After a long hiatus, and much encouragement I have decided to bring this blog back to life. Never mind that I absolutely loathe WordPress’ new block layout., which is one reason why I stayed away. (Sorry, guys…you didn’t improve a damned thing here!) During the pandemic over the last two years, I was dealing with breast cancer, a change in careers, and launching a new small business.

The current state of what’s going on in the world has made me realize that being self-sufficient as much as possible and sharing tips and resources is something that we all need to do as inhabitants of Mother Earth. Gas prices are outrageous. When we do venture out to the grocery store, go to town to get supplies, or even when ordering things online, it becomes clear that everything is far more expensive than it was just a short time ago. A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that she is now planting what she calls her “Apocolypse Garden”. I have to say, some days it really does feel like we’ve reached the end if we don’t get a grip and pull our heads out and soon. That means thinking about every single thing we do that we may not have paid any mind to before. How we obtain, store, and cook our food, as well as making more sustainable choices by divorcing ourselves from plastic, choosing to reduce our carbon footprint, and doing things like planting trees under whose shade we may never sit are just a part of it.

For at least four years the seeds of division, hate, and the idea of “I got mine, so screw you!” have been pervasive in our society. I won’t point my fingers in blame – but I will say for those of you who don’t know me in real life, I was raised with Indigenous ideals and am outspoken about them. It’s not a question of ‘if’ these ideals and cultural notions will slip into my blog posts, but ‘when’ and ‘how often.’ I make absolutely no apology about this. If that bothers anyone, there will be no hard feelings if you choose to unfollow me or this blog. On the other hand, if that is of interest, I would like to welcome you; especially any other Indigenous Brothers and Sisters, Aunties, Uncles, Cousins, etc. If you have a blog, a business, a TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. please let me know in the comments.

For those of you who stuck it out with me after more than three years of total silence, please accept my thanks for being so patient. I am grateful. I will only add that all of us collectively are far more powerful than any one of us is individually.

Wapila Tanka! (Many thanks!)