Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Today, we talk about the hidden cost of constant distraction, as well as cover all of our usual Monday segments. Featured Event: June 29 Meetup and Rabbit Processing Event https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/2025/06/02/rabbit-processing/ Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com Long-term food storage supplies that won't break the bank. Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com Helping entrepreneurs, homesteaders, and freedom-minded folks handle taxes the smart way. Tales from the Prepper Pantry Country Store Update Canning Season Is Started Dried Herbs For Sale – Packaging Ideas Broccoli Score and How to Freeze It Weekly Shopping Report From Joe: Food City: The pet food aisle was well-stocked. Then we hit the usual places, next stopping at Dollar Tree. The drink selection continues to change, although the shelves remain full. There's not a lot of Monster left, and I'm seeing a distressing number of "zero sugar" alternatives. These typically contain liver toxins disguised as artificial sweeteners. Fortunately I'm seeing a few choices made with cane sugar. They don't have caffeine, but I'm trying to cut down on that anyway. The tag in the store has lately been missing, but the online price of a 2x4x8 stud at Home Depot is still $3.85. Aldi was last. Other than my preferred chocolate (I had to choose the 85% alternate), we found everything else we wanted. There have been a few more price changes since the last report, with decreases bigger than increases. Staple prices were: Bread (20 oz. white): $1.39 Eggs: $2.96 (-) Whole milk: $2.72 (+) Heavy cream: $5.29 OJ: $4.25 Butter: $3.75 Bacon: $3.99 Potatoes: $3.49 (-) Sugar: $3.29 Flour: $2.35 80% ground beef: $4.69 Untainted regular gasoline at Weigels is still $3.59/gallon. No frugality tip this week. Operation Independence Attempt to launch the glamper rental LOL Main Topic of the Day: The Hidden Cost of Constant Distractio What happened when I deleted tiktok from my phone - it got me to observing. Every major mistake I have made involved an interruption Slow progress So I did a test - I became hardcore about interruptions, including leaving my phone away from me completely for hours at a time, setting alarms for benchmark tasks, and setting better boundaries. Better sleep, better health, better focus I pissed off some folks and hurt a feeling or two Why do people resist stillness so hard? Fear of rejection They never learned to be alone Not following their purpose and they know it Using distraction to avoid processing trauma or other things Then it hit me - distractions aren't just digital—boundary violators are distractions too. We all have encountered people who don't care a whit about your boundaries because what they need is more important to them. Who push beyond what is reasonable. And who seek to manipulate you when they realize that you are not going to play along. What happens next is: Character assault Temper tantrums Manufactured crisis So much more But what about being available to your true friends and your family? The delio is this - If you need space to accomplish things, then your true friends and family will not only understand when you create that space, but they will help you do it. And if they won't one of two things is true: You are not honoring your commitments to relationships (We've all done this) They arent a true friend or nontoxic family member Because you are building YOUR life on YOUR terms to fulfill YOUR purpose And that NEED to be constantly available and responsive? Is it truly a need because your Mom is in the hospital? Or is it a way to feel important? And what price are you paying by letting the distractions happen without end? Just some food for thought. REMEMBER The Holler Roast Prebuy is live! Support the shack, get coffee credit, and score digital goodies. HollerRoast.com Self-Reliance Festival tickets—Only a few left at the $95 price point. Don't miss it before the next price jump. Make sure you're on the newsletter list for updates, events, and all things Holler. Make it a great week. Song: GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today, I am joined by The Tactical Redneck to discuss updates from the Holler Homestead: Sheep Ear Scab, Zebra Fun, Losing Focus - and recovering from it, Lemon balm and more. Come on out and ask us anything. 12:30pm CT Featured Event: June 8, 2025, 1pm-4pm - Tomato Wall Hydro Build. RSVP LivingFreeinTennessee.com Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN Sponsor 2: EMPShield.com, Coupon Code LFTN Foxglove Is blooming Goat gets cut out of fence Lemonbalm harvest challenges: Better step planning for under 6ft tall people Mushroom update Zebra on the loose Saturday of rest Standing water audit Running toilet and the water system Homestead with profit in mind and tracking - read the email Sheep ear scab You got to close the gate...efficiency and sop INTERRUPTIONS FROM THE PHONE - what is the solution? Coffee pre-sale goodies from Paul Wheaton! https://hollerroast.com/product/hvac-coffee-pre-buy/ What we are doing about out of control areas? Mailbox ants Black raspberry but not blackberries yet Yarrow Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Join me for a group discussion with John Willis of Special Operations Equipment and Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast. Featured Event: Tomato Wall Open House June 8: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/june-8-homestead-open-house-tomato-wall-build-at-the-holler/ Sponsors:x Above Phone, Coupon code livefreetn, https://abovephone.com/?above=104 Holler Roast Coffee Show Resources Special Operations Equipment TheSurvivalPodcast.com Living Free in Tennessee NicoleSauce.com HollerRoast.com Main content of the show Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community FreeSteading Group: https://freesteading.com/groups/living-free-in-tennessee/ Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Twitter: @nicolesauce IG: @nicolesauce Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LivingFreeInTN Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today, I take your questions in an old-school LFTN Variety Show: Pickling beets, more about our new farmstand, how to prioritize what you grow in your smaller garden space, how to prioritize your time on the homestead and more. We will also cover our usual Monday segments. Featured Event: River and Imanee's Solstice Meetup at Haven Villiage, June 21 - I will be making cheese in case you want to come see that. Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com Sponsor 2: The Wealthsteading Podcast, InvestableWealth.com Tales from the Prepper Pantry 20 quarts of extra tomato sauce from last year Initiating canning season with round one of pickling Drying herbs from the garden on rotation - adding it to the homestead store Preparing meatloafs in advance while also cooking them for now Weekly Shopping Report Dollar Tree was first. The drink selection always changes, but there was plenty of stock. That's all we needed in there this time, after adding a variety of storage containers and the like, and minor health items over the past several weeks. The online price of a 2x4x8 stud at Home Depot is still $3.85. Aldi was last. We found everything we wanted. There have been a number of price changes since the last report, but nothing dramatic. Egg and milk prices have definitely come down. Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): $1.39; eggs: $3.46 (-); whole milk: $2.66 (-); heavy cream: $5.29; OJ: $4.25 (+); butter: $3.75 (+); bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.39; sugar: $3.29 (+); flour: $2.35; and 80% ground beef: $4.69 (+). I may make an additional trip tomorrow to Walgreens as I recently opened my last melatonin, and I want another wrist brace. I will likely also stop at the adjacent Food City for another bag of Meow Mix (that our cats ask for by name). Untainted regular gasoline at Weigels is still $3.59/gallon. Frugality Tip from Margo Down here in Florida we are getting ready for the Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. For two weeks we get to purchase things such as batteries, coolers, tarps, radios, fuel tanks, and generators and not have to pay sales tax. We are currently in the market for a new generator and we are going to save about $100 buying that during this break. So look up your states tax holidays and see what you can purchase during them and save some money. Happy Savings y'all Main topic of the Show: A variety show Tina in Arkansas asks: "I've got more beets than we can eat—how do you preserve them? Nicole Sauce's Pickled Beet Recipe 1/4 bushel beets makes about seven quarts Brine: 1/2 cup pickling or kosher salt 5.5 cups 5% vinegar 6 cups water Per quart jar spice mix (add to jar) 2 heads dill weed 2-4 cloves garlic 1-2 hot peppers (cayenne or jalapeno) 6 peppercorns Process method: Cold pack Process time: 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts (wait 6 weeks before eating so everything tastes well blended) Aunt Helen's Beet Pickles with an extra step (Courtesy of Mama Sauce) 1/4 bushel beets makes about 10 pints. Brine (make enough batched to cover beets) 1 qt vinegar (5% acidity) 6 c sugar 2 TBSP salt (plain, kosher, or pickling: may not be iodized) 2 tsp pickling spice Lots of beets Boil beets in water. Skin and slice more thinly than for a regular pickled beet: say 1/8" or thinner. Pack in glass container or containers. Keep track of how many beets you've pickled (for backpack portion control.) Bring brine to boil. Completely cover beets. If you plan to eat these without further processing, pack and seal in wide-mouth Mason jars in the usual fashion. If you plan to dehydrate, why not pickle in a single glass bowl? Cover and let pickle for 2 weeks. Then you can eat or dehydrate them. To dehydrate: Drain beets. You can save and reuse the pickling solution a time or two before you should dump it and make fresh, so you can run successive batches. Mark from middle Tennessee asks: "What's your setup for the new farmstand—how are you building it, and how are you handling payment without having someone there full time?" Start with what we have Considering pickup hours beyond opening for the gatherings here Honor system set up is step 2 Waiting on feedback from the community Want to add something to the store? Contact me Lisa from Kentucky writes: "We've downsized our garden space this year—how do you decide what to plant when you're working with limited square footage but still want to preserve food?" List Decide what you like to grow and what grows well Layer your beds Develop local relatiionships David in Texas asks: "What's the cheapest way to test a product idea from your homestead before going all-in? I've got eggs, herbs, and soap—but don't want to waste time." Wrong question Nate in Kentucky asks: "How do you approach banking and online payments without getting sucked deeper into centralized control?" I dont worry about it. Do you want to build wealth and make a profit in your business? Then you shouldn't either. How do we opt out of the system? Become ungovernable Relationships Cryptocurrency - learn it and use it Skills and Homesteading Rachel from North Carolina asks: "How do you keep your business tasks organized when your farm life, podcast, and everything else are constantly pulling at you?" My3Things Sometimes I don't Ian in Alabama says: "I'm thinking about building a greenhouse—what lessons did you learn from the swim spa greenhouse idea that might save me time and money?" Im not putting a greenhouse there is what i learned Tailor it to your needs and climate Patrick from Ohio asks: "I want to host a small event on my property—what's the best way to start without getting overwhelmed by logistics or liability?" Start with a party Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today, I am joined by The Tactical Redneck to discuss updates from the Holler Homestead: Wild edible harvests, the Homesteader Grocery Store, water austerity measures and so much more. Featured Event: June 8, 2025, 1pm-4pm - Tomato Wall Hydro Build. RSVP LivingFreeinTennessee.com Sponsor 1: TheWealthsteadingPodcast.com Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com Water austerity measures Sea showers vs dishes... all the showers Free wood chips for cleanup work Homesteader grocery store conversations Black raspberries ripe Clover gets stuck in the fence Tomato demo Rabbit day Bed 4 is ready to plant Rain all the time and spring/summer 2010 Trellis? Preparing the Toyota Cabin hydro re-set up Holler Neighbor Dinners, KH Family in Town Char chat Kerry's event Fire ant battle What were you chipping away at last night? Basecamp spring Edible harvest: lemon balm, chamomile, red Clover, yarrow, comfrey, chocolate mint, last rose harvest Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today I am joined by TJ, AKA Bear Independent, on how he found and followed the path toward light and freedom. This is a deep discussion about falling, faith and freedom. Connect with Bear! https://www.bearindependent.com/ Show Sponsors: HollerRoast.com Above Phone, Coupon code livefreetn, https://abovephone.com/?above=104 Personal Transformation Journey: Bear shares his profound life transformation from an angry, destructive young man playing in heavy metal bands to a purposeful, faith-driven individual focused on serving others and following a spiritual calling. Pivotal Life Moments: Several critical events shaped his path, including being diagnosed with colon cancer, meeting his wife Harmony, returning to church, and experiencing multiple near-death experiences that he believes were divinely preserved. Radical Personal Responsibility: Bear emphasizes the importance of self-examination, actively taking control of one's life, and deliberately choosing to focus on positive intentions rather than dwelling on negativity or past mistakes. Spiritual Calling and Service: His journey evolved from playing worship music to rescuing children, building restoration facilities, and creating ministries that help people heal from traumatic experiences, driven by a belief in serving a higher purpose. Freedom Through Obedience: Bear describes freedom not as rebellion, but as willingly following spiritual guidance, even when it's uncomfortable, and using personal experiences of darkness to help others navigate similar challenges. Entrepreneurial and Ministry Work: He has developed multiple businesses and ministries, including Refuge and Caleb House, focusing on preparedness, rescue operations, and rehabilitation for traumatized children, demonstrating his commitment to practical service. Empowerment and Potential: A core message is that anyone can transform their life by getting out of their own way, taking radical personal responsibility, and pursuing their true calling with persistence and faith. Make it a great week GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today we explore the impact of purpose and passion on the homestead as well as our usual homesteady updates. Featured Event: Strong Roots Resources Farm Meetup, June 1, 12pm-4pm. StrongRootsResources.com Sponsor 1: EMPShield.com, Coupon Code LFTN Sponsor 2: The Wealthsteading Podcast (Investablwealth.com) Purpose Discussion Passion - what do you love to do on the homestead? (Enjoy the process, not the destination) Duck Egg Hiding Game Time to breed more rabbits Baby rabbits are getting out of the nesting boxes How we feed dogs with rabbits and what that means for processing Rabbit recipe Succession planting and how you know it is time Tomato Trade story Sheep escaping Grass/ not keeping up Bed four in the garden is almost ready Laying Out Bed 5 and 6 Garlic scapes Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today, I am joined by Chris and Tina Clark, fellow homesteaders in Tennessee who discovered a great resource on their land and are turning it into a way to create prosperity for themselves, their community and their customers. Connect with Chris and Tina: https://3dbev.com/ Show Sponsors: HollerRoast.com Above Phone, Coupon code livefreetn, https://abovephone.com/?above=104 Make it a great week GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

Today, we talk about building success into your life through taking control of your schedule. Are you one of those people who is late all the time? Then this show is for you. We will also cover all of our usual Monday segments. Featured Event: Exit and Build Land Summit: https://courses.livefree.academy/land-summit-5-polyface-farms Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTNSponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com Tales from the Prepper Pantry Big Changes Coming to the HH and their impact on the pantry process One more big trip from the pantry - was glad there was a ham in the freezer! Operation Manufacture Meatloaf We put up more food than needed last year, lessons from that Saturday Salad Prep Frugality Tip: Theme Park Savings From Margo Visiting a theme park or the like can end up costing an arm and a leg. You are allowed to bring snacks and one sealed bottle of water per person just about everywhere. I carry a backpack and snacks and bring a cold bottle of water. I also bring an empty thermal water bottle to transfer the cold water to, so it stays cold. Also carrying a reusable water containment device allows you to refill it at any water machine. In parks that have the freestyle machines that only works with a specific cup, the water will always come out even if you do not have the special expensive cup. So to save quite a few dollars, grab a backpack and some snacks and hit the parks. Happy Savings y'all Operation Independence What collections do you have of value that you no longer actually care about? Old Magic The Gathering Cards on Ebay are offsetting the $800 vet bill for Mortimer. $180 in, $620 to go! Main topic of the Show: Stop Lying To Yourself About Being Late Laws of Life Book: https://www.amazon.com/Laws-Life-Ditch-System-Design/dp/B0F54NNNTP/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Confession - I am TERRIBLE with time awareness. Even though I am known as a time Nazi who keeps events on schedule. How can these two things happen together Why then, am I usually not only on time to things but a little early? Because I have been time hurt. It's that simple. Are you chronically behind? In the habit of sending texts to people that you are going to need another five minutes? Or fifteen? Do you constantly explain to people why you didn't make it on time? If so, then today is for you. Today might be hard to hear. But do you want to build success in your life? Then bear with me as we break this down. Eric's Meeting Story But the core issue is bigger. It is the GREAT LIE. "I'm late because my sheep got out and I had to chase them back in." is MAYBE a reason, MAYBE true, but is not the whole picture is it? When you are willing to step back and see the whole picture, we often find that the reason something caused us to "be late" is less to do about the thing that happened and more to do with us. One of the most powerful words in the English language is NO. One of the things business owners need to learn to say most often is NO. In fact, if you are running your family schedule, or even still at a JOB, the word NO is how you start being on time more often. Why? Because NO is the way that you build time into your schedule to properly handle things, build in a travel buffer, have mostly interruption free meetings, and, generally, start being on time. Being on time to something means you have while heartedly said YES to it. You are aware it exists. You have made the time. And you have said NO to many other things to make it happen. So how do we change as a chronically late person? Why do you think I said no to every speaking engagement for dang near 8 months? Because I was going to disappoint people by saying yes then not showing up the way I needed to. In fact, I was already disappointing people when I realized what was happening last year. So I got good at NO. No is your number one relationship protection tool. And are you a people pleaser? You are? Yah I know that - it takes one to know one. We say yes to everything and think that no will hurt feelings. Know what hurts feelings more destructively over time? Being late. But if you are always late? That my friend is a symptom. It can be a sympton of great things, like growth. But it is also a sympton that warrents attention. Because if you are growing and you are always late, your next phase is complete burn out if you dont learn no. So go out there and show us you can do it. You can do the most important things and say no to the nonsense. Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Follow me on Nostr: npub1u2vu695j5wfnxsxpwpth2jnzwxx5fat7vc63eth07dez9arnrezsdeafsv Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link

We just got back from an overnight hike which really brought us some perspective. Featured Event: Exit and Build Land Summit (ExitndBuildLandSummit.com) Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com Sponsor 2: The Wealthsteading Podcast (Investableealth.com) Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee Harvest Right Affiliate Link