The sword of Damocles, North Idaho-style

Some of you may be familiar with the Sword of Damocles, defined as "an allusion to the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power":

According to the story, Damocles was pandering to Dionysius, his king, and exclaimed to him that Dionysius was truly fortunate as a great man of power and authority, surrounded by magnificence. In response, Dionysius offered to switch places with Damocles so that Damocles could taste that very fortune firsthand. Damocles quickly and eagerly accepted the king's proposal. Damocles sat down in the king's throne surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius arranged that a huge sword should hang above the throne, held at the pommel only by a single hair of a horse's tail. Damocles finally begged the king that he be allowed to depart because he no longer wanted to be so fortunate, realizing that with great fortune and power comes also great danger.

For the last few days, our sub-zero temperatures have risen above freezing, resulting in slushy conditions. It also means snow has been sliding off metal roofs, often with an enormous "whoosh-WHOMP" as hundreds of pounds of snow dumps off. Obviously roofs with the steepest pitch dump first; roofs with a shallower pitch take longer and often result in long curls of snow before the weight breaks it off and it dumps to the ground.

A couple mornings ago I went out to fill the water tank behind the barn. The snow was slowly sliding off the roof, and the overhang was at least two feet.

A bunch of snow had already dumped off, burying the water tap, which I dug out.

But I was working directly under the snowy sword of Damocles. Here I'm looking up, just waiting for the snow shelf to break off and bury me.

Needless to say, while the tank was filling, I stood well away from the tap.

Fortunately I escaped the dump.

Two hours later, I heard a mighty "whoosh-WHOMP." Down came about half the snow, which completely buried the tap. I dug it out again.

It partially blocked the stall where Matilda and her calf get shelter, so I had to dig them out.

Later the rest of the snow slid off and re-buried the tap even deeper. Wheee.

Sigh. Had to dig out the tap yet again.

But this time there's no more snow. This dig-out should last awhile.

No new snow on the horizon, at least in any appreciable quantity. No more digging. (Yeah right.) No more swords of Damocles.

Last chance for Back to Basics Bundle

This is the last chance to participate in the Back to Basics Bundle. It ends at 10 pm Central time.

(I hunted around and actually managed to figure out how to insert a countdown clock -- aren't you proud of me? -- but of course it's a free demo doohickey.)

To learn what kind of nifty info is included in this bundle, click here.

Pretty nifty stuff if you're into the whole simple living/homesteading/self-sufficiency thing, as we are. Thanks and happy reading!

Friday roundup

Yeah, I know it's Saturday; but nonetheless, time for our newly-reinstated Friday Roundup in which we list whatever we did during the week, big or small, that inched us toward increased self-sufficiency or self-reliance.

It's winter, so things are still slow as far as what we can get done, but we've done a few things this week:

• We bought wood since we're gearing up for a production run of tankards.

We're in the early stages of getting ready to sell the business, which -- who knows? -- might become a home-based business for someone else.

• I've continued my slow but steady progress in eradicating the unnecessary. This week I tackled our enormous file boxes of old tax records. You wouldn't believe how far back some of these files went went; how about 1997?

With the blessings of our tax preparer, I cleaned out twelve years' worth of old tax files, records, canceled checks, and other supporting flotsam and jetsam (you can see the enormous pile of discarded paperwork in front of Lydia). The only think I kept were the taxes themselves (one folder per year). When the snow melts off, we'll hold a burn party and send the ashes to the earth.

That's about it for us. How about you? What have you done this week, big or small, to increase your self-sufficiency?

(Reminder: If you're interested in ordering the Back to Basics Bundle, tomorrow is the last day.)

For those in high places...

As the events of Inauguration Day unfolded yesterday morning, I found myself in the barn doing the usual morning chores.

I gave the chickens their feed and refilled their waterers. I cleaned the stall where elderly Matilda and her calf are spending a lot of time. I fed them. I filled the livestock water tank. I fed the rest of the livestock. And I thought about Trump taking office.

Literally a world of responsibilities now rest upon his shoulders (I pray he allows himself to be guided by God in handling those responsibilities). And I gave thanks those responsibilities are not mine.

Some people in high office (Hillary comes to mind) may look down upon those of us who shovel cow patties around for a living, but I vastly prefer these humble duties. There are those born to rule others, and those born to rule only themselves. I am firmly of the latter, not the former.

The decisions of a president can affect millions of lives. The decisions of a north Idaho housewife affect very few.

Just some thoughts on a winter morning.

Back to Basics Bundle (going fast)

This year I tried something new: I participated in a really really neat thing called the Back to Basics Bundle.

The idea behind this concept is to gather all kinds of nifty information from many different people into one big, affordable, convenient e-package. This year there are over 70 ebooks, online courses, and other miscellaneous offerings. Yowza, it’s cool.

So what kind of information is contained in this bundle? It has stuff for anyone interested in homesteading, rural living, etc.:

• Cooking from scratch
• Do-it-yourself
• Food storage
• Frugal living
• Gardening
• Homesteading
• Natural parenting
• Natural remedies
• Preparedness
• Simple living

Each of these categories contains an astounding amount of information. (Ahem. Yours truly contributed to the canning section.) The bundle also includes a one-year subscription to Molly Green, a homeschooling planner, a gardening coloring book, a three-month membership to the SchoolHouse Teachers website (300 online courses!), a 52-week preparedness guide, and – this is way cool – the newest book from Lisa Bedford (the Survival Mom) called “One Second After the Lights Go Out.”

The nice thing about this bundle is the writers are all hands-on experts in cooking or building or gardening or homeschooling. Most if not all have well-known websites (the Survival Mom, the Organic Prepper, etc.).

Frankly, for $29.97, you could do a lot worse, especially since you essentially get a whole self-reliance library in one fell swoop. You even have 30 days to review the material and get a refund if you aren’t happy.

For those who prefer to download things directly to their Kindle, instructions are here.

If your internet speed is slow, for an additional $25, Back 2 Basics can send you a flash drive loaded with everything. (This also means not only can you download the ebooks onto multiple computers, but you can reuse the flash drive.)

But I did something stupid on my end. This bundle is only sold for seven days, and five of those days are already gone. In other words, this bundle is only available through Sunday, January 22. My bad, I got caught up on lots of stuff this week and simply forgot to announce it.

So – if you’re interested in what I believe is an amazing deal with an impressive amount of information, click here. Download your info. Then let me know what you think. And happy reading!

Snow pix

We've had several days of sub-zero weather which, thankfully, is easing. Here are some snow pictures from the last week or so:

Don stuck some icicles in a snowbank and called it Icehenge.

Icicles have been something of a mainstay for the past week.

It's been very pretty. Cold, but pretty. Clear days equal really cold nights.

The sun backlighting some snowdrifts.

On some mornings we had hoarfrost. This website defines it as follows: "First, to produce any frost, you need water vapor (gaseous form of water) in the air over cold ground with a surface dew point at least as cold as 32 degrees. When these water vapor molecules contact a subfreezing surface, such as a blade of grass, they jump directly from the gas state to solid state, a process known as 'deposition,' leading to a coating of tiny ice crystals."

Whatever the cause, hoarfrost is spectacularly beautiful. It's like every surface is coated with diamonds. It has to be seen to be believed. Photos can't do it justice.

Early dawn:

Full daylight:

For obvious reasons, I call these Days of Diamonds.

Even the snow itself forms hoarfrost ice crystals:

Here's some hay in the barn:

Sunset:

Alpenglow on the distant peaks:

Yep, if we have to have bitterly cold temperatures, at least the scenery is gorgeous.

Who IS this Marie Kondo, anyway?

Since I've been "spring" (winter) cleaning the house and eradicating the unnecessary, I stumbled across someone named Marie Kondo, a tiny and exquisitely beautiful Japanese woman who apparently has become some sort of de-cluttering guru.

She's written some books which have become international sensations, such as The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up -- and yet I'd never heard of her before.

The New York Times had a fairly comprehensive article on her from last year, and endless other information is available.

Who IS this lady? Has anyone read her books or utilized her methods? In other words, what makes her different?

Re-introducing Friday Roundups

A dear friend recently told me preparedness is declining in the wake of Trump's election. We both agreed The Donald taking office may stave off an economic decline for awhile, but not forever. It does, however, buy us more time. America is still staggering under a massive and unpayable debt level, and for this reason alone I urge people not to let their guard down.

Almost two years ago, I instigated a weekly blog event called a "Friday Roundup." The idea was to post whatever we did during the week, big or small, that inched us toward increased self-sufficiency or self-reliance. It lasted about two months, then faded away (turns out Fridays are actually pretty durned busy for us).

But I thought the idea was kinda cool: namely, since everyone's circumstances and situations are different and we can all learn from each other, I invited everyone to pitch in and explain to other readers what steps they took during the week -- remember, big or small -- toward preparedness.

So I'd like to re-introduce the Friday Roundups. Ahem -- you'll notice this blog post is appearing on a Thursday, but "Thursday Roundup" doesn't have quite the same ring. I can't guarantee a Friday Roundup will appear every week on the same day like clockwork -- it may drift around a bit -- but the date isn't as important as the content.

So let's get started. Since it's winter and we're waist-deep in snow, outdoor work is limited; but we've done a few things this week:

• I ordered two sweet cherry bushes from Burgess. Last summer we got our first small crop from our two tart cherry bushes; and while they puréed beautifully, we also wanted sweet cherries for fresh eating. (We also wanted bushes instead of trees.) After some research, we found these sweet cherry bushes which hopefully will fill the niche. When ordering, I confirmed with the company they wouldn't be shipped until later in the spring, since I can't even get through the garden gate due to snow. We do, however, have a place to plant the tiny bushes when they arrive.

• I'm purging. Forget spring cleaning -- spring is usually too busy -- but snowy weather is an incomparable time to dig down in the corners and eradicate the unnecessary. Don and I started with our bedroom, which – being upstairs away from the vacuum cleaner – tends to accumulate dust. (Dust is something of a mainstay around here, between the farm and the woodshop.) Don’s allergies finally demanded we do something about it, so we gave our room a thorough cleaning and purged clothes and shoes we no longer needed. We ransacked the dark recesses of closets and found two old dog toys Lydia had stashed there ages ago. The bedroom is now bright and airy and dust-free (for the time being).

Buoyed by this success, I started tackling other neglected corners. We are a book-heavy household, and over the years began accumulating books we read once and no longer wanted to keep. Same with magazines. The books, being heavy things, probably jettisoned hundreds of pounds of weight all by themselves. This is an ongoing process I'll continue through the winter.

• We've been strengthening our neighborhood ties. Preparedness is a three-legged stool, and "community" is one of those legs. Don and some other neighbors got together (as they do about once a month) to discuss increased neighborhood cohesion and assistance.

This time of year, part of this cohesion and assistance involves snow removal. Here a neighbor is using a tractor-mounted snowblower to clear our driveway:

Here we're getting another neighbor's truck unstuck in the week after Christmas.

• We held our weekly potluck -- which also contributes to neighborhood cohesion and assistance.

So, with the understanding we're in the middle of winter and projects are limited ... what's your Friday Roundup?

Dig down and find those shopping genes

As a Christmas bonus, Older Daughter's employers gave her a prepaid debit card in a generous amount to be spent on whatever she wants. (No, this isn't a photo of her actual card.)

Since she didn't have a package under the tree for her sister, Older Daughter decided to take Younger Daughter shopping after Christmas. I thought this was very sweet.

So one day, off went both girls with plans to paint the town red ("town" being Coeur d'Alene, an hour's drive away). They came back smiling, many hours later, having looped through Spokane as well.

I expected to see two young women staggering in laden with packages and bags. But no, they were virtually empty-handed.

"So where did you go?" I asked.

Older Daughter started ticking off stops on her fingers. "First, we went to All Things Irish."

(This is a favorite store to walk through, but it's fairly expensive so we never buy anything. The week before, Older Daughter and I had stepped inside and she'd tried on a darling but pricey capelet.)

"Did you buy the capelet?" I asked.

"No. It's pretty, but not that pretty -- for the price. But I bought a Christmas ornament on sale, and some tea."

After this, Older Daughter related, they poked through a number of favored thrift stores and Older Daughter purchased Younger Daughter a second-hand purse and some trendy "army" boots.

Then they drove into Spokane because Older Daughter wanted to treat Younger Daughter to a brand-new outfit from an establishment called Forever 21, which evidently has become one of Older Daughter's favorite clothing stores (apparently it specializes in stylish but inexpensive garments). Younger Daughter was outfitted in a brand-new blouse, skirt, and warm leggings. (We realized later this was one of a handful of new clothing Younger Daughter has ever worn, sock and underwear excluded. The other new outfits were also gifts from relatives.)

"And then where did you go?" I asked.

"Nowhere. We came home."

I gave a snort of laughter. "I definitely raised a couple of girls who aren’t into shopping."

"But I am, really," Older Daughter contradicted.

"But a lot of girls could have spent that entire debit card in, oh, ten minutes."

"Well, I’m into cheap shopping," Older Daughter amended.

And there you have it. Despite having a debit card with a generous amount of money burning a hole in her pocket, Older Daughter spent a total of about $50 on their grand day out.

This is what happens when you raise kids exclusively on thrift stores.

Ahem. They may also have inherited my shopping genes.