Thanks for coming to read, do join in when you have time.
I’ll add a couple. No life changers, but every little bit helps, including small pleasures.
1) Grow a tomato in a bucket. Get a pickle bucket with a lid. Cut a 3” hole in the bottom. Hang the bucket waist high or so using the handle so you can work comfortably. Stick a tomato plant through the hole in the bottom and arrange news paper around the stem to hold it in. Fill the bucket with good soil, firmly packed. Put the lid on the bucket. Turn the bucket over so the plant is sticking up. Grow like this for a week or so. Once the roots are set, hang the bucket by the handle so the plant grows down. If you have a clothesline, you can hang several on each end. Water and feed through “lid.”
2) Yogurt: If you like yogurt and hate the price, make your own. It is terribly simple. Heat 2 quarts of milk to 185 degrees. While hot, stir in 3 teaspoons of vanilla and a half cup of sugar or equivalent sweetener to taste. Let cool to 105 degrees. Take a half cup or so (of store bought the first time) yogurt and stir in 1/2 cup or so of the warm milk (to temper the starter.) Stir the starter in the milk and cover. Place in a warm spot for 4, up to 6 hours and then refrigerate. Our microwave is built in and has a light under it. When on, the inside of the microwave will stay a perfect 100 degrees. The light in your oven will keep the oven warm as well. You can use from your homemade for starter for your next batch. The culture will live as long as you don’t let it spoil. Stir in fruit, nuts, cereal, etc to your taste when you serve. Don’t put the fruit in when you culture it, it will go rancid.
I love stuff like this. My friends in school would laugh at my being a bit of a survivalist, but even if it’s something as ‘simple’ as the power going off or being sick and unable to get to the store, it’s good to have a way to light a room or have something to eat.
I’m not sure I have anything to add to these great posts, but I will tell a ‘blond’ story on myself. I woke up one morning and the power was out. No problemo. I’d just go in the kitchen and whip up some breakfast. I thought I’d use my small smoothie maker - after all, it’s small, it shouldn’t use a lot of electricity. Of course I could use it during a power outage, right? It took me a couple of times pressing the button to realize, ‘Oh yeah, the power’s out, even to the little appliances, you idiot.’ Usually I’m not so dense; maybe I wasn’t fully awake yet. : )