Allyson

One of my FB prepper groups posted this a week or so ago, and I’ve been watching what people talk about. Lots of stuff about toilet paper. Medications. Food, of course. Pretty much everything mentioned was STUFF, though. And I don’t think that the top 3 “unobvious” things are … well, things.

My first thing that I think people haven’t bothered to think about is garbage. By garbage, I mean both waste from our homes (food packages, moldy leftovers, clothing beyond repair, etc.) and waste from we humans. I don’t think most people give a second thought to garbage. Either they’re like me, and they’re used to taking their garbage to the dump, or they’re like my neighbor, and the magic truck just arrives once a week and takes it all away. In a real SHTF scenario, neither of those things are going to happen.

If the SHTF, you won’t get me within a mile of the public dump. Either everything there will be hella unsanitary (because public dumps require attendants to keep them clean and tidy, and a lot of the recyclables and such are removed each day, as is much of the actual garbage. If the social contract dissolves, there will be no attendants, and nowhere for the garbage to go. It’ll become rat infested, and frankly, human infested.

Human waste is an issue I don’t think the average citizen thinks over long about. I think about it all the time. What do you do with your piss and shit? I like that I flush and it goes away. That’s nice. But I also spend quite a bit of time every summer in places where that’s not the case, and I have to be careful. Port-a-potties are okay, but they fill up (quickly, more quickly than you think they will), and are not a long term solution. Trust me when I say, if the SHTF you want to turn off your toilet and block your access to the street once you’ve assured yourself it’s truly SHTF. You do not want that stuff backing up into your bathroom. Toilets can continue to be used until sewage overflows its bounds at whatever downhill facility it’s going to, at which point it’ll start coming up the tube to meet you.

What DO we do with human waste then? I’m a firm proponent of the “lovey loo” as one company decided to call it. The composting toilet, which need not be expensive or complex if building codes are no longer an issue, is the perfect answer to human waste. If you have even an acre of land, you can put it to use. There’s an fantastic book called The Humanure Handbook that explains the whole process, what to do with waste, and what not to do.

Basically, #1 should go into a bucket with a tight sealing lid, and when full, disposed of either in a hole that goes deeper than 10 inches, or poured out over an area that is not near any running water. Digging a hole is the best way to deal with it, and if you’re ONLY using it for urine, you can dig it and leave it dug, with just a cover over it to avoid anyone falling in. The urine will work its way through the soil and return to the water table safely. Remember that, for the most part, pee is sterile. You want to keep it separate from solid waste.

#2 can be collected in a homer bucket (lined with a garbage bag if you’re squeamish) with a layer of fresh wood shavings over each (ahem) movement. If you’re diligent about keeping urine separate and using your wood shavings, there usually isn’t any smell. You keep using the bucket until it’s full, and then you add in a handful of worm casings and bang the lid on tightly. Carefully label the exterior of the bucket ALL OVER, and set it neatly in the brush at the back of your property. After one year, it’s probably soil that’s fine to use. After two years, even the most delicate of scientists will tell you that all that’s left is dirt. Go use it in your garden. It’s compost, and it’ll be very rich. You work it right and you’ll have enough compost to keep your garden going basically forever.

Please note, all of the above is very short-handed. Go read the book. They explain everything in great detail. I have only given you the highlights here.

The second thing that I don’t think people are the least bit prepared for is the general idea that, if you have a disease or health issue, you’re going to die a lot faster than everyone else. If the SHTF, even if you have stored medication, it’s limited. When it runs out, your risk of dying skyrockets. Now if you’re lucky and the problem is Type II Diabetes, you might manage to work yourself into a safe zone and survive. Working your ass off will do that. But if the problem is cancer or Type I Diabetes, or PCOS or any number of other diseases, you have to be prepared to die. I hate to say it, and it’s uncomfortable to think about, but it’s the truth. It’s important to come to terms with the idea that you or others could die of stuff that was “easy to fix/control” just months earlier.

I deal with this stuff all the time, because I talk to people at historical events. They always ask, “Well, what would have happened to my dad in the 15th century, what with his diabetes?” Well, hon, he’d die. People with gluten intolerance or dairy intolerance? Dead. Allergic to bees? Dead (though not quite as easily as some other deaths). Allergic to a food that’s needed for survival (bread, peanut butter, cheese)? Dead. Have asthma? Dead. It’s a shitty reality that people need to be aware of long before the SHTF. It’s important to ask yourself NOW… am I more help to my family if I stockpile meds and try to make it through the worst days of the SHTF, or would my death be more useful (in which case, don’t store meds and accept what’s coming much more quickly)?

And number three, simply the amount of work people will need to do in order to survive. I do not for a minute believe that most people in our country today will survive the process of making soap to clean their clothes, or the sheer amount of work it takes to make a hot bath, or clearing a driveway without a snow blower. I’ve got a SMALL taste of it, when I spend my 7 to 10 days up at the fort. I only have to cart my water a few yards instead of up from the river, and I have modern soap to clean my clothing with, but I do my best to live like they did. It’s a lot of work. I don’t have time to look at my phone, or read a book. If I have time during daylight hours, I use it to mend clothing or do something else that requires light. On an average stay at the Fort, I walk between 11 and 17 miles a day, and that’s just when I’m staying IN the fort and not going for walks or wandering down to the river. That’s 15 or so miles walking from table to hearth to wood pile, in a big circle, a bazillion times. And that’s me acting as a woman, with a lot of work but a lot LESS walking than my menfolk will be doing.

What are three things you think people are unprepared for? Not the obvious stuff. No toilet paper. What situations or things or thoughts have you contemplated, that you don’t believe others have put thought into?

I hit up TikTok in the evenings for ten minutes, mostly for the comedy, but sometimes from “news on the ground.” Last night was comedy. So good, I need to share it!

@drewdunncomedy it would be funny… ON TOUR: 1/29-31 GRAND RAPIDS, MI 2/6-7 DENVER, CO 2/25 OONTARIO, CA 2/26 OXNARD, CA 2/27 LOS ANGELES, CA 2/29 IRVINE, CA 3/13-14 TYLER, TX 3/26-28 SAN DIEGO, CA 3/30-4/5 LAS VEGAS 4/9-11 MOHEGAN SUN, CT 4/30-5/2 LAWRENCE, KS More dates coming! #standup #jokes #trump #impression ♬ original sound – Drew Dunn

@zxcbbm696 #comedy #comedian #standup #standupcomedy #standupcomedian ♬ original sound – zxcbbm696

There are too many stupid things going on in this country right now. Finding one of them to write about is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. Way too easy, if you ask me. And it’s a shame.

The one that’s sticking out in my mind right now is the person who decided to pick up a flash-bang that was thrown at them, known right now as Luna von Woke. According to a few sources, the video is fake, but it certainly passed my muster. Others have said the video is real, but the GoFundMe for help to get prosthetics is fake (MEAWW). Regardless, it isn’t the first time someone on the Left has picked up a flash bang, so I’m going to assume this is real.

Now, picking it up at all was stupid, and I could leave it at that. If someone tosses a flash-bang my way, I’m going THATAWAY… any way that’s away from where it is, quick as I can. While they don’t explode in the same way a grenade explodes, they do go boom.

This woman, in the video, looks at the flash bang, then goes running with it in her hand. She doesn’t throw it back. She doesn’t drop it. She doesn’t toss it in a safe direction. She just holds it in her hand until it goes bang. At that point, she hits the deck, writhing and screaming as one would assume would happen when one’s fingers went in two different directions at high speed. Frankly, the fact that it WAS a flash bang might have saved the rest of her hand, as the intense heat of the magnesium probably cauterized the wounds. Still, I’m sure it hurt.

I’m finding it difficult to scavenge up any real sympathy for Ms von Woke. Her ability to think critically isn’t likely to get better, so while I feel bad when anyone gets hurt, that’s about the extent of it. The ouch she’s feeling isn’t likely to teach her not to do it again.

This is literally what happens when we don’t let our children play outside, burn themselves in controlled ways on “warm but not terminally hot” stoves, and use knives early in life. They don’t learn that actions have consequences. It’s just… well, stupid.

And as the title suggests, you can’t cure this kind of stupid. Anyone who actually has the power to think this stuff through is already in the process of doing so. They’re already not going to pick up an exploding thing and run with it, anymore than they’re going to run with scissors or not pay their mortgage. They know there are consequences.

The scary part is, there are more and more people every year who simply do not “get” why bad things happen to them. They don’t know why they get sick (after not washing dishes appropriately), don’t know why people don’t want to be around them (after not showering for days on end and/or not washing their clothing effectively), don’t understand why they aren’t getting hired for jobs (when they show up with facial tattoos and piercings, or show up late and act in a disrespectful manner). They truly seem to expect things to just be handed to them on a silver platter. When you try to help them understand, they get barely into it and give up. They just don’t care. They KNOW that if they just keep doing what they’re doing, someone will take care of them. They know that because it’s what has always happened. And they’re right.

When I was on the dole, it was embarrassing.  I was ashamed, and I hated it, but I did it because I needed to feed my kid and that was more important than my pride. No one “made me” feel that way… it was a natural reaction to being on welfare and having to get food at the food bank. Today, we seem to be expected to worry about how a parent is going to feel while getting food for their kid at a food bank or from SNAP. Frankly, I don’t really care. I don’t want them insulted, of course, because there’s no reason to do so and it’s just morally wrong. But I see no reason to go out of my way to make it less embarrassing. Why? Because that feeling of shame was highly motivating. I wanted to get a job (or at one point, a BETTER job) so that I didn’t have to do the embarrassing thing anymore. And I did.

I wasn’t harmed by being ashamed. My child and I had food. We had shelter. We had heat, and water. Our needs were adequately met, and then some. After I got off the dole, a number of years later, I went back and helped out. Even today, some 30 years past that horrible time, I still do volunteer work every year. Why? Because people helped me, and so I help others. Even in the face of the disgraceful unrepentant asses that come thru the door today. There might be one “me” in the mix, and that’s enough to motivate me to keep helping.

But I’m not interested in making it easier. Easier leads to unemployed people taking to the street to protest FOR fascism, rapists, and criminals. I don’t want it to be easier. I want it to be a slap in the face, to wake people up and get them moving.

If we can end the various waste caused by the people who are terminally stupid (be those people in the citizenry or the government), maybe we can start some programs that actually help people who are truly needy to get into a better place. When I read Hillbilly Elegy, I felt inspired. If our VP can lift himself up through hard work and determination, then so can anyone else. It ain’t easy. If it’s easy, you’re doing it wrong.

Ran into a song… got to thinking about a “reprise” I’d heard. Here is the original:

Dolly

Jolene’s side, because there’s always more than one side to a story:

I’m not as much into white bread as some people are, but once in a while it’s nice to have that soft, spongy white stuff. Grilled cheese, for instance, is fantastic in a good white bread. And French Bread is the ultimate white loaf. It’s also ridiculously easy to make, which I appreciate so very much. This is the recipe that I use, and it turns out some freakin’ awesome loaves (pics at the end of the post)!

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ cups warm water, 110-115 degrees F
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast (see note)
• 2 ¼ teaspoons salt (see note)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil or avocado oil
• 5 ½ – 6 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour (see note)

You can make this in a stand mixer or by hand. It’s not a difficult dough to make even entirely by hand. I’m including directions for both methods.

Start by combining the water, sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture bubble and foam before moving on to the next step (this can take up to ten minutes if it’s really cold or your yeast is old, though usually you can see bubbles within a minute). Instant yeast doesn’t require you to activate it, but I find it’s always good to do this. If no bubbles happen, you know that your yeast is dead BEFORE you start investing time and flour into it.

Once the bubbles start, add in the salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour, and mix. This can be done in a stand mixer with the dough hook on it, or with a wooden spoon in a large bowl. Continue to mix until the dough becomes a bit soupy, then slowly add in 2.5 to 3 cups more flour. I usually do this about a quarter to a half cup at a time so I don’t overload the dough with too much flour. When the dough is too “formed” to use the spoon anymore, when working by hand, turn it out onto the counter and begin the kneading process. In the stand mixer, continue adding flour until the dough clears off the sides of the bowl and makes a soft ball that might begin crawling up the dough hook. Turn it out on the counter and work the rest of this by hand.

French bread is a soft, sloppy dough in my opinion. You want to knead the dough for a few minutes, but not the 20 minutes a regular hearty bread requires. If it gets too tacky and starts to stick to your hands, add a couple of tablespoons of flour and knead that in. The goal is a ball of dough that is slightly tacky, very smooth, and soft enough that it starts to slump a little bit when left on the counter.

Put the dough into a bowl (I just use the mixing bowl I was using earlier) lightly coated with olive oil, and turn the dough to coat it LIGHTLY. Cover the bowl with a grocery bag or some plastic wrap, or cover it with a warm, moist towel. Set the bowl in a warm, relatively moist place. If you have a proofing box, use that. If you have nothing else, you can use your microwave to heat up 2 cups of water to almost boiling, then put the dough bowl in there WITH the hot water, and close the door. It’s usually a tight fit, but most modern microwaves will manage it. It becomes your proofing box.

Normally I would suggest several methods for rising bread dough, but French bread is a little finicky. It likes it very warm and moist. You want 85*F and almost steamy. My usual tricks won’t work (in a box with a heating mat, or in the oven with the light on but nothing else).

Let the dough rise for about an hour, until it’s doubled in size. If it isn’t doubled, wait longer. I sometimes snap a quick pic of my dough, so I can judge the size more accurately when I go back to check.

Once the dough is risen, turn it out onto your counter and cut it in half. Using the heel of your hand, pat each half out into a thick rectangle, about 9″ x 13″, though it doesn’t have to be exact. I usually put my baking sheet out where I can use it to judge size, and aim for a loaf about the length of the sheet. As you’re patting out the dough (NOT rolling it), use your palm to press out any air bubbles you find. Roll the dough up the long way (you want it 13″ long, not 9″ long), and then pinch the seam closed. I usually tuck the ends in as well, but that’s me. Just make sure they’re even and as sealed closed as possible. Place each of your French loaves onto a bit of parchment paper, onto a baking sheet. Some people use two different baking sheets, but I just pull up the parchment paper between the bread so it doesn’t accidentally grow into its neighbor.

Using a bread lame, razor blade, or VERY sharp knife, cut several gashes at an angle over the top of each loaf. While you can score the bread after it rises, that will sometimes deflate it. Doing it now ensures a nice, even rise that you don’t disturb. Spray some plastic wrap with no-stick spray, and cover each of the loaves gently, leaving a little room for growth. Try to avoid sealing it down, as you want it to have room to rise properly. Put the loaves back in your proofing box, or in the least drafty, warmest and moistest place, and allow them to rise again until they are about doubled in size. This will take another hour or so.

Preheat your oven to 375*F, and make sure your oven rack is centered. Put a small, heat-safe bowl in the bottom of your oven. Remove the plastic wrap from your dough, and slide it into your preheated oven. Toss 2 or 3 ice cubes into the small bowl that you put into the bottom of the oven. This gives you a nice, extra crisp crust! Bake the loaves for 25 to 30 minutes, checking ever 5 minutes after the 20 minute mark. You want golden, puffy loaves that sound hollow when knocked with your knuckles.

If you want a softer crust, slide a stick of butter over the top of the loaves the minute they come out of the oven. If you like it crispy, don’t butter it. Allow the loaves to cool entirely before cutting into them. Remember: bread continues baking for about 20 to 30 minutes after being removed from the oven, so cutting into it early will interfere with that.

Notes:

I use this bread for French Dip sandwiches. I use it for French toast. And most importantly, I use it to make garlic bread. It’s just generally yummy, though, whether you serve it as a sandwich or with soup or stew. Enjoy!

So some of us live in the boonies or in largely “settled American” areas, and the likelihood we’ll see ICE or DHS is pretty low. But let’s look at this as a “what if” scenario. What if ICE arrived in your town? What do you think would happen?

I live in an area that has a lot of Conservative folk, but a lot of Liberals as well. Considering we have a small contingent of people who stand on the corner of what used to be the Rite Aid building every Friday, protesting whatever (I don’t read the signs), I can say we have some people here who would choose to cause problems for ICE. I don’t know what our Chief of Police, our Firemen, or our Sheriff would do. What this means is that there are likely to be armed LEOs in my vicinity, and they will be agitated and possibly there will be people actively obstructing them.

I will tell you that if someone starts that whistle crap in my neighborhood, I’ll end it right quick. No, not with a firearm (I understand the desire, but not the morals of it, if that makes sense), but with a noise ordinance complaint. Or a lot of noise ordinance complaints. That would not fly well in my little bedroom community. Even some of the libs might find it unconscionable.

I would find it disturbing to see armed, armored men walking the streets of my little town. And where I live would set me walking or driving past them every time I wanted to leave home, because of where my home is situated. I would need to make outings something that happened only during down times, when mobs weren’t being active. I have less then zero interest in getting caught up in ICE stuff. I certainly wouldn’t be interfering in their duties. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t somehow end up in the middle of something, unintentionally.

The first and most important thing I would do is continue my life as normal, as much as was safely possible. The moment I allow someone else to make my life change, they win. On the other hand, if I’m stopped by ICE or other LEOs, I will happily provide whatever they ask for that’s within my power. If I’m armed and I’m stopped, I will keep my hands either above my head (if out and about) or at 10 and 2 (if driving). I’ll let LEOs know I’m armed, what the weapon is, where it is, and where any relevant paperwork is. If someone “jackboots” me, I’ll argue about it AFTER the stop, not during. Hard to argue if someone gets rushed and you end up shot dead. My goal is to make it through any such stop with the least problems for LEOs and myself.

For those who don’t like to show ID, I get it. I don’t either. My general position, prior to the current mess, has been to prepare myself to ask, “Am I being detained?” Because if I am not being detained, I am not showing ID (tho of course if driving you have to show a license if asked). If I am being detained, then I will invoke my right to silence, after asking for a lawyer. None of those things are likely to bother a LEO, especially if you’re otherwise polite and non-threatening.

I don’t need to be threatening. It’s not my goal in life to have others afraid of me. On the other hand, I don’t like being questioned unnecessarily. That whole Fourth Amendment thing about being secure in my person, papers, home, etc. is important, after all. But I’m also going to look at the situation in hand. A random traffic stop is not anything like ICE asking for proof of citizenship. ICE is showing up in places where there are dangerous criminal aliens, and dealing with them. I’m pretty sure they’d rather be dealing with picking them up at the local jail, but if they have to, they’ll hunt them down. I want the cops to pick up serial killers, rapists, and the like… and I want ICE to remove criminal aliens when they find them. That requires at least a little cooperation on my part.

Here’s the thing, though, when it comes to these ICE protests and riots. You don’t have to participate. Yes, it’s possible to get dragged into a mob by accident (and it’s terrifying, by the by), but if you keep your wits about you, you get away from it as soon as is possible. You don’t have to celebrate ICE, either, if you’re concerned they’re being a bit over zealous about doing their job. You just don’t interfere. It’s that simple.

Most of us are highly unlikely to ever get caught up in an ICE sweep. We’re not hanging around with illegal aliens or criminals. We’re not protecting them. Therefore, ICE really isn’t that interested in us. So our goal is just to stay out of their way.

That is the best preparation you can have, when it comes to ICE. Don’t play stupid games, and you’re not likely to win stupid prizes. Don’t FA and you probably won’t FO.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (The Second Amendment, The Constitution)

In the years before the American Revolution, British rule stated that only Protestants could keep arms for self-protection (Regan Library). In the quickly coalescing United States, those early State governors and representatives realized that We The People required arms in order to protect ourselves, both at a personal level and as a country, and that denying arms to a subset of people (those not Protestant, for instance, and a few years later, Black people) was a bad idea. Either the Right was going to be infringed, or it wasn’t. Our Founding Fathers decided that not infringing was the correct way to go.

I happen to agree with them.

I am an absolutist when it comes to the Second Amendment. It is wrong, 100% wrong, to infringe on the right of someone to keep and bear arms. Anyone. Even Leftists. Even criminals, in fact, though I still struggle with this one (as an aside, if a criminal is too dangerous to be allowed to have their firearms, then they ought not be out of jail). You want to own a rail gun? Sure. You want to have a nuclear missile in your backyard? Fine. You just have to follow all the laws surrounding the owning of those things (for instance, if you have nuclear weapons, you have to have adequate, safe storage for them so that you don’t poison your land or your neighbors). It’s permissible, to a small extent, to limit certain things when it can inherently damage other people (as with nuclear weapons). The Founders were clear: SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.

The moment you start saying, “Oh, but I don’t want *that* person to have guns…” you’ve lost. You’re now on the Left, and you’ll be issued your blue hair dye and have your septum ring installed momentarily. And yes, this IS a hill I will die on.

“One primary motivation for the Second Amendment was the fear of federal tyrannical power. Many Founders believed that governments naturally tend toward oppression, and that an armed citizenry served as a crucial check against government overreach. This reasoning reflected the Revolutionary experience of fighting against what was perceived as British tyranny.” (Vanho Law)

People on the Right have long talked about the concern of the tyranny of the government. When Biden was in office, I heard it every other day. I heard it almost as often when Obama was in office. Valid concerns were voiced, and while I didn’t agree with all of them, I did listen. At that time, the Left thought the Right were a bunch of nutters.

Right now, people on the Left are concerned about tyranny of the government. They are in a complete and utter froth over Trump, ICE, and DHS. I hear this several times every day. I’m strongly of the opinion that most of the concerns voiced are bull… but even when I don’t agree with them, I listen. And now the Right thinks the Left are a bunch of nutters.

Is it scary to me that people who might be my enemies are arming themselves? Yes it is. But here’s the thing… freedom is not free. It’s not safe. It’s not easy. If you think anything about freedom is safe or easy or free, you obviously have not read your history books. Go read them, and then you may come back and comment.

It doesn’t matter if I’m scared or nervous or freaked out that the left may be arming themselves. In the same vein, I have been telling the left that for years, that the fact that I’m arming myself or my husband is arming himself or whatever is none of their business and it doesn’t matter if they’re freaked out or scared. It’s my right, I get to exercise it, and if you want to be upset over it, you are absolutely welcome to be but you’re not going to stop me exercising that right.

There is no possible way for me to say that to the left and then turn around and tell them that my piddly little fears or my gutty terrors are a reason for them not to be allowed to have firearms. I refuse to be a hypocrite. I refuse to be unethical, or situational. My ethics and my morals stand, no matter who they are aimed at. I believe the same things have to apply to everyone, and if there are laws and rules and regulations that don’t apply to everybody equally, then they should be removed. You can’t have rules for me but not for thee.

To bring this to a close, I strongly believe that people who jump through the hoops to get their firearms and the training, and maybe their CC paperwork, will become good and ethical 2A people. Eventually. I believe it is functionally impossible for someone to be a firearm owner, do training and practice, and not become a 2A supporter. In my albeit limited experience, everyone I know who has gone on to learn how to safely and properly use their firearms, has realized the stupidity of the gun control crowd.

Let the left arm themselves if that’s what they feel they need to do. If I’m scared, then I’m scared. That has nothing to do with their rights. Just as I tell them that their feelings have nothing to do with limiting my rights, I have to give them the same in return.

If you’re all for taking away the rights of your enemies, or restricting their access to certain things, whether that’s free speech, firearms and self-defense items, information, etc… then you are the Gestapo that they have been afraid of.

This is important stuff. You are all welcome to believe however you want, because I believe in the first amendment as well as the second. You have the freedom to believe what you want, think I’m an idiot, and anything else. But so do I.

I will protect your right to be afraid of the left being armed, to talk openly about that fear, and to brainstorm ways ways to be safe. But the moment you step out of line and start trying to take away the rights of others to speak freely, to keep and bear arms, you’re no better than you’re saying they are. I’ll still protect your right to say what you want, but I’m not going to protect you from the consequences of your statements.

I have often said both here on the blog and in other places that only in the crazy world that we live in right now, could I be considered conservative. In a sane world I would be slightly right of center of the liberal side, and I don’t have a problem with that. But in writing this missive and in interactions recently, I think I might be a bit more conservative than some of you give me credence for. Because I will say it clearly, it is a conservative value to refuse to use the government to take away the rights of someone else. And that’s where I stand.

We all know that the Left and the media (who, though they often do things together, ARE two separate groups with two separate agendas) are not great at giving us all the facts. They post up stories like how ICE arrested a five year old child (not true; they detained the five year old because the parent was being incarcerated and they couldn’t exactly let a five year old go wandering around alone, which is the same thing DCF does when they have a parent arrested… but I digress). A few days ago, I saw a news report about an “elderly gentleman” (their words, which I find extremely offensive considering I’m 55 in 3 days and I’m not f’ing elderly, thankewvrymuch) being “dragged” out of his home in nothing but crocks, his underwear, and his 8 year old grandson’s blanket. I knew there had to be more to the story (and I was correct), but I couldn’t find anything.

Now, I am a proponent of keeping government small. (No, smaller than that. That’s still too much government. Put more back. More.) I believe the government has reverse Midas touch: everything it touches turns to shit. Therefore, unless it’s really necessary, the government should just back off. ICE is a government agency, and they are a strong-arm group. For what they’re doing, that’s an important skill, and I’m thankful they are doing as good a job as they appear to be. I mean, for all the Left is freaking out over the “deadliest year for ICE in decades” (NPR), that number of people who died over the entire year is 32. Jails lose more people in a year, by far. That number, 32, is for all of ICE detention centers… LA alone lost 22 inmates to death in 2025. You can shout about their numbers, but ICE seems to be doing a pretty good job.

That said, it’s important to watch all people in positions of power. ICE is a powerful place to be. I firmly believe that the vast majority of people working for ICE are morally upright, good people just trying to do a very difficult job, made worse by idiotic protesters and rioters. But there is always the possibility of there being a bad guy in their midst. Just as there are bad cops, there are probably bad ICE agents. It behooves us, especially those of us supporting ICE, to keep an eye on them. I don’t mean in the “citizen monitoring” way, but more in the same way we keep an eye on our politicians.

So when I heard about this elderly gentleman being dragged out of his home after they smashed his door in (in 7*F weather, I might add), I wanted to know more. That sounds bad, and I was worried we’d finally found the one bad apple in the barrel. I did what I usually do: I went looking for actual information, factual stuff.

I didn’t find it.

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If you look at the current snow maps and storm maps available, Chris and his family, and me and my family all live within the wibbly red area (in New England) labeled “Armageddon Area.” They are measuring likely snow in feet, not inches. We are ready and prepared for the weather, and have plans in place for if power goes out. If you don’t hear from us for a few days, you know the reason why. We’ll post when we can, and give updates. You update us, too!

If you live in an area about to get hit with ice or snow, and you aren’t used to that, please be prepared. That doesn’t mean bread and milk, although those aren’t a bad idea either. It means making sure you have enough food to last through the worst of the emergency (because having to go out to get eggs or whatever is never a good idea). It means having firewood on hand to make a fire, if you have the means to do so. Have a camp stove ready to go, with extra fuel, so that you can cook if your power goes out and you’re dependent upon an electric stove. Know how you’ll keep warm, should you lose power and heat. Have something to use as a port-a-pottie if you can’t use your bathroom due to frozen pipes.

To generate heat, pick a single room and designate it “the warm room.” Everyone stays in that room unless they have to pee, and trust me, they’ll move quickly to get back to the warmth. Get every blanket, towel, woolen thing, tablecloth, and bring it to that room. Seal that room off so that the heat stays inside it. Cover windows, doors, doorways to halls, anything that might have a draft. If you lose power and must stay at home for a while, drag a mattress into that room so you can sleep there as well. If temps go into the single digits, consider setting up a cheap tent in your warm room, and sleeping inside that to conserve heat.

Ways to make safe heat:

• candles and oil lamps
• fireplaces (though they sometimes let out more heat than the give you)
• wood stoves
• indoor safe (RATED) propane heaters like Little Buddy
• hot water bottles
• hot food
• layers of clothes and blankets

Ways to kill yourself:

• use your stove, outdoor rated gas camp stove, popcorn popper, etc to make heat
• bring your generator inside the house
• leave candles and/or any flame unattended
• putting flames where they could get knocked over by a pet
• eating snow (it lowers your body temp very quickly)

You can use tea candles to cook over, if you’re desperate. Having a camp stove makes it much easier. I prefer propane to butane, because in the temps we’re expecting, the butane won’t work. It’ll fail more often than not. So be aware. You also don’t have to have the fancy folding stove like in this video for the sterno stove. I just have an old wire basket that was once used for doing deep frying, and I turn it over top of my candles. I put my pot on top of that. Voila, stove. You can also put a brick on either side of your heat, then use a baking rack. And remember, you can always go outside and cook, even when it’s cold. Snow is an insulator, so if you dig yourself a snow pit and cook in the center of it, it’ll help keep you warm and keep the breeze off your fire.

Pie crusts in the medieval era were rarely the flaky, buttery confection we are used to today. Instead, they were the ancient version of take-out food containers, only sort of edible, and designed to allow you to eat their delicious innards and then throw the crusts away. This recipe is a more edible but just as solid version of those “hot water crusts” as they were known in later periods of history.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 oz lard
• 3 oz butter/margarine
• 8 oz water

To make a standing paste crust, we’re going to ignore the sort of instructions you may be used to while attempting flaky pastry. There is a reason these crusts were sometimes called “coffins” and you’re about to discover it in person!

Add your flour (by weight, please) to a large bowl, then sprinkle the salt over it. Whisk or otherwise mix the dry ingredients well to distribute the salt as evenly as possible.

In a small pot, add the water and heat it up gently. Add in the butter or margarine, and the lard, and heat until they are all melted together. DO NOT BOIL or even simmer this mixture, if at all possible. You just want it warm enough that the ingredients can combine together.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones, and then use a spoon or fork to begin mixing the dough together. You should continue using the spoon or fork until the dough has come mostly together, or it’s cool enough for you to knead by hand without burning yourself. Please be careful, and remember that the water you just poured into your flour mixture is HOT. Knead this until the dough has come completely together. It will be a very stiff dough, and that’s fine. You don’t want to over-work this dough.

If you are making a single pie, split off about 1/4 of your dough (this will be turned into a lid for your pie) and set it aside under some parchment paper or in a plastic baggie. On a Formica counter or granite dough surface, sprinkle some flour and then begin to roll out the dough. You want to have a circle of dough large enough to fill an 8″ spring-form pan, and it should be between 1/4″ and 1/8″ thick when it is ready.

To make the pie crust, you are either going to press the dough into a pie pan, or drape it over the outside of the pie pan, in order to get the shape right. Flour the pan well, regardless! While the dough is still on or in the form, refrigerate it for at least one hour. While the pie crust is chilling, roll out the lid for your pie, which should be about one inch larger in diameter than your pie pan. If you look at the pictures in the header, you can see that the crust for a standing paste pie goes inside the outer crust, not over it as you would for a flaky pie. Let the pie lid sit, sandwiched between two pieces of parchment paper, until it’s ready to be used. If it will be more than an hour, consider covering it with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out. Do NOT put it in the fridge.

If you are making multiple small pies (this recipe should make about 3 individual pies), separate the dough into three equal sized pieces. From each of those, remove about 1/4 of the dough for the lid of that individual pie. To form small pies, flour a glass or mini pie pan and follow the same general directions as for a large pie. Roll out the lids as well, and set aside for use after refrigeration.

When the crusts are well chilled (which allows them to be standing until they bake and become stiff), unmold them from the pie pan or whatever you’re using for a form. Put the pie crust on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (lipped, please), and add in your filling. Please note, fillings can be cooked or raw, as your cooking time will be about 90 minutes, which is enough for most meats to cook. The fillings should be cool when added to the crust, however. Hot fillings would melt the fats in the crust, making them prone to drooping, and you don’t want that! The filling needn’t be cold from the fridge, but make sure it isn’t hot, either. If you can’t stick your finger in it for 30 seconds, it’s too hot.

Once your filling is in, regardless of size of pie, whisk up an egg to use for an egg wash. Brush the edges of the lid and pie with the egg wash, then add the lid to your pie, and crimp the edges closed with your fingers, a pie crimper, or a fork. Cut a small hole in the center of the pie. This is easily achieved by using a sharp knife to cut an X in the center, then peeling back the triangles. Egg wash the entire pie and sprinkle with herbs, if you like.

If you want to decorate your pie, simply use bits of left-over crust rolled out thin to create leaves, vines, or other images. Have some fun with it! Attach them by using egg wash as a “paste”, then egg wash over the decorations as well. You could also press herbs or cracked spices into the lid, if you liked. I would suggest doing that before attaching it to the top of the pie, however.

Bake the pie in a 350°F oven for 80 to 90 minutes. Start checking your pie at the 60 minute mark, and every ten minutes thereafter. When the pie is dark brown and solid when tapped, it’s ready. See the pictures in the header for reference!

Many types of fillings can go into pies like this. In medieval times, they would add chunks of beef, goat, or chicken into standing pastes, and then cook them up. Gravy wouldn’t be added until it was time to serve the pie. The gravy was poured in the hole on the top. Later period pies of this type would have contained ground or minced meats, or mixes of meats and fish. They also had fruit pies made in these types of crusts.

In my opinion, standing paste done this way is much easier than a flaky crust, and more forgiving. It doesn’t require “blind baking” (pre-baking the crust before filling it, in order to keep the crust from being mushy) because it’s so darn solid.

Serve your pies with a side of mashed potatoes or some “bashed neeps and carrots” for an authentic meal that will fill your belly and warm your soul.