First of all folks, I must apologize for being a week late in getting this out, since I pestered my hard core writers to submit articles and I myself missed the deadline. But it’s all good. It has been a little over a year since we relaunched the newsletter.

As you can see...things are pretty much on ice and snow up here where I’m at. Marty the Monk that resides in my herb garden finally had enough snow melt around him to acually show his face for the first time in weeks, indicative of the social and political landscape that is shifting into place.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past several months, you should know that this country is now in a recession; it does not matter what the pundits on tv are saying....they have been smoking some really good herb in order to get on TV and tell everyone with a straight face that we are not. The Food and Drug Administration is in shambles, so much so that the entire food industry cannot be trusted to have food that is safe for human consumption.

Food prices have gone up noticeably, gas is forecasted to be at or above $4.00 by spring (which is less than a month away) and anything that is remotely linked to those indexes will also rise in price.

This means that we need to start to lessen the impact on our households which is already strapped for much needed cash. We need to start relying on ourselves to really provide what we need without relying on a government which at best gives band aid solutions and at worse is totally indifferent to us as a people- which is pretty much business as usual for them. However....there is a newfound sense of urgency. With the currency pretty much not worth as much if anything we will now have to start doing rather than spending in order to make ends meet.

So continuing in the spirit of self-determination and self-sufficency we will continue our mission to provide guidance and ideas to help you on your journeys...not matter how small or big they may be.