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Today we talk about asking for help on the homestead, escaping sheep, much needed rain and more.

Featured event: Dec 3 gathering at Kerry Brown’s, 12pm-5pm near Knoxville, 

Please RSVP to Kerry: strongrootsresources@gmail.com

Sponsor 1: Discountmylarbags.com

Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com: https://bit.ly/3hDFWpa 

Forage

• Returned to underground things
• Wild game

Livestock

• LGD Story
• Fence charger issue and discussions of pasture improvement
• Eggless birds and nutrition

Harvest Meals

• Final round of deer shin stew
• Bought commercial food to eat on plan through the next three days

Heating with wood 

Holler Neighbors/Community

• ADHD Meltdown and Tracy (doubling)

Finances

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

• Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
• Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
• Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b

Advisory Board

• The Booze Whisperer
• The Tactical Redneck
• Chef Brett
• Samantha the Savings Ninja

Resources

• Membership Sign Up

• Holler Roast Coffee
• Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Direct Download

Join me for our annual brainstorm for homegrown gift ideas for the holiday – because allowing gift giving season to bring you down is no good. Better is to choose some things you can hand-make and give to a community of others who appreciate the care over the commercialism.

Featured Event: Dec 6-10, Live Free Academy Online Health Summit (1st 2 days are FREE)

Sponsor 1: Paul Wheaton and Permise.com – Stocking Stuffer for the Gardeners in Your Life: https://gardener-gift.com?f=442 (2 for $50, 12 for $140, 100 for $805)

Sponsor 2: StrongRootsReources.com: https://bit.ly/42UPCgJ 

Livestream Schedule

Monday, 2pm: Homegrown Gift Ideas

Tuesday, 12:30pm: Tuesday Live with Toolman Tim Cook and John Willis

Wednesday, 1pm: Interview with AJ Harrison, Using Propane to Be Off Grid

Friday, 9:30am: Homestead Happenings

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

• Meal planning strategy, no kitchen: Premade stews from freezer, a chicken, pulled pork
• Incoming cows – not sure when!
• Outfitting the camper: Crockpot cutting board, and sioux vide
• Keeping resupply to a minimum through the renovation

Weekly Shopping Report

Black Friday deals going on.

Dollar Tree was first. Although we found parking easily enough, they were busy enough to have three lines open, which is rare, and I saw at least one person stocking shelves. One of the food coolers in the back appears to have croaked, as it was empty (“66” on its display), but all the others were 3/4 full. The drink coolers were in good shape too, except for one making a bad rattling noise intermittently as it tried to start.

Home Depot was next. Ryobi has a new line of USB-charged tools, and we picked up a rotating brush on the spur of the moment. The new batteries are NOT compatible with their old low-voltage ones. They have USB-C ports on them.

Aldi was last. We found everything we wanted. The only muzzle in sight the whole trip was the woman taking care of her mom with cancer, and she’d be wearing it without the scamdemic. Staple prices were: milk: $3.02, eggs: $1.24 (+), heavy cream: $4.69, OJ: $3.29, butter: $3.49 (+), potatoes: $3.49, bacon: $4.49, sugar: $3.09, flour: $1.99, 80% lean ground beef: $4.49.

A gallon of untainted gasoline remains at $3.899.

Frugality Tip from Margo

You can get yourself, or a friend, prepared for an upcoming surgery, life event, or just a day when you don’t want to think about what’s for dinner, by making up crockpot meals. Chop veggies, add seasonings and bag and freeze. Take the meat out the day before and add the frozen veggies with seasoning to the crockpot. I like to freeze bone broth in ice cube trays and throw a couple in the crockpot with a roast, stew meat or chicken, so add them to the bag of veggies for a quick and easy ready to go meal.  Saves you from ordering that take out, and saves you some time.

Operation Independence

Take advantage of cyber deals that are actual cyber deals – which requires pricing awareness. You can get $.99/lb turkey, 80% off at Wayfair, or other deals this week.

HRC has free gift wrapping through Friday.

Main topic of the Show: Homegrown Gift Ideas

1. Custom Cutting board
2. Cookie in a jar: Christmas Macaroon Mix
3. Soup in a jar: Country Soup in a Jar
4. Dried herbs in a jar
5. Home canned goods basket
6. Aprons and napkins
7. Shapely Suet Treats
   Materials: 1 1/2 cups shortening (look for palm oil free options),  3/4 cups nut butter (any kind), 3 1/2 cups wild bird seed, 1 cup quick oats, 1/2 cup corn meal, mould
8. Cookies, quickbreads, treats
9. Sachet (with your dried herbs)
10. Homemade tea blends
11. Freeze Dried Anything (Affiliate Link: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1095.html) 
12. Service Coupons

What ideas do you have for homegrown gifts?

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

• Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv
• Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
• Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
• Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b

Resources

• Membership Sign Up

• Holler Roast Coffee

• Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Direct Download

Today we talk about the past few events and what we learned from them here in the holler. I will also go over our usual Monday segments.

Featured Event: Dec 3 West Knox County Gathering, Email Kerry for address and directions 

Sponsor 1: FreeSteading.com

Sponsor 2: Strong Roots Resources

Livestream Schedule

Monday at 4pm Central: My Interview with The Rural Report with Debut on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAAGcUEPzik 

Tuesday, 12:30: Live with Evan Dixon of Radio Made Easy and John Willis of Special Operations Equipment.

Friday, 9:30am: Homestead Happenings 

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

• Processed 6 roosters for freezer camp (hand plucked them)
• Went to smoke our bacon and it turns out there is only 3lbs cured so I will be doing a series on curing bacon as we cure the rest of the bellies
• Been shopping at the grocery store for fresh veggies even though we usually do not do this
• “Shepherd’s Pie” and “Stroganoff” to use up winter squash
• Hoping to find wild mushrooms this week
• Basing meals on odds and ends

Weekly Shopping Report from Joe

We made our usual three stops today. Dollar Tree was first. Though there is still a good variety there, the plastics area is again beginning to be depleted. We wanted a new trashcan for the bathroom, and we may have gotten the last one of its type. The coolers remain in decent shape for quantity and variety, but they’re still not putting any energy drinks in them. Oh well; in this weather, room temperature is okay. I saw the first cloth face-diaper I’ve seen in quite a while on a woman in here.

Home Depot was next, as I wanted a couple of things for a car toolbag. They have some “Black Friday” stuff out, so it might be worth a look. A 2x4x8 is still $3.18. They have good stocks of alkaline batteries, but still few lithium other than a normal amount of coin cells and CR123. I saw some deals on Ryobi and Milwaukee tool batteries as well.

Aldi was last. We found everything we wanted, including my preferred 70% chocolate. Staple prices were: eggs: $1.23 (decent increase; I hear the parasites have forced the slaughter of millions more birds); milk: $3.02; heavy cream: $4.69; OJ: $3.19; butter: $2.99; bacon: $4.49; potatoes: $3.49; flour: $1.99; sugar: $3.09; 80% lean ground beef: $4.19.

Untainted (i.e. no ethanol) regular gasoline remains at $3.899 per gallon.

Frugality Tip from Will

Last fall a friend of mine was processing turkeys for thanksgiving and she was overwhelmed and it was taking her far longer than expected. So she sent out a request for help. Having processed hundreds of birds I went over and helped get caught up. When we were done she asked “What do I owe you?” I pointed at her amazing garlic bed she has been growing for years and said a few of those. Well this fall I just planted bulbs I grew this year from that garlic. Not only did this help a fellow homesteader, but I now have a strain of garlic that I know grows here and it cost me nothing. As a bonus being 30 minutes apart if something ever happens to either of our garlic beds we can always help each other get restarted.

Operation Independence

• Holler Repair Project on 2023, an update: Hearth being built this week for woodstove. No more electrical heaters!

Main topic of the Show: People often as WHY – WHY should I go to an event? It costs so much.

Poultry Processing with Joel

• If you missed this class, you made a huge mistake 
• Intro was amazing
• Always something new to learn – I am rewriting my processing book as a result of this class
• Took the fear out of the process
• Met a local farmer who is growing chickens that rival Polyface ones: Hoff the Grid Homestead
• We got praise third hand from Joel saying it was one of the best run classes
  

SRF

• Best Team Ever! Things went so smoothly
• Every. Single. Talk. changed someone’s life. From Joel Ryals Build a Niche Business, to Joel Salatin giving a talk he doesn’t usually give
• More people skipped sessions and that is a good thing
• Integrating art and music because we must balance our creative with our logical
• Connections Session and stories pouring in after about what people are doing to change their lives- And therein lies our differentiator.
• Things are taking their own shape: eg the onsite interview thing that happens, the nightly campfire

TSP

• 1st time ever: no speech, just MCing
• Family Reunion and new people
• Do less
• Steven Reisner’s session on growing plants
• Network of big brothers at a time when things are hard for me = healing

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

• Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv
• Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
• Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
• Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b

Resources

• Membership Sign Up

• Holler Roast Coffee

• Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Direct Download

Today, I am joined by Mary Bryant Shrader from Marysnest.com to talk about from scratch living as well as discuss highlights from her book: The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.

Features Event: Save the Date: LFTN Spring Workshop

Sponsor 1: EMPShield.com: https://bit.ly/3MBBELx, Coupon Code LFTN

Sponsor 2: FreeSteading.com

Show Resources – Find Mary

https://marysnest.com/my-cookbook/

https://marysnest.com 

https://www.youtube.com/marysnest 

Main content of the show

Mary Bryant Shrader, is the founder and host of the Mary’s Nest YouTube channel which has nearly 54 million views and 1 million subscribers all over the world who want to learn traditional cooking skills. She’s also the author of the bestselling The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, a traditional foods lifestyle manual covering bone broths, ferments, sourdough and more.

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

• Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
• Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
• Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b

Advisory Board

• The Booze Whisperer
• The Tactical Redneck
• Chef Brett
• Samantha the Savings Ninja

Resources

• Membership Sign Up

• Holler Roast Coffee

• Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Direct Download

Today I am joined by the Tactical Redneck to have a big picture conversation that was inspired by a house being listed on our little back country road for $519k. What started as a “what if” conversation turned into future visioning. We will also go through some of the stories that have erupted from the homestead over the past two weeks while i was away.

Sponsor 1: HollerRoast.com: https://bit.ly/3oq04OO

Sponsor 2: Harvest Right: https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1095.html 

Forage

• FIrst frost has happened, forage is moving below ground

Livestock

• Baby rabbits
• Ram Story

Homegrown Cooking

• Crockpot meals with preset kits due to construction project
• Using up Green Tomatoes
• When to tap into your canned goods
• Incoming beef and freezer tetris/using things up (Looks like lots of stew around here)

The Great Visioning Talk of 2023

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

• Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
• Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
• Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b

Advisory Board

• The Booze Whisperer
• The Tactical Redneck
• Chef Brett
• Samantha the Savings Ninja

Resources

• Membership Sign Up

• Holler Roast Coffee
• Harvest Right Affiliate Link