We Interrupt this Program to Vent!

 I'm sorry, but GOOD GRIEF!

I've spent the past 8 months following current events while shaking my head, but now I'm MAD!  13 service men killed along with a good number of Afghan citizens who were mostly women and children.  I have no problem with pulling out of Afghanistan, but you don't pull out the military first leaving American citizens along with Afghan citizen who helped us behind.  You don't allow the Taliban to be in charge.  You don't give up Bagram Airbase in the dead of night with no notice and leave all of our equipment!  

I don't fault any Democrat that voted for our current President.  He was your parties nominee and so you hold your nose to vote.  I've done it in the General election.  I understand.  That fact that your party seemed to contort and twist this guy into the nominee much like they did Hilary is irrelevant ( Sorry Bernie).  It's all cool, you do you.

I don't fault independents that voted for our current President.  I don't think there were many of you, but those that did, I'm sure you had your reasons; probably not as well thought out as you like to think, but there ya go.

No, my problem lies with those Never Trumpers.  My problem is with the republicans who didn't like President Trump because he....tweeted too much or he didn't act like they wanted to him to act or speak like they wanted him to speak.  They didn't like the fact that he held grudges or fought back.  The man is from Queens for petes sake!  I get the feeling they don't go down without a fight.  

I remember the day after the inauguration, Senator Clyburn of South Carolina reflected, in an interview, on a conversation between Himself and former President George W Bush on Inauguration day.  He stated that President Bush relayed to him how he, Senator Clyburn, was the savior of America.  Why was he the savior?  Well because his endorsement of ole Joe put him over the top.  

At this moment, I could literally thrash every republican that voted for the man we currently have, rather than the man who prior to Covid had managed to:

Make us energy independent, lowered over all unemployment to 3.5 percent the lowest in 50 years, lowered black unemployment to the lowest ever recorded, unemployment for women lowest in 70 years, pulled 7 million off food stamps, negotiated the Abraham Accords, brought manufacturing back to the US, increased family incomes, etc.  The list in entirely too long, but we all felt his work.  

We knew!  We knew, and yet in some weird way, even though President Trump actually received, I think 11 million MORE votes than when he won in 2016; he somehow lost to Joe Biden.  

So who here really thinks Biden won more votes than ever in US history; even beating our first Black president Barak Obama?  Hmmm? 

So to all of the Never Trumpers out there that voted this guy into office I have a question:

How's that workin out for you?  

As far as I'm concerned, every Never Trumper, every person that played politics with the future of our country can just keep their mouth shut regarding the havoc Jo Biden has created, because you are just as culpable in my book; if not more so.   

I just hope we have time to right this ship, but I doubt it, and I know exactly who I blame.  

Can't garden, but can you shop?!

 I get it.  Not everyone has the time, space, or even knack for having a garden.  In addition, even with all of the above, it's rare to have the where with all to grow everything needed for an entire year.  

Even our best laid plans, here on the homestead, have set backs.  We just recently lost 5 chickens being raised for food in one way or another; one hen and 4 roosters.  The hen would've supplied eggs, and the roosters would've supplied meat.  Despite all the care they received, and the fact they were on fresh grass; an opportunistic infection, found in the ground took them out.  This infection works very fast.  We lost 4 in 24 hours.  It also tends to attack younger birds.  These were 8 weeks old.  We'd figured out what was wrong and started them on the medicine to treat.  We thought the 5th one, a rooster, would make it.  He lasted longer, but finally gave in.  The medicine was in their water, and we think he hung back to give the two hens access.  Either that or he was just too far gone.  Well, or both for that matter.  The two hens did make it and are growing fine.    

There's always disease, fungus, or other parasites lurking around a garden, fruit trees, and animals.  Thanks Adam and Eve.  God did say " by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread" (Gen 3:19), and he wasn't kidding.  It's work to get a harvest, and so we're always grateful for anything we're able to put up.  

With all that being said, and with all we are able to put away, we still have to go to a grocery store to buy things.  There are things we can avoid entirely; things we need a little of, and things we buy regularly.  It is what it is.  It's HOW you shop that becomes the important thing at that point.  Know your prices, know your seasons, use your skill sets, buy in bulk, mark downs are your friend, store for a rainy day, and stretch what you buy.  

1) Know your prices - Now there are a variety of ways to do this.  Find one that works for you.  For example; Keeping a price book is an option, but I don't have time for that.  Some do.  What works for one, may or may not work for someone else.  Find a way that works for you to keep track of how much things cost.  This means paying attention to prices, price per ounce, and sales.  What works for me is having a "Ball park" price.  For instance I know boneless skinless chicken breast is "ball park" $1.99 per pound in my area.  That's the average run of the mill price.  I rarely will pay more than that, but I also know that anything below that is a decent sale.  Anything really below that is an awesome sale and I stock up.  Price comparison is part of this as well.  This week there's a store in my area with 80% lean ground beef for $1.99 lb.  They're also offering a coupon for $1 off every $10 spent on ground beef.  This makes the ground beef around $1.82 lb.  Lately I've been buying ground turkey for $1.89 lb. because it was my cheapest option.  Now it isn't.  The ground beef is my cheapest option now.  Definite win because my family actually prefers beef.  We just can't afford it all the time.  Will I stock up on this?  You betcha!

Also, remember, just because it's a bigger package, doesn't mean it's a better deal.  Bulk doesn't always go with budget.  This is where Price per Ounce is important.  For instance, that same store, this week, has the store brand of the dental pics (flossers) on sale plus a coupon.  I found that I can get these 90 count bags for cheaper than buying the 150 count at a competitor store.  This is more of a "Price per each", but the same theory applies.  Pay close attention to the price per ounce; even with items on sale.  Check the other sizes and brands of the same product to make sure the sale price is the best price.  It isn't always.  Stores want to lure you in and get you to spend.  That's their side of the battle.  Our part of the battle is keeping them from taking too much of our money.  There've been times I've seen an item on sale and, knowing my prices, know at a glance it's cheaper elsewhere.

2)  Know your seasons-  Seasons aren't just winter, spring, summer, and fall; although they do have some bearing on this discussion.  Seasons can also mean Holidays or even sale cycles.  Holidays are self explanatory.  Sale cycles are the number of weeks between an item being on a good sale at a particular store.  There are certain items that are cheaper depending on the season of the year and/or cycle of a store.

Winter-  Anything Christmas (Baking, Candy, Hams), New Year( weight loss items lol), Valentines day( Candy, Roses, Steaks), cool weather crops ( of fruits and veggies).  Oranges, Grapefruit or other citus. 

Spring-  St Patrick's day (corn beef, potatoes, cabbage), Easter( Eggs, Ham, Candies, celery, Baking items).  Strawberries, Grapes, Cool Weather Veggies are cheap thru May

Summer-  Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor day( hotdogs, condiments, chips, Pretty much anything grilling).  Fresh Corn, Squashes, Pepper, Tomatoes, pretty much warm weather crops are your friend).  Blueberries are big around this time.  Peaches are cheap right now.  

Fall- Halloween, Thanksgiving( Candy, Baking needs, Turkeys, Sweet Potatoes, celery, Potatoes, Broth, Stuffing, Canned pumpkin, Evaporated Milk, Butter, Nuts, Coffee, Apples.)

These things aren't a good buy just because of the holidays.  When it comes to produce, it's because this is the time of year these items are being harvested and are in large supply.  They will be the freshest, ripest compared to any other time of year.  This means they are the most nutritious and tasty. When these seasons come around would be the time to stock up on the great prices you find.  This year our blueberry bushes got zapped by a late late freeze.  Like a 3rd week in April freeze.  That doesn't happen around here.  It did this year.  We got maybe a cup of blueberries, total.  However, while they were in season, a store in our area had Blueberries for 1.32 a lb.!  I bought many and froze them, just like I would have with our very own berries.  In season strawberries were .99 lb. recently and I put up about 12 lbs. of those.  Our strawberries didn't do much either this year.  Buying these things at the lowest price and freezing, drying or even canning them for later use is a great way to stretch your grocery dollar and give your family in season produce at a much cheaper cost.  This coming Thanksgiving season I'll buy celery at a good price and dehydrate it for use during the year.  Celery can also be frozen very easily.  

As for sale cycles, they're usually every 6 weeks.  In addition, you will find the best sales happen the second and forth week of a month.  Majority of folks get paid on the 1st and 15th of the month.  They will go shopping then anyway.  So if the 1st or 15th falls into a sale flyer week, it's usually not a great ad.  The best sales ads fall in the weeks between those 1st and 15th weeks, and are the ones where the store is enticing people in.  Exceptions to this rule I guess would be around a holiday.  

***As an aside, Remember this term- Loss Leader.  Loss leaders are usually found on the front page of a grocery ad.  These are items the store is taking a loss on in the hopes you will come in for the loss leaders, and stay to get the rest of your groceries.  The task for the shopper is to come in for the loss leaders and find the rest of your groceries where you can get the best buy.

Empowered with the knowledge of when sales hit, you can now know how much of an item to buy.  When a particular item of interest goes on sale, buy enough to cover that 6 week time frame.  Rare sales are the ones where an item is priced lower than a normal sale.  Something not seen very often. If it goes on a rare sale, as in crazy cheap, buy what you can afford, even if it covers more than 6 weeks.  Rare sales happen during the year, but many fall during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season.  Many stores are competing for that holiday feast dollar.  That's when items like canned vegetables, butter, sugar, flour, turkeys, spices, etc go on really good sales that won't be found other times of year.  Budget now to be able to invest as much as possible during that time.  

This is becoming a long post, and I know you guys have a life.  So I'll just end this here and address the other ways to shop in my next few posts.  That way I can go into more detail.  

Showers of Tapioca and experimental success!

 Wow!  I tell ya.  I go from feast to famine when it comes to posting content.  This seems to be a feast week.  In other words, I've either had much to say, or much to happen.  I'm glad!  I too read blogs and love it when there are new things to read.  

So if that's you, this is your week!

As seen in my last post, the Mock Apple Pie went very well.  I tweaked a few things before I posted the recipe, so it should work very well for anyone daring enough to try it.  

With the pie's success, I turned to making up Mock Apple Pie filling with the other half of the watermelon rind.  The basis of my recipe was the apple pie filling recipe from the Ball canning book.  However, it had to be tweaked as well because:

A) not using Apples

B) didn't have Clear Gel, nd didn't really want to have to buy any.

C) wasn't planning on canning it

So I began the process of making up the pie filling.  I started the task of peeling the watermelon rind.  Now I want to set something straight here.  If you decide to try this, make sure you are only using a vegetable peeler.  Don't, I repeat, don't use a knife.  Watermelon rind can be tough to peel. Even with the peeler, I had to work it back and forth to get it thru the peel.  It wasn't too hard, but when I used a knife....yea, the knife jumped and I cut my thumb; both when I peeled rind to make pie, and when I peeled rind for the filling.  I'm left handed, so not sure if this is a lefty problem or if it's universal for right or left, but consider yourself warned.  If you must use a knife, protect your thumb!  Another little tip for doing this is to cut the rind into blocks first, then cut the blocks into strips about 4-5 inches long and maybe 1-2 inches wide.  It makes it easier to hold in your hand to peel.  Much easier.  

Okay, on with my story.  I put all my ingredients into my pan and started making the filling, but I needed something to replace the Clear Gel I didn't have.  Hmmmm.... Oh Google!

Well the nice voice of my Google Sp.. uh Assistant told me I could use Tapioca Flour as a thickener.  Hmmm.  Well I didn't have Tapioca flour, but I did have Tapioca grains...and a grain mill.  HEY!  So I put my Tapioca Grains into my grain mill.  Great idea right!?  Well, if you've ever seen Tapioca grains, they are very tiny.  Because they're so tiny, they got caught in the grinding wheel of my grain mill.  It started making a funny noise.  I turned off the grain mill, opened it up, and took out the tray that holds the grains to investigate.  I saw what was wrong, and that it looked as if most of the rest of the grains had fallen thru to the tray below.  I adjusted the coarseness of the mill to loosen things up a bit (you see what's about to happen don't you?) and Switched on the grain mill.  SHOWERS OF TAPIOCA GRAINS!  Hence the title of this post.  I know you were wondering.  

So after all of that, plus an impromptu clean up and sweep, I put it all back together and finally made Tapioca flour.  Note to self: next time just buy Tapioca Flour.  Then I proceeded with the recipe and managed to successfully make Mock Apple Pie Filling!  Yay!

So, as promised, Here is the recipe:

Mock Apple Pie Filling for the freezer

12 cups peeled and diced watermelon rind- you can also use peeled and diced green pumpkin if you so desire

2 3/4 cups sugar

5 Tbs Tapioca Flour- or you can use the Clear Gel

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

4 cups unsweetened apple juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

Combine Apple juice and Lemon juice in a good size stock pot.  Add the 12 cups of diced melon rind or green pumpkin.  Cook on Med/low heat, Don't boil, for 10 minutes until the pieces are fork tender.  Add the spices, and sugar.  Stir well until the sugar is well dissolved.  Bring to a boil and add the Tapioca Flour,  Stir until thickened.  It won't be super thick, kind of syrupy.  Now if you're using the clear Gel you will want to bring it to a boil on high heat, add the Clear Gel, Stir well.  Bring back to a boil and boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat regardless of Thickener used, and let cool.  Once cool you can spoon into freezer containers and place in the freezer to use at your convenience.  

I actually like this filling better than the recipe for the pie.  It's good, and you can't tell it isn't apple.  Promise!

 

Nothing goes to waste! Mock Apple Pie; I smell a recipe!

 Good Morning!  Well you may be reading this in the afternoon or evening, but it's morning somewhere!  Anyway, as I write this my "experiment" is still in the process stage.  I'm hopeful though, so I'm writing in anticipation of it's success.  

How many here are familiar with the "Little House" books?  Raise your hand.  

I love the "Little House" books.  Carolyn Ingles was very innovative.  I think folks had to be then if their families provision relied on pretty much what they could grow.  Set backs had to be handled in such a way as to preserve as much as they could, regardless of circumstance.  The best example, I think, for this type of innovation is found in the Little House book "The Long Winter".  The whole book is an example, if you ask me.  I remember reading this with my daughter when she was a child.  In the beginning of the book ( for those few of you not familiar), there is an early freeze coming and so the family has to pick anything left in the garden.  Unfortunately this means the end of their garden for the year.  Carolyn, "Ma", picks everything, and I do mean everything; including some green pumpkins.  She then uses the green pumpkins for that nights dessert as a surprise for Pa.  She cuts up the green pumpkins and makes a mock apple pie, using the diced green pumpkins in place of apples.  

My daughter recently found a volunteer pumpkin plant  growing around the apartment complex she lives in.  Someone had thrown out a Halloween pumpkin last year and it had reseeded.  She picked one green, not knowing it was a pumpkin.  She thought it was another type of squash.  She picked it because it was huge!  Once we determined it was a pumpkin, I reminded her of that Little House story.  She took it to heart and made 3 mock apple pies.  They were a hit at her house.  Pretty sweet to be able to replace the most expensive ingredient in apple pie with something free.  It's also great that it was replaced with a vegetable!  Way to go dear daughter!

This morning I arose to peel a watermelon rind ( from our garden) to make watermelon rind pickles,  Yes this is a thing.  They're sweet like Gherkins or Bread and Butter pickles.  As I started to peel the rind I had an idea for something better than pickles.  Inspired by that Little House story, and my daughters success, I set out to try a mock apple pie with the watermelon rind!  After peeling just one half of the watermelon, I had 12 cups of chopped rind.  If the pie is successful, my plan is to use the rest of the watermelons in the garden (uh once we eat them) to make batches of mock apple pie filling that will be either frozen in quart bags, or canned if I can figure out the process time.  More than likely it will be frozen for use during the coming year.  

UPDATE:  Fast forward about 12 hours and I can say the pie was great!  Thanks Carolyn Ingles, and Dear Daughter!!  

Another part of the watermelon I plan to use is the seeds.  Yes you can eat watermelon seeds.  It won't grow another plant in your stomach.  Lol.  Apparently you can roast any type of squash/melon seeds.  They're supposed to be good for you.  So I've been gathering seeds all summer long, drying them and freezing them until I can do a large batch of roasted seeds.  These seeds will be stored and used in Granola or just for snacking.

So here is the recipe for the pie!

Mock Apple pie

12 cups watermelon rind peeled, diced, and with all residual watermelon fruit removed

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 TBS Lemon juice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup butter

Crust for Double crust pie

Cook watermelon in 1 quart of water for 10 min on medium heat.  Don't boil.  Remove from heat and drain.  Pour drained watermelon into a mixing bowl.  Add the Lemon Juice and mix well.  Mix all dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then pour over the watermelon.  Toss watermelon to coat well.  Pour into a crust lined deep dish pie pan.  Dot with butter.  Top with second crust.  Seal edges.  Brush crust with milk and sprinkle sugar over the top.  Cover the pie edges with foil.  Bake in a 375 oven for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 350 for another 25 minutes.  Then VOILA!

Beginning a food pantry from scratch

 Good morning!  

I have been sewing, gardening, preserving like a crazy person.  I've also been cutting grass.  Mowing the lawn these days takes on more of a work out routine due to our riding mower being temporarily out of commission.  In addition, our little push mower, while doing very well, tends to struggle getting thru taller grass; especially when the grass is wet.  These days we are high humidity and heat, so by the time the grass dries out from the nightly dew that falls, it's too hot to be outside.  As a result we've been cutting wet grass in the morning, but only about an hour at a time.  Once we complete the yard, it's time to start over again with what was cut at first.  I'm hoping soon I can get the yard to the point we can cut all at once.  

But lawn mowing isn't my topic at hand.  

This is:

In the long list of things learned from this past 18 months, having food on hand seems to have stuck in everyone's mind.  All the naysayers that laughed and said "I'm coming to your house", are now seeing the wisdom of having food on hand.  Gardening and canning supplies are selling out, as are shelf stable foods.  Even chicks are a sought after commodity.  This is all great to me, don't get me wrong.  I think we all should keep food, first aid, and toiletries on hand "in case".  It doesn't have to be because of a pandemic or other end of the world as we know it situation.  It can be in case of a job lay off, an illness that puts someone out of work, an unexpected large bill or to help out others who may need it.  It also helps save money, because you can buy large amounts of items when they go on sale; at least 6 weeks worth to get to the next time they go on sale.  

So, are you interested in starting a pantry?  Are you wanting to get it sooner rather than later?  Emergencies aren't usually announced until they happen.  I know it seems daunting to try and do it in this climate of higher prices, smaller supplies, and a shared wide spread interest in doing the very same thing.  It can be done!  I know it can be done, because I had to do it this go round.  (sigh)  Yes, I had become complacent.  I had about a 6 week supply on hand mainly because I just happened to have purchased my normal monthly groceries a few days before shut down happened.  It lit a fire in me though, and I've spent the last 18 months getting things back to where they were.  

So if you're interested I will share what are some steps to take to start.

1)  Take inventory of what you have at the moment.  You have a rough guestimation of how long that will last.  I'm trying to resist the urge to tell you to run out and buy pinto beans and rice.  You actually can get them pretty easy right now.  If your family eats a lot of pinto beans and rice type meals, then by all means go for it.  It is a great way to have at least something in the pantry, but if your family won't eat it, well....One of the reasons for an inventory is to make a list of things your family eats NORMALLY.  

2}  If you are limited for space like we are, spending that space and your money on premade mixes, boxed meals or other processed food will limit how much you can store.  Plus cause you to spend more in the long run.  It's best to focus on ingredients and put them together yourself.  It's cheaper, healthier, and takes up less space.

3)  Time for choices here.  Until you get your pantry stocked, you'll need to make a trade of certain things in your grocery list for the ones needed for your pantry.  What are your little splurges?  Might have to switch from soda to tea.  Not a bad switch FYI.  On the flip side of that coin, it may be once you cut out the premade stuff, you find you have a little extra to spend on a splurge or two.  The main point is to make stocking the pantry a priority.  

4)  Okay, unless you have a stockpile of money( Kudos), you will not be able to get everything all at once.  If it makes you feel better, get a large bag of beans and rice so at least your family doesn't starve.  I mean, I don't care how picky an eater you are.  If you're faced with beans or starvation, you'll eat the beans.  So once you have the beans and rice and feel you can take a breath, focus on staples;  Flour, sugar, salt, fats, baking items, canned meats ( or frozen if you have the space), and peanut butter.  It doesn't take much money to grab a few of these in your normal shopping trip.  In fact for $15 ish you can snag some of each of these.  For instance in my area, Walmart has unbleached all purpose flour regularly 1.22 for a 5 lb bag.  It's good flour and a good price.  Grab a few extra each trip and your pantry will grow.  

5)  Watch for sales!  Sales run in cycles.  Thanksgiving to Christmas have the best sales on cooking and baking items.  You can get some really good deals.  When you do, take advantage of them and buy what you can.  Labor day, 4th of July, and Memorial day seasons are great times for anything cookout worthy; meats, condiments, etc.  Easter is great for Hams, and eggs.  Also produce sales will be based on growing seasons.  Strawberries, cold weather vegetables, and grapes are big from say Feb to April.  Corn, tomatoes and peaches are big here in the summer.  Pumpkins, sweet, and white potatoes are great in the fall.  Learn the sale times and price ranges in your area.  It's healthier to eat seasonal anyway.  Buy these fresh items in bulk and learn to can!  Or you can freeze them.  Most veggies will need to be blanched before frozen, but can be frozen.  

6)  Okay, your pantry needs fun stuff!  Now with sugar, salt, flour, fat, and soda you can make a good cookie, but chocolate is the order of the day.  Nothing like chocolate to make your day.  Watch for after Halloween, Christmas, Valentines day, and Easter sales.  I don't care what shape the chocolate is in, it taste the same and bakes the same.  Also, Christmas is a great time to stock up on chocolate chips and nuts.  

7)  Increase your skill level during this time.  It will do you no good to have all these staples on hand and have no idea how to use them.  Even dried beans have a process to cook them.  Learn things like gardening, canning, baking bread, and increasing your cooking skills.  You would be amazed at the number of items we buy at the store that can be made at home.  We've been trained into thinking that's the only way to have them, but it isn't.  You can check out some of my recipe pages and see things like :  Pancake syrup, Chocolate syrup, Taco seasoning mix, Season salt, Ranch dressing, Granola, Granola bars, Ketchup, Sausage, Dog treats, Yogurt, Bread, Bagels, English Muffins, and Crackers.

8)  Take small bites at a time.  In other words, shoot for one month pantry first, then 6 weeks, then 3 months, then 6 months.  Don't try to d it all at once. 

9)  Since you're buying items your family uses anyway, it's important to rotate out your stock.  That means you use the items that will expire the soonest.  For example you will pull flour from the first bags of flour you stored and use that first before you pull from the next bags of flour.  

10)  Few tips:  Freeze your flour, rice, and beans a few days before storing in your pantry.  This will kill off any buggy eggs and such that might be lurking.  I know, gross, but factual.  Storing large amounts of items in a 5 gallon bucket is handy.  Unless you are storing outside in a barn or for multiple years, 5 gallon buckets with tight fitting lids and maybe an O2 absorber are sufficient.  I wouldn't worry about mylar bags and gamma lids.  The lids that come with the buckets are fine, but invest in the handy lid opener for $4 or so.  It's worth it!  Now if your are storing for Armageddon then maybe get the mylar bags.  If you freeze the above items before storing, rotate them out, and are only storing a pantry for say 6 months, then just go with the buckets.  

11)  Okay ,last thing.  Once you get an item to the level you want, then you get to the maintenance phase of pantry storage,  That is, you only replace what has been used that month.  That's great in that now you can replace only when the items is on sale.  You will always get the good deal!  Oh and a side perk, no crazy trips to the store when bad weather is on the way.  You get to stay at home in the nice warm house while everyone else is running to the store for milk, bread, and eggs.  

Not my America

 Sorry guys, while I'm working on some homesteady posts, there are too many things going on right now to not speak up.  This being my only outlet, It has to be here.  Sorry, or "your welcome" depending on how you look at this.  

The past week has shown some pretty scary things.  Things I never in my lifetime thought I would see in the United States.  I feel like I'm living in another country.  Founding Fathers?  What Founding fathers?  In actuality, the past 18 months have had some pretty scary things, and I'm not talking Covid.  Well except this:  In the name of "Public Health" the powers that be have managed to 

1}  Shut down the majority of small businesses.  Yet the large businesses, big business if you will, were allowed to be essential.  Yes, online stores, including mine, saw an up tic in business as people were shut down at home, but brick and mortar stores, restaurants, gyms, etc were closed, many of them never to open their doors again.  How convenient it is to move our economy to a digital platform.  Easier to control things that way I expect.  The powers that be say they aren't printing money so much as "digitizing" the currency.  I guess if our currency is blips on a computer screen, it won't matter what the number is.  Problem is, that hems consumers(citizens) in to the one form of transaction easiest to control.  It will allow every purchase to be tracked, buying patterns to be analyzed, etc.  Good stuff!  

2) Determine what workers can stay employed and what workers can't be employed.  The ultimate hand on the scale.  But hey we'll send you a check in the mail and all will be well.  

3)  Steal private property in the form of the moratorium against evictions.  Instead of just allowing renters to file for assistance and help who needed it; the government actually decided that private land owners couldn't collect rent from their tenants.  While I understand some tenants needed help, not all did.  Even the Supreme court ruled that the Moratorium was unconstitutional and said it had to expire.  Yet the CDC, an unelected body, has allowed it to continue with the current administrations blessing.  These private land owners are not Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.  Many times these are retirees that are using rents to have an income stream during retirement, or small investors.  Many of these owners have mortgages on these properties that still need to be paid.  They have no recourse if the tenants abuse the property, or can pay the rent and are choosing not to because they can't be evicted.  

4)  Determine who gathers, and when.  Church services are bad, protests are good.  At holidays we could gather together with members in our own household, but not too many.  So if you were someone who lived alone, well sucks for you.  I'm thankful we don't live in an apartment complex in New York!  I can only imagine what that was like.  YIKES.   

These were some of the many things that happened over the past 18 months, but not all.  What has me fuming, and concerned are the things happening now.  Every morning brings another stunner.  For example, this morning I read CNN had fired 3 employees who arrived at work unvaccinated.  PHI, Private Health information I guess is no longer a thing; nor is HIPPA or a Patient Bill of Rights.  Fired!  I hope they can find work somewhere that's a little more understanding, not just of their decision, but of basic biology and how vaccines actually function.  There are now, effective September, Vaccine Passports required in New York City.  Nurses, NURSES, and other healthcare workers are being told to get the shot or find another job.  These are people that have cared for Covid patients over the last 18 months, and they didn't have a vaccine when they did!  But now they're being told to take the shot or lose your job.  How many of them probably have natural immunity from already having Covid?  Nobody cares.  If it doesn't further the narrative and enable more control, they don't want to hear it.  We have no long term studies on these vaccines and what they may cause down the line, and yet people are clamoring for young children to get the shot.  Don't get me started on Masking and especially masking young children.  Why are people clamoring for children to get the shot, vaccine passports, firings for non compliance, etc?  Because of the never ending assault of fear mongering coming from the media, social media, and government.  Trust me they're all the same entity.  

SOME FACTS:

1) If you're vaccinated you're protected, and have nothing to worry about.  Well that's if the vaccine works, and if it doesn't, why are they pushing it?  Plus now they're looking at booster shots?

2)  Children rarely have a bad time with Covid, and aren't good carriers of the virus.  While there have been children that died, they all had severe comorbidities and died with covid, not because of it.  The number is very small, around 300 in the entire US.  If you're concerned about the minuet chance you may still get the virus from a child, see fact #1

3) Natural immunity is a real thing.  It is I promise.  In fact studies coming out of both Great Britain and Israel show that natural immunity is stronger, can last a lifetime, and be a better defense against Covid( and it's variants) than the vaccines.

4) The Delta Variant, while more contagious, isn't as lethal.  

5) You can't contain a virus as a general rule.  That's been my main objection to all of this craziness.  It will find a way.  But you really can't contain a virus with an open southern border where people from over 100 countries pour thru, unvaccinated, unmasked, and untested.  So when you're losing your job, your income, your rights "for the protection of others", remember that.  

We, as a country, are being divided; on purpose.  Divided into Liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, Trump supporter (or terrorist depends on who you ask) or Trump Hater, Masked or unmasked, and vaccinated or unvaccinated.  It is believed that Liberal Democrat Trump haters wear their masks (sometimes 2 or 3) and are getting their vaccines.  Conservative Republican Trump supporters don't wear their mask or get a vaccine and go around blowing in old peoples faces.  Just saying.  

Why are we being divided?  Who has benefited from the last 18 months? Ask yourself these questions and really look at the past 18 months.  Is it Big Business, Big Government, Big Pharma, China?  I used to not consider myself a conspiracy theorist, but what do you do when there is so much material to work with?  You ask yourself these questions and look at the last 18 months closely with an objective but critical eye and tell me what you find.