Preparedness, not just food and clothing.

I want to share a You Tube video that has come to my attention lately.  I have seen Al Foxs' video before but this time, I really listened to it.  She hits the nail squarely on it's head. 

It's great that you have made up a 72 hour pack and are ready to go in a moments notice by not letting your fuel tank get below half empty.  It's great that you have acquired your years supply of food storage.  It's even greater because you are being obedient to the Prophet, but, is your testimony of Jesus Christ and the restored gospel on solid ground?  Are you prepared enough on your own to stand when the times get tough, others ridicule you for your beliefs or those strong friends you have been leaning on move or are not in your circle of influence any more.  Lehi's dream recounts what happens.

26  And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
27  And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
28  And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 8:26 - 28)

Al Fox

If you are going to pick which part of her interview to listen to, turn on your spiritual ears starting at 4:41.  " What it comes down to is prayer, really; honest prayer.  Choose who you want to follow, choose to trust, choose to have faith, choose to keep going.  If you have a question, don't turn to the internet, don't turn to other people.  If you want to know if God's there, ask him."

How profound and how easy. 
5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.
(New Testament | James 1:5 - 6)


A young boy of 15 years of age did exactly that.  We don't have to see our Father in Heaven or his Son Jesus Christ to get a sure foundation of them or the restored Gospel, all we have to do is ask Him with faith, nothing wavering and He will answer you.  He will not lead you astray.  I know, he answered me.

Bob and LouAnn Singer

Waste not, want not.

It's fall time and a good time for making things and preserving.  Have you ever made apple pies, applesauce or dehydrated apples and just thrown away the peelings and cores?  I just found this and thought I would pass it along.  Make Apple Cider Vinegar with the "waste".  

Homemakers of times past had the perfect use for all this “waste” – making vinegar!
The process includes four steps and can take up to six weeks to complete.

1. Make a clean cider from ripe apples.
2. Convert all the fruit sugar to alcohol through a process called alcohol fermentation.
3. Change all the alcohol to acetic acid referred to as acetic acid fermentation.
4. Clarify the acetic acid to prevent further fermentation and decomposition.

Which Apples are Best?

     Fall and winter apple varieties are best for making vinegar because their sugar content is higher than summer apples. Gather fruit and wash it well. We soaked our apples in a diluted solution of vinegar in water. This is recommended to remove any surface pesticides and most of the surface bacteria. While the fruit is soaking in the vinegar solution, thoroughly wash and rinse some half-gallon jars (a good run through the dishwasher works well, too).
Peel and core the apples. Leave the scraps to air. They’ll turn brown. Fill the jar about 3/4 full of scraps and top with filtered (non-chlorinated) water. We covered the jars with coffee filters held in place with a rubber band and placed the jars into a container (to catch the foam-over from the fermentation process.) Cover and place in a warm, dark place (60-80ºF.) You can leave it for up to a month. You’ll notice the contents of the jar thickens and foams and a grayish scum forms on top. 

We separated the peelings and cores from the liquid after a week, strained the liquid into clean jars, covered them, put them back in the warm space and left them to ferment. After about a month, you can taste test it for strength. When it pleases you, strain it again and bottle it. It may be cloudy and have a sediment. This is “the mother.” This slimy looking thing consists of acetic acid bacteria and cellulose. It’s a natural product of the vinegar-making process. Filtration through a coffee filter will remove most of it.                  There are lots of uses for apple cider vinegar, from drinking it, rinsing your hair with it and using it as a cleaning product – don’t forget making pickles!

I'm going to make some and then bottle it in quart size mason jars.  

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn

We are being noticed

President Goettl passed along this message from the Maricopa City Manager's office.  It is in response to all the help the Boy Scouts and members of the Church gave in the last flood preparation. 

"Flood Preparations: Maricopa Fire Department is very thankful to the groups who came out to assist fire crews last week in preparation for forecasted potential flooding. The fire department urges all residents to always be prepared for such emergencies by ensuring there is always an adequate amount of water, non-perishable food, spare batteries, blankets, candles, full tank of fuel in resident’s personal vehicles, and spare cash on hand. Being prepared takes little effort but the benefits are immense. Having each family in Maricopa prepare for such events in this proactive manner allows the emergency services to concentrate on those areas and people most in need of services during these times."

WOW, the Maricopa Fire Department has caught the vision of food storage and encourages you to be prepared.  We echo that.  

The year long Stake Food Storage Challenge is officially over but we encourage you to keep expanding your food storage as you see and identify needs.  Also, how about other areas of preparedness.  For instance, do you have a tent that will fit your family if the need arose?  How about sleeping bags, cook stoves and serving ware?  What about after dark lighting, extra clothing and socks?  Does everyone in the family have a pair of warm closed in shoes, long pants and long sleeved shirts, hoodies and jackets?  Are you keeping your fuel tanks at half full or above?  Do you have on hand extra toilet paper and other personal needs?  Not last or least, how about extra cash on hand to get you through an emergency?  We will be talking about these and other things in the next coming months.  

I saw a commercial between the sessions of General Conference that tickled my funny bone.  It showed a man in the kitchen in the dark eating out of a bowl.  His wife turned on the light and asked him if that was food storage he was eating.  With a spoon full of what looked like noodles, he just had a sheepish guilty look on his face.  His wife then said, that's for emergency's.  His response was, the power is out.  She then flipped the light switch and the light came on.  He then slowly brought the spoon full of noodles to his mouth and put it in while she disgustedly turned around and left.  He then said, it's macaroni and cheese.  We SHOULD be eating our food storage, and then replacing what we use.  If you don't, how will you know how to use it when you need it and have developed different ways to prepare it?  For those of you who made the 72 hour kit in a can, I hope you used it this weekend to see how it was.  I did and it was good except the instant Quaker oats.  If you didn't use it, be sure to use it soon as some of the items only had a one year shelf life. 

Have fun with your food storage.

Bob and LouAnn