The Grateful Stead

This is my first year participating in G.I.S.H.W.H.E.S., the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. I'm having so much fun -- in addition to helping spread acts of kindness throughout the world! One thing I love about GISHWHES is the devotion & passion to helping others. Actor Misha Collins started this amazing scavenger hunt, and the proceeds -- and awareness raised each year -- support projects through his charity, Random Acts (which you may already... have heard of). This year GISHWHES and Random Acts would like to help two innocent families wrapped up in the Syrian Refugee crisis. The Syrian Refugee crisis is already a heartbreaking situation, but these two tragic stories take such trauma to new levels: Khouloud was shot in the neck and paralyzed while gardening -- and in front of her children. She is now living on a cot in a refugee tent and without adequate medical care, unable to move, let alone help with her children. Khawla is a 12 yr old with six siblings, two of whom are seriously disabled. An accidental fire lost them everything, even their tent, in their refugee camp. Khawla tried to commit suicide so that her mother would have one less mouth to feed Please consider donating to these families -- and I don't urge this just because doing so will help my team. GISHWHES and the Random Acts charity would like to move these families into real apartments, with real food and medical care. Together we can make two very bright spots in a currently very dark situation. <3 Thank you for your time! https://www.crowdrise.com/change-a-life-khou//teamcassiers

Here are some free ebooks I found today: https://www.amazon.com/Preparedness-Survival-Beginners-V// https://www.amazon.com/Working-Chicken-everyth//B004YQVLKO... https://www.amazon.com/GARDENING-BUNDLE-ONLY-B//B0133U4H2U https://www.amazon.com/JeBouffe-Canning-second-Revised-E// https://www.amazon.com/How-Preserve-Eggs-Dehydrating-Hom// https://www.amazon.com/Home-Crafted-Wines-Winemaking-Gar// https://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Candles-Home-B//B01AKKKX6U https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Laura-Searched-//B00F0NVKYW

You learn something new every day. Who's planning on celebrating? It's a good thing my garden is in the back yard.

We've officially gone from being the local dog drop-off point to becoming the local donkey drop-off.

I have a *serious* bee/wasp phobia (just the picture is terrifying for me), but this is IMPORTANT.

So grateful to finally plant the year's first crops today - and to find rosemary, sage, and mint already healthy and flourishing. We've had some set backs, including a recent outbuilding fire that lost all of our tools, but we're committed and back in the saddle for 2016. At the moment we have two donkeys, a gander, two roosters, and two hens. We also have a so-far-unseen Ninja Chicken who's been laying eggs in the yard since the weather changed, and as we lost most of our flock last year, she's been on her own for at least nine months or so. Hopefully we'll learn more about her as the weather continues to improve.

North Dakota and Minnesota

So sad. Hope the perpetrators are caught!

Don't forget to prep for your pets. Know what to #store and how http://americanpreppersnetwork.com//pet-food-what-to-store

This is the REAL American dream. This is the road to freedom. When you don't need anything, you can't be ruled.

I *just* told the kiddos this very thing...