Back to Basics Newsletter 2/23/10

Back to Basics Newsletter, 2/27/2010

Written by Roxanne Louise. Feel free to circulate.

Next Meeting, Sunday, March 21 at 2:30 PM at the Nelson County Library2:30-4:30 PM.Free and open to all.

8521 Thomas Nelson Highway (Route 29 Southbound),Lovingston, VA 22949-0321(above Visitor’s Center and just past light at Food Lion Shopping Center).Please RSVP. Call 434-361-1969 or email Roxanne at roxannelouise@verizon.net.If you wonder if we are canceling due to any weather, there will be message on my machine (and I would be home to take your call). Bringing snacks to share is appreciated!.

Probably you are receiving this because you already are concerned about what is going on politically, economically, and/or environmentally, and are either wondering what to do about it or are already exploring various options. There are enough serious problems that don’t have to elaborated upon here, however, as new/more things come up that concern our well-being in any way, we should communicate and check it out further to decide what is more likely to true, urban legend or propaganda. There is a wide spectrum of opinions and beliefs about everything in our group, and we listen to different news sources. What do you think is most credible?

We need to have reliable information to make wiser individual decisions and plan for our future.Moving somewhere to where the problems aren’t is fantasy. And there is nowhere to hide. Michael St. Claire says that there are no safe places, only safe people. So he advises radiant zones of supportive, proactive people, preferably in less populated areas on higher ground. Fighting or resistance to what you don’t like is energy intensive although sometimes necessary. Can we envision a life, community, world we want and spawn a movement through focused attention, conscious intention, education and communication, inspiring one another through creativity, enthusiasm, and loving support to create it?

The main purpose for the group, as it’s name implies isBack to Basics–CreatingSustainability and Conscious Community. How are your beliefs/opinions about what is going on now inthe country andthe world or possibly happening in the future guiding you in decisions, actions and preparations for yourself, your family and your community? While I will ask certain members to start off our discussion, here are some questions that I would like all of you to answer at the March meeting:

Based upon what you think is happening or may happen in the future, what do you want to do about it?

What do you think is important enough to invest your time, money, energy in doing? What is not worth doing?

What have you done already?

What are you working on?

How are you returning to or desiring to return to basics, creating sustainability or creating conscious community?

What questions do you have? What help/info/input do you want in case any of us have investigated that already?

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Dear Group,

THANKS

Many thanks to Liz O’Mara for refreshments and the wonderful kefir cheese. After Liz makes the kefir, she drains it, adds some cranberries to sweeten the taste, and voila!

More on KEFIR:

Dom’s Kefir Cheese Making,http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir_cheese.html#photos

Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKQuEY3PyY

MAKING BUTTER is easy:abbreviated fromhttp://www.kefircheese.com/Index1.html

All you need is some farm fresh cream (raw milk cream is best) and a blender!
Fill the blender about full with cream from any type of cow and blend away!You will see the cream whip first, and then it will go beyond whipping. When you see the fat of the cream, which is butter, separate from the watery buttermilk.Dont blend too much more than when you see the separation occur or you will go beyond butter!If you go beyond butter, you cannot retrieve your butter, but you can still cook with it.
Once you have the butter separated from the buttermilk, let the blender sit still for two minutes. Then you may remove the blender jar from the blender and pour the contents through a colander, or sieve it through your hands so that you have your butter separated from the buttermilk.Squeeze, or knead, or pat the butter in your hands over a dish to get the remainder of the buttermilk out of the butter and voila! You have the best, most freshest butter in the world!If you are using raw milk cream you should freeze it if you have made too much to use in one week. Butter from raw milk does not last in the frig as long as commercial butter. And dont leave it out on the counter all day either, as it will sour! Freezing will not kill the probiotics in your butter.

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Thanks to Xenya Zielinski for baking us some of her 5 minute bread for us to taste (very tasty with good texture). She mixes up the dough (3 tablespoons yeast, 3 tablespoons celtic sea salt, 3 cups warm water, and 6 cups of flour–she uses only organic, unbleached white flour). She keeps reusing the same bowl for dough without washing it because the bits of old dough attached to the bowl with help the new batch to rise. However, she proofs the yeast first by mixing all the yeast, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1/2 cup warm water and lets it sit 15-20 minutes before mixing in the rest.

From http://www.ehow.com/how_4542535_proof-yeast-breadmaking.html

Proof yeast before mixing dough in order to determine if the yeast is alive and active, or dead and a dud. Saves you work and ingredients. “Yeast may die and be unable to cause your bread to rise if the yeast is too old or the water it’s dissolved in is too hot or too cold. Here you will learn failsafe steps to proof the yeast. Oh–and proofing yeast is also a good idea when you use a breadmaker, especially if the expiration date of the yeast is suspect–but check the bread machine instructions.”

PROOFING YEAST, Things You’ll Need:

• Active Dry Yeast
• Warm water 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit
• Bowl
• 1 tsp sugar or other natural sweetener
• food thermometer
• spoon
• Pour into a small pot or saucepan the small amount of water called for in your recipe to dissolve the active dry yeast. This may be 1/4 cup or a different amount, but it won’t be much. It’s best to start with cold water and heat it up, rather than warm tap water, as there are fewer impurities in cold water.
• Heat the water to 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. This is slightly warmer than lukewarm. If you do not have a thermometer to determine the temperature, then dribble drops on your inner wrist. The wrist is a handy sensitive part of the body with which you can judge water temperature for baby bottles, too! If the water feels warm but not hot, it is the right temperature to proof yeast.
• Pour the water into a bowl, not a cup. You want a lot of surface area for when you add the active dry yeast, so it dissolves quickly.
• Dissolve one teaspoon of sugar, maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup, barley malt syrup, or other natural sweetener into the water. Do not use Splenda, Sweet ‘N Low, stevia, or other sugar substitutes as they do not have the chemical structure needed. The idea in using the sugar is to give the dissolved active dry yeast some fast food so you can see if the yeast will “gobble it up.” Yeast turns up its nose at sugar substitutes.
• Sprinkle, don’t pour, the active dry yeast over the surface of the warm water in a thin layer. The idea is to prevent the yeast from clumping. Clumped yeast has a hard time dissolving. Yeast that has not dissolved will not help your bread to rise.
• Stir the active dry yeast with the spoon until it is dissolved in the warm water.
• Leave the bowl with the sugar and yeast solution alone to proof in a warm place for five to ten minutes.
• Check the bowl with the sugar and yeast solution. If it has become frothy or bubbly, you have your “proof” that the yeast is alive. If not, the yeast is a dud. Toss it out and start over again with a new batch of active dry yeast.
• Continue with the next step of your recipe.

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Xenya also discussed the bookMind Programming: From Persuasion and Brainwashing, to Self-Help and Practical Metaphysicsby Eldon Taylor. Taylor mentions the use of hypnosis to deprogram your mind. Actually, hypnosis (overt or covert) is used at both ends of the spectrum.

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More on Programming and Brain Washing

Programming from what I (Roxanne) know as a hypnotherapist is partially done by repetition, overload, strong emotion, suggestion from prestige or authority figures (or people you like and admire). Associating with or wanting approval from a dominant person of strong opinion, or grouping or identifying yourself with people of a particular opinion, or being isolated from people of other opinions or reality checks acts as powerful mind entrainment. While associating with like-minded others is important part of a support system, it is also important to think through whether the beliefs/opinions/agendas ofthis group are valid and deliberately chosen by you. Independent thought, deliberate questioning, looking at the other point of view, challenging the evidence, and allowing for debate are hallmarks of a group supporting the search for truth. Truth can withstand challenge, even the most cherished beliefs –religious or otherwise–should be open to vigorous debate. Not questioning is dangerous for your mental health and spiritual sovereignty.

Excerpts from Chapter 3 ofYour Unlimited Potential by Roxanne Louise. (Such bookisover 300+ pagesself-hypnosis training program available from Roxanne.)

“5 Principles of convincing the subconscious mind:

REPETITION,IDENTIFICATION, AUTHORITY,INTENSE EMOTION, andHYPNOSIS (both spontaneous or deliberately induced).

Things that induce hypnosis:

slow, regular breathing

regular sound patterns (fan, air conditioner, machinery, lawn mower, windshield wipers, white noise, Ravels Bolero, drum beats, chanting)

regular light patterns (strobic effect of evenly spaced street lamps or sun shining through evenly-spaced trees)

regular tactile patterns ( back or foot massage)

regular movement (rocking a cradle/ chair/ boat/ swing, dancing, walking)

focusing on inner awareness (i.e., breathing, heartbeat)

intense concentration

boredom

routine, repetitive tasks (housework, assembly-line work, highway driving)

eye fixation (staring into a fire, ocean waves, moving object, candle flame, television, computer screen, book)

relaxation

stimulation overload (burn-out)

mental confusion, or something startling

loss of equilibrium

strong emotion, including orgasm

going into or coming out of sleep

energy work (Reiki, polarity, etc.)

Hypnotherapy & Brainwashing–the Difference

If you go to a hypnotherapist, you will fill out a questionnaire so that the therapist can understand you and what you want. Together you enter into a short-term partnership to get what you want. You discuss what you want at length, and then the therapist hypnotizes you with your consent and gives you suggestions designed to help you reach your goals. You may be taught self-hypnosis and other techniques for you to help yourself to get what you want. Through these techniques, you learn how to be in control of your own thoughts and emotions. Other than paying for the session, or possibly several sessions (not months or years), the therapist receives no other financial gain and has no other contact with you.

In brainwashing, someone has an agenda that is different than yours.This agenda may be hidden from you, but it is there. Any and all means are used if they serve the goal of the brainwasher. Usually there is deprivation of essential needs–food, drink, sleep. Nutrition might be deliberately poor to deprive the brain of proper functioning. Normal routines are broken. Normal lines of communication are broken. Isolation from the outside world is generally set up and maintained. Sometimes this isolation is created through fear–fear of harm by outsiders, or fear of retaliation from those in authority in the group/ cult. Sometimes the isolation is by living together away from others. Sometimes normal phone calls are disallowed. Sometimes mail is withheld, or visits from outsiders disallowed unless monitored. Reality checks are eliminated. Any defenses or coping skills are deliberately broken down. Privacy may be eliminated to cause stress, or normal contact with others may be totally cut off. Stress and emotions, especially those of fear and anxiety, are heightened. This creates such an overload that clear thinking is impossible. The emotional stress allows suggestions to bypass the minds internal censor. Promises of benefits might be made if you do what you are told, and very clear punishment is outlined for not adhering to the rules. The group leaders may do a bait and switch–start out as loving, charming, and later become persecutory. The brainwashers intention is to create such stress and confusion until the person cannot withstand the assault, and gives up trying to defend himself. His mind is then taken over.

Hypnosis is cultural de-hypnosis.

We have all been hypnotized already by our upbringing, our culture, our religion, education, experiences. By understanding the principles of mind action and simple self-hypnosis, we are given positive power to use our subconscious mind. We, thereby, regain control of our habits, thoughts, actions, and consequently, our destiny.”

FIRE STARTERS – how to start a fire without matches.

Thanks to Ron Mauer for showing and demonstrating to us two types of fire starters. Just push down on tinder and spark starts fire. You might want to put a little vaseline onto a cotton ball to light quickly. Videos available on Ron’s website, ronmauer.net.

The Blast Match is made by www.ultimatesurvival.com and available from http://www.extremeoutfitters.us/search.aspx?manufacturer=127 for about $20.

A magnesium/steel fire starter is about $7 from Walmart. Simply take a knife and scrape a little magnesium off of the bar onto some tinder, then hold the steel part against the magnesium and tinder, and run knife edge against the top ridge. Fire!

For videos on matchless fire starters an much more, se Ron’s highly informative website, http://ronmauer.net/blog/?page_id=669.

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FOODSAVER – sucks out oxygen from bags/jars/containers and thus multiplies the shelf life perhaps five times longer. However, you have to periodically check that the seal is not broken.

Roxanne brought and demonstrated her FoodSaver and both how to use the foodsaver bags and canning attachments.

Thebottle stoppers, about $16.99 for box of 3 regular narrow mouth size (doesn’t fit gallon jugs)–great to keep wine/beer from going flat after opening. (My son got a mechanical suction device that sucks air out of bottles–not from this company.)

marinating container (I paid $17 from Walmart)–pulls marinating liquid immediately into meat.

wide mouth ($10.99) and regular mouth ($9.99) canning jar sealer

other attachments possible (canister sets, lunch boxes, more)

Mistakes: top has to be level (no chips/cracks in jar lid, no errosion of rubber in seal of lid, no dust on rim of either. My old canning jars from the 40′s/50′s didn’t work with new canning lids – just didn’t fit right to seal. Also, I had trouble with sealing jars with flour (sugar and salt were fine). When I sealed peppermint that had some twigs attached, the sticks punctured the bag and I lost seal–would have worked fine had I put in jar instead. You can put one plastic bag (leave open) inside foodsaver bag before sealing.

Info: you can reseal jars if you remove lids carefully without bending. You can cut open bag and reseal again (even reusing potato chip bags). You can seal both dry or wet foods or even liquids. If you want to keep food in container that you repeatedly open or close, you are best getting the cannister or other special containers. I can see real value for brown baggers to investing in lunch box accessory–it has to prolong life of your food in transport.

Buying: check first for used ones online. New ones start at about $100 at Walmart. I got a more expensive one on sale from Bed, Bath & Beyond for $78 that was probably a return. BB & B at Baracks Road, C’ville does accept old coupons, so save them and then go into the store to order what is not there. I got needed the jar/bottle attachments that I couldn’t find on any store shelves, shipped to my house for less after coupon than if I had bought it in store.For info on company/equipment, seehttp://www.foodsaver.com/index.aspx?promo=G8FPALL&gclid=CJfxm5eHi6ACFSFy5Qodmn2aeQ

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HERBAL TINCTURES/OILS

Roxanne also brought 3 of the herbal tinctues/oils she made at Mary Anne Copson’s class and passed them around to smell, and peppermint and spearmint to share. A few people in our group took Mary Anne’s training in herbs. For Mary Anne’s website, see http://evenstaronline.com. After you ram a clean jar full with a selected herb, and cover it with 100 proof vodka or virgin olive oil, leave for 6 or more weeks before straining out the herbs. While leaving herbs in alcohol longer is fine, you have to be careful not to get mold by leaving herbs in the oils too long. You can throw out/compost used herbs. I rubbed left-over oil saturated lemon balm over my very dry skin (worked really well), but you could also run hot water over herbs for your bath water.

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MAKING MEETINGS MAXIMALLY EFFECTIVE and INCLUSIVE

I am learning how to structure meetings as some have been better than others. The below might make meetings more productive. I would appreciate your input as well.

1. PRACTICAL FIRST

We will START meetings with the practical applications firstjust in case some of you have to leave early.This is all the show and tell stuff, hands-on applications. Please contribute by bringing whatever you feel is useful, but demo it and set it up so we can try it too. DOING is worth a tons more than just an explanation.

Who has something to show us at our next meeting?

Anyone have a bug-out bag?

Has anyone built an outdoor root cellar?

Tips on setting seeds, what to plant now?

Has anyone built cold frames? Advice?

2. VARIED

I tried to keep meetings to be varied in content so that there is something for everyone. My thinking was that if one topic required the full time, then it should be set up as a separate workshop, dicussion group or seminar.

TOPIC LIST:Here is a partial list to pick from (you may think of more):

FOOD:survival gardening, cold frames, greenhouses, food harvesting, dehydration, canning, storage, freeze-dried foods, where to get bulk foods, calculation of needs, edible wild plants, hunting, fishing

WATER:water harvesting, storage, filtration and purification

ENERGY:wood, wind, solar, geothermal, alternative fuels, generators, back-up systems .

MONEY/EXCHANGE:how to manage/invest what you have now, and how to get what you need through non-money means, e.g., bartering. Alternative currency. Time banking.

HEALTH:stocking and understanding home medicine cabinet, basic self health care, homeopathy, growing medicinal herbs and making/using herbal medicines, first aid, energy medicine, detoxification, enhancing all systems of the body simply in non-toxic ways, mind-body healing

MIND:stress management, accessing subconscious resources for creative problem solving

SPIRIT:tapping into spiritual resources for healing, direction and inspiration

VISION:envisioning a society, neighborhoods or pods that enhance the true well-being and potential of each individual

COMMUNITY BUILDING:Social mobilization/non partisan community action, could be tied to time banking/networking

NETWORKING:knowing who to contact to meet needs

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING:group think tanks, lateral thinking

SAFETY/PROTECTION: security issues, protective measures/equipment, self-defense

HOUSING

CAMPING:everything you need to know/haveto live out in the wild, finding/cooking food, collecting/purifying water, building a fire/shelter

SURVIVAL:bug out bag/kits for home/work/vehicle; whatever you need to have/know for disaster situation

AWARENESS: finding unbiased, documented sources of information from which we individually can make sound decisions.

3. CONCISE & RELEVANT

We want to hear from everyone, butplease try to be concise in whatever you have to say. Bring notes or a handout or other literature to put out if that helps, or email the information for me to include in a newsletter. Keep what you say in meeting to the purpose of our group focusing onprudent, practical things that we can do.If you feel strongly about something that is off the purpose of the group, you can make an announcement or put out literature.

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WHAT’S GOING ON & WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO ABOUT IT?

Determining what is true is getting harder and harder to do when even scientists (Climategate) are being compromised by commercial or political interests. This is one value of a group where where it is safe to ask questions, hear other sides to make up our own minds.Challenge everything!

POLITICS & NEWS SOURCES

While our group is not political, it is appropriate to become more aware about everything that includes politics since politics impinge upon every aspect of our life. It is only through greater awareness that we can individually make wise decisions, and collectively join with others to make a difference.

Regarding some sources, Juan Gonzalez of Democracy Now says that whistle blowers are often crackpots, and may need to be in order to speak out. But in amongst the baloney is some real truth. Steffano in our group says that even with those who spread disinformation (either by design or through their own limited perspective or bias), there are nuggets of truth. The task is to dig through enough of it. watching patterns, and exercising common sense. Some people that are arguing for specific action have an agenda and control or profit to gain (Al Gore, for example). However, many times we don’t need to know what is true, what will actually happen even if there are “evil doers” to quote Bush (he should know, ha ha –sorry, couldn’t help it), because some things are prudent to do or are just common sense. For example, it makes sense to clean up our act even if global warming is a scam. It makes sense to garden, store food and have back up energy systems and build stronger neighborhoods and shop local because it creates greater health, greater connection to nature, greater peace of mind, and better communities that we get to enjoy.

I like Amy Goodman and Democracy Now, http://www.democracynow.org. I feel that their information is well researched. While the segments are too short to be comprehensive, you can follow up yourself on previous segments or google those interviewed. As example of their reporting, recent segments include

1. The Media-Lobbying Complex: Investigation Exposes Undisclosed Corporate Ties of Network Political Pundits”

A four-month investigation into the covert corporate influence on cable news found that since 2007 at least seventy-five registered lobbyists, public relations representatives and corporate officials have repeatedly appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, CNBC and Fox Business Network with no disclosure that they are paid by corporate interests. Journalist Sebastian Jones carried out the investigation for The Nation magazine. http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/24/the_media_lobbying_complex_investigation_exposes

2.Congress to Investigate Safety of Natural Gas Drilling Practice Known as Hydraulic Fracturing – Hydraulic fracturing, which is done in 31 states, is linked to high cancer,kidney failure, anemia and fertility problems. Find out if your water comes from any area where natural gas drilling is done. See below Natural gas production states. NYC’s water could become contaminated because it’s watershed is in an area where they utilize this method.http://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/23/congress_to_investigate_safety_of_natural

The top Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce have asked eight oil-field companies to disclose the chemicals theyve used and the wells theyve drilled in over the past four years. Last week, Waxman also revealed two of the largest gas drilling companies have pumped hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel-based fluids into the ground in violation of a voluntary agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Also seehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbIyR-hw7EoGas drilling companies such as Halliburton say the gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is safe, but opponents contend it pollutes groundwater with dangerous substances. Now, new evidence has emerged possibly linking natural gas drilling to groundwater contamination. ProPublica journalist Abrahm Lustgarten reports federal officials in Wyoming have found that at least three water wells contain chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.

Natural gas production areas:Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Gulf of Mexico, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia,West Virginia, and Wyoming. Virginia’s gas production is in the southwestern tip.All of these wells are located within the Southwest Virginia Coalfield region that includes all or portions of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties. Buchanan County accounted for the largest share of production, about 54 percent of the total.Seehttp://www.dmme.virginia.gov/DMR3/naturalgas.shtml

3.Author Shane Harris on The Watchers: The Rise of Americas Surveillance Statehttp://www.democracynow.org/2010/2/25/author_shane_harris_on_the_watchers

For his new book, The Watchers: The Rise of Americas Surveillance State, National Journal correspondent Shane Harris spoke to the key architects of the US governments surveillance programs over the past quarter-century and tells the story of how spying on US citizens has become both easier and legal and is now the cornerstone of the Obama administrations national security strategy. But Harris argues that while this strategy has made it simpler for the US government to spy on every American and millions of others around the world, it is much harder to identify actual dangers.

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DAVID ICKE, new audio interview, 60 minutes: http://www.oneradionetwork.com/david_icke_-_our_time_to_shine_-_genie_is_led_out_of_the_box_-_new_book_out_soon/

David Icke is an English writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching what he calls “who and what is really controlling the world.” David has written 16 books characterized as New Age conspiracism, and has attracted a substantial following across the political spectrum. His books have been translated into eight languages, he runs a website that receives 600,000 hits a week, and his lecture tours, during which he speaks for up to eight hours at a time, attracted audiences of 30,000 between 2000 and 2006.His 533-page The Biggest Secret has been called the conspiracy theorist’s Rosetta Stone.David explains what ourrealityis and how its distorted and info on how we can focus and see things for what they are.

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21st CENTURY BREAKDOWN by Jim Quinn,http://theburningplatform.com/economy/21st-century-breakdown

The above article is a very long, but fascinating appraisal of our time. Worth the read. It discusses the seasons in history as outlined by Strauss and Howe,The Fourth Turning. For the next 15-16 years, we are now in the Fourth Turning. For more information, seehttp://www.fourthturning.com.

“History is cyclical. History is replete with grand empires like Rome, Spain and Britain. It is also replete with Dark Ages, depressions and wars. Strauss & Howe have established that history can be broken down into 80 to 100 year Saeculums that consist of four turnings: The High, The Awakening, The Unraveling, and the Crisis.

• The First Turning is a High, an upbeat era of strengthening institutions and weakening individualism, when a new civic order implants and the old values regime decays.
• The Second Turning is an Awakening, a passionate era of spiritual upheaval, when the civic order comes under attack from a new values regime.
• The Third Turning is an Unraveling, a downcast era of strengthening individualism and weakening institutions, when the old civic order decays and the new values regime implants.
• The Fourth Turning is a Crisis, a decisive era of secular upheaval, when the values regime propels the replacement of the old civic order with a new one.

…….My guess on the end result of this Crisis is that Americans will need to localize. Reduced fuel availability will force people to depend on their neighbors and locally produced food. Forging closer relationships with family and neighbors will stand you in good stead during the remainder of this crisis. This Fourth Turning has only just begun. Strauss & Howe do not predict the outcome, only the challenges that await us and the hope that we will rise to the occasion.

Thus might the next Fourth Turning end in apocalypse or glory. The nation could be ruined, its democracy destroyed, and millions of people scattered or killed. Or America could enter a new golden age, triumphantly applying shared values to improve the human condition. The rhythms of history do not reveal the outcome of the coming Crisis; all they suggest is the timing and dimension.

A Fourth Turning harnesses the seasons of life to bring about a renewal in the seasons of time. In so doing, it provides passage through the great discontinuities of history and closes the full circle of the saeculum. The Fourth Turning is when the Spirit of America reappears, rousing courage and fortitude from the people. History is seasonal, but its outcomes are not foreordained. Much will depend on how tall we stand in the trials to come.”Strauss & Howe The Fourth Turning

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ROOT CELLARS, STORM SHELTERS and BOMB SHELTERS:Xenya tells me that in Russia root cellars were always made outside, not under the house. The Russians used them also to hide from the Nazis during the war. They equipped them with beds etc. and disguised the entrance. Some of what you learn about root cellars can also be applied to buildingstorm shelters,bomb shelters, or shelters from nuclear or biological warfare. However, root cellars or safe rooms can also be built in a corner of a basement or crawl space. I personally dislike the crawl space idea because it is harder to get into and monitor frequently.

By Greg Roberts fromhttp://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/1980-07-01/How-To-Build-Root-Cellar.aspx

“The root cellar shown in the accompanying photos was recently built by m, father, Ted Roberts, in Three Lakes, Wis cousin. Dad started the project by excavating an 8′ X 8′ X 20′ cavern using a backhoe.The bottom of the cellar was lined with sand for drainage purposes. When building the walls, though, Father laid a concrete base that had an upwardly protruding inner lip. The L-shaped foundation would both support the weight of the cedar log walls and brace the base of those rounds against the tons of sideways “cavein” pressure the earth-banked structure would be exposed to.

Every cedar log was peeled, and then cut square (on each of two opposing sides) in order to make sure that the vertically stacked timbers would all fit snugly in place. The ceiling cedars were notched where they rested atop the wall logs so that-like the concrete base lip-the horizontal beams could help brace the cellar’s sides.

Father outfitted the front of the root cellar with double doors, which were separated by an air space to keep out the cold.(He used an acetylene torch to cut the rustic-looking hinges and hasp shown in the photos.) The storage house is also wired for electricity. When especially cold nights bring temperatures as low as 40 below zero, the cellar’s incandescent light warms up the inside temperature a few degrees . . . to make absolutely sure that the put-back food doesn’t freeze.

With the assistance of Dad’s “emergency” heater, the finished cave stays a few degrees above the ice-up point throughout the entire Wisconsin winter. And it holds its even coolness during warm March thaws-when mourning cloak butterflies migrate over gray snow-and through surprising and stark May blizzards. Around midsummer the earth-sheltered space warms up to about 55 … but winter-stored crops are gone by then, and there are fresh vegetables in the garden.

A root cellar will eventually pay for itself by allowing its owner to store up food that is either homegrown or practically free for the picking at harvest time. For just one example of economical food hoarding, let’s consider apples. If you gather five or ten bushels of unblemished red fruits late in the growing season (when they’d otherwise only fall and rot on the ground), the inexpensive edibles will keep for months in the cellar and provide you with a winter’s worth of fresh fruit for juices, eating, and cooking.

A root cellar is also a good place for storing your game, smoked meats, and cheeses. Such food shelters offer complete protection from basement mice, ;marauding raccoons, and other pests. (I know of Alaskan homesteaders who find root cellars to be their only sure protection against foodstealing brown bears!) My mother even uses her cellar to store the huge potted ivies which decorate her patio in warmer months but cannot live through Wisconsin winters. The plants survive the cold season in the root cellar . . . in a naturally dormant state. The crop holders are useful in summer, too . . . for storing wine, live fish bait, and other products that profit from a cool, protected environment.

All in all, it’s plain to see that folks who want the independence of being able to eat their own fresh, home-stored food will find that the notion of building a root cellar is an idea whose time has come …back.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Additional information about root cellaring can be found in these sources:

[1] “How to Preserve Products Without Refrigeration” by Frank Garrett. Frank discusses the uses and construction (he recommends concrete block) of a cellar in one part of a lengthy article on food preservation.

[2]“The Parthenon of Root Cellars” (MOTHER NO. 29). Mike Wells explains how he built a food house out of used railroad ties.

[3] Grace V. Schillinger’s “Build This `Nothing To It’ Outdoor Cold Cellar” (MOTHER NO. 53). This hall-page piece shows how to “cellar” food in a large, buried box!

[4] Root Cellaring by Mike and Nancy Bubel. This comprehensive, 297-page hardbound book covers all aspects of storing unprocessed foods..

http://www.amazon.com/Root-Cellaring-Natural-Storage-Vegetables/dp/0882667033/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_a

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How to Make a Root Cellar from a Castaway Fridge for under $10!Clever!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLM6rWmQxic&NR=1

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More on Making Root Cellars:

Fromhttp://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-19-173,00.html

Even if you live in a newer house, you can still have a root cellar. The following are simple plans for transforming a corner of your basement into a root cellar, with a minimum of know-how and readily available materials.Choose a damp spot. Most crops keep best in relatively high humidity. So build your root cellar in the dampest area of your basement (typically the sump pump is in the dampest corner).Next to an exterior wall. You want, if possible, to build on a wall that’s below grade (underground), because you want the greatest contact with outside soil temperature you can get. If you need to use a wall that’s above grade, be sure it doesn’t get too much sun. (Use north or shaded walls.)

Allow for ventilation.

Without ventilation, your stored produce will spoil. To create good ventilation, you need to get two pipes through that outside wallone at the highest point of the room. Both pipes should be about 3 inches in diameter. Try to pick a site that allows for this easily, such as one that includes a casement window or the like.

Your vents can be made of just about any pipe or ducting. Plastic (PVC)3 inchis durable and easy to work with, and the valves you’ll need fit right into it. Cut a length of the plastic pipe to reach through the wall. Cut the end straight. Slide a closed blast gate (valve) onto the pipe until it fits snugly against the end of the pipe just tight enough to impart a slight resistance. Use 3 or 4 screws to secure the valve to the pipe.

Now cut pieces of pipe for the other vent. This one can go through the wall just about anywhere; just add an elbow and a length of pipe running down the inside so that it ends up about a foot from the floor. Add another blast gate in that pipe.

These two vents create a siphon. Cool air is more dense than warm air, and will collect in low spots. Anytime the air outside your root cellar is cooler than the air inside, the siphon will allow warm air to be drawn out and cool air to flow in. As outside temperatures fluctuate, you’ll get almost continuous air change while keeping the temperature as low as possible.

Which brings us to the reason for the valves. If the temperature outside goes below freezing, you should close one of the valves to stop the siphon. You’ll get some venting while keeping things from freezing. If the outside temperature goes way below freezing, you’ll need to close both valves (at least partially).

Seal the wall around the pipes with aerosol insulating foam. This will fill in any gaps and cracks, and once it sets, does a good job of holding your pipes in place, too.

Build the walls

You could build the walls out of just about anything, but, due to the moist conditions, you should splurge on a handful of 2X4s made of cedar or other rot-resistant wood for framing, and some moisture-resistant wall board (“green board” sold for use in shower stalls).

Nail a 2X4 to the ceiling, fasten another to the concrete floor with a bead of construction adhesive (the kind in caulking gun tubes) and cut the studs to fit between them.

Cover the walls

Put your gypsum board on the inside surfaces first. Once the inside panels are glued and screwed in place, stuff the cavities with fiberglass insulation and cover the outsides. With all of the coverings in place, get out the aerosol foam again and shoot it into all of the cracksespecially between your new wall and the (likely) ragged edges of the old walls.

A root cellar does not need to be airtight, but the tighter it is the more control you’ll have over the air quality and temperature. Plug as many gaps as you can.

Add the shelves

Bear in mind that lower shelves will be cooler and wetter, higher shelves will be warmer and dryer. Arrange and space your shelves to suit the items that will likely be stored on them.

Hang a door

You can use a ready-made door if you want. Or you can make it simply from quarter-inch plywood and hang it directly on the studs. One customizing touch worth considering is to make the door in two pieces. This way you can open the top half and grab a couple carrots without letting out the coldest, dampest air at the bottom of the root cellar.

Finishing touch

Fasten a rod to the handle of each blast gate and run it through the wall into the basement. This way you can open and close the valves without opening the door and spilling the cold air. It also will allow you to see whether the valves are open or closed without opening the door.

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SNOW ROOF RAKE:

With all the snow, some people like me were concerned about the weight on the roof. I got up on my flat roof to shovel off the skylights. In areas used to large snowfall, they shovel the roof. My cousin just ordered this 16′ heavy duty roof rake, 5′ extension also available. Used for removing snow from roofs, awnings and tarps. Poly blade and aluminum handle makes the rake lightweight and does not damage roofs.Aubuchon Item # 281444,http://lawn-and-garden.hardwarestore.com/84-521-roof-rakes/snow-roof-rake-281444.aspx

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WOO WOO:I was under the weather for the past week plus. Something was draining me.As an energy worker, I had an idea of what it was, and prayers made a profound difference. Being energy sensitive/empath does have it drawbacks. However,I had the idea to pray for what I wanted for myself to be also done forall other sentient beings on this planet who were also similarly effected or in need. That felt very powerful.