To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
This week, thanks to Lily, we’ve been able to enjoy several venison meals. This started with heart and liver, the morning after that deer had been harvested. Later in the week, after the deer was aged (cool-hanging), we had a dinner backstrap cooked in applesauce. That was delicious!
For much of the past week, I’ve busy with radio interviews. For example, I had another interview with a radio show in Warsaw, Poland.
We’ve been busy getting the ranch ready for winter. All of the garden hoses are now coiled and stowed. The canoes and kayaks are tucked away for the season. The ATVs are now all under cover. So, what remains is hooking up the snowplow on our pickup. Oh, and draining the water system in our cabin, but that won’t be until after our Thanksgiving guests have departed.
I’ve also been padded, packing and mailing out orders that came in during our Pre-Election Sale, at Elk Creek Company. Most of the sale prices have ended, but there are a few guns that are still discounted. We want satisfied repeat customers. That is why from the outset I’ve always included something “a little extra” with every order of $200 or more. These bonuses vary, but might include any of the following:
- A gun case, sling, buttpad, or holster.
- A late-19th Century newspaper or magazine.
- A waterproof SurvivalBlog archive 16GB USB stick.
- An autographed copy of one of the books that I authored.
- A reprint of a reference article on the gun that you ordered.
- Gun or scope cleaning supplies.
- The no-longer-produced and now hoarded NECCO wafer candies.
I trust that seeing one of these when you open your box will make you smile. Thanks for your loyal patronage!
Now, over to my industrious wife, Lily:
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
The weather was beautiful and sunny at the beginning of the week and then turned to heavy rain at the end of the week. We are expecting many snow showers for an extended period of time beginning this weekend. Tropical Tidbits is projecting a total accumulation of up to two feet of snow by around November 20th. We shall see if their models are correct…
This week I planted cilantro in quart-sized mason jars which were put on my kitchen sink windowsill.
I collected seeds from the last of my ripening tomatoes, used for seed only, a few Paste and what I think were German greens.
Jim and I butchered the deer together. We cut steaks, stew meat, and chunks to grind for ground meat. We froze it all. I decided not to can it. We rendered it’s fat to make tallow. We only got a half of a quart of tallow, so I am hoping we can get another deer or an elk before the end of the hunting season. I would like to also make some soap, candles, and salves with it. I really had a great sense of satisfaction of procuring and putting up our own harvested meat with this deer. it was neat to me to see where all of the different cuts of meat come from, in real-time. It was Jim’s umpteenth deer butchering, but it was my first. The feeling was different than when we do chickens, for some reason.
I dehydrated a batch of apples.
Miss Violet washed the rest of our onion harvest and we chopped them up and dehydrated the lot of them, outside on the porch.
Also canned thirteen quarts of water for sterile emergency water. (For wound irrigation, making pouttices, or whatever.)
I did some manure clean up of our parking area and nearest meadow and put that into the gardens.
The farrier came and trimmed hooves.
I listened to the book of Job. Some of the verses that I love and that have had meaning in my life or I am believing in their promise are:
Job 1:21
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.”
Job 14:13-14
“O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!”
If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job 19:22-26
“Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?
Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
—
And of course I love what God says to Job at the end of the book in Chapters 40 and 41. But I will let you look them up for yourselves.
and those us who remain alive at His coming, who believe in the blood of His Lamb Jesus, He will change us/will transform us into our heavenly bodies, and will take us up to join Him in the clouds, all of us that are righteous and are covered in the Blood of the Lamb. He will take us to His marriage supper, where we will rejoice forevermore in His presence.
—
1 Corinthians 15:52
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
May you all have a very blessed and safe week.
– Avalanche Lily, Rawles
o o o
As always, please share your own successes and hard-earned wisdom in the Comments.
Wow, what a week this has been! It is what I expected buy my sons are really bummed that it wasn’t a red tsunami that they wanted. I wait upon the Lord while others wait upon the courts.
It doesn’t seem like I did much this past week, but for some reason I’m worn out. I tried to spend at least an hour a day studying and pondering the scriptures so I can stay calm and optimistic.
I continue to obtain (while we can) items which I don’t or can’t grow (rice) or that are just too time consuming to make right now (soap). I also stock items which won’t go bad that are cheap to purchase right now (vinegars). I found some canned goods for 39¢ ea, fresh potatoes and onions. Got some butter on sale and baking items. Found a few cases of regular mouth pint jars, ½ pint jars and 4 oz jars online. Seems they are starting to come back in stores but you have to search the internet to find who has them.
Sliced a sirloin tip roast into jerky, marinated it for two days and put it in the dehydrator. Kids and grand kids got a hold of it and ate it all in two days. Dried some basil, celery bits and leaves, chives and jalapenos. Diced up the broccoli stems and froze them in small bags to add to scrambled eggs and soup.
Canned about 10 pds of brussel sprouts and mushrooms I got on sale. Started to PC’d carrots, potatoes, celery, onion and garlic to use as soup starter but got interrupted to doctor a dog … maybe next week.
A neighbor was cleaning out a garage and gave us a really nice older drill press and some other useful hand tools. The drill press just needs some cleaning up, a little maintenance.
May your week be safe and productive. God Bless America.
“I wait upon the Lord while others wait upon the courts.“
Amen
Animal House,
You would probably be able to grow upland rice from seed. Some friends of mine in far northern California at 4,100′ elevation grow it in their garden. Just do an Internet search for “upland rice seed”. Most seed companies are restocking and preparing for the 2021 growing season so they may not have it for sale right at the moment, but just bookmark any good finds you run across. I have not personally grown any rice, but I’ve been involved with other grain crops in the past like wheat, rye, sorghum, oats, and triticale when I worked at a small seed company that catered to home gardeners.
Good luck,
David
PS I like the term you mentioned: “red tsunami” — I guess it would cure the winter “blues”.
DnG, you’re probably right about growing rice; we have hot humid summers and with some work my kids could dig a rice paddy down in the meadow, but from what I’ve seen on TV it is a lot of back breaking work to plant, tend and harvest. I count myself lucky I can just purchase it for now.
I live in the south east and was told years ago by a company that sold rice seed that you can actually use a child’s wading pool to grow rice in. The first link is specifically about growing rice in containers. The second link, while not about rice does give a nursery’s advice on how to use a kid’s wading pool to grow things in. It suggests to get the longest life out of these little pools to cover them (as a liner) in 6mil black plastic to protect the pool from the sun. You would then fill with dirt and plant what ever crop you wish. Hope this gives you some ideas.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+grow+rice+in+childs+wadding+pool&&view=detail&mid=3B079A9CB8AD6E05CE4F3B079A9CB8AD6E05CE4F&rvsmid=133D122894159A45BC40133D122894159A45BC40&FORM=VDRVRV
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+to+grow+rice+in+childs+wadding+pool&docid=608012995530984352&mid=E8E034EFAD6183ED234CE8E034EFAD6183ED234C&view=detail&FORM=VIREHT
How cool is that! Thanks for the links.
Take heart, friend. Look to the state legislatures.
Also look to this:
Job 1:21
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Carry on
Amen
Great point re: the state legislatures, Once a Marine… There does appear to be some early movement in this regard at least in Michigan (an emergency session called today) and Pennsylvania (a call by the Speaker for further investigation).
SB Community… In whatever state you are located, please take action to secure your election processes for the current vote count, and for the protection of future vote counts. Do not give up. Do not give in.
Animal House, I love your, “I wait upon the Lord while others wait upon the courts.” It is going on my quote wall. Sounds to me like you made good progress this week, even if it wasn’t your usual amount.
I think like you and have done similarly with the rice, soap and vinegars. I have also added sugar, yeast, dehydrated potatoes and canned soup.
Congrats on the free drill press. Pray your dog has recovered. Prayers of blessings for you and yours, Krissy
https://www.youtube.com/embed/YNd-PbVhnvA
What the enemy meant for evil, God will use for good.
The battle belongs to the Lord.
Nice! Like the phrase and the video.
In my area of the country, the end of October seemed to promise an early start to winter, after being blasted by several days of below-freezing temperatures. It was just before that began, that I was able to get the leaves cleaned out of the gutters, get the outdoor furniture and kayaking equipment put away, acquire some more firewood, and run the snowblower for a pre-winter check. Since then, we’ve gotten a reprieve, with balmy 60s and 70s temperatures for the past few days.
I’ve added a bit more to my pre-1965 tangibles, and have been looking into other options for back-up water supply, in the event of a long-term grid-down situation.
The last of the green tomatoes, salvaged from the garden before frost and ripened in the basement, were put up into salsa and eaten fresh. There was a bumper crop of hot peppers this year, too many for even all of the salsa I canned, but the remainder were dried in the dehydrator, ready for seasoning soups and chili this winter. A new batch of apple juice is also in the basement, working itself through the fermentation process to turn to vinegar.
Always ongoing and never finished, prepping activities can sometimes take over the mind and body, and I am guilty of that. I do try to step back to reflect, and express prayers of gratitude for the many blessings and opportunities afforded to us by our Creator, as He is truly the One who has and continues to provide all that we need.
Your weather sounds like what I’m getting here in upstate NY. The warm weather has been nice to get out and work on the leaves that keep blowing into my yard.
James…….would you consider a daily section for posting general comments or ideas that people have used and could be passed on to the masses here. I have written a few comments that we used over the years, and it is heart warming that you used them or made positive comments about them. May the lord watch over us….and myself I pray for the wisdom to make some sense in these very troubling times.
Or even a weekly column would be great. I want to make some ghee with the 20 lbs of butter I got on sale for $2 but can’t find any reliable information about the shelf life. Anyone here have any experience with shelf life? What’s the absolute longest it will keep?
Hi St.,
I’ve purchased ghee and it lasted many months on my shelf (after being opened). My sources tell me it will last up to a year if there is no change of smell or appearance, but that it is best to refrigerate if you are looking to store it past 3 months. Great price you found and great idea!
Edit – to say “will last UNOPENED up to a year….”
St Funogas, I just opened a jar of ghee I made 5-1/2 years ago; was just perfect. I added some herbs to it and used it on pork chops and mashed potatoes.
One thing I learned about making ghee; for my taste, I use 1/3 unsalted and 2/3 salted butter; other wise it is too salty for my family.
Thanks Animal House! That’s about as authoritative as it gets. 🙂
I made Ghee last summer and I learned some things. It does have a long shelf life if you are careful to cook off the butter fat. Lots of youtube videos out there. Things I learned:
Ghee is great if used as an oil when cooking foods, such as stir fry, on toast, etc. It’s *not* meant to be used as butter in baking, well, because silly me, I had cooked off the butter *fat*, an important component to baking. I did some research and it’s possible to bake with it (I tried!), but my experience is that it resulted in an inferior baked good. If you’ve ever made pie crusts using oil rather than butter, you know that the crust is not flakey like a butter crust and rather heavy. It’s just interesting to try and cook with it. My goal was “shelf stable butter”, but that’s not really what you get from Ghee. You get a butter oil. It’s interesting!! Have fun!
Thanks for the tips SaraSue. I guess I’ll play around with a small batch first and see what I get and how well it works for various things. I’ve managed to keep butter in my well house for six months but need something for the summer months when the well house is too warm, and something just for long-term storage and something to have for toast like you mentioned when I get fully off grid.
I checked on Rebel Canners FB group. One person reported having canned butter that is seven years old and still good. YMMV
It has been a long two weeks. My wife finally got over her illness – just a long battle with cough and cold. I’m not sure what happened but I am now working more hours than I have over the past few years. I am blessed to have a job in an industry that really doesn’t feel the effects of a recession very much but at some point we’ll need more people.
On the prepping front we canned 10 lbs of ground beef and then a second run of 18 pints of beef stew. I like the pints better because it’s the perfect size for a single serving bowl or if you need more calories it can be served over a bed of rice. We also added to our food stores. Just regular canned foods.
Gold and silver regained some lost ground this week. Everyone knows stimulus is on the way, but the longer they wait the bigger the package will be. Supplies seem to be coming back into stock at slightly lower premiums.
Ammo in popular calibers is unobtanium in our area. Still. The situation is expected to worsen dramatically now.
On tap for this weekend… simply organizing. I’ve been working far too many hours and need some down time to quiet my spirit, collect my thoughts and evaluate what changes need to be made. Organizing shelves and supplies is boring and exactly what I need to remain productive.
Will also spend some time documenting items we need and adding them to carts, etc. For example, we need an oil change kit for our generator to prevent spills, along with the kit to feed fuel from a larger container for longer run times. Cheap and a wise investment.
Chris,
I remember you asking for prayer, or maybe folks just offered it, for your wife. Glad she is feeling well now.
Carry on in grace
Thank you Once a Marine. We are happy and grateful she is on the mend!
A fairly quiet week here in Canuckastan…though we closely watched the going ons of our southern neighbhors.
We butchered a few of the rooster that we had hatched out this summer. I bred (well, not me personally) most of our dairy goats… so we are going to have a ton of babies coming all at once this spring… as well as a ton of milk.
I’m still looking weighing through optic selections for a 308 rifle that I have… I really like the looks of the primary arms 1-6.
We reached out to a couple neighbours and people in our extended community.
I Corinthians 15:52…..Note the Words “last trump”. God is telling us there are no more trumpets after this event. Read when the last of the 7 trumpets occur in Revelation. There is a whole lot of difficult times with the preceding 6. Those who think they are going to escape trouble are badly mistaken. Prepare your soul and spirit!
We believe the Last Trump, is the Sixth Trump. It is the Last Trump that sounds the End of the Age of Grace.
Then the Seventh Trump sounds and is the Wrath of God being poured out on all unrepentant man.
When we come to faith in Jesus, we are being saved from God’s Wrath for man’s uncovered sins and rejection of Him and His ways.
Hebrews 10:31 says “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Yes, many of us are going to see the Mark of the Beast and will suffer martyrdom, and will have to give our lives for the testimony of Jesus. We are preparing!
A/L
Perfectly stated and we are preparing body and soul. All should take heed.
Praying…
Carry on
Avalanche lily
Hi , I very strongly perceive, we ( genuine believers ) will see the Anti Christ rise and go through hardship , the word says most ( ” Christians ” ) will fall away, preferring to believe the deception coming over remaining true to God , in my 60s now, I was brought up studying Revelation and Prophets, I find around me, another important piece of information, I am not living in the US, I DO have many American friends I know there, who have so far received four or five voting papers in the mail per person ( ie eight or ten papers per couple, one can easily do the math and calculate 100,000 Democrats sending back 600,00 votes for Biden ), another US friend has told me, the voting count machines are using block chain programs to ” count ” votes, that is greatly disturbing, Biden winning is a giant fraud, and so many have fallen for it, Biden is of course a ardent globalist and puppet used by Soros and others well hidden, my wife and I pray DJT wins, somehow God knows this, either way dark times are coming for those who cherish freedoms.
Something I like to do with ground venison is add bulk pork sausage to it. I mix it around 60/40 (sausage). Makes for great breakfast fare.
Well it was not quiet as our grandchildren kept us moving. They are delightful and a great deal of fun. We are exhausted.
I’ve been writing and rewriting a submission as to how and where to go if we abandon our suburban home. Don’t say it!…………… we stay with the grandchildren no matter what.
Found out Wells Fargo notified us that the safety deposit box is only guaranteed for $10,000. They instituted the policy in Jun but notified us just recently. Made other plans based on splitting where some of our valuables will go, we were diverse before the notice now we have our assets in really diverse areas! I think their lawyers are really concerned……
I’m not worried about firearms and ammo. We are selling quite a few firearms, but still have double digits. Getting low on ammo, just over 27k rounds left. We bought a lot after things calmed down with Obama, still have enough reloading supplies for several thousand rounds, but reloading supplies are tight. Be careful, ammunition manufacturers, firearm manufacturers, etc are consolidating. Time for the globalists to buy them out and shut them down.
A friend in the neighborhood had a small generator installed and has been running for over 1 year so I went over to look at the transfer switch el al. He did what I’ve done, install it and don’t completely test it. He got a good deal from an electrician and we now know why……my friend never put a “load” on the generator. When I suggested we try that, it did not work. We tested the generator and it’s fine. After removing the electric panel we noted there were no additional wires anywhere. I guess testing installed equipment is somewhat important.
On the political note, Trump may lose the presidency but republicans gained the in House of Reps, the Senate looks okay and many state legislature are now firmly in the hands of the republicans. Many voters picked common sense so we should be okay for a while.
And yes, we are buying more canned food and long term and seeds.
I’m praying for all of you, this site and your continued submissions and comments keep me going in my semi-prepper mode.
May the Lord keep you all.
Some larger hardware stores sell electrical transfer switches that are designed to switch from “grid” power to a home generator. They are engineered so that power can only come from one source at a time. It’s unfortunate, but true that professional electricians do make mistakes sometimes – I’ve caught some of them over the years – one was a CFCI outlet in our own garage basement that was wired “backwards” and another was a three-way light switch in a rental apartment with two swapped wires. In both cases I corrected the problem without a circuit tester as I could visually see the problem. For those that are not familiar with home electrical wiring it’s always a very good idea to have someone that understands the “ins and outs” of the trade to do the work. Electrical inspectors do not always catch mistakes. They didn’t in the two previous examples.
Francis,
I wish I could share your optimism regarding our gains in the House and holding the Senate but over the past 48 hours I have seen a number of Republicans pivot from the President and face grin for the cameras stating how they will work with the Dims. Call me a pessimist but I feel many of the RINOs are showing their true colors and won’t be able to be depended on to represent we the conservative people.
@ Marti
My RINO governor made a point of publicly stating he wouldn’t be voting for Trump.
We, too, had a respite from the blast of winter a few weeks ago. This week has been delightful – upper 60’s. We ‘finished’ raking the leaves ( when you live in the woods as we do, you never really finish – you just quit). The mower is ready for a long winter’s nap; the snowblower is out of the shed and in the garage.
Thank you for your prayers for hubby last week. After not feeling well enough to fish for the past month, he actually went out 4 times this week!!! He even brought home some walleye. I pan fried them and we had some delicious fish tacos with homemade fresh salsa. Yum!
I did not shop this past week but instead concentrated on refilling the freezer as we would take things from it. Consequently, it is still full – muffins, cookies, soups – are all tucked into the corners here and there.
I met my daughter in love and my grands at the park yesterday. It was a glorious day. We brought lunch, the kids played, she and I chatted away while an eagle soared overhead. Eagles are not uncommon here but it is still always a thrill to see them.
I did some mending -our queen size fitted sheet was getting threadbare in a few places. Those things are expensive so I want to be diligent about keeping up with mending. My jeans received more patches. Funny story – my husband went to a local boutique last year to get me some clothes for my birthday ( he spoils me but believe me when I say – I am not a slave to fashion). The sales gal, who is a friend from church asked him to define my ‘style’. He thought a moment, then tentatively said, country grunge?
He never told me this story but she did. We laughed so hard. I can clean up okay but around the house it is tee shirts or flannel shirts and jeans. Most likely mended. Not glamorous but practical and suitable for the zombie apocalypse. Country grunge – coming soon to a boutique near you.
I’ve got apple cider vinegar and cranberries fermenting away on the counter. It is my first time fermenting cranberries. They will have to be really good or it will be my last. It took a ton of honey to cover them. If we were St. Funogas’ neighbors (barter honey for walleye, St.?) I might do this again but honey is definitely not the cheapest thing in my pantry.
My sister has been on high anxiety all week. She lives near a major city. I’ve been sending her verses and checking on her regularly. Told her to stop refreshing the electoral map. I’ve also been working on my own peace (meditating on Philippians 4) and calm internally and externally. I’ve been ‘fluffing’ the house cleaning and cozifying it.
Hubby has his labs (tests not dogs) next week and a visit to his oncologist the next. Plenty of opportunities to be anxious with our own personal situation as well as what is going on outside our 4 walls. We choose peace.
I’ll be going for lots of walks in the woods. Before deer-gun season starts, that is. That would not be peaceful
Take care, all.
Dear Wormlady,
LOL about the “Country Grunge” comment. Around the house, when I am working, I too, wear jeans with holey knees and faded t-shirts and old cashmere sweaters for warmth. These are clothes that I don’t care what happens to them. Therefore, I can freely, crawl on the floor, kneel in the dirt of the garden, hold and brush a hairy cat, butcher a deer, hug a horse that just rolled in the dirt, clean up manure, etc. I have tried to mend the holes in the knees of my jeans but the iron-on patches didn’t hold, and I don’t care for the feeling that seams on the knees cause. I am so rough on my work clothes that I just gave up on repairing them.(The jeans that is) I never dress up in the house on a work day.
I was glad to hear that your hubby felt well enough to fish this week. I will pray for your peace and a better report from the doctors next week.
Blessings,
Lily
Thanks for praying, A.L. We really are experiencing the peace that passes understanding.
Regarding mending: I don’t use the iron on patches and I don’t use denim to patch my jeans. Instead I use fusible webbing (2sided) to attach a scrap of cotton fabric to the wrong side of jeans. Because the cotton is lightweight it won’t pull on the already fragile fabric. It is best to do this prior to an actual hole developing. If you are looking for some winter projects, search ‘sashiko mending’. This is a way to add some decorative stitching to secure the patch. You can make your jeans look better, last longer and eliminate drafts.
Maybe you and I should collaborate on a survival retreat fashion article, hmm?
Thanks for the Sashiko mending information. LOL, concerning a survival retreat fashion article, I like to wear what is most comfortable for me; light-weight, soft, warm, easy to roll up sleeves, form fitting, so as not to get caught in stuff, fairly easy to clean, etc. Other than that, I am not into any type of fashion around the Ranch. In town, I wear newer jeans nicer t-shirts and newer cashmere and thick wool sweaters. I am very narrow in my clothing preferences and quite plain, too.
I used to wear shorts all summer-long before coming out west. And I would love to wear summer dresses out here for working around the ranch, but they’re not practical or safe. Dresses and shorts are dangerous for bare legs. We have so many stinging and biting critters, ants, bees, wasps, mosquitoes, spiders, and tall grasses, thistles and branches that bite, sting or scratch. Also flowing material gets caught up in branches, tall weeds and farm equipment, etc. So jeans, for me, it is. Other than these, I would be the last person to talk about fashion with. 😉
Blessings,
Lily
Hint, to stop jeans from growing large holes apply a fabric mender at the first sign of damage. This stops the tare and you can get a lot more usage of the garment, As cheap as I am I probably get twice the life from a pair of work jeans. Odd, how can one garment be called a pair? It also has a lot of other uses, liquid duct tape would be another good name for it.
A big THANKS from my wife when I read her your comment on the double sided fusible webbing mending.
Thank you for mentioning the fusible webbing for “patching” jeans. I’ve used iron-on patches all my life. They are great for some repairs, other repairs, not so much. I’ll have to look into the method you shared a bit further. Would have been great when our son was still a boy. I went through a lot of iron-on patches during those years!
I am with you, wormlady.
Plenty of opportunities to be anxious with our own personal situation as well as what is going on outside our 4 walls. We choose peace.
Deep breaths and prayer.
Carry on in grace
Wormlady,
Dittos on your first paragraph! The raking is never done, this past week’s weather was gorgeous, the lawnmower is stowed, and the snowblower is in the garage.
It’s so good to hear your hubby was doing better this week. We’ll continue to keep the two of you in our prayers. Yum, walleye tacos!
No deer for us yet, but our son is here, and the two of us are spending as much time as we can hunting.
Wormlady; Blessings to you and your family; so happy to hear your DH is feeling stronger and actually fishing!!!
Our family does functional farm style dressing. When you have 60+ livestock and pets to care for, you don’t wear your nice blouses and jeans. Within 10 minutes of stepping out of bed I have a variety of animal hair, slobber and paw prints on me. After morning chores I have to shower and change clothes before I begin cooking and preserving food in the kitchen. But this is the life I chose and my animals, kids and grand kids don’t care what I look like. I’m sure it is the same in your family.
I like Isaiah 26:3.
Amen BWL
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
Wormlady, So happy your hubby felt well enough to fish. smile. Loved all that you shared, but it was the, “country grunge,” that had me burst out laughing. You know, one of those long, good for your health, laughs. Please thank your husband for me.
Blessings on your coming week, Krissy
Hey Wormlady, we could definitely barter some honey for walleye and/or fermented cranberries. And if you don’t trademark CountryGrunge™ by this time next year you’ll be regretting it as it sweeps the nation. 🙂
It was another long, busy week.
We’re long overdue for an ice-storm-induced power outage so I bought a marine battery to power my wood stove blower and to get my feet wet with batteries as I prepare to get completely off-grid next year. In October I set a new personal best, using only 69 killowatt hours of electricity so the grid is becoming less and less important. I had the Kill-a-watt meter on the pressure pump all month and surprisingly it only used 2.6 kWh.
If there are such things as guardian angels, mine was working overtime this week. As I was winterizing the last few things, something broke that cost $95 to replace. Argghh. I didn’t want to spend the money to fix it but the very next day at the auction, there was exactly what I needed which I got for $9. I’ve also had an electric chainsaw in my Amazon wish list for the past few weeks while I continue researching which route I want to go. I got one at the auction for $7 which was new enough that most of the paint was still on the bar. It’s only 14″ but ideal for the pruning and pollarding I do every year, plus it will give me a feel for what electric chainsaws can do. The modern-looking oil lamps at the auction went for pretty good money but another one later on, old looking but in good shape with a new wick, they couldn’t give away. I gave them $2 and it included two small knickknack shelves and an old black-walnut oil lamp holder. It’s about 18″ tall with fancy edges and near the bottom is u-shaped piece of wood sticking straight out which you slide the lamp into. When I got home and checked out the lamp further, it was an Eagle, made between 1880 and 1910, with a 7″ diameter fluted reflector, and a metal base with a handle for hanging it on the wall. I found some exactly like it on Etsy and eBay: one was selling the $42 and the other $65. So not a bad day at the auction even though I spent the obscene amount of $18.
My tiller finally gave up the ghost as I’m trying to get way ahead of the curve right now for spring planting. I thought about the one sitting in the woods which I bought to use for parts, at an auction six years ago for $10. The one with the wobbly, rusted wheels, unretractable fully-extended pull cord, made by Monkey Ward who knows how many decades ago. After a brief argument with several fox grape vines, morning glory, and a Virginia creeper about who owned the tiller, I dragged it out of the woods and headed for my shop not feeling optimistic. From the looks of it, the last time anyone had done any maintenance on it was about the time George Washington Carver saw his first peanut. No self-respecting thrift store would have accepted it and even the county recycling center would have turned me away for fear of uglifying their junk pile. I checked my wallet and not finding any spare Benjamins, or any for that matter, I got the tools out and started working on it. I completely overhauled everything that would come apart. I wire brushed, cleaned, oiled, tightened up the spring on the pull cord and replaced a ball bearing, made a kill switch from a piece of old roof tin, and five hours later, including 20 minutes of trying to start it, she finally roared to life. The tiller predates OSHA so there are no safety devices whatsoever, hallelujah. The 5 HP B&S engine is so old the choke is a tube you manually pull out ¾”. The throttle cable was rusted into a solid mass so that was going to be an issue but, MacGyver to the rescue. Using the wire from a small binder clip, a piece of baling twine, a bungee cord, eye bolt, and a piece of well-chewed Beeman’s I found under the left handle, I finally got it running like a charm. I put it in gear and, miraculously, the ancient faded pulley belt didn’t shred or break as we headed to the south forty. After tilling up a portion of the garden, replacing the rusty wheels halfway through after one completely collapsed in a cloud of red rust, I shut it off with a big grin on my face. I love it when you can take a $10 pile of junk, then resurrect it to life again so it can carry on its happy life tilling gardens. After burning through two tanks of gas tilling, I felt empowered as I always do when I take on a project and succeed. I glanced down at my shirt to see if there was a big red “S” there or maybe just the Mighty Mouse logo, but there was nothing there but a spot of oil. My joy was short-lived when I woke up the next morning feeling more like Minnie Mouse, barely able to get out of bed or lift my coffee cup and no hot tub in sight. But in another week or two, the garden will be all weeded, tilled, covered with mulch, and just waiting for spring to get here. As for me, I’m going to enjoy a long, cold winter reading by the wood stove with coffee and cinnamon rolls, cat purring in my lap, taking a long-needed rest from this year’s labors.
Everyone have a great week!
LOL!
Loved this. 🙂
St Funogas, Always a pleasure to read your weekly report! You put the smile back on my face with your comments:
– No self-respecting thrift store would have accepted it and even the county recycling center would have turned me away for fear of uglifying their junk pile. ” MacGyver to the rescue”
However, I think you are addicted to going to auctions.
If you were my neighbor I’d bring you some fresh from the oven bread, herb butter and home made jam! Thanks for the chuckles.
Spent all your benjamins at the auction. Love your post. The comments section has become my favorite part of the blog.
You should be a professional writer. I have a hunch if anyone survives the upcoming mess, it will be St.Funogas, lol.
Saint, Oh my gosh. So many laughs!!! Thank you for the good medicine. Krissy
St. F,
The description of your process from start to finish to breakfast the next morning was much appreciated by my wife and I, as that seems to be the end result of my attempts to make do or just use what we have on the farm.
Hey RK, sounds like we both learned the same mantra at an early age: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Hopefully some of the younger generations are learning it as well.
I’ve used that old roofing tin for various projects but never thought I’d be making something like a kill switch out of it, so you just never know exactly how or when something is going to come in handy.
Great story, Saint!
There are few things more satisfying than the ability to bring a (supposedly) useless mechanical item back into working order.
Tough week. Emotionally draining and frustrating. I kept as busy as I could possibly be but muscle spasms in my back has been somewhat limiting. Canned up 7 quarts of chicken stock (I had purchased bulk frozen organic chicken backs from Azure so I picked off the small amounts of chicken after cooking for the puppies). Canned up 14 pints of Navy beans. Cleaned the garage, organized basement, several trips to the dumps, cleaned the house. Improving my physical strength by taking puppies on regular brisk walks up the hill and back. Today working on canning previously frozen tomatoes from the greenhouse. Met with an electrician to discuss semi-permanently installing the generator so I can flip a switch if needed – not sure this is going to work, but we shall see. While the election chaos rages on, I’m trying to focus on what the Lord’s will for me is each day. If I let my mind wander, I get upset.
Note: I had joined a group focused on weapons training, but removed myself from the list a few weeks ago. I had intuition that we don’t want to be on anyone’s list. Lo and behold, AOC calls for “lists” of anyone who might be against their socialist agenda. I’m so thankful for the 2nd Amendment. It appears, at the moment, it’s all we’ve got left.
Godspeed friends. Godspeed.
Sounds like you got a lot done, despite the muscle spasms! Praying for healing….
Thank you. I appreciate it.
From your post: “AOC calls for “lists” of anyone who might be against their socialist agenda.”
The sickness in all of this is very dark indeed.
Yes,
It makes me feel sick. Doesn’t anyone, on the other side, see the parallels to Hitler’s rise to power and take over?? Or any other world dictator’s order of operations/playbook? Evil to the core!
Another sign of hope for the future (so you don’t think I’m a ‘Gloomy Gus’), a story on Outkick by Jason Whitlock talks about rumors Trump is considering starting his own Conservative News Alternative (and maybe a Social Media platform?). Sources say he is really P.O.’d at Fox news (as are many of us) for calling Arizona early and stalling on Florida, North Carolina and others.
I have a feeling that Trump may continue to be the face of the Republican/Conservative/Populist movement for quite some time. Trump is a fighter, and is in it to win it…
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
Sorry I got this post and the next out of order. Hope that didn’t change the context of the two messages.
Seymour
My wife and I were just talking about the need for a new conservative network and even mentioned Trump as the man who could/would do it.
We have not seen the last of Trump. But we have not seen the last of the government harassing him. It will not be enough for the left to see him just leave town.
Also, if Trump does put together a network, there will be a heckuvalot of people wanting to buy stock.
It’s not over ’til it’s over.
Seymour Liberty!
Outkick is a great site, and Jason Whitlock is a terrific speaker and writer. Excellent resource, and hopeful.
Oh yes, Avalanche Lily! It is sickening. It is likely to get more so. The nausea we all feel should speak to us of the import of the battle before us, and the risks our nation faces should we lose. We must win so that we can protect free speech and liberty for all. We must win to save our Republic.
Hi Lily. Sorry for the late hour.
I know people who refuse to recognize that Hitler is a product of the left, not the right. Hitler was a Marxist, as was Mussolini. Both started their political lives studying the writings of Karl Marx. Both realized that the greatest failure of Marxist thought was the lack of an ability to have an effective economy. Fascism and National Socialism weren’t much better but both vaguely looked like capitalism and allowed their economies to function. Hitler said himself that the failure of Marxism is the lack of corporatism.
I know people who don’t know where the word Nazi comes from. So they cannot attach, at least in their own minds, the word Nazi with the word socialism. I don’t know if their ignorance is willful or not, I suspect that it is, but ignorant is what they are.
What they do believe is that the reason socialism has been a dismal failure is that there was never enough force used to make it happen. Hillary said it herself, applying the “Politics of Meaning”, that the failures of the past were because they just didn’t mean it enough.
@ Avalanche lily
Here, where a disguised Communist was re-elected (she calls herself socialist) not too many years ago, she addressed the Communist Party, described them as “comrades” she passed laws through Parliament, allowing forced euthanasia by doctors, relatives etc upon demand, she also passed into law, abortion of any unwanted babies, or those with downs etc, so many Christians voted for this woman, sickens me to my stomach, she espouses the new order doctrine, very, evil woman.
A.L.,
It should make all of us sick, and hopefully the American people are waking up to the growing threat to our Liberties. I doubt that anyone on the other side notices anything, for they are either ignorant of history, or willfully denying the reality they see (or both) because of a hatred of Trump, and working class America.
For instance most do not know that the NAZI party was a contraction/transliteration of (and I’ve seen it listed several ways) NDSP or NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or in English, National Socialist German Workers’ Party, National Democratische Socialist Party, ). They have been convinced by the left that the party of Hitler was ‘Right Wing’, when in-fact they were considered right of the Russian Communist party (but both Left of center political organizations). Consider their actions after the NAZI Party election – Nationalizing & confiscating Banks, Confiscating property, Converting schools to government run indoctrination centers, National infrastructure projects, Nationalizing Auto companies, and National Healthcare, etc.
We have been given a gift the last 4 years, in a President that fought for our middle class, our Liberties, and our Country’s future. We slowed the Progressives march, but the War is not over. The coastal elites hate us, and Big Tech, Fin Tech, Leftist Media, & Corporate America want to rule over us.This election is not over, as challenges will continue for weeks. I expect when a few decisions go the GOP’s way, there will be civil unrest (a.k.a. rioting) as the left feels threatened and realizes they may not succeed).
We are indeed entering a ‘Dark Winter’, and it will take great fortitude and courage to weather the coming storm, but weather it we must. What is our alternative?
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
Thank you Seymour Liberty for explaining the true position of the Nazi party on the Left Right continuum.
The scriptures tell us to go neither to the left nor right.
Deuteronomy 5:32
Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Do you see that Left and Right ideologies are another way that political entities have stolen from God’s Word? We are only to be in His word and obey His laws and statutes and not take on the Political ideologies of the world. God’s ways, laws and statutes are so much simpler and straight forward than Satan’s humanistic anti-God tyrannical dictatorial systems of governments. He only sows confusion and complete enslavement of humanity. The Father of lies who only comes to steal, kill and destroy all of God’s creation! Thank God That Jesus came and died, shedding His blood for the redemption of all who will believe in Him. He will restore all things and make the anew. We just need to stand on His Word, trust and believe!
Amen to that! I totally agree. The left and right are just diversions from “the straight and narrow way” found in Scripture. I’m really glad I grew up in a household without a TV, but we did have the KJV. I would not change that part of my past for anything.
Matthew 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Seymour Liberty, your comment illustrates the importance having American children provided a good education.
The American ~public educational system has become corrupted. Many Americans have been taught to hate America, and disbelieve in a God in Heaven.
……. By being Home-Schooled, or attending a quality religious affiliated school, children will be more likely raised, with a more traditional American understanding of ethics. [Better Kids]
Trump by his Words and Deeds has been committed to the Prolife movement. … It’s possible to read or once again listen to, ~Remarks by President Trump at the 47th Annual March for Life~ January 24, 2020.
From the site Whitehouse(dot)gov: =
“THE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you very much and thank you, Jeanne. It is my profound honor to be the first President in history to attend the March for Life. (Applause.) We’re here for a very simple reason: to defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential. (Applause.)”
“For 47 years, Americans of all backgrounds have traveled from across the country to stand for life. And today, as President of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you. (Applause.)” …
********
********
By ~Word and Deed~ Trump has been working to protect the life of ALL Americans from Conception to Natural Death; to protect Religious Freedoms too.
Trump has also been working to put an end to America’s involvement in the useless and endless wars. [Trump stands firm with our American Military people and the essential job they do.]
********
********
Libtards and their cohorts call out descriptive names like Hitler, NAZIS and Fascists towards Trump and the Republicans.
The Libtards have become the political party of Lunatics and the spiritual children of the Father of All Lies. … The Libtards have no understanding of history. … The only things understood by Libtards seems to be smashing property, people, and fire-bombing police stations
However this 2020 Election turns out, the Redoubt Region or a similar safe area is becoming, a good relocation area for families concerned about a future for their own children.
…. As said by SurvivalBlog, demographics is the future. … Plus, parents are obligated to reinforce the Natural Law within a child’s conscience, which is a lot easier in some places.
We may yet have to weather a Dark Winter (and certainly not the Dark Winter suggested by Joe Biden)… But! We may yet win this battle in the greater war. I agree with your post, and very much appreciated your thoughts, Seymour Liberty. I would only add that the choice that we have now is to FIGHT in the ways we can fight right now. Fight censorship. Speak out. Support the President with your voice, and to the best of your ability with any contribution you might be able to make to the defense fund. We must fight now or the fight we will face later will most assuredly be much more difficult and with far deeper and more dangerous consequences.
We also need to reach out to all of our ‘Congress Critters’, and urge them to support The President, Jay Sekulow, and all of the Presidents legal team from their Legislatures. It is not well known, but the US Constitution gives to the State Legislatures the right to elect the electors to the Electoral College, not the Parties, or the Media. Each of the affected battleground states in question, have Republican Majorities in the their respective House of Representatives and their Senate (look it up). The State Legislatures in AZ, NV, MI, PA, NC, & WI have Republican majorities (and maybe MN & a few others. If the US Supreme Court doesn’t do the right thing regarding illegal ballots/fraudulent ballots or illegal vote counting methods, then there is a remedy at the State Legislatures. The individual State Legislatures have the right under the US Constitution to select the Electors to the Electoral College.
Unless Trump and the Republicans give up, this is a long way from being over. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy roller coaster ride!
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
SaraSue: I have suffered from back spasms for a long time. At first I got some relief from steroid shots, but decided I needed to try other things. Instead of one shot a month I am now at one shot every 3 or 4 months depending on how rough I am on myself.
Herbs:
– Valarian relaxes muscles but may make you a little sleepy until you get used to it.
– Turmeric reduces inflammation and soreness, 3 or 4 capsules spread out over the day.
– Ginger helps reduce tension.
Other:
– Stretchable belly to back band to support your muscles, really helps me. Found mine at the thrift store.
– Gentle stretching exercises.
Hope this helps a little.
Thanks for the tip on valerian.
Thank you for your suggestions. I used to get steroid shots for the arthritis in my back. Steriods are a miracle drug when you can’t take the pain and have to function at a higher level than I function at now. The thing that has helped the most is to avoid the media!
Animal House,
re:
turmeric
My experiences indicate turmeric must be cooked to be efficient.
Adding turmeric to stews and hot blender soups is a favorite around here.
We are experimenting with organic popcorn cooked in unrefined coconut oil with turmeric and pink salt.
And ‘yes’, corn is inflammatory, and grains blow my Ketogenic diet.
Once a month isn’t going to murderize me.
A store-bought version of powdered dried turmeric is Golden Milk in the tiny jugs.
About us$13(?) for around a dozen(?) ounces.
Each time I use it, I feel an immediate improvement.
In Laos in another lifetime, we had fermented turmeric.
And ‘yes’, our kitchen magically manifests yellow stains everyplace… including the ceiling!
Largemarge, I gained my love if garlic and turmeric when I lived in Asia. Agree it is always better taken in natural or cooked format, but sometimes need convenience of capsules. Agree lots odgold powder in my kitchen.
I could probably write a feature length article on dealing with back pain. Tore a bunch of muscles 5 years ago and went through 4 years of torment. 99% of the time I feel zero pain but it was a long road to recovery. As for inflammation relief I used Turmeric, asheaganda and Boswellia. One capsule of each, twice a day. I bought the best quality products I could afford. It provided much needed relief. My injury was mainly mucle and connective tissue and things get a lot harder when it’s your spine. Anyway, I had to do other things to get at the root cause and thankfully I am now healed.
Animal house
my wife suffers acute lower back pain, she uses two types of magnesium cream, slightly differant, one is for deep sleep, one for intense muscle pain relief, the relief of pain is instant.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PAIN-CREAM-Magnesium-Cream-with-DMSO-Lavender-Arthritis-Cramps-ETC/324104874779?hash=item4b7627eb1b:g:tyQAAOSwuR5XPzVn
Tom, I use a spray on oil of magnesium for severe pain. It stops it instantly. Only problem is it is sticky so you have to wait 15 or 20 minutes for it to soak in and dry.
Tough week emotionally what with fear for our nation and facing the loss of my precious 16 year old dog, my little friend. I pray for strength.
Awe! I’m so sorry for the loss of your fur baby. It’s truly been a horrible week. Your fur baby is playing in heaven along with all my fur babies who are there. They are strong and young and full of love, just waiting for us to join them one day.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
KB, sending prayers for strength and comfort your way. You are in God’s hands, and he loves you as a father loves his precious child.
I am sad with you for your loss of your precious pup. May the Lord God comfort you as only he can.
KB! I am heartbroken for the news of your beloved four legged friend. You are in all our prayers.
KB, I’m so sorry about your loss. Please know we care, and support you in your grief by praying for you. Krissy
Grateful thanks to all of you above for your kind sympathy and prayers dear
Survivalblog friends. God bless you all.
I forgot to mention that we also got all the hoses put away. I finished washing all the pots and flats and they are pre-positioned for seed starting in the spring. Hubby is winterizing his boat today between naps, he really wore himself out this week.
I’ll be cutting his hair this morning.
Finished a couple of painting projects this week. One was with an oil based paint. I cleaned the brush with mineral spirits, but as it was dark when I finished, I didn’t take the mineral spirits out to our dumping ground (don’t tell the eee pee ay) Then, of course, I promptly forgot about it. But for the next few days, anytime I cooked or baked (gas stove), we smelled this chemically smell. Finally, it dawned on us – it was the mineral spirits in the garage reacting with the flame on the stove. Yikes. Don’t be like wormlady. Properly dispose of your hazardous wastes before they become a problem.
Wormlady, I love the country grunge look! Once I stopped working (outside the house) I find that jeans, tee shirts and flannel are my new work uniform. Even my “dress up” cloths are new not faded jeans.
Like everyone else, this last couple of weeks has been stressful. I’ve found I needed to let it go and pray that all is proceeding according to God’s plan. I was way too absorbed in it.
We are still going through lists of things that need to be done. We blew out our water system in preparation for freezing temps. Yesterday I changed out an outdoor light and ended up repainting the ceiling around the light. We finally put up some solar lights we’ve had for awhile. I still have the last of my garden area to finish cleaning and mulching. I’m hoping to get to it this weekend between rain showers.
My brother and sister-in-law visited last weekend and surprised me with a beautiful plant stand for my front window area. Last winter I had set up folding tables to put my seedlings on in preparation for spring planting. My brother is so talented! The stand is a combination of wood and metal parts and adds to my collection of rustic pieces we have around the house.
Today’s chore is to buy some flooring to finish my two-year remodel of our bathroom. I am finally close enough to finishing it that my family finally believes I’m going to get it done.
Be well,
Suggestions…….this concerns uses for the plastic buckets with a fold down handle that kitty litter, mountain house foods comes in. For years now I have found these empty buckets to be a cornucopia of uses in my preps and etc. the bucket has 35 lb label on it but filled with sand gravel these could be used for door, window, wall protection, also with the attached handle make them easier to move, and they are stackable according to manufacturer’s suggestion to ten high. …and they are, a double thick stack makes a door a no entrance barrier….I have taken a full bucket filled with sand and shot them with large caliber rifle rounds and they have a super high stopping ability. Use them for storage in a upright freezer for additional freezer burn protection. Use them for misc shop items and tools that I want to keep water dirt debris off of. Store clothes, ammo, animal food , the list is endless.
Some of these I have used 15 years and they really Wear resistant. For my buyout items they are the perfect size For anyone to life and carry and move quickly and the stacking ability and tie down would help keep them in place during transportation. The great thing after using the product that came in them you get a free bonus bucket to use.
John in Nevada, You are so correct about empty buckets. I use the empty kitty litter buckets with square lids for just about everything around the farm.
We find the kitty litter buckets useful too. One of the uses I have for them is to use them to store tire chains for everything. Depending on how big the chains are you might need more than one bucket. I paint the buckets to match what they go on: red for the tractor, black for the Yamaha side by side, orange for the Kymco side by side, etc. in a glance you can find the right chains for the right vehicle.
This week has been a terrifying one for me. I’ve been reminded that FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real. First, of course, is the election. I’ve been in prayer all week with most everyone else. I’ve asked my news junkie husband to listen on his headphones. God is in charge and the media doesn’t determine our election winners, the courts do!
On top of this, I was a couple hours from the end of three days of chemo (following another surgery), when the hospital decided to do a rapid Covid test and I tested positive. No symptoms up to that point and a couple negative tests under my belt. They panicked, told me my morbidity stats (not good), and sent me home through the back elevators. Talk about a test of faith. I stood my ground and am almost through the quarantine period with no symptoms AT ALL from anyone! My son can come home today and my husband and I are off quarantine on Monday. Please pray that my treatment will continue as planned. Stand with me!
I am recovering from the latest round of killer chemo with good lab results. Not able to get much done, but that is expected. One more killer chemo round and than the bone marrow transplant.
Love reading everyone’s comments. St. F…having grown up on a farm, I fully appreciate your joy at the tiller resurrection. I find I chuckle when the old and ugly is deemed unworthy and needs to be replaced by new and pretty. I’m thinking there is a truth of God’s love and my life here!
Blessings all. Remember what Winston Churchill said…Never, never, never give up.
Your story gives me courage. Prayers to you and yours.
Oh, PJGT,
I’m praying for you. Also remember, “The Lord God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind!” (A bit paraphrased)
Praise the Lord that you have no symptoms at all. Many of those tests are testing false positives.
Continue to trust in the LORD God. He loves you and will see you through.
Jim and I, are praying for you and that all will continue as the Lord wills. We are sending you virtual big warm hugs!
Much love and blessings to you,
Lily
@ PJGT
I think there are a lot of false positives associated with the rapid Covid tests; chances are you never even had it. Sorry you had to be scared like this on top of everything else you are dealing with. Wishing you a speedy and complete recovery.
Thank you all. I certainly came to terms with my own mortality this week. I win either way!
PJGT!
From your post: “This week has been a terrifying one for me. I’ve been reminded that FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real. ”
So well said. AGREED. 100%. FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.
Stand firm and fast. Take heart. Have courage.
PJGT, Praying for your healing in all things. In the state you live in do doctors have the legal right to test you against your will? Please tell me they can’t force you to take the vaccine.
No idea. I expect I can refuse the vaccine…which I will do. I expect I can be denied services if I don’t take the test. My local doctor said after no symptom quarantine, the infectious disease people do not require more tests. Pray, pray, pray for me.
PJGT, Be of good courage. The Almighty God of the Universe, your Heavenly Father, holds you close in His love. He has put it on the hearts of your fellow siblings to lift you up in prayer. As it were, we are the widow pounding on the judge’s door on your behalf. You are beloved and precious. Krissy
I have been praying and will continue to do so. I am standing with you in spirit.
PJGT… I am in earnest prayer this evening for your health and well being, peace of mind and of spirit. I am standing with you as is all of my family.
PJGT,
Standing with you in prayer and praising God that you and your loved ones don’t have COVID symptoms!
An anxious week for sure awaiting results. Cleaned the yard of the few small limbs from the recent hurricane. Thankfully no real damage and no power outage in our immediate vicinity. Got the burn pile reduced to ash. Made a trip to the range. Got the ACOG on my Scar 17 on paper and checked the function of the new Timney two stage trigger I put on it a few months back as well as checked the zero and functioning of my EOTech red dot on my older model Bushmaster. Both functioned flawlessly. Couldn’t get to the 200 yd range though as it was occupied so I’ll make another trip next week. I had also recently ordered and picked up a Panzer BP-12 semi auto with 5 rd factory mags and a 10rd I had ordered. As I was in a bit of a rush, I didn’t take the time to break it down and clean it before shooting. The result, hopefully, from that was that it didn’t cycle well at all. Had a failure to eject after nearly every round. We’ll see after a thorough cleaning and lubing and 100 rds or so if it improves, other wise it will be sold. Been selling everything I no longer have a use for to make extra room and pay for some new items. At this point, I don’t see a way for Trump to prevail so I’ll just say God Bless you all and our great nation regardless of the outcome.
Good morning all,
This week has been a combination of pouring rains interrupted by beautiful periods of sun. Some folks take exception to the rain, but we just view it as part of God’s plan to keep this North West area beautifully green most of the year around. Now that the ground has reached saturation level I was informed that I need to bury a long run of conduit so I can get a new cable pulled for better internet access. It’s going to be all dug by hand in the mud because any equipment would sink to the axles, but I’m thinking that to get something other than intermittent cell phone wireless is worth the time and effort.
Last Sunday afternoon local auction had some interesting items that I was able to win.
Included were a heavy duty 6-tine pitchfork, a nearly new cant hook, several portable gas cans, a full tank of CO2 with regulator that I envision to use in 5 gallon buckets to purge oxygen, a box of Lyman reloading dies and casting molds, a box of quality holsters that also contained a very nice possibles bag for blackpowder shooting accessories, a couple of leg traps, several bags of potting soil, and a as new stainless Springfield Armory M-6 410/22LR.
A friend asked, “How you keep deer out of your garden?”
I replied, “turn them”.
He responded with, “What do you mean, turn them?”
I replied, “Simple, If they get in to the garden you turn them in to venison.”
And keeping that thought in mind, I ordered and received solar powered motion activated LED lights. I plan to fabricate mounts utilizing “U” bolts to attach plates holding the fixtures to chain link fence posts that surround the garden so if any critters get in, they will be illuminated.
Ordered and received a QD rail adapter to mount our thermal scope. Although it’s a dedicated system, it’s always nice to be able to quickly remove the scope to protect it from the elements or impact.
Still working occasionally on reloading and also running the tumbler getting a large stock of brass polished for reloading later.
Blessing to the SB family that is prepping to be self-reliant so as to not be part of the problems should the future we hope and pray for does not come to fruition.
It’s been such a busy week, but all I can focus on is the unfolding of the criminal theft of the presidential election. Today — on the heels of news from Justice Alito re: Pennsylvania — even Fox News “projects” a Biden win. Seriously, everyone? Seriously? Donald Trump is being betrayed even by those he tried to help. They have been bought off. We are the last line of defense. It’s time to wake up and fight. Mark Levin now says he is part of the Resistance. I am adding my name to the same. I pray there are enough people with courage who will stand up for the President who has stood for us. Do not be disheartened. Do not be dispirited. The left is working their psy-ops. Anyone who falls to these will never be able to endure and survive all that is coming. Be brave. Stand up and stand for AMERICA and the Judeo-Christian principles on which this Republic was founded.
I feel you 100%
T of A, I could not agree more!
There is some good news in this day… President Trump refuses to concede, and he issued a most excellent statement (well worth reading). Take heart. God sent us a fighter in this President. He is setting the example for all of us, and leading the way forward. President Trump was meant for this time, and these challenges.
https://www.citizenfreepress.com/breaking/trump-refuses-to-concede/
very good ! must NOT be forgotten this man has pushed through three peace treaties between Israel and various Arab states, also nominated for the Nobel peace prize, not covered in the MSM. God decides NOT man. God is FOR this man.
Staying focused on being diligent. The news just broke that Biden won. But God is still on the throne.
We are experiencing “second summer”. I guess “Indian Summer” is politically incorrect.
Continuing canning and prepping for winter.
Exciting news-I had lunch with an elderly friend ( both she and her husband are 80+) and she confided that she is stocking up on canned goods. Last week she was at a large grocery store and asked an employee where all the food was. She was told that the employees were told that the shelves would be bare by Thanksgiving.
She will be coming over next week for a crash course in prepping . I will be using JWR newest book as a primer.
Praying for all on this blog, as well as our country’s future.
I agree with you that the shelves will be bare by Thanksgiving. It would be great if I am wrong. Everyone knows how this is going to roll. The rioting and targeting of Patriots and Christians is only on hold for a short time.
.02
This is true… Do not be gas-lit but the leftists!
The statement by the President which is quoted in this Natural News article is excellent.
https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-11-07-fake-news-media-gaslight-america-claims-biden-the-winner.html
GREAT MORALE BOOSTER!
This is from The Conservative Treehouse, and will make you smile…
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/11/07/rebel-alliance-post-it-notes/
They’re asking that it be posted everywhere!
Dear SB family:
Thank you so much for your prayers re. my eye surgery on Tuesday morning. (A special thanks to Krissy for praying over several SB prayer requests during a sleepless night last week.) I am so grateful for praying friends, and just wanted to give a praise report:
I checked into our local hospital at a little after 6:30 AM, and there was a beautiful sunrise — it was so uplifting! The surgery went really well, and I was home by 11 AM. I was blessed to get a great night’s rest both before and after the surgery. Also, once the numbness wore off of my forehead and face (from the nerve blocker) I had virtually no pain or discomfort, and did not have to take any pain medications. I also didn’t seem to have any lingering ill effects from the anesthesia drugs.
On Wednesday morning, my sister took me to the ophthalmologist’s office to remove the eye bandages and have an initial exam. The doctor said that my new artificial lens is still positioned correctly, and my vision in that eye (though a bit blurry until it heals) is vastly improved. I’ll need to take 3 sets of eye drops 4x per day for several weeks, but I can now see “light at the end of the tunnel” (pardon the pun)! I’m so encouraged!
As I’ve been recovering this week (and feeling a bit lazy), I’ve been binge-watching Election returns. Obviously, I’m disappointed to see some good candidates not prevail and to see widespread reports of election fraud. However, in my spirit, I feel that God is still working miracles and that we should still keep praying for our nation.
I recently discovered a brand new music video by Marleta Fong, a registered nurse in Australia “who loves to sing for Jesus.” The song is called “Pray On.” Here is the link to the video. After watching this, I think you will be encouraged (as I was) to not give up hope but to keep on praying for spiritual revival in America:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9VkDKNnmWc
I hope you all had a wonderful week, and I’ll look forward to reading your progress and praise reports.
With love and thanksgiving!
Cliff (in Oregon)
Excellent News CDM. Praising the Lord for your successful surgery and rapid healing.
CDM, What wonderful news. Your answered prayers are a blessing to us all. Thank you, Jesus. Love that you gave us the follow-up to what the Lord has done. Blessings as your post surgery blur transitions into clear vision, Krissy
CDM… What a wonderful PRAISE REPORT. So thankful for all this good news. Many prayers have been answered! You have lifted us all up with your testimony!
Great verses AL! To go with them I’d Revelation 22:20.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
For much of this week I was fixated on the elections which meant that I didn’t get a whole lot done here. Added to that we got a fair amount of snow and it was quite cold for this time of year. Thankfully we got the “heatwave” that so many of you are mentioning; it’s gotten into the low 60’s here which is pretty amazing and welcome. Decided I needed to stop mainlining carbs and get out and do something constructive. Took my frustrations out by cutting down lots of “weed trees” and getting a bunch of brush mowing done. More to do still but it’s looking a whole lot better! Pretty much anything wooded or not “lawn” hadn’t had anything done on it for who knows how long so I’m starting to whack away at it as I have time, now that I know there’s not much worth saving in most of it(other than some good trees).
Drained the water bath canner; nothing left to can alas. Harvested the carrots, turnips, brussels sprouts and beets; need to get them into the root cellar. Broccoli got walloped by the temps in the teens so I guess it’s probably done.
Looked at the seed catalog that someone on SB suggested(Jackie and Will Atkinson’s) and was blown away by their offerings. Ordered a bunch of seeds to try out; all OP plus they grow in Minnesota so they gotta grow here too! Can’t wait to try some of their melons; dried most of the ones I grew this summer and that stuff is amazing! Hardly any left; figured it was either dried melon or the bag of “Halloween” chocolate!
My 9mm laser ammo arrived and I’ve tried it out; love it! Figure this way I can get in more practice shooting, which I sorely need, yet not go through my small supply of ammo which was so costly and difficult to obtain. It’s really a lot of fun plus I can do this at home, while to actually shoot live ammo I’d really need to go to a range.
They just recently added several new varieties of winter squash to their listing — my favorite garden vegetable. They are about 120 miles away from me. Mostly to the east and a little to the north. I would like to visit them this next summer if I have a chance, but my schedule may be very hectic and I’m not certain about all this political problem. Might not work out. Time will tell.
They do have a fairly short growing season and it is also somewhat cooler there as well.
We have had more snow fall in the last three days than what we had all of last winter; now to give that some perspective please remember that our winters are 9 months long … so that being the case just be forewarned that if this system heads south to you folks be prepared for some very serious weather events; this in addition to all the turmoil you seem to be having down there …
That’s the news from Lake We-Be-Gone in the frozen Arctic. America Bless God.
Today’s updated version of total accumulated snowfall for us from now through to November 22, now shows us getting up to four feet of snow!! Again, we shall see if the models are correct.
@ AL
Do you have a link for that part of the site? I looked at it but didn’t see anything about snowfall etc.
Okay,
In Tropical Tidbits. When one opens the site, the GFS model comes up automatically. At the bottom of the video screen there are four categories the first on the left is Precip/moisture. Click it and a window will open with a list of the different types of Precipitation. About halfway down the list is the category of Total snowfall. Click that and it will show you total snowfall according to the GFS model out to the 384 hour mark. After clicking it, go back to the choices above the video and start clicking the right arrow. It gives the projected snowfall amounts for every six hours for almost three weeks in advance. It is a really cool weather model site to play with.
Let me know if I need to be clearer in my directions.
Got it. Yep. You guys out west seem to be getting hammered according to that model. We are sitting pretty! Will see I guess.
We spent a few hours yesterday clearing as much as we could; we being my neighbor a fine 16 year old man and I. I’m recovering from a severe heart attack I suffered last month so he did all the work while I did light shoveling.
When I moved my truck and wifes car the undisturbed snow was up to my waist, I’m 5’8″ so it was deep then and coming down very hard. It’s best to get it as soon as possible even when its still falling as in a few hours it would have been so deep that my snow blower wouldn’t touch it. It continued to snow through the evening and into early this morning. Total accumulation is approximately 5 1/2 feet in areas, and less in others.
Now we’re experiencing power brownouts or outages due to trees falling, lines down, ect. Winter in the arctic is back to normal. Thank God for snow shoes … my new “Cardiac rehab” routine.
Lt Mike, I did not realize you had a heart attack; but I’m so relieved you are recovering. Don’t know where in Alaska you live but it is a tough and unforgiving place. I hope you can take it easy and fully recover.
Thank you Animal House, Gods healing touch was very much present in this event.
The ER staff sent me straight up to the Cath lab and were able to get my right ventricular artery open and minimize the damage. Now to build up my heart and keep on going …
God bless all of you.
Hello all. Hope all is going well. I spent the week thinking and I have made a decision. I will be changing my “green” money into “red” money. I started yesterday with my trip to the grocery store.
We all have companies that we will or will not do business with for one reason or another. I too, but I am expanding that. From now on I will only spend my money in a “red” county. Extremely easy to do. Just check the voting results, by county, for your state. Let me explain.
If you can move to a red state, then move. If you move, try to go to a red county in a red state. If you can not move to a different state, try to move to a red county within your state. If you can not go to a red county in your state, then only spend your money in a red county. By living in a red county, chances are the residents think the same as you.
We all know the saying that money is the root of all evil. Well, if we take that a step further, money is the gas of the political engine. This engine drives the agenda and polices. What happens when an engine runs out of gas? It stops. Therefore, I will be removing my money from any blue county. No longer will I be a customer at any establishment in a blue county. My apologies to those who are republican conservatives who are stuck there. It’s nothing personal towards you. Move, if you can, and take your money and business with you!
Why counties? Well, first, there is an election every 2 years in one way or another. This gives a good idea (or trend) of the beliefs of that county. You will know if it is left or right (red or blue). Any business pays taxes to the Fed and State, but it also pays money to the county in one form or another. I will no longer allow my money (if only a little bit) go to supporting the blue belief system.
I realize that I can’t stop spending money in my, sadly, blue state. It’s just not practical, but it is practical if I go by county. Think: grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, banks, etc., etc. When the money stops coming in, then maybe these people will leave. After they leave, maybe we can turn it red. Turn enough counties red, then the state becomes red. Yes, I know populations are a huge factor. Example, the State of New York. As long as NYC is blue the whole state will be blue even if almost all of upstate is red. Leave the state!
Also, when I order online, I’ll check the business address. If it is located in the red, then I will buy. I know this may seem like small potatoes to some and that’s okay. This is something that I can do right now no matter how small. The last time I checked it was over 69 million people that voted for Trump and the red belief. Just imagine if all those people no longer spent their money in a liberal blue county.
@ BGT
It’s a good idea and worth trying to do although it may not always be possible. It’s so hard to get some stuff now as it is and when you add in where you get it from it gets even more difficult. I’ve been trying to prioritize buying stuff made in the US(or someplace else I want to support such as Israel) as opposed to China. The Surestrike laser ammo I just bought is made in Israel, although it’s imported/sold by a NY company and NY is a blue state overall……. ;-(
Sometimes I’m just boycotting a product due to what the company supports, such as Dr Bronners which has made a huge contribution to BLM, which I don’t support. So no more Dr Bronners……
But yes, I can easily shop at the hardware, grocery, gun etc stores that are in red towns here, which mostly align with red counties. I’d rather support them with my dollars than the uber liberal blue towns. Even though probably 70% of my state voted for Biden, a good chunk, mostly here in the north, voted for Trump.
Nope. I stand corrected. Just checked the updated town by town results in my state for the Presidential race. Absolutely hopeless. Don’t think there’s even any stores in most of the towns that voted for Trump! My state is hopeless.
Bert Gummer Too!, I like your suggestions. Thank you! Blessings on your week, Krissy
Hi Krissy. Thank you. I’m glad you liked them. I’ll be checking the areas between my place and where I hunt on the family farm. I want to be sure to practice what I’m preaching. 🙂
Blessings to you as well and everyone else who can use them. Even if you can’t, too bad you’re getting them any ways!
I have a friend who decided something similar. He said he’s not spending another dime (if Trump doesn’t win). I think he said something to the effect of “starve the beast”. I’m kind of liking this attitude. It doesn’t solve everything, but it solves some things.
Burt Gummer Too!
Love your idea of “red” money, and I would say this… Small potatoes ADD UP. …and they add up fast. We’re going with you. RED COUNTY PURCHASES.
@ T of A
The liberal takeover of my state has been so complete that we have only one county that could be considered “red” and that’s in the farthest reaches of the Northeast Kingdom. If most of you have actual “red counties” you’re in better shape then we are here for sure. And sadly, the towns that are “red” tend to be economically devastated and don’t have shopping possibilities, other than the occasional private “convenience” store selling chips, beer and soda.
Great! Glad to hear that some of you are on board. I am blessed to already live in a red county and all the counties around me are red. That being said, I still buy online and that is where I will have to be especially careful. Also when traveling away from home. Going to plan for any stops that I may have to make along the way.
Ani, I feel your frustrations. Maybe buy what you can online. I wish we all had a better way that we could help each other on this site but that would require actual email addresses, names, and locations which as we all know won’t happen due to OPSEC. There are many times that I read a post and say, “I can help you with that”. It’s hard to sit by and not be able to help when I know I can.
BGT: Love this! We buy local (red County, red state) as much as possible. I want my neighbors employed! And I’d like to cut the snake off at its head. You are so correct; we need to speak with our money.
Doxycycline could be an effective treatment for COVID. The mechanism of action is similar to HCQ. Take a zinc supplement if you use Doxy for treating COVID. Vitamin D is also great. Doxy has no serious side effects. Doxy and zinc and V-D would also help with flu. You can google Doxy COVID and find a study dated 8/11/20 which is what i am referring to for my information. Just trying to be helpful.
I bought more canned goods to fill the holes and reorganized my pantry. Also bought more Lima beans and great northern beans. Bought 40 # of chicken breasts to can. I’m almost done with my green to ripening tomatoes that I have been putting in the freezer to can when they are all ripe . Planted my garlic, two kinds, & shallots. Finished cleaning out the tomatoe vines. Drained and rolled up the hoses and put them away , along with various brass faucet splitters, sprinklers, etc. Worked on putting up the door and window trim in the bedroom. Spackled nail holes and today I’m sanding, priming, and painting trim. Got all the onions and garlic taken care of and put away. Put a new gasket on a wood stove door. Finally was able to integrate my three batches of chickens. Doing the final push to get everything in place to haul the 5 hogs to the butcher south of us next Friday. Of course we’re expecting a snow storm the night before we’re to have the hogs at the butcher- at 8 am. I’ll be relieved to have that done!
Encouraging to read about everyone’s week, especially their triumphs.
Blessings
I made sprouts for the first time! I have had sprouting screens for mason jars for years, but not dived in. What took me so long? It is so easy! That our 12-year old likes the sprouts is an awesome bonus.
Our home’s window screens are on the interior of the house, trapping moisture between them and the windows – a horrible, mold-encouraging design flaw, imo. I removed and cleaned them all this week. Hubby and I stowed them under the house to re-install in the spring.
DH’s Covid test was negative, and he returned to work Thursday. His ill co-worker is just now starting to feel better, while his wife improved a few days ahead of him. Thank you to all who prayed for him.
Again, all else was much the same. Regular exercise and stretching, budget meetings, homeschool time, home office and home business work filled our days.
One of my primary business suppliers has switched up their product packaging from glass to some type of ziplock bag. They were innovative with the glass shortage they faced. The company is still reporting restrictions with production of many items and shortages with some of the products they get from other suppliers. Continue to stock up!
Lily, I saw your comment last week about the fabulous meal you enjoyed the night we had moose liver with all the trimmings. Your backstrap cooked in applesauce sounds delicious. (Homemade applesauce, I imagine. ) I too love game meat, with the heart, liver, and backstrap being my absolute favorite! So far, this is my favorite way to prepare backstrap: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/01/bacon-wrapped-vension-or-beef-tenderloin.html. It is fantastic.
While the election results aren’t a great surprise, they are still sobering. DH and I are going to let a little time pass, so our emotions aren’t so on edge, and then we’ll further discuss plans for our family’s future. We’ve been on a certain course now for several years, our pace has just been slow. We’ve stepped it up the last few months, and I imagine we’ll continue down that road.
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 2
Standing with you all in prayer for deliverance from cancer, pain, recovery from surgery, and other hardnesses of life. Thank you for sharing your struggles as well as accomplishments.
Hi Mōsh, thanks for the laugh last week. I had to re-read your comments when you said you made mouse liver for dinner, then I realized it was moose liver. I’ve been laughing about that all week and couldn’t help but wonder what mouse liver would taste like and how many it would take to make a meal! 🙂
St. Funogas,
What keys do you click to make the “O” have the dash over it in Mosh’s name?
ALT 0245 õ
ALT 0213 Õ
ALT 0243 ó
https://www.howtotype.net/category/all_symbols/
You are all in our thoughts after this last week.
Hey Lily, there’s not an alt code to make the “O” with a macron, as it’s called, (ō) so I cheated and did a copy and paste of “Mōsh” from her post. 🙂
Your computer will have a “character map,” if it’s old enough but I don’t think it’s standard anymore. You can also download them for free if you do a search. The character map has pretty much every symbol you’d ever want to make on a computer. When you scroll down through the character map, it will either tell you the alt code, or if there’s no alt code, there’s a quick copy function so you can paste it into your document. The ones I use frequently, I remember, the ones I use but infrequently, I keep on a 3 x 5 card on my desk. All the others, I look up on the character map. My character map has 1,240 symbols, and that’s just in the Cambria font. There are also three maps called “Wingdings” 1, 2, and 3 with lots of other things like smiley faces, arrows, crosses, star of David, etc.
Ahh!
Thank You St.Funogas. The link that Devon Jon sent doesn’t have the Macron, soo… Now I think I will copy and paste! I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing that. 😉
Happy Sunday!
Lily,
I often type my entry in Word through the week and copy and paste it here in SB. In Word, Alt-333 will type an o with the macron over it. It doesn’t work when I’m typing directly into the SB text box.
I didn’t want to be called mŏsh, as in gosh or posh.
Thankfully, SB remembers what I typed into the name field, so I don’t have to look up how to do it every time.
Oh, my gosh, St. Funogas, you made me laugh! Hopefully things are never so bad that we have opportunity to learn the answers to your questions. I always feel so badly for the folks on “Alone” when they resort to eating mice.
How small is a mouse liver? They must be tiny. Mouse to moose. Tiny to gigantic.
I am excited to report that we have a buyer for the house I have lived in for more than 18 years. If all goes according to plan, we will move to our prepper property before Christmas.
Our house in the outer suburbs — a couple acres, fenced, no sidewalks or covenants — sold for more than the asking price. The market for property outside the city is definitely hot.
Congratulations!
Pete the Pickled Pepper, Oh, man. What awesome news Congratulations! This is very exciting. Please keep us updated; you know, when you take a 5 minute coffee break from packing and everything. lol. Best wishes as you celebrate, Krissy
Thank you both!
I have been a prepper since the mid ’90s, so it took 25 years to make the trip from a big city to the back country, with a few stops along the way. But like they say, it’s a journey.
Just watched on Fox News Biden’s pretentious victory speech where in the last few minutes he referenced his favorite hymn that nobody in his audience neither cheered nor understood. Be very, very afraid folks. As he promised, a dark winter is coming – stay frosty…
Agreed… We are living in very dangerous times indeed. …and the dark winter is coming. No question in our minds about it.
Avalanche Lily, I would really appreciate the recipe for your venison backstrap cooked in applesauce. It sounds simple and delicious!
Hi Determined Dorcas,
It was truly very simple. We just cooked the venison in two cups of applesauce on medium-low heat until cooked through. That’s it. Enjoy.
Wonder if this would also work with beef generally? Applesauce cooked pork is delicious too!
Not sure I have all of the details yet, but it appears there’s trouble brewing at Fox News. My DW told me when I came inside tonight that Judge Jeanine wasn’t on her weekly show, and that she had been suspended and her show canceled, over her stance on the handling of the election reporting. Her show did not air tonight and it looks like the only Conservative News organization on cable is silencing any dissent on the reporting of the growing election scandal.
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
Productive but sad week for us. Cut more red fir firewood and stacked it, sharpened 6 chains, ordered a 3rd Bigger Stihl saw for redundancy, I keep hearing good things about their electric ones but haven’t gotten to nerve to try one, I like my gas saws. Did our monthly animal feed run for the horses, chickens, rabbits, dogs and cats, then decided to double it……lot of weight to move. Made our monthly run to Costco and my wife decided we should add to our normal run. Our new Berkey water filter came and we were surprised with extra fluoride/arsenic filters were included. Spent several days chasing predators on our property including a mountain lion, a still very active black bear and a rare wolverine who all seem to want to eat our chickens. No luck yet but found a neighbor with a relative who runs dogs so come December we can run the cat down. The neighbors adult son is also in to trapping and has offered to show our son the ropes, which he has really been wanting to get into. Cleaned gutters again, put rest of hoses away, cleaned two sections of our barn, organized our food stores. Still trying to knock down an elk this season but expect significant fresh snow tonight so hopefully tomorrow will be the day. Waiting for the rut to fill our 3 mule deer tags. One of our deep freezers went out just after we picked up several hundred pounds of pork from a friend. Luckily no elk yet so room in that freezer until we get the other one fixed. Fixed a gate, replaced two animal tank heaters that finally decided to stop working, tightened all for sets of chains on the side by side. Picked up a ton of fur branches that broke off during our Last two Snow storms and preparing for the snow tonight. Sold some 9mm ammo to a friend and a tactical shotgun that I ended up not liking and that I already replaced. Checked over and cleaned canning jars in preparation of filling our mule deer tags. Now for the sad portion, I Lost a close uncle this week, in his 80s no medical conditions and strong as an ox but he got sick and passed in under 4 days. Will have to travel by plane to the funeral this week but should only be gone from the family and ranch for two days but I don’t like to be away in these troubled times. I did feel good that Montana made a very strong statement with a mostly red wave but hoping the senate stays red as a check and balance to the blues at a federal level. I hope everyone has a blessed week!
B Montana, By reading all that you accomplished this week, it sounds like you are just like your beloved uncle: strong as an ox.
My condolences on his sudden passing…
Prayers for safety for you, and your family, as you travel to and from the funeral. Krissy
We have had a few days of great weather in the 70’s in southern Ohio. We cleaned up the yard and got the mower put away for its winter nap. I climbed up on the roof to check on the shingles. I had to repair a few tabs that have flipped up or torn off.
Last year when I went to start the wood boiler, I discovered that the pump wasn’t working. It was a lot of fun to take apart a pump full of 200°F water. I was able to soak the cartridge in vinegar and get it freed up to work. Today we replaced the cartridge in the pump to avoid the ordeal again. We also fixed the insulation that the mice seem to like eating. We have a horde of cats, but the mice seem to find a safe haven under the boiler where the cats can’t go.
I got a surprise package this week. I received 2 boxes of .300 Blackout that I forgot that I had ordered in early August.
I am not so sure we will need to starve the beast. It will starve itself. Our Government can only write so much debt, can only tax it’s people so much of their income and absolutely cannot prevent the decline of it’s currency. It doesn’t matter who is in office. The question we must all answer for ourselves is are we ready to deal with this as we watch this slow train wreck begin to accelerate? Trump may have staved some of it off, for a while. Biden will be ineffective and incapable of fulfilling his job duties. Once he is removed or resigns Kamala Harris is going to be highly – HIGHLY – polarizing and like a Clinton on overdrive. We need to be ready for the financial, moral and most likely military conflicts that will arise out of this mess.
Excellent points, Chris in Arkansas… We must prepare even as we fight on to secure honest election results in the present (clearly there is a lot of toxic election waste clean up to accomplish given what appears to be overwhelming fraud).
For those who track electoral college math, political and election strategy… This is an interesting conversation (brief, easy to read) about the pathways that remain for a 2nd Trump term.
https://www.westernjournal.com/dick-morris-trump-can-still-win/
How to get there will depend on the court filings coming this week. There is a lot “in play” from a legal standpoint, and we must remain steadfast. We must stay the course. Leftists would have us suffer with a sense of defeat, but we are hardly defeated. This is far from over.
First They Came- Martin Niemoller
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Ani, excellent! A good reminder to stand up for rights in general, not just the ones we agree with. When I hear people say, “What do I care, it doesn’t affect me,” I reply, “It may not today but common things you are doing today could be illegal tomorrow so we should always fight for the right, whether it affects us today or not.”
Good morning, friends. As many have said, tough week. I’ve read everyone’s updates (but am alone here so no time to reply individually; so sorry!) and…consider yourselves prayed with, mourned with, rejoiced with, laughed with, and virtually hugged!
Couple add’l dehydrator recipes (jerky, onion rings) were a hit. Husband has proposed obtaining a third dehydrator, but indicated he had no ideas where to place it and no intentions of helping to load or clean it, so, I explained that the dehydrator space is not our limiting variable here. He has also expressed irritation at the ‘clutter’ on my food preservation counter, even though everything there is used regularly unlike the paper clutter that lived there for years and years gathering dust, so…I dunno.
Eldest son (11) took THREE unassisted steps this week in PT! From one chair to another! Orthopedic team says he is not ready for his hardware out quite yet; likely in the spring. He had been walking 60-70 meters unassisted several years ago (just a therapist spotting him), but when you get your hip rebuilt and you’re in hip-to-ankle casts for ten weeks then your knee operated on and you hit a growth spurt and your therapies get cut way back…..you lose progress. I have hope he will one day walk unassisted. As I told someone years ago in one of those late-night Ronald McDonald House conversations: when your baby takes his first steps, you cheer, you clap, maybe take a video for the grandparents. When your SEVEN year old takes his first steps, you throw the mother of all block parties! I will cheer the three steps and hope to celebrate more someday.
Need to gather some food and clothing bags for the neighborhood family we’re helping, and get the kids ready for church. Hoping we miss the worst of Eta and praying hard for Honduras and Nicaragua.
Hey Bear, that’s awesome about your son, thanks for sharing that. 🙂 I’ll never ever grumble about my chronic foot pain again.
Thanks St. Funogas!
Remember though, just because this little dude got a rough start in life, doesn’t mean your feet don’t *truly* hurt too y’know 😉 There is more than enough pain (and also joy) to go around in this life.
@ Bear
That does put it in perspective doesn’t it? I remember when my son was hospitalized at Boston Children’s Hospital and they had figured out what was going on and were treating him and he would be fine, however scary it had been, when I’d meet other parents there who had kids with brain tumors, cancer, etc. Really does put it into perspective fast! Here’s to his next three steps!
IKWYM Ani. There are the parents who live weeks at a time at the hospital… Many times we have prayed and fasted with families who weren’t sure their child would live… Even at the therapy clinics, some of the other parents just blow me away. I will never forget the mama who was following the PT around, patiently carrying her daughter’s portable oxygen tank throughout her therapy session. I realized that hanging a formula bag from the garment-hook in my truck, and taping my daughter’s feeding pump to the door (and wearing it in its backpack when we got out at the appts) wasn’t such a big deal after all. She could always get the feed a little bit later if something went wrong while I drove, but you don’t get a second chance at breathing.
And I’m so glad your son was okay! Have heard good things about Boston Children’s.
Bear, Sending you love and hugs, as well as celebrating three steps! Stay safe, Krissy
Thank you Krissy <3 same to you!! BTW I spoke with my traveling relative who had a rough trip but likes her new apt and is settling in well. (And my package of dehydrated foods to restart her pantry already arrived.) TY for praying!
Wonderful news!
I’ve watched a great series on Netflix this week: ANZAC Girls. I really enjoyed it.
I’ve made my coffee a little stronger the past few days to help defeat the depression of the state slate election.
Our Secretary of State is now the sole conservative at state level on the entire Left Coast. Any worse and I may revert to lower desk drawer type of liquid amendments for coffee… just joking on that.
Yesterday I was finally able to sight in my newest pistol with 10in bbl and red dot. It will do nicely for a cross-chest sling carry.
I also got to try out my new-to-me oldest pistol supplied by Elk Creek. Now I just need a change of wardrobe and a racing camel to reenact Lawrence of Arabia’s combat scenes.
We’re hunkering down for winter and I am reading “Weatherman’s Guide to the Sun”. It is absolutely fascinating to study how God Almighty is still creating and changing our Universe.
When you find, as I have, large trilobytes and other marine fossils across Phillips County Montana and Big Horn County Wyoming you know that those areas were below sea level….for very long periods.
Will God shift the Earth’s poles again as is projected in 30 years? I’m thinking a very large sturdy earthship bunker might be my next good investment.
He may be creating another human race in another galaxy: who can know the mind of God?
Can we understand what Jesus stated directly to us what will happen after he comes again Matthew 24:31?
” And He shall send his Angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds and from the one end of the heavens unto another.”
I’m considering that it may be very self centered thinking that we are the sole deserving group of His love. Just look at how many reject Him now…to their loss.
The leader of our home church is out on the town intersection every Saturday with signs attesting to Jesus wanting you and I, and witnessing to whomever will listen. But many of the regular protesters there proclaim they don’t believe in God or Jesus, describing themselves as atheists while they carry Biden/Harris signs.
Jesus said tribulations will come, and after the tribulations the sun will be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then shall the Son come.
Eyes wide open, No Fear. This is The Way.
God Bless, everyone.
Good morning Wheatly Fisher!
We were hopeful that you would be elected to the State legislature so there would be another representative in the Capitol with values and beliefs that we respect. Alas, it seems the majority of the populace is fast tracking us to Socialism which we expect will lead to very hard times for so many. We are saddened by what we perceive as ignorance in the voting masses as they will surely be the ones that will suffer by their action thoughout their lives. You can rest assured we and many others think highly of you for your endeavors to make things better.
Strategy for Dark Winter
Patriots should take out all of their money out of stocks in December 2020. Why December, it’s harder for Biden to backdate a tax increase.
You will pay taxes but we all have to know higher taxes are a giving since the left promised they would do such action.
I would plan to buy any big ticket item now. It will be more expensive in the future it available at all.
Buy as much precious metals you can since it’s the only real money and can be used in most nations.
But first priority pray for wisdom. Have faith that Jesus Christ will guide us all through these most evil of times.
Another company is producing NECCO wafers. They are available in our store again. Weaver Nut Sweets and Snacks in Ephrata, PA. You can order Necco’s online from us if you really have to have some. 🙂