I catch the Babylon Bee now and again, and they’ve come up with some really hysterical stuff. When I saw this video, however, I just cringed.
Can I use my safeword to avoid listening to the new drivel? Ouch. The fact that the BB had to put commentary at the bottom was… terrifying.
I’m writing this while I pant heavily, sitting in my chair at my desk. I’ve just finished cleaning bunny cages and exercising, and I’m dripping with sweat despite it being a mere 58*F in my room. I’m exhausted and aching. I am not fit.
I’ve seen this topic touched on a few times in the prepping world, but not really in a practical manner. Fitness is something that doesn’t really exist in the “Rule of Threes” or in common prepping documents. It does matter, though. So much so, that I feel it belongs under “three minutes without air” because right now, I’m panting. I mentioned that.
I get practical exercise every summer. I spent the weekends (2 to 3 overnights) living in a tent and cooking over a fire with cast iron. I’ve had some of our (very fit) fighters carry my cast iron pots to the table for me at the end of a long day, and they’re always astonished at the weight that I “seemingly easily” lug around all day. And it’s that weekly practice (or daily really) that makes it possible for my fat ass to haul this stuff over and around camp.
Our bodies were made to keep us alive under horrendous circumstances. The whole “fight or flight” thing is part of our basic human wiring. This means that our metabolism likes to find sugar, salt, and fat. We crave it! When you’re a Scotsman in the highlands above Edinburgh, dodging the English invaders, it makes sense. You need to find those things that will keep your body working. When you’re sitting at a desk typing emails all day, not so much. It works against us. We want to sit and do the things that stimulate our brains, but unlike even 20 years ago, pretty much everything that stimulates our brains is right here at our fingertips (with Doordash being a thing, doubly so).
It behooves each of us to get up off our duffs five to seven times a week, and move around. I don’t mean doing the dishes (though do those too). I mean exercise of the hot, sweaty, uncomfortable kind. If you’re very out of shape, going for a 20 minute walk five times a week will improve pretty much everything: mind, body, and spirit. Lifting weights for a similar amount of time will do the same thing. Ditto with using a ski machine, swimming, playing a physical game like tennis or soccer, going roller skating or ice skating, and running bases with your kids.
If you can’t do any of those things, chair exercises exist. That’s where I started, so don’t be embarrassed. You have to start somewhere, and no one needs to know. But you need to do it. This is a NEED, not a want or a desire. If you can’t pick up and go because of your lack of fitness, then the problem is 100% you. Please note, people with physical disabilities and such, who simply *cannot* do it, are exempt from this shaming. If you can’t, you can’t, and I get that. But if you can and you just don’t want to, that’s on you.
I really do get it. I don’t like getting sweaty except in one way. I don’t like it when my body aches. I don’t like being on a treadmill or bike machine. It’s boring and stupid and I hate it. But I need to do it, because if I don’t, I won’t be carrying even a half load in my pack, never mind a full load. If I can’t carry a full load, there’s not a whole lot of point in my bugging out, because I won’t get far.
So… what are you doing to make yourself more able, more fit, and more in shape?
I am about to embark upon something on Facebook and possibly other social media. I am going to start posting up every second Monday, asking people what rights they have lost in the previous two weeks. I am going to make this a relatively serious question, because frankly, if someone actually *does* have their rights restricted, I want to know about it. Whether it’s gun rights, freedom of speech and/or religion, or whatever, we should be on top of that. More than that, though, I want it to be a *polite* reminder to my friends and acquaintances that they haven’t actually lost any rights.
I am including the first draft of the message below. I’m posting it here, because I’d like your feedback! Note, this is meant to be a reminder yes, and some people may see it as snark, but I’m trying to make this serious and real, as well. I want it to resonate with people, and maybe make them feel just a little bit uncomfortable. This is for *the person*, not “someone they know” or “that random group over there.” I may choose (but haven’t yet decided whether) to allow folks to include close friends in their reports (defined as “someone you know personally, face to face, have hugged, laughed, and cried with”).
The message:
Dear friends, family, acquaintances, followers…
There are a lot of people feeling vulnerable and concerned right now. I understand your feelings. I want to understand better, during Trump’s first (and possibly subsequent) year as President, what rights are being infringed upon by either Trump or the government (at any level). This question is put out there for YOU, the person reading it. It is not there for other people. I don’t want you to speak for other people (though I heartily encourage you to let other people know about my little experiment, and invite them to join in!). I want to know what YOU are losing or having infringed.
This is a serious question on my part. I currently have a “research set” of one: me. That’s not enough. I need to hear what other people are experiencing, first hand. But I also need you to understand, I will research this stuff. I WANT to research this stuff. If a claim is made, and it doesn’t match reality, I will explain why and provide any related information I have access to. My hope is that this will encourage conversation, logical thought, and mental and emotional organization on my own part, and the part of others. I have other folks who are very interested in rights that have been infringed upon, and I will pass along information to those others who may have the ability to enact changes or challenges.
As an example, I firmly believe (and have quite a bit of paperwork and research to back me up) that banning TikTok was and is an infringement of my First Amendment rights. While it affects other people, I am touting it as something that hurt/damaged/impinged upon ME individually. I lost MY right to speak freely on an app of my choice.
So I ask you, what rights of yours have been infringed upon since President Trump took office on January 20, 2025?
Alright, what do you think? I realize many of you may believe it’s pointless, and you might be right. But it was questions like this that caused ME to change my mind on things. I owe it to other people that I love to ask again and again for them to apply logic, even when it’s painful.
I’m behind enemy lines, and I don’t like it. SIGH
So as a member of the renaissance faire community, a lot of my acquaintances and many of my friends are to the Left. Since I’m selling my goods to them, I have a reason to keep politics out of my social media, and out of my business. I’m a firm believer that no one should do political stuff at their business… you’re there to sell stuff, not stump for your favorite politician. Do that on your own time. But I digress.
I can’t just “be Right.” This puts me in a very uncomfortable spot. I suppose it’s useful for Vine, because I can bring information over here and let you know what’s being said off to the Left of social media, but I still don’t like it. This morning, it was everyone talking about how “the gays” will need to go back into the closet, and “I’m not going back into a closet!” Felicia, I don’t believe anyone told you to go into a closet, and Trump isn’t anti-gay, and has NEVER been anti-gay. But whatever.
There’s this need to lump sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, and bisexual) in with gender orientation (girl, boy, undefined). It’s how we ended up with LGBTQIA+++ instead of the original LGBT. Many of the gay folk and the “I changed gender because I had to, and I’ve stayed under the damn radar and WANT TO CONTINUE staying under the radar” crowd are pissed as hell with the TQIA+++ folks, because they’ve ruined a lot of stuff that the older people have worked damn hard for.
So when Trump said his bit about the government recognizing only two genders, male and female, I knew what he was talking about. His executive order on the topic, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism…, is very explicit. Forms, specifically government forms, will list biological sex. I can see that there may be some issues going forward, with long-standing people who changed their gender (not sex) many years ago and have been living discreetly and happily as the gender they’ve chosen, are suddenly being forced to change all their paperwork. It may be that the order will be understood to ignore those few people who sincerely make the transition. I like to think so. But nothing in the order says people can’t choose to be whoever and whatever they are. It just says that for government and federal forms (which include medical ones) and for single-sex spaces like changing rooms and bathrooms, biological sex will be more important. Again, this may be a problem for a few people who are well integrated into society in their new gender… I suspect no one is upset about a biological male who looks like, acts like, walks like, and sits to pee like a woman using a woman’s bathroom. We’re upset about bearded individuals with intact male genitalia hanging out, changing with our teen girls.
But people on the Left have grabbed onto that and are in a froth. I am not.
Meatballs are the ultimate feast food, in my opinion. There are as many ways to make them as there are cooks, and maybe more. This recipe was created based upon a video by Country Life Vlog in Azerbaijan, Turkey. While Aziza (the cook) doesn’t give you amounts or any real instructions, I pieced this together by watching her cooking the meal. It’s incredibly delicious!
Ingredients:
For the broth:
For the meatballs:
For the rest of the recipe:
Make your broth first. Add the broth ingredients into a large pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for at least 3 hours, adding water as necessary to keep it from drying out. If you want to skip this part, you can use 6 cups of beef broth, and add the other ingredients to it, and let it simmer for 30 minutes before moving on.
While the broth is cooking, work on your meatballs. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except the figs. Mix together by hand, until everything is well distributed. Let this sit, covered, for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
When the broth is ready, remove all the ingredients and strain it to be sure there’s no hot seedy surprises lurking in the bottom. Return the broth to the pot, and taste it. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the broth back to a simmer while you form the meatballs.
For a pound of ground beef, make 3 to 4 meatballs (yes, they are LARGE). Really manhandle the meatballs, slapping them from hand to hand to make them fairly solid. In the center of each meatball, place one fig, and form the ball around it. Set the meatballs aside.
Mix together a tablespoon of turmeric, a cup of water, and a dash of salt, and whisk to combine. Use this turmeric water to “wash” the outside of the meatballs. This adds a bit of flavor, but also smooths the outside of the meatballs to help them hold together better while cooking. As each meatball is done, place it into the simmering broth. Make certain the broth covers the meatballs most of the way. Cover the pot, and allow to simmer.
Peel and slice your potatoes in half now, and slide them into the broth around the meatballs. Add the rinsed chickpeas, a few figs, and the saffron, as well. Be careful not to squish the meatballs, as they aren’t firm yet and could fall apart. If there isn’t enough liquid at this point to cover everything, you can add a bit of beef broth or water, or even a dash of red wine, to bring it up high enough. Using a large spoon, gently nudge the meatballs to make sure all sides are getting evenly cooked, and they aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the potatoes are soft and just beginning to crumble a bit. You can check the meatballs with an instant read meat thermometer. They should register at 165°F when they are ready.
Serve up this delicious meal with a side of pickles or beets if you would like to be immersed in Turkish food culture. Alternatively, a slice of bread never goes wrong, either.
Notes:
When I made this soup, I found the broth to be so spicy that I couldn’t eat it. I used a dehydrated poblano pepper, and it was just too much for me. I’m not a big heat person. Family said that it was warm but not hot to them, so your mileage may vary! I served the broth in small bowls on its own, and then put the meatballs, potatoes, and chickpeas on a plate. That way, people could use as much or little of the broth as they wanted. This was a very hearty meal.
The Country Life Vlog video:
Mask mandates probably weren’t the best thing out there, but I’ve seen enough evidence to know that masks do help stop the transmission of many illnesses. Vaccine mandates probably aren’t the best thing out there, but a lot of long-standing vaccines are the reason we don’t have people in iron lungs anymore. Disease and illness is a problem that human beings will always have to deal with. Our methods for dealing with them change as we develop better ways of fighting disease, but the fight will always be there.
As a prepper, disease is something we need to be concerned about. There are likely going to be more pandemics in the future (because there have been many in the past, and it’s the type of pattern that doesn’t change much). It’s in our best interest to learn how to deal with the most likely diseases to bother us, should a SHTF scenario happen. So which diseases should we prepare for?
Diarrheal diseases are the first things we’re likely to see. These happen for a variety of reasons, sometimes with very little change. The food you are eating may change if a large scale emergency happens, and that can cause changes in bowel movements (in either direction, I might add, and both are bad). The “big” diarrheal diseases are cholera, typhoid, gastroenteritis, and dysentery. Changes in food and sanitation will make these four diseases something to be feared. You combat them by making sure you’ve addressed good hygiene in your emergency preparations. Be sure to have clean water to wash your hands in, if nothing else. Keep bleach in your preps so that you can sanitize things. Be prepared to use boiling water to sanitize some things. Good sanitation will take care of a lot of the things in this category, but not all. Consider keeping hydration mixes on hand in case of gastro or other diseases causing dehydration.
Nutritional diseases will eventually show up. Lack of vitamin C can cause scurvy. Vitamin D deficiency can bring on rickets and osteomalacia. Low iron and zinc can bring on all sorts of issues. Eating too much protein, or not enough protein, can cause mental confusion. Severe weight loss due to lack of food or lack of GOOD food can cause problems, too. We tend to think of losing weight as a positive thing for SHTF, but it isn’t. Rapid weight loss of that kind can bring on a bevy of health problems that we’ll be in no shape to deal with. Read More
This came up on my Facebook feed this morning. I had to read it four or five times to “get it.” The person who posted this believes (or so I understand) that because unfair-to-Right practices (and frankly, unfair-to-American practices) are being rolled back and gotten rid of, that “they” (presumably the Right and/or Trump and/or Musk) are attempting to destroy “our” (aka the Left’s) communities.
What?
Sweetheart, no one is trying to destroy your communities. You’re welcome to continue using your communities. No one has told you that you can’t. In fact, Facebook allows you to curate a group where you can literally control all the speech therein, so that your Leftist ears need not be sullied by the foul words of the Right.
The only community that’s currently being destroyed, that I can tell, is TikTok. I’m bitter about it, because it’s a place that I really enjoy visiting and I like the platform. And the government is taking it down “to protect us” from something. Apparently we’re to be protected from free speech, but whatever.
I can’t say that these “changes” are things that are just to Left leaning places, either. I decided to log into Truth Social to go see what it was about, maybe make some friends over there. I was on less than ten minutes, did nothing more than say hello in a handful of writing groups and history groups, and then got a ban notice. I have no idea what I did, because it doesn’t tell you. It says “go look at the guidelines” as if I’m a four year old. “You know what you did!” No, Truth, I don’t. I have no fucking idea. Ugh.
Back to the message above. I love the presumption: “WE need these spaces to stay connected.” No, you don’t. Go to a coffee shop. Visit a bar. Read in the park. Enjoy rollerskating or ice skating. What about the library?
I run a writing group on Facebook. I’ve had it up for a few years now, but never paid much attention to it. Recently, I’ve been trying to get it more active. I discovered it was chock full of scammers and spammers. So for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been slowly tossing people out. It’s frustrating. Facebook can ban people for saying positive things about Trump, but can’t take care of the marketing spammer who’s sneaking into people’s DM’s? Bah.
I haven’t seen the above attitude amongst friends, for which I’m grateful. That sense of entitlement doesn’t seem to be infiltrating my own communities. It was definitely a real post, however, and so it certainly represents some people’s beliefs.
Also, what the heck is with the language (or lack thereof) in the post? Ugh.
“In all her life Laura had never tasted anything so good as that savory, fragrant, sea-tasting hot milk, with golden dots of melted cream and black specks of pepper on its top, and the little dark canned oysters at its bottom. She sipped slowly, slowly from her spoon, to keep that taste going over her tongue as long as she could.” — from By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder, pp 204
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have an uncontrollable fascination with the Little House series. It was my introduction to Christianity, and the reason why I invited the minister to dinner when we moved to New England (Ma insisted it was right and proper, so therefore it was what I ought to do, yes?). I’ve been through the series so many times that I’ve had to buy new copies on several occasions, the older ones having worn out. I learned morals and ethics from them. For me, Laura and Ma and Pa and the other people there are just as real as you and me.
Several years ago (several severals of years ago), I was living on the west coast and had managed to become unemployed and rather destitute. I was scraping by on unemployment insurance payments, but it was pretty dicey. My partner D and I were approaching the Christmas and Yule season with as much joy as we could muster. After all, we had a roof over our heads, heat, and each other. It was lean, but love fills a lot of gaps.
Some kind soul had told the local fire department that we were living lean over the season, and a soft spoken gentleman brought us a hamper of food. I tried to protest, but he insisted that it was alright, we weren’t taking anything from someone else. I’ll admit, once he was gone, I tore into that box like … well, like it was Christmas morning. D and I went through the rice and pasta, a tiny canned ham, some fresh vegetables, and then at the very bottom we found the single precious can of smoked oysters.
We could have eaten that can of oysters in two seconds. We’re both in love with them, their smoky flavor, savory and oily… But I looked at him and ran to the book shelf. I pulled out “By the Shores of Silver Lake” and went skimming through it to find the New Year’s Eve scene. There it was, Laura’s description of the oyster soup Ma had made for their guests. He and I started laughing, and we recreated that soup for Christmas Eve for ourselves. It was a wonderful meal.
A while ago (before I couldn’t handle dairy anymore), I wanted to make the soup again. I remember how delicious it was way back when I was barely an adult. Tastes change, though, and I wondered if it would still be as magical. I picked up three cans of cheap smoked oysters and sacrificed some of my coffee half-and-half, and made the soup as a starter to our Yule meal last night.
Everyone enjoyed it. I made enough that I assumed there would be much in the way of leftovers, but there wasn’t. Barely a drop was left in my soup tureen when we were done! It was just as Laura described it, with the oil and butter, the salty sea taste.
Read More
We’ve used the term “grey man” a few times over the last couple of years. There’s been a bit of debate over what it is, how useful it is, and when to use it. I wanted to address a bit of that.
For me at least, the “grey man” is the person who just blends in. You don’t notice him. It isn’t that he dresses in grey, it’s that he’s dressed just like everyone else. He walks like everyone else. He talks like everyone else.
This means that sometimes, the grey man has a gun on his hip (when it’s common and everyone else does), and sometimes it’s concealed. It means sometimes the grey man wears a camo jacket (my neighborhood, for instance, is rife with people who do this), and sometimes a golf shirt and boat shoes. Sometimes he has a “two on the top and one on the sides” and other times he has hair to his waist. It depends entirely on where you are at any given moment.
The best grey man is the one who can switch his look to match his surroundings. We see this in movies, as people like Tom Cruise drop wigs and fake mustaches into trash cans, and turn jackets inside out. In reality, it’s a lot less dramatic. It means taking off your patches when going into big cities, for instance. Wear a plain jacket instead of a camo one. Slip your side carry into your waistband carrier and out of site, rather than having it under am arm or in plain view on your hip.
The big thing that I see right now is the desire to be grey man combating with the desire to just be ourselves and fuck the Left. I think there’s something in the middle, and that it’s important to find that central position. It allows you to swing both ways, to coin a phrase. I like the jacket that Chris has, which has velcro spots for patches. They come on and off easily, and you can simply add the correct camouflage to your outfit, be that a 2A patch, an American flag, or a rainbow.
Only you know what your area is like. I can’t judge that. No one but you and your family can, honestly. I know that in my neighborhood, it’s perfectly okay to be a firearms owner, to enjoy shooting and hunting, and to engage in a variety of household preps like gardening and such. No one gives us a second glance. In Chicago, I would not do a quarter of what I do here in New Hampshire. You have to look around you, and judge how to blend in based on who you are and what you do, and where you live.
Call for submissions!
The Turning Leaf Tavern is a way-station for people traveling throughout the fantasy realms. Here, you can find Hobbits and Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Half-feet, and representatives of a hundred different races and fictional worlds. They find themselves at the tavern’s door when need calls, and within its walls they find succor and good cheer. The tavern itself is in its own universe, designed by M. Allyson Szabo, and has its own stories to tell.
Tales from the Turning Leaf Tavern will not be just about the tavern, though. The stories within its pages will come from you, the writers of the world. The anthology will be comprised of somewhere between 15 and 25 stories, each with a recipe or four at the end, so that readers may share in the glory of the story’s victuals. That said, Allyson has decided to provide some preliminary tales about the tavern and its denizens for writers to riff off of. You, the authors, have permission to use the Turning Leaf Tavern and its people in your writing, though M. Allyson Szabo retains the copyright to the tavern itself and the characters she created to go with it. Your stories, even the ones with Turning Leaf and the folk within, belong to you, the original authors.
This anthology will be comprised of fantasy stories that are original and unique, paired with recipes that go along with the tales that are told. If you have a story that is set in a fantasy world, is between 2500 and 6000 words, and that involves a tavern and its food in some way, then we would love to read it!
Submissions opened on January 1st, 2025, and will close on March 31, 2025. The exact number of stories has not been set, and will depend upon the submissions made to the anthology. Please note that submission does not equal acceptance. We will contact everyone who has submitted a story and recipe by April 30, 2025 to inform them of the status of their submission.
For full information about the proposed anthology and the world of the Turning Leaf Tavern, you can read here: https://mallysonszabo.weebly.com/turning-leaf-tavern.html