[KimC]

Thanks, Emma. I’ll check these out.

[KimC]

Thanks

[KimC]

Personally, I believe the only things worth investing in are our spiritual condition and where we stand with God, our closest personal relationships with TRUSTWORTHY people (defined loosely as those with godly character AND competence), our knowledge and experience base, and physical assets that we have direct possession of that build our independence and self-sufficiency in this life.

There is nothing in/of this world that can/will give any of us true peace; that comes only with being in right standing with our Savior and Lord. The peace of God surpasses all human understanding. Wisdom is given freely to those who ask. Seek God for the right decisions about EVERYTHING and be led only by HIS peace. The enemy speaks in loud, urgent, pressing tones, but the Spirit of God speaks in a still, small voice.

Be blessed in Jesus’ name.

[KimC]

Hello from Central California! I found you on YT not long after you started, as I was desiring to learn how to best grow as much of my own food as possible. Your homestead and both of you resonated with me because I was born in West Virginia and you and your place, and down-to-earth ways, reminded me of my home state and the people I was raised around. Having the Alexa Pure pitcher to enjoy chilled, filtered water from the fridge any time would be a blessing. Thanks so much for this generous giveaway and all you do for our community of like-minded folks. God bless you both!

[KimC]

Welcome!

[KimC]

I follow the conventional wisdom of cool, dark and dry. I only refrigerate or freeze the seeds Danny recommends (which I believe are peas and corn). I purchased craft store photo organizer totes that have smaller containers inside that fit in a larger snap-closed tote with a handle. I labeled each small container for type/kind and keep it in the coolest room of the house in a dark area. That has worked well for me. I have some remaining seeds from 2018 that have done just fine, at least so far, but I do use the oldest seeds first whenever possible. For more bulky seeds, I inset a paper towel in a zip lock baggie just to help in case any humidity might be an issue. I also save all the moisture absorbers from my vitamins/supplement to use in baggies or jars with seeds, if needed. Larger quantities of seeds don’t work quite as well stored in the small tote containers due to size, but I still keep them cool, dark and dry. So far that has worked. The only seeds I’ve really had challenges keeping due to quantity have been beans and peas because they’re so bulky and take up so much space. All the others easily work in the totes. I have one tote for vegetables, one for overflow and flowers and a third to separate out herbs. It’s probably overkill, but it works for me.

[KimC]

Daily, quiet, early morning hours help set me up for better days overall with time to myself to think, pray, listen, daydream, plan, ponder, read my Bible, tend the garden and animals, check the headlines or read parts of the paper and work a word puzzle, and enjoy time outside. This charges my batteries for the day ahead. When I don’t get quiet early morning time, I definitely feel it.

[KimC]

Hi Wanda and Danny,

Could your sugar cane be grown in a 15-gallon tub (or multiple tubs) in zone 9b? If so, how many pieces per tub? Once it’s grown, how would a person without a press harvest and prepare it to use as a sweetener (assuming there would never be enough to actually make syrup)? Or would it even be possible/worth trying for such a small harvest?

Thanks,

Kim

[KimC]

Thanks! I’ll give that a try. Is there a recommended number of drops per “x” ounces or gallons of water?

[KimC]

You’re welcome. Recommend you are cautious who you deal with and which Plan you choose. Many sound similar but really are not the same, and some claim to be okay with the IRS and might have issues or were okay till somebody messed up and then things were disallowed, etc. Others have proven track record. If you want a personal referral, send me a private, direct message. I get nothing from referring anyone.

[KimC]

I, also, am not a financial advisor and this is not financial advice, only sharing research I have done over time. Traditional 401K/IRA plans can be converted/rolled over to an IRS-approved self-directed “Survival 401K” product, which could own all kinds of physical assets including precious metals that could be held directly, if desired, or kept wherever desired. Even long-term food items, self-defense items and many other surprising things could be owned by the Plan (you just have to be willing to keep good records and balanced books with a separate bank account for the Plan).

That way a person could convert their existing soon-to-be worth less / worthless dollars into actual usable assets of tangible goods and only have to pay tax on any of them as they actually got used. No penalties for converting, just some moderate up-front set-up costs. For example, the Plan could purchase an approved emergency backup solar system and store it onsite and not have to pay any tax on the value of it till the year it gets plugged in and used for the emergency purpose. Then in that year, its value would be declared as taxable income just the same as if you cashed out that amount from your traditional 401K. At least that asset would already be onsite and available for use during crunch time without having to try and deal with cashing out funds, purchasing needed equipment, etc., during an emergency or otherwise hard times. And the benefit of purchasing when prices might be lower vs inflated or other premiums have been added. I believe the rules provide for annual testing of equipment (just not regular use), but you would need to research details as this was a while back that I found out about it.

[KimC]

One day, and sometimes one hour, and one minute at a time. I’ve learned (am still learning) how to go with the flow and to try and be as flexible as possible. I’m a planner by nature, so my world was turned upside down when all of her instability really kicked in several years ago. It takes a toll. God’s grace has seen me through. I don’t know how people do this without HIM.

[KimC]

I care for my mom who has dementia. You have my empathy. I wondered a few days ago how many of us here are family caregivers for parents. I imagine it’s quite a few.

[KimC]

I have long said, “Follow the money.” If you want to understand the “why” behind things, follow the money and that will lead you to the motives and the truth behind it.

[KimC]

Accessing my messages as you outlined here has never functioned as you described. I’m sure they’re working nonstop on debugging. Reporting issues helps them know what to focus on. I imagine they’re tackling the most critical items first and prioritizing the rest as time permits. Blessings!