Strategic Living - Page 2 of 6

Independence and Freedom: Don’t Go Down Without a Fight

July 3, 2020 Gaye Levy 18 Comments

What exactly is Independence Day? Do we even know any more? Reluctantly, I sat down at my computer yesterday and made a feeble attempt to put some thoughts together on the relevance of Independence Day, then and now.

Let me explain.

As I expressed to my followers on the Strategic Living Facebook page, I have gone underground for a few months, isolating myself from society and COVID-19 while at the same time absorbing the news of the day and trying to make sense of it.

The reality is that as prepared as I was and am with physical products and life-skills, I was not at all mentally prepared for the discourse of 2020: the impeachment hearings, global pandemic, death of George Floyd, and unmitigated riots and anarchy. To say that I am in a funk is, to put it mildly.

When I finally shared this publicly, I heard a collective sigh of relief from others who were either afraid to speak up, or lacking a safe platform in which to do so.

So here we are today, on Independence Day in the United States. This year it is a day without celebrations, picnics, BBQs, and fireworks. Many of us are self-isolating for fear of getting sick ourselves or infecting others. Some are afraid to leave their homes lest they get car-jacked or their home is invaded while they are out. Fear rules the day.

I don’t know about you, but this aging prepper and her husband are frustrated and depressed. We don’t know what to believe and which expert to listen to. Freedoms that we have long considered our right as citizens appear anything but. And sadly, we realize that this may be the last year ever that July 4th will be recognized as the day the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence.

Knowing that this may be the last time we can publicly glorify our independence, I would like to reflect on the unique experiment we call the United States of America.

Is Ethical Journalism Dead?

April 27, 2020 Gaye Levy 2 Comments

In late January, life, as we know it today, was quite different. We were free to come and go as we please, to get a haircut, dine at a local pub, and mingle with our friends. The news of the day was mostly about politics and as disgusting as that can be at times, it was what it was. Or was it?

More and more I became enmeshed and outraged by the news of the day and the bias of the mainstream media. This was nothing new since my disdain for the MSM actually began over ten years ago and was part of the catalyst for becoming a prepper and starting my first website, Backdoor Survival. But what was happening now was worse – a lot worse. What was being passed to the unenlightened was opinion disguised as news. It was disgusting.

As much as I dislike the term “Fake News”, indeed, that is what I was hearing and reading. Hypocrisy was the rule rather than the exception and I was mad. Do you remember that line from the movie Network? “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” That is how I felt.

In order to vent, I reached out to my pal George Ure (Urban Survival) to vent a bit. As some of you know, George spent part of his career as a broadcast journalist and was the news director for a top Seattle radio station. He was both well respected and well connected in the industry and was nothing if not 100% credible.

What follows is an interview I did with George before COVID-19 dominated the news. I have sat on it for a few months thinking that in the big picture of things, perhaps it was no longer relevant. Of course, I was wrong. Questioning the ethics of journalism now, more than ever, is important. As our liberty is being challenged and our right to free speech suppressed, what George has to say is timely.

Life as we know it has indeed changed and may never return. Corrupt politicians and their partners, the lame-stream media, are accelerating changes I thought I would never see in my lifetime.

Enjoy (if you can) my interview with George and let me know what you think.

Bread for Survival & Comfort: Five Recipes You Can Make Today

April 8, 2020 Gaye Levy 8 Comments

Over the years, I have been a bread maker and bread eater. I have ground my own flour and hand-kneaded bread. I have also used an automatic bread machine where dump and go made homemade bread easy and quick. In between, I mastered creating a sourdough starter and making a no-knead dough in large buckets that could provide fresh bread for a two week period.

Making bread was something I did because I enjoyed the process and enjoyed the comfort it brought in knowing I was learning a powerful survival skill that could come in handy down the road.

So here we are today, in a SHTF situation that is putting us in survival mode. Bakers and non-bakers alike are starting to make bread while most of our country is in lock-down and we are advised to stay at home.

If you are like me, you have a lot of flour, wheat, salt and sugar in your survival pantry. In addition, you have a few pounds of yeast stashed away in your freezer so that it stays fresh and viable. We are the lucky ones because I have heard about major shortages that are frustrating some would-be bakers.

True confession: I have been making two loaves of low-carb bread a week since earlier this year. My bread has its beginnings in a mix from Bob’s Red Mill but to my consternation, the mix has been discontinued and I am seriously bummed. With low carb and Keto diets being so popular, I was hoping to share my recipe with you this week. Instead, I am going back to the kitchen so I can come up with a recipe that is not reliant on a commercial mix. Stay tuned for that.

So, for now, my pal Ron Brown (author of the Non-Electric Lighting Series) is stepping in with five simple bread recipes that are super good, super easy and tried and true. The best part is that two of the five do not require yeast.

Let’s get started.

Gratitude and Thankfulness

November 26, 2019 Gaye Levy 2 Comments

Gratitude does not come naturally to me which makes Thanksgiving especially challenging. The reasons are many and they are very personal but lest you are curious, I will simply say that I have been a silent warrior for most of life. Fighting, be it for fairness, justice, acceptance or simply to get by, has defined me. It lead me into the life I live now and to what I like to call a “strategic life”.

That being said, it is my opinion that these days we take gratitude and thankfulness for granted. I blame it on the clutter and proliferation of minutia of our lives. Work, chores, social media, and keeping up with the events of the day (whether real or fake), can be overwhelming. Does that sound like you?

But I digress. In this week of giving thanks, it is important that we take time to think about the blessings on our life, and enumerate those things for which we are both grateful and thankful. I will start us off.

I, Gaye Levy, am grateful for many things: my husband, my brother and his family, my home, and the blessing of good health I am grateful that I have saved enough to carry me through (I hope) retirement and that I am well-prepared for disruptive events. Not to be omitted, I am extremely grateful to have been born in and to live in the USA.

Now it is your turn. What are you grateful for?

Is American Freedom Under Siege?

August 9, 2019 Gaye Levy 7 Comments

As a point of reference, when I first started blogging in 2010, I had a lot of angst over the meltdown of certain financial institutions, unjustified taxpayer-funded government bailouts, the real or perceived violation of our Bill of Rights, and the forward march of socialism in the United States. The antidote for me was to embrace preparedness, learn situational awareness, and to become a voice for others with similar concerns.

Let us fast forward to today. The good news is that I am as prepared as I can be with an abundance of stored food, water, and supplies in two separate locations. After losing a good portion of my retirement funds in the 2009 meltdown, I have learned to live without many of the luxuries I formerly took for granted while still enjoying life. I was finally able to retire and for all intents and purposes, am finding that social security and a modest annual dip into savings is keeping me afloat and then some.

On the other hand, many of the topics I wrote about way back when are again bubbling to the surface. They are fueled by the additional dynamic that the internet has brought into play. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Fake News, and censorship of the free press. Sadly, these influences and influencers are shaping the minds of young people who have grown up with technology and have no clue about the precious freedoms we oldsters have embraced since birth. Those same freedoms are rapidly being eroded and precious few of us seem to care.

The bottom line is that we have become a society where being a victim and/or being entitled is cause for celebration. And that is just plain wrong.

Let me explain.