Country Living With Emma

This is a great time of year to start thinking about your garden. Here in Texas, it'll be time to start seeds and plant onions in a matter of weeks!

The party went great, even though I didn't get everything on my list done. Everyone had fun, and that was the most important goal. Tool of the Week: Fitness Tracker Last week, our Tool of the Week was you. If we are the most important tool, then it stands to reason that we should take care of ourselves. A fitness tracker is a great way to do that.

This week's episode features Silvia King, who came to Texas as an enslaved person. She was interviewed in 1936 as part of The New Deal WPA Writers Project. 

This episode is more about mindset. How can we prepare ourselves for difficult times when the current generation has only known good times?

This week's tools are various repair kits I used to repair some items that I can't replace at this time. It significantly improved the appearance of those items without the hassle and expense of replacement. Rustoleum Tub & Tile Chip Repair Kit Grout Pen

As our world becomes more unstable, hospitality becomes more important. However, there is a fundamental difference between entertaining and hospitality. 

Balancing work, prepping, AND hospitality. Whew! That's a lot! Can we do it all?

We finish up Mathilda Wagner and see if her life got better in adulthood.

Seed vaults are sometimes included in the lists of things we need to have to be prepared. However, generic seed vaults won't be much help if we really need to live off only what we can grow. 

A Facebook prepper group was asked, 'What is your most important tool?" A significant number answered that THEY were the most important tool. Do you agree?

I keep getting reminded about the importance of hospitality. If we are indeed facing challenging times ahead, the relationships we form now will be vital then.

I am constantly amazed at the similarities between today's headlines and those of the last Fourth Turning. We're exploring what was going on in the world on November 21, 1938.  New York Times 11-21-1938 MonkeyWerx

Mathilda describes life on the frontier in general and her life as a child in particular. When her mother died and her father remarried, she was sent to San Antonio to work for another family.

Many times we hear about preppers getting ready for then end of civilization. The most likely events are mundane things like a plumbing leak. If I'm prepared for a normal emergency, then I'm not likely to be able to handle a more catastrophic one. 

A stand mixer is a handy device. There are a large number of attachments that make it even more handy. 

Making a list and checking it twice! There's lots to do to get the house ready for a party. Is prepping for a party really prepping? It could be. 

None of us are completely self sufficient, but we can produce something. As my father used to say, "everything you know how to do is one less thing you have to pay to have done."

If you are learning to sew and need to purchase a sewing machine, I highly recommend watching the following video. He gives some great advice.  Best Sewing Machines Under $500

Mathilda was born in Texas to German immigrants in the Fredericksburg area. Her journal details the hardships that the early settlers experienced, including the children.  The first "executive mansion" of the president of Texas

This is the second part of the list of tools that are good to have in a basic setting kit. Before it's a link to the needle puller I described. It also has a thread cutter.  Needle Puller

What kind of items should be in a basic sewing kit? Several people stopped by my station at the living history event last weekend who were curious about learning to sew. That prompted me to consider what should be included in a basic sewing kit. I thought I could do this in one episode, maybe not.  Bernadette Banner: Sewing in the Apocalypse Book: Make, Sew, and Mend

Lots of things are going on this fall! Let's catch up on the work trip to the city, the living history event, and what I harvested this weekend. 

In this episode, we finish Ann's journal. Her story is different from the others we've read, but we can still learn from her experiences.

Friday is usually a catch up day of what I hope to get accomplished over the weekend. There's always a lot going on out here in the country!

Ann gets married and leaves Brazoria for her husband's plantation.