Enough of that!

I've survived. A lot. So I prep! I've got a whole house generator. I have solar with massive battery back up. I have a pantry of options that will last me a minute. I have water because that's probably one of my biggest fears: dehydration is literally deadly with my disease.

Living in SoCal is a threat to life in more ways than folks imagine. Earthquake= potential collapse of many things, including ways to get to a safer area by car, bike or foot. Potable water. Availability of gas. Access to electricity. Who has a land line these days so we can let those we love know we are ok because cell phones might not work due to cramped systems? (Yes, I know the neighbors within 3 houses of me that do so I can reach out to the designated contact) I have sent my girls the way they can get to me without using a freeway because who knows what condition those will be in? I have a small grill and charcoal as well as a propane option for boiling water and cooking the supplies I have on hand.

Wildfire: no one is immune. Anything important is ready to go. My only concern is evacuation of animals. It's a long story.

Water supply runs out: yeah, any sign of that and I'm resigned to simply go live with my sister in Kansas. Ugh.

California is the 5th largest supplier of food and agricultural commodities. If that gets threatened? Yeah, imma have to find options. We all are. We can't just all up and rely on another country. There are too many of us. I am NOT good at keeping plants alive. I also have too many plant eating critters that use my human generosity as their livelihood at this moment. They, for sure, would think my growing veggies are theirs before I even see a nibble.

In short, when you come to my house, you will see a regular place. 2 car garage out front with enough of a driveway; landscaping catering to bees, butterflies & hummingbirds. A mailbox. A path to the front door. But once inside? You find me and my slightly eccentric self. My 2 indoor cats- one will love you while the other hides because you have only come to murder us all as we sleep, of course. I have enough food in my fridge, freezers and pantry to feed myself for a year. I have enough to take care of a gaggle of more for maybe a couple weeks. If the toilets are no longer an option, we have others for a while.

Here's the biggest thing: if I don't have access to my meds? I have enough to get me by for a minute. 3 months? 6 months if I ration. I live within a walk to pharmacies, but how long will that be available?

Yhe take away from this is: you can only depend on someone else for so long. As my older sister taught me when I was too young to realize what she meant: you can't trust someone else to do it so you need to do it yourself. (She was talking about how she preferred the exit row on an airplane at the time. So…yeah.)

Namaste 🙏

https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank