Prepping?

As I am reading lots of blogs for the blogathon, I am wondering what prepping is. I wonder what the difference is between preparing for disaster and preparing for the end of the world as we know it. You need the same skills for both, as both are disasters of some sort. The disaster usually has an end and the end of society will not. Stock piling food and learning skills like canning, sewing, gardening, first aid, and bartering will get you through a disaster like a flood, fire, or tornado. Learning how society works will serve you better in the event a societal disaster strikes, it is important to know how people work together to serve a common goal.

Cats

We have 6 cats in a condo upstairs. They like to jump on the upstairs patio railing and watch the birds. During the summer, it is too hot for them outside, so they tend to get into mischief inside.
We have 2 sets of 3 siblings. The first set all look alike, one has golden highlights (Golden), and one has black highlights (Live Wire), and one is big (Little Bit) so we can tell them apart. They were given to me by my sister. The second set we found in the street at Nana's house. They all look different. One is calico (Sultan), one black and white (Shadow) and one grey stripped and white(Tiger). They all have white paws and noses.
Tiger loves to tear up paper. Any paper laying about is sure to have teeth marks on it sooner or later.
We also have two love birds, Toby and Tuppance. They are from my mother. They love to shred paper as well. The cats like to look at them. The birds fight back and bite any paw or nose that comes close to the cage.
We had a 5 minute shower today, very hard rain. Then sunny day again. It has clouded up again and we are supposed to have 100% chance of rain at 8 pm. We will see, the weather men are often wrong.

Monetary Systems

I have been reading different books and they all have different monetary systems. It is interesting to think about. Everyone needs a system to exchange goods and services even if they don't use paper or coin money. A system of credits can be used but it is hard to track without using something physical. If everyone had a hand held device, credits could be tracked by computer. Thus doing away with physical pieces of money. We almost do this now with debit cards, not everyone even accepts cash anymore.
Only half an inch of rain in our area. My grandmother, Nana, lives 15 miles to the south west and she received an extra 3/4 inch last Thursday.

Weather

It is monsoon season here in Arizona. It is not raining yet. We have had a 'trace' so far. Areas around here have had some rain, but not in Tucson proper yet.

It has been cloudy most days. Yesterday, I was at work and we had a huge grey cloud overhead with lightening and thunder and two drops of rain. Just enough to mess up the dust on your windshield.

We keep watering the yard. Hopefully soon the rains will come and we can see some proper growth. Lots of plants need a rain to fully put out new growth, watering from a can is just not enough. There must be some minerals let loose from the ground when it rains.

We did have 7 inches over the winter and the weeds are horrendous. Most of them have died by now because of the heat, but we still have some hanger-oners.

It was 109 the other day. Very warm. Keeping cool in the house mostly. Of course, the electric bill is very high.

See you soon.

Yosemite pictures

One of the Falls
Merced River
Wayne in the Water
Half Dome from Glacier Point
Fallen Monarch (Mariposa Grove, Sequoia)
We had a good trip. Wayne got in the water twice. I walked in with my clothes on, just past my knees. Very cold water. There was still snow in the high country.

New Diet

W. was attacked by his sister on our vacation about his weight and so has decided to go on a diet. We went out yesterday and got him fruit and vegetables. He has chosen to eat less, one sandwich instead of two. He goes out to water the yard and has a one gallon jug he carries with water to each plant. He wants to lose 3 pounds a month, which should be doable as doctors advise no more than 1 pound a week. He may have to pick the exercise more as he loses some because he loves to eat. He tends to snack, so we got him tomatoes, melons, grapes, and cherries to eat instead of pretzels and candy bars. I also got squash as he loves to eat it.

I need to lose a couple of pounds as well but have not figured out what I can eat that won't hurt my stomach yet. I can eat some things one time but at other times the same item causes pain. I am still finding my way.

4th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July. I had to work of course as it was Sunday. At least I didn't have to open or answer phones.
I will post some pictures of our vacation when the photos come back on Saturday. I take them to Walmart to be developed with a CD archive disc.
W. spent the day napping as it is hot and he doesn't have a hobby. We planted some agave, aloe and other succulents in the common area at our condo and he takes care of them, picking up leaves from the tree and watering. We have some accent solar walk lights amongst the rocks and plants. It looks very nice.

First Post

My name is Tanya and I have wanted to have a place called Acre Island since I was young. I am hoping to eventually have a homestead/sanctuary where I can have a garden, raise animals, and provide sanctuary for homeless individuals (either animal or human). I already have a great plan, it just needs a location to finalize the details.
I have a partner named W. who is more interested in travel right now, so it might be awhile till I get my sanctuary. He is retired while I am still working.
We both love the water so a water feature will definitely be part of the plan.
Plans to visit Arkansas are in the works for September.
We visited Oregon last year and Washington state the year before and while they are both great locations, nothing struck us as perfect yet.
We still have lots of time as both of us are in good health.