August 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

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

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy! In August, orchards and gardens are our personal “Garden of Eatin’ – fishing or camping offer relaxing days – and star gazing is enjoyed as we listen to the crickets chirping song. We welcome the shade of a Mulberry tree, and appreciate the modern convenience of the AC! This summer in Utah, we have felt the blessings of monsoon rains again (it has been a few years.) Monsoons bring humidity - but it’s worth it for the much needed blessing of moisture. In all our feasting on the good of the land and enjoying the times in which we live, let us always remember to continue to be ready to care for our families. The garden gives us produce to save for a winter day. The camping lets us practice emergency skills. And the rains let us be thankful for blessings, and encourage righteous living so God will send us more. Each day of summer is a good day to add to our preparedness. The best person to care for your family is you! Make the best of this summertime easy livin’!

Included in this month's newsletter:

Chicken Time - Live Storage: tips on setting up yourself a chicken coop for eggs and meat!

Cleanliness is next to Godliness - Personal and Family Hygiene - a list to help store cleaning items for home and family.

In the Southern Utah Garden - tips for August garden, yard, and drought.

Not Your Mother's First Aid Kit - a list of items not usually in a first aid kit.

Using the August Harvest - recipes for Zucchini Pickle Relish, Zucchini Bread and Butter Pickles, and Prickly Pear Jelly.

Disaster Prep - the difference of one day. Decide today what you need!

Spiritual Preparedness - a quote from President Nelson.

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

July 2021 Back to Basics

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

This month we celebrate both the birth of our nation (Independence Day -July 4^th) and the arrival of our pioneer forefathers in Utah (Pioneer Day July 24). Those men and women who migrated to America and settled the wilderness were a stalwart example of determination, and provident living. We can do well to learn from their lives and sacrifice. There were other ancestors who followed and lived through the Great Depression or World Wars, and left a legacy of self-sufficiency we can also follow. They lived by the adage of “Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”  We live in a day where necessities of life are so much easier to come by. What a tribute to the memory of those who came before us if we take a leaf out of their book to “Be Prepared.” As we go to the celebrations, watch or walk in the parades, or sit under the shade for a BBQ and homemade ice-cream – let us recognize the talents, grit, and example of the pilgrims and pioneers – and set in motion a legacy of our own. Provident Living was what got them through hard times, and it will do the same for us today.

Included in this months newsletter:

Refueling- Tips for storing fuel.

Salt of the earth-  Tips for storing salt.

Words for the wise-  quote from Ezra Taft Bensen on storing food.

In the Southern Utah Garden - Tips for July and extra tips for tomatoes.

Summertime Goodness - Using the Produce - Recipes for Peach Cobbler, Refrigerator Pickles and Salsa.

Provident Living - Pioneer Preparedness - things pioneers did that we can do today.

Home Canning - canning tips and rules.

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

June 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

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

Summertime has arrived! June is a wonderful month full of sunshine, long pleasant evenings, and opportunities for family fun and togetherness.  The garden and orchard begin to give us fruits and vegetables. Lush pastures are full of grazing animals, and farmers begin to harvest hay or grain. Summertime begins to reap the efforts of all that springtime work! So it is with our preparedness. As we put in the work to establish a life of provident living, the harvest of our efforts can be felt in our daily lives all year long. This summer, let us renew our provident living efforts! We can fill our shelves with summer produce to be enjoyed all year, or add to our emergency supplies/knowledge while we enjoy outdoor activities. Provident living is a life full self-reliance and preparedness, and where we reap happiness and peace. No one can care for your family quite like you! Let’s make this June the kick off to a Preparedness Summer!

Included in this month's newsletter:

Summertime - Preparedness Style - Use the fun of summer to add to and practice preparedness as a family.

What is Provident Living - a definition from leaders, and an assessment for your family.

In the Southern Utah Garden - A Busy June - a list of tasks for the month.

Lilac Pruning Tips - now is the time to prune lilacs!

Food Storage- Using the June Produce - recipes for apricots and cherries, and reference for beets and zucchinis.

Acquiring Preparedness Skills- a list of skills to learn or polish, and make into a useful hobby that will help you in times of need.

Ezra Taft Benson quote- compares preparedness to boarding Noah's ark.

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

May 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

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

In years gone by, the month of May was welcomed with May Day celebrations! This included weaving of the May Pole, delivering May Day Baskets, and enjoying singing and cake! It was an ancient Festival of Spring. It is not a popular holiday anymore, but we can “celebrate” this merry month of May with an eye to preparedness! What better time than May to be sure our gardens and yards are growing and ready to flourish as the weather warms! It is a great month to look forward to harvests, and plan for how you will use the produce from your garden and fruit trees. And it is always a time to increase our Spiritual Preparedness as we teach our families and arm them for the battles of the last days. When the storms of life arrive, we can be ready to act, and not be acted upon! Lets use this month to be a little more prepared!

Included in this month's newsletter:

Ahh Sugar...Ahh Honey Honey: tips for storing sugar!

The Preparedness Pantry - Spiritual Preparedness: Things to consider as you become more spiritually prepared.

Disaster Prep: A few tips to be ready for disasters.

In the Southern Utah Garden: a list of garden chores for May.

Cooking with Food Storage: recipes to use up old canning and making way for new.

Blast from the Past: Counsel from President Kimball on being self-reliant.

Canning 101- Bottling up Summer! Tips for canning your summer produce.

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

April 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

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

“April showers bring May flowers” …a little preparation and nurture for flower seeds and plants to flourish! Spring is full of preparations for harvests. Gardens are planted, seeds germinate and begin to grow, and we anticipate that juicy tomato or crunchy corn. But with that preparation, we must now nurture and help our gardens to grow. So it is with all levels of preparedness. Our work today – those “April Showers” – will set the way for us to feel the peace of “May flowers.” But we must then endure… we continue to upgrade, add to, rotate, make plans, practice those plans, and a number of other activities we engage in as we attend to our “flowering” preparedness. Let us use this planting season to plant the seeds of preparedness in all levels. And then continue to nurture the growing flowers.

Included in this month's newsletter:

Disaster Prep: One Size Fits All- a list from past disasters that you will need in a future one.

The Young and Old - extra attention needed for different age groups.

Did you Hear? #HearHim - a quote from Spencer W Kimball.

In the Southern Utah Garden - garden tips for April.

Cooking with Food Storage - recipes for Graham Crackers and Wheat Thins.

Water in the Desert: Lawns - a water chart for sprinkling lawns in the desert.

Provident Living: Penny Saving Tips - a list of things to save money on Easter Egg coloring, spring/house cleaning, meal planning, shopping trips, and homemade is best!

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

March 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

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

March is the spring month a lot happens in the garden and yard. Perennials wake up, gardens get planted, grass turns green, and the weather is unpredictable! We all hope if it comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb, but even that is unpredictable! One thing that is predictable, however, is the ability and effort we each can put in to our preparedness, provident living, or self-sufficiency. No matter how much of “the luck of the Irish” is with us- we each can choose to be ready temporally, AND spiritually, for whatever the storms of life may throw our way. We never know when a pandemic, a Texas-like-snow storm, job loss, or any other natural disaster may hit. But we can be ready for any of it. Even a small amount of preparedness will go a long way to keeping our family safe and our minds at peace.  Do it TODAY!

Included in this month's newsletter:

Disaster Prep - Lessons from Texas

Fuel Storage - How will I keep warm and cook?

In the Southern Utah Garden

Cooking with Food Storage: Powdered Milk Recipes

Spiritual Preparedness - Conference 2020 Quotes (President Russell M Nelson)

Family Communication Plan

Provident Living Homemade Cleaners.

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

February 2021 Back to Basics Newsletter

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

February is the month we often proclaim our love at Valentine’s Day. Special treats, kind deeds, a bouquet of flowers, or a special note are abundant at this time of year. One way we show our love to our families is how we take care of them. We buy clothes, make favorite foods, or go on fun outings. But- consider how much a preparedness program for your family is showing them love! No one wants to see their family be hungry or thirsty or in need. This month let us add a little more to our preparedness. A bucket of wheat or rice, a blanket to wrap up in, warm clothes to wear, and water to drink, will feel like love in a time of need. We have been warned by prophets that hard times will come. “Prophecy is but history in reverse—a divine disclosure of future events.” (Ezra Taft Benson) The key in how to prepare for calamities to come – is to follow the prophet! Let us follow the prophet, store water, food, and supplies for a rainy day, and show some love to our families!

Included in this month's newsletter: 

Containers: how to store it after you buy it! Ideas for buckets, cans, mylar bags and recycled containers.

Financial Preparedness- Budgeting 101 - ideas to help you in your monthly budgeting.

Preparedness from the Past - a quote from J Reuben Clark in 1937 that applies to us today.

Cooking with Food Storage - Making your own Sprouts. "How-to" make sprouts from food storage grain.

In the Southern Utah Garden - tips for February planting, fertilizing and pruning.

Treatment of Wheat - how to treat wheat as you store it to eliminate weevil infestation.

Expanded Secondary Storage - a list of items and amounts to add to your basic food storage.

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

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.