home sweet home.... I hope

Our big vacation is over. We still have another little one next week. Travel while it's still possible has been our motto. Taking the kids and husband out to see the Rocky Mountains. If Peak Oil is real, a trip like this will become rarer for an East Coast family.

I very much covet the beautiful backyards and grass of Virginia and Maine. Coming home to our hardscrabble grass and tiny yard... bleh. Thank god I love the inside of my house.

And wheeee... good to see our food stores. Other than milk, we don't need anything at the store during our one week at home.

And I am reviewing all the projects I'll be starting in midAugust: rain barrels, compost, building garden boxes, installing more shelves.

Hubby ordered "pannieres" (I might be spelling it wrong), but essentially they are baskets for the bike that fold up. I remember having those on my bike when I was a kid. We called them "folding baskets" rather than some fancy French name. But anyway, when the weather cools off in South Florida -- like maybe Thanksgiving -- I plan to once a week do my daily exercise by biking to the store to pick up just two bags of groceries. It'll make me shop more economically!

And we'll be replacing my less-than-efficient small car in for a much more fuel efficient Japanese car in a month or so. Hubby is hoping that the recent fall in gas prices will make people back off of trading in their huge SUVs for Honda Civics. But I doubt it'll be by much. The price of gas is still double what people were use to a couple years ago.

Anyway, being on vacation was pleasant, and a nice removal from daily life and from in-my-face concerns about the economy. Then I come home to news that our big national bank might be failing. We have well under $100K in that bank, but we'll be moving some money and hubby's paycheck deposit over to a Canadian bank that has branches we can use here. Hopefully our $$ will be safer in an international bank than a drowning-in-mortgage-debt American one.

Keeping my outlook balanced....

I've stumbled across a few sites with good discussions about NOT panicking, and not preparing for the absolute worse. Yes, I like blog posts like that because... I don't want to have to freak out, or for the world to be turning into something worth freakin' out over!

Anyhoo....In response to the current financial catastrophes, the blog Simple Dollar says Why I’m Not Panicking - And You Shouldn’t, Either.

The two subheads that resonated with me best:

* One: Panics happen every few years
* Two: The talking heads shouting “PANIC!” make money from “PANIC!”

Another good reasoned (perhaps woman-centric!) discussion from Crunchy Chicken: Peak Oil - instinctual reactions

She suggests -- and admittedly hyper-generalizes -- that men and women approach the idea of a panic differently. Men want to break out the guns, build big walls, get ready to protect the women and children. Women stock up on foodstuffs and plan sewing projects.

She gives good advice:

I do think it's important to see where people are coming from, what their motivations are, conscious or otherwise and take that into consideration when reading someone else's predictions. It's all a crapshoot as far as the future goes, but it helps to process the unknown when looked at this way.

From the comment sections on that Crunchy Chicken post, I came across this:

Peak Oil Debunked

This is not one of the rightwing idiot Peak Oil naysayers. This guy admits that oil is finite and there are potential problems ahead. But he's not willing to be a "doomer" as he describes it. Not sure yet what I think of all of his points, but like Simple Dollar above... I do tend to be suspicious about people's motives when they yell PANIC. Any of us who went through the Y2K baloney less than a decade ago should remember this.

Bicycle Ridership Rising

Gas crisis kindling new interest in bicycles

SALEM, N.H. — After years of stagnant national sales, the gas crisis may be pumping some new life and changes into the bicycle industry.

"We're seeing more and more people buying bicycles for doing errands," said John Maurice, bicycle manager for Buchika's on South Broadway in Salem, N.H. "The bike industry says 60 percent of all car trips are for 2 miles or less. Because of that figure, people are buying bikes to go to the library or grocery store. If it's two to three miles, people are interested."

Bike shop owners across the country say more people appear interested in riding, and sales have risen by as much as 20 percent from a year ago, according to the National Bicycle Dealers Association. Bike repairs have climbed even more dramatically, as high as 60 percent at some outlets.

The U.S. bicycle industry racked up $6 billion in sales in 2007, including bicycles, related parts and accessories. This year the association expects revenue to stay about the same, despite increased interest in bikes and accessories for commuting. Officials say that's because people are buying less-expensive bikes in the slow economy.

XX Sean's note -- the story also talks about bicycle saddlebags that stay flat until you open them called Panniers. I need those.

thoughts on location

As I said a few posts ago, we've been on vacation, so have been spending less time posting, or buying canned goods, or worrying too much about the collapse of the world as we know it. The most obvious reason we are worrying less is we are on vacation and determined to enjoy the lovely New England weather, and the sights, and spending time with the kids and grandparents.

However, I think just being in Portland, Maine, is also taking the edge of our worries. This is a community much more focused on sustainability, community gardens, recycling, taking care of the planet. Plus, there's SO MUCH GREEN. Yes, it's summer. But there are so many trees, and growing plants, and animals, and fish. If you had to you could forage or scavange. Whereas in the concrete suburbia that we live in now, life would be -- will be? -- a lot more difficult to produce food for one's family, in a worst case scenario, etc.

On the other hand, in Florida, we don't have to worry about freezing to death.

Anyway, with a couple of good fireplaces, and a lot of blankets, and a couple dogs, winter would be bearable up here. And if the planet does keep warming up... it might be quite pleasant too.

Life is just more peaceful here. And not just because we are on vacation.

More possible tools to buy

Since husband and I tidied the garage a couple months ago, and sorted our tools, perhaps it's now time to consider adding a few necessary tools. And here's a list to start with...Essential tools for the household handyman. I should have a $25 gift certificate at Home Depot waiting for me when we get home.

Foraging links, and a look back at Cuba's Peak Oil problems

Been having too much fun lately and haven't updated here. But I've been saving links for when I did get around to posting... like now.

Walking around the Maine woods, I am realizing it would be helpful to be able to identify helpful plants as opposed to dangerous plants. Lookie here! A handy guide...

Wild Plants Used for Medicine and Food

And

Wild Edible Plants of the United States.

In other news, here's a good article about a country that already went through Peak Oil and economic crisis. Perhaps we can gather some tips...

The Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil

that's a hell of a lot of food

What does three months food stockpile look like?

We need a LOT more grain and beans, and all of that dried milk. And some more multivitamins. Good shopping list.

How-To Book on Everything

This sure sounds useful ...

A How-To Book for Everything From Water Filters to Fly Traps

A new guide to public health has just been published by the same foundation that 30 years ago issued “Where There Is No Doctor,” a simple but comprehensive how-to medical book endorsed by the World Health Organization and used by hundreds of Peace Corps volunteers.

The book, “A Community Guide to Environmental Health,” took eight years and $1.6 million to put together, said Jeff Conant, one of the authors. It is published by the Hesperian Foundation in Berkeley, Calif., and goes on sale Tuesday for $28.

The 600-page book is written in simple English and has hundreds of drawings showing, for example, how to disinfect water with boiling, bleach, sunlight or lime juice and how to make filters from sand, clay and charcoal. It has numerous designs for stoves that use less fuel; it has schematic drawings of simple fly and roach traps and bicycle-powered grinders and blenders. It devotes almost 40 pages just to toilets.

Vacations, shrinking suburbs, and food food food

He and I and the family are on vacation. We've been traveling and acting like it's still 2004. Except not really. I was careful about buying gas the whole drive up here. I managed to pay no more than $4.02 for gas during the drive up here. But now in Portland, Maine, the average price is $4.09, and it's $4.14 at the place closest to our residence. And we are thinking about moving some of our cash reserves to a Canadian bank, just for security. And we'll be biking around town more than last year. And just plain hanging out together at home instead of sightseeing as much as in the past.

Anyway, expect sporadic posting while we are off enjoying sunshine, fresh air and quality family time. But a few links still....

Will High Gas Prices Kill Suburban Sprawl? -- this has links to various sources, and is about the demise of suburbia. I don't think cities will disappear completely, but they will certainly shrink. And many suburbs will disappear or go back to being quasi-independent villages as many small towns outside of large cities once were. This is not necessarily a bad thing!

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A quick source of emergency food supplies -- a bucket o' meals! Seems just... delicious? Ayiyi. And what fun seeing companies capitalizing on people's panicking!

debating buying 2...

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So what about all the food in your freezer? What if it all thawed? What can you save? What can you eat? What do you do?

Michigan State University Extension to the rescue! When Your Freezer Stops Working. Not fancy, but useful info.

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I am love love loving this Wise Bread site tonight. Here's info about reusing old containers. I've started saving all the glass jars we use -- from pasta sauce and fruit, etc. I kinda sorta know I can use them for some sort of storage, and now I know more details:

> Smaller Glass Jars with Screw on Lids.

> These are great for under the shelf storage of nails and other hardware items, beads, buttons and more. Attach the top to the bottom of the undershelf and screw the clear jars on and off as you need them. Great for garages, shops, art studious, craft and sewing rooms, or anywhere you need transparent storage and a polished coordinated look isn’t quite so important. Also, I’ve always liked the look for a relaxed garden party of those hanging tree candles with small glass jars, tea lights and coat hanger wire. Depending on your theme, this will either fit in with what you want or it won’t.

I also intend to start saving larger jars and grated cheese containers!