Good morning, my friends! I hope that the arctic blast is over for you as it is over here in North Carolina. The weather has been positively balmy in the latter part of the week - between 60-70 each day. The downside of this is the humidity. I have my windows open for some glorious fresh air, and a cardboard box that sits near the door with supplies for my daughter's dog feels unpleasantly soft, almost soggy, even though it's never been wet. If it was hot weather, it would be utterly miserable to face this level of humidity. Fortunately, the temperature is pleasant, so I'm trying to look at it as a moisturizing skin treatment. Perspective, right?

Speaking of perspective, I got an audiobook recommended by Fabian in this article recently, and it has been an absolute game-changer for me. The Obstacle Is the Way is all about shifting one's perspective to find the opportunity in every hardship. It really hit home for me as I face possibly another entire year of recovery from the ankle injury.

The lesson I took away from the book is this: I have two options.

I can sit here and feel sorry for myself, eat junk food, binge-watch TV from the moment I finish work until I go to bed, and become depressed, miserable, and unhealthy.

I can take this opportunity to do the things I've been talking about doing for years (writing a novel, starting a side business). If I have to sit at home 99% of the time and can't be up doing things, then I can occupy my time by accomplishing things that I never previously had the time or focus to do.

The Obstacle (my ankle injury) is the way (the time to write a book, uninterrupted by errands and outings.)

Of course, it still sucks to be in this situation - I'm not that much of a Pollyanna. But by seeing this opportunity, I feel so much more positive, and positivity is so much better than being in a foul funk.

You got to see the first fruit of my Obstacle/Way on yesterday's Saturday Shenanigans. I finally got the initial chapters of my story, loosely named The Widow in the Woods, revised and ready for reading. Posting it up there helps me by keeping me accountable - you guys overwhelmingly asked for more. (Thank you!) So, I can't just drop Grace's story. It must be written. Plus, I had a couple of people point out some issues I needed to fix - that is SO helpful to have you guys as a team of content editors! If you see something that seems incorrect, please tell me so I can fix it in the final draft!

Another thing I've done is start a small side project. I need to pay for some things that my insurance doesn't cover related to my ankle, and that means I need a stream of income not related to the website and it's expenses. I'm excited to introduce the American Dreamer Book Company. I'm making puzzles for folks like us, in particular, word search puzzles. (I'm going to learn to make other types of puzzles as time goes on, but I'm starting with this.) My first one just dropped this morning! It's called Doomsday Dictionary Dive Word Search Puzzles for Preppers. I'll be making puzzles about American history, beautiful places in our nation, and other topics that are the things that make our country great. You won't find any woke stuff in my puzzle books! I am working to create a positive, pro-America puzzle business for those of us who are patriotic and nostalgic for the way things used to be. I'm keeping the prices low, too. If you grab a copy, PLEASE do me the favor of a five-star review on Amazon! :) I want to move this up the charts!

So, that's what I've been up to over here in my cozy apartment while waiting things out. I feel mentally a lot better because I feel my normal optimism coming back. Writing is a joy for me, and I'd let it become a chore.

More than ever, I see how everything in life is about perspective. When things you didn't choose happen, you can still choose how you look at your situation. And that's a game-changer.

Having something to eat isn't guaranteed.

We're facing threats to our food supply from many different angles: supply chain breakdowns, drought, food facilities being ravaged by fires, skyrocketing inflation, and outright shortages. No longer can we live in the comfort of unthreatened abundance. We're learning exactly how delicate the system really is.

Prepping and putting back supplies is incredibly important but what we're seeing now goes beyond that. You have to be able to produce and acquire more food. You have to be able to put back your harvests to eat during the winter. You have to be able to prepare items that once were as convenient as popping open a can or little plastic container.

You need a paperback copy of How to Feed Your Family No Matter What, our Organic Prepper anthology with ALL of our content about food. You'll get more than 500 pages of content that are all about food when you can't just go to the store and buy whatever you want.