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I was talking to my friend the other day and she told me how excited she was because she was going to go take a free Ham Radio class with a friend of hers. She isn’t somebody that I would have normally thought would be excited about getting her Ham license. I asked her what made her decide to get her license and she said something that was music to my ears: “I’m really not that interested in using the Ham radio all the time, but when there is an emergency, here or somewhere else, I want to be useful. I want emergency people to know that they can call on me and I can just pick up and go wherever they need me.” Be still my heart, I wanted to cry; I was so proud! She wasn’t looking for what was in it for her; she just wanted to prepare herself, with a skill that interested her, so that she could help others when there was a need. She is my hero, whether she ever uses it for an emergency or not. I remember reading several articles about all of the people, at a moment’s notice, left their jobs and families to help those who were in need during Katrina. There were Ham radio communications specialists, firemen, EMT’s, policemen, construction and demolition experts, truckers, and thousands of others who had special talents that were willing to share with those who were in distress. What are your talents? I know a man who saw a car accident happen. He didn’t have the skills or knowledge to help the people in the accident and it frustrated him. It frustrated him so much in fact, that he didn’t ever want to put himself in that situation again, where he didn’t know what to do, and so he did something about it. He joined the Volunteer Ambulance Crew in his town, took classes to become an EMT and trained as part of an ambulance team member. Now, not only can he see an accident and be helpful, but he is the person you call when you need emergency medical help. He became an invaluable asset to the community, and has been for years. I don’t think that I would do well being an EMT or a fireman, but I still think that I do need to know first aid. I have my Red Cross First-aid and CPR certificate, I am C.E.R.T. certified and I have my radio license – KE7FGM (and I even have a radio to go along with my license.) I did these three things for the same reason that my friend wants to get her radio license, so that I could be part of the solution during a problem. After all, who wants to be lacking in skills and become part of the problem? Think about it and set out to become skilled. There are a lot of opportunities in the community to help you achieve what you want to do or what you would like to learn. If you want to become a volunteer EMT or fireman, I’m sure that your community would love to sign you up, if they have a volunteer program. How about getting involved in C.E.R.T. and become an instructor (I do know that they need more instructors, the ones that we have are being run ragged because there aren’t enough). I also know that not everyone can do the rescue thing, and we all don’t do well with blood and guts; I know this because that would be me, but we all have different talents. I can organize things and I can gather and process data. Give my an Excel spreadsheet, some data, and I can rule the world! My family also says that I’m good at bossing people around. I don’t know if they say that I’m “good” at it, or that I just like to do it, but I digress. Can you cook for a lot of people? Are you a good leader or are you a good follower? Both are important. Can you run large equipment? Do you own large equipment? In a past life (pre-children and staying home to raise them) were you a nurse or a C.N.A. or have you had medical training and aren’t required to go help at a hospital? Whatever your talent, share that information with your city leaders so that they know who they can call on when the community is faced with a disaster. So, I ask again, what can you do? What would you be willing to learn? What do you have an interest in? Do you have knowledge or a skill that you can share and/or teach others? Are you willing to be there for your fellowmen, or even more importantly, for your family? Get on board, find something useful to do and go forth and learn. Remember, “It’s not enough to be good; you need to be good for something.” (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley) Go ahead, be a hero. Dawn

You plan and prepare and plan – and then you find out what you really need. Fortunately, everything worked out, correct medications were given and everyone is well, but it was a big eye opener for me. I have been pretty confident that by carrying a list of the medications and medical history for my family in my purse, and posting another one in my house, I just knew that I was prepared for a medical incident. I guess what I did is better than nothing, but was I ever wrong. You need more; you need to put together an Emergency Information packet. Imagine this scenario (It has been haunting me): An empty nest, a disabled loved one with advanced Parkinsons disease that needs full-time care, a caretaker that falls ill and can’t call for help. A neighbor/friend drops by to chat that evening and finds the caretaker somewhat unresponsive. Help is called and the caretaker gets well the next day, but in the meantime, the totally dependent loved one needs his/her medication – and by the way, which one is the diabetic? No medical alert bracelet on either one. Oh no. There are no instructions for the medications except what is on the bottle: “Take 1 capsule per day as directed”. Is that “directed” in the morning or the evening? You have all of the medications gathered together, and you know that he/she needs their medication – but there are 14 bottles, and you don’t have a clue! Let’s even make this more interesting: It is a Saturday evening and the pharmacy has closed, and the doctor never was “IN”. The dependent one that is being cared for knows they need their medication, but doesn’t know which ones. Dangerous predicament. I was scared because if someone came to our house and tried to figure out how to administer the medications that we need without the proper instructions, it could go bad real fast. Excel spreadsheet to the rescue! I don’t ever want anyone to feel helpless like I did because of lack of information, so I have made two spreadsheets that you can fill out: Emergency Contacts and Medicine Chart. When you get them finished, put all the charts in a plastic bag and tape it to the side of the fridge. Also put a sharp pencil or reliable pen in with it; just trust me when I say that it will be helpful. The first one, Emergency Contacts, is exactly that — a list of all of the people or places that might be helpful, or would have helpful information, during an emergency. I’ve made an example for you to get an idea of how to set it up. You will want to make sure that you fill out the first section and include all of the people who reside in the house and where they can be reached during the day. This is also a list that you could print off and carry in your wallet or purse. So, let’s say that one day your neighbor/friend happens to stroll by and drops in to say “hi”, but instead finds you passed out on the floor because you are dehydrated (tsk, tsk- two gallons of water, per person, per day, for a two week period) and finds your loved one, who isn’t dehydrated, but can’t tell you anything. They can’t remember any emergency information, or even what meds they need to take, but they do know they need them. Well, after you fill the Emergency Contacts list out, you will go on to fill out the Medicine Chart and then you will be ready for such an incident. With the information you have now provided, friends or neighbors will have the information they need to call the people that you think are important during an emergency and they will also have access to the information the emergency personnel need about the proper use and dosage of all of your medications. With this information they will be better able to diagnose and treat you and your loved one and there won’t be a problem of the possibility of over or under-medicating! I am feeling better already because as I was creating this, I was actually filling it out for our family. I am going to sleep better tonight. And whatever you do, DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO GET DEHYDRATED! If you don’t feel well and you are unable to take in liquids and you have stopped urinating, for heaven’s sake, GO TO THE DOCTORS! I’m a little passionate about this because I nearly lost my mother to dehydration. She was sick, but didn’t want to go to the doctors because, “she was going to be okay” and she ended up being literally just hours away from death when she finally did go to the doctors. She was hospitalized for three days. Drink your water, stay hydrated and, again, let’s all say it together: “Two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period!” …And where is your packet with all of your family’s emergency information? Exactly where it should be – taped to the side of your refrigerator. Now we are all going to sleep better at night. Dawn

When I was little, my mom and dad used to make the best schnitzel (actually they still do). I just loved it when guests would come over because that was when they would make it the most. It is a recipe that they got while living in Germany. It is funny what your perspective is when you are a child versus when you are an adult. The reason that they would make schnitzel when guests came over was because you could take a very small amount of meat, steak or roast enough for four or five people, and make enough schnitzel to feed 15 to 20 people! This is wonderful because if your food budget is a little tight, and you need to extend your meat supply, this is a really good and tasty way to do it. You can also use cheaper cuts of meat, and nobody will ever know. I have found that you don’t even have to be picky about what type of meat you use, as long as you have meat that you can pound, it works. You can’t use fish – it would fall apart, but chicken, turkey breast, beef, veal, or pork is wonderful. This is also a really good kid friendly recipe – at least the first part, that of preparing the meat. Cut the meat into two or three-inch pieces or cubes. There is nothing technical about this; you can really cut them any size because you are going to beat them until you can see through the meat when it is held up. The thinner, the better. That is not an exaggeration. You, or your children, need to pound the meat out until you can literally see light and spaces through the meat. If the meat starts to get too big while beating it out, then just cut it in half and continue pounding until it gets thin. The thinner you pound the meat, the better the end product. After you have prepared the meat, get the eggs and the bread ready. You will need to guess how many eggs you need to dip the meat in. Depending on how much meat you have, I would start with two or three eggs. Mix the eggs with oil (I like olive oil because it is healthier, but any vegetable oil will do). The mix ratio is one egg to 1-tablespoon oil (don’t measure, just guess). Mix them together with a fork or a whisk. Next, take some bread and grate it to make bread crumbs (you can use purchased bread crumbs, but why when you’ve got kids that need something to do?) You can grate the bread easily if it is frozen, but it will make the bread more moist when it thaws out. You can use just about any bread product (stale is even acceptable) – wheat, white, seasoned breads, garlic bread, my mom has even used bagels before (it was a little tougher when eating). I’ve always just used wheat or white, but more flavors can’t hurt. Try different products to see what you like. In a pinch, you might even be able to use crushed saltine crackers. I haven't tried that yet. After you have prepared everything, start an assembly line: dip the meat into a plate of flour with any seasonings you want (it will help the egg to stick to the meat better), then dip into the egg mixture, and then finish up coating both sides with the bread crumbs. This is messy, get over it – it will be worth it. Fry them up in a medium to hot oil. You can deep fry it, but if you don’t have a deep fryer just make sure that you keep enough hot oil in your frying pan. Fry them until they are a nice golden brown on both sides. This won't take long because the meat is so thin. Lay them on a brown paper bag or paper towels to absorb some of the oil. I then like to place them on cookie rack on a pan in the oven, on warm, to keep them nice and warm until ready to serve. They are best served hot but eating cold leftovers from the fridge the next day (provided there are leftovers) has never been an issue for my kids. Serve with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. You can either sprinkle a little lemon juice on top of it (that’s how my dad eats it) or have a small bowl to dip each forkful in (my mom’s preference). We also like to mix a little mayonnaise and ketchup together to make a sauce to dip it in. That is my preference. Some people like ranch dressing. You can also get creative and roll up a slice of ham and Swiss cheese, fasten with a toothpick, dip in the flour, egg and crumbs and then fry. Remember, stuffed or not, these don’t take long to cook because the meat is so thin. When you do stuff it, the ham is already cooked and the Swiss cheese needs only to be warmed up – instant Cordon Bleu! Instant YUM! Dawn

Three years ago, my family and I went to California. It was a last minute trip that we really didn’t know we were going to take until the day before. A good friend of mine died and I felt that we really needed to be with his family. It was good to see our friends and I am really glad that we went. Thankfully we were safe going and coming. Of course, even though I was at work before we left, I was still bound and determined that this trip would be well ORGANIZED! And it was, but only because of my daughter. I gave her a list of things to do, and she had them all done by the time I got home. She had made 24 sandwiches (ham, chicken, and roast beef). She cut up apples and oranges to snack on along the way and she got the ice packs to keep the food cold in the cooler. She also made sure that we had plenty of bottled water to drink. She is on her way to becoming an organizational genius! (And remember for your HOME STORAGE, you need two gallons of water, per person, per day, for a two week period.) We were on our way. We missed the snowstorms (just barely) and all of the car accidents that we saw along the way. I was able to keep the car on the road in spite of gale force winds and I even kept my composure when the semi-truck in front of me almost tipped over because of an especially bad gust of wind. What I found disconcerting, and later on hilarious, was what happened when we went to a gas station in another state, in a small town with a name that starts with “B” and ends in “W”. We were following our MapQuest™ directions and we had our son’s GPS. We even brought our book of maps of all 50 states (I told you we were prepared). But never having gone to California on this route before (oh, pick up your jaw off the floor and don’t look so shocked), we really didn’t know where we were and we didn’t want to get off of our appointed path too far because I didn’t want to have to stop and ask for directions. The only problem was that there was only one gas station that we could find that was operational. The other two that we had passed had closed a long time ago. The gas station that we stopped at to fill up and refresh ourselves was right at the turn that took us in the right direction. That was good enough for us, but when my son-in-law went in to use the restroom, he found that there was no toilet paper. He told my daughter that there wasn’t any toilet paper, and she went to the cashier and told her that the restroom was out of toilet paper. Now this is where it gets good. The cashier’s comment was, “I know. There hasn’t been for a long time.” Then she just stared at my daughter. Dumbfounded, my daughter came to me and relayed the story that had just transpired, and she was starting to look a little desperate! Not to worry, Preparedness Mom to the rescue. I always carry a couple of rolls of toilet paper in the car at all times. (There is a story behind that, but I don’t think that it needs to be shared, just trust me when I say that it is good to have toilet paper in the car.) Well, we furnished our own toilet paper and all was well, but woe to the next unwary traveler that is not so prepared. We all walked out and sanitized our hands before getting into the car and going on our way. (If the owners weren’t concerned about providing toilet paper, you can just imagine how concerned they were about the cleanliness factor.) The moral of this story is: 1) always make sure that you have trained your child to do all the hard labor for you that is involved in going on vacation, 2) take hand sanitizer with you wherever you go, and 3) never, ever, go ANYWHERE without your own personal back-up supply of toilet paper! Maybe next time we will just fly. Dawn

Christmas morning, as I was cooking a breakfast of homemade French toast and homemade syrup, I got thinking about when I bought some syrup, instead of making it. We went fishing for the weekend and I thought that I would buy some syrup because it would be easy to transport. After tasting the high priced syrup my kids threw a fit and refused to eat any more of it. I ended up throwing the contents away, making the homemade syrup and pouring it into the purchased syrup’s container. Lesson learned. Making homemade syrup is really cheap and easy, but for years, if I had any left over, it would turn to sugar crystals, and I would have to reheat it to use it again. I have solved that problem – just add a bit of corn syrup. This has something to do with chemistry and how crystals bond together. Apparently, the corn syrup will not allow the sugar crystal to complete its chemical form and so it stays liquid. You don’t have to use very much. I always just pour in a glop (translated - that is probably about one+/- tablespoon – don’t you dare measure it). Homemade Maple Syrup 2 cups sugar (2 cups white OR 1 cup white, 1 cup brown OR 2 cups brown) 1 cup water ½-1 teaspoon of maple flavoring – or more/less to taste (I don’t measure) a glop of corn syrup (about +/- tablespoon) a pinch of salt (optional) Add all ingredients and stir periodically until it comes to a full boil. Serve on French toast, waffles, pancakes, or anything else that requires syrup. My favorite combination is 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup brown. The brown sugar just gives it have a little richer flavor. The real reason that I like that combination is so that I don’t forget the recipe; I just have to remember 1:1:1 (white, brown, water), flavoring and a glop – very simple. The corn syrup trick works with anything that can go sugary. The next time you make grandma’s favorite fudge recipe make sure to add a touch of corn syrup and you will never have to worry about it “going to sugar” and tasting less than smooth and creamy. I tried it and it really works. And remember – you don’t have to measure it! You just want to get enough in so that the sugar molecules can’t complete their crystalline form – and you really don’t need a lot. Another really yummy syrup is Orange Blossom Syrup. This is a very light tasting syrup that makes me think of having brunch in an English garden in full bloom (one that I didn’t have to weed). You have to try this one at least once. My favorite thing to eat it with is waffles. Orange Blossom Syrup 1 ½ cups corn syrup 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons water Boil 2 minutes, then add: ¾ tablespoon almond extract ¾ tablespoon orange extract Can use vanilla instead of almond and any other flavor instead of orange. The smell of this syrup is divine! And, if you have an English garden that you can borrow for the afternoon – even better! Dawn

By now we have all basically recovered from the Christmas feasts and gift giving and we are getting ready to tackle the New Year. This of course means that we are all thinking about our New Year’s resolutions and how we are going to try to improve our lives over the coming year. After you get past the goals that we all make every year – lose weight, get out of debt, and exercise every day (or at least once a week, or month – or maybe just do away with that one this year), let’s first look at what we wanted, and hopefully did, accomplish this past year. 1. Did you get your water stored? I don’t care if you procured the containers, I want to know if you have the containers filled with water! I have told you this before – water is life, but poor quality water, or no water, can actually contribute to death, and the medical community hasn’t found a cure for that yet. Please put it on your list this year to get your water supply stored. Remember – two gallons, per person, per day for a two-week period. Store it in four different types of containers: a) 50+ gallon drum, b) 5 to 7 gallon containers, c) two liter bottles and in d) old dish soap or hand soap bottles, the large ones (these are used for washing, NOT drinking). Please follow through on this resolution. 2. Have you started to assemble your 72-hour kit? If you already have one, now would be a good time to go through it and rotate anything out that might have become stale (food) or anything that might have become too small (clothes). Check your fuel sources and make sure that they are still intact and try to imagine what more would be helpful. Right now is the perfect time to test your kit because it is VERRRY cold. Take your family and your 72-hour kit out where you don’t have any nice amenities of home life, such as plumbing, electricity, shelter and so forth, and see how well you would fare with what you have packed. Were you able to stay warm? Did you eat? Did you and your kids complain about what you ate? What did you use for restroom facilities? Is it do-able for a long time period? I’m not saying that you should go out for three days, but I do think that one cold afternoon should answer a lot of questions as to what more you need to add to your 72-hour kit and if what you have actually works. Just a reminder – 72 hours is more of a hope than a reality, so keep in mind that more, in this case, can be better. Also, one positive thing about winter - and only one, you can store chocolate (Dove Dark is good), but make sure that in the spring when you change your winter clothes out for summer wear, that you eat the chocolate and replace it with something responsible, like granola bars. 3. Have you thought about what category of food storer you are or want to become? Are you a Siege, Practical, or Provident storer? Which one would you like to be? Start taking notice of what your family likes to eat and how often they eat it. Then start watching the ads for the items needed to make what your family enjoys eating. Get the kids involved with the food preparation and knowing what you need. How else will they learn how to do it for themselves when you send them out to raise their own families if you don’t teach them? Assign one of your kids to scour the food ads for what you want to buy. Assign another one to keep a running inventory each month of what you have and what you need. Have another one come up with, and try, new recipes that are food storage friendly that your family would like to eat. I could go on and on, as you know, but you are probably writing down that you are going to exercise this year – good luck with that one and please give thought to including these new ones. After all, what are New Year’s Resolutions for but to try to become better? Dawn

It has only been recently that I tasted Chicken Parmigiana. No, I don’t lead a sheltered life; I just never had the opportunity. Well, maybe I had the opportunity, but I chose something else. I’m glad that I finally gave in and tried it because I really like it. What is even more exciting is that I have figured out a fast, easy, cheap and food storage friendly recipe for it. It doesn’t matter that it was purely by accident, it is still above and beyond delicious – and by the way it has even less calories than the traditional version, I don’t fry the chicken in a breaded covering. Dust off your crock-pot. First, we have to start with the marinara sauce. This is where the food storage comes in handy. You will want to make your sauce from scratch, and you will need tomato sauce for that. I buy my tomato sauce in the large #10 can for only about $1.79 (2006) instead of a whole bunch of small cans. The big cans store easier and are cheaper. I make the sauce and whatever I don’t use, I put it into a freezer container or plastic bags and freeze the excess to use later. The recipe for the sauce is as follows: All-Around Excellent Herb Tomato Sauce #10 can of tomato sauce (or three quarts of bottled tomatoes) 2/3 cups olive oil 2 tablespoon dried, crushed oregano leaves (a little less if powdered) 2 tablespoon dried, crushed basil leaves (a little less if powdered) 2 teaspoon of granulated garlic 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, slightly crushed ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon black pepper Mix all the ingredients really well. The longer it rests, the more blended the flavors. You don’t need to cook it and can use it immediately after mixing. This sauce is good for pizzas, spaghetti, for dipping garlic bread sticks, and for making Chicken Parmigiana among other things. This recipe makes a lot of sauce, but it stores well, and if it is in the fridge, you can whip together a pizza, or whatever, in just moments. To make my version of Chicken Parmigiana, take a cut up chicken, without the skin, and throw it into the crock pot, on low, and drizzle it with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with a bit Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper – and you’re done! Well almost. When the chicken is cooked, boil some egg noodles, and heat up some of the sauce. Place a piece of chicken and a serving of noodles on a plate and ladle some of the warmed up sauce over both. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and serve. Oh, sooooo good. Even if you haven’t made the sauce ahead of time, you will have plenty of time to make it before the water for the noodles starts to boil. It really is that easy, and that yummy. Everything used in both recipes should be items that you have stored in your food storage, even the spices. I know that they say that you should buy your spices in smaller containers so that they don’t lose their “spiciness”, but I prefer to buy in larger containers and just use it. I bought a bunch of spices from the San Francisco Spice Company quite a while back and I put them in airtight bags and stored them in the freezer. So far, several years later, they are still as good as ever. Remember, shop in your storage, and replace what you use – when it comes on sale. That sounds like a potential New Year’s Resolution to me. Think about it. Dawn

I have always felt, deep in my heart, that chocolate is good for you. I mean, after all, cocoa beans are beans and that means that they are a legume – right?! The sugar that is added to the chocolate is technically a grass (and that is green and has roots), or it comes from a sugar beet, which is a vegetable. The cream is a dairy product. In other words, chocolate is an all-around good source of vegetables, dairy, and legumes. I am sure that some people think that my reasoning is flawed, but I find that most people are easily persuaded to my way of thinking. I have always been really big on milk chocolate, the creamier the better. Dark chocolate was only acceptable when wrapped around mint. This is one reason that my husband and I get along so well – he likes the dark chocolate and I like the light. He doesn’t touch my chocolate and I leave his chocolate stash alone. BUT - that is about to change. For a while now, the medical community has been telling us that dark chocolate is very healthy for our bodies. I remember when this information was first released because everybody was talking about it. I felt that if I held out long enough, that the doctors would someday include milk chocolate as being healthy, but whenever I would suggest it to my doctors, they would just laugh at me. To be quite honest, I was a little discouraged because I really didn’t like dark chocolate, that is until I read the book “The Sugar Solution” written by Sari Harrar and the editors of Prevention® with Julia Vantine. They wrote about the studies that Penny Kreis-Etherton, R.D., Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University, had done about people who ate products with lots of cocoa powder and dark chocolate. She found that these people actually “had lower oxidation levels of bad LDL cholesterol, higher blood antioxidant levels, and 4 percent higher levels of good HDL cholesterol”. (pg. 137) After extensive testing, the researchers at the University of California in Davis found that the 1 1/3 oz. Dove Dark chocolate bar has the highest amount of flavanol in it and was the healthiest of the healthy chocolate. They also found that “In the test tube, Cocoapro cocoa reduces blood clotting. It may also stabilize arterial plaque, making it less likely to travel and cause a stroke or heart attack. This effect is similar to that of aspirin.” (pg. 137) Another thing that they found was that “Some of the procyanidins in Cocoapro trigger the production of nitric oxide, which helps keep arteries flexible and increases blood flow.” (pg. 137) Now, I am all in favor of flexible arteries and good blood flow, and so for the good of everyone, I felt it my duty to test this product out. I immediately went to the store (the next day) and tracked down the Dove Dark chocolate bar. I actually had to ask for help to find it, but we did find it. I am now a dark chocolate lover! Dark chocolate has always had a bitter taste and aftertaste that I didn’t like, but this was a phenomenally smooth, creamy tasting chocolate experience. My suggestion is to not chew it up, but to place one cube at a time on your tongue and just let it melt. I could swear that I could feel my arteries getting more supple and flexible by the cube! Ask Santa to bring some for your stocking. I have always felt that it was important to have cocoa powder in your food storage because things made with chocolate have a natural way of lifting your spirits. When you are going through a difficult time, having a good attitude is more than half the battle of overcoming the current adversity. Just ask any chocolate lover how good they feel after eating chocolate. Now, to find my husband’s Dove Dark chocolate bar stash. Dawn

Last week I talked about giving helpful, albeit interesting and different, gifts for Christmas. I told my friend what I was writing about, and she told me that this year she was giving all of her married children a fuel heater, which could be used in a closed room, for their Christmas gifts. I thought that was so very thoughtful and very smart. That same day I watched as many of the states back east had been virtually shut down and that more than 2-million people were without power and probably would be for more than a week. The problem was so bad that the local governments were in the process of setting up Warmth Centers so that people who were not prepared and did not have an alternative heat source could come and stay, and be safe and warm. I don’t know about you, but I feel safer when I am in my own home, making my own rules, and not in a large building with a bunch of unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar people, and following other's rules and standards. Not only would it be uncomfortable, but it would also be very disconcerting. Another thing to consider is if you leave your house completely devoid of heat, what is going to happen to the water pipes? How many of the people who leave their homes looking for warmth will come back home to find broken water pipes? How miserable! If you don’t have a fireplace or wood burning stove, look at buying an alternative fuel heater that you can use in a confined space so that you can protect your family if the power goes off. Another good gift would be a generator. Think about what you would need it to run and then make sure that you get one that is big enough to handle your needs. Also, make sure that you have enough fuel on hand to power it and that you store the fuel in conjunction with the rules and regulations of your area. Be responsible and be prepared. Or better yet, buy a Generac or other brand of generator that is hooked directly into your house electrical system. No worries then. Even when I am in my comfortable home, and the power is on, I sometimes get a little chill, but I don’t want to turn the heat up because I’m cheap – that, and everyone else is comfortable and won’t let me touch the thermostat. This is when I turn to my microwave, not for hot chocolate (only because that won’t warm my feet), but to feed corn. I know that almost everyone has heard of the rice bags that you put in the microwave, but I prefer feed corn and I will tell you why. Rice, when it is dry and warmed up, stinks. Okay, I’ll say it in a nicer way - it smells really, really bad. Even if you put cloves or something else in to mask the stinky-ness, it still stinks - only with the smell of cloves. I have found that if you buy feed corn (at a feed supply store) and use it instead of rice, it is much more pleasant. When you heat the corn up it smells like popcorn (and no, it won’t pop like popcorn). I like the smell of popcorn. Another reason that I like the feed corn better than the rice is because if you have an ache or a pain, the weight of the corn helps to push the heat deeper into the muscle and it feels soooo very good – and it smells like popcorn. It also retains the heat longer. I made these for my family one year for Christmas and everyone loved them. Just take the leg of some old pants and cut about twelve inches off. Sew one end and fill the bag loosely with corn and sew up the other end. Done. It is that easy. You can also use scrap material you have leftover from a previous project. I sewed the initials of each child on its bag, and they have turned out to be a very useful, and a very used and appreciated gift. You can also fill a clean tube sock and seal off the top to use it around your neck. I need to make another one so that I can have one for each foot when I go to bed at night. Just pop it in the microwave for about four to five minutes (depending on its size) and put it at the foot of your bed before getting in. Sooo cozy! Generally you have to buy the corn by-the-bag, so if you can’t use 50 lbs. worth, split it with a friend. It is really inexpensive. Keep the rice to eat - use the cow’s feed corn to stay warm. Dawn

My family and extended family wait in anticipation every year to see what I am going to give them for their Christmas gift. They wait more with curiosity than with excitement because they know that it isn’t going to be the run-of-the-mill gift. One year I made toiletry gifts for everyone out of towels. I folded one end up and made pockets to hold combs, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, razors, and other sundries. I then went halfway up the towel and sewed a rope so that they could tie it around their waist, like an apron, and not have to set anything down on the ground or on a dirty sink when camping – or in a disaster. The extra piece towel on the on the other end served as a rag to dry their face and hands. It was the best gift ever! Some of my family members looked at me like I was nuts, others chuckled, and some even asked what it was, but it didn’t matter – I had a plan, I was going to get them prepared in spite of themselves. The next year I gave everyone a three-day supply of MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat). The year after that I gave everyone flashlights that didn’t need to have batteries (not the nice new ones, but the ones that you have to hand pump – which was the only thing available at the time. They can buy the new ones themselves.) When my daughter got married, the first Christmas gift she and her husband got from us was a 72-hour kit. The only reason that I do this is because I love them. I want my family to be safe and Christmas time is the perfect time to show them how much I love them. I’ve got some good ideas to get you started thinking about what kind of things you might want to give to your loved ones. First, let’s start with a 72-hour kit stocking stuffer items: flashlights that don’t need batteries and are rechargeable (the new cool ones), anti-bacterial foam or spray, waterproof matches, and a waterproof container (depending on their age), a poncho, the small aluminum blankets, a water purifying straw, a mess kit, or a whistle on a string. Want to get a little more aggressive? Assemble 72-hour kit backpacks (I gave you a list a while back), make water purification kits. You can make one for less than $50.00. Can you show someone that you love him or her more than giving them the gift of clean water? I think not - unless of course, you give them food storage. But you still need the water. My in-laws are the best. Every year they give both my husband and I each 20 lbs. of hamburger as one of our gifts. Does it get any better than that? No! Forget the the latest digital accessory; give them a wheat grinder. Who needs another electronic game that makes noise? Give them a year’s supply of wheat, or powdered milk, or maybe a case of toilet paper. Think how easy it would be to wrap up a case of tuna fish (and think about how confused they will be when they try to shake the box- Ha!) Okay, most of those gifts are more appropriate for grown children, but I think you could come up with some pretty creative preparedness gifts for younger children. I know that these are some pretty weird gifts in the normal world, but in the world that I live in, these are beautiful and thoughtful gifts. All that I ask is that you take a few minutes to really look at what you are giving to your loved ones. Go ahead and buy a few fun and frivolous things, but also take some time to give them something that could help them stay safe and help them to become better prepared. And if you are on my list, you are just going to have to wait and be surprised. I love Christmas! Dawn

I love Thanksgiving time. I think that it is one of my favorite holidays because there isn’t a lot of decorating (a.k.a. – STRESS). Advertisers have basically passed it over – going from Halloween straight to Christmas — so they haven’t subverted the original intent of the holiday. And you are encouraged to eat lots and take naps – could it get any better? I think not! It is also a time to gather family together and ponder all of the privileges we have and think of all of the things that we have been blessed with – our freedoms, our abundance, and love (tolerance?) for each other. Nice. Right now I can hear a lot of women saying: “Yeah, RIGHT! (With a hint of sarcasm.) I am stuck in the kitchen for a solid week SLAVING OVER A HOT STOVE! This is not a relaxing holiday and after it is over, I plan to hibernate in a comatose state (with some Dove Dark chocolate) for at least an hour and a half before I start to clean this mess up (while EVERYBODY ELSE is watching a football game) and THEN get ready for Christmas!” If that is going on, you are going about this the wrong way (except for the chocolate part). When my children turned about eight years old, I started to put them to work in the kitchen. My philosophy is to teach them to cook so that when they get older they can cook for ME, at least sometimes – and make it enjoyable. Thanksgiving is just a really good practice time for them. We all sit down and decide what we want to eat at our Thanksgiving feast and then we divide the list up. My son usually likes to do the stuffing and Jell-O salad, but sometimes he’ll make a pie. My daughter loves to make the potatoes and gravy and a pie and my husband roasts the turkey. I make the rolls, prepare the vegetables, and make another pie. One year everybody took over and all I had was two pies to make, and I made them the day before. I read an action adventure novel while they checked the turkey and mashed the potatoes. It was great. Clean-up is the same, everybody helps until it is done so that we can visit and nap all at the same time. I love Thanksgiving. Now, let’s talk turkey - leftover turkey. I am just amazed when I hear people complaining about leftover turkey. I don’t know about your house, but if we have more than a day and half of having any turkey left in the fridge I would be surprised. One year I didn’t even have one turkey sandwich from leftover turkey and was so distraught that I roasted another turkey just so I could have leftover turkey in the fridge. If you just can’t eat turkey two days in a row (what?) then put your leftover turkey in the freezer for a later turkey pie, fried turkey pieces, or my favorite, the turkey sandwich (with mayonnaise – NOT Miracle Whip). Oh, I about forgot (I got distracted with anticipation), don’t throw your turkey carcass away! After you have stripped the meat off, refrigerate it and the next day, throw the bones into a big pot and simmer, or low boil, the bones for a couple of hours (I generally let mine simmer all day). It makes the best broth ever! You can then strain the broth and make soup or freeze or bottle the broth and use it later for recipes that call for broth. I then go through the bones and pick off the rest of the meat. You don’t have to do that if you don’t want to, but I have found that there is a lot of meat that comes off the bones after it has been boiled. This is my favorite recipe for using turkey broth. Add all of the vegetables that you want (I generally throw in a couple of carrots, some sliced up celery, and a diced onion) and season it as you like, but don’t forget the garlic. You can leave the potatoes out if you want because you are going to add Danish Dumplings. Make sure that you double, or triple the recipe because you will still run out of dumplings before you run out of soup. Danish Dumplings 4 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup flour 1 teaspoon sugar ½ cup boiling water ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 2 eggs Bring butter and water to a boil. Add flour and seasonings all at once, stirring continuously. Cook until mixture leaves the sides of the pan. When cool, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with a spoon until they are all incorporated. Dip a tablespoon into the hot soup so that the mixture won’t stick to the spoon and then scoop up a tablespoon full and drop into boiling broth or soup. Repeat until all of the mixture is in the broth. Do not cover. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes - they are done. Serve hot. So good. My husband prefers light airy dumplings but give me these mounds of joy any day! Dawn

The problem with fruits like apples and bananas is that they have too much natural sugar (and that is why everyone loves to eat them), but you just can’t keep them looking nice once they have been sliced, and when they go brown, nobody will touch them! What a waste! My friend called me a couple of weeks ago and she was all excited. She had found a way to make sliced bananas stay fresh looking without the use of lemon juice, which we all know just makes them slimy and sour. She told me, and you probably won’t believe this, but if you put the banana, with its peeling still on, into boiling water for about 45 seconds, and then pull them out and let the banana cool down, you can peel and slice it and it won’t go brown! She added her bananas to a fruit salad and the bananas were still just as pretty and white on the third day, as it was on the day when she first added them. Usually, I want to try everything out before I tell you about it because it gives me a good excuse to try yummy things, and I want to make sure they work, but I wanted to give you this tip before Thanksgiving and I didn’t have time to try it. Actually, I did have time and I even had the bananas, but by the time I actually got enough of my “gotta’ do” list done – the bananas were gone. Next time I’m taking a magic marker and placing dibs on my banana. Go ahead and try it for your favorite Thanksgiving dishes like your fruit salad, Jell-O salad or homemade banana cream pie, and I bet that it will be the hit of the meal. The second tip that she gave me was about apples. She said that as you are slicing them, put them into a bowl of cold 7-Up. Now, I don’t know the science behind this, but I’m kind of thinking that it has something to do with the ascorbic acid, but there could also be some beneficial properties to the sugar or maybe even the carbonation – I don’t know. The only thing that I really know is that it works and that is good enough for me. The next time 7-Up is on sale, pick some up for your food storage. That reminds me, if your family is really into carbonated drinks – ‘tis the season. Soda pop goes on sale in November and December for a pretty good price and you might want to stock up. If you are like my family and only use soda pop for special occasions you might still want to stock up, but just put it out of sight otherwise it might get rotated just a little too fast. Buy the pop in the 2-liter bottles and then re-use the bottles for water storage! (Two gallons, per person, per day, for a two week period.) The last tip that she gave was brilliant. Kind of one of those “duh – why didn’t I think of that” ideas. She and I both buy big 25 lbs or 50 lbs. bags of potatoes and when mine start getting old, I start force feeding my family potatoes for every meal. She on the other hand does something much smarter (keep in mind that it is always better to run around with people that are smarter than you). She will boil all of her potatoes and mix up a massive amount of mashed potatoes. She likes to season them with dry ranch dressing, bacon, seasoning salt or even grated cheese - and you can’t go wrong with garlic. She then loads the seasoned mashed potatoes into a large pastry bag with the biggest tip they make, and squeezes out beautiful dollop sized servings onto a cookie sheet. She then puts them into the freezer and once they are frozen, she puts them into a plastic bag or an airtight container, and stores them in the freezer. When she is throwing a quick dinner together, she takes them out and puts a little bit of butter on the top and warms them up in the oven. Could it be any easier? She will also use these when she has unexpected guests, and believe me, they are impressed every time (and they don’t even know that they came out of the freezer). If you are like me, and don’t have a pastry bag, just snip off the end of a plastic bag and squirt it out that way, OR you can spoon it on to the cookie sheet in nice little mounds with an indent in the middle to hold the butter and gravy. That would probably be the way I would do it, even though I know that her way would look much nicer and the presentation would be much more impressive and Pinterest worthy. Maybe I’ll put some parsley next to mine to make it look nice. Dawn