Sunday, September 28, 2008

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

6 comments:

Staying Alive said...

Dont' know what your shotgum is in the way of gauge, but I would say to get Slugs, 00 Buck, and bird shot. You are making progress.

Michael

Anonymous said...

yeh, what michael said. the cannon-like devise should be in the form of a (nothing fancy)twelve guage, pump shotgun, or .44cal revolver, in your own well trained hands. (sorry, no booby-trap devices) very petite women could use a twenty guage "youth model" shotgun, also pump action. be careful your shotgun ammo is the correct size. if one of the shotgunners is using twenty gauge shells, they must be kept away from the twelve guage, to avoid potentially nasty accidents.

get or make a double boiler for your wax experiments.
...irishdutchuncle

Anonymous said...

PW:

Re: Canning Cheese - Try "Ask Jackie" @ Backwoods Home Magazine Issue #92 - Look toward the bottom of this posting for "Canning Cheese". She has a wealth of information on her Blog site. Hope this helps.

Belwether

Preparedwarrior said...

Michael: thanks for the input on the shotgun. I got some funny glances as I was looking at shotguns on Sunday. But then again I was looking at bows too. Maybe they thought I was some kind of freako. Some pretty interesting arrow tips are available out there. When I was in competition archery, I never even thought about buying the razor-tips that are available now. I am thinking a bow might be a nice quiet weapon that wouldn't draw too much attention.

Irishdutchuncle: I did the double boiler thing by using an old pan sitting in a vat of hot water. Worked pretty well. My cheese came out ok. I will taste in a couple of days.

Belweather: Thanks for the steer to Issue #92. Never thought of cheese as being acidic.

I am also thinking about buying a couple of Waterbobs. I have an extra bathroom with a big tub and that would be just one more way to store water.

riverwalker said...

I have a Mossberg 500A shotgun that I recently acquired - great shotgun. you might want to check them out and like Michael says - slugs and oo buck to go with it!

RW

Staying Alive said...

GET READY TO THE BEST YOU CAN ACHIEVE. AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN. It's getting a little ragged out in the world. We've been preppng for this and now it may be time to do it.

Michael