My day to day life these days is one in which I live on a farm, complete with sheep and chickens and ducks and a horse, plus my dogs (all inherited from Dad when he died). The reality of my life is that as I don't drive, I don't get off the farm much, and when I do, I must rush around and get what I can, where I can.
Before the bushfires, and then the floods, I was able to get the food for the animals delivered. Now, because of those two events, I am more often than not having to go out looking for food for the animals, picking it up in weird and wonderful places, and paying top odds for it as some foods are quite scarce here in Australia just at the moment.
With the recent arrival of the "pandemic without being called a pandemic" Coronavirus, we are now officially in a Rationing scenario. Whereas during the last world war, it was the government that decided who got what and where, at the moment it is the supermarkets enforcing their own limits on how much you may buy of a particular product, with promises that more is to come. Depending on where you shop, depends on how much you are allowed to buy of a particular product, though nearly all of the various shops we have - Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA - have all set a standard of no more than 4 packs of toilet paper per trolley. To be honest, even that is too much, especially since loo paper is one of the remaining items that Australia still produces, and which doesn't need to be imported from China, who have seemingly bought out about 90% of all Australian lands, goods, and way of life!
Because of my somewhat unique (but not totally unique because I know I am not the only person in this country to be living this sort of life) situation, I have a fairly decent store cupboard with a lot of the basics they are telling us we need to stock up on for a minimum of 14 days. There are a couple of things I would like to get a few more of (like frozen veg, tinned veg, as well as some cous cous), but other than that, I could survive for possibly a month here if I were stranded. The animals, however, would still need a weekly supply of food coming in.
I am very glad that over the years I have had a habit of collecting war time receipes, and hints and tips, as they are all very much becoming handy, as the supermarket shelves get emptier and emptier, and items become hard to obtain. I've been saying for a good few years that I really need to get my vegetable patch going again, and now it seems that I really will have to! Life is rather more expensive right now than it was pre-bushfire days! Plus with meat and fresh fruit and vegetables disappearing almost as fast as loo paper from the supermarkets, I may not have much choice soon.
When I'm not turning into a Doomsday Prepper (which I'm not, by the way!) (waiting for the Zombie Apocalypse, as is joked about here in Australia with all the fools getting into fights and pulling knives and such on people over TOILET PAPER), I am learning to live my life more and more from home.
I am back studying again, as a break from reality. I won't gain anything out of it, unless I wish to pay $70 for a certificate at the end of the course, but the courses themselves won't help me along in life. They are merely for interest's sake.
I am learning to crochet (badly). This may not pay off, but it would be nice to be able to make some things with crochet, as wool is much cheaper right now than blankets and socks and the like, in the lead up to Winter. I am also learning to use my nearly 96 year old Grandma's sewing machine that she bought in the 1960s. Grandma is still kicking along, though sleeping much of the time these days. Sewing is a very handy ability to have.
I recently bought myself a battery-powered push mower. I inherited two petrol-powered push mowers off Dad that were here on the property, but I am not strong enough for the rip cord start, nor can I easily get petrol for them when they run out, plus I am unable to sharpen the blades on them. Mine is as big as a normal mower, but has a rechargeable battery (that is huge!) and a quick charge charger plus spare battery. I have started to learn to mow, as the sheep have gone on strike due to lantana poisoning among their number, and the loss of a few of them as a result. A friend of Dad's has been coming and helping me mow and cut back the lantana, which has been a bonus, and an impetus to get back into it, now that we are finally starting to get below 30 degrees each day. I have a track here that I walk the dogs on, which until yesterday had been very overgrown - easily 6 foot high in grass - and which is now almost all mowed, thanks to Dad's friend and his ride on mower. There are still trees to remove, and bits to cut back along the sides, plus the marshy bit right down the very end of the track which is currently too wet to mow due to recent rains, but it is now at least safe once more to take my dogs for a walk each day on leads.
Other things that I am doing at the moment is travelling the world via Street View and Google Earth. It is not that safe to travel at the moment, at least not physically, nor can I afford it just now, so this is the next best thing, and allows me to spend 5 minutes or 5 hours exploring a city at my own pace. It's not the same thing as physically going there and experiencing life there, but it is, at least, something.
Out of interest's sake, and for posterity, here is the list that has been published in the news about what we should be stocking up on, along with part of the article it has come from:
"To help you stay organised, a leading Australian charity has shared a
shopping list revealing the foods worth stocking up on should you find
yourself under lockdown.
These include pasta, two-minute noodles and rice. If you are a single person, purchase 2kg of each. A family of four is advised to buy 8kg of pasta, 5kg of rice and a 6-pack of noodles.
Additionally, pasta sauce needs to be included. Two jars for a single person or eight jars for a family of four.
A range of spreads will ensure there is some variety. The charity recommends Vegemite, Nutella, peanut butter and jam. For a single person, half a jar, for a family of four, one jar.
Cheese slices, frozen fish, meat (pork, beef, mince, chicken) canned tuna or salmon and eggs will ensure a good supply of protein.
Shopping list to survive 14 days in quarantine for a family of 4
ProteinCheese slices: 4 packs
Frozen fish: 4 boxes
Meat: Selection of pork, beef, mince
Chicken: 15 chicken breasts
Canned tuna/fish: 14 tins
Eggs: 3 dozen
Non perishables
Pasta: 8kg
Pasta sauce: 8 jars
Rice: 5kg
Noodles: 4 pack
Spreads: Vegemite, Nutella, peanut butter, jam
Tinned soup: 14 tins
Frozen vegetables: 3kg
Tinned vegetables: 15 tins
Long life milk: 1 person = 3 ltr, 4 people = 12 ltr
Pantry Staples
Bread (freeze): 6 to 8 loaves
Sugar: 1kg
Cereal: 3 boxes
Cup of Soup: 12 packs
Extras: salt and pepper, powdered milk
Other items that need to be included are tinned soup, seven tins for one person, 14 tins for four people, bread for the freezer, two loaves for a single person, six to eight loaves for four people and long-life milk, three litres, for a single, and 12 litres for four.
Additional extras are frozen vegetables, tinned vegetables, sugar, cereal, Cup-A-Soup sachets, and salt and pepper.
...people should focus on steadily building up a two-week supply of non-perishable fibre, carbohydrate and protein foods.
Only if “severe” pandemic hits should you start stocking up on perishable foods as it could mean those supplies run out.
When that occurs, .... buy up bread, meat which you can freeze, dairy products like milk and yoghurt, eggs, fruit and vegetables.
“In a more severe pandemic, supply chain issues may mean fresh food becomes harder to get."
Additionally, it pays to ensure you have adequate supplies of a range of medication, include any you regularly take."
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