Preparedness

Updated 8/19/11, in order to include titles.  Apparently some people 

are not seeing the Amazon links.  Sorry.

Do you ever wonder what you'd do if "the big collapse" happens?  If the grid goes down?  If life as we know it ceases to exist?

It's not really something I worry about, since I know God always provides for the "evil and the good."  (Matthew 5:45)  But I do think about it.  I do try to make life choices that help to prepare myself and my family for such an event.  Even if something like that never happens in lifetime or that of my kids, there are basic survival and creative skills that need to be passed on.

In a facebook thread tonight, on the idea of getting ride of books, this topic came up.  For the reasons mentioned above, I don't ever like to get rid of "How to" books.  We have many, many of them.

Here are a few of our favorites:


Eric Sloane's books are a work of art in and of themselves, but the information in these two is phenomenal.  Such detail and description.

The first book, The Diary of an Early American Boy, describes designing and developing the homestead.  The second is pretty self-explanatory, Museum of Early American Tools.  Both books include detailed sketches of the procedures and tools being described.

Homemade Contrivances, and How to Make Them, by Skyhorse Publishing.  This is so fun.  It's amazing what someone can do (and without an engineering degree even!).

Joe likes Handy Farm Devices and How to
Make Them, by Rolfe Cobleigh,  but I've not looked at it.  I didn’t even know we had it!  According to Joe, "It shows useful ways of getting things done, with materials you probably already have."  He thinks this is also the one that has a section on using the carpenter's square.

I always laugh when I hear these preparedness ads for sealed meals.   And how long will they last?  Then what will you do?  Hmmm?

It's kind of the, "give a man a fish or teach him to catch his own," thing.  

After learning the techniques in Preserving Food Without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation, from The Gardeners and Farmers of Centre Terre Vivante, you're one up on either of the above choices.  You can be the one teaching the man to preserve his own food.

We picked up The Reader's Digest book, Back to Basics in a box of junk somewhere years ago and it's on of our favorites.  It's a great introduction to potentially necessary basic skills. 
I also got the Reader's Digest Complete Book of Needlework, from among Joe's grandma's things after she passed away and I love it, too.  Clear and easy instructions for mastering a large variety of needlework.






The Foxfire Books are all just all-around good books describing and teaching so many useful skills by those who still practice them.



Have fun exploring the world of basic skills!