Preparedness and Name Brand vs Generic

When I started listening to Glenn Beck I was amused by some of the ads, like the one about seeds. Yep, you buy yourself those special seeds, and then it doesn't rain or it floods and the temperature fluctuates too much and/or too fast, and those seeds die in the ground. Owning blackberry bushes, I've developed a profound respect for farmers. About every other year, my crop is lost to the weather warming too fast. The berries look delicious, but they are TART, and they don't have time to sweeten before they're dried like raisins, which doesn't improve the flavor. Farming requires a deep and abiding faith that everything will come together at the right time, in the right way, without anything like hail storms, tornadoes, pests, etc, ruining it all, should all the other uncontrollable factors work together for good. God bless farmers, please.

I've been reminded that I need to have some sort of storage, just in case. Many years ago, I had a year's supply of almost everything, including dog food. It came in handy when I was out of work for three years. Yes, it did stretch, like the oil and flour. I stopped when I hoped I'd move soon and dreaded the thought of moving everything. Well, there's no end in sight, and I've decided that if I have to move it, so what. There's a peace in knowing I'm making an effort to be prepared, just in case. I'm starting with the non-perishables, like toothpaste, ear swabs, soap, etc. When my dog was alive I had wheat to make food for her, just in case. I'll allergic to bran, so what's the point of storing wheat or oats? I can't eat it. However, I have bags of white flour in my deep freezer (keeps bugs from growing in it). I've learned that regular rice will store a long, long, long time. Jasmine rice, however, only keeps about three months. I know soup keeps well, but it doesn't agree with me. The cheap noodles keep fine, but the spice packet will go rancid. I'm learning what keeps and what doesn't. And more importantly, I'm learning to ask myself what will I truly eat. If I'm not going to rotate it, then it shouldn't be in my pantry.

Name brands and generics are not created equal. The only way to know is to experiment. Peanut butter, I've tried generic, Jiff, Peter Pan, and Skippy. I prefer Skippy. Grape jell/jam, I've tried Simply Fruit, Welch's, and generic. The simply fruit generic was delicious, but really expensive. I don't notice a difference between Welch's and generic. Cheese, Kraft vs Krogers (the local store brand), I prefer Kroger. Lactose-free milk, Lactaid vs the store brand, I prefer the store brand. Snackwell's Devil's Food Cake Cookies vs Kroger, absolute no difference except the price. Kroger was cheaper. Rocky Road ice cream, there is only Private Select. All the others have gone to a marshmallow cream. I want bits of marshmallow. I remember when I conducted my taste-testing on chocolate. Starbucks makes an amazing milk chocolate, but it's expensive. I tried about sixteen different milk and dark chocolates. I finally settled on Dove, both in milk and dark. All that being said, I know others will make different choices. Thank goodness for variety. And when I find myself with something I don't like, I know someone else will, so I've not wasted my money, simply shared it unexpectedly.