Story Survival of the Not So Fittest
- Thread starter Kathy in FL
- Start date
Nope. This is NOT your fault. It is the asshat that chose to steal my intellectual property, and then chose to double and triple down that is responsible. Seeing it and letting me know was thoughtful and helpful.
No. Someone stole a couple of my unfinished books and turned them into audio books to monetize a channel on youtube. That was my initial proof that it was my work and not the person they claimed was the author ... which they changed the name of twice between a website and the youtube channel. And then on top of that to find out the owner of the youtube channel is someone else again claiming ownership for "producing" the audiobook.
It's all very convoluted and I've caught them and documented multiple lies so it's just like anything else. Buncha BS that has to be untangled before it can be resolved.
sssarawolf
We're just plugging along.
So sorry that this happened to you, more butt heads doing bad things. 
Part 102
Cade took a chill in October, and I used up a lot of my pre-made chicken broth trying to get him through it.
“Cade, please don’t. Your fever was up again last night.”
He turned and looked at me and then grumbled a bit but didn’t go out onto the porch. I brought him a mug of rose hip tea doctored liberally with honey.
He sighed. “Two steps forward, three steps back.”
“No. Two steps forward but only one back. You aren’t coughing like you were.”
He looked at me and then shook his head. “You and your rose-colored glasses.”
“Rose-colored glasses are the last thing I have. You’re just being a man and getting tired of being sick.”
“I’m tired of being weak.”
“You aren’t being …” was saying as I passed by between chores in the kitchen. He startled me by reaching out and grabbing my arm.
“If I promise not to sneeze on you … will you … will you come stay with me tonight?”
“Uh …”
“Just … stay with me. I’m not asking for anything else. I’m not fit for anything else. The girls keep asking why if we’re married we don’t sleep in the same room.”
I cleared my throat. “Stop worrying it to pieces Cade. You’ve needed time to … to process everything.”
“I’m tired of processing. Just … stay with me. Try it out. If you don’t like …”
“All right,” I conceded to stop him from talking it to death. “But I’m told I snore so you can’t say I’m not giving you fair warning.”
Eden came in carrying the latest bucket of acorns to wash in the sink. “She does. Sometimes. Just put your pillow over her face. It usually stops her.”
I love my sister, I do, but there are days I’m convinced she is proof that you should be careful what you pray for. I always ask for patience and sure enough Eden knows just how to test mine.
# # # # # # # # # #
It took time but I’ve moved from the rocking chair into sleeping in the same bed as Cade. That’s about as “married” as we’ve gotten. He’s still frail – the chill in October hasn’t helped – but he’s so much better than he was. And the physical closeness, embarrassing and difficult at first, is now the one thing that is guaranteed to encourage me to put my work aside at night and rest. He doesn’t even seem to mind my insulin pump ticking or the alarms it makes at inconvenient times. Thankfully he seems to sleep through it most of the time. And I’m sleeping better as well.
I’ve needed the rest. We’ve collected as many acorns as possible to find storage space for. I taught Cindy how to roast acorns to make a coffee substitute. They’ve all taken to drinking it and the practice has spread like wildfire. I also showed Rebecca McKinney how to do it after she admitted that coffee was about the only thing she was capable of in the kitchen. The next time she was by she admitted, rather embarrassed, that a couple of men have taken to following her around just on the off chance she has a cup to spare.
“I hope you find someone to spend some time with, but I also hope they want to be with you for something besides a cup of acorn coffee.”
She laughed at that and told me I had a granny woman in me. At least she laughed. There doesn’t sound like there is a lot of reason to with things being the way they are in town. Some kind of virus made its way around the hospital and a lot of people didn’t survive it. Antibiotics are in short supply, so the worst cases had to be triaged. They’ve also now instituted strict protocols and anyone that shows signs of illness cannot come into the hospital and staff on duty must wear masks. The masks aren’t to keep them from getting sick, but to try and prevent getting the patients sick from staff coughs or sneezes.
The story got out into what remains of the national media, and “someone” used it for all they could to make the military look criminally incompetent and liable for the deaths. Then someone else turned the story on its head and made the feds look bad for withholding medical resources and shutting down most of the medical manufacturing that we had in this country. In the process of that, several “spies” were found in town and there were tribunals, and the consequences will hopefully discourage that sort of thing. God help me but I couldn’t find much sympathy when I found out that those that were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt were publicly hanged. Rebecca shared that part with Cade privately and then he shared it with me as a cautionary tale not to trust some of the people that might be trading at the Millhouse farm. Not that I do, but he had a point. You never know about people.
One of the “nerd brigade” as Rebecca calls them figured out an easy method for producing bleach[1] and it has become a common practice at most military hospitals. They’ve done some testing and apparently it is a viable solution to a shortage that was becoming dangerous. Rebecca brought me the instructions, but I don’t have the salt to spend on it, not to mention I still have bottles of bleach tablets to use. The military bases in Florida are now producing and exporting bleach to any base that cannot make their own since their access to saltwater is an easy acquisition.
Rebecca traded me a jug of bleach for a few pounds of peanuts that she took to her father for his birthday. Things are better for her, but I doubt she’ll ever be totally comfortable there. She mainly goes to put flowers on her husband’s grave. I don’t know when or if she’ll ever get over her grief. I just told her not to do what Dad did. That you could grieve, but don’t do it to the exclusion of living.
October’s garden was a repetition of September’s. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I meant it was a blessing. The only thing left in the orchard were apples and canning pears. Out in the woods we added firethorn berries, hawthorn berries, spice bush berries, fox grapes, and prickly pears. Hen of the Woods was our mushroom. I decided against gathering beauty berries this year as it takes too much sugar to make them worth the trouble. Besides, I had plenty of the jelly left from last year. Kudzu, chickweed, and nettle were our primary greens though all of them were getting to the leggy or tough stage and past their prime. I gathered dried drupes from the red sumac for seasoning and for making a tart drink. And we gathered pecans and hickory nuts by the bushel baskets as well as the last of the chestnuts.
Yes, we are squirrels. I feel a driving need. It hasn’t been a year and I’ve made a noticeable dent in all of the items that I had stocked in the last couple of years. There is currently no way to replace those supplies. When I called this time the starving time, I wasn’t being facetious. No matter how much the military tries to help, there are some that simply can’t cope and adapt … and some who simply won’t.
Those calling themselves the federal government control the bread basket of the country. They spread stories claiming the military is attempting a coup. I suppose in one sense they are but in another they are actually defending the Constitution and this country and the people that live here from those that have taken over two of the branches of government and destroyed the third. The Judicial Branch no longer exists in the form it once was. Now the federal government tries to pass off Sharia-like law as the law of the land. They don’t even bother hiding it as much either.
The military is as strangled for supplies at the rest of us. The few times they tried to wrest food locations and supply lines from the federal troops they were disgusted to find that those troops took a “if we can’t have them then no one can” mentality, sometimes poisoning entire herds and water sources, burning down food processing plants, blowing up dams, and literally salting fields so they can’t be used next season.
The only hope on the horizon, a bleak one though it is, is that the federal troops (and their draftees) now appear to be fighting on more than one front. The US used to provide a staggering amount of food exports to the world. Without those exports the world is beginning to starve. The world is looking for someone to blame and a way to return to the way things used to be. The support that the federal government had once enjoyed is deteriorating … at home and abroad. Not only can we not export food, we cannot buy the things that other countries produce to pay for that food.
I’ve overheard Rebecca and Cade talking when they didn’t know I was near. They think a toppling point is coming. The problem is, as weak as our country as a whole is, will we survive the fall.
[1] How To Make Bleach From Scratch
Jeepcats27
Senior Member
It sounds like the calm before the new storm! thank you for this chapter. I never knew you could make your own bleach! wow, I'm very lucky today! I keep browsing and check the story right before I sign off and hit the jackpot!
sssarawolf
We're just plugging along.
Thank you very much this morning.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
You can buy small kits on Amazon that likely would be easy to run on solar.
Part 103
I ran up the stairs. Cade had finally agreed that he might have overexerted himself yesterday and agreed to lie down to head off the chills he’d been feeling. Cooler weather was now a day-to-day reality, and he hadn’t built up much real body fat yet. I hated to disturb him, but it was a necessity.
He must have heard me running as he was already sitting up. “Cade?!”
“Hmph? One of the kids hurt?”
“No.” I held out the radio at the same time it started to repeat the message that had put me on the run.
WE INTERRUPT ALL PROGRAMMING; THIS IS A NATIONAL EMERGENCY. IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS WILL FOLLOW.
“How long has it been playing this?” he asked trying to put a flannel shirt on over his t-shirt.
Without thinking I helped as I explained, “I had just come in with the last load of brick top and oyster mushrooms we are going to get since this December is colder than last. I was doing as you suggested … having Ethan move some of the ammunition into the basement area for quicker retrieval … and there were these emergency beeps. I thought at first it was the metal ladder causing the radio to make a feedback noise …”
“Eve …” He stilled my shaking hands. “Just tell me.”
I took a breath and forced myself to stop blathering like an idiot. “Three times. Once on the ladder. Once on my way in the house. Now this time and …”
And that’s when the radio did it again, only this time …
WE INTERRUPT ALL PROGRAMMING; THIS IS AN EMERGENCY ACTION NOTIFICATION. MULTIPLE NUCLEAR DEVICES HAVE BEEN DETONATED IN THE US TERRITORIES. MARTIAL LAW HAS BEEN DECLARED BY THE COUNCIL OF CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES. DURING THIS EMERGENCY AND AT ALL TIMES YOU WILL OBEY THE FEDERAL FIGHTERS AS THEY REPRESENT THE STATE AND YOUR INTERESTS. EXPECT ADDITIONAL DECREES TO FOLLOW.
I looked at Cade in confusion. “Who is the Council of Congressional Representatives? And what is this decree business? Is this a joke?”
“I … don’t think so. I don’t know what it is just yet, but it isn’t a joke. Listen to me Eve. I need you and the kids to move all the food and similar supplies to the basement storage areas. At the same time, we need to make sure all the water containers are filled, especially the big water storage tank down there. But leave space in the tank in case of a freeze.”
“Cade?” I was frightened all over again.
“This is just in case.”
I knew my duty and responsibility. I girded my loins and said, “Will you listen to the radio? The big one?”
He ground out in frustration, “I should help.”
“You’ll best use your talents figuring out which direction crazy is going to jump.”
And that’s the way it went. We hadn’t practiced a “Just In Case” drill in a while but it was ingrained enough that it didn’t take the kids long to get going and be organized with their movements. We already kept most food down in the basement, even all the forage from November and December that I hadn’t had time to process yet including buckets of acorns and black walnuts, but for convenience I’d let too much accumulate in the kitchen pantry again. Thankfully I’d already moved all the jars of things like chickweed, burdock root, and what had come out of the garden in October that I’d finally gotten around to preserving to keep the jars from shattering in the cold. It was all neatly stored and Eden and the younger ones carted down things what remained in baskets and tins while Esther and I put it on the shelves where it made the most sense and fit. Elijah and Ezra filled all the water containers from the handpump to keep from depleting the inside water tanks. Some would stay upstairs in the insulated pantry but most would sit in the basement any place they could be tucked. Ethan continued to move more ammo into the house to be carted down to the basement after double checking to make sure all the outbuildings were locked down tight.
“Elijah, keep the dogs on their leashes or put them in their crate,” I said nearly snapping after all but tripping over first Remus, then Lupin. “Better yet, put their leashes on and take them for a potty break, then put them in their crate, and then use the dolly to bring their barrel of kibble inside. Ethan and Ezra will move it down to the basement after everything else gets done.” There was enough left that I wasn’t too worried about what the dogs would eat if we had to hide out in the house for an extended period of time. They’d been eating mostly squirrel and rabbit to keep them out of the gardens … the dogs and the varmints.
After food and water came the bedrooms. We’d all moved upstairs but thankfully keeping things neat and not having very much to pack that wasn’t already down in their personal spaces in the basement helped immensely with speed. They still kept their most precious possessions in their backpacks and those and their clothes took up residence in the sleeping area. After that came the open cleaning supply containers and then I gave directions for a few other things to be taken down to the basement for comfort … extra bedding, pillows, some of the brick-a-brack that I’d put out though honestly most of it was still in the attic waiting on me to do something with. I’d planned on using any enforced time inside this winter to do it. So much for procrastination.
After packing up what had become “our” bedroom I went to check on Cade again only to find he wasn’t in my old room. The radio was dark and the light from outside was growing dim as well. I saw the door to the attic was open and went to go check who was in there. Cade was in the sunroom area looking out the big window towards town.
“Cade?”
“Come look.”
I walked over quickly and saw smoke. “Oh no. You don’t think …?!”
“No. My guess is the military took the gloves off with the compound my former captors had built on the grounds of the university. Last time she was here Rebecca mentioned the military’s contractors were clearing a fire break around the area because they weren’t letting any inspectors in and there were rumors they were trying to create munitions.”
“Bombs?!”
Calmly he answered, “And similar … probably just small stuff but you never know. For sure there were satellite images of something going on. I doubt any fire will spread beyond the breaks, but it could mean there is street fighting taking place.”
“Have … have you heard anything else about where the bombs fell?”
“I doubt they were dropped. Probably small suitcase type devices. And right now, there’s no proof beyond the EAS announcements that they happened at all.” When he saw he’d confused me he explained, “No independent verification. A lot of noise asking for verification on some of the stations, but no one has actually said they saw or heard anything.”
“Why would anyone lie about something like that?!”
“To create fear and to make a move towards more control. You asked who the Council of Congressional Representatives were. My guess is that it is a militant part of Congress and they are making a play to take over. The other possibility is that a foreign entity has attacked the US and they are using that as their distraction.”
“So … so the bombs, or suitcases, could be real.”
“Plan for the worst, hope for the best, and pray unceasingly.” I shivered like someone just walked across my grave.
RememberGoliad
Veteran Member
Kyr is talking about one similar to this bleach generator that I whistled up a few months ago. Have used it one time to prove it out, then bought a 2nd one. Now that I think about it, probably should throw another one or two in the buggy as the wallet allows.
As to KB's wondering, seems 5v at 1amp will run this thing. I'll attach pics of the little instruction manual and the spec sheet page of it.
kyrsyan
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Yup. I think I learned about it from you.
sssarawolf
We're just plugging along.
Thank you for another chapter today.
Sandcastle76
Senior Member
I found those last year and purchased three of them…tried one out..it worked and then put one at each hunting camp and have one at home. I thought it was too good to be true, but now I’m just wondering how well made they are and will they last…as they say, “only time will tell” but I remain hopeful.
edited to add… if you know someone in the food service industry / restaurant business and they use chlorine based sanitizer..it is standard for each case of sanitizer to include one or two rolls of test paper … they do have an expiration date but I’ve yet to see any expired ones that did not work/react. Ask them if they have any extra sanitizing solution test strips rolls. They‘re usually laying all around the sink and the prep area.
Last edited:
larry_minn
Senior Member
Do be careful of storage. I don’t know if other oils are a danger. But if brake fluid touches chlorine, in under 2 minutes it causes fire. A fire inspector told me in 80s. Local Police were curious so I brought a tablet, old contaminated brake fluid. Burned rather well. Think of containers leaking. I have old liquid bleach. Need to get rid of this spring. Burn down of areas nothing should grow.
Also chlorine mixes BADLY with many household chemicals, cleaners. As in deadly gas results.
Landcruiser
Senior Member
Ping… someone is outside trying to break into the house…
larry_minn
Senior Member
Sorry, just looking for next chapter. Did not mean to startle anyone. *likely rather unhealthy to surprise that group”
Sorry. Had noro in the house. Still in recovery. You would think our protocols would be suffecient and luckily hubby and i were the only ones to get it. Still has meant massive decom on top of being sick.
gjwandkids
Contributing Member
You take your time and recover. Norovirus is awful.
Jeepcats27
Senior Member
Hope your mother has remained safe!
sssarawolf
We're just plugging along.
Oh just what you needed, NOT.
Yeah, Mom is who we were concerned about the most as far as our personal exposures went but all is well. The noro likely came in on the rent money we counted. We got sick on the same day, no one else we'd interacted with the previous night became ill (three of our kids) from a dinner out together, etc. It had to be some kind of contact that hubby and I shared (mind out of the gutter y'all) and the only intersection was the cash deposit and the master bathroom shower.
brokebronco
Member
Another great story. Better than many of the hardcover editions I have read. I've been in the moar crowd for years.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Money (currency) is absolutely filthy.
Dated a young lady working her way through teacher's college by working a full shift @ ROYAL BANK & she was always sick w/ some sort of cold or cough . . . .
sssarawolf
We're just plugging along.
How's the family doing?
Here, dh is pretty well better but mine is hanging on. This is the fouth week and I sure am tired of feeling like this.
Here, dh is pretty well better but mine is hanging on. This is the fouth week and I sure am tired of feeling like this.
Part 104
Still no proof that any of the reported bombings actually took place. Something is going on, but the military’s intel is not turning into community info. We’ve seen Rebecca only once since the radio announcement took place and all she would say is, “Don’t believe anyone. No one has clean hands.”
It wasn’t one of Cade’s better days and he snapped, “Including you?”
“Maybe. As God as my witness, I’ll never intentionally lie to you, but I may not be able to tell you all I know. I’ve got people standing over me even more than we used to.”
When she was leaving, I brought out a bag of acorn muffins and handed them to her. “You didn’t need to bring God into it. No one needs the added consequences of blaspheming. If you can’t say anything then just do what you always do and say it has been deemed classified, or is confidential, or need to know, or all the other things you’ve said when anyone asked you a question. And I’m sorry about the kids asking, they’ve just been scared. They still think of you as a law enforcement officer even if that isn’t what you are these days.”
She just looked at me and I rolled my eyes upwards … but not where anyone spying with a drone could see.
She snorted and said, “The kids are okay, I just don’t like lying. It sets a bad example. At least you and Cade understand.”
“Cade explained back when he first moved in with our family that there are simply some work-related stuff he … you … anyone really … can’t talk about because that’s the job.”
She grunted and then said, “You didn’t have to.” She lifted the bag in her hand.
“I know. And they are just acorn muffins. No flour or anything these days. But maybe those Food and Nutrition people might get a kick out of them. There should still be plenty of acorns dropping in town … unless y’all have roasted them all for a coffee substitute. Lots of people out here made that mistake. They’re also having to use what acorns are left for animal feed and forage. I hear some are hoping the feral pigs get over whatever disease is running through them. Heard there were some with worms … or maybe it is parasites. The Millhouse family have the contract with the military and they might know more. We don’t keep animals, and I doubt we’ll be able to get hunting licenses and tags this year, what with things the way they are. Unless they’re thinking of letting up on the restrictions. Have you heard? I haven’t seen a forestry ranger to ask and no one else seems to be talking either.”
She grunted again as a non-answer though I could see her biting the inside of her cheek.
“And … look … thanks for coming to see Cade when you can and talking about old and better times. I think it helps with his … you know … issues. His memory seems to be getting better about that stuff though when he starts wondering about people he gets kinda … um … anxious and depressed. I know you said the docs said not to press him on whatever went on during our separation, that some of it may never come back, and I suppose I have to trust what the doctors say, but like I said, thanks.”
“Cade’s like a brother,” she said with shaking her head. “Here’s hoping his physical health doesn’t take another reversal.”
I walked back into the house after she pulled out, to the sound of silence. It concerned me at first until Eden traipsed across the room to say, “Ethan took everyone downstairs so they wouldn’t ask questions about those clankers you were telling. Just explain it to me later. I had to promise to play some music as a reason why the twins and the girls needed to go down there and wait.” She held up some sheet music. “Cade is upstairs wheezing but I don’t think it is a chest cold.”
Well, I took off up the stairs quickly while she went to pacify the younger ones who were a little antsy from having their freedoms once again curtailed. I didn’t see Cade in our bedroom and then went to go look for him in the attic when he nearly scared me into a scream reaching out of my old bedroom and pulling me in.
“I’ve corrupted you,” he said, wheezing.
“It isn’t corruption if we’re married,” I said without thinking.
Cade flops down in the rocker that sat in the corner and his wheezing gets worse. It was then I realized he was laughing, or as close to it as he could come.
“Cade?”
“I’d give a lot to have seen the look on Rebecca’s face just now.”
“Oh. Well. When she first helped you get home, she kept talking about reading between the lines and using some sense. She gave me enough that I just figured, added to what she’s said in the past, that she might be followed and watched … and listened to … due to recent events. She didn’t look under duress, but she’s a careful person and not prone to emoting like some people are. So, just in case, I did what I could to help. The fact that she didn’t stop me tells me that I might be at least a little correct.”
He pulled the puff stool over and asked me to sit. I wanted to hear his thoughts so did.
“You’re probably more right than not. I would have seen it earlier if I hadn’t been having a pity party. Sorry about that,” he added with a caress on my shoulder. “Looking back on some of the things she said … yeah, she’s being watched. And I spotted what I think was a drone from the sunroom but I’m not sure who it belongs to. Though I’m not sure it matters. We all need to be careful about what we say at all times. I’ll talk to the boys about it tonight. You talk to Eden. We’ll do what we can to protect the younger ones.”
“I’ll just frame it that family business is just that and no one else’s business … including people that might be getting nosey. If something isn’t said, then it doesn’t have to be taken back or denied.”
He sighed and I could hear he was getting tired again. Eden and I have talked at length about why it is taking Cade so long to get his health back and we both think that if we had access to more modern medicine, and possibly blood transfusions and better nutritional supplements and things like that, he’d be much further along. But we don’t and he isn’t. I’m worried that he isn’t putting on enough weight and body fat, that could be a real problem when the cold really starts to settle in. Thankfully it isn’t as cold this time as it has been the last two years.
The work of November has slowed down, but only a bit; the relatively warmer weather has extended some of our foraging and harvests. The peanuts have done better than they ever have in the past, even with the deer getting into the outer row. Of course we took the venison as another type of harvest. They’re coming down out of the hills looking for stuff to fatten up on for the winter. I don’t blame them but I have a family to feed. We’ve shot them in the woods – with arrows, not guns – and then waited until nightfall to bring them in and take them to the barn for hanging before processing them. It is a bit gory but clean up is relatively easy with boiling water and scrub brush to put the water into the floor drain in that corner.
It isn’t just because of the drones and satellite watching that we’ve all but confirmed what is going on. I think the neighbors … not the Millhouse family but others up and down the county road … are getting nosey about what other people have. Rebecca also warned that townies and travelers could be going through the area. She didn’t confirm it straight out, but there’s one of those reading between the lines things she’s encouraged since the beginning. Lots of “could”, “maybe”, and “might” affixed to roundabout stories that she neither confirms nor denies tied up with old stories of the work, or people she and Cade used to know. I wondered at that part except if she is overheard she can probably say she is trying to get any information to tie things up with.
I’m a little surprised at the regular wildlife that is showing up in our area. I don’t remember all the turtles that we’ve been seeing the last few months. Each type seem to stake out their own preferred bit of waterway; river, pond, spring, sluggish creek, you name it. Yellow-bellied Pond Sliders, River Coots, Spiny Softshells, Eastern Mud Turtles, Eastern Musk Turtles, Loggerhead Musk Turtles, and the kids have made a sort of pet out of a Box Turtle that Esther found eating her flowers when they were still blooming. We almost had turtle soup over that one until Elijah begged his twin to relent. We also what appears to be a growing population of Gopher Tortoises. I made the mistake of pulling down a vine for the thing so it could reach it and now when I go to that particular patch the silly thing comes running. I’m not saying the tortoise recognizes me or anything like a dog, but it is a bit on the friendly side and must consider me a eating tool or something. I know I shouldn’t get attached, but I suppose I have. I’ve even named it since I think it is male … Beauregard. Yes, I know. Ridiculous. But for some reason it looks like a Beauregard to me.
I’ve been digging sassafras roots again. It has been a while, I don’t think even Ethan remembers it, but our grandmothers used to make a homemade unfermented sarsaparilla drink[1]. Not “beer” because it isn’t fermented but you can add soda water so you get the fizz. I have an old Soda Stream for carbonation, or I can use the seltzer siphon[2], both of which I picked up at an estate sale with the gas chargers that came with both of them. I have lots of old-fashioned soda recipes[3] that are over a hundred years old but not all of them are feasible. I’d love to find a way to make my own soda water without the “gas chargers” of the Soda Stream or seltzer syphon[4]. One of the things I want to do over the winter is start going through all the really old recipe books and instruction manuals that Mom and my grandmothers collected. I also need to go through the really, really, really old recipe collections from before my grandmothers’ time. Winter will be about the only time I have for that sort of thing if this life continues the way it is going. Next year, whether it opens us up to unhealthy curiosity or not, I’m going to have to expand the garden a great deal or risk depleting everything in the pantry that we need for a cushion for just in case. Forage is a necessity, but it isn’t going to be enough to keep the family fed without risking starvation.
[1] Make This Homemade Sassafras Root Beer and Feel Like a Magician
[2] How to Make Soda Water (And Ways to Use it)
[3] Old Fashioned Soda Recipe - Make Authentic Soda Fountain Sodas
[4] How to make carbonated water without a machine? - Chef's Resource