I have been off a lot since our move out of town (I thank God everyday I walk out and view the full property of 9 acres we reside on now). We have been busy attempting to become somewhat self-sufficient. Over 1300 square feet of garden, chickens for eggs and meat, and rabbits for meat (I know, "aww, how could you?").

Things have gotten tighter with our move out of town alone, costing us more to get around, and with higher gas prices pressing onto grocery prices, of course this has been a budget strainer as well. Still we're ok, and my husband still has his job, and I am in the works of getting a small cleaning service going for some extra cash.

However, people I know all around, things are getting worse for them. People doubling up in households, lack of food, some unable to afford to drive to jobs when self-employed, causing missed income, and some losing their electricity for lack of money to pay their bills.

I am just wondering how things are all around this nation and although I have tried to keep up on the national news, I feel like they do not always report it all anyways. So how bad does it seem it is going to get? Are we going to drop into a full fledged depression?

I have also joined an online group for "preppers" for such catastrophic events. People who plan for the worst and hope for the best, not survivalists though, just practical people. Some in this group really feel it is going to be worse than it is now.