Good morning! I hope you've had a great week and are having a peaceful weekend.

A big change is coming to OP Land. I'm in the process of changing newsletter providers so that I can move to a company that doesn't ever censor content. There will be a week or so with NO EMAILS - but don't despair! I'll be back in your inbox soon.

You may also receive some freebies from the new provider to get content flowing to you. This new service is pretty simple - no photos or other stuff in your messages - but it should be efficient and do everything we need it to do to keep us in touch. I appreciate your patience during this change.

I think it's very important to note that with the tariffs coming into effect, we can expect grocery prices to go up. I've written before that it's a mistake to think everything will magically be perfect once a new president is inaugurated. Great changes have occurred but there are going to be some growing pains. We get a lot of our oil from Canada, which will increase transport costs and gas prices for our own vehicles. Much of our produce comes from Mexico - particularly in the winter, Avocados will be pricey, as well as tomatoes and many fresh fruits.

I'll post an article about this, along with some ways to adapt your shopping to get through the rough spot.

I've noticed something really cool on social media outlets and even some "mainstream" news outlets. Our first lady is being far better treated by the press this time around. People are outwardly admiring her fashion sense and poise. There are all sorts of reels on Instagram showcasing some of her best looks as well as many of her acts of kindness. I'm so glad to see this happening - she seems like a very nice person and never deserved all the hatred she received during Trump's last administration.

Of course, that doesn't mean everyone is suddenly more accepting. Unfortunately, many in the media and the education system are still causing division within our country and between different generations. It's always been this way to some extent - but the ease of accessing media makes it more prevalent now.

All in all, I'm very happy with the direction our country is going right now. I hope that it continues on a positive path.

Have a wonderful week ahead!

Love,
Daisy

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.