Cool, getting warmer, breezy and sunny. Until the rain comes.
Got some stuff done yesterday. Not what I was hoping but that’s the story of my life at the moment.
Today I’ve got a couple of pickups about as far apart as you can get in the metro area. Conroe to League City. And then I have to see my client out on the northwest side of town, at 290 and 99. Lots of driving in my day. I could slip one of the pickups to Saturday, but I’ve got my non-prepping hobby meeting and I feel like I really want to go. I’m feeling healthy, and I’ll mask up. I miss the guys and the technical sessions.
I have noticed that if I’m tired from not getting enough sleep, I rarely get done even half of what I hoped to. I’m not as young as I was I guess. I have trouble focusing too, when I’m tired. Good reasons to head to bed earlier.
Physical condition is an often overlooked part of prepping. I’ve been eating less, and I’ve gradually lost about 10 pounds since March. I hover around 200 now. At 190 I’m too thin and my skin hangs on my face. It would be nice and prudent to convert some of the weight to muscle mass instead of spare tire. Nice, but I haven’t got the interest in spending much time on it. With the cooler temps, it’s easier to work outside and inside, so I’m hoping to firm up a bit while doing some work. Either that or it will break me…
Dinner last night was canned beans, canned corn, leftover canned carrots and frozen pork chops on the grill. As I was opening the cans, I had a thought. You used to see a can opener as a primary appliance in every kitchen. Most had some sort of electric opener, some were attached to cabinets, and there were many styles and models to choose from. It suddenly struck me that was because our parents and grandparents ate a lot of canned food. It was the only way to get fruit and veg out of season for most people. Two sides per dinner meant opening two cans at least. Soup for lunch, and pie for dessert meant a couple more cans. Jar openers were common gadgets too. They used enough cans that it made sense to have a faster and easier way to open them right there on the countertop. Contrast that with our diets now, with any fruit or veg available fresh in any season due to rapid and cheap shipping and handling, and the global nature of our supply chain.
Prepping and the current emergency have shifted my family’s diet back toward canned… even though we get fresh veg and fruit with every grocery order.
If the supply chain faces further disruption, if the cheap peasant labor in far away lands should suffer a population decline or political strife that shuts down commerce, if energy became much more expensive, everyone would be forced to shift toward canned food. Which would cause shortages. One more reason to stock up now. And to work on your gardening skills.
So stack the stuff you’ll need in the spring for your garden, and stack more canned goods in case your garden doesn’t grow. In fact, keep stacking all the things…
nick