Today I will share the great car breakdown of 2020, the aftermath, and the lesson it taught me. Tales from the Prepper Pantry Nothing got put up this week (workshop) but we did start some sauerkraut It is time to pickle beets (not those I am growing) Made it through the workshop with salsa to spare Whole lambs incoming Featured Forage: Thistle Bull thistle: Carduus lanceolatus L. Cirsium lanceolatum (L.) Scop., non Hill Carduus vulgaris Savi Cirsium lanceolatum (L.) Scop. var. hypoleucum DC Edible parts: Crushed well for fodder (Unless you have a goat), Seeds = oil, Stems, roots and leaves,  Possible medicinal uses: Wound poultice, skin care, stomach complaints, swelling joints, ibs Operation Independence Inspired by the network this week Main topic of the Show: Don't Worry Be Happy Today, I want to tell you a story from the Thursday before the LFTN workshop. And the reason I want to tell you this story is that this has been a year of calamity. Covid forced us to move the workshop due to travel problems. We had speakers scheduled who could not make it. We lost 25% of our participants due to the reschedule. There was no way to know what that had not bee locally produced would be available for meals. And just when things were coming together for the event, riots broke out causing additional troubles for our event. So as you can imagine, having my only vehicle punk out on i-40 with Mama Sauce the Thursday before the event was not the best timing. Here is how that day went: The Holler Team meeting had happened and Tactical was to drive KH to the airport for a family emergency Ma Sauce and I were to head the other direction with my car to get supplies There were grumpy mugs so I asked and we ended up trading errands - ma sauce would drive knighthawk to the airport and T and I headed to sams Mom called Knighthawk called Gas station pickup Rental car arrangement Meanwhile I was supposed to meet someone who wanted to buy my wheat grinder and she was already on her way No one was looking forward to wading through traffic to the airport KH ubered to where we were Car drop off - transmission breaking behavior Sketchy truck Left T there while I got the rental car Picked up T and headed home exhausted having lost a whole day of workshop set up Arrived to dinner delivered by Mark Alexander Poked around and it looked like 1500-3500 to repair a transmission on my car and it blue books at 3500-4500. Big transportation decisions needed to be made.  Called the mechanic and he said he was covered up and would need a week to get me a bid. So I did what anyone in this situation should do: Stopped worrying about it, and focused on what I CAN do: make the workshop awesome. From time to time I would look at rental cars but really just ignored the car issue. Got a call Friday of the workshop and did not call back because at that point I did not want to know. Monday’s call: $125 for the tow. My car is not totaled -- at least not yet. We have no idea why it overheated. They can’t find anything and with my upgraded AAA in place, I am just going to go on as usual while keeping my eye out for deals on the kind of vehicle I should own. In the end - when things are what they are, and you can’t really do anything but your best, the time we spend on worrying about it only sets you up to: Lose sleep Become less effective and possible hurt your future Become a burden to your friends Really a better approach is to maybe complain a bit about the situation to let your emotions out. Step back and make arrangements that will get you through the crisis phase, then reorient on what is most important. Because even though things may feel really urgent in a situation like this, nothing you do until you can do something changes a thing and if you use that gap time to get other things going well, you end up ahead in the end. So today, with riots, emerging nation states, pandemic madness and all the other news cycle stuff. Today, when maybe you just los your apartme