Prep Monday – Stocking Up


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.

 

Big Holidays Doings at the Bookstore


SLLC City Wide Book Fair 2013 (3)

Yes, I said “doings.”

Anyway, coming up this Saturday we have the amazing Laura Ray – I won’t try to list all her names because it gets a little confusing – with her new book, “Brain Dead and Still Cooking.” Awesome recipes, and an hilarious style make this a great gift! Pair it with her first book, “Brain Dead in the ‘Burbs,” for twice the awesomeness!

SUNDAY-SUNDAY-SUNDAY!

Yes, we’ll be open this Sunday, noon to 5:00 p.m. for a special event – and you ALL SHOULD COME! Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, I’m going to add the press release for this FANTASTIC, ONCE A YEAR EXTRAVAGANZA!

St. Louis Literary Group Rings in the Holidays with an Area-Wide Book Fair

Checking your list? Checking it twice? Books make great gifts, and there’ll be plenty of chances to  shop ’til you drop at the St. Louis Literary Consortium’s Second Annual Holiday Book Fair. Set for Sunday, December 8, 2013, from 12 noon to 5 p.m., the Book Fair will feature the work of local writers at five locations around the St. Louis Metropolitan Area.

“We’re always happy when we can partner with independent booksellers to support local authors, and the Holiday Book Fair is a great opportunity for us to do that,” said Winnie Sullivan, who heads PenUltimate Press, a Consortium member organization. The St. Louis Literary Consortium, formed in 2012, is an alliance of literary organizations whose purpose is to promote the literary arts in the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Its members include Blank Slate Press, the St. Louis Writers Guild, the   St. Louis Poetry Center, and Walrus Publishing.

Holiday Book Fair displays will showcase the work of St. Louis writers at the following stores:

  • Subterranean Books – 6275 Delmar Boulevard, University City
  • All on the Same Page Bookstore – 10052 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur
  • STLBooks – 100 W. Jefferson Avenue, Kirkwood
  • The Book House – 7352 Manchester Road, Maplewood
  • Main Street Books – 307 S. Main Street, St. Charles

And writers will be on hand to sign their books at the Creve Coeur, Maplewood, and Kirkwood locations.

So come out and join in the holiday fun. Shop at your neighborhood bookstore, browse at one of the newer bookstores in the area, or visit all five! For more information about the Holiday Book Fair, contact Kristina Blank Makansi at kbmakansi@blankslatepress.com or any of the participating organizations, whose website addresses are: www.blankslatepress.com, www.stlwritersguild.org,  www.penultimatepress.blogspot.com, www.stlouispoetrycenter.org, and www.walruspublishing.com.

So, there you have it! Saturday AND Sunday this week! Plus, we have book bundles, and new items, and NEW coffee, tea, and hot chocolate! Come on down!