Food Security

We have just posted five pages of photos on our website, after being off the BBS for several months. We are reflecting upon and evaluating our total safety and security. Since the hurricanes, we have endured a lot of hardship due to financial collapse of the state, lack of work, rebuilding what had been damaged, health problems, ill in-laws and the list goes on.

 We were building the dome and everything was going very well and quickly, little did we know that our first challenge was the season of storms (Frances and Jeanne) and Wilma - we suffered damage to our outbuildings, equipment for our business, and water damage to our belongings in those buildings. The dome was undamaged.

The next thing we suffered was an economic downswing brought on by the storm damage. It not only affected us, but the majority of our clients. This has lasted more than two years as people tried to rebuild. We weathered this and started moving forward again, rebuilding our business. During this time a life threatening illness almost devastated us. The recovery and rehab over the past two years has been a major challenge to Debbie. Before, we tried to tough out an illness, now we are more aware of infection and its consequences - how fast it can become serious. We have increased our home medical supplies, adding more peroxide, iodine and alcohol to ward off possible infection from daily injuries from construction work around the dome. Preventing infection is easier than treating one.

 Now that she is 85% recovered and walking without any assistance, we are now facing new financial hurdles brought on by the new slowing of the economy, and increased cost of living. We have created a new five year plan for our business which includes more in-house projects, more national (not regional) projects, not relying on outside work completely. Florida's home building market has been in a recession for over two years. Add to that insurance rate hikes, glut of available homes, lack of financing for mortgages, and slowing of growth in the South Florida market. This affects all business in the state, not just ours. Most of our work is real estate films for developments. They are stopping work on many of the new developments that were slated to begin. Furniture sales are down, interior decor has dried up. All these businesses are dependent on real estate. Things might be turning around. We have four real estate development jobs lined up for this summer and fall, as well as our own projects.

There are so many things that make a safe, secure home. We have found that the stress of these problems was almost more than we could take. It makes the recovery and proper handling of the problems more difficult. We have each other to rely on, "It's us against the world". Having our dome makes some of the problems disappear, such as not having to worry about our personal safety in storms. Having a haven to return to each night lets you recharge and rejuvenate.

 We have increased our garden area from just for entertainment to a full scale supplemental garden, and to make it as efficient as we can. We have added 50 hives of honey bees for the pollination as well as the honey benefit. Read about the tax benefit on our website. We will be adding a quarter acre of corn very shortly. Debbie has taken on the challenge to create a long term food storage pantry. She has studied food storage techniques like nitrogen, oxygen absorbers, and dry ice for long term storage of staples. That way you can take advantage of bulk purchasing, sales and avoid price increases like in the evening news. This makes you somewhat immune to commodity fluctuations when you have several years worth of product. Up to now, we have only dealt with stocking up on hurricane supplies every May, for an extra 3-4 week supply of sustenance or snack foods. Most of which you wouldn't eat on a regular basis.  At the beginning of hurricane season, we would inspect the supply finding that most were out of date or spoiled and we'd have to throw it out and start fresh. Hearing about all the natural disasters around the world lately, we think that every one should have a six month supply of staples in their pantry. This will alleviate some of the stress about finding food after a disaster. We weren't in the lines for food and water at the FEMA trucks like our neighbors.

 We purchased food grade 6 gallon buckets for storing flour, rice, beans, salt and sugar. They have special "Gamma" lids that allow entry into the buckets and resealing with a gasket. This keeps moisture and bugs out. We also use a vacuum food sealer for smaller packages in 2 person serving sizes. We label and date everything at the date of purchase, and rotate so that the oldest dated products are eaten first. We have been purchasing larger bulk packages at Sam's and BJ's for the past three months. If you do this over a longer period of time, you can get a little bit every time you go to the store so there is a less immediate financial impact. We chose to do it all at once and have spent a large amount of money stocking our pantry, including the storage containers. We have ordered specialty canned "freeze dried" meats from a company who provides for LDS families (the Mormons do this all year long, eating from their year long stockpile of food). This type of planning is a little time consuming at first, but it will prove very economical in the long run. We have found that they recommend only buying food that you currently eat, don't start experimenting with different cuisine before you've eaten it at home. Stick with basic home cooked meals that you are familiar with and only add extra stuff to the menu that you already like. Get some of the usual supplies like breakfast bars, power bars, etc for days where there might not be power. This goes along way to create peace of mind that your basic needs are provided for in a safe home and food.  Water is more important than food. We have our own well and have also stocked up on 5 gallon water jugs for extra safety. During the storm or disaster the well might not be available. We are adding a wind turbine and solar powered pumps for the drinking water supply as well as our irrigation system. They will operate for free all year long after the initial investment in equipment and batteries, reducing our monthly utility costs. As we build these systems we will post their installation photos.

 These changes we are making to our lifestyle don't make us into survivalists like in the movie Tremors, we just think that it makes sense in these unsettled times, and will help refine our monthly budget for utilities and food without reducing our comfort level. Everyone we have spoken to recently has commented on their plans to do the same thing, tightening your belt does not mean doing without.