don't scare the non-understanding fambly ones, and generally keep on keepin' on, 'till...

Wish i could get more family to at least think about it all; thinking along non-standard routes is, in and of itself, a preparation-- imagining any and every thing and how one would react to said. Works the mind, readies it for adaptiveness-- which we're all going to count as our strongest survival tool before it's all said and done. If more family -- or even sheeple-- would THINK... well, United we could stand stronger. Divide us, and all I know is I AIN'T GONNA FALL. Not from lack of common sense, anyhow. [Hold yer comments, peanut gallery...]

Well, I s'pose I've rambled long enough. And I could hope and pray that this Coming holds off all the longer, because couldn't we all use more prep time.
But by the same token, we ARE prepared. We'll never feel we fully are, and each and everyone of us is guaranteed to forget something... yet we're so much further along because we have been thinking, and watching and gearing up. And practicing.

Think I'll go fishing this weekend... I could stand to knock the cobwebs off..

Thanks, Hermit...

Cygnus

Inspire.. Aspire.. Expire...

How many of you know how to breathe?

O.K., folks... I'm not talking about autonomic system functionality here. That's a given, else we'd all be dead. I mean CONSCIOUSLY draw a breath in and expel it.

Take a deep breath as you read this.

Now exhale.

Then think: "when I breathed in, where did the air go?"

Good answer, smart@$s-- your lungs.

Which part?

Now take another breath, and this time, on the inhale, pay conscious attention to how your abdominal cavity moves.

Chances are it "expanded" with your oxygen intake. And exhale... the gut retracts. oui?

Do that with conscious focus for three, or four, breaths.

Then change it up, 180 degrees: as you inhale (you ARE inhaling solely through the nasal cavity, yes?), make your stomach move in the opposite direction of the first method. Still breathing in solely through your nose, draw your solar plexus IN. [You may note a 'shorter' breath. That's ok.]

Now on the breath release (through your mouth; right!) "split" the air so that half is expelled and half sinks to your abdominal cavity, thereby causing it to expand.

I challenge each of you to CONSCIOUSLY practice both of these methods for a duration of only a five-count each. Once a day. Ten breaths.

You can do this while you are sitting in rush hour traffic. Or sitting on your porch with your morning (or evening) cuppa. The point is to do it with full conscious control of your breath; where the distribution, both inhale and exhale, are 'going'.
And to mix it up.

Try it for three days and give me some feedback.

[A heartfelt Thanks to Livia; the late-nite banter cured lack of earlier-mentioned INSPIRATION. True to the Goddess Within...]

Breath easy, folks!

Cygnus

Beggin Yer Fergiveness...

Sorry, folks, but i just ain't up to typing tonight. Could be 'cause i've spent so much of said energy commenting on all yall's sites-- but that'd be misplaced blame.

Truth is, i's jes' tired. And needs begin revamping my sleep habits to wake up ~ 5 A.M (versus the norm for me of crashing out thereabouts) so's I can work my jelly at the new place of employ come monday.

Today was the first i ever double-posted; mayhap menana will see a repeat, as i wanna talk about BREATHING (think you know how, eh? Stay tuned... We'll see!).

For now, another frothy one, and some self-indulgent surfing.

So, hop on over to Andy's again and look for the rabbit in the sky...

I'll be back soon, folks!

Cygnus

The Daft Hermit

I want you folks to go to look at THIS BLOG .

It'll only take a few minutes, even if you become enraptured.

And you will.

Imagine; at it less than a year...

I'll shut up now.

Go. GO NOW! And hold on to your seats...

Cygnus

INSPIRATION

3)An actuating or exalting influence; a stimulus to creativity in thought or action
4) the state of being inspired
5)Divine or supernatural influence considered as exerted upon by [people] so that their writings have Divine authority

Funk and Wagnals Standard Dictionary, 1958

[I know; I miss my American Heritage, or the ever-great Websters Collegiate; roots and origins therein! Alas, 's what I have. Make do.]

Folks, I ain't been so creatively inspired by divinity of late, ain't had that divine wind breathed into me so much. But I can say, in defense of the gods, that it must be because they have been working for me on practical ends...

I know the economy is in shambles. I know it's TEOTWAWKI, and that TS will HTF soon, if it ain't already smellin' your abode up.

I know that the working class in France is combin' the streets for produce when the markets put the "old stuff" on the curb for trash.

Hell, I'm preppin' for it all,too, and won't be any surprise on me mug when it goes down...

In the interim, I picked up another job. A 'real' one, one what don't involve assembling 2/$.99 tacos at three in the morning.[ Hey, it put petrol in the Buick...]
May even keep that up, just because, well, why not? while it lasts.

The new venture is, in my eyes, both a blessing and a curse.

A curse, because I hate rats, don't wanna race 'em, and want to move to the hills of Missuori where the only ratrace will be field mice scurrying from the promises of Kitty's claws.

A blessing because, this job, despite the economic outlook for so much of the world, is a shoe-in for minimally the next 8-12 months.

A blessing because the travel trailer I want, to haul onto those 2.1 acres, is now feasible. A blessing that means the payments on the land itself are 'secure'.

And that the front-end alignment and two new tires for the Buick are on the agenda all the sooner... just in case. [Justin Case-- insurance salesman HA! i craic meself up sometime...]

I have an 18-month bug-out goal; I wanna be in them thar hills no later than Summer Solstice 2010.

The newfound 'career' gives me the needed breathing room.

HA! I didn't intentionally say that-- BREATHing room.

Inspired.

So it seems; So Mote It Be!

Later, Folks.

Cygnus

it's TEOTWAWKI !!!

My Favorite line(s):

"Offer me solutions
Offer me alternatives
And I Decline..."

"common food, but it'll do"




And, since a) I couldn't decide, and b) the song never gets old:





You can find the complete lyrics here; just type R.E.M. in the search block, and... or go to youtube and look at the various makes for this song. I liked the blonde/brunette one, but then, I would...

;P

More later, folks...

Cygnus

An Expanded View

Daily savings:
a) foodstuffs: (seeds GOTTA count here, oui?)= $2.60
b) coinage : $.77

Daily total: $3.37
To Date :$22.36

Mornin', folks.

0205 hrs local... I usually have something posted @ midnight local, but got run off the computer earlier (I am a bit of a hog in that dept...), and then had work hours change on me. Regardless...

Was given permission to kill some St. Augustine today in the name of garden expansion. I took some video (i hope...) with this new gizmo me mum sent via Mr. Claus a couple weeks back. When I get enough, both video and experience, I'll post some vid and/or photos here; kinda Before/During/After like.

The current garden measures close to 5'x9'; I'm going to keep the width (easy access from either side w/o having to trample/compact soil) and extend the length to ~22'.
22x5 gives 110 ft^2; ought to be able to grow a meal or three there!

[Now, to convince 'em an apiary would benefit... (Helloooo MEAD!)]

Ran down to the seed spot earlier, afraid their sale would end soon, but then a reliable source says it's been 1/2 price for as long as he can remember. (HOO-F%#@ING-RA!!!). Plus, I had more space to fill!ha! Laid a tarp to kill off said grass; just antsy now, as ever, for the weather to warm and the weeding to commence...

May not be exciting reading for many a soul, but man it warms mine. Here I have, for the second time inside a year, a garden right outside my arms-of-Morpheus' chambre, and full reign over said space. And all these new-fangled checks in place-- video, pictures, blogs-- to keep Prometheus' gift alight under my posterior regions; to keep me motivated, as it were.

And A WORLD of fellow travelers to share, learn, and, when needs, LEAN on.

Ain't life Grand, folks? :D


Thanks for stoppin' by...

Cygnus

Countin'...

Daily Savings towards "The Move"
(in U.S.$ value as of 1-2009)

3 Jan 2009
A) food items: $2.13
B) Coinage : $1.59

Total : $3.72


Estimated savings (U.S.$ based on 'current value') since 25 Dec 2008:
A) food items: $10.00
B) coinage : $5.27

To-Date Totals:
A)Food Items :$12.13
B)Coinage :$6.86

= :$18.99

Chose tonight to itemize. Don't ask why, because even i ain't certain...

Hello, folks.

Was out and about amongst consumer hell tonight. (Running low on frothy adult beverages. Never want that...) Always take said adventures to do a little eyeball-shopping. Found some canned fish for 3/$1. And, given all the banter @ Bison's place last nite, picked up a can o' Treet [uh, you say so...] to try. Ain't fond of the schtuff, but the caloric content comment therein made me venture...

Kinda kickin' myself in the anus for not having "spent" more whislt one of the local food marts was running canned veggies 3/$1... Tonite they were back to some select items @ 2/$.99. DAMN...

Hey, live and learn. And watch the sunday paper adds; long as they're killin' trees to let us know...

Talking w/ my uncle, the notorious HermitJim, about similarities in today's economic foreboding.. er, I mean "news", and those of the depressive 1929 era. This is why i'm sad i didn't "spend" more of my 'saved' coinage for foodstuffs. I'm curious as to why so many feel money in I.R.A.'s and 401k's ain't the same as canned goods on a pantry shelf. As you can see from above, i count foodstuffs set aside as savings. Tough to chew a Lincoln... And let's not even discuss, here, the day comes it (Lincoln) has little value...

The corned beef hash i can palate; the penny... not so much!

On an aside, there's been some good banter today (here) on heirloom seeds versus hybrid varieties. Here's cygnus' $0.02:

The thing to remember, folks, is that BOTH varieties will produce viable second-generation seeds (e.g. ones that can be sewn next cycle). The primary difference is, the heirlooms will consistently look the same (PROVIDED THEY DIDN'T CROSS-POLLINATE...), whereas the (2nd gen.) hybrid varieties will almost immediately begin reverting to one or the other "parent" seeds' dominant characteristics, mayhap loosing in the process some of the 'qualities' they were/are bred/known for. As the aforementioned link states, argument can be made for both sides. I prefer to stick with Heirlooms when i can, and want to be Monsanto-free inasmuch as is possible, but when Survival is key... WHAT WORKS???
And who's to say reversion back to a former parent's' charateristic is a bad thing? Maybe you'll end up with an entirely "new" strain of heirloom cuces...COOL!!! :)

Anyhoo, there's me bent on the day. Gads, what a busy one... Yall gots to stop being so interesting and informative with your blogs; what, you think i ain't got other time commitments!?!

More Soon, Folks...

Cygnus

Like A Kid In A Candy Store...

Only I was A(n adult? use the term loosely-- i don't wanna grow up!) Male In A Hardware Store...

Just so happens the nearest post orifice is in a hardware store, and Iwas forced FORCED I tell ya to enter therein an hour or so ago-- had to mail the land purchase agreement (YIPPIE!).

They gimmicked me with the ol' display stand set up where you're going to pass it regardless of entrance intent. Now generally I don't fall for advertising ploys such as this-- in fact I often scoff and wonder how many sheeple are wasting washingtons on crap they likely already have and never needed in the first place.

But this was too good to pass up...

All Seeds 1/2 Off Marked Price

Yep, they hit me right in the soft spot. And this ain't one of those deals where they mark the price up 20% and then put it on "sale" for 10% off. Most seed manufacturers print SRP right on the packet. Aside from which, seed prices are something I'm fairly knowledgable about...

I took it as a good sign that, after yesterday's blog on "saving", I was going to the P.O. to mail my land papers and ran into this little gem of a deal.

Then I get home, and lookie what was in in my email box...




[Special Thanks to HermitJim, my uncle, for the 'feed' (no derogatory tie meant, Hermit!)]


Folks...YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Ironic; I chose the title for this post before I'd even seen the video.

**************************

[ A Little Blog-surfing Later]

A REALLY SPECIAL THANKS to MOLLY... All preppers/survivalists MUST visit this site. A PLETHORA of practical information.

I'd been toying of late with the idea of starting a second blog, as, like any human being, I have wide and varied interests. I ultimately decided against it because I believe all life is, or should be, synergistic. I've commented here on reasons for wanting to "get away from it all", from spiritual beliefs to preparing for some Cap'n Tripps-type apocalypsia, to merely wanting to be more healthy and self-sufficient and avoid the McPackaged consumerism.

All the synchronicity of events of late-- purchasing the Ozark property, having days like today, reading all the wonderful views in the blogosphere-- convince me that staying with one blog is the right choice. This is My Song, folks, the cataloged combination of curses, blessings, trials and tribulations that will someday transform the ugly duckling humbly before you into...

Cygnus


[Thanks to all who have and will contribute...]

Post[Ha! double entendre not intended!]-Scriptum:(2036 hrs local) Can't wipe the grin of me ugly mug AGAIN!!! Mayberry, thanks for the visit. And ALL you preppers, keep bloggin'; keep the info flowing. From you I learn. With you i will excel post-apocalypse

On Resolutions, Declarations, and simply Moving On

I've been making a lot of changes in my life of late. That these happen to coincide with the changing of another digit on the calenderical tracking device is mere coincidence.

Hmm... coincidence. 'Coincide'.

YEP.

Cool for me, too, is that much of the change has taken place on or into the New Moon/First Crescent Moon. A time for everything, it is said. Farmer's Almanac, and those old school who plowed the field, may not have seen it as Spiritually significant as I do, but would see it as significant none the less.

New year. New Moon. New starts.

I've never done "resolutions"-- not as they are termed as such reliant on a set calendar date. I HAVE and continue to make change when and where life deemed them important, or needed. And I like the term "declarations", in lieu of "resolutions", that many seem to be substituting this seasonal cycle; calls to mind the ideals this Republic was founded on-- ideals that said Republic's founders would be turning over in their graves to see decimated post- 9/11 and the (so-called) Patriot Act.

But new year/Moon/era or not, changes they are a-comin' , my friends. For all of us.

I've redoubled my efforts towards getting to that 'Homestead'. Fits too much with not only my personal/spiritual bent, but towards preparation for the storm I, and many other minds, see looming on the horizon. To that end, I have instituted the following "resolutions";

1) Minimally, 10% of ANY incoming fundage goes to savings. By savings I pretty much mean coinage-- 'money for a rainy day' as the old proverb goes. and I say minimally because

2) There are lots of ways to 'save'. The 10 % is a cash minimum. Tonight I put another two pounds of beans (literally), above and beyond the 'cash', in the food storage (for future) pantry.
Two paltry dollars.
Each day.
Less than $15 a week.
Tonight's $2 represents better than 4 meals. AND counts as some seed saving, because EACH BEAN, or pea, or what have you, is as an acorn-- it contains all the potential for an entire new tree... While I possess the green paper, and others are still taking it as "legal tender for all...", I think tendering it for better than four day's' food is a good bargain.

And the kicker is, it wouldn't mater that I see all this as necessary to my future survival; I'd otherwise be doing it simply towards my future welfare.

I have a dream. I dream of living away from the masses, on a beautiful piece of land tended by my own hands towards, if no other end, allowing me to live as self-sufficient as possible; to provide for myself (and any Yew Berry or wee ones what might come along) by those actions. And to do so in a minimally disruptive way to Gaea, my Earth Mother.

It is, quite simply (and exclusive of any "green" ulter-motive"), the life I desire.

Why should I not, regardless of some 'date' on a calendar, be working on synergistic melding of my spiritual and practical life/lives?

No reason fathomable.

Thanks for stopping by, my friends.

Stay (at)tuned...

Cygnus

In Honor Of Janus

Just dragged my tired anus in from work: notice a lot of you are either up past your bedtime, or you autoposted...

Given it is a once-per-anum event, i hope it's the Former!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone stayed safe and happy tonight, and isn't too hung over on the morrow.

Then again, hang; after all, this is a once-per-anum...

More later my e-quaintances.

Cygnus