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Hello from Australia...


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I thought I had introduced myself somewhere along the line but looking at my profile it says I have No Posts so I guess not. I am a bit socially anxious and even find forums difficult, but I have been lurking here long enough I am about ready to jump in and start posting a bit. Also, I need to learn to can, so, it would be polite to introdruce myself before leaping into questioning you all. :)

 

I am Lee, a single mama of a 7 month old, in Western Australia. I have been prepping at various levels of seriousness/intensity for years, and am currently in one of the not-so-intense phases (being pregnant and exhausted and then coping with a newborn on your own will do that, I've found :lol: ) and trying to ramp it back up.

 

This years skill-goals:

Crochet

Chainsawing

and CANNING (which is where I will be haunting the threads here for advice, I think! I don't know anybody in real life who cans, except one woman who lives about 4-5 hours away from me. I don't think canning is nearly as big here in Australia as it is in the states.)

 

Apart from a baby daughter, I am also responsible for 1 dog, 2 cats, 3 geese, 4 guinea fowl and a couple dozen chooks (chickens) (plus 7 roosters... at least 4 too many but I'm vegetarian so will have to palm them off on someone at some point!) My garden would be looking very sad and dismal if it weren't for the one mad seed-planting spree I went on with my six year old niece a couple of months ago, which at least has half a dozen vines going everywhere and looks very abundant if nothing else :D

 

I am completely out of chook food (chicken feed?) AND cat litter, which shows how lamentably I am managing the preparedness business right at present. Must do something about that!!

 

I have no idea what else to say about ME, but I shall say this about YOU : This is my favourite ever survival forum. I love that it is women helping women, and not all rambo gun stuff. I love that you are all so nice and helpful to each other. I love the goofy jokes, and friendly bantering, and that even when you disagree it is politely. It is a very welcoming place, and even though I am usually very nervous about stepping foot into any new place (even online), even *I* feel fairly comfy introducing myself here, because you all seem so lovely.

 

So... thanks. Thanks for giving me a place I feel comfortable talking, so I can really get back into being prepared and learning new skills, with (hopefully?) new friends to help and encourage me along the way...

 

I'd better post this and get back to gobbling my dinner before baby needs attention :bounce:

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That is one of the nicest introductions I have ever read on any forum. :) Sounds like you have your hands full. These ladies are quite inspirational and soon you will have an entire room dedicated to your Canning and food processing...LOL! Welcome!

 

P.S.

All the best gear comes from Australia! DH and I are always drooling over the awesome off-road RV options y'all have. ;)

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Welcome :) . I amonly able tocheck in from library now and then but can tell you there are many experienced folks here. If you are gardening or buying in bulk then canning is a very helpful thing to do. Lots of otherthingsto pick and choose from as you find you prefer.

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:welcome:

Agree with JeanetteC.....quite an affirmation that MrsS is what we all try to make her: friendly... accessible for any level of knowledge on these topics... accepting.... helpful. Very glad to know it's working.

 

So welcome from way across the planet ...and equator ...from most of us. There are some out your way and scattered internationally. It is absolutely great to hear an international perspective on events that are increasingly global in size and consequence. :thumbs:

 

 

MtRider ....good to get to know some of our :hidingsmile: folks... :)

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WOW...I think we all should take a deep breath and tighten our hat bands! What a promo for Mrs.S!!!! LeeFae you'll find some real experts here on canning...I did! I was a dehydrator junkie and just couldn't quite get up my nerve to start canning again, until I happened on to this great forum and got alot of my questions answered and some I hadn't even asked yet! :24: This has been a place so many of us to just "vent" when we got a mouthful of sour grapes :bounce: . Welcome to the family :welcome:

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Hi Lee! :hi:

 

Great having you on board. There is so much to learn here and everyone is happy to share. :pc_coffee:

 

Don't be afraid to ask if you have questions. We don't think any question is silly. We have either asked the same thing before or else didn't think to ask. Canning is one of my favorite things to do. :canning:

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Welcome LeeFae, so glad to meet you. Just let me say I'm so darn jealous right off the bat because I've always wanted to go to Australia, always been my dream! There's so much information here, you'll find all kinds of things and discover ideas you hadn't even thought of. Also I saw where you were wanting to learn to crochet. I just started I guess two years ago and had noone to teach me...went to youtube..and found several wonderful tutorials. May I recommend one in particular and she lives in Australia also, think that's why I love her so much, can listen to her talk all day, anyway if you go there searc for BobWilson123 her name is Clare. She is great teacher at all levels.

 

This is her home page on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bobwilson123?feature=watch

 

Also if your on facebook, here's her fb page: https://www.facebook.com/bobwilson123YoutubeCrochetVideos

 

Welcome again and look very forward to your posts!

 

Denise from Texas

Edited by Katz25
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Welcome, Lee! It is nice to find a forum with cyber-aunties instead of the macho-men, I quite agree! Mrs S is the first form I started with way back, lurking & reading, all the while rejoicing in my discovery that there were so many others who thought like I did. So welcome, feel free to shout for help if you need it - lots of us can, garden, crochet, sew, and juggle our homesteads and lives with prepping, too! Tickle the little one for me!

Edited by kappydell
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Yup - I just wanna HUG you! :hug3:

 

If we're only half of what your kind words say, we're doing something right. :wub:

 

I'm curious about how different canning might be there. What is available to you? Is the equipment the same? We want to give you only correct information so you are safe and healthy.

 

Don't ever be afraid to ask questions, even if you're afraid it sounds "dumb". There are no dumb questions - if you're wondering, somebody else is, too. ;)

 

Welcome home, Lee... :bouquet:

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Awww, you are all so lovely! Bit teary here haha. I am always a bit afraid to check back when someone replies to a thread of mine in case I have inadvertently done something rude/wrong/offensive and get scolded (ha, that is my social anxiety talking there) so to brave the checking-replies-feat here and be rewarded with such a warm welcome is very very lovely. So thank you. :hug3:

Baby is napping on my back (she will only sleep ON or right beside me) so I have some time to type! As long as I type veeeery quietly because the keys clicking wakes her up :laughkick: Ahhh babies are so much fun. And so character building.

 

Thanks for the links, Denise. I will check them out soon. I have "started to learn crochet" half a dozen times over the past few years, and am at the point now (I discovered the other day, with a library book on crochet) that with just a reminder of how to cast on etc, I can pretty easily make up a square of the basic stitch (except I must be not adding the extra stitch at the end of the row or something because my "square" tends to get narrower as I go :lol: ) so I have high hopes that if I actually get stuck into this year and follow some tutorials I will be able to *make an actual useful thing* which is an exciting thought. Can socks be crocheted? Or do I need to learn to knit for that?

 

Canning in Australia is much the same I think (except that hardly anyone does it, especially these days) but we have different jars. I think Ball Mason is your major jar/canning company? We have Fowlers Vacola, with a rubber sealing ring (one use) and then reusable lids and clips. I *think* it is the rings that are one use... obviously I am no expert. You can pick up old canning jars at garage sales and second-hand shops sometimes. I actually have a crate full of old jars in my garage that were here when I moved in! But no rings or lids. I think you might be able to get them at some hardware stores though... will have to look.

 

I don't know about the SIZES though. You have pints and half pints and quarts. Whereas we have litres. And I don't know what the volume of our jars are, or how that equates in canning times etc. If there is a modern Australian canning book though it would have all that info I am sure.

*note to self - acquire a modern Australian canning book*

That is mostly for water-bath canning but I have read you can use them for pressure-canning too, and also that you can use old jam etc jars, with brand new lids, for both water bath and pressure canning. There is a preserving website that sells all the new lids (plus canners and tools and a bunch of other stuff) so I am looking into that, because I can get those jars for free. I would just have to find out the volumes/canning times I think? Ahhh... in 5 years time I will look back at this and giggle at my cluelessness. And I will teach my daughter to can as soon as she's old enough. This should be general knowledge!

 

Uh oh, baby is awake. :laughkick:

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There are a few sites here in Oz that deal with canning.

 

this one I have just discovered recently and watching it to see how it goes, she is also on facebook, but more interestingly she does classes in the Perth area. Is that any where near where you are?

 

http://www.foodpreserving.org/

 

Mad Millie is a NZ company that is branching out into Australia, I ordered some jars through her site and had delivery in about 3 days. Her system uses the single use lids and rings similar to the Ball Mason jars. I wanted this system as the Fowlers system are too bulky for the pressure canner.

 

http://www.madmillie.com/

 

But as far as a forum that works - I stick with MrsS :) for all the reasons you said!

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Hi Mt Rider!

 

I have been keeping busy at work and took up patchwork and quilting last year which has been fun :) Hubby had a good report from oncology at Christmas, still on 6 month check ups but not the aggressiveness they thought might be happening. Youngest daughter (17) left home - she has moved to the capital for a year to do a Cert IV in Community Development, then that will take her central north part of the country to do a BA Humanities & Community Development. Grandson is too far away and moving even further away :( but at 7 months he is crawling and climbing and a happy little man.

 

But I have been wanting to do more canning, so starting to position myself with the right jars etc. Life is pretty good at the moment!

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