Born in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky
Who Am I and How Did I Get Here?
Table of contents
About Me – How did I come to self-sufficiency? I don’t remember – it seems like I’ve always known that the world would come to the chaos we are now seeing.
I grew up (a long time ago) in Harlan County, KY. We didn’t have electricity. Actually, electricity was available, but we couldn’t afford it. We had no plumbing. My dad ended up running a PVC pipe from the creek into the house, so I guess it was ‘running water’. The house I was born in is still standing today, and that PVC pipe is still running water today. You wouldn’t believe it, but it’s never stopped in all that time.
About Me – I don’t believe I’m showing you these pictures, but I want you to see that I know how to get along without all the modern conveniences we are all accustomed to having.
We didn’t have TV or phones or books or much of anything. But I did have a Bible, and spent my time reading it. I remember reading Revelation and the mark of the beast, and it stuck in my mind. Somehow, I could watch world events and see it evolving into what we are now seeing. It’s actually been a lonely road for me because no one else in my family could see it. I guess I’m a loner, period! Not much on social activities, but I do study a lot.
I wouldn’t trade growing up like this for anything, because I learned how to survive.
So, I have an advantage over most people, because I’ve already lived the life that we may all soon be facing. I know how to make-do with what I have on hand and survive. BUT MOST OF ALL, I want to help you learn how to survive! Although I am a very devout Christian, I promise to keep my views to myself. I see what’s coming and want to help you all prepare for it no matter what your religious views are.
Moving Out of the Mountains
We moved out of the mountains when I was a teenager. My dad was working in a coal mine owned by International Harvester, and it went down and most everyone was laid off. I had an uncle that worked in the main office, and somehow he got my dad a transfer to the International Harvester plant in Indiana. So, we moved to Indianapolis. Can anyone say, culture shock? I thought I was in another world.
My parents always grew a garden, but they always did the work. Sometimes, I would help pick beans – but didn’t learn much about gardening. Sure wish I had learned more. My dad could do anything but didn’t teach us kids much. Actually, he thought I couldn’t do much because I was a girl. So, I’ve studied anything I could get my hands on – I guess just to prove him wrong. Did I want to be like him? Probably so, because I enjoy knowing how to do a lot of things. Hillbilly ingenuity at its’ finest! LOL
What Changed?
I got married and was busy raising 3 children and didn’t have time for much else. But then, I started paying more attention to what was happening in the world. And, knew I needed to start making some preparations.
I saw the world changing and not for the better. I saw a President (and others) be assassinated, and I saw riots breaking out with more and more frequency. I saw Nixon take us off the gold standard, which gave inflation a free climb into the stratosphere.
Then I Went to College!
I’ve been a Realtor for most of my adult life, but back in the late 70’s and early 80’s – the interest rate went to 17%. Try selling real estate with those numbers!! I decided to go to interior design school for a couple of reasons. First, I love fixing up houses and secondly, I thought it might help me help others to see changes they could make in their homes if the interest rates ever went back down to where people could buy houses again.
I ‘Flunked’ Business Ethics!
But, then I had to take more than ‘interior design’ classes in order to graduate. There were some required business courses, so I decided to take a class in business ethics. Not a good idea because I flunked business ethics!! Can you believe it? The class started out ok, but then they started teaching that ‘if it’s ethical in your view, then it’s ok’…. WHAT? I thought the Bible did a good job of teaching us how to conduct business. And it sure wasn’t whatever I believed…it was what He said.
Then they took us into a room to show a film with the Top 10 most respected and influential business people in America teaching us all about business ethics. I was so shocked to see that the first person up to the podium was the president of Planned Parenthood! WHAT? She didn’t identify herself as such, but I knew who she was. And she’s going to teach us about business ethics?? Anyway, I walked out and took my failing grade with me. When I discussed it with the professor, he pretty much told me to shut up….go along to get along…and get my degree! But, I’m not much of a person that goes along with the crowd.
It’s no wonder why the country is in the mess it’s in with what they’re teaching in the colleges. I experienced it first-hand.
Dr. Christopher’s School of Natural Healing
I’ve never been able to take prescription medicine, and consequently, I’ve always had to learn natural/herbal ways of doing things. After a while, I decided to work toward a degree in natural medicine/homeopathy. So, I started studying at Dr. Christopher’s School of Natural Healing in Utah and ended up traveling all over the country for classes.
After about 12 years of this, I finally graduated and received a degree as a Doctor of Naturopathy from Trinity College of Natural Health and also a Master Herbalist degree from Dr. Christopher’s School of Natural Healing. Hopefully, this will help me teach you a bit about how to help your own family if the time comes when we can’t get prescription meds.
Back to How I Got Here
I started paying more attention to changes in the country. Who would have thought they would make propaganda legal? They did it – they passed it into law. I always thought that happened in communist countries. Didn’t it? On and on it went, until now most people are starting to see that we’re in a mess that we may not be able to get out of.
Anyone can see that when there are floods in the Midwest (destroying crops) and fires out west (destroying crops) – how are those crops going to be replaced? Now with this recent plague, huge numbers of meat processing plants are shut down, milk is being dumped by the thousands of gallons, and chicken being destroyed…we must learn to grow food for our families. It’s obvious to all of us who are paying attention, isn’t it?
The $35 Tomato
Nothing to gardening, right? Dig up the dirt, plant some seeds, and gather the crops. It didn’t turn out to be quite so easy. My first attempt at growing a tomato plant was an eye-opener. Who would pay $35 for a single cherry tomato? That would be me. I got one of those upside-down tomato grow bags, bought the dirt and a tomato plant…and put it all together. I kept it watered and took care of it until it started to get ripe. They looked really good one day, and I thought that in another day they would be ready to eat. Well, I was right…they were ready…but not for me. I went out to pick some beautiful cherry tomatoes and they were all gone. A squirrel had eaten them all. I found one small one that he missed – and that’s how I got a $35 tomato. In frustration, I threw the whole thing out. But learned a good lesson.
But Seriously…
I knew that I had to learn to grow a garden and that it would take practice with a lot of trial and error. And it was… every year I would try a new method of gardening to see what worked best. I found that wood chips is by far the best way to go, so we put up 4×4’s and fenced in a garden space. We carefully laid down paper to keep weeds from growing and then spread all the wood chips, planted beans and thought it was fine.
But one problem – the neighbor had a dog with about a half dozen puppies, and they found my garden. Oh no, I went out to the garden only to find it completely destroyed. They had dug up all the wood chips and paper was everywhere. Who knows where the seeds ended up.
These are so many things that can go wrong – and most of them did. But, through all this, I’ve discovered ways of getting around a lot of the problems. I’m still learning – but much farther along than I was in the beginning. Because I feel that time is short and getting shorter all the time, I want to help you be successful with your gardening efforts.
There’s so much more to becoming self-sufficient than gardening, and I’ve spent untold hours researching all that needs to be done. It can be overwhelming if you don’t break it down into smaller pieces. But, I’ve built this website (personally) to help you think through all that goes into taking care of yourself and your family.
Please use the comment section to let all of us know what you have done to grow a successful garden or what you’ve done to become more self-sufficient. We’re all in this boat together and we need to share what works and what doesn’t. I look forward to hearing from you soon…..
