The crazy things we do.

Prepping vs what we do. Am I a prepper? I do not think so. A hoarder...yes, eccentric certainly. But a prepper..no. I believe in being prepared. Being raised in a farm, a very rural farm, has given me experience with nature's mini disasters. Days without electricity after storms, months (yes months) without water; I survived it all. There was no "prepping" involved, no panic: when something happened, it was dealt with calmly. My parents were both children of the depression. My mother was born in 1926, my father in 1930. My father told me once that the houses where he lived didn't get electricity until the 1940's. Although my mother was city raised, everything was rationed, even electricity. Maybe it is because of my parents, maybe it is simply being farm raised, but dealing with crisis is simple. I was raised with kerosene lamps. I was raised with a creek within walking distance. I was raised where every room had a wool blanket. It wasn't prepping. When the electricity went out, we lit the kerosene lamps. A few candles were thrown in for good measure. In the summer, all of the windows were opened and the chairs were moved under the trees to the shade. We cooked over a fire or an old cast iron camp stove. The hose was turned on to spray down the kids and sometimes the adults. If it was winter, all the windows were shut and covered by blinds, then blankets. The gas stove in the kitchen had the oven door opened for heat. Everyone dressed in long johns and hats. The wool blankets were used around shoulders and on the floor. A large pot of beans or stew was on the stove. We could sleep in the living room near the gas stove for warmth. When the water was out, it could take from days to months to fix, depending on the season. We hauled water from the creek. In the winter, we washed with a bucket while standing in the tub. In the summer, we bathed in the creek water. We cooked normally, even if the water was a little sandy at times. When something disastrous happened, no one panicked. Panicking does not help. My parents would simply put the kids to work doing what was needed. So I grew knowing that you always had to have a wool blanket near. You always had kerosene lamps sitting somewhere on a shelf. If I wanted water without sand, I had better bottle some up before the rains start. Never forget where the candles are stored. Always carry a knife and a lighter. So when I grew up and moved from home, I bought wool blankets, kerosene lamps and candles. And I became prepared. Yes, there is more to it than that, but I will have to explains the rest later. So then I met Jennifer. She is interested in a lot of the things I love. She is completely NOT a prepper. She love knowledge and learning to do things the old fashioned way. So we do a lot of crazy and things that are interpreted as "prepping". But really, neither of us are preppers.