Mama Liberty's blog

I have always disliked "leftovers." With a few exceptions, most foods are just more appealing to me when fresh made. When I had a family, that was seldom a problem, but in the nearly 25 years I've lived alone, it has often caused me to struggle to balance between the frugal use of my resources and my food preferences.

As a charter member of the "old too soon, wise too late club," I think I finally got a handle on at least some of it. Better late than never.

Doing some research for my self defense book, I came across this blog (bookmarked now) and especially this entry about how the brain works and our potential for sensory perception. It really speaks volumes to the practice of situational awareness. The trick is to balance our need for awareness with a continued appreciation for beauty and other good things going on around us at the same time. When we concentrate too much on potential threats, we do become "paranoid" and lose sight of far too much of everything else.

I like chili sometimes, especially on a wet, cold, windy day such as today, but I have never really managed to get the seasoning "right" unless I used the package chili mix. And, all too often, I use canned beans and sauces as well. Tastes good, and it's easier.

Today I decided to make chili and discovered I had no packaged seasoning. I also thought it was a good idea to use dry beans, since I don't always have consistent results and need to practice if I'm going to live on the things in the future.

We've been talking about research, mostly medical/drug recently, and I thought this was a logical extension of that discussion - but so different it needed its own thread.

Guns And Weed
Because there's no such thing as "half-free."

A friend and I formed a sort of "steering committee" about a month ago to bring a Bountiful Baskets co-op drop site to Newcastle in order to obtain really fresh fruits and vegetables. Some here may remember that lack of same was one of the real problems with living in rural NE Wyoming. Little is produced here, and shipping makes the cost at the grocery stores very high.

On April 01, 2010, I attended the funeral for USMC Lance Corporal Jacob Allen Ross, 19 years old, married just 6 months, killed in action in Afghanistan... the son of one of our FSW members.

Thousands, all across Wyoming, had come out to the route to honor this young man on Wednesday as he was brought from the airport to Gillette. Every possible FSW member was there in Gillette (along with many hundreds of others).

I have a lot of conversations with folks who understand the growing problems and potential for disaster. Many of them are already well down the road to preparations for survival, many have just started, and most are somewhere between. Unfortunately, a few still cling to the idea that - if "we" ALL just would pay attention and DO SOMETHING - the old US Constitution could be resurrected, we could elect the "right people," and the police state would be gone.

I saw this article this morning and thought we might continue our discussion of the agora and its importance in our struggle for liberty. Kyle is a good friend, and a member of my FSW family - as well as a contributor to The Price of Liberty.

Finally getting to the long promised story of my trip to California. You were warned. [grin]

It all started months ago when my sister sent me tickets for the airfare. She'd always wanted to do that, but I'd never before agreed to fly... but I had a 2 1/2 year old grandson I'd never seen, and wanted badly to reconnect with my two sons, so I bit the proverbial bullet and accepted.

Just thought I'd jump in and say I'm traveling for a few days and can't always get on line. I'll be writing about my experiences soon, just be warned. [grin]

Finally, at LONG last I have the grain mill mounted on a sturdy table and in operation! I bought the mill in the fall of '07, but could never use it because it had to be mounted somewhere - and I didn't have a somewhere for it!

Anyway, the first day I milled two cups of my white wheat berries, coming up with about 2 1/2 cups of fine meal, not really yet "flour" after running it through a second time. It will take a little experimentation to come up with the ideal texture, but for a first effort this seemed fine.

This is a semi announcement and brag... :)

Hunter has sent his archives to The Price of Liberty for republication, as well as sending a new article that will go up for this week. Canaries in the Coal Mine

Take a look and spread the word if you like.

A very special friend has spent the day installing Linux on my new computer, as I have wanted for a long time. It's wonderful. Now just have to install the GPG so I can use my encryption keys, and I'm all set. Just so you all know... Mama finally did it! :)

This is a very interesting article. I would say that instead of "meaningless," the more accurate word would be highly variable. We do come to agreement on the meaning of words, and often on our observation of reality. That doesn't mean that agreement is perfect, of course, but far from meaningless.