In the middle of all the big, ugly things going on in the world, and perhaps in our personal lives too, I just want to take a minute to talk about the little things.

Some folks will find this silly, and that's okay. I'm fine with that.

I've been doing a lot of work inside my home, getting prepped and set up to settle in for a while. This past week I thought, "I really need to get outside and get some fresh air." I had been neglecting going for long walks because of Bella's health but honestly, it was also because of the stressful situations I've been dealing with, too.

Isn't it funny how the things that would be the best for us are the things we have the most trouble doing during hard times?

Anyway, I found a little trail that's about a mile and a half and started walking it once a day this week. Next week, we'll bump that up to 2x a day. Not only does being outside help my state of mind, but so too does bringing home little found objects from nature and taking photographs. I've found that when I look at the world through a lens, I am much more likely to see the beauty. This week, my treasures included a teeny tiny acorn and a hunk of quartz with silver flecks in it.

The weather here has been much nicer and I've spent more time just sitting outside enjoying my patio and the fresh veggies and herbs it's bringing me.

I also got a new knife this week, which is, of course, always cause for celebration. This one is a Kershaw chive with a speed-assist opening. I got it from my buddy Terry Trahan's online store, Cutting Edge Blades. This one is tiny and the perfect size to clip into my bra. (It's a great place for ladies to carry a knife on their person.) And...it's pink and I really do love pink.

Take a breath and enjoy some little things this week.

The book we're highlighting this weekend is The Seasonal Kitchen Companion. This 115-page PDF is an honest-to-goodness look at how my family really eats.

It has recipes and preservation instructions for every garden goody from asparagus right on through to pumpkins.

We are continuing to let you Name Your Price so that everyone has the opportunity to afford this book. If you can't afford much, that's okay. If you want to add some extra to support the website, that's also awesome. 😊 I hope you enjoy the book!

Where do we even start with discussing the state of the world right now?

It seems like things are imploding across the globe, not that the mainstream media is covering a lot of it. Everywhere, there are protests as governments try to enforce draconian rules to force citizens to comply with vaccine mandates. Australia, France, the United States, Canada...all hell is breaking loose but you'll never see it on TV.

The thing a lot of folks don't realize is the issue for many is not the vaccine. It's the force. It's the government putting its nose in their personal medical decisions. I bet a lot of folks protesting this are perfectly fine with getting vaccinated but they don't want to be forced to do it or prove it.

Meanwhile, an already struggling medical system is getting hit hard with lack of staff. Healthcare workers who have been busting their tails for almost two years now in terrible working conditions watching death after death have had enough. When they were told, get vaxxed or lose your job, a heck of a lot of them said, "shove it" and walked out. Just look at this page. Tons of reports, but none are combined to say how many workers across the country are quitting or protesting.

The downside to this for the rest of us is that healthcare is becoming hard to come by in many places. Some hospitals in NY are no longer delivering babies because they don't have maternity staff. One man died of heart failure 200 miles from home after driving from hospital to hospital seeking care, only to be turned away from FORTY THREE HOSPITALS due to staffing shortages.

Do not expect this problem to go away. I had two personal friends affected by this healthcare shortage with long waits. One waited 6 hours for assessment in an ER only to have an emergency appendectomy AS his appendix was rupturing. Another waited for hours because her son was showing signs of sepsis, only to be told that they didn't have anyone to take blood to confirm sepsis. She attempted to get help from her family practitioner, who couldn't see the child for several days, and finally managed to get a friend who was a psychiatrist to order blood work at a private lab. Both of these were potentially deadly crises and neither was in a podunk town or an enormous city. This can and will happen everywhere. Make sure that you are as medically prepared as possible.

Here are some articles and videos for you:

Sky-high natural gas prices and low stockpiles mean that Europe had better hope for mild temperatures.
It's one thing to be armed, but would you know what to do if an attacker was in contact with your loved one? This article is filled with great advice.
Here’s the story of how some self-appointed vaccine/mask enforcer dude at Target got his pointy finger broken. Not really but I sure wouldn't take kindly to his gestures or behavior if I was that shopper.
When to Get Cheap Prepping Supplies (and When to Splurge)
That moment in 2021 when a scantily clad rapper with exceptionally large assets is the most logical person on Twitter and gets viciously attacked for the audacity of suggesting we think for ourselves.
Senator Rand Paul Deserves Credit for Questioning Authority
The Best (and Worst) Survival Shows on TV
Russell Brand accuses CNN's Don Lemon of "Vaccine Apartheid" and it's glorious.
Welp, there goes that retirement plan. The Italian government ordered companies NOT TO PAY unvaccinated employees.
President Biden admits there are 'some things he could have done better" and (chillingly) promises that the country "will be in a different place by the end of the year." I'll bet it will, Mr. President. He's literally the worst president of my lifetime.

Just WOW.