Living the Pantry Lifestyle - Thanksgiving week in 2020

I usually love Thanksgiving but as with everything in 2020, it is very different this year.  There is uncertainty in this Holiday season but we can always find a great deal for which to be thankful.

I know friends in places are already experiencing a lockdown and it is beginning to look like that may happen here as the hospitals are getting full again.  The overall new cases have been spiking more than in the Spring.

We have been hoping it does not happen until after Thanksgiving so we can spend it with our son and his family.  There was uncertainty when our daughter-in-law was exposed to COVID but she was wearing a mask and social distancing and so far she is fine. A well known pastor who caught COVID said he is certain it was because he became lax about washing his hands, a good reminder to all of us.

I had a call on Monday that the dentist had an open appointment Wednesday morning.  So, I started antibiotics as soon as I got off the phone (she had already prescribed them) and Wednesday morning, the infected tooth was extracted.

I am so glad to have that done, it was worth spending part of the week on the sofa and being on antibiotics again for a full ten days.  My gums are still sore but none of the possible side effects occurred, thank God!

I went to the grocery store briefly on Friday morning and the only nearly empty shelves were where you would expect, like the paper goods aisle. There are limitations on a lot of items, not only paper goods. I use inexpensive white bread to make my dressing and when I bought the Meijer brand on Friday morning, there was a 2 per person limit on it already.

I purchase fresh cranberries each year for the deep freeze and Aldi had them for only 99 cents a bag with no limits. I bought three bags, dropped the three bags into a gallon size Ziploc bag, and took them out to the deep freeze.  It's pretty obvious what they are so I didn't even have to label the bag.

I will buy three more packages while they are available to use during the year. They freeze very well and they are unavailable around here after the Holidays.  I bake orange-cranberry bread and pumpkin bread all year.

It looks like the Christmas season will be very different than in past years but the gift of baked goods are always welcome.  Perhaps more so now is comfort food appreciated.  Especially those that are familiar to our friends and family.

I've been asked before as to what are some of my favorite preparedness type gifts to give.  I'd say mostly those that I find important in my own home.  Below are just a few of my very favorite items that are reasonably priced for gift giving (or your own use).

Mentioned in this Blog Post

Favorite Emergency Lighting Items

My favorite battery operated lanterns... here and here.  They are the same except for how bright they can get.  They are surprisingly sturdy and although they are small, they both provide good light when needed.  I keep one next to the garage door, too.

These are especially good when you do not want any open flames from candles.  I have given one of these lanterns to a family member who loves to camp as a Christmas gift, too.

My favorite flashlight... here.  I bought my first MagLite almost seven years ago and it has proven invaluable over the years.  It is very sturdy (after being dropped a few times!) and provides great light when needed.

Favorite Gardening Tool

This soil knife was my very favorite gardening tool besides an old hoe (which broke eventually).  My husband kept "borrowing" it and now that I no longer garden, he uses it for lawn and landscape maintenance. This tool has taken abuse and lasted for a very long time!  More info... here.

Favorite preparedness books

I have two different nonfiction books that are both excellent, according to what you need right now.  Also, a well known fiction series from a Christian perspective that a lot of people find helpful.

Dare to Prepare is the best extensive preparedness book I know.  It is a huge book with a lot of information (and photos).  Stan and Holly have been experts in preparedness for decades and I believe this is the latest edition of their book... here.   

Survival Mom is my favorite everyday smaller preparedness book.  It reads easily and offers basic information in a way that anyone new to preparing for the unexpected would appreciate.  Info... here.

Last Light by Terri Blackstock is the first of four novels in her Restoration Series about what happens in a specific family and a community when the electricity fails.   This is one of my husband's favorite series of books.  I've heard many people started thinking about the "what if's" after reading this series.  Info... here.

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