1232 replies to this topic

[AMarthaByHeart]

This past week I learned how to made cheese (the easy recipes, so far) and butter. Next, there is to make some with herbs and spices. The info I received here took the fear out of it. Thanks for all the good info and websites.

I took all of my dehydrated food out of bags and put in jars and sealed them.
I am still working on my 'How To' notebooks and marking things off of my to do lists.
I finally finished going through my stock and found several things were really old. I found that the energy and snack bars , crackers , etc. do taste old after expired more that a year or more. I guess it is the oil content. I gave DGS some old peanut butter crackers /12-3-10 not realizing it. He spit for a good while and kept saying 'Nasty Grandma, Nasty.' I bought some fresh ones and had to taste first before he would he them. I guess I got lazy and when I bought new supplies, I would use the fresh stuff instead of putting in the stored supplies and using the older ones first.


Next on list is to find a cord of firewood at a reasonable price and fix crack in firebox. People who owned house before us burned mesquite wood and cracked it. We are trying to get prices.

I feel an urgency to at least to try and 'batten up the hatches.'

[Violet]

I have been sticking dried things like that in buckets with O2 absorbers and hoping for the best.

[Jori]

I feel an urgency to at least to try and 'batten up the hatches.'\

DH and I were talking the other night, I was thinking November (elections) and trying to make sure I had additional surplus of staples for then. He is really thinking we are going to have riots in June when the Supreme Court comes back with their decision on Obama Care. He thinks when it hits the fan alot of the changes will be reverting back to post industrial (lots of hard labor, women back in the home caring for children, the home, actual food prep (no convenience food), sewing, gardening, canning, etc. I chuckled and wondered if I should start making bread without my machine.

I think we are just waiting for something to trigger problems.

DH hopped on the Honeyville site this morning, I opened up the freeze dried carrots and peas to start learning to cook with them and we made the switch to their potato flakes awhile ago (I make them with the directions from the box of instant mashed). So I told him we are about ready for an order and I requested 2 containers of Red Feather Butter so I can try and bake with it (the only thing I really use butter for). He came back amazed that they had freeze dried sausage. I told him it was probably a good idea to pick up a container to try it on pizza and for sausage gravy.

[arby]

I ordered that medium sized harness for my cat for emergencies and some mini bread pans as small loaves are really more realistic for me and I can freeze what I want when I make a batch of bread. They are good for holiday baking too
2 more handy items.

[Jori]

More clothes for DD. $22 for a trash bag full. Most of it is for now or this fall but there are a few things for the next size up. I think she is pretty well set for the summer.

[montanamom]

Did full inventory on my preps. Now I realize were all my holes are! I wish I had unlimited income so I could patch them quick. I know I only started prepping a little over a year ago, and I know I have come a long way to securing some measure of safety for my family, but I am still so far off.....

[AMarthaByHeart]

Jori--I agree with you. It sounds like we all are just 'trucking' along doing what we can. Today, I am starting my sourdough starter---again. I make it several times then frget to feed it. Maybe this I will do better. The recipe makes two large loaves or 3 smaller. It will be good with my new cheese and butter. But first get eggs ready to hunt.


Has anyone found the old fashion candy eggs to hunt. We don't eat them and usually freeze them to use again the next year. No eggs last year or this year. I couldn't even find the dye kits. I will use food coloring to do the boiled ones.



Violet this is a better idea. I didn't realize how many jars it would take. At least, now I know what we have here.
Arby, CGA, etc. there are so many here who give me encouragement because of what you all do everyday. I decided a while back to try and accomplish something everyday.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Just keep plugging away, everybody!
Canning 7 qts of black bean soup today. Daughter has made a huge dent in the canned meals and I have no where near enough to get thru summer.

[arby]

oh I don't get nearly as much as I would like done each day! Like montanamom wish I had more income, nothing excessive but some more would sure help as prices and such are going up and required bills are more due to copays and such.

I have decided to note down individual items on some bought lists to keep better track of what I am getting month to month right now to see if it will help me figure out my food budget and toiletries needs in particular, also noting what I actually am using as I go.

If I break all that down into food groups , I think it will help me determine what I am really consuming and what I need to be comfortable with enough variety and nutrition generally.

Received my wonderwash today and putting first load through it now

( you have to assemble it , but its not hard. I do think they could improve the handle on the crank however)

Got child sized shovel and hoe for gardening or emergency gardening although I do have army shovels too.

Some hand trowels and hand rake are going to complete that little set of gardening tools.

[Annarchy]

Pulled out our old backpacks, sleeping bags and all our camping gear. Sewed them up where the seams had raveled. Converting them into BOBs.

[out_of_the_ordinary]

We bought The Merck Manual Home Health Handbook for just under $16 at Sam's Club.

[Mt_Rider]

Wellllll, time will tell if the second horse we received today [FREE] will be a good prep. If it keeps my main horse more content [...and he is in LOVE already! ] then it will be. She's older than I'd like [but FREE is a good word] and an Arabian *sigh* NOT compatible for my therapy riding...not at all! But DH might enjoy her. Iffen we ever had to do a walking BugOut...I have GOT to use horse legs!

Keeping in mind our terribly dry winter/spring, we also picked up an old horse trailer. [solid; not pretty. Just the way I like it! So you get less admiring glances!!! ] Now we are in the process of rearranging vehicles. DH has used the pickup for his commuting vehicle for a long time now. It went in for a check-up and is still in fine shape. So it will be getting fixed for towing the trailer. It would stay home to be my vehicle. Which would mean I can put all the BO stuff from our dead vehicle [otherwise known as our "shed" ] into the back of the truck {under topper]. Then we can donate the dead vehicle to the fire dept for whatever drills they like to use them for. The gas-economy car will require quite a bit of fixing up to go back on the road for DH. But unless there is something drastic, it will be his commute vehicle again. We will gain a lot of gas mileage quickly cuz his commute is a good distance.

All of this is getting us into a better position while the Economic Hooey continues to Hit the Fan. AND....I will be in a much better position if I do have to haul livestock outta here for a fire. [or whatever] I'll have to rethink some of my "15 Minutes to Leave" plan. I'd have to use the dog crates for the goats if I have the pickup. Definitely have to rehearse that one!!!! We have a hill right handy to use for a ramp. But GOATS! And the XL dog have to cram back there. Stay tuned for reports on my upcoming 'fire drills'.

I'll be doing loading exercises with the new horses too! Was glad to see the new horse looks like an elfin princess next to [my brother's name for BBB] 'lard butt'. OK... BBB IS pretty hefty and wanted to ride a bit sideways in the trailer. I'm not totally sure there is room for slim "Princess". Get them settled down with the new place and new roommates and then try it. Then practice it! Horse loading neeeeeeds to go smoothly. Cuz if it doesn't go smoothly...it's not going at all!


Repairing fences and this vehicle shuffle has taken up most of the past couple weeks.

MtRider [......augh....I am T I R E D !!! ...but hopeful! ]

Edited by Mt_Rider, 07 April 2012 - 05:11 PM.

[dogmom4]

That's awesome that you got a friend for BBB! And for free too!

Edited by dogmom4, 08 April 2012 - 08:57 AM.

[Purdy Bear]

Mt_Rider - it sounds like you've got your hands full, I hope you get your escape plan worked out.


I've taken a day off resting, very rare for me but I guess you can only go for so long before your forced to rest.

I began to knit a lovely thick ribbed scarf today, its going to be short and just go round the neck once. Its just a shame I dont have enough wool for a hat to match.


Found a website that sells wool in the UK at a slightly reduced price, so I'm going to do an order and see if it comes. Looks too good to be true at the moment, but Ive found it in yellow pages and the shop front on google maps so hopfully it should be OK.

[windmorn]

The Easter Bunny brought me a Bird Song Bible. It has all 747 breeding species of North America with a little player on the side that plays the birds' songs. After the Hunger Games and seeing the guy on Doomsday Preppers that was teaching his kids so they would know what birds were around by the songs they heard, I thought it was a pretty cool idea. We already try to id birds by sight, so it learning songs will fit right in.

[Jori]

The Easter Bunny brought me a Bird Song Bible. It has all 747 breeding species of North America with a little player on the side that plays the birds' songs. After the Hunger Games and seeing the guy on Doomsday Preppers that was teaching his kids so they would know what birds were around by the songs they heard, I thought it was a pretty cool idea. We already try to id birds by sight, so it learning songs will fit right in.

I thought the bird song id from the guy on Doomsday Preppers was an amazing idea, too!

Picked up a coat for DD for hopefully this winter and maybe the following one. There isn't a hood on it but she has a hat that she wears so hopefully it will work this winter, also. I need to find someone with at least one boy a size or two ahead of DS1 so I can start working on his stuff. Thinking about thinning about what I give to my sister for my nephew and put it up for DS2 in case travel is reduced or out of the question completely. I feel sneaky doing it though so I'm not sure I will.

Put one raised bed of potatoes in, one on onions and put lettuce in with the strawberries. DH finished the rest of the raised beds so he needs to fill them but I'm hoping to do a little more in the existing beds this week.

Went to Aldi and did some stocking of things that I haven't done in awhile.

[CrabGrassAcres]

Canned 7 qts of navy bean soup yesterday evening.

[out_of_the_ordinary]

Finally bought some exam gloves. (Didn't have any before, so this was a hole in our preps) We picked up a box of 200 Latex-free, powder free, nitrile gloves for $10.98 at Sam's Club.

Tried on the nitrile exam gloves to discover I react to them. My hand turned very red and became slightly swollen and itchy. I'm thinking I'll go with a smaller box when I try another type.

[Poohbear]

I hit our local flea market this weekend and found a man selling stun guns. I've been wanting one for a while for self protection when I travel for my job since I still don't have my CCW permit for a handgun (yes I already checked and stun guns ARE legal in my state).

Then yesterday I found some great deals at a thrift store. I found some expensive brand jeans and denium shorts for my teenage daughters. $2.50 apiece for shorts and $5 each for the jeans. They were Levi Strauss, Hilfiger, and Vanderbilt. Now, my girls aren't materialistic but what teenager wouldn't want to wear high end clothes if they could get them cheap? I also picked up a bread machine for $7.50. There was no box or manual but it looked like it had never been used and it powered up just fine in the store. I'll be baking bread in it this weekend!

[Purdy Bear]

Continued my dog/pet preps. I recieved two more leather collars, a puppy harness and lead. I'v found Ebay (UK) is by far the best place to buy as some are rediculously cheap - evan for Ancol collars, but you do need to take a good look.

I recieved a large make up bag which was new. I want to use it like a packing cube to put clothes in.


I'v finished knitting a scarf, It's in double kit wool, 42 inches long with 6 1/2 inches (52 stitches) wide so its very soft and warm. I'm going to use a similar wool and rib to do a long scarf/shawl which will expand out into a narrow blanket. Heres the scarf:





PS I've just baked some cheese scones. It will be interesting to see how they come out, as I usually fail at them. I can cook just about every other cake with success but scones just dont come out right. LOL! I dont eat wheat so Dad will have to advise me how they taste.

Edited by Purdy Bear, 12 April 2012 - 05:31 AM.