January 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

 Click here for a complete copy of the January 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter.

The “Baby New Year” has made his way into 2021- and “Old Year” 2020 has departed. Some are worried about “what next” after their 2020 roller coaster. But, as in all things, it will be what we make it to be. Some people have seen 2020 as a disaster, and others as a time for personal growth.  Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” We can choose what we do with the upcoming year. We can use this time to learn from our past and prepare for our future. We can use the time to look for the good in all things, and to love and serve those around us. We can use this time to “Be Prepared” in spiritual and temporal ways that will help us to weather any storms that the last days may blow our way. New Years are a time of goal setting. Let us set goals and make plans – and then follow through – as we prepare “every needful thing!”

Included in this month's newsletter:

"A Place for Everything, and Everything in its place" - a list of ideas to help us store all that food storage.

Encouraging words: The Promised Land - a quote from Pres. Harold B Lee about America!

Disaster Prep - ideas to help be prepared for disasters.

In the Southern Utah Garden - a list of January things to Plan, Prune, Transplant, Fertilize and Prevent.

Cooking with Food Storage - recipes for Everlasting Yeast, Chicken Soup, Taco Soup or Casserole. All using ingredients you can include in your food storage.

Provident Living - a list of ideas to help you save money, and engage in Provident Living!
Food Storage Chart - a breakdown of amounts of food for various ages of family members.

 Click here for a complete copy of the January 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter.

December 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the December 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

December is upon us with all the traditions that we love! Seems like a soul soothing way to end a crazy 2020 year. The long winter nights filled with cozy fires in the fireplace, music in the air, twinkling lights all around, and nativity displays on mantels and yards - all help us feel that Christmas Spirit. Like all years – it is a time of giving and serving. It can also be a time of preparing! Give your family the gift of preparedness – so that no matter what lies ahead, all can feel the peace of being prepared. The gifts under the tree can add to your preparedness, and the trips for groceries can buy a few extra cans or bags to put away for the future. May you all have a blessed Christmas. May you feel love within your homes, and share that love with friends, family, and strangers around us. May you feel the peace of preparedness, as you set about to engage in Provident Living. May you feel the Peace of Christ as we celebrate His birth. And may your efforts #LightTheWorld!

Included in this month's Newsletter:

A Preparedness Christmas Carol- visiting our past, present and future preparedness.

One for the Money - Financial Preparedness

Spiritual Preparedness - Christmas quotes from Elder Bednar and President Monson

In the Southern Utah Garden -December garden list

Christmas Gifts: A Preparedness Christmas - a list of ideas for your Christmas Gifting.

Cooking with Food Storage - Mix it Up - Master Mix recipes you can use as gifts.

Christmas Recipes -  references for Christmas treats in back issues.

Disaster Prep - Alternate Light - a list of ideas to provide for lighting needs when the power is out. Makes great gifts!

Click here for a complete copy of the December 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

November 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

 Click here for a complete copy of the November 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

November is the wonderful month we are especially Thankful! This month of “Thanksgiving” is a time we can focus on having an attitude of gratitude, and hopefully prolong it as an “all-year” event! Our lives change as we look for things to be grateful for. Truly, there is a silver lining with every cloud if we but look for it. So it is with things this last year have brought to us. COVID has helped many families find more togetherness time, brought some simple pleasures back, turned more hearts to God, and made us take a look at our preparedness status! We can use this crazy year as a learning curve. Before the true “winter storms begin” – let us be sure “all is safely gathered in.” Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today! There is no time like the present! On a future day when another storm of life hits, you can feel peace knowing you have prepared to care for your family, or you can feel worry as you scramble to find the necessities of life. The choice is yours. Instead of spending money on “extras” – buy some flour, rice, beans, and canned goods. No money for extras? Ask the Lord to help you find the way, and see what you can sacrifice to allow you to focus on preparedness. Where there is a will, there IS a way! This Thanksgiving let us show the Lord our gratitude by keeping his commandment to Be Prepared.

Included in this newsletter:

Preparedness Myth Busters - popular preparedness methods debunked.

Temporal and Spiritual Preparedness - an excerpt from Gerald Lund's "The Second Coming of the Lord" on the importance of preparedness.

In the Southern Utah Garden - tips for your November garden chores.

A Food Storage Thanksgiving - recipes and tips for things to make for your Thanksgiving dinner from your storage shelves.

Menu Storage: "Why" determines "What" - ideas to tailor fit our family's storage program.

Basic Food Storage - list of basic long term supply.

Expanded Storage - list of ideas to expand for variety and nutrition.

Click here for a complete copy of the November 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

 

October 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

 Click here for a complete copy of the October 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

October ushers in the fall - a favorite season of many! Autumn means harvests are drawing to a close, the colors on the trees change, the air smells different, and the temperature is heaven! It also means winter is coming – and along with it, the need to be prepared with every needful thing! This issue has ideas for different “needful things.” One thing fall brings is elections! In the Book of Mormon pandemonium – discord, contentions and rebellions - often resulted when the change of hands in government occurred. We have seen pandemonium this last year with pandemic fallout, riots and protests. Results were shortages and lockdowns. We do not have a crystal ball – but we can learn from history, and from our prophets’ long counseled words to “BE PREPARED.” There are all kinds of fall and winter predictions out there. But if we will just be prepared – with EVERY NEEDFUL THING – we will be ok! As we prepare with faith, fear is dispelled. Preparedness brings peace. As we follow the prophet, and prepare temporally, physically, and spiritually – we will find joy and happiness amidst whatever the future holds. We can say like Elder Joseph B Worthlin - “Come what may – and love it!”  Bring it on – we stand with the Lord. Who’s on the lord’s side? We are! And We Are Prepared!

Included in this month's newsletter:

Thinking ahead - Be Prepared - It's a way of life: Items to consider to help you plan ahead with a preparedness strategy!

Fall Prep - Every Needful Thing: A list of things to prepare for winter

Quotable Quotes: Follow the Prophet! three quotes on preparedness.

In the Southern Utah Garden: Tips for the October garden

Cooking with Food Storage- Back to School Snacks: recipes for quick snacks with items you can store in your food storage.

First Aid Storage - Needful Knowledge: ideas of how you can obtain first aid skills.

Basic Disaster Supply Kit: A list from Ready.gov of items you might set aside for your disaster kit.

Physical Preparedness: Thoughts on being physically fit in order to be better prepared.

Provident Living- Penny Saving Ideas: A list of ways to save money!

 Click here for a complete copy of the October 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

September 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the September 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

September is welcomed as hot summer days give way to cooler daytime temperatures, pleasant evenings, and brisk mornings. The harvests draw closer to an end. Fall fruits are waiting to be plucked, enjoyed, and preserved. School is back in session (although this COVID back-to-school year is a bit different from what we are accustomed to!) And September is the National Preparedness Month! Between it all, it is the perfect time to polish up your preparedness! Take the time to fill more storage shelves, renew the 72-hour kit, and make plans for the “what if” challenges and disasters. We have long been told “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.”  As we face the storms that life brings, the peace preparedness brings is worth the effort and cost put forth in advance. Let us batten down the hatches, call the family together to work as a team, and enjoy whatever life brings.  As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.”

Included in this month's newsletter:
Provident Living: Cold Hard Cash - Tips to avoid debt and live within your means.
Disaster Prep: Make a Plan! A list of things to help you make a plan for your family.
Treasure Thoughts: Two quotes to help us with our money!
In the Southern Utah Garden: Tips for September "things to do" in the garden.
Using the Harvest - An apple a day. Recipes and tips for using apples this fall.
Provident Living - Watching your pennies. Tips to save money in a variety of ways.
Custom Fit Your Kits! Ideas to add to your 72 hour kits.
Spiritual preparedness - Quote from Elder D Todd Christofferson.

Click here for a complete copy of the September 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

August 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of August 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

The dog days of summer are here – those hot, sultry days that make it hard to spend a full day outdoors. Yards and gardens are tackled in early mornings so the work is done in the cool summer air, or one can wait for the sun to set and hope the temperature drops then. The garden is hopefully producing a bounty of juicy tomatoes, and squash to share. The lawns are lush, or maybe struggling a bit under the summer sun. The preparations and extra work from the spring are paying off! So it is with our efforts to establish a food and supply storage. The work you do today will be realized in a future day. Being prepared can become a way of life – provident living. For those who have been at it for a while, it is second nature. For those in the beginning stages – take heart! Before long your harvest of food lined shelves, packed 72-hour kits, and barrels with water, will become a part of your life. As we prepare – and continue to add to the program we establish for our individual families – we will reap the rewards of the promise – “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” And that peace is the best dog day blessing that there is!

Included in this month's newsletter:

* The Principle of Preparation - We have been counseled for many years to be prepared. Here is a list that helps us strive for this goal.

* Food Storage in a Shortage - ideas to obtain and resupply when shelves are often empty.

* Spiritual and Temporal Preparedness - Quotes from Spencer W Kimball and L Tom Perry to inspir us.

* In the Southern Utah Garden - A list of things to do and plant in August.

* Using the Harvest - ideas to use your pears, peppers and tomatoes.

* Disaster Prep: What level are you? Five levels of preparedness described to help us identify where we stand with our preparedness.

* Provident Living: "A penny saved is a penny earned!" - ideas to help you save some hard earned cash!

Click here for a complete copy of August 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

July 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the July 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

July brings with it sweltering summer days, usually monsoon storms, and especially celebrations for both our county and state. We live in the “land of the free and home of the brave,” all made possible by the blood, sweat and tears of our forefathers. This is a promised land, that is choice above all others (1 Nephi 2:20). One of the freedoms we have in this choice land, is the freedom to be prepared!  In some countries it is illegal to store food (called “hoarding”).  Part of our responsibility to our fellow citizens is to “Be Prepared” so that we can care for ourselves, allowing church resources to go to those who are unable to do so. Certainly part of being prepared is also holding fast to the blessings we are given by following the prophet and keeping the commandments. That spiritual preparedness will help us to know the things we need to add to our temporal preparedness to be ready for what lies ahead. Let us honor and celebrate our liberty by continuing in our efforts to follow the prophet and be prepared both temporally and spiritually.

Included in this month's newsletter:

Preparedness - How Important is it? Quotes from General Authorities over the years to encourage us to get our food storage.

Family Summer Fun - Gaining Disaster Skills - Adventures with your kids to help you be more prepared.

How Long until you Starve? A thought about the need to Be Prepared.

In the Southern Utah Garden - Tips for planting, fruit tree spraying, watering, and tomatoes. 

Summer Harvest - Using Summer Squash - Recipes for Zucchini and Yellow Squash.

Disaster Prep: How to Keep your Cool... in a Summer Power Outage! Things you can do to stay cool in the summer heat.

Provident Living - Make your Own - Recipes for cleaners and sport drinks.

Click here for a complete copy of the July 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

June 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the June 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

Included in this month's newsletter:
Summertime and the Livin' is Easy!  Things to make this a summer of fun, learning and togetherness. And some of the activities will help you get a little more prepared in the process!
The Food Chain -  Disruptions in the food chain have effected many people. These ideas can help you stay ahead of the panic.
Quote -  from President Thomas S Monson about being prepared in these turbulent times with an unknown future.
How Much Should I Store -  a l ink to a food calculator that will provide a customized list of food to store!
In the Southern Utah Garden  - garden tips and activities for June.
Using the Harvest -  Recipes to use apricots (Apricot Jam), beets, (Grandma Ballard's Pickled Beets) and zucchinis (Zucchini Pickle Relish.)
The Blue Book - a must have book for home canners - beginners to pro!
Five Principles of Preparedness -  Five things you need to incorporate in your life to help you Be Prepared.

Click here for a complete copy of the June 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

May 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the May 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

This might be the most interesting May we have enjoyed for a long time! Just like our beautiful flowers have opened up and bloomed – this country of ours is beginning to “open” for a hopeful economy boost and reduction in sickness. We find ourselves in a unique position to learn from the past few months and make needed changes – instead of trying to just “go back to normal.” If you found yourself in need of items – food or supplies – will you make the effort to establish a better storage program? Or will you just use up what you bought and go on with life? We must nurture a storage program all year round, not only when we see a need. It is like our gardens. We plant, water, and weed, and soon see the seeds grow and begin to flourish. But we cannot stop there. We must continue to care for the garden to reap a harvest. As the coming days grow warmer through May and into summer, let us be sure our food and supply storage also grow and flourish. Let us “Be Prepared” for the next time a surprise comes along!  Let us make our way of life one of “Provident Living” and find the peace and satisfaction self-sufficiency brings.

Included in this month's newsletter:

The Parable of the 10 Virgins - COVID Style - remembering the parable message, and what we can do now!

Home Production - things we can do to add "live storage" to our preparedness.

Spiritual Preparedness - Quote from Pres. Russell M Nelson on hearing the spirit.

In the Southern Utah Garden - a list for May gardening activities.

Drying Food Storage - planning as we plant for harvest drying, and produce you can dry.

Disaster Prep - Earthquakes and Other Surprises - a list to help us be ready!

Provident Living - Money Saving Tips - recipes for items you can make at home.

Where do I start? A Bite at a time! Ten "bites" you can take to establish a storage program in your home!

Click here for a complete copy of the May 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

April 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of April 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

The old saying- “April Showers bring May flowers” has many life applications. Those “rainy days” of April usually give way to a bounty of color come May! As our world has recently been affected by COVID-19, it is a great time to look forward to the “flowers” this stormy time will bring! What “flowers” will you grow? What did you learn from this experience – what were you prepared with, and what do you wish you had been more ready for? Was this storm a time of gentle rain, or did it feel like a downpour? Was this a wakeup call, or did you feel peace from the preparedness your family had in place? If you found yourself in the panic or worry lines, it is a good time to make better plans, and improve your preparedness. “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it” (Ralph Waldo Emerson.) This storm will pass. The clouds will lift, the sun will shine; but what will you do then? More than ever, people can see the great importance of a preparedness program: temporally, and spiritually! Let us use this storm to water the seeds of desire. May your desire grow into a flowering food and supply storage, complete with a rotation plan, and knowledge of how to use what you have set aside. And may our bouquet include the ability to hear and listen to the whisperings of the spirit, so we can be guided in steps to take as we prepare, and are ready to weather the next storm. Let us grow beautiful May flowers that will always be ready for the rains when they arrive.

Included in this months newsletter: 

Spiritual Preparedness - "I Prepared You So..." - excerpts from a church news article.

CDC Suggestions for COVID-19 -  a list of things for us to stay safe and healthy.

Shopping for Food Storage - A Basics Grocery List - a list of basic items to include in your monthly grocery shopping to help build a food storage.

In the Southern Utah Garden -  Victory Gardens helped people in WW I and II. Today your garden can supply you with fresh produce. Ideas are included for April planting and tasks.

Cooking with Food Storage- recipes for basic items: bread, tortillas, everlasting yeast, and using wheat.

Its Chicken Time -  getting you started on raising chickens for your own eggs. Suggestions for breeds to purchase.

Homemade Helps -  recipes for hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray (wipes).

Click here for a complete copy of April 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

March 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of March 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

It is said if March comes in like a lamb it will go out like a lion. Some years that works – but most years we just see that March is unpredictable. Today can be a cold-wintery-bundle-up kind of day, and tomorrow a balmy-shirt-sleeve-weather day. Life is often just like March: unpredictable. It can remind us of the importance of being prepared for the calm or storm. When we go out in March we take a light jacket and a warmer coat – just in case. The same goes with our preparedness – just in case, we can be ready for any “storm” that comes along. The month of March boasts tales of shamrocks, leprechauns and pots of gold. Stories tell of the happiness in finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Rainbows come with storms. For us – our Preparedness can be our pot of gold!  As we are prepared for life’s storms, we will find the happiness that comes with that preparedness. When the storm comes, the rainbow will follow, and our preparedness “pot of gold” will help us survive all the “lion” or “lamb” days of life!

Included in this month's newsletter:

The 72 hour to 120 hour kit (3-5 days) - a list of items to include in your portable kit.

Provident Living - Using Food Storage Daily - a list of ways that will help you incorporate food storage into your daily diet.

In the Southern Utah Garden - things to plant and activities for the month of March.

Cooking with Food Storage - from scratch! - Recipes for Mac and Cheese and Baking Powder Biscuits.

The Coronavirus! Being prepared for any disaster is being prepared for this! A list of things to remember to prepare.

Click here for a complete copy of March 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

February 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the February 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

February is known as the month of LOVE. We send valentines, bake cookies for neighbors, or “heart attack” the door of a loved friend. It is fun for the giver, and touching for the receiver when these acts of kindness and love are engaged in. Isn’t this then a wonderful month for us to show love to our families by the way we are prepared to care for them, no matter what happens in our lives? One of the final things the Savior said to his disciples before his crucifixion, was “As I have loved you, love one another.” Surely we are following the Savior as we show love to our families with good deeds and kind acts. But we also show our love when their temporal and spiritual needs are addressed. Let us love our family a little more this month. Let us be sure our cupboards are full, a 72 hour pack is ready, the scriptures are read, and prayers have been said. Let us love by Being Prepared!

Included in this month's newsletter:
Preparation Evaluation- A list of questions to check your preparedness, with ideas to help you answer the questions.
Preparing for the Future - A Quote by Elder L Tom Perry on the urgency of personal and family preparedness.
Earthquake Disaster Prep - A list of ideas to be ready for an earthquake.
In the Southern Utah Garden -  Things to do for February in your garden.
Provident Living & Preparedness Skills - Skills you can learn to help your self-sufficiency.
Cooking with Food Storage: Using Cornmeal - recipes for basic cornbread and variations, and Cornmeal Mush.
Fire it Up - Tips for fires and items to store.
Seeing the Light - Homemade Candles and Wicks - Recipes for 2 kinds of emergency candles, and homemade wicks.

Click here for a complete copy of the February 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

January 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter

Click here for a complete copy of the January 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.

Happy New Year! As the song says: “Ring out the old, ring in the new! Ring happy bells across the snow. The year is going; let him go. Ring out the false, ring in the true.” A new year brings so many opportunities for us. It starts in “the bleak midwinter” – and looks to the blossom of the spring we know will come. It seems the perfect analogy of life. No matter what “winter day” we face, the warmth and growth of spring, and eventually summer, will follow. So it can be with our preparedness. If you have only begun your preparedness program – with the right efforts and planning – your storage and emergency system will blossom and grow too! As we make “New Year’s Resolutions,” let our preparedness status be at the top of the list! If we are prepared – we will not need to worry about the winter that we know will come again.  We will “sleep when the wind blows” and the storms arrive, and will be able to say, as Elder Joseph B Worthlin once said – “Come what may and love it.” Let this “new year” be the year we set in place a life of provident living that will bring us peace, confidence, and blessings. We will be prepared, and not fear!

Included in this issue:
Ring in the New - Preparedness Review: A list of items to review that you can include in a family preparedness program.
Time: using time wisely thought/poem.
Spiritual Preparedness: a quote from President Spencer W Kimball.
In the Southern UTah Garden: the 5 P's for your garden - Plan, Prune, Plant, Prevent, and Prepare.
Cooking with Food Storage: recipes to use food storage items for breakfast.
Thought for the day: on setting goals.
Companion Planting: a list of vegetables and the companions, allies and enemies.

Click here for a complete copy of the January 2020 Back to Basics Newsletter.