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Last night, my bottle-fed Ewe went into labor. She never got as big as the naturally raised ewes and this ended up being a problem. We will talk about the long night in the pasture, as well as tales from the prepper pantry, a shopping report, operation independence, and more.

Featured Event: Exit ad Build Land Summit at Polyface, May 23 & 24: https://courses.livefree.academy/land-summit-5-polyface-farms

Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

Weekly Shopping Report from Joe

Dollar Tree was first.  They’re finally out of the big non-carbonated Monsters I was getting, but there were plenty of other choices.  Stock levels throughout the store looked good.  Sonia has been able to find some craft items in there lately.

We also went to Hobby Lobby for some acrylic paint.  We didn’t walk around the whole store looking at other stock, but I didn’t see empty sections or anything else odd.  Things may change with the tariffs on Dragon Country, but not yet.  They were “normal-busy” with a short wait to check out.

The online price of a 2x4x8 stud at Home Depot is still $3.85.

Aldi was last.  We found everything we wanted.  Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): $1.39; eggs: $4.97; whole milk: $2.92; heavy cream: $5.29; OJ: $4.09; butter: $3.49 (-); bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.39; sugar: $2.99; flour: $2.35; and 80% ground beef: $4.59.

Untainted regular gasoline at Weigels is still $3.59/gallon.

Operation Independence

2 lambs born, so $800 goes into the independence fund

Main topic of the Show: A Wonderful, Horrible Livestock Experience

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

 

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Join me for a group discussion with John Willis of Special Operations Equipment and Jack Spirko of The Survival Podcast.

Featured Event: The Self Reliance Festival, SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsors:

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

Resources

 

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Today we’re talking about busting through analysis paralysis and, of course, all our usual Monday segments.

Featured Event

Member Webinar – Homeopathy for Urgent and Emergent Situations

Don’t miss this week’s member webinar! Learn practical ways to approach health challenges using homeopathy.

Details & Sign-Up: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/event/homeopathy-for-urgent-and-emergent-situations/

Sponsor 1: The Wealthsteading Podcast

Insightful discussions on wealth-building and independent living.

🔗 https://investablewealth.com/

Sponsor 2: AbovePhone

Secure, freedom-minded communications.

Get $50 off your device with coupon code LiveFreeTN

🔗 https://abovephone.com/?above=104

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Cooking for people from the pantry
  • Chaos of storing things everywhere – Nicole needs a wife
  • Moving back into the prepper pantry
  • About to unload a bunch of stored grain—we don’t eat grain anymore
  • The “oh shit” story

Weekly Shopping Report

This one will be short and boring; no major changes (I don’t need a Wahhmbulance for my chocolate price, at least not yet). Dollar Tree was the usual first stop. The drink product mix is shifting, but stock levels remain excellent.

The online price of a 2x4x8 stud at Home Depot is still $3.85.

Aldi was last. We found everything we wanted, but my preferred chocolate has gone up again to $2.69. Staple prices were:

  • Bread (20 oz. white): $1.39
  • Eggs: $4.97 (limit 2)
  • Whole milk: $2.84 (-)
  • Heavy cream: $5.29
  • OJ: $4.09
  • Butter: $3.75
  • Bacon: $3.99
  • Potatoes: $4.39
  • Sugar: $2.99
  • Flour: $2.35
  • 80% ground beef: $4.59

Untainted regular gasoline at Weigels is still $3.59/gallon.

Frugality Tip

No listener tips this week—send yours to nicole@livingfreeintennessee.com!

Nicole’s Tip: Audit your insurances annually. I’m doing that right now and it’s one of those boring-but-worth-it money wins.

Operation Independence

Update on the GSD weekend! Huge thanks to Valerie, Lynne, Tracy, Steve, Bryan, Tactical, and Knighthawk—and of course Bob, who we tried to kill. It was a solid weekend of getting things done and building community.

Main Topic of the Day: Busting Through Analysis Paralysis

I Why We Get Stuck in Analysis Paralysis

  • Fear of making the wrong move or wasting resources
  • Drowning in too much information and too many choices
  • Perfectionism in disguise—waiting until it’s “just right”
  • Pressure from external voices: what you should do versus what you want to do

II How to Align Your Efforts for Real Progress

  • Start by documenting where you spend your time
  • Revisit your vision and purpose
  • Know your own wiring—planner, doer, thinker?
  • Identify leverage points that’ll ease other areas

III Tips & Tricks to Break Free (My3Things Method + More)

  • Use the My3Things Method—3 high-impact tasks per day
  • Do the worksheet—focus and prioritize
  • Join our communities—get support and ideas
  • Call a friend who can help you think clearly
  • Pay for help if it moves you forward
  • Break things down to minimum viable steps (An American Homestead story)
  • Ask if you’re delaying because you don’t actually want it
  • Try body doubling—just work alongside someone
  • Just do one thing now—progress over perfection
  • Reset your brain—take a walk, listen to music, work out
  • And above all: Commit and don’t look back. Nothing replaces just deciding to move.

Sign up for the weekly mail – Stay updated on events, products, and local opportunities.

This week’s tip: Peter Hutchings from Terre Power in Sparta, TN reached out with a deal on used solar panels—around $0.15/kWh or less.

If you’re interested, email him at phutchings@terrepower.com

Make it a great week.

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

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In an extra-ambitious mood, I might use yams without pre-boiling. For the best taste and texture, I’ll stick with carb-heavy boiling potatoes.

Recipe courtesy of Bon Apétit.

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Today, I am joined by the Tactical Redneck to talk about spring, stupid funny things we cannot remember, new spring wild edibles and more!

Featured event: SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsor 1: InvestableWealth.com

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

Fiberglass fencing posts

Still need to move rams

GSD Weekend coming up – with spicy weather

Prepper Pantry update

Wild Mustard flower is here

The dumpster story

4 wheeler useable – bent frame Honda 300, 1995

Meat pizza

Update on sprouted sunflowers

Stupid funny things we cant remember!

Feta cheese made for the workshop and thoughts on working in a homesteader’s kitchen

Garden feels really small this year

Subaru passed her maiden voyage to SOE

Stormy’s harness

No morels found yet but they are starting to pop in nearby counties

Basecamp deck

Duck egg hunt in the pond

I want a roadside stand!

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

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Today, we begin to explore a bigger picture question about AI: Will it make us more or less free?

Featured Event: Member Webinar on Homeopathy

Sponsor 1: HollerRoast.com

Sponsor 2: AbovePhone.com, Coupon code LivefreeTN

Will AI Make Us More Or Less Free?

First, how do we define freedom?

The counter tension is those who wish to control and build power bases.

So this question is a pretty big question: Will AI make us more or less free?

AI’s Inherent Bias
AI as a Search Engine Replacement
Technocracy vs. Liberty
AI as a Creation Tool vs. Scam Weapon

Recommended Steps to Stay Free

  1. USE AI but with a critical
  2. Learn to protect your privacy, Use tools like Above Phone
  3. Be wary of too-good-to-be-true offers—even from people you know
  4. Set up a family/friend safe word
  5. Don’t blindly trust outputs—verify and think – especially the smaller details
  6. Avoid emotional or functional dependency
  7. Stay capable without the tool; don’t let it run your life

AI can help you build the life you want—or quietly undermine it – and if we just ignore it, it will move toward the status quo: empowering the oligarchs not the individual. Freedom means staying awake and staying critical without burying your head in the sand.

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

 

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Today, we talk about the word of the year and more specifically MY word of the year: Enrich. Big lessons so far in 2025 for me. Also, we will cover our usual monday segments: Tales from the prepper pantry, a frugality tip and operation independence.

Featured Event: The LFTN GSD Weekend is Upon Us! livingfreeintennessee.com/event/lftn-gsd-weekend/

Sponsor 1: EMPShield.com, coupon code LFTN

Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com/LFTN

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Launching a new video short series this week: Can You Do That with Mayonnaise?
  • Freezers go in their permanent spot this week, and one becomes the “workshop food” freezer! This is how I stay organized so we can find everything for the workshop.
  • Taco Soup Idea From Janna Gillard
  • The Salsa Jar Hijink

Frugality Tip from Margo

  • Do you frequently cut the sleeves off of T-shirts? I do, because someone I live with only wears sleeves to work. I use the sleeves for rags and plant ties, but the other day I cut a sleeve off and for some reason I was like let me see if this fits on my head….guess what the sleeve of his XXL T-shirt makes a great headband for me. So yet another use for something you would normally throw away.
  • I know I always am looking for a crappy headband when I am going to do a facemask, now I will keep a sleeve or two around.
  • Happy Saving y’all

Operation Independence

  • Tomato Seedlings look GREAT – not buying any plants this year.
  • Scored $150 on a left behind part of my car – Purging is also enriching my supplies budget!
  • Mayo thoughts

Main Topic of the Day: Word of the Year Update: Enrich

  • A reminder: Choosing a word of the year is about setting an intention to guide your decisions and energy throughout the year. “Enrich” was chosen to focus on sharpening, refining, and deepening—not just doing more, but doing better.

Lesson 1: Enrich the People It Serves

Lesson 2: Purge What Doesn’t Serve

Lesson 3: Slowing My Roll

Conclusion

The key to enriching our world here at the Holler Homestead is not about how many memberships or Spring Workshop tickets can I sell today and much more about asking two key questions:

    1. How is this going to enrich the buyer or participants?
    2.  How does this enrich my life?

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

 

Those of you who listen to my podcast know that we have stopped raising chickens on our homestead as we adjust the design. However, chickens are a really great addition to your homestead especially when you integrate them into your composting systems. Redfin, quoted me in an article about that last week and you can check it out here: 11 Benefits of Having Chickens.

Does this mean I hit the big time?

Lately, most homesteading friends are prone to bring up the topic of fresh greens. I get that way by the end of winter, too. Here’s a wow-worthy main-dish salad.

Both recipe and photo are courtesy of Chris Spees.

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First day of spring and it is 26 degrees out there. Find out how the plants weathers this latest yucky frost, progress on the prepper pantry, a garden update, and more today on our weekly homestead update show.

Featured Event: Solstice Gathering at Haven Earth Trade School in Old Fort, tn (nearish Chattanooga). Use the contact form on the website to RSVP and get additional information.

Sponsor 1: AbovePhone.com: https://abovephone.com/?above=104
Use coupon code for $50 off: LiveFreeTN

Sponsor 2: EMPShield.com

Fallen Ewe, Hoof Trimming and Selenium
The Great Vehicle Scam of 2025
Frosty First Day of Spring
Flood Damage Report
Garden Bed 3 is up – stupid dog
Duck egg production update with supplementation – it was pretty instant
Prepper Pantry Update
Holler Comms in the storm
The Round Roast that became Rouladen
What happens to a spring with 6-8 inches of rain in 1 day and what we did about it
Erosion Remediation Projects Update Post Flood
Tomato seedlings are up and looking good
Gifting 6 chards to a friend this week and hopefully planting the last 8 in bed 4
Lighting and the fence charger – community
Watercress patch is not coming back yet which is slower than usual
Tempting to dig up the old garden and seed with gourds and runner beans
Holler Game Night tonight

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

Advisory Board

Resources