I have retired now and have great plans for more herb gardening and keeping up this blog.

We had an ice storm yesterday and today here in Arkansas.  This morning right after breakfast, we lost power for two hours.  It has been bitterly cold, so the temperature in the house started dropping, and we  could not predict when power would return.  Last Christmas season, power was out three days. I immediately started thinking about pipes freezing.

Luckily, the power came back on, thank goodness, but since these power outages seem to be much more frequent in the past, I need to plan ahead for future disruptions.

*Save juice jugs for water storage.  Our water line from the street froze once, and I was grateful to have water for a sponge bath before going to work.
*Have a gas range instead of electric so we can still heat up food and water.
*Have a gas log fireplace that is vented outside.  We have gas logs in a traditional fireplace now, but we never use it because the heat goes right out the chimney.
*Have cans of soup to heat up on the gas range.
*Have plenty of matches and batteries on hand.
*Store extra ice cubes in the freezer to fill up empty spaces and keep things cold.

What ideas do you have for preparing for a power outage?

This Civil War series of novels by Nancy Dane is based on extensive research using primary documents.  If you think humans are basically good, this series will change your mind.  The horrible incidents of cruelty and violence depicted were things that really happened in Arkansas. This series has memorable characters along with elements of romance, adventure and survival in nature which make satisfying reading.

Let's hope we never have a civil war again.

I'm reading Makers: The New Industrial Revolution, by Chris Anderson.  Here is a good quote in the book from Cory Doctorow: "The days of companies with names like 'General Electric' and 'General Motors' are over.  The money on the table is like krill: a billion little entrepreneurial opportunities that can be discovered and exploited by smart, creative people."

I love the use of duct tape on the cover.

Saving seed is a fun way to preserve heirloom garden plants while also cutting expenses on yearly seed bills. It's simple to collect, store and trade seeds. For both annual and perennial flowers, start looking for seed pods formed after flowers bloom, or else take apart spent blossoms to determine where seeds are.

For instance, at the base of dried marigold blooms is a pod of hundreds of lightweight seeds. At the base of zinnia petals are numerous little pointed seeds. Morning glories, some canna lilies, and hummingbird vines have brown pods with large black seeds that are very easy to save. Pods from portulaca, poppy, and petunia contain seeds so tiny that a sneeze will blow them away.

Among the vegetable seeds most easily saved are non-hybrid tomato, pepper, bean, cucumbers, and summer squash. Collect seeds from fully mature ripe fruit of these plants.

Tomato: The gelatinous coating encasing the seed must be removed. Squeeze the seeds into a bowl, add water, and let stand at room temperature for about three days. Once fermentation occurs, mold will form on the surface of the water. Add more water, stir, and then gently scrape mold and debris off the top. Repeat until only clean seed remains, and then strain, rinse, and leave the seeds at room temperature until dry.

Peppers: Select a mature, completely red pepper. Cut open, scrape the seeds onto a plate, and let the seeds dry in a non humid, shaded place, testing them occasionally until they break rather than bend. Leave at room temperature until completely dry.

Beans, peas, and other legumes: Leave pods on the plant until they rattle.

Summer squash: Summer squash is at the seed-saving stage when the outside skin is hardened so that you cannot dent the squash with a fingernail. Cut it open, scrape the seeds into a bowl, and then wash, drain, and dry them.

Storing seeds: Store most seed in airtight jars. The exception is legumes, which store best in paper sacks. To keep the seeds dry, fill a small cloth bag with about one-half cup dry powdered milk. Place the packet in the jar beneath the seed packets. Label your container with the variety, date, and other information. Store your seeds in a cool, dark, dry place like a refrigerator. Avoid opening the container until you are ready to plant. Stored seeds will retain their viability for different lengths of time. Melon seed can be stored for as long as five years, while sweet corn is only good for one year. Other types of seed remain viable for two to three years.

All images from Britannica Image Quest
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Title     : Separating seeds from seedheads
Credit    : Dorling Kindersley / Universal Images Group

Title     : Using knife to remove seeds from ripe tomato
Credit    : Dorling Kindersley / Universal Images Group

Title     : Seed packs
Credit    : JOHNNY GREIG / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Universal Images Group

Action and suspense novel for those who like to speculate about the future

Third book in The End trilogy, Brink of Chaos is full of cliff-hanger scenes that make you keep reading.  In the not-to-distant future where everyone has an invisible laser tattoo, things fall apart when the U.S. president is poisoned.  Mix some very evil bad guys and a new bio-terror weapon with  a few Israeli spies and you get a page-turner with quite a surprise at the end.

Watch this space for more book reviews.