PREPPING - Where to Begin

Anytime someone wants to start something new, their first question is usually something to the effect of 'how do I start?' or 'where do I begin?'  My Mom always said any project is best started at the beginning. So I'm going to start this whole Prepping series at the beginning.

Start with DECLUTTERING a space to use as your new storage area. For us, that is in our utility room. Even with the wood burner cranking in the middle of winter, our utility room is the coolest room in the basement with two exterior (while well ground-insulated) concrete walls. One West and one North.

Right now as I'm in the middle of reorganizing and decluttering my craft room, this room has become the sorting area for those things. I hope to have that project finished in the next couple of weeks. But this is what this is what it looks like at present:

This first pictures is of the west wall where my husband built the temporary canned goods storage from 2x8s (possibly 2x6) and shelf bracket modules available at most home improvement stores. We found these at Lowes.

This is the South wall separating the utility room from my craft room. As you can see, the plumbing also runs through this area. If I can get a couple of projects done this summer, most everything there will be put to use and out of the way so that we can turn that wall into a rotating can storage similar to this one on My Family Essentials. The link will take you to the page where she talks about food storage and the picture of her can rotation system. For a quick look, I have a pic on my Pinterest Board - Emergency Preparedness -   CAN STORAGE

We use this cabinet to store our bath necessities as there is a shower in this room as well. But we also store the overstock of personal, beauty and paper products here.

A storage area can be one location in your home (ideal) or have zones throughout your house. Under the bed for instance, is a great place to store cases of bottled water. Think about repurposing various pieces of furniture such as an entertainment center (most people don't even need these now with the flat screen now a common household item.  Can you put shelves on the wall above the toilet area for extra rolls of toilet paper or personal products. While having them in plain view may not be the prettiest, how important is pretty when you need to have those items on hand?  A wooden chest doubling as a coffee table, end of the bed seat or even a hassock that has an opening top can be used to store canned goods.  

If you have a garage, how much can you declutter this area and add shelves for bulk items such as toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, etc.

Your assignment this week if you choose to accept it is to take a tour of your home. What can you get rid of and what necessary emergency supplies could you store there instead.

I've showed you mine, show me yours! Start a blog about your Prepper journey and link me. Sharing ideas could save numerous lives!

Blessings!

~Rain

PREPPING - What it means?

Where's there? The end of February. Silly groundhog saw fit to run from his shadow. I'm tired of cold, dreary, wet, cold, ice, - did I mention COLD? Even with the temp at 40* right now, I can't seem to shake the damp chill. Might have something to do with the north wind and drizzle we had this morning.

As we experience all this snow, ice, drizzle I am amazed they consider us under a Burn Ban. They are also forecasting a dry summer. So I've been filling water and juice jugs. My 2 rain barrels are beyond full. I'm hoping we can get the slab poured for the caged water tank down in the orchard so I can siphon off the two barrels down there and start over with new spring rains.

Making sure I have water for my plants this summer is just one of the many things I've begun looking at under the category of PREPPER. Prepping is nothing new. For generations people knew how to plan for a 'rainy' day. They kept their food stock in root cellars for long winters when what they preserved might be all they had to carry them til spring and the next harvest. How many families prepared for 'the big bomb', creating fallout shelters in their backyards (remember the movie Blast from the Past)



But over the past few years, 'prepping' has taken on a whole new meaning. Some people have extended prepping into 'survivalist' - preparing for everything imaginable. From my point of view, I am looking at being prepared for natural disasters - not the end of the world. Several months ago I found a book called. THE PREPPER'S POCKET GUIDE - 101 Easy Things You Can Do To Ready Your Home For A Disaster.

You can get the book for Kindle - $9.39 or hard copy for $10.66. I paid $12.95 at Barnes & Noble and in my opinion worth every penny.  Bernie Carr breaks things down into manageable steps to prepare for everything from dealing with a power outage for a few days to 'who knows how long this will last' scenarios. They are all basic practices we should be doing - Common Sense stuff.

An example is to have a hard copy of your contacts list. We live in a digital age and we think everything is in our phone. But what if your phone dies but you have access to an emergency calling station? Will you remember the phone number of someone you need to contact? Your insurance agent for instance? Or a loved one to let them know you are okay?

Disasters like tornadoes and floods will knock you off your game - if you are NOT prepared.
My plan over the next few weeks is to share some of Bernie's tips with you as I put my own Prepper Plan into action.

In the mean time, I recommend getting the book and putting your own Disaster Relief Plan into action.

Blessings!
~Rain

FOCUS in ACTION

Day 6 and I'm still FOCUSing. So far so good.

Mother Nature has blessed so many of us with frigid temperatures. I know she has a purpose and I'm waiting with bated breath for spring. A normal January here in the south eastern Ozarks would have me prepping seed trays out in the greenhouse. The one we had to recover this year after having put the wrong plastic (non-uv protected) the first time. Ice tried to destroy the pvc structure back in December but so far so good. Now if I could just get out there to play.

In the mean time I bought a small bag of potting soil. I have 2 pineapple tops to plant. My the time they are well rooted this fall, I can move them into the house without fear of the cats chewing on them - maybe. Can you tell I'm ready for spring?

I bought a new book a couple weeks ago. A new form of gardening that has piqued my interest considering I have clay and rock to plant in. Straw Bale Gardens works with the concept of planting above ground in straw bales. Very little soil is used. Only from the seedling you plant or to spread on top  if you plant to start from seed. I'm thinking that as the bales compost down (2 years, maybe?) they will provide excellent compost layering in a lasagna garden method. I'm currently weighing the cost and I think the straw is winning. Even at $5 per bale, if I get 2 years use out of planting, that's cheaper than top soil mixes to improve the rocky/ clay ground I have to work with. Also creates a 'raised bed' so I have less reason to be down on my knees and jabbing myself with a pointy rock. Are you seeing a pattern here?

I can see several of these positioned in a wheel or pentagram shape for my herbs.
Your thoughts?

Blessings
~Rain

WORD OF INTENT - Focus

Happy New Year!

I spent yesterday clearing out my witchy email account. There were feeds from two different blogs going back a full year. Why had I kept them? Because I admire these two women. Though younger than I am, they have an amazing insight to who they are, where they want to be, how to deal with the crap the universe tosses in their path... and like me, an amazing man at their side. I didn't want to miss out on anything they had to say. When you are finished here, please stop over and visit Aradia's Cauldron and The Whimsical Cottage. Sign up for their email feed and follow their journey as pagan's and first time moms (Aradia had a son in July and Whimsical is expecting a summer child.

Last year, a friend of mine, Michelle Hill, got me thinking about a word of intent for the year. Her word was FOCUS. I liked that word a lot. And as 2013 seemed to constantly spiral out of control, I am finding that is a word I need for 2014. There are so many areas I want to focus on. Yes, I said many and I think that is possible.

Spirituality: I need to FOCUS more on daily practice. I get so caught up in every day stuff I let my practice go by the way side. Not this year.

Creativitiy: I kept letting work and the stuff get in the way of 'me time' in 2013. There are so many avenues I want to explore that making time to play and be creative is important to me. I read a book at my son-in-law's over Christmas called 'Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity' by Hugh Macleod. One of the keys is about not letting work overtake our life. We have to make time to do the things we enjoy. So I will FOCUS more on doing the things that I enjoy... just because

Career: This is a big one. For several years I've been paddling the publishing stream. I've gotten a few small things published and even got my first feature in 2013. But those little minows in the back water are no where near where I need to be if I'm to make a monetary contribution to my husband's retirement. Remember, he is the one who supports my every endeavor. And if I say I am a writer, then I'd better be writing. So I am going to FOCUS more on actually sending out proposals and submitting work this year. I'm off to a good start with an editorial in Polymer Cafe magazine this year with a reminder from my editor she will take all I want to submit. So why am I not stepping through this door more often?

I also have a book contract with Boroughs Publishing Group. But one contract is not going to suffice. I need at least three novellas a year to Boroughs. These smaller reads will put me in front of my readers and keep me there so when the full-length novels come along, I have a built in audience.

I also still want to write the Organized Witch book. I start out with good intentions then they fall by the wayside with my lack of spiritual practice.

2014 Brings a huge change in my life - my daughter and her family are moving to WA state at the end of the week. I won't have 8- week summer vacations with my granddaughters under foot, or long weekend trips to TN to see them. My life is all about me and my husband. It's time I started FOCUSing on these areas - so I can afford to make trips to WA to see my girls. LOL

What is your intent for 2014? I'd love to hear from you.
Blessed Be
~Rain

HAPPY NEW YEAR- Muggle Style

With only one full day left of 2013, I feel changes brewing. Some have already begun.
The biggest change for 2014 will be the absence of my granddaughters. My daughter has accepted an excellent offer for a new job in WA state. This grandma is going to be so lost without her girls here for 8 weeks in the summer and close at hand for quick 'hug trips' to Nashville whenever I feel the urge. But things happen for a reason and with this development in our life, I will move forward with a plan. In the words of Tim Gunn 'Make It Work' - and so I shall.

I'm still on the hunt for a Magickal cabinet. I have found a couple I'm drawn to but they won't fit where they need to go. Hmmmm  There are still 2 tubs of things downstairs I'd love to unpack and organize my supplies more efficiently. Might help in the 'practicing' progress more.

Since the addition of a small camper for storing our project wood, I'm also now on the hunt for a new sacred space. Just when I think I've found 'the' spot, something happens. I've decided I'm going deeper into the timber. As the next full moon approaches I'll be taking night-time timber walks to see where the light seems to be the best.

This is also the year I submit more freelance in a wide variety of areas. I don't think I'm in the realm of submitting to Circle (though several years ago, I was invited to do so) or Witches and Pagans but I am thinking more in lines of the pagan artist community. If you know of areas I might fit, I'd appreciate a note either here or in my email... LdyRainLyte (at) yahoo (dot) com.

How was your 2013? What are your hopes and dreams for 2014? Please share. I really do not like talking to myself here. Hehe

Blessings for 2014!
~ Rain

THE SILJA PROJECT - Part 1

I got my book in the mail last week, just a couple days prior to Samhain. Not a lot of time to look through the pages as hubby was headed home after 3 weeks on the boat and we were heading to Nashville to see the granddaughters on Friday. Then, of course, there was Samhain (which I went to bed early as I was driving the next day) and Nano (which I wrote very little on because I was too buys playing with my girls).

So here we are. I've looked through the book and I don't see any issues with my book being anything like hers. My book is to be more about being a 'prepper' of sorts - being prepared ahead of time for Sabbats, Esbats, rituals, etc. With my theme shelved for the moment, let's take a look at Silja's layout.

I LOVE that the book is hard bound with an encased spiral binding. Makes a nice appearance on the shelf while still offering a 'lay-flat' concept. The graphics almost have a gardener's journal appearance. The contents are broke up into the months and Solstices beginning with December and January - Yule and Winter Solstice. I found this odd since the turn of the wheel begins with Samhain. I would have thought that would be the best starting point. BUT... and this is a major point - this is why we need to educate ourselves from more than one source. Everyone has a different viewpoint. So here's Silja's 'chapters':
December and January - Yule and Winter Solstice
February - Imbolc
March and April - Ostara and the Spring Equinox
May - Beltane
June and July - LItha and Summer Solstice
August - Lughnasa and Lammas
September - Mabon and the Autumn Equinox
October and November - Samhain and Halloween
The Moon Rituals

Each Chapter has a title page containing a spell, basic information and the backside contains a pocket for storing your own notes.
She talks about symbols then the rest of the chapter is a 'dayplanner' layout with approximately 6 lines under each date for making notes

So how do I plan to use Silja's book? I'm going to use the dayplanner to mark when I need to do things in 'preparation' for an upcoming ritual. Silja's book will help me work on my own book's outline. Since our turn of the wheel has begun, I'll start with the October/ November chapter then circle back around to December/ January.

Blessings
~Rain

THE EVE OF A NEW YEAR - A Book

Merry Meet, everyone!
My year has just slipped away. I was getting back on track until my granddaughters visited for 8 weeks. I have to tell you, this grandma is out of practice chasing an 18 month old 24/7. LOL We had fun but I accomplished ZIP business-wise. After they'd gone, I just could not get back in flight pattern. I've only this past week begun blogging on all my blogs regularly. The only one I've kept up to date is my music blog. I've made some great connections in the music business and I could not afford to let them slide.

I also entered a writing competition in March with Boroughs Publishing Grp. Although I've not been looking at being strictly ePub, I have wanted to work with CEO Chris Keesler for over 15 years. So I dove in and entered. After several weeks of various rounds of judging, I made the finals. My novella, Somewhere Down the Line, is now under contract and the long process of making the story sparkle is under way.

I wrote the rough draft of Somewhere Down the Line in 18 days during NanoWriMo last year. So with a new Nano on the horizon, I've mapped out another story I'd like to submit to Boroughs and am hoping for great progress, though I'm not entertaining the idea of writing the rough as quick as last year's.

In the past I've talked about a book I want to write about being a more organized witch. I've purchased a copy of The Green Wiccan Year: Celebrations, Rituals, Herbal Magic and Kitchen Witchery by Silja. I ordered the book for two reasons. One, I want to see her perspective and hope her process helps get me back on track. Second, I want to make sure that what I have planned for my book does not duplicate what she has done. Really, who can duplicate what Silja does?

I'm hoping as I follow her master plan, I can blog about the process and find my way back on the path.

Blessings!
~ Rain