Tuesday, 12 June 2018

I made it through another day!  :-)

It was hot for most of the midday, but I wandered out to the huge blackberry bush... overgrowing the fence area it is in.  Last summer I really cut it back, and this year it really grew back!  I am beginning to figure out blackberry vines though.  I think the flowers need to be waist high... maybe a nice little fence to keep them from the ground.  It was a mess last summer... the berries get heavy as they get ripe so the branch they are on falls slowly to the lowest regions it can... on the ground for a lot.  It is a waste of good food, and I bet there are lots of seeds just waiting to grow in that area.

That was most of my yardwork for the day... about killed me.  I had to take a nap.  Earlier I moved a few branches and other debris, and that didn't help.  I needed to rest after that, too.  I am thinking about an hour of yard work some time during the days... spread out, maybe.  Or only attempting it two days a week... I'll have to see what happens.

Monday I received my Senior Farm Checks.  I got six "checks" worth $4 each from USDA to use at Farmer's Markets through the end of November (this year)… previously they expired at the end of October.  Many Farmer's Markets are staying open year-round now...  and the end of November would include Thanksgiving meals.  I always debate whether to save them, spend a little at a time, or just get the whole thing spent on one visit.  Now that it is harder to get to a Farmer's Market, for me, I will probably spend all my saved Market money at once.

I have only received them since living with my son and his wife.  I think three summers.  I would have to do too much searching for an exact amount.  When I arrived, I only had food stamps, then my Social Security Retirement payments started.  I don't know who else qualifies, by income, but mine is pretty low, so this is a great benefit for me.  I love Farmer's Markets, and organic produce, but it is very expensive for my budget.  This helps me to be able to buy food there.  I look for the best bargains.  :-)

I am sure the future will get better... I hope so.  There are problems I can't overcome yet, but I do my best.  I have just kept trying my whole life.  I don't know what GOD is doing when my efforts don't seem to be blessed, but I know that He is the One that governs my life so I trust the details to Him.  In heaven, later on, I suppose I will find out.

I know I have talked about this before, but we never really know the hidden details of our lives, how they affect the ongoing process of GOD's Plan.  When  you read the Bible, there are always difficult passages that don't fit the "Happy Christian" mantra we often see in our churches today.  People who were important to the times they lived in sometimes suffered greatly, but still were doing GOD's Will for that time.

I know my purpose is important... I just don't know how GOD will bring it into this world.

I realized today that I need to start getting ready for the Christmas selling season, and for the December MEMBERSHIP Drive for Working Together.  I still need to figure out monthly payments and how to structure the benefits for that payment option.  I see more lists in my future... but I am getting better with my daily notebook strategy.  There is HOPE in my efforts!  :-)

I shared some posts at Twitter today on our ideas of basic survival needs.  One of the things I shared is a note I made from some source... I can't remember where I found it and forgot to write it down.  This impacted me in my contemplating of our world and survival... the general idea is that ::

Without air you will only last 3 minutes.
Without water you will only last 3 days.
Without food you will only last 30 days.

These statements are generally true, even though I know there have been some people revived from cold water drownings after more than 3 minutes... etc.  I think there are variables for the water and the food statements related to the individual person.  The idea is clear... there are limits to our humanity, and some things are a necessity.

In one post I asked what "BASIC survival needs" are... and listed a bunch for starting the thought process...  in another post I mentioned the effects of pollution and pesticides on our survival resources, asking what we will do when there is nothing left.

The motivation for creating Working Together was understanding the loss of basic life needs... through poverty, through homelessness, through the effort to survive.  I guess I wondered what other people think BASIC needs are.  You are welcome to respond to this query as well... here, or at Twitter.  Depending on the amount of profit we can create through various programs, the sale of products, and other sources, the level of supplies for BASIC need resources will vary.  As a member focus, I hope that will grow into all that we will need for any area of the world and any difficulty.

Well... time to get going.  I started on my June letters and now have everything I need to send them, so I am busy working to get that list checked off.  Five down, only 21+ more to go!  :-)

Until next time,
In Christ,

Deborah Martin
work2gather.us

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May the GOD of all find your heart and bless your life with something that matters to you.
May our country find peace, strength, wisdom, and mercy in the eyes of GOD.
May we discover there is more that this life, commit our days to GOD, and make the world better.
May life have meaning for each person.
May our joy be in the goodness we share with others.
May we discover the blessings of Truth, and stand for what is right for all of us.
In the holy and blessed Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.

22 August 2017

Another day is here!

I am still thinking about the eclipse... about solar energy... and how the need for more than one natural supply source is essential.  I have been focusing on solar, wind, and water options.  Somehow bringing all three into the same "translator" would make the energy availability work better.

During the pre-eclipse media, I checked on a story about its effects on a solar farm that had 6000 solar panels to serve 300 households a year.  I didn't get notes, but I remember those two numbers.  It meant that it takes about 20 solar panels per household to create a year of solar energy. 

I know it isn't that simple, because of how different we all live, and because of weather changes, problems like night-time, and natural interferences like a solar eclipse or even a solar flare, but the number is a guide for planning.  For some time, I have been trying to decide how many panels you need to create enough energy to accomplish a household's activities, as the only energy source and as part of a combination of sources. 

Tiny Houses seem to have about 6-10, depending on the needs of the resident.  The housing can range from less than 200 square feet to less than 1000 square feet, depending on whether they are mobile or built on a foundation.  Location is another important factor.

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With the threat of an EMP (Electromagnetic pulse) attack at some time in the future, my planning goes in the directions of back-ups...

My understanding of EMP bombs is that they explode in the air and destroy all the electric power within their range, including batteries... that means phones, clocks, radios, watches, computers, security back-ups, cars, busses, and trains... and planes, plus a lot of things we depend on every day.  It will change life as we know it... for a long time.  (I found a link about this topic at http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/05/12/electromagnetic-pulse-attack-on-hawaii-would-devastate-state.html -- a story about a US test bomb in 1962 !!!  I originally heard about it from a heritage.org post several years ago, then the topic went away. Now it seems to be returning to the media.)

I have been wondering how we can recover from a loss of grid electricity AND batteries!  The Hawaii story mentions that everything electric went away.  I think landline phones were also electricity based, but I am not sure... I would have been 9 years old in 1962.  As an adult, and looking at the way our lifestyles have become dependent on computer technology, I can't even begin to imagine the effects of this.  The solar eclipse made me think about dependent we are on the sun for the light to get through our days.  How will our energy connections survive in a crisis.

In looking for a way to back-up my life for whatever kind of crisis hits my area, combining solar panels with smaller wind generators and creating a water-based energy creator would help to solve these problems.  Methane energy via livestock refuse is also an option for ranching activities.  The only back-up I could think of for the EMP crisis was a gas generator, but I don't yet know if they use batteries or can be "hot-wired" into action if necessary.

Once you start down this path, you discover more related issues... like solar conversions using batteries as their storage path... does an EMP make batteries totally unusable, or will they recharge?

I have been working on these problems for awhile now.  I am sure I would be farther along if my budget would allow it.  It has become a project to do the best I can to prepare... food, water, shelter, back-ups... anything my current life will allow me to do.  Depending on GOD for the rest is where I stand in this life.

These are the issues I discovered in poverty, in trying to survive, in looking for ways to make life better, in trying to reach my goals, and in searching for the answers I needed... for myself, for my family, for other Christians, and for the rest of the world.  When everything goes away, the basics of living are all that matters.

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Well, maybe we can prepare for the future together... through Working Together.  That is why I created it.

Think about joining WT in December, when we will have our first annual social media membership drive.  I'm working on the details about costs and benefits now.  If I had more money, it would all be done already.  The plan is to take membership fees and create a way to help each other along the way.  If it works the way I hope it will, it will be a very great thing.

Until tomorrow, and another topic,

In Christ,
Deborah Martin

May GOD watch over us, those who love Him and do only good things for others, who care about suffering people and want to help strangers.  May we all notice the needs around us, share our wealth with those who have no one else, and help change the growing indifference and hate that seems to feed on our fears.  May our world become better because of us.  May our destinies become one, sharing this life and meeting in heaven one day.  May all those we love be with us.  Amen.