This is catalogged under "Books recommended" (like "DUH")

I realize it's getting fairly late for this but:

The FIRST book you need to READ (not necessarily the first one you need to BUY) is Carla Emery's "Encyclopedia of Country Living". It is about 30 bucks but is worth about 3 years in agony. My bride and I have been reading our new copy for about 4 days, now, and have NOT picked it up without learning or RE-learning SOMETHING! We BOTH are fairly countrified, having grown up in small towns, with her being a true farm girl. STILL, it is very good reading, and neither of us has found anything we have a problem with. (My bride keeps saying, "Yup, that's right" as she is reading, LOL)

Chuck the night driver, who hails froma town where the cows out number the people, in Central NY.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), July 13, 1999

Answers

Read the Red Cross First Aid Manual.

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), July 13, 1999.

Another vote for Carla. The "bible" for preparations. A MUST have book. We've more than saved the cost of the book from the home made soap recipes. If you anticipate gardens, animals, or rural living in your future you cannot afford not to have Carla.

The second MUST have is Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson Kearny. See another extant thread about grinders for an excerpt. I recommend this not because of the Nuc aspects but the general "how to live off very little" aspects.

-Greybear

-- Got Reading Glasses?

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), July 13, 1999.

Yes, I love Carla's book - I am lucky to have a treasured gift from an elderly friend - an early edition with multicolored pages, many typos, etc! I have read it several times (probably) though in bits and pieces.

Folks, when I think about how far my family has come with preps and striving for a simpler lifestyle (ie: goats, chickens, composting, etc.) and the peace of mind (not to mention family closeness) that comes with it I smile. I have always leaned towards the "homesteader" mindset. I read somewhere recently (I think it was a Michael Reynolds "Earthship" book) a recommendation that we live in an area directly impacted by our living activities (my paraphrasing - lousy memory for direct quotes) - this makes us act more responsibly. For example, we stopped garbage service for the summer (I realize this is not practical for some), composting everything possible, burning in barrel the combustibles not easily composted and finally recycling aluminum and plastic and reducing the actual disposables (junk plastic packages and cans because there is no place I have found which accepts steel cans yet) to maybe 1 30 gal. can per month. Before this they were hauling away a huge toter full each week.

This kind of living really makes you aware of the impacts of our actions. Food is not wasted here (unless you count that which contributes to my carrying around 20 extra pounds as fat!). We eat less meat because we try to get by mostly on home- raised chickens - When you have to raise and butcher your food, you tend to eat less and the activities surrounding the production tend to keep us in better shape as well. Of course if I wanted to be more efficient I would go vegan but my hubby won't go that far....sigh...

Sorry to ramble.......too much coffee!

-- Kristi (securx@succeed.net), July 13, 1999.

I also have Carla's book. Its the best!

If you only buy one 'how to' book....this should be the one.

-- bulldog (sniffin@around.com), July 13, 1999.

Hey, Chuck!

I thought you were the one who recommended Carla last year when I bought it! Ain't it great? We are still discussing goats vs. cows here, but with Carla by my side I've kept 14 chickens and a few ducks alive for much longer than I thought I could. I also tapped our two maple trees this spring and got about a gallon of syrup (worth the trouble, believe me!). Not to mention the woodstove adventure.

I've just started a subscription to the Countryside Magazine and Small Stock Journal; excellent publication. Comes out every two months, and has tons of useful articles. Check out the site at

http://www.countrysidemagazine.com

Carla's fans will like it, I think!

-- Arewyn (isitthatlate@lready.com), July 13, 1999.

Here's another vote for Carla's book. Her website is:

www.carlaemery.com

-- walt (longyear@shentel.net), July 13, 1999.

I've got a recent edition of Carla's book, as well as my mom's multi-colored mimeographed original & updated flyers from the seventies.

Many lessons instilled in my bones have come from old timers, from all corners. Now is the time to strike up conversations. We are the link between the past and the future, whether we like it or not.

On another level, what do you believe is the thing of value that you can transmit, from the past, to the future?

-- flora (***@__._), July 13, 1999.

Good question flora! I believe the answer is ethics and values. The study of twins done by the University of MN concluded that we are born with our personalities, but we are taught ethics. Guess that bit of common sense won't be translated to the public school's curriculum, since it is a politically incorrect concept.

-- Mumsie (Shezdremn@aol.com), July 14, 1999.

Ninth - Edition
Carla Emery
An old Fashioned Recipe Book
The Encyclopedia of Country Living
Practical advice, invaluable information, and collected wisdom for folks and farmers in the country city and anywhere in between. Includes how to cultivate a garden, buy land, bake bread, raise farm animals, make sausage, can peaches, milk a goat, grow herbs, churn butter, build a chicken coop, catch a pig, cook on a wood stove, and much, much more.

-- rb (ronbanks_2000@yahoo.com), July 14, 1999.

The URL for Countryside Magazine is:

-- Gypsy (GypsiGold@aol.com), July 14, 1999.

Excuse, please! 8^0

Got ahead of myself pushing buttons!

Countryside

-- Gypsy (GypsiGold@aol.com), July 14, 1999.

Type once, read twice!

I can get this right!

GypsiGold@aol.com), July 14, 1999.

8^(

OK, so I can't get it right...

URL = http://www.countrysidemag.com

-- Gypsi (GypsiGold@aol.com), July 14, 1999.