Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Today, I want to share with you my biggest lesson of the Pandemic and its aftermath as viewed through the perspective of a special friend. Holler Homestead Open House and Canning Demo Last Week's Webinar Video is up on the Member Portal Tales from the Prepper Pantry Failing on meal planning and staying on whole foods: Hard boiled eggs, cheese, celery sticks, bacon and eggs, Mahi, green beans and summer squash, roasted new potatoes, red veined sorrel, pesto on something with green garlic and fresh basil. Cold cuts and cured meats for road food. Freeze Drying Cheesecake (#allthethings) Sun Tea Cucumbers and beets are coming on and it is time to put up quick pickles Operation Independence Focus on health Main topic of the Show: Best Lesson From The 2020 Pandemic This show was supposed to be on Friday last week. But my health got in the way. And yet this may be the most important show topic of 2021. This show is in part about the biggest lesson to be learned from the 2020 pandemic, how officials and our societies reacted to it, and maybe even a little about why what some of us THINK is the biggest lesson learned should be reexamined if it is not this lesson. But more important about today is what got me to thinking of this lesson. It was a friend, fellow farmer/homesteader. A guy by the name of Steve who works really really hard to live life on his terms. Steve is not a young man, and he has even had an organ transplant. His ticker ain't what it used to be either. Steve is the kind of guy who meets lots of people and he somehow manages to bring out the best, to encourage them to just get started on doing what they say they want to do. The longer you talk to Steve, the more you realize how incredible his life has been and the sheer number of things this man has done - and he has done them well. And the best part? He is not a loudmouth like me -- he observes and is sort of quiet. But when he talks, people listen. And when he hears I cant from someone, he asks why. You may wonder what in the world Steve has to do with my pandemic lesson? Well that is the thing. If I ask most people around me what their biggest lesson learned I will get one of the following lessons: Supply Chains Are Unstable (centralization vs decentralization) The Media Controls the Narrative More Than We Thought People Are Anti Science People Do Not Understand How Science Works People Are Selfish And We Must Control Those Jerks Big Tech, Big, Ag, Big Government, New World Order, Growth in Freedom Networks And while all those things may be lessons you can take from the pandemic, which one is the biggest? I must admit, I have spun like a pinball from idea to idea dn lesson to lesson over the past year and a half -- and YES -- we have been doing this for a freaking year and a half now my friends. A year and a half you will never get back. And last week, I started thinking about what you and I and others are never getting back (depending on how far we took things): A year and a half of: Seeing faces Hugs Being together in groups Flying Going to work Income Birthday parties Hand shakes Building rapport Trust New relationships Stability and community People have lost so much: Homes Loved ones Businesses Jobs Confidence Joy All for what? An illness with between a 99%-and 99.5% survival rate according to the sources that so many have come to distrust. I pulled that from the CDC in case you are wondering. Compare it to the flu: 99.5% survival rate. Now we all know that older people have increased risk and I am not discounting that. But look at what we have given up? The hugs, seeing grandma and grandpa, crying over zoom. Guys, we are herd animals. We need each other to be whole. Without community - even if we like being solitary -- without community we suffer. When we suffer, our health goes down hill. There were times in the last 18 months when people were drawing their last breath all alone in a room in a hospital, not allowed to have their children with them, holding their hands. For fear of spreading the disease, even if they were not dying from covid. Which begs the question did that even make sense? Enter Steve. Steve is the kind of guy in an age bracket of the highest risk, with a compromised immune system. Know what Steve gave up for the pandemic? Nothing. Not a damn thing. Steve was in the hospital with surgery complications last fall for about two months. A week or two after he got out, he was at an event in Texas hugging his friends sharing his knowledge, selling his rabbit cages (and the man makes AMAZING rabbit cages), and having a grand time. There was not a mask to be seen at this event. Know what Steve said about that? He said, I'd rather live the days I have left than hide from the virus. Steve knew his risks. And he knew the consequences of getting ill with Covid. And he knew the bigger risk was not living for 18 months of the time he had left. So Steve lived life and mentored the people he came across. And therein is the lesson: The biggest lesson from the Pandemic is we only have NOW. Not the past -- that already happened. Not the future: that has not yet happened. We have what is now. Right in front of us today. We have no idea hope long we will be here. We know that one day we will not be here. So for me, the biggest lesson from the Pandemic is to stop procrastinating the someday, to prioritize those things that are most important, and to do them. Now -- or as best as they can be done in the now. To live life and not put it on hold. I've learned to make time for that friend to visit. To accept that sometimes things are not all put together because dammit I need to go swimming with my dogs. To travel to that workshop and be in person even though I might get sick from it. To weigh the long term and short term risks of things like a vaccination and make the best decision for NOW. Not last week and not next year. And yes, part of living life is an element of selfishness. You have limited time here with yourself, your friends, and your family. What is most important to you? Is it them, then spend time with them. Is it learning something new -- then spend time on that. Is it expanding your community, go to that event. You only have the NOW and you can't control when you will go. And that brings me back to Steve. Last week, Steve taught me this lesson in a shocking way. He got very ill and ended up in the ICU. And my first thought was this: He has no regrets right now. His wife told me the day before he landed at the hospital he had bought a brand new zero turn mower. She joked that she was going to go whisper in his ear that he'd better recover quickly or she was going to drive it. I told her to do it! Why? Because even if he did not recover, whatever part of him could hear her through the coma would find humor in it. At that is Steve. Guys, Steve did not recover. He passed yesterday having lived a very long, ful life learning new things, helping so many people, and going out during this pandemic even though he knew the risks he would face if he contracted covid. I will miss Steve so much when he is not at the events we frequent, when I realize I need rabbit cages and had not gotten around to putting in an order, when I see someone in the corner that could use pulling out and he is not there to do it, when the big end of event bear hug is missing. But I am also glad for Steve that we was running around buying a cool new mower the day before he had a stroke that ultimately killed him. That's right - he lived his life through the pandemic, knowing the risks. And the virus did not get him -- it was simply his time. But he had one last lesson for me too - and I hope you can take it on. That you hear this and think, what am I not building that I want to be? Who have I not visited out of fear? What can I do to live NOW? Membership Plug MeWe reminder Make it a great week! Song: Grandpa's Song by Sauce 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

Today is for new and aspiring homesteaders. There are five things I wish I had known before I jumped and we discuss them today. Tomorrow: Canning Webinar, Relocation Roundtable, and Holler Homestead Open House Stump the Sauce Too Many Tomatoes Main topic of the Show: 5 Pieces of Advice for New Homesteaders It will cost more than you think Income Generation and Replacement Paperwork Right vs Legal Messes Membership Plug 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

Today is a thought of the walk episode - a collection of short thoughts shared on a variety of topics. These thoughts are shared on Odysee every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, then produced as an audio podcast every other Friday. Today's Thoughts Include: Eating to Thrive or to Survive? Better Reward Systems Eat That Frog! To view the videos for Thought of the Walk Episode, go here: Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b They are also produced on Youtube as a playlist. Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee

I was going to talk through some things I love about the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer but then I got to talking about food with Tactical this morning. Specifically foods that are very good for you that we sometimes forget to eat. Today, I will share five that come to mind. But first Schedule next week Relocation Roundtable and Water Bath Canning Webinars 2 Seats left for the Chicken Workshop! What's Up in the Garden Uncle Seed saving: Broccoli, cilantro, peas, lettuce Tomatoes look GREAT Putting out peppers and sweet potatoes now Main content of the show: 5 Nutritious Things We Forget About Fruits in season Bone Broth Hard Boiled Eggs Water Ferments Membership and Coffee Pitch 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 will discuss what really matters in the new world order, the great reset, and many other "conspiracies" that are turning out to be based in truth. Canning Demo June 17 at 12pm Central: Waterbath Canning Relocation Roundtable: June 17 at 7pm Central Email feedback to nicole@livingfreeintennessee.com Tales from the Prepper Pantry Successful Travel Food Harvest Right has an affiliate program! https://affiliates.harvestright.com/1095.html Learning to store freeze dried foods - advice from Amanda Willis Holler Neighbor Crockpot meals are paying off Operation Independence Rogue Food Summary Main topic of the Show: What Really Matters? What really matters to people? What do we truly care about. If you take this question from a survival standpoint: we need water, oxygen and food to survive. The next layer is shelter and health, family and relationships. Then community, comfort, mental challenges, spiritual pursuits. Creative endeavors. As we are able to cover our basic survival needs, we gain something very important: time. And time is the thing that we can use to become stronger and better. To keep our world beautiful. To create widespread security for ourselves and those around us. Why then are our most basic needs -- those things that we require to survive -- why are they outsourced to a faceless bureaucracy? Have you ever taken a deep look into situations where genocide is inflicted on a people? Where one set of humans decide that it is ok to torture, murder and cause widespread suffering to another set of humans? Have you ever seen what happens right before the boiling point is reached? Usually you will find that the basic survival needs are controlled by a select, powerful few. You will find that there is widespread shortages and that suffering has occurred. That parents cannot feed their children or themselves. And how do we get to this point? We live on a prosperous plant full of oxygen, with lots of water, and able to produce food in the most harsh of environments. As humans have developed, we have figured out how to cover our basic survival needs and we have created time. Time for spiritual pursuits. As humans have developed, we have put our minds to tough problems like how to get more food from less and less land to keep more and more of us alive. And some have developed systems. Systems that provide "food security"' and other such promises for all who participate. And from this, they have realized that people who are unable to provide for their own basic needs, who have forgotten how nature works, who are set up with unrealistic expectations for what they "need" to survive. These people will do almost anything to keep getting what they need. They will work endlessly. They will murder their peers. They will look the other way as the earth is harmed. They will give up their freedom of motion, of thought. They will beat the other humans into compliance. As dependency increases, so does control. And who is in control? To which I ask - why do you care about that?Have you ever stopped to think about how fragile our centralized food system in this country is? We have systems set up to provide more and more food from fewer and fewer sources. The policies here are developed to protect those few sourced from competition from many distributed ones. Have you ever stopped worrying about the med in "big food" sitting in back rooms selling off our health to save a few pennies on production and looked beyond the who and why to focus on what it means? Our centralized food systems create two things: 1) Immense amounts of food for everyone to eat. 2) One of the most obvious targets to control our population. Take down the few places and ways that food is produced and distributed and guess what? Grocery stores are empty in about 48 hours. And most of the population has no idea how to get food without going into a store, taking things off the shelf, and bringing them home. I don't know about you, but I find that alarming. Do you? Do you know how to get food if it isn't on the shelves in the store? You see, all the time and power that we waste on figuring out how to take Monsanto down, or tear apart Walmart---to hold those men in the back rooms of food factories accountable for making us sick. All the time we spend reading up on the dawn of big ag and pharmaceuticals. That is time you will never get back. It is really only useful as a tool to assess the world you live in. And the time you spend in outrage about it is wasted. Or in the words of my frond Jack Spirko -- it doesn't matter why, it matters that. Now, if one of your creative pursuits is digging into history and research on such things -- by all means - enjoy! But if you want to live in a world where your most basic need is covered -- the need to find nourishment for yourself, your family and your community. Stop focusing on the assholes who got us here and start participating on developing a stable alternative to centralized food. Being part of a solution to corporate food does not need to look like you building your own regenerative farm -- it needs to look like local participation. It needs to look like a journey. And every journey starts with one person: You. If you look at how Agenda 2020, now renamed Agenda 2030, Now renamed The Great Reset. If you look at the core of all of them, these are movements grounded in controlling people's access to basic survival needs To food. To water. To shelter. To healthcare. They seek to centrally organize it all. If centally controlled food yields a target, well they how would centrally controlling just about everything not result in the biggest target this world has ever seen? How can it possibly result in prosperity for most rather than widespread suffering? It cant. And realizing that is what matters. Because when you are able to see that, you are able to shift your frame to what really matters. You are able to shift your frame from control to empowerment. From brainwashing to community. And in that shift, you are able to see a pathway where you and your friends, you and your family, you and your community can create more secure, distributed means of covering people's basic survival needs. Think about this: If you have 2 cups of milk left for the next 7 days, and a faceless person across the world needs one of those cups of milk, are you likely to give it freely? Unlikely. You will need to be forced with threat of death because giving up that cup of milk could lead to your own starvation. But if your child needs one, what then? You will give your child both. As we focus on finding local sources of food, of supporting them, of becoming them -- we increase the ability of those around us to flourish. And this is what really matters. This is what is truly important. Finding ways to survive and thrive that do not become ginormous systems with an obvious achilles heel. Last year when the weakness of the commercial food systems became obvious, people began looking to local farms for nourishment. It lasted as long as the shortages did. Once the convenience of grocery store options returned, people turned their backs on the very farms that were busting hump to cover local needs. I have so many farmer friends who spent time and money ramping up their egg production only to discover that when Aldi's $.49/dozen eggs returned, their $5/dozen eggs were no longer wanted. No matter that they had been there when Aldi was not to feed families. I hear this story again and again. Centralized food has hidden its real cost and quite frankly has made most of us cheap. We don;t care about quality we focus on price. But at what cost? We are one cyber attack, one gas shortage, one well-placed bombing away from empty shelves. It doesn't have to be that way for you -- it is an easy problem to solve. Just look at what you need and decide how to either obtain it locally or produce it. Simple. A decentralized system needs producers. It needs eaters. It need distributors. It needs marketers and storytellers. But most of all, it needs a community that sees beyond the crisis, beyond the conspiracy. A community willing to participate in a decentralized food world. To put their money where their mouth is. Literally. This is not something that has to happen all at once unless there is a rapid implosion. This is something you do step by step. Homesteaders need to evaluate their animal feed sources and practices. Eaters need a list of what they consume and where they get it -- then you can go through item by item and find an alternatives. In the past year, The Holler Homestead has reduced our commercial needs to things like cleaning supplies, dog and catfood, and a handful of "treats". Meat is raised here or obtained locally. Livestock feed is grown in Tennessee. We have added fodder plants to the homestead. We process vegetables grown here and close by. Almost all milk comes from a local dairy. This did not all happen at once. Anyone who has listened to the podcast knows it has been a journey. But I can tell you that once I solved the dairy problem (as in I do not want to be one, I want to support one), things just kept getting increasingly local and increasingly secure. Once I did that and no longer "needed" the $14/gallon milk. When it was time to sign up for another year, you can bet I did. We may not have a milk shortage this month, but if we do next month, I don't care. When the meat processing network -- one of ONLY THREE in our country shut down due to a ransomware attack -- I don't care. None of it matters anymore. The solution has been all around us the whole time. It is right there next to you and around the corner. It is in your local area. And if you live somewhere where it is not, time to start building it or move. Because what really matters is addressing the achilles heels in your life and building up from there. Not the Rothschilds or the Pelosis. Not communism vs Fascicm. What matters is prosperity for you, for your family and for your community. Keep your eye on the ball and take the next step. Membership Plug MeWe reminder Make it a great week! Song: GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee

Today is a thought of the walk episode - a collection of short thoughts shared on a variety of topics. These thoughts are shared on Odysee every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, then produced as an audio podcast every other Friday. Today's Thoughts Include: What Successful People Do Is the Harvest Right Freeze Dryer Worth It? The Kids Are Not OK To view the videos for Thought of the Walk Episode, go here: Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b They are also produced on Youtube as a playlist. Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee

Today, I share with you five things about raising meat rabbits that I have learned after having them for only two weeks. Chicken Processing Workshop - Two Seats Left! What's up in garden Main Topic: 5 things about raising rabbits Turns grass and vegetation into meat with very little additional time or effort Mineral lick hack Tractor versus cage Gender challenge Handling and cute factor Wish list: Tractoring system, watering system, cooling/shade set up, rabbit fodder seed blend. Membership and Coffee Pitch 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

The last two weeks have brought big, sad, life-changing things to many in our network. Today, I will talk through some things you can do for your friends and family when there really is nothing you can do to help. Schedule this week (Rogue Food)Chicken Processing Workshop June 14Holler Homestead Open House June 26, 10am-3pm Tales from the Prepper Pantry First Freeze Dryer Lessons: Location, Hot Pump!, Rehydrating, Oil Filtration, Is It Worth the Money? Lettuce has been hanging on Found a last round of things to restock for the rest of the year (old habits die hard) Canning kitchen is almost all set up Featured Forage: Hemlock Operation Independence: $5/bag hiking strawberries Solar Water Heater Update Main topic of the Show: What to Do When There Is Nothing You Can Do #reach out (trite/stilted...dont read into a non response. Send a card or little gift) #avoid discounting the pain or being that person who says turn that frown upside down. It is ok to be sad #avoid sharing your similar sad story or anyone elses (two things, two friends...same day) #Use your unique superpower to make their life a bit easier: (meal prep, childcare, offers of driving places, network, whatever it is) #check in a few days later... ask do you want, not do you need. #check in week/weeks/months later. They may not reach out to you. Life brings hard situations and we can help our friends and family by listening. Asking questions, sharing photos and good stories...and using our superpowers. What we cant do is wave a magic wand, bring someone back to life, or fix a relationship. Membership Plug MeWe reminder Make it a great week! Song: Grandpa's Song by Sauce GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee

Today is a thought of the walk episode - a collection of short thoughts shared on a variety of topics. These thoughts are shared on Odysee every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, then produced as an audio podcast every other Friday. Today's Thoughts Include: Resetting Airborne Viruses Hoarding Perception Look a Gift Horse in The Mouth To view the videos for Thought of the Walk Episode, go here: Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b They are also produced on Youtube as a playlist. Make it a great week! GUYS! Don't forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift! Community Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b Advisory Board The Booze Whisperer The Tactical Redneck Chef Brett Samantha the Savings Ninja Resources Membership Sign Up Holler Roast Coffee

I have had a bunch of emails come in in the last 2 weeks and rather than answer them in writing, I thought it would be fun to answer them in a listener variety show. Here is what we will cover today: Suggestion from Christopher that I do a podcast on how to start a home roasting business Website and other recommendations requested from Melissa Do you do tours of your homestead from Betsy Getting started on a homestead when you know little about permaculture from Jim How to get started with wild edible plants from Billy What's Up in the Garden Wall of Tomatoes Dill Germinated Beans are up Strawberries ripening each day -- anti chicken defense system Need to replace lettuce with basil Wishing for automated watering Main topic of the Show: Listener Variety Show Suggestion from Christopher that I do a podcast on how to start a home roasting business Add your thoughts on the mewe post about this topic Website and other recommendations requested from Melissa Buddy Press Untimate Membership Pro Coinpayments Do you do tours of your homestead from Betsy June Open House To Be Announced Next Week Getting started on a homestead when you know little about permaculture from Jim Kerry Brown Strong Roots Resources Nick Ferguson Home Grown Liberty How to get started with wild edible plants from Billy Stalking the Wild Asparagus 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