New book arrivals ...
I'm excited! My new books I've recently ordered have just arrived! ... "Build a Smokehouse", "Building & Using Cold Frames", "Food Drying Techniques", "Eggs & Chickens", "Cold Storage for Fruits & Vegetables", "Build Your Own Underground Root Cellar", and "How to Live Without Electricity and Like IT"! Waited till I was able to get them on sale too ... all of these for about $25.00 total. And all good reputable books.
Certainly, I'm not brand new at many of these topics and have implemented many of these skills in my life already throughout my life; and others I have developed over more recent years. However, I always try to remain open to learn more and benefit from the skills and talents of others whenever possible. I plan to refresh and update my own skills via these books and also learn about and experience some other new ones too. They will be added to my continually growing personal library on such topics concerning general self-sufficiency topics, first aid, natural health & healing/treatment, disaster/emergency/survival skills, home food preservation, gardening, and other similar matters of which I won't go on and on about.
Do I like/enjoy books and studies and research? You betcha! But I also strive to be sure that what I learn book/study-wise, I also put into active practice too. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to "know" something in the head without putting that knowledge into practical use and practice use that is practiced unto developing somewhat of a skill/talent at it. Some things I know I will use over and over again on a regular basis. Other things I will simply make sure I have gained at least a "working" knowledge and "working" capability at should the need ever arise.
Why do I obtain books and studies and such in a material/physical type instead of electronically? Because I want to know that should the electricity ever go out and I find myself needing to refer back to any of my resources for whatever, I can just simply go to my shop/office and pull out that particular book or study on paper. Sure, I do indeed keep a *lot* of info using computer accessable channels. But I've also learned the enormous value of keeping a hard-copy record of *everything*. I look at the computer as a way to easily and quickly access all that sort of information and resources. And, in so, then the computer is an invaluable tool. I just like to know I can easily still function should we ever lose access to electricity for any length of time.
This is, in fact, also the "why" behind my desire to teach myself the "how-to" in meat preservation methods ... added to my already able-skills in canning and dehydration and so forth. Freezing foods is fine in regular daily life. But I want to know that should we lose electricity, the spoilage loss of all the foods I spend a lot of time putting up (and expense and efforts in growing and harvesting, milking and gathering, etc) would be extremely minimal. I want to know - and in so, be able to rest and be at peace - that should any sort of emergency arise, we can easily and simply just "flow" along with it all without it being an enormous inconvenience or major catastrophe.
That is one of my most prioritized goals at the moment. I'm not looking to crawl in a hole somewhere and go completely without electricity - that'd just be silly nowadays. I just want to be at peace about it all. And it's definitely true ... the more you are prepared ahead of time, the far less stressful any sort of unexpected event will be ... and if you prepare for the worst, the lesser events will have also already been taken care and will be well within hand. And even if nothing ever should come your way event-wise, then you can rest at ease that you are prepared and there's no need to worry.
Certainly, I'm not brand new at many of these topics and have implemented many of these skills in my life already throughout my life; and others I have developed over more recent years. However, I always try to remain open to learn more and benefit from the skills and talents of others whenever possible. I plan to refresh and update my own skills via these books and also learn about and experience some other new ones too. They will be added to my continually growing personal library on such topics concerning general self-sufficiency topics, first aid, natural health & healing/treatment, disaster/emergency/survival skills, home food preservation, gardening, and other similar matters of which I won't go on and on about.
Do I like/enjoy books and studies and research? You betcha! But I also strive to be sure that what I learn book/study-wise, I also put into active practice too. It doesn't do a whole lot of good to "know" something in the head without putting that knowledge into practical use and practice use that is practiced unto developing somewhat of a skill/talent at it. Some things I know I will use over and over again on a regular basis. Other things I will simply make sure I have gained at least a "working" knowledge and "working" capability at should the need ever arise.
Why do I obtain books and studies and such in a material/physical type instead of electronically? Because I want to know that should the electricity ever go out and I find myself needing to refer back to any of my resources for whatever, I can just simply go to my shop/office and pull out that particular book or study on paper. Sure, I do indeed keep a *lot* of info using computer accessable channels. But I've also learned the enormous value of keeping a hard-copy record of *everything*. I look at the computer as a way to easily and quickly access all that sort of information and resources. And, in so, then the computer is an invaluable tool. I just like to know I can easily still function should we ever lose access to electricity for any length of time.
This is, in fact, also the "why" behind my desire to teach myself the "how-to" in meat preservation methods ... added to my already able-skills in canning and dehydration and so forth. Freezing foods is fine in regular daily life. But I want to know that should we lose electricity, the spoilage loss of all the foods I spend a lot of time putting up (and expense and efforts in growing and harvesting, milking and gathering, etc) would be extremely minimal. I want to know - and in so, be able to rest and be at peace - that should any sort of emergency arise, we can easily and simply just "flow" along with it all without it being an enormous inconvenience or major catastrophe.
That is one of my most prioritized goals at the moment. I'm not looking to crawl in a hole somewhere and go completely without electricity - that'd just be silly nowadays. I just want to be at peace about it all. And it's definitely true ... the more you are prepared ahead of time, the far less stressful any sort of unexpected event will be ... and if you prepare for the worst, the lesser events will have also already been taken care and will be well within hand. And even if nothing ever should come your way event-wise, then you can rest at ease that you are prepared and there's no need to worry.