Stash Some Cash…Just Keep it Small

A year or so ago, a friend forwarded me an e-mail from a woman who had lived through (by evacuating) that big old hurricane scare down in southeastern Texas.  The gist of her e-mail was quite simple:  stash some cash in small bills in case of an emergency!  The e-mail’s writer was very clear in her reasoning.  In her effort to flee her home with her children and make a day’s journey northwestward through the night, she found herself on the road with THOUSANDS of others (and without her husband who stayed behind to guard the family home).  In an effort to purchase some basic necessities on the way, she found stores and gas stations were most often short-changed when it came to cash and she had to lay down some serious moolah because all she had were bills in larger denominations.  A gallon of water that should only have cost her, say, $3 actually cost her $20 because that was the denomination she had and the store had no change at 3 a.m.!  Her advice to others?  Keep cash in small denominations on hand in case of an emergency.  

Imagine yourself moments after an earthquake has ravaged your area.  What do you grab?  Loved ones and pets, your emergency supplies, a couple precious family heirlooms, and you’re out the door.  Where are you headed?  Probably an emergency shelter.  But of course, you are not alone!  You have hundreds, maybe thousands of friends and neighbors heading in the same direction.  While your emergency supplies may last you and your family for a day or so, changes are that most others are not as prepared as you are and at some point you, too, will have to rely on others for some basic supplies when those same supplies are beginning to run low.  Imagine the benefit of having cash on hand.  Or imagine yourself, like the woman I mentioned above, having to evacuate the area at a moment’s notice.  The gas in your tank will only get you so far.  The supplies you are able to quickly grab will only last so long.  If phone lines are down your credit card is worthless, and ATMs simply will not work if there is no power.  Cash is king and money talks!

In emergency cases, to avoid having to necessarily overspend, you’ll want to have smaller denominations.  Experts recommend (e.g., creditbloggers.com) keeping a few hundred dollars in small bills in your home in case of an emergency.  By small bills, think in terms of $1s, $5s and $10s.  Bulkier than a bunch of $20s or even $100s, but they will no doubt go farther in a crisis! Of course, it’s OK to start small, but start now.  I started stashing my small denominations at the end of each day and before I knew it I had several hundred dollars in emergency cash that was easily accessible.  It was easy to do and I never even noticed it missing!  (And when I needed change for a garage sale and had forgotten to go to the bank the Friday before, voila!  I just had to make sure to replace it!)

Here are a few links regarding the benefit of keeping some cash on hand:

http://www.mainstreet.com/article/money/investing/think-you-have-enough-cash-emergency

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/02/25/why-i-keep-cash-under-my-mattress/

http://www.askmen.com/money/investing_200/203_investing.html

Avoid a Melt Down in a Break Down

I’ve been hearing about the importance of keeping some emergency supplies in my car for a long time. After all, you never know what could happen when you’re out on the road…especially now that summer is here and we seem to be driving kids all over creation to this, that and the other event or camp or family get together, sometimes in the middle of who-knows-where. I have always kept a few basics like jumper cables and a few tools in my trunk, but I was just thinking the other day how important it could be, with scorching weather during the summer and dangerous conditions in the winter, to have a few more things in my car that could help us not just be a little more comfortable should car trouble strand us for a time but that could even keep us alive in case of a more severe emergency.

So, after doing a little researching, I came up with a rather succinct list of items recommended by some rather venerable groups who know much more than I do! Give the following list a look over. I’ll bet you could collect most of these items from around your house, no purchase necessary! Simply stow them in some sort of case or box in your trunk and you’ll have greater peace of mind in case the inevitable happens, because emergencies never happen when it’s convenient or when you are ready for them!

1. FIRST AID KIT – Purchase one or put one together yourself. Include items such as bandages, gauze, first aid ointment, burn cream, pain reliever, anti- bacterial wash, an ace bandage, tweezers, and scissors.
2. Safety triangle or flares
3. Emergency flasher
4. Reflective HELP sign
5. Fire extinguisher
6. Hand-cranked radio and hand-cranked or “dynamo” flashlight (these are really great because they never need batteries and can be recharged just by cranking the handle…they may already be a part of your home storage. If not, they should be!)
7. Bottles of drinking water
8. Some non-perishable food items are essential (think crackers or cookies, maybe some fruit snacks)
9. Wet wipes
10. Roll of paper towels or a towel
11. Small bottle of hand sanitizer
12. Jumper cables
13. Car jack
14. Basic set of tools
15. Foam tire inflator (good in a pinch!)
16. Duct tape
17. Heavy work gloves
18. Change of shoes (this, from someone who perpetually wears 4”heels that I do not feel like ruining should I have to change a tire or walk 3 miles along the highway!)
19. Quart of oil
20. IN THE WINTER, add a portable shovel, an emergency blanket, hand warmers, some candles and matches (AND something to put them in, like can so you don’t set your car on fire!), a traction mat, an ice scraper, and a bag of sand or cat litter to get you out of slippery situations. Remember, your car’s floor mats can be used for traction as well!

Do not carry extra gasoline… the risk completely outweighs the benefit!

Additionally, make checking these few things a part of your regular driving routine:

• Don’t let your GAS gauge dip below ½ tank.
• Keep the SPARE TIRE properly inflated in case of a flat.
• Keep your CELL PHONE charged at all times. As a pilot of small planes, a cell phone is one of the most important things I carry with me (regardless of what commercial airlines will tell you!) because, should my electronic systems go out, I at least have the potential of being able to contact air traffic control. The same goes for a car. If your car’s systems go out, you need to be able to have a way to get a hold of someone.
• Always let someone know your PLANS. If something bad happens, they will know your most likely route.
• Your safest bet to avoiding a breakdown is to keep your car in good condition. Have TUNE-UPS regularly. Don’t let them go overdue…like I tend to do. Being “too busy” is going to be a poor excuse when someone has to come rescue you!

 

If you like to add extra items, there are lots of suggestions out there. A few sites that might be helpful are:

http://cars.about.com/od/adviceforowners/a/ag_winterkit.htm

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/tires-auto-parts/auto-parts/roadside-emergency-kit-what-to-carry-with-you-1105/overview/index.htm?Extkey=SY95PI0&CMP=KNC-CROVMYSSP&HBX_OU=51&PK=yssp

 

If you prefer to just buy a kit already assembled, you can find them at sites like these, among a myriad of others:

http://www.lifeprepared.com/car-kits.html

http://www.survival-supply.com/emergency-kits-c-95.html

A (Natural Disaster) Video Is Worth a Thousand Words!

After posting yesterday about wild fires, I was doing a more in depth search this morning for information on natural disasters.  I came across a website  called Wonder How To that was a treasure trove of natural disaster survival (and other) videos.  Although this particular site does not appear to produce the videos themselves, it has compiled a rather extensive list of videos found elsewhere on the web, mostly it appears from YouTube, in one convenient place.  They have tons of information on how to prepare for and survive natural disasters of all sorts, in addition to some CRAZY footage of actual natural disasters!  Check them out at:

http://www.wonderhowto.com/disaster-preparation/natural-disaster-plan-prepare-video/

Can’t Stand the Heat? Better Be Prepared for a Fire!

Have you seen the headlines lately wondering if we will ever have a summer?  I think they had my area in mind!  Even though I live on top of a mountain, I think my house may just slide down the hill any minute.  I think we have had rain every day since June 1^st!   Fortunately, it’s been more of the thunderstorm variety than the mucky overcast-all-day sort.   And it has given us the most beautiful start to summer – everything is green and lush – which is a most unusual sort of summer for the high desert!  However, that same lushness can mean only one thing once we dry out to a normal summer:  extreme wildfire danger. 

Where we live, there is not much that overly concerns us when it comes to natural disasters.  We don’t have hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, or tornados…except the ones my boys seem to create in my house everyday now that school’s out.  Earthquakes – or should I say THE earthquake – does concern us.  Supposedly our little ‘ole metropolitan area of Salt Lake is quite overdue for the big one here in Utah.  Having come from California, though, and lived through many a quake, that does not worry me quite so much on a personal and family level.  We’d be OK, precluding any fatalities.  How our community and the wider metropolitan community would fare, though, does worry me given the extent of damage a large quake could do not only to buildings and homes but to emergency response.  The sheer number of those who would be affected could be crippling.  

Wildfires are another thing that does concern me, more so than an earthquake.   They scare me more from a personal and family standpoint than from a community standpoint.  A wildfire is typically contained fairly quickly and affects a smaller area than something like an earthquake.  Granted there are those crazy big fires that southern California seems to get annually, but it seems that for most areas, wildfires are more localized to outlying areas where not many people usually live and are put out fairly efficiently.  If you happen to be one of those people in such an outlying area, though, you worry! 

Our home is a bit remote, being about a mile from a main road and a few miles from the highway.  We can walk to our neighbors’ homes, but it’s a long way and you arrive only after passing acres and acres of undeveloped wilderness .   There is one road and only two entrances/exits.  If a wildfire struck our little neck of the woods, it would be truly terrifying!  That means preparation for us is an essential.  That’s why I really appreciated the CDC’s website on wildfire preparation and protection:

          http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/wildfire/

Also, try these couple of sites, including FEMA and FireWise:

          http://www.fema.gov/hazard/wildfire/wf_prepare.shtm

          http://www.firewise.org/

If you’re like me and mine and find yourself living in an area so dry the trees bribe the dogs, do yourself and your family a favor and be prepared for the possible.

The Great Chicken Debate

My husband grew up on a farm.  Well, perhaps “farm” is a loose interpretation of what it really was. They had chickens and horses and pigs and cows. They grew a garden, collected eggs and fought with a mean rooster. But the word farm implies something more, something you make some sort of living off of, right? My husband’s childhood “farm”, however, served one purpose…to teach him and brothers and sisters to work! Not a bad reason in and of itself, but it did leave a sour taste in my husband’s mouth at the thought of ever self-imposing such work on himself. He vowed he would never ever consider such ventures if he had the choice.

I, on the other hand, grew up a city girl. The extent of “livestock” at home were a couple of miniature schnauzers and a parakeet. That is not to say, though, that I did not have my fair share of organic experiences. My great grandparents had chickens and horses and a pig, all of which fascinated us as youngsters and which we tended to when we were around their home. They were true farmers in their own rite. They took care of the land and it took care of them and supplied much of their needs and income. My grandparents, in turn, had chickens and rabbits and a burro named Barney…all right there in the suburbs of the California Bay Area. So while I had my share of growing up around animals, I escaped the general responsibility of them overall. But they were fun to visit!

So, in our home, we have had to have a meeting of the minds: one animal lover vs. one animal not-so-much-lover. The result? Two dogs (yes, miniature schnauzers!), a parrot, and, previously, a Chinese Water Dragon, a miniature shark, and several fish, not to mention the annual summer accoutrement of lizards, snakes and spiders caught for a week’s worth of entertainment at a time…at least until the snakes eat the lizards. And, to top it all off, a chicken coop just arrived in my yard this morning! My husband just rolled his eyes and asked who was going to clean up after the little buggers.

He has tried, in his not-so-obvious way, to talk me out of chickens for the last couple months. I am afraid I haven’t listened. Nor have my children been terribly affected by his stories of midnight raccoon raids, split-open chickens, rat-infested coops, and sneaky, blood-drawing roosters. It will take us a week or so I am sure to get our little coop up and running, though, so perhaps we can ease my husband into it. After all, first he has to clear out the little patch that will be become the chicken run!  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.  In the meantime, check out these websites on do-it-yourself chickens:

• www.backyardchickens.com/
• http://urbanchickens.org/
• www.farminfo.org/livestock/chickens.htm
• http://raisingchickens.wetpaint.com/

How does this all fit into my search for peace through provident living, you might ask? Do chickens bring any sort of peace, anyway??? I’m not quite sure and my husband is convinced they don’t! What I do think is that being able to provide something myself, sort of like my bees and their honey, appeals to me. If something happens and I don’t have access to stocked market shelves, I know I will at least have fresh eggs to add to my food storage. (If you’ve ever tried to work with powder eggs, you can appreciate that!) If I need to throw one in the stew pot, so be it. It’s a small perhaps messy step, but one that I think will provide my family with some basics and some essential skills…like learning to work! I guess what comes around, goes around…

How Long Could You Survive? A Poll…

I thought it might be interesting to gauge the level of preparedness we each currently have when it comes to our daily bread.  If you have a minute, take a look at your own current food situation, including what’s in your refrigerator, your pantry, your food storage, etc., and then answer the following simple poll.  If you like, send us a comment about what might be holding you back from storing up enough supplies to get you and your family through a prolonged emergency (think several months or even longer!).  Your dilemma is most likely shared by a lot more of us and is probably something Provident Priscilla can help with!

First Aid Training: Could You Save a Life?

In October 2007, Ashley’s 3-year old cousin, Summer, stopped breathing in her car seat.  Thinking quickly, 14-year old Ashley began CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on her cousin, saving her life. How did she know what to do?  Just three days earlier, Ashley had received a life-saving lesson in school.  Had Ashley not known what to do ahead of time, Summer would not have survived.  In a survey conducted by 3M, over 80% of caregivers said their child learns about first aid when an injury occurs, not before!  That means Ashley was one of the lucky ones who learned before something horrible happened.

The statistics which show the importance of the average person knowing basic first aid are eye-opening:

• Accidents (falling, driving, cutting or burning yourself, etc.) are the 3rd leading cause of death for males in the United States;  the 7th leading cause of death for women. (National Vital Statistics Report, Volume 50, Number 15, September 2002)
• Over ½ of all road accident deaths occur within the first few minutes at the scene.
• On average, it takes less than 4 minutes for a blocked airway to cause death.
• Ambulance response times are expected to be 8 minutes or less for 90% of calls (National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians);  in actuality, they are closer to 10 minutes or longer, and sometimes much longer.
• If bleeding is not controlled, even the most sophisticated or quickest emergency service in the world will not arrive in time.
• Many pre-hospital deaths from injury can be prevented with simple first aid. (British Medical Journal, 1994)

Child care providers have to have first aid training, as do medical works and environmental scientists (I know because once upon a time I was one).  Those all make sense, right?  But what about your teenage driver or your construction worker husband?  How about your child’s teacher or principal?  CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator), along with first aid, courses teach the basic skills that you could very well find yourself needing in an emergency situation, situations which occur every day!

My hope would be that every adult and teenager be trained in first aid and CPR. My reasoning is fairly selfish! While I am a pretty calm, reasonable, quick-thinking gal and blood does not bother me – plus, I’ve have had some first aid training – I figure there may well come a day when I am the one passed out at the bottom of the stairs or with my head gashed open and heading into shock.  That’s when my sons, my husband or a neighbor will have to be the ones to have to help before emergency personnel can arrive, and I want them to know what to do and to be able to keep a calm head enough to keep me alive!  Similarly, if my husband is in a potentially fatal car accident or my son gets knocked unconscious at school, I want someone else to have some life saving skills.

Speaking of driving, I now have a son learning to navigate the roadways.  It’s a little scary! The British Red Cross predicts that within 20 years, road accidents are likely to be the 3rd biggest killer and global statistics show that drivers ages 17 to 29 are 6 times more likely to be involved in an accident than drivers over age 40.  For that reason, my son WILL be first aid trained because I want him to know what to do if either he or his passengers or someone he comes across on the road is injured in an accident.  Some countries have even instituted (and other are considering it) a requirement that all licensed drivers hold a first aid certificate…the U.S. just isn’t one of them yet.

My 2-year first aid certification lapsed a long time ago.  But I have every intention of renewing it this summer, along with getting the rest of my family certified.  It’s just one more step in my quest for preparedness!  In a rudimentary search for local classes, I quickly and easily came up with two reasonable possibilities.  One of my options are a combination of two National Safety Council courses (split up into CPR/AED one day and First Aid another) being held by our local community education program.   The other is a Red Cross course which combines CPR/AED and First Aid.  I also noticed the Red Cross offers a course designed specifically for babysitters.  What great training for any teenage girl (or boy) to have!  If your son is a Boy Scout (as are mine), encourage him to earn the First Aid merit badge.

Please consider first aid training for you and your family.  Although the thought of having to actually help someone in an emergency, particularly one involving blood or shock or worse, may be absolutely frightening, you could well become someone’s lifesaver.  That someone may be your own child or spouse!   To find classes locally, try the following:

• To search for classes by state: www.cprcalendar.com/browse/ (I couldn’t get this site to work very well for me, however)
• Your local Red Cross chapter
• American Heart Association
• Local hospitals
• Community education
• Local fire station or police station
• Online (but it’s better in a classroom setting, particularly CPR, as the hand-on experience is absolutely invaluable)

Please share your first aid stories with Provident Priscilla!  Let us know how important first aid training has been in your own life.

Got Skills?

I was listening to a local talk show the other day that brought the immortal words of Napolean Dynamite – “I got skills” – to mind.  A caller was lamenting the fact that she was a young 20-something with a college degree who thought she had absolutely no utilitarian skills to speak of.  She couldn’t change the oil in her car, could barely cook, couldn’t sew, couldn’t garden, really couldn’t do any of those things she thought made one independent of others.  She had pioneer ancestors that she knew possessed skills such as knitting, cooking, tending livestock, blacksmithing, farming, etc., that not only kept a family alive, but that contributed to the well-being of the local community – a community that depended on each other and appreciated the skills each had to offer, no matter how small.

Take a look at your own life.  What happens when the faucet springs a leak (for the 10^th time)?  Do you call the plumber because you don’t know a washer from a wrench?  When your husband puts a hole in his shirt does it become thrift store fodder because sewing is not in your repertoire?  If you want fresh peaches for a pie, do you run out to the backyard or the grocery store?  Do you even know how to make a pie???  If your child is oozing blood from a gash in her arm, do you panic and woozily call 911 because you don’t know the first thing about first aid? 

The point is we have become completely and utterly dependent on others to make our lives run.  So much so that, although we may have known how to do many of those necessary, everyday things once upon a time, our children do not because we do not do them ourselves nor have we passed that knowledge on.   A great article on how even the simplest of cooking instructions have changed over the years because our cooking savvy has declined to utter incompetence was published in San Diego’s Union Tribune on March 19, 2006.  It raises the question of just where our cooking smarts have gone.  The answer seems to be “in the grave!” (See www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060319/news_1n19cooking.html)  Cooking isn’t the only skill either.  Think about sewing, canning and gardening.  Our parents and grandparents lived with the philosophy of making do, using up, doing it themselves, or doing without.  What happened to that?  Granted, it’s easier to pay someone else to do it for us, but did we really ever learn those skills in the first place?  Or have we simply let that knowledge and ability die out of neglect?  What are we passing on to future generations, the ability to dial the phone or to do things themselves?   A Penny Closer also had a nice article on “lost arts” (http://apennycloser.com/2007/09/25/the-lost-arts/) worth the reading.

So, let’s think ahead a little.  What happens when grocery store shelves are cleaned off and gas pumps are empty in a crisis (whether short or prolonged) and you have to depend on your own skills and self-produced products or those of your neighbors?  What will your contribution to your community be?  What skills and/or products do you have that could be bartered or traded for things you and your family might need?  Given the economy we are currently in, perhaps it’s time to dust off those long ago-learned skills and start putting them to use, even if just to save a little in there here and now.  If you never learned those skills to begin with, look into some local community education classes.  I recently looked through the course catalog for the University of Utah Lifelong Learning classes and noticed these:

• Balcony Gardens
• How to Raise Backyard Gardens (next on my list!)
• Farm Your Small Acreage
• Homeowner Basics
• Raising Bees (already took that one!)
• Preserving Fruits and Vegetables
• Toolbox Basics
• Vegetable Container Gardening

 

These were just a few among a myriad of other arts and crafts classes.  Our local school district offers adult and youth education courses that include certified CPR and First Aid, knitting and sewing basics, and cooking classes.  There is a wealth of information out there, and many people willing to pass on their knowledge and skills…you just have to know where to find it!  The book series “For Dummies” has some great and varied topics and uses a simple format for the dummy in all of us.  You’d be surprised what you can find!

Perhaps we all need to take a look at what we can do skill-wise or what we can provide that can be of value.  Me and mine?  Well, I can sew (learned from my mom) although I don’t do it much with three boys.  I can cook and garden a little (knowledge from my grandfather), although the moose eat most things!  I have some beehives and plan on getting a few chickens (knowledge I owe to community education).  I’m also certified in first aid (professional training) but would like to learn a little more about emergency medical procedures.  My husband is a builder and so has a range of handy skills that would be of immense use.  Most importantly, I grew up with the belief that if someone else could do something, so could I…it just might take me a little longer!  I have tried to instill that belief into my children, as well, along with all those other skills that I learned at the knees of my grandparents, parents and others, for which I will be forever grateful.

Dry (Powdered) Milk: It’s Come a Long Way!

My morning hot chocolate routine makes me believe that a situation where milk was not available would force me into serious depression!  Add to that the fact that I am a white woman of European origin, and hence prone to osteoporosis, with 3 growing sons and you can see my need for a readily available supply of milk.  Obviously, it is impossible to store fresh milk for more than a couple weeks, despite the occasional unconscious attempt that only results in akin to a science experiment gone awry.  Therein lies my search for the best “emergency” milk option, short of owning a dairy cow (which I have considered!). 

That hunt had led me to about the only feasible option:  powdered milk.  Powdered (dry or instant) milk is a food storage staple I have not typically used in the past except for a few baked items every now and then.  (I have used dried buttermilk as well.)  It is a good cost effective alternative for cooking, coming in around ½ the cost of fresh milk.  But cooking with the powdered stuff is one thing.  Drinking it straight is something entirely different.  When it comes to having to gulp down a glass, one owes it to oneself to be a bit more picky!

Powdered milk is made by removing, in one way or another, the liquid component of fresh milk, leaving behind a powder.  It can then be used dry for cooking and baking, or reconstituted with water for drinking.  It is high in calcium, protein, Vitamin D and Vitamin A, low in calories, and has no cholesterol.  Most are non- or low-fat, although whole milk versions are available.  (Whole-milk products tend to go rancid more quickly because of their fat content.)  Dry milk comes as instant and regular (non-instant).  “Non-instant” does not dissolve as easily in water and is a bit more difficult to find, but does taste a bit better than instant.  Each of these different versions has its pluses and minuses, depending on personal use and preference…some even come flavored with the likes of chocolate and strawberry!

From a cooking standpoint, powdered milk is easy to find, to bake with, and to store, and is relatively cost effective. It can be substituted for fresh milk in almost any recipe with great results.  You can even use it for making sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, etc.  The biggest downside is that it requires some effort to get it to mix into water smoothly (use a whisk or mixer) and it just plain does not taste as good as fresh whole milk, although it has come a long way in recent years.  Probably much of that has to do with the fact that we just are not used to it.  It tastes similar to skim milk, though, so if you’re used to skim you won’t be quite as adverse to powdered. 

Beyond that, it’s all about personal preference.  You will hate some brands and like some others.  It will just take a little trial and error on the part of you and yours to determine what is acceptable and which is best given to the dogs.  There are many brands out there!  Carnation (www.verybestbaking.com/products/carnation/dry/default.aspx) is a popular one in grocery stores, but anything at the market will be more expensive.  Country Cream is a good-tasting brand that can be bought in bulk (www.grandmascountry.com), as is Maple Island (www.maple-island.com).   There is also what is called “low-fat dry milk alternative”.  It is not your average dried milk but is an alternative using a blend of Grade A sweet dairy whey, dairy solids, and nondairy solids.  Morning Moo’s (now available at Costco…yeah!) is the best.  For more information, look them up at www.moosmilk.com.  This is, by far, the best dry milk I have used! 

Just remember as you go about determining which tastes best to you that chilled tastes better than not and, as with about anything, fresh is best.  (You can mix reconstituted dry milk with some whole milk to give it a little body and added flavor.  Some have also been known to add a drop or two of vanilla or a little sugar to give it a little more flavor.)   But regardless which brand tastes best to you, include it in your preparations and learn to use it in your cooking and baking.  I think you will be pleased not only with the results, but with the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have a dairy source readily available that doesn’t require a shovel!

Here are a few more particulars: 

1. Food storage specialists recommend storing 16 pounds dried milk per person.  This will last approximately 3 months.  If you go with a product like Morning Moo’s which has a longer shelf life, a recommended 60-75 pounds per person should last 1 year. 
2. You can store dry milk in buckets and containers, but it is best in smaller packages for freshness. 
3. Inappropriate storage conditions, including high humidity and temperature, can significantly degrade the nutritive value of powdered milk.  Avoid humidity or moisture as it will cause dry milk to clump (those little nitrogen pack oxygen absorbers can help). 
4. Until opened, dry nonfat milk and buttermilk can be kept in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year, maybe longer.  Morning Moo’s, the dry milk alternative I mentioned above, can be stored at 55 degrees F for up to 10 years plus!  Dry milk more than a year old in the box is too old for drinking (although not for cooking).
5. To help it stay fresh and give it a little longer shelf life once it’s opened, refrigerate the package. 

For more information and for recipes using dry milk, just do a simple search for dry milk recipes, or try the following sites for some basic recipes such as yogurt, cottage cheese, and sweetened condensed milk:

• USDA’s Website:  http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/facts/hhpfacts/FS-NFDMInstant.pdf
• http://www.tvsinc.org/recipes.shtml
• http://www.cooks.com/rec/search?q=dry+milk
• http://www.mormonchic.com/recipe/recipebox/pages/powderedmilk.asp

Why Provident Priscilla?

Provident Priscilla – two oxymoronic words at best! 

Several years ago, I was given the task of teaching emergency preparedness in my community.  What I learned, then and since, resulted in a dramatic change in my own little personal dogma.  I decided that no matter what may befall in my personal life, in the economy, in the political landscape, or in the physical world, I would not allow myself, if at all possible, to be at someone else’s mercy.  Not the government, my neighbors, my friends, etc.  I wanted to be self-sufficient.  But not, perhaps, in the way you might be thinking!

The idea of self-sufficiency is clearly not new.  Our ancestors farmed or ranched or herded or wove or whatever!  In good times, they laid aside the things that would last them through a rough run, be it winter, a famine, periods of no work, etc.  There were no credit cards to save them!  That’s a valuable philosophy, no, to save against a rainy day?  One forgotten in large measure but acutely remembered, no doubt, during these past few months of economic upheaval and world turmoil.

Let me be clear, however, about who I am.  I am not some strange recluse subsisting off the land (although I do have 2 hives of bees…the moose eat everything else!).  The thought of giving birth in my own bed or moving to a cabin in the woods has never even remotely crossed my mind. I am a working mother of 3 boys,wear 4-inch heels 90% of the time (I have one pair of tennis shoes that may have seen 5 hours of wear in the past 3 years at most!), live in a rather lovely (not very green) home, go to church, serve in the community, and enjoy eating out…a lot!  My typical morning breakfast includes a large, non-fat Star Bucks hot chocolate brought to me by my assistant, and perhaps something gooey from the bakery…no time for lunch, let alone working out, usually.  I am forever grateful for a well-stocked grocery store, the local community theater, American Express Points, traveling, Sephora, and, of course, Star Bucks.  

The point is, I am not a self-sufficiency fanatic that has sealed herself and her family away from the world out of fear over what may come. I am, however, a fanatic about my own preparations for my family, hopefully which will be sufficient enough to carry us through one of those rough runs.  I ferociously appreciate the fine and easily accessible things of life, and should bad times overtake, I would be seriously bummed!  But, I find a great amount of peace in knowing that we are prepared…or at least that we are getting there.  

Therein lies the oxymoron of Provident Priscilla.  Priscilla because the name alone seems to ooze with an appreciation for the finer, easy things of life.  Provident because despite the type of lives each of us leads, we still, at the end of the day, have a deep responsibility to ensure that our families can endure tough times.  I believe very strongly that there is no excuse for shirking that responsibility or for a laissez-faire approach to it.  No amount of “I didn’t know” or “I wasn’t ready” will help if we find ourselves in less-than-desirable circumstances.  

What I hope you will glean from my musings and researches, my successful as well as failed attempts at personal preparedness and provident living, are practical, non-fanatical, everyday ways to give you – and your family – peace amid the chaos that is this world we live in.  Peace that no matter what happens, you will be alright.  

So, please, join in this conversation!  I need all the help and ideas I can get because, like I said, I am just a regular ‘ole wife and mother struggling to make sure her family will be sufficiently ready in the face of whatever nature or governments or economies can throw my way.  Bring it on!