Oh, yeah

Everyone have a Merry Christmas.  I hope all of your Christmas dreams and wishes came true.  

At the Risk of Sounding Like a Whack Job

Now back to my question of "unused" military installations.  Look where my research took me!!

Whatever happened to the $385 M (that's millions of dollars) contract awarded to Kellog-Brown & Root/Halliburton to build temporary immigration detention centers?  

You know, the centers to be built for Homeland Security for an "influx of immigrants...natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space."  

At the time this contract was announced waaaay back in 2006, a Homeland Security spokesperson stated "It's the type of contract that could be used in some kind of mass migration."   This comment was followed by additional comments from the Army Corps of Engineers.  The Corps talking head said "the centers could be at unused military sites or temporary structures...and would each hold up to 5,000 people."  Just to set the record straight:  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/national/04halliburton.html?_r=4&oref=login

Our media has reported that the South of the Border workforce has been returning home because of our current economic situation.  With exception of New Orleans, our media has pretty much ignored recent hurricanes, flooding in the mid-West, so the States seem to be handling natural disasters well without the wringing of hands we saw with Fox News and Shepard Smith. 

 

So just what are these potential new programs that might require additional detention space?  Who are these people that Homeland Security thinks/feels might be part of a mass migration?  Birds are biologically driven to migrate seasonally.  Humans migrate for improved living conditions.  

Even with the Cuban Boat crisis, the Cubans were absorbed into already existing military facilities.  Granted, little known military installations were used for this, and a detention staff was needed because Cuba took advantage of the situation by emptying its prisons and mental institutions and we had a huge influx of criminals and crazies.  Are we anticipating another boat crisis?

Better yet, who are these people who will need to be detained because of potential new programs?  What new programs?  What kind of programs require detention space?  Detention connotes being held against one's will,  and why would our government have a need for a program for detention?  Just how does a government go about planning for an "unknown" event that will require detention?

It's the word detention that bothers me.  I don't think one would use the word detain if the government were providing assistance to victims of natural disaster.  Perhaps the better word for this would be shelter centers.  That goes for whatever the government would view as mass migration.  The word detention in this situation doesn't work for me either.  The more apt words would might be migration centers or shelters or facilities or sites. We don't detain people for changing locations for jobs, improved access to resources, now do we?  Are we talking (in my best condescending voice) about detaining our own citizens?  

I don't know if any illegals were ever "detained" in any of these centers supposedly to be built by KBR/Halliburton, or if in fact any centers were even established.  My casual reading leads me to believe that most illegals were turned loose soon after apprehension and they disappeared into the population.   I could be wrong this tho.

I want to know the status of these detention centers.  Were any actually built and are any of these sites manned by personnel.  Are any U.S. citizens or non-citizens housed/detained in these sites.   I also think the tax payer deserves an accounting of Three Hundred and Eighty Five Million dollars that belong to the citizenry of this country.  

I want to know exactly what kind of potential new program is being envisioned that would require the planning and operating of detention centers that could hold 5,ooo people.  Finally, who is going to man these detention centers if/when activated?  Is this one of the new missions of Northern Command?  Wish me luck in getting any answers.

See what happens when I am bored with prepping?  I just go off on tangents,  but perhaps not so far afield after all.

Sobering and Scrooge-like Thoughts

Breakfast Ponderings

Maybe I shouldn’t have had the extra cup of coffee this morning at IHOP.  Or maybe I had just one bite too many of my mushroom omelet.   Regardless, my mind went in warp speed, kicked into overdrive and all manner of disturbing thoughts raced through my mind.  As I sat across from my friend, I couldn’t help but wonder if she would be one of the survivors when the SHTF comes along.

 It isn’t as though she hasn’t been warned; even her husband has tried to talk to her about preparing for the coming economic tsunami.  His lack of physical health and stamina are not conducive for him to take charge and do anything on his own.  He is not master in his own home.  Her world revolves around chat rooms and whatever is on TV.  She has not responded well to suggestions that maybe she needs to have some kind of food and water storage, if nothing more than she is the sole breadwinner in the family.

It causes me considerable grief, when I look beyond the here and now.  The future looks to hold nothing that bodes well for most people.  We will all lose friends and a way of life to which we have become accustomed.  And what a great life it has been.  Our current economic crisis is being compared to the Great Depression.  What we are going to experience does not even begin to resemble anything comparable to what we have experienced in the past.  Our economy has become globalized with every integral part being so much like a falling line of dominoes. But I digress.

 My friend has refused any notion of preparing for the future.  Where will she be six months from now?  A year?  What skills does she possess that will enable her to survive along with her young son and ill husband?  Yes, she has family nearby, but her mother is old and sickly, and her brother is no better off than she is.  What skills or talents does she have that a prepared enclave would seek her out to include her for those abilities?  

I see it written on her face, she and her family will not survive without intervention.  Another sobering thought; what will she become in order to have any hope of survival?  Will she become the enemy if she is panicked and without resources?   

She is no different than 99% of the other IHOP patrons, just there fueling up before hitting the stores for Christmas goodies bought with the almighty credit card.  My fellow breakfasters were the same ones who bought the huge flat screens, latest crap for kids, and whatever else it is that people celebrate the holidays.   How’s that big screen going to work out when it’s either pay for the cable service or have next week’s meals?  There wasn’t a single IHOP patron this morning that could reasonably be assured to have a job by this time next year.

 This is a working class town.  The company that makes bank checks has already down-sized.  AT&T is planning its own down scaling of humans. Even China Mart has a down-size in the works.   Nothing in this town but small businesses, a Wachovia (is that still its name?), a mall with anchor stores closing their doors, and lots of little fast food places.  Oh, forgot the little hospital that serves a three county area.   My point?  This morning I was amongst people who a year from now may or may not be survivors. 

 Those who do survive will either be the ones who have prepped (in the minority), or those who have become part of roving groups in constant search for shelter/food/water looking for the people who will become their victims.  The path to survival is clear and simple.  I think that in the early days, there will be survivors who manage to eek out some kind of survival, but as resources dwindle and the government steps in with martial law to quell civil unrest….who knows. 

Questions and more questions

What’s up with teaching military personnel how to do civilian vehicle searches and roadblocks?  I am sorry, but those activities just don’t take rocket scientist-quality brains.  Show the troops Youtube videos depicting searches and road blocks as training films.  It's not like the military lacks experience.  Hello, what have the Army and Marines been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan--- check point duty!!!  Maybe I am taking the wrong reading on this but the more I think about, it, the more I am bothered.  I am thinking it is to get Mr. and Mrs. Average American used to seeing uniformed military personnel searching vehicles and heaven knows what else.

 There are a few other things that are bothering me.  Why does the United States need a large standing force which is based on the continent?  Our representatives didn’t think it was important enough to seal our borders from invasion by illegal aliens (I know not PC), haven’t chosen to get involved in the frequent incursions by the Mexican government into our South Western states, and no one seems to be worried about a major transportation node cutting through the US of A running from Mexico to Canada.  All of the aforementioned items are huge security issues!!  Why do we need this Northern Command of which the PTB speak?

 Yet, we need a standing force?  For what?  To protect against whom?  To do exactly what?  To provide disaster support or to supplant the States’ rights to their own military force?  Are the PTB basing this force on Hurricane Katrina and the ineptness of a mayor too stupid to evacuate his city, a governor too ridiculous to call up her state’s resources or to ask for Federal help?  Awe, give me a break.  What the hell happened to posse comitatus?   I can remember a time during the Atlanta prison riot that Army personnel weren't even allowed to drive a tank brought in from Fort Benning.  The FBI had to be taught how to drive the tank because of posse comitatus.  Wow, things sure have changed.

 I read somewhere that Marines on a southern California base were surveyed, and found that one in four Marines wouldn’t have a problem taking action against fellow citizens.  Why in the world would anybody ask that question in the first place?  Something about this smells like one big stinky fish, and it smacks of desensitizing the troops to the thought of possible action against the citizens.  Lord Almighty, this smacks of psychological operations....being used against us.  

 I have never bought into the Area 51 crowd, the truthers, or any of the other popular conspiracy theories.  I would describe myself as logical, practical, and a person who thinks for myself.  But what if there really are empty military bases sitting around waiting to be used for Lord knows what? 

 Knowledge is power.  Power to plan, prepare, prevent and prioritize

This is what it will be like

I sometimes wonder what a town or city would be like when/if (come on be real, when) the grid goes down.  How will people cope when they can't watch TV, heat their homes, cook or may be even use the ole computer.  

I have experienced bone achingly cold but only for a couple of days when a natural gas pumping station failed.  There is nothing like waking up knowing a house has been cold and dead for many hours and then realizing it will be days before there is any heat, let alone the ability to cook.  

It matters not whether it is natural gas, propane or electricity, cold is cold.  Like I said, I always wondered about maybe folks taking matters into their own hands.  I got my answer here:  http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/037409.html.

Helpless, unprepared people WILL become desperate and try to take matters into their own hands. These are the people who will want what we have, what we have stored, from those of us who have been prepping all along.  The enemy is already among us.  

Not a Huge surprise, now is it?

I just read how the Tamiflu is not working so well in this flu season!!!  I am surely not amazed by this revelation.  I have personally seen MANY docs and other providers write scripts for Tamiflu if nothing else but for the reason someone asked for it.  They asked for it because a patient thought she had been "exposed" to the flu.  Sort of the the story behind how many antibiotics are no longer effective against certain bacteria.  The healthcare industry pushed, pushed for patients to be prescribed antibiotics for symptoms that were related to a virus.  Hello, a virus is not even remotely related to bacteria.  Patients asked and were prescribed antibiotics for colds - a virus.  

The flu virus is treated by managing the symptoms.  If there is vomiting and diarrhea, those symptoms are treated.  Coughing, fevers, and body aches are treated with cough syrups, tylenol and advil, and if severe with pain relievers.  An antibiotic will do nothing for the flu.

In the elderly,  the flu can, however, turn into pneumonia because a virus lowers an older person's immunity, and subjects him or her to respiratory bacteria.  Ok, pneumonia then needs to be treated with an antibiotic.

So, perhaps you are asking why is this person babbling about the flu.  Well, first of all, I read about it in Survival News http://www.survivalistnews.com/2008/12/21/msnbccom-early-flu-season-cases-are-resisting-tamiflu/.  Second, as preppers, it has two ramifications.  Get your darn flu and pneumonia (if you are over 65 or have a chronic illness).  Third, all preppers need to be able to identify the symptoms of the flu.  Our preparation storage must contain the medications to treat the resulting symptoms of the flu.  

Now back to our regularly scheduled prepping.

Friendly note

I was truly shocked when I received a little notice from my USAA Mastercard people telling me that, although it was no reflection on my credit standing, my APR was going to be raised from 4% to 6%.  That sort of got my attention.  If a card with major company of  the highest of standings is taking this step, then G-d help the evil demon credit card companies out Deleware.

I had heard on the local consumer advocate radio show hosted by Clark Howard that credit card companies are going to be up to tricks.  Changing due dates, giving shorter periods in which to pay the balance or incur interest, AND increasing APR up to the rate of 50%.  All without giving anyone advance notice.  This man is never wrong.  I mean, never.  If he says it, it is fact.  I never have carried a balance, but I sure will be looking closer to due dates.

Clark Howard also says the county tax assessors/commisioners may be up to trick too.  All in order to increase revenue.  You see, the tax people send you a note that reflects what is supposed to be paid by the mortgage company.  So you sit there all fat, dumb and happy thinking that the mortgage company has paid the bill.  The problem is that the mortgage company was never given the tax assessment bill, and therefore never paid the bill out of the escrow account.  Ah, so!!  The story isn't over yet.

Then because the tax payment is late, YOU get to pay a hefty late fee.  Voila, several hundreds of dollars in unanticipated extra revenue for the county.  But there is still more to be learned from this story.

Say you are getting ready to take advantage of the housing market, and are getting ready to sign for that great deal of a home.  Guess what???  Just what if that foreclosed home you are buying is in arrears in taxes.  The sale of  your new home can have the previous owner's tax debt and late fee added to your new house sale.  Just a thought.  Might be useful if thinking about picking up some good real estate deals.

Hear tell my local boys and girls in cars with blue lights are also getting really picky about proper stopping techniques, seat belt application, and by the way is that car insured?  Wonder if this is another way to generate some cash flow.  But then I never did trust people who set up speed traps.  One of our nearby townships was nationally recognized for inceasing city revenue with speed traps.

I know this is not really related to emergency preparedness.  But anything that comes between me and my money could become an emergency.  So, I guess it relates.

After much consideration and input from readers, I have put the katadyne water filter at the top of my purchase list.  I know water is the most important survival tool.  I think I was perhaps in denial, thinking that water would be always available.  Stupid, I know.  I will fix this deficiency this weekend.

Anybody know anything about growing rice?  Got the potatoes by growing in containers.  Just thinks rice would be a great item to grow.  Is it possible to grow wheat?  I have enough wheat saved, I just want to be able to grow my own.

I am turning into a farmer!!  Its a good thing I don't my getting my hand dirty.

Still have two other projects that are in the brewing (not literally) stage.

Thanks for the comments!!!!

Molly:  I went to your site and found your “how to” section.  The concept of wicking really appeals to me because Georgia has had a drought for the past two years.  No  indication this will change anytime soon.  We are planning to incorporate the wicking when we build our raised gardens next week.  I hope the Home Owner Association doesn’t get twitchy over this.

Bruce:  I have made purchases through that company.  Good service too.  I worry about not having enough protein in my preps.  Have even thought about raising a couple of chickens or maybe have a Talapia (mmmmm) pond.  Growing Talapia can easily be incorporated into the hydroponics process.

Solar cooker at Cantina West:  Totally fascinated with the concept of solar cooking.  I am doing some comparison shopping on line.  Won’t catch me anywhere near a store at this time of year.  Any recommendations about an off-the-shelf model?

Chris:  Hey how are your preps going?  Water is always on my mind.  Well, that and food of course.  I have to have a really good water filter that filters out the crap like cryptosporidium (sp?).  Very deadly for me.  I have access to water of all types, clean and creepy stuff.  So far, the Katadyne looks to be the best one for my needs.

 Rebecca:  Thanks for being impressed with my preps. I am continually worrying about all of the stuff I might not be worrying enough about.  Does that make sense?  Sort of an ignorance is bliss thing.  I keep thinking I am missing out some key piece of prepping.

 I would really like to hear about what everyone else is struggling with or working on right now.  Maybe I will be inspired with some new areas that need my attention.

The faster I go, the behinder I feel I am getting.

I have been off the net for a while

Sorry, I have not been blogging at all since October.  Work, work is always the main reason.  All of these sick and needy people simply drain me of my energy and spirit.  There is nothing left for me and mine during the week.  Then I play catch up every weekend to do all the things I haven't accomplished during the week.

But there is another reason.  The whole world situation had gotten me down.  Between the economy, deepening unemployment, and the pace at which our domestic situation is deteriorating has had me in a deep dark and fuzzy depressed funk.  

The lightening speed at which things are falling apart is amazing and most people just aren't getting the message that their world is about to change in a way they never anticipated.

I recently read that the mortgage melt down we are now experiencing is nothing, repeat nothing, like what will be seen when the second round of ARM payments come due in 2009 and 2010.  Where are all of these people going to live?  Who is going to feed them?  I have a sick feeling in my stomach that there is a huge expectation that the Federal government will pick up the pieces. Obama can talk about creating government-based civilian job corps to build bridges and other civic projects.

Do you know how to build a bridge or repair a building?  I certainly don't have any of these skills and don't know anyone who is in the building trades.  Is he going to make retail projects that will hire all of the people who will be unemployed after the big box anchor stores in the malls shut down?  Have you looked recently at the number of retailers either downsizing or simply going out of business?  

There is some serious depression going on with those unemployed.  I see them every day.  They are shaken, deeply fearful, and don't know which way to turn.  They also lack any useful skills that would make them employable in the Obama Civil Works Movement.  These folks are scared, anxious and above all they are unwilling to roll up their sleeves and do any job other than their "career."  Of what value is knowing how to broker real estate, design custom kitchens, or work in a drinking straw factory.  Debt, depression, despair, that is what I see on a daily basis.

Ok so much for my rant.  This has been building for a while, so I had to get it off my chest.

My current projects

- bought flake red wheat to make flour.  Much easier to store unmilled wheat, less likely to get off flavors, and you mill only when you need it.  A fifty pound bag will make 46 loaves of bread.

- bought a Wondermill mill to make flour.  Was really intimated at first.  Worried about noise and fine debris all over the place.  Fairly quiet, and the collection container prevents flour dust!!!

- bread from said flour is wonderful.  I haven't had store-bought bread in years.  This flour makes even home-made bread better tasting.

Improved my security status considerably

- bought more ammo for hand guns and .308.  This is an on-going process

- bought an air rifle so if I have a need for a quiet operation where I don't want all the dogs in the neighborhood howling, to include my two pups.  May not be as lethal as some regular fire power, but it will do in some circumstances.  

- finally broke down and got a 20 gauge shot gun.  Wanted a Mossberg; wasn't sure I could deal with the weight or length of the barrel.  Still, I am happy with what I got.

My want list is getting shorter

-  I want a solar cooker

-  I want a katadyne water filter, just in case

Investing in tangibles - things which will be needed but soon will cost a fortune

- bought new tires.  I had maybe 4k left on them, got a good deal, bought em

- getting new brakes and tune up in two weeks

Seriously working on my emergency medical bag

- am putting together a prodecure book for certain medical situations.  Yeah, I have delivered babies a looooong time ago, but I don't remember the stages of labor and all that.  I know how to suture but there are different techniques for different types of skin and tissue.  That's the sort of thing.

- when my procedure book is finished, I will shrink it and laminate it 

- still stocking the supplies.

-  Everyone should take advantage of the Walmart $4 meds.  Yeah, they are generics but even the generics can save your life.   Get 'em in 90 day supplies too.

-  If you anticipate outsiders coming into your living area, be prepared that you might have to deal with infectious diseases.  You might even want to quarantine newcomers into your environs.  Seen too many cases of scabies, lice, and MRSA staph infections lately.  Nasty, and contagious as heck.  I might do a little "how to" look for these things or maybe a triage checklist if any body is interested.

Other items

- working on two other projects that could both provide income and enhance survival.

- will discuss at a later point

Food storage has vastly improved

- close to a year's worth now

- have become intimate with canning

- have become intimate with my dehydrator.  Have dehydrated celery, green and red peppers, mushrooms

- working on same with mylar

- am in love with gamma lids.  Not sure what all the different colors are for

- hydroponics is up and running.  Have tomatoes, broccoli, green peppers, spinich and romaine lettuce growing in the back room.  Started off with a one time cost of $300.  Nutrient solution runs about a buck a month.

- had a salad tonight made with romaine lettuce.  Is much better tasting than what is generally found in produce sections

- next week will start on raised garden for coming spring.  Beans, beans, beans.

- working on growing potatoes in containers.  Think I have the process down, but need to find a reliable source for the potato eye things to plant.  Not seeds.  

- thinking I may be able to dehydrate my own potatoes too.

-  still working on the cloning of hybrid tomato plants.  Each of the plants have blooms with promise of tomatoes.

The above picture is the romaine lettuce plant from which tonight's salad

Sorry for this but.....

I never intended to ever get into politics on this blog.  Always wanted it to be simply an accounting of what I was doing for emergency preps, and to get input and correct guidance from folks who are a heck of a lot more knowledgeable than myself.  

But sometimes I come across items that are just too good to not share.  This is one of those moments.  View this video and enjoy the ride.  There is more of this from this production company at Youtube. The main character says so much that most of us would never in our wildest dreams say aloud...but Alonzo names it exactly as it is.  

Found it on one of my secret sites that I frequent.  No, not porn.  I am (was) a closet celebrity news junkie.  The video is from a place called Dirty Harry's Place.   Maybe you have already seen it, but if not, then enjoy it.  Might give you a break from the real world of doom and gloom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxhYampIl7A&eurl=http://dirtyharrysplace.com/?p=4913

I am still learning my way around google chrome.  I hope the video link works out ok.  If the world of software had been left up to me, we would still be working in DOS and menu-driven programs wouldn't even have been a glimmer in someone's eye.

I tried my hand at dehydrating mushrooms yesterday.  They came out looking better than the crap you can buy in the grocery store.  It started as one of my famous experiments, and it just happened to work out well.  Got a great deal on mushrooms, one of those BOGO things.  A pound of "wet" mushrooms dries down to filling less than a baggie.  The 'shrooms taste great too.

The adventure in growing lettuce, spinach and broccoli continues.  The spare bedroom is now a indoors grow room.  In 15 days or so, there will be salads grown in our own house.  We have an on-going experiment where there are 10 cloned tomato plants taken from a single outdoors tomato plant.  Not sure if the  original plant was a hybrid or an heirloom.  Essentially, it won't matter because we will have tomato plants growing from the original one.  At least one of the cloned plants already has healthy tomato blossoms sprouting.  At the top of this page is a picture of the cloned plant with blossoms.    I am not smart enough to figure out how to place images in the correct place.  Yet.  Crap, just one more thing I have to learn.   

I am not going to take any credit for this indoors plant growing.  A much smarter person than I has started this hydroponic project.  Funny thing, I saw this being accomplished when I was visiting Arizona and happened to go that Eco/Bio-dome place in Tucsan.  A bunch of people in the 1980s (?) had to live secluded and survive on only what was grown within that compound.  Who knew???  

Personally, I think this whole economic mess/diaster/emergency is going to have a profound impact on how we tackle the future.  I read about how people are growing their own corn for bio-fuels.  Apartment dwellers are getting into the mode of container gardening on balconies.  People are worried about rising vegetable prices and weeks old veggies that are passed off as fresh, not to mention a justifiable fear of e.Coli and other bacteria.  

Maybe people won't be raising chickens in apartments, but why not growing your own vegetables?    Why can't you grow your own salad makings?  Why can't a homeowner grow his own potatoes in tires, terra cotta pots or whatever?  Anyway, I think we all are going to have to start thinking out of the box to survive the mess that has been foisted on all of us taxpayers.

Thanks to a great site called "Safely Gathered In," I now have a cardboard box oven.  Even tho I have gas and electric kitchen appliances, ya just never know.  You can visit them here.  http://safelygatheredin.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20To

This site has terrific how to information and step by step photos for all of their projects in the preparation arena.  Really impressive bloggers. 

My last thoughts.  I am seriously interested in raising some of our own proteins, in addition to the garden stuff and already stored food items.  I have always wanted to grow some chickens.  No not in a massive way, more like a couple of hens for their eggs.  I have the design plans for a small coop and enclosed area and can get advice galore.  Just not sure what the dreaded Home Owner's Association (HOA) will think.  The company hired by the HOA had a tizzy when they thought my sodded back yard was a tad too long.  

I am thinking that HOA members could be convinced to my way of thinking with a few eggs here and there.  I have doves living under the Florida Cypres trees, so what harm would it be if I had a few more birds.  I wouldn't have any roosters, so that noise problem would not cause undue concern.  Hmm, maybe while I am at it I could have a tiny little Talapia pond too.

Ok, I went off the deep end there.  Blame it on the economy, my crazy work life, or just my normal Sunday afternoon musings.

Feeling better about my prepping, but why do new problems keep cropping up?

Me thinks time is running short

I know that I have not had much in the way of blogging.  Forgive me, but I have been hard at work with my prepping. 

Have dehydrated celery, red and green peppers.  I also canned a bunch of hamburger meat.  The meat will provide variety to my food storage.  

I feel like I came to the prepping point a day late and several dollars short.  I have managed to get way past the six month mark.  That was a feat in itself.  

I have willingly taken some hits in my personal here and now life too.  I down graded my cell phone plan from top of the line with all the dazzling options and nearly a $100 month fees.  Sold that fancy dancy LG Voyager for $207.96!!!!  That is amazing, since identical phones went for around $120.  Don’t know what I was thinking when I bought the darn thing, it’s not like I needed the internet, texting and TV reception.  Oh, well, I look at it like this; I had the opportunity to get smart, sold it, and have something a lot more reasonable. 

More water has been stored too.  Will be getting the Waterbob thing for the guest bedroom next week.  The “bob” will plus up my water storage with an additional 100 gallons. 

I sense a lot of tension in the writings of fellow bloggers  - most feel that next week will be a turning point and perhaps validate what prepping has been all about.  There does seem to be changes in the way people are shopping too.  Although there haven’t been any food shortages in the stores I frequent, I have noticed a lot more purchases of staples.  Not sure if its people realizing that frozen fast food meals are expensive or if there is a teeny bit of prepping going on. 

I am still not happy with security plans for the house.  Too many angles, too many windows.  For personal reasons, there is no way that we will be bugging out to a different location.  For us, it will be shelter in place.   I fully expect problems from those who have always have had things handed to them to come looking for handouts and the ones who will be happy to take by force.  

We now have spinach, broccoli and lettuce growing in the unused bedroom.   Wow, the stuff grows fast.  I need some operations security on that…..don’t need the deputy sheriffs thinking there is some illegal stuff growing.

Have taking the advice and guidance everyone has been posting.  Thank you for your support.

Any thoughts on water filtration?  I am interested both in-house on the faucet kind and the emergency kind if on the run.  I know how to build one with sand and charcoal, but I am looking to quick fixes to my preparations.

 

 

 

More prepping

Have still been pretty busy at work lately.  Some sort of a virus going around - no not the "flu"- it hasn't presented yet.  Find it pretty interesting that the Governor of the State of Georgia has decided it is important enough for getting the flu vax that he is allowing pharmacists to give them without a rx.  But then again, look who sits on the legislature!!  Regardless, there is a huge push on to get people vaccinated this year.

Dehydrated a bunch of celery, green peppers, and onions this weekend.

Tomorrow I will be canning ground beef.  Found a reasonable recipe that will add variety to our diet plus retain some of our normal food life style.  I can make tacos with this meat, and can make homemade tortillas too.

Anybody had any experience with storing block cheese?.  Saw that this is a possibility, so have invested in some blocks of cheese, paraffin and cheese cloth.  Scary working with paraffin - can result in a severe disfiguring burn if it comes in contact with skin.  I will give a progress update on my little experiment.

Increased my ammo supply for both my rifle and handgun this weekend.  I am seriously thinking about investing in a shotgun.  Any advise on what to look for?  I have used one - a loooooong time ago.  So long ago that I might as well as not ever used one.  Any input would be helpful.

Gas shortages here have started making nerves a little frazzled.  It doesn't look like many people have done much in the way of preparing for gas limitations.  Funny thing, we all experienced what happened after Katrina.  Didn't anybody think that refineries and pipelines might just be as vulnerable with Ike?

I am ok with regard to gas for now, but I am not sure our office can function if very many of our support staff can't work due to gas shortages.  Most of this staff drive either gas guzzlers (read poorly maintained) or drive giganto mustangs with poor mileage ratings.  My boss and his Lexus are in a world of hurt.  Not only does the boss drive a lot to the hospital but his car requires the really expensive gas too.

I haven't used any of my vacation so I could take a few days off here and there.  The support staff lives in the moment and MAYBE each has 30 hours.

Looking to improve home security.  Maybe building a cannon-like devise that will eliminate an intruder.

So much to do, so little time.  Working on it, a chunk at a time

Still in mental recovery mode

Still picking up my jaw from the floor with regard to how these bailouts are going to cost the taxpayer, their children and their grandchildren. 

Do any of us really think there is enough money in the Fed’s pot to bail out all of these bums?  It seems to me there is a whole bunch of people who have benefited from the mortgage crisis when it was making certain people at LOT of money.  Let me see, who do I include in the august group?  How ‘bout mortgage insurers, real estate brokers, county property assessors, home inspectors, property developers, and the various home improvement people who brought said property up to the likes of the prospective homeowner!!!

I know who all was involved because I bought a home in 2004, and brother do I recall the details.  I recall property assessments, home inspections, A/C and dishwasher repairmen, my own home inspector, my real estate broker, and a few additional fees that I had to pony up.  You see, it was a housing boom in Atlanta, and the seller’s brokerage firm thought I was going to be one of those real estate “flippers.”  I made the mistake of finding my home on the fifth “look see” and I put over 25% down toward the price.  I had to pay extra fees to get my banker to write a letter guaranteeing that yes, there was sufficient money to pay for the down payment.  Come to think about it, why did the seller even care if I had been a flipper, he would have gotten his money regardless.

Now I get the honor of bailing out these people who backed 110% loans (with no down payment) based on adjustable rate mortgages for people who had little chance of understanding the ramifications of these loans, who had absolutely no personal money at stake, and did not have the where with all to make those payments as they increased. 

So I and every other TAXPAYER get to bail out all of the dirt balls, while facing possible unemployment, depression, and some shmuck says it is patriotic to pay taxes?  

I am so pissed that I can’t see straight, let alone think rationally about all of this crap.  Have we learned nothing from history?  Question.  Who all knows who rescinded the Glass-Steagall Act? 

I figure the economic situation is good enough for me as a scenario for preparing for an emergency situation. Just didn’t count on the economy as being THE scenario that would start the tidal flood.  What’s next?  I am thinking civil unrest!

Temporary slow down in preparations

One of my mutts had to have surgery, and while under the vet did some extra stuff for her ear problems.  Medications had to be given..blah, blah.  That set me back a bunch of $$$

Broke a tooth eating pretzels, funny I didn’t feel it break.  It did get me to thinking that while I will likely have to get a crown, I might as well think about a general check up and cleaning.  Who knows when there will be time OR money for that in the future.  Ouch, that’s going to leave a dent.

 I have managed meet my primary goal in food storage.  Still working one last item and have found a retailer for that. 

 Got the bright idea to dehydrate some green onions and thought I would just dust off the ole dehydrator that is at least 15 years old.  An hour into the process, I couldn’t hear the fan running.  Sure enough, something had happened to the electrical components.  Hear tell it is a diode. 

 Checked the Wal-Mart website, and it had a suitable replacement.  Nesco makes a great expandable dehydrator with the fan blower on top of the appliance.  Yes, I could have gotten a better deal with EBay or whatever but I had chopped green onions that needed to be dried.

 The new dehydrator is great; the green onions were done in half the time – 4 hours.  Stored in an air tight container, labeled with contents and date, and placed them in a dark closet.  Apparently, dehydrated vegetables will lose color quickly if not stored in a dark environment.

Canned some butter.  What a laborious endeavor.  All that checking every five minutes.  But what great looking butter!!  Thanks to Texas Preppers for the recipe.  My household is addicted to artery clogging butter, so at least there will be some happy campers.

Some thoughts on Hurricane Ike

Haven’t seen a lot of what I would call substantial information coming out of Texas.  No statistics from FEMA about numbers of generators, people in shelters, and even the numbers of dead or missing are a bit sketchy.  Am I missing the reports or is FEMA being reticent about the numbers?  Haven’t really seen the talking heads doing their usual reports given in the worried voices.  Am I missing something here?

So much to do and so little time.  A bite at a time, I guess.

 

Some Observations and then Some

On Ike:  Who in the world would ignore severe Hurricaine Warnings and willingly stay behind?  I am absolutely flabbergasted that anyone would want to stay holed up in a bar to weather out the hurricaine.  That certainly sounds like crazy talk, but I did see a photo in which the police were evacuating an individual in nearly waist deep water.

Other preppers?  I am following some curious items that may be shaping up to be trends.  Noticed that the old fashioned oil lamps are disappearing off the shelves, along with the globes and mantles. Likewise, canned foods seem to be a bit more popular these days.  Not sure if this related to the economy or like-minded folks putting things aside for the future.  A lot of my patients have been actively canning fruits and vegetables from their gardens.  Several old timers see bleak economic times ahead, and they might just know because they are depression era survivors.  The seniors are quite frank in pondering whether the "new" generation will be able to cope because they lack the surival skills to do so.

Have noticed more and more patients paying for services with cash.  A lot of them say that they either couldn't afford the negotiated employer-insurer dictated co-pays or the premiums have become to high.  But then I noticed women are still doing the tanning bed, nail and pedicure thing, having frequent hair stylings and whatever.  In an emergency, especially a lengthy crisis, how does someone cope without the tanning, waxing, styling and just generally all over maintenance that some people have become accustomed?

I have also noticed that patients are no longer reluctant to have generic medications prescribed.  Indeed, now insist on generics.  Four dollars versus a $25 to $40 co-pay at the pharmacy.  No-brainer!

Have yet to have anyone ask for a prescription for chronic medications or medications for emergency preparedness.

Back to my prepping experiences.

I am close to my second 90 day food storage goal.  Still not happy about the lack of fruit-related vitamins that I need.  Have learned that these are pretty much going to have to be covered with dried fruits and juices.  Have you ever tasted canned orange juice?  Boy,  have we become spoiled.

Thanks to the kind person who gave me the suggestion on the oxygen absorbers.  They are currently in use with flour and corn products, as well other items that stale with exposure to oxygen.

I am a huge sour cream and cheddar cheese fan.  My needs in that area are nearly as strong as my desire for coffee.  I have located a supplier of the first item, and have requested a sample.  I have received my shipment of Red Feather cheddar cheese.  The cheese tastes good, but it is a pale color compared to what I usually eat.  Both of these items are not cheap but are integral to how I want eat and survive.  

Yeah, I KNOW that I am not running a restaurant but I am trying to maintain as much future sanity as possible.  Having a comfortable shelter and decent tasting food are two of my major priorities.  And I am eating as close to my planned storage as possible so I can rotate my supplies.  Prepping for my two dogs is not as easy because the "stale" factor is so closely tied to their foods.  Working on that.

My no knead bread project was a flawless winner. Minimal ingredients of water, flour, instant yeast and salt.  Wow, like eating high-end chi chi bread!  Absolutely effortless.  Mixing means literally stiring the ingredients!  This is a keeper for my preparations storage.

The Sundaysaver website is still the basis for shopping.  I have worked the By one Get One until all of my staples of canned goods are completed for six months.  Am continuing with Kroger 10 for $10.  Walmart still has the best deals on ethnic foods such as canned diced green chilies.  Have noticed, tho, that these chilies are being bought in serious bulk by someone.  Harder and harder to be able to buy more than a couple at a time.  These chilies are necessary for Mexican spoonbread.

My favorite coffee jumped by $3 a can, but went back to original price after a month.  I have over nine months of coffee and creamer.  Similarly, I am still waiting for Ingles to do its major toilet paper sale.  I have at least 130 rolls stored.  Nah, I have always stored T paper.

Working to prep on personal and hygiene items.  Have found that Crest sells a tooth paste gel that comes in a hard plastic squeeze container that will work for storage if anyone is interested.  I am thinking I will be able to get three months from each container just for myself.  Great tasting too.

I am curious.  Any body out there who has a spouse or significant other who is less-than-interested in prepping for the long haul?  I am imagine this could be touchy subject.  How does anyone handle this sort of problem.  

I was helping a college student get all of her admission paperwork together, including annotating her immunization record.  It dawned on me that my Tetnus vax is waaaay out of date, in fact I am not sure when I had the last one.  Gave myself a pneumonia shot, and will be getting my flu shot next week - trying to determine the optimal time frame.  Not so sure now because the CDC announced that the flu is already showing up in Georgia.  I haven't seen a case of it but that doesn't mean much.  Thinking that some people might want to check their shot records too.

I read the Home Secretary in the United Kingdom (equivalent to Homeland Security) has just warned community law enforcement to be prepared for imminent anarchy because of the worsening unemployment, social upheaval with regard to immigration, and a variety of other social problems.  Hmmm. 

So much to do, and so little time.

Planning storage -meal by meal

Planning for food storage is an awesome task, especially if you are unaccustomed to meal planning anyway. Hey, don't shoot the messenger! There are lots of people who shop for groceries only as they need a particular ingredient. And what about that part of society who eats out nearly every meal? Or what about the person who is so time-constrained that fast food is the norm? And what about those who simply do not know how to cook!!! There are a lot of reasons that meal and storage planning could be a bit off-putting. I say there is hope!!! You can do this. You can learn to put together simple meals for yourself and your family. I say that you can do this to survive any kind of disaster. You can do this regardless of your financial means


You don’t have to buy all at once, but purchase by the meal. You could buy a case of beans and a case of fruit cocktail. Not very nutritional, and canned beans and fruit for three meals a day? B-O-R-I-N-G.
My thought process for meal planning runs a long the lines this this. Why not consider buying some oat meal for breakfast, some canned beef and vegetable soup with crackers for lunch, and the ingredients to make chicken enchiladas? Oh, and don’t forget the beverages. For me, that is going to be coffee, ice tea and Peach Crystal Light. Ok, so that is one day planned and stored. Twenty nine days to go. For breakfast, I am thinking of a baked omelet with ham and cheese, for lunch I am going for left-overs from the night before, and am seriously considering breaking out the crock pot and making navy beans with corn bread. Take each day at a time. Meal by meal, a little at a time. Remember any meal that you HAVE stored is a meal that you do have for an emergency.
When you do the grocery shopping, buy an extra can of tuna and a package of noodles. Sounds like the makings for a tuna casserole. Double that recipe and you have lunch for the next day. Take advantage of buy-one-get-one-free deals.


Comparison shop, looking for the best deals. No, that doesn't mean driving around looking in every grocery store. You are internet savy or you wouldn't be reading this site. Go check out this website every Sunday morning when the grocery sales are posted for the upcoming week. http://www.sundaysaver.com. Check out those Family Dollar and Family General stores. Great deals and finds!!

Look at the labels; buy the big container of rice, its cheaper than buying a smaller bag. And you don’t have to go for that fancy-dancy foreign sounding company name. Rice is rice, go with the no-name or house brand. Same thing with soups, canned vegetables etc., Maybe you have sensitive taste buds that can detect the name brand mushroom soup, but I can’t tell the difference in my chicken enchilada cheese soup. For heaven sake’s, we’re talking about planning for emergency conditions, not inviting the in-laws to dinner.
Some family preparedness gurus advocate storing large amounts of un-milled wheat and corn. I don’t know about you, but I just don’t see me grinding corn or wheat. And I am not sure I would even know where to go to buy either of these, let alone using a grinder or whatever it is that turns wheat and corn into flour and corn meal.
Now, I do see me making bread with my bread maker using the flour I have in my food storage. No big deal, put in the ingredients, and push the start button, and three hours and seventeen minutes later I have a two pound loaf of bread. I can make that bread more nutritious by adding fruit, eggs, or other ingredients. The bottom line here is that it is simply not practical to invest is large amounts of any one food item…..unless it is coffee (have checked out the prices?).
The no knead bread experiment is in its final stage of rising. It had better be great after all that time for rising and baking.
Just for the heck of it I am providing you the recipe from my recent and successful pressure canning experiment. So easy, and now I have 16 complete meals sitting in my storage shelves.

Navy Bean and Bacon Soup via RecipeZaar
(Makes 16 quarts)
Ingredients
4 lbs dried navy beans or great northern, soaked overnight
4 quarts tomato juice (generic is great)
4 cups carrots, diced
8 cups potatoes, diced
6 cups celery, chopped
2 teaspoons salt and pepper, to taste
2 bay leaves
6 cups onions, diced
4 lbs bacon, diced (recommend quality bacon)

Directions
Notes: 1 medium onion is about a cup; 2 medium stalks celery is about 1 cup; 1 lb pkg carrots is about 4 cups; 5 medium potatoes is about 8 cups.
Combine all ingredients EXCEPT bacon and onion in large pot.
Cook over medium heat until soft.
Cut bacon into small pieces and fry in skillet.
Remove bacon and cook onion in bacon grease until soft.
Add bacon and onion to bean mixture and heat until it simmers.
Taste for salt and pepper.
Remove bay leaves before putting in jars.
Fill hot mixture into sterilized jars, filling to within 1" of tops of jars.
Pressure can 1 hour at 10 lbs.

I am off to search for the best price for salted butter. Canning butter is my next project. I have at least 24 pint jars and tops. Gotta find the best deal on the butter tho. I WILL have butter in my storage preps.

In case anyone is interested, I have managed to assemble ingredients for 60 days worth of meals. I am still a little concerned if I have enough for the “grain” part of my storage plan. My bread plan includes white bread that can be cooked on an open fire, regular oven or bread machine, ditto for garlic bread. My plan includes tortillas, corn bread, French toast, pancakes, biscuits, cornbread, Mexican spoon bread, and now the no knead artisan bread.

My weakest link is my “fruits” category. It is too late in the season to grow my own this year, and so I will have to rely on dehydrated and canned fruits. Hmmm, how to incorporate fruits into my diet. This is a priority because fruits provide a terrific amount of vitamins. Darn, I wished I would have planted some fruit trees and berries this year. Yeah, I know, like I can just plant trees, vines and expect fruit next season. But maybe I SHOULD be planning for the long hall.

So Many Reasons to Prepare

Are you keeping track of what is going on in the world? Wow, a large portion of the mortgage industry is quickly going down the tubes. And it looks like you and I, the taxpayers, are going to be bailing out those banks and mortgage companies who enabled people to get loans for which they were not qualified and are now defaulting. Do you really believe the FDIC is going to be able to bail out ALL of these institituions which are going belly up? We are talking about billions and billions of dollars. Future bail outs are going to have to be tax payer funded. Anyone around who remembers the tax payer funded the Resolution Trust Fund of the 1980? I do and my pay check does too.

Higher taxes impacts on every aspect of American society. If you are paying higher taxes, you have less money, less money means that you will have less money to spend in stores. I am not talking about buying luxuries: stay focused. We are talking about the necessities of life--food, heat, shelter. Less profits means employees layoffs.

Any of this sound like a good reason to prepare for hard times ahead? Are you prepared for a layoff? How will you survive if there is no regular pay check coming in?

On to a happier note. Have pretty much taught myself how to use my new pressure canner. Hear tell, the Navy Bean and Bacon Soup was a hit. Had 12 quarts, now down one - for a tasting experiment.

Saw a good recipe for canning butter on another prepper's site. If I can remember where I saw the recipe, I will give credit due. But in fairness, this recipe can be found by doing a quick google search. I pretty much feel that food isn't worth much without being able to sautee in real butter. Will be working this because I also love plain ole butter on bread.

Speaking of bread. I am doing a lot of prepping to make sure that I have sufficient grains in my diet and for my storage plan. I am not really into the kneading bread sort of thing, and had thought to use my bread machine exclusively, if nothing else because of its ease in making bread. As I write, I am expanding my bread making skills by trying a no knead bread. The recipe I am using supposedly is for an artisan-like bread. Will find out sometime tomorrow after what seems to be an extensive rising time. We will see.....looks really tasty from the video. How can I go wrong with four ingredients and no kneading.

I have managed to develop a thirty day menu which is now the basis for my storage preps. I am accumulating meal by meal, and so far are all meals that I would consume anytime regardless of emergency or not.

I have included another scenario in which having stored preparations would come in quite handy and in the end be truly life saving. Here's scenario four.

Scenario four:

The entire world has closely watched as the Far East, then Europe, grappled with the bird flu. Flying in the face of recent scientific predictions, not only was the bird flu rapidly being transmitted from animal to people, but now there have been several positive reports of transmission from person to person. The growing epidemic also carries an extremely high fatality rate. European cities with particularly large populations are being urged to stay at home to avoid contact. Some municipalities have voluntarily self-quarantined their sick and dying citizens. Terrified by the threat of flu contamination, airports have established new rules about who may depart and arrive certain countries. Along with screening for terrorism, now ALL passengers are subjected to rigorous health screening. Today the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued unprecedented protocols to State and local governments for implementing emergency operations designed to contain and prevent flu transmission. Most States have taken dramatic steps by closing schools, and all government activities have been curtailed. Department of Homeland Security has already commandeered certain buildings to be converted to quarantine facilities. Health care workers and supplies are already beginning to arrive. You have just been contacted by your school’s principal that school will be closed until further notice. Panic starts as parents race to pick up their children from day care and schools. Roads are now gridlocked by shocked and traumatized people wondering when they will get home. Your thoughts turn to getting to the grocery store to stock up on supplies.

For myself, this scenario scares the willies out of me. I am not sure if being stranded and not being able to get home is scarier or if it is the fear of having to come into contact with potentially sick people in trying to lay in supplies. Personally, I think it is only a matter of time in which the America will have to deal with some disease like the bird flu or some other kind of illness.

I know, I know, I am full of doom and gloom. I can deal with bad situations if I am given an opportunity to at least do some preparations for a bad time.

I am thinking about posting some of my meal ideas on this site - a handy way to keep track of them, and they might be useful for someone else too.

Heard that it might be a bad winter for certain states this year. Not sure if Georgia fits into that category but I don't trust the utility company with its natural gas prices and surcharges. Still working on storing up wood.

So many priorities, and so little resources and time.

How much should I plan to eat each day?

I found great nutritional information on some official government or government-sponsored websites.

The first one determines how many calories a person should consume daily based on activity level. Again, I think if I am in the middle of some kind of emergency, my body just might need more than the usual calories I regularly consume. Not sure I have ever seen a sedentary child, but I suppose an ill or injured child might need less caloric intake temporarily. I think I would probably seek advice from a pediatrician on this topic.

Calorie Range - this is based on activity level:


2–3 years of age: 1,000 calories (sedentary) 1,400 calories (active)
Females
4–8 years years of age: 1,200 calories (sedentary) 1,800 calories (active)
9–13 years of age: 1,600 calories (sedentary) 2,200 calories (active)
14–18 years of age: 1,800 calories (sedentary) 2,400 calories (active)
19–30 years of age: 2,000 calories (sedentary) 2,400 calories (active)
31–50 years of age: 1,800 calories (sedentary) 2,200 calories (active)
51+ years of age: 1,600 calories (sedentary) 2,200 calories (active)

Males
4–8 years of age: 1,400 calories (sedentary) 2,000 calories (active)
9–13 years of age: 1,800 calories (sedentary) 2,600 calories (active)
14–18 years of age: 2,200 calories (sedentary) 3,200 calories (active)
19–30 years of age: 2,400 calories (sedentary) 3,000 calories (active)
31–50 years of age: 2,200 calories (sedentary) 3,000 calories (active)
51+ years of age: 2,000 calories (sedentary) 2,800 calories (active)


After determining one’s caloric level, the following provides the amount of each food type needed.
If your body requires 1000 calories a day, you will need to eat 1 cup fruit, 1 cup vegetables, 3 oz. grains, 2 oz meat and beans, 2 cups milk, and 3 teaspoons oil

If your body requires 1200 calories a day, you will need to eat 1 cup fruit, 1.5 cups vegetables, 4 oz. grains, 3 oz. meat and beans, 2 cups milk, and 4 teaspoons oil

If your body requires 1400 calories a day, you will need to eat 1.5 cups fruit, 1.5 cups vegetables, 5 oz. grains, 4 oz. meat and beans, 2 cups of milk, and 4 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 1600 calories a day, you will need to eat 1.5 cups fruit, 2 cups vegetables, 5 oz. grains, 5 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk, 5 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 1800 calories a day, you will need to eat 1.5 cups fruit, 2.5 cups vegetables, 6 oz. grains, 5 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk, 5 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 2000 calories a day, you will need to eat 2 cups fruit, 3 cups vegetables, 7 oz. grains, 6 oz. meat andbeans, 3 cups milk, and 6 teaspoons oils.

If your body requires 2200 calories a day, you will need to eat 2 cups fruit, 3 cups vegetables, 6 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk, and 6 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 2400 calories a day, you will need to eat 2 cups fruit, 3 cups vegetables, 8 oz. grains, 6.5 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk and 7 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 2600 calories a day, you will need to eat 2 cups fruit, 3.5 cups vegetables, 9 oz. grains, 6.5 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk, and 8 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 2800 calories a day, you will need to eat 2.5 cups fruit, 3.5 cups vegetables, 10 oz. grains, 7 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk, and 8 teaspoons oil.

If your body requires 3000 calories a day, you will need 2.5 cups fruit, 4 cups vegetables, 10 oz. grains, 7 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk, and 10 teaspoons of oil.If your body requires 3200 calories a day, you will need 2.5 cups fruit, 4 cups vegetables, 10 oz. grains, 7 oz. meat and beans, 3 cups milk and 11 teaspoons oil.

Sorry about the long winded text above but I stupidly thought I could cut and paste a cool looking chart but ended up hand jamming every single word. I thought nutritional information was important enough to be included. I learned quite a bit about the nutritional aspect of planning for food storage. I now have to bump up my planning for fruits and vegetables....who knew that I was so nutritionally deprived. I have also learned that I am probably eating way more protein than my body needs. Sorry, I am not going so far as to weigh my meat intake tho. LOL.

I am sure there are those folks who question the requirement for oils. Oil are essential to our bodies in several ways. We need oils for our skin, hair and nails. In other words, the cooking oils, butter, salad dressings, etc., all contribute to keep us lubricated internally and externally. Believe it also contributes to supporting our tendons and ligaments too.

Again, I am not sure which site (s) I grabbed this information from, and I am certainly not claiming this information as my own. Just trying to get a handle on what I need for my preparedness planning.

Yep, it is scenario time. I love dreaming up these dangerous situations that might require me to break into my storage supply.


Scenario Three

It is 2:30 in the afternoon and you are sitting at your desk reading your e-mail. Suddenly, the fire alarms start sounding, and the fire team leaders start an immediate evacuation plan. As your fellow workers rush to their designated safety zones, everyone notices thick black smoke billowing out of cafeteria windows. Flames are leaping ten to twenty feet above the roof line. As the alarms continue, fire truck and rescue vehicles pour into the company parking lot. You overhear one of the fire battalion commanders mention that it is a grease fire, and it is like it might to spread to other areas. High pressure water is being flooded over the rest of the building in an effort to contain the fire and keep it from spreading. Employees are told to go home and await further instructions. Later in the evening, the local news features your building’s fire and it likes look like you won’t be going to work in the morning. Hmm, when will you be returning to work? Your supervisor calls with the great news that only the cafeteria was destroyed. Big deal, the food wasn’t that great anyway. But she goes on to say the entire building has suffered considerable smoke and water damage. Several million of dollars, in fact. The work estimate to restore the building is going to take at least several months. Because the damage is extensive, no one can work in it. Some of the workers will be moving to an alternate site to resume their normal duties. Your position, however, is not moving to that site, and, as a matter of fact, you are to be furloughed until the renovation is completed.

A situation similar to this actually happened to my office – a very small office. The county was rooting around where it wasn’t supposed to be, and caused the sewer system to back up into our office. The damage was so bad the health department and EPA became involved. Thanks to some smart thinking on the boss’ part we remained operational. We did, however, have to lay off personal because over 50% of our building was damaged and therefore so was our business. Those people who were let go never returned to work at our business. The point of this is, ya just never know what is going to happen at your place of employment.

This brings up another point. Some businesses are so small that if the key employee, the boss, dies, is unable to work, or just closes down the operation, all employees will be unemployed. That too nearly happened to our office. Made me stop and think where would I be if something happens to my boss.

I have found a really great female (shock) prepper!!! She is so full of common sense, love her style of writing, and the topics about which she writes all seem to be relevent to me. Just love her blog entitled "She survives." You can find her at http://shesurvives.blogspot.com/

Goals for the week. 1. Work on ways to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet. 2. Look for some oxygen absorbers for my long term storage of wheat, rice and flour - gets buggy if not properly sealed. 3. Continue to research my preparation needs. 4. Re-look my meal plan idea and start extending it to 30 days

Research into the World of Prepping

I have been doing a lot of research to see how other preppers are doing their thing. It seems like prepping runs the gamut from common sense “let’s store some extra food for a simple three –day emergency” plan to all the way to “retreats in the hills fortress armed compounds.” My research has taken me from meals-ready-to-eat (MRE), to 55 gallon drums of drinking water to hydroponics (now that sounds interesting), and then the multi-mega buck ($$$$$) let us plan your survival needs for you companies. I have eaten MREs and they are ok for filling your gut but I am sort of used to my own cooking, and the same goes for those companies who want to sell me a year’s supply of food for a gazillion dollars. The hydroponics thing about growing my own veggies and stuff inside has possibilities but this topic needs a lot more delving into before I go down that path.

Still not sure for how far out I am planning and then there is the question of just what am I planning for? I am still keeping to my original idea of planning my storage by the meal. Not only can I track what I need to buy for each meal, I can also be conscientious about nutritional requirements. Pretty sure that any disaster which will make me break into my storage plan is going to stress my body and I will need to at least meet recommended daily vitamin and mineral requirements. I am looking for a chart that spells that out clearly…maybe something by age group or whatever.

I have looked at the methods of storage too. Dehydrated, frozen, canned and a combination of all three. Wow, those companies that offer dehydrated stuff sell some pretty exotic stuff; imagine dehydrated beef stew or beef stroganoff. I have a dehydrator but it is a little late in the season to be jumping on board this bus now. Looking into a company that offers dehydrated veggies, powdered eggs and milk for cooking. And of course, the ever popular canned foods. Still thinking that my storage plan is going to work an angle that includes all of these methods.

I put together my first entrée that I am going to include as a meal in my storage plan. Its easy to fix, ingredients can be easily stored, and it is nutritious. My first attempt!! I altered a recipe to include canned products, samples of dehydrated veggies, some frozen ingredients and normal pantry stuff. I made a Tuna Casserole, and here is how I prepared it.

Tuna Noodle Bake
Ingredients
1 small package of noodles, cooked and drained
2 small cans of mushrooms, drained
1/3 cup chopped green peppers (I regularly chop and flash freeze green peppers)
1 ½ cup chopped onions (dehydrated sample) Odd looking critters. Need to be rehydrated!!
2 small cans of tuna, drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice (trust me it adds a special zing to the recipe)
¾ cup mayonnaise (looking into how to make my own)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I regularly freeze shredded cheese, works great)

Instructions
Cook noodles as directed. Saute onions and green pepper until soft, add mushrooms and tuna. Pour lemon juice over primarily the tuna. Drain noodles. Put noodles back into pan, add the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and tuna to the noodles. Feel free to add salt and pepper to your taste. Add mayonnaise to the mixture. Place in a greased 9X 13 pan. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Bought a new sewing machine, nice automatic fancy stitches I am sure I will never use. Gee, they make them with automatic needle threaders too!! Joann’s Fabrics had a great deal on patterns. Have already made two tops, and have material for three trousers for myself. Not sure I see myself making clothes for my blondguy. Just refreshing my sewing skills. Sure glad I learned to sew as a kid. I am thinking about putting aside some material for the future too. Thinking about PJs, quilts and the like.

Oh, worked on another reason everyone should be planning for the future. Actually, this scenario just helps convince me that my prepping is a good thing. This scenario is being faced by more and more people on a daily basis.

Scenario Two:

You are the shift supervisor for a company that produces widgets, and you have just come out of a crisis management meeting. Production of widgets will have to stop until more toggles for the widgets can arrive. The workers at the company which makes the toggles for the widgets have decided to go on strike for more benefits. Employees and management are taking a hard-line on the benefits issue, and it looks like a protracted strike. Behind the scene negotiations are not going well at all. The toggle company is one of a kind; no one else makes any type of toggle that can be substituted. If there are no toggles, there will be no widgets. The production line will shut down, and all employees will be laid off until the strike is resolved. A similar strike ten years ago lasted 16 weeks, and when the strike was over many workers never returned to work at either company.



I see lack of income for the essentials of life. I see bills piling up once the pay checks stop coming. I owe a monthly mortage payment and utilities, and I have these covered for at least six months, and I am working to make this a greater part of my savings plan. And now I am working to have a food storage plan. I use my credit card for gasoline, and pay it off monthly. I am paying ahead on my car insurance. There are just soooo many things to consider.



Give me some input. What is everyone else doing? What key elements am I missing in my planning efforts.