apocalypse « Robin Writes

Yes, we’re starting now—Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? In case you missed last week’s post, we’re moving on out, no, not to the east side or even up, necessarily. Out to the woods. Homesteading. Survival. Peace and quiet. Fewer ridiculous regulations. You know.

First, the getting healthy and in shape part which, of course, is ongoing. I’ve cut my smoking—yes, I smoke, don’t judge—and upped my exercise. Ouch. It’s not a conventional plan, because damn, that stuff is boring . . . Go ahead, you exercise nuts, tell me how wonderful it is. I’ll wait.

There, feel better? Yeah, me too. Okay, so basically I just do more physical stuff each day. Twenty push-ups? I’ll do at least that many the next day. Walk a couple miles? At least two tomorrow. As long as I don’t backslide, I’m doing okay.

We do have some equipment: treadmill, recumbent bike, weight bench. These will be going on the market soon, because 1) we’re downsizing and 2) you certainly don’t need stuff like this if you’re living out in the woods. There’s plenty to do out there to keep in shape—and plenty to do here, too, while we’re “in process.”

In the meantime, sure, we’ll use them. Good way to start, although again, boring! I’d rather get something done while getting a workout than just sit and pedal or walk/run nowhere.

Speaking of running—dear Lord, I almost spelling that “funning.” Not—I have a bad knee(s) and a couple/few messed up discs in my back/neck. Oh, and an ITB problem. Not an ideal candidate for any of this, right? In fact, last week after The Paver Incident as I like to call it, I could barely walk for two days in spite of my heavy-duty knee brace. But, by Day 3, it was like it never happened. Go figure.

No, I’m not changing the name of my blog to “The Gimpy Survivalist.”

Yes, I have an assortment of braces and yes, I’m stocking up on Advil. But the most important thing is exercise and strength—I have been given, over the years, different sets of exercises to strengthen and flex the problem areas. I just need to step it up. And you know how much I like this exercise thing, right?

But here’s where it gets interesting: I finally figured out that I need to strike while the iron’s hot, whether it’s chores or writing or (gasp!) exercising. In other words, I don’t make a plan or schedule because I’ll also make excuses for NOT following it.

So I get in the stretches when I can; and the aerobics; and the weights; and the walking—notice I did not say “running.” Although I saw the video of the 80-year-old dancer yesterday, and I’m slightly ashamed . . .

Where was I? Oh, right: timing. A minute and a half to make my coffee = stretches. Thirty seconds to reheat it = aerobics. More pavers = weights. Plus walking. Not strolling, fast walking. And, dear heavens, not that silly power-walking stuff. Oy.

And if I sometimes need braces or RICE, so be it. The stronger all your problem areas become, the easier this getting-in-shape thing is going to be. It’s not a number, it’s not a schedule, it’s a mind-set and a goal of being able to do the things that you have to do.

Like running from zombies. Heh.

Here’s some er, food for thought:

What do you stock up on for SHTF? Of course, we’re all familiar with the food groups – however many the US Gov has now decided upon – and we know we need a variety. For example, you might look in my freezer and see bags upon bags of green beans (apparently, it was a bumper year) and think I’d lost my mind.

Perhaps, but that’s not the point.

My garden can be rather sporadic, huge crops of one thing, virtually nothing of another, but it might not have just been me: my co-op group had scads of green beans this year. The point is that it’s a good thing my family likes green beans – lima beans, for instance, and at least two out of three of us would be suffering for lack of vegetables. No, I don’t have any lima beans socked away, or cauliflower. Same issue, different vegie.

On the other hand, at least they’ve gotten used to fresh or frozen green beans, and not those disgusting commercially canned . . . things. Ick.

From all this, we can definitively state that whatever foods you choose to stock should be something your family will actually eat.

Now, of course, if/when things really get bad, I doubt anyone will be picky. Heck, I might even make an exception for chicken or some other bird. It could happen. Maybe. At this writing – no freakin’ way! Regardless, I digress . . .

You can’t cave in to the picky eaters, but there’s no point in stocking foods no one likes. Initially when SHTF, you’re going to need all the positives you can muster, and decent food is certainly one of them, along with physical comfort, i.e., warm clothing and dry shelter. Being well-fed and fairly comfortable will go a long way toward helping you and your family cope.

But in the meantime, introduce more variety, particularly of native foods. And don’t forget to plan for your garden, now and after SHTF – you will certainly need to replenish over the months or years; prepping and stocking are, after all, only meant to get you through the initial period of unrest.

However long it lasts.