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