Thinking of everyone this Tuesday…
Who knew that the last time I sent out a blog post to welcome in 2020 that we would all be dealing with a global pandemic. I for one did not, nor could I conceive of this. I wanted to share my thoughts on the novel coronavirus or Covid-19. I believe we are all in this together as there is not a soul on this earth that I believe won’t be impacted in some way from this pandemic. I’m not an expert on these things, so I won’t weigh in on the topics that belong to experts.
I will share what the Viking and I are doing to be proactive about our future on our suburban homestead. I’ll be extremely transparent that this situation is very concerning to us. So, I have an announcement and it will make Mary, one of my Marketing Assistant’s at my work so happy. I am going to start blogging regularly again. She has been asking me for months to get the blog up and running again. I believe she is right as it’s more important than ever before to stay connected as a homesteading community and I’ve also missed all of you!
We don’t know what is next but we know that we need to follow guidelines from the authorities (CDC/NIH) etc…I personally commend Dr. Fauci for all of his hard work in trying to educate all of us in the United States. Here is the link to hear from him from the PBS: Coronavirus special
Community is a wonderful thing…
We are currently hunkering down as much as possible. I am currently telecommuting to work and my husband who is an essential worker in a trade is minimizing contact with others as much as possible. We are taking all of this one day at a time as is the rest of the world. I’m saddened by how many people have died and will die or become chronically ill from this virus.
I believe a key to our success emotionally will be to continue to plan for our future, build a strong community and to support others. But key…we need to allow others to support us. My one most recent surprise that came up recently is that we are getting to know our neighbors again. I walk our dog River every day and I am meeting neighbors I never even knew.
Now, on to the topics that I do have control over. I do have control over how I react to this situation everyday. The Viking and I talked this over and we have both agreed that for our mental health we will unplug more in the evening (not completely…are you kidding me that would be too much? A little humor. 😉
Once A Homesteader…
We never stopped doing all of our homesteading activities, as you know once a homesteader, always a homesteader. We have been proactive with our canning and food preparations just like usual. For those of you that feel like it’s to late to prepare it’s not. It just means now you are going to have to get more creative than ever before. I’m going to be sharing posts with you about how to make homemade bread, soups, snacks, desserts and other secrets to get by without feeling like you are sacrificing all that much. Many people will continue to eat out at restaurants, but some are going to feel the pinch and cut back on eating out. Everyone has to navigate this situation the best way for them, but if you run into shortages like we did today. Yep, we could not find any hamburger or turkey burger…true story. I was like well it’s okay for that recipe we will just go meatless as this is not a meat I generally keeped stock in the refrigerator now that the kids are grown. Never fear, my Mom to the rescue..she has some ground bison for us to pick-up. I’m like…alright…I’ll suffer…:) We are all working to keep our spirits up right now and help each other out. I am actually trading her with some of my homemade, low-sugar, rice pudding. We are definitely getting the better end of the deal.
On the news they have shared we don’t have a food shortage, but we have a hoarding issue. This is kind of a normal reaction when people are feeling insecure about the future, this too shall pass I hope. A lot of us shy away from staples such as rice and beans and even I do typically as someone who went on the ketogenic diet for two years. However, you can still manage your health while eating these staples, my goodness the pioneers did it for years. It might mean cutting out the crap like sugar, sodas etc…and you won’t miss them I promise. Well, at first you will, but eventually you will get used to it. I am going to post what we are doing throughout this pandemic for all of you and if nothing else we will be in this together. One of the things we are very glad we stocked up on before this crisis was our homemade elderberry syrup. You can create a great immune booster right at home and no it’s not a cure all, but I swear by it in terms of helping me to regain strength and so does the Viking.
Our New Aquaponics System & The Garden
We are working on projects on the homestead such as our new aquaponics system, which we are hoping to raise crawfish or yabbies in. We are looking to the future which also helps to to keep us more positive. The Viking has been using our extra down time to get his new DIY aquaponics system up. (Blog post to come!) I cannot wait for some steamed crawfish for supper! I’ve been in the garden planting seeds, a little late for our warm springs but I’m hoping for the best. As a matter of fact, you also can get outside and get your garden going now. To read my favorite blog post and listen to the podcast of how to get your garden started click here. Also, you can hear the Viking’s corny joke lol. You could have your garden started by this weekend possibly. Obviously depending on your particular circumstances and if you are sheltering in place.
Now is the time to visit with your family and friends. Many seniors and auto-immune compromised folks are very isolated as they self-quarantine to protect themselves. Send them a text, email, or just pick up the phone and call them. It’s easy to start feeling like you are going crazy after lack of human contact. Click here for a great article on keeping your sanity that I stumbled on today.
I wish you all a beautiful week….until next time…
Fondly,
