Hi Everyone,
I've been reading your threads regularly over the past few months, and have finally decided to join.
I've had an uncomfortable feeling for some quite some time now. I don't have the life skills people had in times past, and can't provide for my family if the shtf. I've been gradually adding skills over the years, and though I'm far from where I need to be, I now feel I'm at least on the right track.
In my past life (pre-children) I was an engineer. I was also a Marine Reservist. I became a stay at home mom when we started having children. When my oldest child was a toddler (she's now 13) we moved to a small town in Mexico. We learned about getting by without all the things you're used to having at your fingertips. I grew my first garden, and also tried raising chickens and sheep (not with great results, but at least I learned something). We moved back to the US four years later, but still own property there, and try to go most summers. Durring our summers, we've gotten experience living without electricity, and with a sporadic water supply. The kids (there's now four of them) sleep in a tent, while my husband and I do "indoor camping" sleeping under a mosquito net indoors with the convenience of a bathroom, but not of a fan or lights. I've come to really appreciate a propane stove and water heater. We had a propane fridge one year, and that was luxurious. Normally it's an ice chest, and our property is in the desert.
We relocated to Central Florida a couple of years ago, and I'm trying to learn how to garden in this climate. I'm stocking my pantry, and my husband is learning to hunt. He's not quite a prepper, but he doesn't give me too much grief about the "wierd" deliveries showing up at the door.
We have a baby due in November, so all the more reason to get prepared.
I've been reading your threads regularly over the past few months, and have finally decided to join.
I've had an uncomfortable feeling for some quite some time now. I don't have the life skills people had in times past, and can't provide for my family if the shtf. I've been gradually adding skills over the years, and though I'm far from where I need to be, I now feel I'm at least on the right track.
In my past life (pre-children) I was an engineer. I was also a Marine Reservist. I became a stay at home mom when we started having children. When my oldest child was a toddler (she's now 13) we moved to a small town in Mexico. We learned about getting by without all the things you're used to having at your fingertips. I grew my first garden, and also tried raising chickens and sheep (not with great results, but at least I learned something). We moved back to the US four years later, but still own property there, and try to go most summers. Durring our summers, we've gotten experience living without electricity, and with a sporadic water supply. The kids (there's now four of them) sleep in a tent, while my husband and I do "indoor camping" sleeping under a mosquito net indoors with the convenience of a bathroom, but not of a fan or lights. I've come to really appreciate a propane stove and water heater. We had a propane fridge one year, and that was luxurious. Normally it's an ice chest, and our property is in the desert.
We relocated to Central Florida a couple of years ago, and I'm trying to learn how to garden in this climate. I'm stocking my pantry, and my husband is learning to hunt. He's not quite a prepper, but he doesn't give me too much grief about the "wierd" deliveries showing up at the door.
We have a baby due in November, so all the more reason to get prepared.
