My New Shopping Normal

I'm done with Walmart. My shopping "experience" there is no longer conducive to even entering the building. Sure, we live in unusual times which call for unusual measures. And yes, I'm willing to comply with reasonable measures, but Walmart's list of "musts" has gotten too long and too overreaching.

• You must social distance.
• You must enter aisles from one direction only.
• You must be surveilled while you shop.
• You must be video taped while you check out. 
• You must wear a mask.
• You must enter the store single file and be inspected for compliance before entry.
• You must pay with a debit, credit, or Walmart gift card.
• You must stack your groceries just so on the check-out conveyor belt. 

Now please, DO NOT rush to the comments to try to convince me how necessary these rules are. Or how stupid, selfish, and unpatriotic I'm being because I question the sanity of what's going on. No, I'm not in "denial;" yes, I get that people don't want to get sick. But I also get that we, the public, are being played. Especially, now that the data (the real data, not the stuff they report on the "news") doesn't support what's being pushed on us. I'm more than willing to take reasonable measures, but we're really pushing the envelope lately. It's almost like those in power are playing a game—"Ha, ha, what can we get them to do next?"

However, that's not the purpose of this post, and I'm not interested in discussing any of that in the comments. The purpose of this post is to examine something I've said in the past: that so much of what I do is out of habit, rather than reason. My Walmart experience is simply a vehicle to push me away from habit and toward my own new normal.

When it comes to shopping, I have a routine. I have a route. That routine has become so automatic, that I almost don't need a grocery list. I know what I buy, and where, and I don't really need to think about it. Changing the routine, however, requires changing my habits. It requires that I think about it. I had to ask myself, what do I get at Walmart that I can't get anywhere else? Nothing really, and I actually buy very little there. I got into the Walmart habit because they supposedly have a good selection and the best prices. But do they really?

Selection everywhere has dropped off. I'm not talking about shortages from panic buying, I'm just talking about choices in general. Part of that has been the switch to more online ordering with free pickup. Stores like it because they don't have to put out as much inventory. Now, with so many people having been forced out of work that manufacturing is understandably down. All those things add up to a smaller selection for the buying public.

Best prices? I don't know about you, but I've been noticing for quite awhile now that Walmart does not have the best prices. Like other frugal shoppers, I know the prices for the things I buy, and there is actually very little that Walmart has the best price for. Prescriptions? People seem to accept it as "common knowledge" that Walmart has the best prescription prices. Something I've always done, however, has been to shop around before getting any prescription filled. I call local pharmacies and ask for the price on what I need. You know who always has the best price? Walgreens. This has been consistently true over two decades and three states. I suggest you do the same because there can be a huge variance in prescription prices depending on where you buy.

As I rethink my new shopping normal, I have to ask myself if we really need everything we buy. One of my long stated goals is to become less dependent on the consumer system. Ideally, that would mean producing for ourselves what we don't want to buy. Realistically, it means learning to live a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle. It means rethinking our needs versus our wants. It means learning how to live without. Whether or not we can be successful at that depends on how content we can learn to be.

My alternative could be to use Walmart's online ordering and drive-up pickup service. But to be honest, I really don't want to support what they've become. I'd rather support smaller local businesses who may be struggling to keep going. I'd rather support people than a corporation. For me, I think that will be a better new shopping normal.

My New Shopping Normal © August 2020

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com

What We're Doing for Dan's Hand

This post is a follow-up to my last one about Dan's hand.

Of the two fingers that collided with the table saw, the ring finger looks really good, although where the fingernail used to be is still scabbed and tender. The middle finger is still open and draining and looks a mess. The saw sliced through quite a bit of skin which is starting to come off. Healing will be slower for that one because it has to work inside out. Both fingers are extremely sensitive to pressure and to cold.

We received no instructions for the hand other than to keep it clean and change dressings. So to support healing we've been focusing on good nutrition, improving circulation, and healing herbs.

Since we grow so much of our own food we eat a pretty good diet anyway. For now, we're keeping meals light and easy to digest. Bone broth is especially rich in minerals and nutrients, so it forms a basis for daily soup. Detox tea is tasty hot or cold, and makes a nice beverage any time of the day. Here's the recipe.

Detox Tea

• 2 parts dandelion root (cleansing, anti-inflammatory, liver tonic)
• 1 part each of 
• burdock root (blood purifier)
• cardamom seed (digestive, liver, and gall bladder support)
• ginger root (circulatory stimulant, antiseptic)
• pau d'arco bark (anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory)
• cinnamon bark (antiseptic, kidney tonic)
• clove buds (antiviral, antibiotic, antioxident, aids digestion)
• fennel seeds (circulatory stimulant, anti-inflammatory, kidney support)
• licorice root (detoxifier, anti-inflammatory)
• juniper berries (facilitates removal of acid wastes from urine)
• black peppercorns (antioxident, antiseptic, aids digestion)
• uva ursi leaf (bladder and kidney support)
• horsetail (anti-inflammatory, tissue healer, source of minerals)
• parsley leaf and root (anti-inflammatory, immune booster)
• orange peel (bioflavinoids, kidney support, tonic)

To make a decoction (tea of roots, bark, and berries) an ounce of dried herbs is added to a pint of cold water. It helps to soak the herbs in the water for several hours. Then heat to boiling and simmer for 15 minutes. Cool and strain.

I mix this about half and half with green tea which is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, improves blood circulation, and promotes wound healing.

Good circulation is important because it's the blood that carries nutrients and healing elements to the wound and carries waste products away. Exercise helps here, both walking and working the hand and fingers as best he can.

Hot and cold treatments improve circulation. How? Think of how flushed the skin can become when you're hot and how it turns blue when you're cold. Heat forces the blood to the skin and extremities; cold forces it back into the core of the body. Alternating hot and cold promotes circulation. I also give Dan what I call "circulation tea" made from cayenne pepper powder and ginger root powder. Cayenne promotes circulation by strengthening the pumping action of the heart, and ginger promotes circulation in the capillaries.

Another herb that is helpful for circulation is garlic. Plus it's a powerful antibiotic and antiviral. Dan makes himself a drink of raw garlic and ginger in tomato juice every day.

To promote healing Dan applies an herbal salve during the day called Dy's Liquid Bandage. It is actually a veterinary product, but it contains healing ingredients we also use on ourselves: olive oil, beeswax, golden seal (antibiotic, anti-inflammatory), bee pollen (immune booster, antibiotic), yarrow (stimulates circulation), aloe vera (anti-fungal, tonic, promotes wound healing), vitamin E (antioxident, promotes healing), tea tree oil (anti-fungal, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory), propolis (antibiotic, antiviral, promotes wound healing), calendula (antiseptic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, promotes wound healing), and honey (antibacterial, anti-inflammatory). It was on sale in January so I ordered some to have on hand. Little did I know then how quickly we would need it. It protects and helps heal the wound plus keeps it from drying out.

At night we're doing a Bone, Flesh, & Cartilage fomentation. A fomentation is wrapping an area in a cotton cloth soaked in a strong concentration of herbal decoction.

Bone, Flesh, & Cartilage

Equal parts of:

• white oak bark (antiseptic)
• marshmallow root (wounds and skin ulcerations)
• mullein (wound healing, kidney support, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory)
• wormwood (antibiotic, antiseptic)
• lobelia (anti-infective, a catalyst for other herbs)
• scullcap (nervine)
• comfrey root (promotes cell growth and wound healing, nutrient rich)
• black walnut bark (anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, rich in minerals)
• gravel root (immune stimulant, solvent for unwanted mineral deposits)

This is also made into a decoction made the same way as the Detox Tea above. After it's strained it is simmered down to about half it's original volume and cooled. The fomentation is applied at night, six nights a week. We wrap the BF&C soaked cloths around the fingers, wrap with plastic wrap, and cover the hand with a clean sock. BF&C tincture internally rounds out the routine.

So that's our daily routine. Of course, anyone who's had a severe injury knows how slow healing is, and how hard it is not to become discouraged. But I have to say that the response to our GoFundMe for Dan's medical expenses has been extremely encouraging, not to mention humbling. I hope you could tell from "A Message From Dan" what a difference it's made for him. To have so many people we've never met respond so willingly and generously has given him hope. And to have so many people praying for him has given him peace of mind. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

What We're Doing for Dan's Hand © Feb 2018

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Prepper's Total Grid Failure Handbook

Last month I gave you a homestead energy update, about how Dan and I have made small steps with both decreasing our energy consumption and utilizing more alternative energy devices. I also admitted how impossible a switchover to a true off-grid lifestyle seemed to be. Then I got a copy of this book, Prepper's Total Grid Failure Handbook by Alan Fiebig and Arlene Fiebig.

What I really like about this book is how it breaks down a complicated topic into a series of understandable explanations. It is very well written and even those who aren't interested in preparedness and alternative energy would likely get hooked by the prologue ("A Cautionary Tale"). Then comes the introduction, in which we read that on the very day the Fiebigs moved to their off-grid property, they hooked their computer up to a battery and blogged about it!

The book is divided into three parts. "Part One: Earth, Wind, and Fire: Generating Renewable Energy," discusses the basics of the various familiar sources of energy: water, wind, and sun. It explains the various kinds of generators and fuels to power them, plus their pros and cons. It goes on to give a good introduction to electricity and how to determine how much you need, including a number of non-electric alternatives for common things we do. A chapter on people-powered generators is included.

"Part Two: You Are My Sunshine: Working with Photovoltaic Power," gets to the nitty-gritty of solar energy. The concept is simple, but the how-to gets complicated, yet the Fiebigs break it all down in a sensible way. Discusses various kinds of solar panels and batteries, plus how to care for and maintain them.

"Part Three: I've Got the Power: Bringing Your System to Life" starts with a discussion of wiring, make a strong case for switching from AC to DC current, how to live 12-volts at a time, and how to use your energy (lighting, water pump, electronics.)

I think this book the best primer for off-grid energy that I've seen so far. Explanations are excellent, especially for someone for whom this is new territory. Even for those with a basic grasp of the concepts, this book brings off-grid living into the realm of doable. I especially appreciate that the authors don't try to push any particular system or product. They give you the facts including the positives and negatives, and let you decide what's best for your needs and situation. I respect that. The only thing I think the book is lacking is a good glossary.

More information is available at the publisher's website, Ulysses Press. The book itself is available in both paperback and Kindle versions at Amazon.com.

Prepper's Total Grid Failure Handbook © May 2017 

by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Living Without Air Conditioning

"In what seemed like a one step forward, two steps back move, we ended up using the last of our homestead savings on two things: a wood cookstove for the kitchen (one step forward), and an electric air source heat pump (two steps back)."

From 5 Acres & A Dream The Book

Chapter 8, "Energy Self-Sufficiency"

It was almost five years ago that we replaced our old oil-burning HVAC with a new heat pump. I blogged about it, sharing my mixed feelings over getting it. I also mentioned that if we had an air conditioner I would use it. And we have, until this summer.

Energy self-sufficiency has been the most elusive and problematic of all our lifestyle goals. Many folks (including us at one time) think it is simply a matter of replacing purchased power with an off-grid alternative such as solar and/or wind. If one can afford to buy and maintain the systems, and has adequate sun and wind, these are feasible. If not, well, they aren't. (See "Energy Self-Sufficiency? Still Just A Dream")  Even with alternative energy, however, I doubt that very many off-gridders run their air conditioning, even if they have summers similar to ours.

(That's 35 - 37 Celsius). July has been a few degrees cooler. 

The other option to being off-grid, is to be non-electric. I lived this way for close to three years in the past. But that was a long time ago and everything was simpler then. No electricity simplifies things tremendously in some ways, but presents problems of its own.

Our part of the country (southeastern US) brings a number of challenges when it remains this hot, particularly with food preservation and storage. (See "Food Storage in the South") Perishables and leftovers don't keep long when the kitchen and pantry are 90°F (32°C). Lacto-fermenting (sourdough, sauerkraut, kefir, cheese making) becomes difficult as well. If we could somehow manage to generate even just a little of our own electricity, it would go to the refrigerator and freezer.

The decision to not use our air conditioning this summer was one we both knew was coming. I've kept the thermostat set at about 82°F (28°C) anyway, so that turning it on never really cooled the place, it just took the edge off the heat and humidity. This was not for a noble cause, such as reducing our carbon footprint, this was simply what our budget allowed. Taking the next step was just a matter of making the decision and living with it.

How Riley beats the heat.

Obviously, we're surviving! And we are not non-electric, which I think needs to be pointed out. We open the windows when the outside temperature cools down in the evening and use box fans to vent the hot air and pull in cooler air. In the morning, when the thermometer climbs until both indoor and outdoor temperatures are about the same, I close the windows and pull the curtains and blinds on the sunny side of the house. We start the day at about 15 Fahrenheit degrees cooler than outside and end it about 10 degrees cooler.

Replacing most of the old, original windows with energy efficient ones, plus proper insulation in the walls, has helped tremendously. We installed ceiling fans in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom, and the moving air makes all the difference in the world.

One thing I have become aware of, is how much heat the refrigerators and freezer generate. I have an extra fridge and my chest freezer in the pantry.

An extra refrigerator and small chest freezer reside in my
pantry. I've been dismayed at how much heat they put out.

My pantry is now the hottest room in the house. The fridge in the kitchen puts out a lot of heat too, as does washing dishes, which adds a lot of humidity (as do showers). I could add cooking, but I use either my solar oven or my summer kitchen for most of my cooking plus canning. That helps keep a lot of heat and humidity out of the house.

I confess that I'm looking forward to cooler weather, but have to admit that an electric bill of only $65 a month has been one small reward. We find ourselves willing to work outside more too, because the temperature difference between inside and out isn't shockingly severe. In fact, if the humidity is lower outside and there's a breeze blowing, it can feel more comfortable than inside, even though the thermometer says it's hotter.

Of course, not everyone has the same homesteading and lifestyles goals we do, and there's nothing wrong with that. That being said, reaching one's goals (whatever they are) is not always easy. Challenges and problems present themselves along the way which must be dealt with if the goal is ever going to be reached. Dan and I still don't have all the answers when it comes to energy and electricity, but we're taking whatever steps we can.

Living Without Air Conditioning  © July 2015
by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/