DH and I were playing the fun homestead version of "Lifeboan" - what would we want with us if we could never go to the store again. We were discussing what non-self sufficient (we can't make them or provide them ourselves) things we don't want to give up unless we have to. I don't mean the things that you can't do without (needed medication, etc...), just the stuff that matters to you enough to pay the store price, deal with the fact that they are produced in factories you disapprove or, or with ingredients that aren't all that good for you. What luxuries matter most to you? What will you be stocking up on before that big storm? Assume you have milk and eggs, and go for the gusto.

For us: Tea (we aren't coffee drinkers, but a nice cup of earl grey matters a lot.) Citrus fruits (lemon for tea and cookies, limes for salad dressing, oranges for occasional juice) Cheerios (generic is fine, but I have one little kid and another coming, and I don't fancy trying to cut those little holes by hand in oat dough) Vanilla beans (yum) Cold medicine (this is because I'm currently pregnant as nursing a horrible cold, and I keep having fantasies about any drug that would provide some release). Olive Oil (I can't grow it in zone 5, and it just tastes better than most oils to me) Cinnamon (life without pumpkin pie - never!) Pregnancy Tests (Strange, but sometimes you just don't want to wait 2 months to find out) DH wants wasabi powder (yum) and chocolate covered pretzels. I argue that the latter could be made with chocolate chips, but he fears that it would lack the appropriate processed snack food taste. So I know this uses up fossil fuels and costs money, and if I were a good little homesteader, I'd dream of nothing but my own strawberries and cream ;-). But since we've established I'm not, what's on your lists?

Sharon

-- Sharon, soon to be in NY (astyk@brandeis.edu), May 20, 2001

Answers

Hhmmm....tea,for sure,my little packages of stevia,rice cakes,my deep fryer..oh please don't tell anyone but we make the most fabulous won- tons with plum sauce!!!!!Nachos,tacos, and chocolate anything.I ain't goin without my pioneer maid(cookstove)and my clawfoot tub,even if I have to bucket the water;)I am pretty fond of my waterbed actually! And i like buying dogfood in a bag,they tend to eat less chickens when I feed them!!...ttfn

-- teri (mrs_smurf2000@yahoo.ca), May 20, 2001.

Let's see,,I can grow herbs for tea, so, hot chocolate,,if I couldn't grow lemons I would be upset...Another train of thought--- is that I always said if I had to evacuate fast and head for the mountains I would want my chap stick, eyeliners, comb, kleenex, moisturizing lotion and long johns,, along with Bible, a couple good magazines, blanket, sleeping bag and compass.

-- Patsy, MT (cpc-1@care2.com), May 20, 2001.

only 1 thing? my prescription medicines.

life would be pretty dang tough without health, either perfect health or a little bit of help from modern medicine

gene

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), May 21, 2001.

Sharon, E S P R E S S O ! Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

Cappaccino, Internet and toilet paper. We're in a new milennium and up to date self sufficiency need not require reverting to primitive savagery. True,I could live without these, but who would want to live without T.P. And most of us here would agree that the net and your favorite caffiene are a demanding addiction.:>)

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), May 21, 2001.

Deodorant!

-- Ardie from WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

Coffee, NPR public Radio, and indoor plumbing,

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), May 21, 2001.

Sweats, toothbrush, 15 year collection of CS, Dr. Pepper, spices, and of course, toilet paper & tissues.

-- Dianne in Mass (dianne.bone@usa.net), May 21, 2001.

Boxed Wine!!!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

Toilet paper could be exchanged for corn cobs in a pinch, I guess, if we had a source for corncobs. Oh yeah, we would have to have an outhouse for that to work. lol Feminine hygiene products... rags? yuck. I would not want to have to grow flax, cotton and wool, and make my clothes out of them... Now, I can do the sewing if someone else makes the cloth. I would need lye to make soap. Please dont ask me to live without soap. Basic seasonings for cooking, like cinnamon and vanilla, I dont want to do without. I would have to have ammo... what good is a gun if we dont have anything to shoot out of it?

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), May 21, 2001.

Allergy medication, prescription diet for my 18 year old cat, air conditioning, NPR, BIRTH CONTROL!, Coffee, Organic Gardening magazine, Countryside magazine, Wild Earth Journal.

-- debra in ks (solid-dkn@msn.com), May 21, 2001.

oohh!! I forgot the public Library! I'd die without books.

-- debra in ks (solid-dkn@msn.com), May 21, 2001.

Oh the joys of hair conditioner, toilet paper, razor blades and soap. Ever notice how a good bath can wash away all the memories of what a hard day you've had?

-- Cindy (colawson@mindspring.com), May 21, 2001.

Please, out of respect for those of us with weak hearts and spoiled palates, could folks please refrain from using the words "box" and "wine" in the same sentence. :o

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

Box of Wine is almost as bad as Sack-O-Salad that stores sell!!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

Hot pressurized water.

The hot shower is THE hallmark of civilization.

Give me a couple of years and I'll have things set so that I won't need the power company for that.

Everything else? Hmm, refrigeration. In the Deep South you don't find too many ice houses.

Beyond that I could cope.

Not much of a salad eater so when I'm in the mood for one I like the "sack-o-salads" for the variety with less leftovers to feed the hens. When I'm in the mood for a glass of wine (as a change from good 7-10 year old bourbon) I like a glass of Carlo Rossi's Paisano - over crushed ice.

Hope I haven't scandalized our resident oenophiles.

={(Oak)-

-- LiveOak (oneliveoak@yahoo.com), May 22, 2001.

daffodyllady, you can have the corn-cobs. I'll take Preparation H.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), May 22, 2001.