No doubt about it, we are moving through difficult days.   Even without the terrible tragedy unfolding in Japan ... even without the foreclosures that have happened en masse south of the border ... our economy has been changing our communities.   "Must Have's" like cable, land line phones, cars and even single family homes are beginning to become luxuries for some.

When I first moved out to the country, there was a strong school of thought out here that the world was going to end at the millennium.    When New Years came and went that year, by unspoken agreement the new "judgement day" shifted to 2012.

Do I think the world will grind to a halt then?  Not even close.  But its clear that things are changing.   Like any other living thing, society has to adapt if it is to survive, eh?

Does that mean that I'm not a survivalist?  If by survivalist you mean the school of thought advocating armed hideouts with stockpiles of supplies ... then the answer is absolutely not.

But ... if by survivalist you mean an attempt to collect the basic, old school things that would still allow me to have water, food, and heat ... you bet.

If by survivalist you are referring to a conscious and deliberate effort to acquire the practical skills needed to live without electricity or well stocked stores ... yes indeedy.

Now the fellows who are going to bug out to armed camps are collecting these skills too.  So what makes my approach any different from theirs ... outside of the whole weaponry thing?

When I was a girl in Europe, I was fascinated by the agricultural villages and towns.   The farmers didn't live smack dab in the middle of their fields.   Nope!   They, and their livestock, all lived right in the villages and the towns.  

Why?  Europe has had centuries of experience at dealing with difficulties.   They were banded together in the villages and the towns for safety and security.

And that is the very difference for me.  I don't believe that if, as the survivalist fellas put it " the shit hits the fan", that safety will lie in creating armed and isolated camps.  Safety will lie in the numbers and strength of community.

But in the meantime, I'm just going to keep collecting all the hand tools / pumps / etc that I can.  More importantly, I'm going to make sure I have the practical bits on hand to fix what is already here.

Most importantly, I'm going to keep collecting books .. because I'm never going to need a server, electricity or even a battery to access information from written words :)

So this section is basically going to be a combination of lists .. from the essentials to the nice to have's to decent written references.

If you think that's odder than two left shoes, close your eyes and imagine what would happen if you were without electricity for even a couple of weeks.   No power.  No Net.   No satellites.  No TV.  No place open to buy gas or propane.  Hmmm... it might just take more than eat, love, pray to get by, eh?