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 past week, I snowplowed our road and parking area twice. I just wish the weather would make up its mind. Alternating rain and snow is depressing. I’d rather have it just consistently snow once a week, for a couple of months, with the temps staying below freezing. That would be best for our family’s X-C skiing and snowshoeing
I’ve kept busy, packing orders and adding antique guns to the online catalog of Elk Creek Company. We have a Friday of Color Sale planned for November 26th and 27th, 2020. I will be traveling all of the month of December, so be sure to get your order in by midnight on the 27th!
It just struck me: Anyone who enlisted or was commissioned shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and stayed on active duty or in the Reserve or National Guard is now very close to their 20-year retirement threshold. (September of 2021.) Wow! There is nothing like an endless war of counterinsurgency to grind down a military fighting force.
I resigned my commission when I was a Captain (O-3). That was on January 20, 1993, the same day that Bill Clinton was sworn in. I wonder how different my life would have been if I had opted to stay on active duty. Many of my friends who stayed in retired as full Colonels around their 20-year-marks. Soon, I may hear of promotions to O-7 or higher, from those who stuck it out to age 60.
Enough reminiscing. I’m handing this over to Lily…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
The weather has been raining and snowing and the temperatures are mostly above freezing.
I’ve been making Coconut yogurt for the past two weeks. I recently discovered Cocoyo Yogurt at the Winter Ridge Natural food store in Sandpoint, Idaho. I bought some and tried it very carefully for a couple of days, because I hadn’t eaten any yogurt for about five years and I recently had gone through a course of antibiotics. It was super yummy and my stomach didn’t rebel. Because it was expensive and we live so far away, I wondered if I could take some of the Cocoyo Yogurt and use it as a culture with some Coconut milk that I had. I looked it up on the internet and the consensus was a, “Yes”. So I took two cans of coconut milk with the fat on top, mixed them together and put a good dollop of the yogurt into it, mixed it in, covered it with a folded paper towel and rubber band, and set it on the counter for twenty-four hours. Yep, sure enough, I made great tasting, albeit a quite sour coconut yogurt. I also read that one could open up a Probiotic pill and sprinkle it on two cans worth of Coconut milk and set it out for twenty-four hours and make yogurt that way. I have now done that, also, and that type of Coconut yogurt is milder than the Cocoyo and taste super yummy. I like it both plain and with a little bit of raspberry jelly.
I bought and tried Delicata squash for the first time this week, oh yum! It has a delicate sweet flower-like taste. We all really like it. I bought them as organic, so I am saving their seed to plant next summer. I do hope they’ll grow up here.
On Wednesday, since the temperatures were in the high forties, the ground had thawed and there was actually a few hours of sunshine outside. (What a concept!) I went out to the Main garden and pulled a late harvest of carrots. The carrots were a mix of sizes, but there were a lot of them! The carrot harvest is much better than I was anticipating, considering that last year’s harvest was such a dismal failure. I am storing them in our root cellar closet. I still have one more row left to harvest. I will cover them with leaves, soon.
This week, I have listened to most of the book of Proverbs. Additionally, I have listened to: Daniel 9 to the end of the book about four times in row, the book of Joel and the book of Hosea. I’ve also listened to a few chapters in the book of Acts and translated chapter one from Hebrew to English. I have read in Jeremiah chapters 13-22.
I’ve been getting out for daily walks around the ranch.
Our rambunctious “teenager” kittens have been getting into mischief. Most recently, they decided that Jim’s home office should be their playland. Beloved Maniacs, they are! 😉
Shhh! Don’t tell Jim: In the mornings when I wake up and come out to the Great Room, I stoke up the fire and get to work. If I become too hot, I open the windows in the living room section of our Great room to cool the room down and myself. Well, mornings can be a very wild time for our teenage kitties. They have all of that built-up energy from a good night’s sleep to expend. Sometimes they will start their chase games, tearing all around the Great Room, down the hall to the bedroom areas and back again, then one will leap up on an armchair, jump over to the window and tear up the screen to the top of the window and just hang there looking outside. Often they can see birds and squirrels. Shhhh! Thankfully, their claws are not pulling the screen to bits. It seems to suffer no ill effects from them. LOL 😉
Cows, horses, and birds are doing well. Nothing new to report on them.
This week, I have been very, very deep in thought, study, and prayer over what I should be communicating to you. I’m presently drafting a feature article covering some important information concerning the currently forming The New World Order’s One World Religion. I’m hoping to post that within the next 10 days. I’d appreciate your prayers that I would choose the right words, in a way that will bring understanding and will please God.
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.
This past week, our most notable progress took place last Lord’s Day where we had a substantial power outage for most of the day. We got to test out a lot of our blackout gear and was encouraged by how far we’ve come. The most profitable part of the experience was sitting for hours infront of the crackling fire and reading aloud to the family a riveting biography of a brave Christian living and defending (a lawyer) in communist Poland, “Saving my Assassin”. It seemed to have many takeways to forshadow our future.
Aside from that, there have been several positive interactions with likeminded individuals in our broader community who recognize storm clouds on the horizon.
Thank you for your service, Jim. Hard to believe it has been so long since world trade center building 7 fell in 5 seconds without even being hit by an airplane. In 2005 I was “Depped” in with a maxed out ASVAB score, a perfect PFT, and with 90 college credits, good to start as an E-4. One of my best friends, a force recon Marine with several years of kicking in doors by 2005, woke me up with a video of WTC building 7 falling. Upon further investigation I realized who I would be serving in the military, and I decided to remain a humble blue-collar tradesman. Forever grateful to Sergeant Bales for educating me to stay away from killing the Brownskins who did not bring down WTC building 7.
Big Mike, I watched the 9/11 event happen on TV from my office and was horrified like everyone else. When the Building 7 destruction scenario was totally revealed I had to accept the reality that our own government had sold out to the globalists. Others still have their heads in the sand today.
After 41 years as an ironworker (local 86 Seattle), building #7 collapsed into its own footprint was what all of the crossbracing and other earthquake , so-called proofing was designed to do. The best way to demonstrate is to stand on an empty soda can while someone “taps” the side. If you don’t know, the can accordions down flat! This is probably what happened to the crossbracing after the bottom section was dented and cut through. PSS, Talkshow hosts are not structural engineers.
In uniform or out, I consider you a patriot, Mike.
JWR, I doubt you would have well tolerated the military life for a career: Many of my friends who stayed in retired as full Colonels around their 20-year-marks.
What I have read of you, I think you do not take well to orders. That is how one gets to Colonel or higher. Following orders. Too often, those orders are given by those who lack common sense or concern for the well-being of their subordinates.
Carry on
The Dan Bongino Show: The Evidence is Right There in Front of Your Eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC5odQb5oB4
—
Jeffrey Prather, former SOCOM operator, DEA agent and government intelligence analyst. Like nearly all patriots, Prather has been demonized and assaulted by the deep state, but he has survived and continues to bring a powerful pro-America message to all those who seek the truth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6Ky50CavTs&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBr1–BntXA
Sydney Powell unloads on AOC …
It has been a busy week but I first want to express my appreciation to the Rawles family, SB editors and readers for sharing your talents and knowledge with me and others. Since I am an early riser, SB is one of the first sites open on the computer/phone each day and it sets a positive, get-to-it attitude in my house. So thanks to each of you for being here, contributing and helping to keep us going in the right direction. My prayers are for each of you as God knows you and what you need.
There seems to be dozens of small, time consuming chores which have to be done before the holidays. We quietly celebrate the holidays but this year we will put up a big wreath on the farm gate and a fancy hanger to put bags of cookies/treats on. I’ll harvest some holly for a decoration near the mail box for the mail carriers and delivery people to hopefully get a smile from.
We pulled a huge ham from the freezer from February’s harvest of hogs and I’m letting it thaw in the garage frig. I will be cutting it up into smaller hams to give some of my elderly neighbors portions of it. My son befriended a retired veteran who lives alone down the road and back in the woods, so one will go to him. My other elderly neighbors who I look after will also get one. It is not a prepared meal but it is the basis of one they can munch on for a few days.
This year I’ve been focused on putting up high value colored vegetables; putting them up plain so they can be used in more a variety of recipes. This week I canned kale, carrots, celery and more cranberries. Also shucked and froze a bucket of last-of-the-season corn from a road side vendor.
I opened a #10 can of dehydrated chicken fricassee purchased in 2001 from EE. The chicken and rice are just fine although the separate pouch of sauce mix is a bit lumpy. I broke up the large chunks of sauce mix with a fork and cooked up a batch. It was good right out of the can, but I added some fresh onions, garlic and cajan spice, served it with some fresh hot rolls and it was great!
Last week we got two job site security boxes at traders but they needed new locks and security mechanisms for each box. The locking mechanism and the padlock is recessed inside the box so only the key slot to the padlock is accessible from the outside (very secure). It took some looking on the internet and a couple of phone calls to find the appropriate mechanism. Had to go through a 3rd party, but finally found our local Tractor Supply could special order them for us. This week we got the mechanisms and got two locks for each box and my son installed them. Voila; all is good and very secure! It would take a cutting flame to get inside the boxes.
Looking into obtaining a portable saw mill for the farm. Does anyone have personal experience or recommendations regarding brands/models?
May your week be safe and productive. God Bless America!
I too am very grateful for JWR n Avalanche Lily. Over the years, I have learned so much from them in this blog n JWR’s books. My wife n I have been very blessed in other ways too. God’s been very good n faithful to us.
AH:
Look into Norwood band saw mills. My understanding is they were the original. I have no financial interest, but I have used their mills, and tried others. The Norwood ones were easier, come in a variety of cost points, and come boxed up in a box, so are easy to transport.
My former husband, who has 2, also has nothing but very good things to say about their customer service, if you need that. They were always very happy to answer questions, and get to know their customers. It is a Canadian company, the mills sold in the US come in through Buffalo is my understanding.
They are not inexpensive, and the more bells and whistles the higher to cost goes, but they are easy to put together, and move. Also, if you keep and eye out, you may be able to find one used. We found the cost easily off-set by how much we saved not having to go to the lumber yard.
Hope this helps.
Suz: Thanks for the info on Norwood. They are on my list to further investigate.
Gotta love those Canadians. They know a thing or two about turning trees into useable lumber.
I have experience with two different band mills.
One thing I learned was the value of hydraulic log lifters. I worked with a friend’s nice Woodmiser that had it. The cheap priced one (not Woodmiser) I bought cut very nicely but I spent three times the labor and much time and effort trying to get the log sections manually loaded onto the tracks for cutting, manually turning the logs with Peavee and cant hook, repositioning after cutting one side of wain off then turning log onto the newly flattened side, manually dogging the log so it was secure for the band mill to work it.
The extra cost for having hydraulic log loading/shifting/turning/securing, either on your mill itself or with a tractor that can lift them for you, is well worth the expense and IMO essential.
I rigged up a cheap 12 volt bumper winch to a 12 volt battery to drag logs onto the deck. It works but it is very slow and a manual operation is slow to mill lumber….the objective of the whole project. When winching logs along the dirt or track you still need to use the Peavee to roll log back and forth slightly to clear it when the lead edge gets snagged.
I was using winch control with one hand and my other arm and body was leveraging the Peavee.
Just FYI, a cant hook turns and can slightly lift a log. A Peavee has and additional spike protruding from the end so you can get more leverage to pry with the hooked log. Both Peavees and cant hooks have a strong metal c-shaped hook on the business end.
Having your own mill is a wonderful experience and valuable asset! If you go for the expensive mill you can resell it after your wood gets milled.
Best wishes.
AH ,,,we have a’BERG’ sawmill ,i t cuts 42″wide by about the same height ,i t has cut lumber for half a dozen homes and barns ,we have track to cut 30 feet.
Keep it simple ,,
Cooks sawmills has been good to us , for bands and parts
I’m selling the ranch and most of the equipment ,not quite ready to sell the mill yet. If you want cbeck back later with me. ,make you a deal , If it’s not to far to come and get it,,,, in SW Washington ,,,,,have a little logging cat with a winch and arch too.450 B case with trailer ,can be moved with a one ton pick up ,,,also have a older ton and half 3yard chev dump truck cheep with the rest of equipment
Reason for selling is I had the vires and have lung damage and unable to use it any longer
Tea and chocolate
I am so sorry to read about you getting the virus and the lung damage. Are you in need of any assistance? I can always arrange for some “time off” as I’m retired and I have a hunch we are not too far apart. If so, perhaps JWR can assist.
Regardless, I wish you well and will include you in my prayers.
You all are in my talks with God. I wish I could listen as well as he does. So many blessings we all take for granted. May your soul be comforted.
Thank for helping all of us.
This week I increased my medication and tangible supplies and took advantage of a sale on turkey – 39c/lb to put in the freezer. I participated in a Bible study group, and have worked on reading a part of the Bible each night. I also have continued reading and researching on investments, contemplating what to do. There are a lot of options for moving assets away from paper to tangible, but the fees seem to range quite widely. If anyone has personal experience with and LLC IRA or regular self-directed IRA, I’d appreciate any insights or comments you have to share.
M.C., great deal on the turkey! I usually buy several right before Thanksgiving to take advantage of the low prices. This year the best I could find was $1.18 a pound! I still bought two, but I should’ve been able to buy 4-6 for the same amount of money.
I also hit a $.39 cent turkey sale! With potential “plandemic” meat shortages looming in the future, it’s wise to stock up if you have the freezer space.
I have no successes and hard-earned wisdom, per se, to share at this time, but, instead, I want to encourage you, dear sister Lily, to continue in your work to communicate that which the Lord has laid on your heart. My wife and I are moving to Oklahoma (under clear and direct guidance from the Lord God Almighty) and it’s been very busy in our old home. However, in the midst of packing and all the details that are entailed in a move, I have been longing, for this past handful of weeks, to read whatever it is that God is showing you. I suspect that I am not alone in this. Please, know that you, and your family, are loved, thought of, and prayed for.
I would really like to hear about why you chose Oklahoma. I know some people who also think Oklahoma is a safe place to move to. Currently my extended family is thinking of moving to the same locale. I live in Idaho but real estate has gone bonkers and there is precious little available, so even if they wanted to move here to be near me, there’s no inventory to speak of.
I’m a life long Oklahoman. As a general rule, we Okies are a conservative and religious group. You can find the high plains to southern pine and hardwood forests to a cypress swamp within our borders. You can live in or close to the big city or be as far in the boonies as you want. We have lots and lots of water in lakes, rivers, and aquifers. Check us out.
Jeff
I’ve lived here in Oklahoma my entire life and I believe you will like it here. We have 77 counties in this state and I think I’m correct in saying that we’re the only state that has had every single county vote Republican since 1964. So far, the people that I’ve met who have come here escaping liberal states have been very conservative unlike what Idaho and Texas is experiencing. I live approx. one hour east of OKC so if you will be moving anywhere in this area maybe I could assist you in some way. Good luck future Okies.
We have had several days of below-freezing temps with snow. Had to cancel an outing because of black ice. Now temps are warming up again.
Finished putting the garden to bed for the winter with a layer of manure with hay and composted with wood chips.
Built two more raised beds. Ordered 50 ft. of hardware cloth for the bottom which we picked up yesterday. Placed our last order for fruit trees and shrubs which we will receive in late March. Started up the coal stove in the basement. Keeping our pantry well-stocked each time we go to town. Bought our turkey and also duck as well.
Found several news media online with real journalists such as Dr. Steve Turley and not listening to anything negative or depressing.
Getting ready to enjoy God’s bounty and blessings. I don’t think they put that on their restriction list yet.
Wishing everyone a joyous Thanksgiving this week.
Climbed up into the loft over the workshop in the new barn and did some organizing. This area has been a big catch all and stuff literally, at times, gets thrown up there. Well I started to run out of room so it was time to do some organizing. Started to neatly stack totes and labeled them as well. Consolidated some totes as well. Hung some items up on the rafters such as two medium ALICE packs, some copper tubing and a bug zapper. Bumped my head on a truss and the truss won, as I ended up on the deck. I have an inner ear issue so balance isn’t one of my strong suits specially when whincing in pain. Not sure what hurt more the bump to the heard or the lecture from my dear wife on being careful.
Continue to reload. This week I working on 223 rounds but this time I decided to use a 55 grain soft point for the projectile verses a FMJ boat tail. The soft points are flat bottoms and really slow me down as the done fit inside the case neck like a boat tail and have to be held in place. Still okay for reloading supplies but I am using my stores faster than I can replace them. I may have to switch to all lead projectiles for my pistol rounds however.
Purchases this week included 2 ATV covers, a box of 250 115 grain Jacketed Hollow point projectiles for reloading. At the Salvation Army I found a hand cranked mixer that you can screw onto a mason jar. Looked new. The paddles were the silicon material that many kitchen utensils are being made from now.
My son and I went and help a friend unload a trailer load of pressure treated wood he salvaged from someone who had a deck replaced. Same friend and I are getting ready to head out to an auction this morning.
3AD Scout: Maybe your wife will give you a hard hat for Christmas!? ho ho ho! I used to think my late husband was “hard headed” but he could have used a hard hat also!
A helmet- yeah but I would probably be too dumb/stubborn to wear it!!
You may have found yourself an actual butter churn by your description, rather than a mixer.
Now find some farm-fresh cows milk.
I guess it could be but it would be a very small amount since it could only fit on a mason Jar- not even a wide mouth. The beaters are short too. But it would work.
Well after much hard work over the summer I have been able to sell my house and have spent my first full week in the new one. The sale of my house paid down all my debt other than my student loans. That is a wonderful feeling; and I don’t plan to fall into the trap of credit cards again! This week I’ve been able to replenish the deep larder with a Costco membership. I realized I should have joined a long time ago. I plan to spend the next week starting a new job, organizing the garage, and unpacking more. I did find time to plant some garlic. I hope to start some indoor sprouts as well.
Smalltown85: congratulations to you, such a great feeling when you’re out from underneath the burden of a lot of debt. Hope you are enjoying your new surroundings.
I second that. Blessings on your new home!
We are at week 3 in our new country home. Smalltown, we were blessed in much the same way as you. Isn’t God so very good to His children?! I’m so happy for you!
Lily, you and your whole crew are loved and prayed for. Thanks for sharing, can’t wait to read what the Lord has laid on your heart.
Congratulations, kim of ky, on your new country home. PTL! Am still praying for you and your son. May the Lord grant us the desires of our hearts, that all our children and grandchildren would know Him, and love Him as their Lord and Savior. Krissy
Can’t think of a better prayer right now, Krissy!
@Kim of KY- you are so very right- God treats His children THE BEST. And people, it is so easy to become one of His children, just say YES ! It is FREE. Just tell Jesus that you accept His free forgiveness, and that you know He is God’s son and He died to forgive you. , and that you belong to Him. Then begin your life anew. God now sees you as white as snow. Doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter what you have done. Congratulations ! I will see you in Heaven !
Congratulations on a BIG step towards financial freedom!
Heard on the news this week that we are all goin to be protected from misinformation and conspiracy theories my our government now (I think they’re just announcing what has been going for a while). WordPress, mentioned earlier this week, they would be protecting us also. And amazingly… the http://americanpartisan.org/ site has every hyperlink disabled this morning. Keep shinning the truth on the dark until it blindly retreats into the hell it came from!
Liz Cheney and the rest of the globalists on the House Armed Services Committee have signaled that once Biden is installed… the decks are clear for more military interventions around the globe. I will always maintain that the end of Selective Service was the biggest mistake we made in many years. Most Americans don’t give a hoot about how The State is using the working class “volunteers”. Shame on us.
I’m so disappointed in Liz Cheney, but I should’ve known. Seems like these times are revealing all the Globalists in our government.
After returning from a month-long hiking and backpacking expedition on the Appalachian Trail to commemorate our silver birthdays, my wife, and I sat down this week with some people in our church community to discuss the latest election events. The age of the people in our group ranged from 67 to78.
Never in my life have I seen a more apathetic, defeatist, and despondent group of people. Thanks to the increasingly leftist messaging of “Faux (Fox) News”, everyone in our group has resigned themselves to a presidential election that was clearly stolen by the Democrats. One husband and wife couple absolutely refused to discuss the topic. My reminder that this could have horrific implications for their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren was met with dropped heads and silence.
I’m sorry that current events have interrupted the peaceful retirement and leisurely lifestyle to which some have become accustomed to, but make no mistake, we are fighting for the very future of our country, our culture, our freedom, and our very way of life.
I would like to remind everyone that now is the time to find out where family, friends, and members of your prepping community stand. The ones who silently submit to our enslavement are the same ones who will encourage you to go to re-education camps or turn in your guns just to “keep the peace” or “not cause a fuss”.
To all who say they wanted a fight, well now you got one.
“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated”–Thomas Paine
Sadly, the ones who refused to talk with you are the ones who will turn you in for hiding your guns. They will happily accept extra rations of food from Homeland Security to turn you in. Be careful who you trust
The American election for president happens December 14th, 2020.
538 votes are available.
A minimum of 270 votes for anybody determines the president for the next four years.
The November millions of votes for pelosi/harris or President Donald Trump are irrelevant.
I emphasize the word ‘anybody’ because the electoral college can elect any natural born American over 34-years old.
This’s the way I understand the process.
I welcome any contrary evidence.
*****
Rational estimates of 2020 electoral college votes indicate President Donald Trump wns with around 400 votes to 120 for pelosi/harris.
I share your frustration 🙁 I live in a deep blue state (for now, we’re planning our escape) so finding a like-minded person is like searching for a needle in a whole field of haystacks. Too many people have an appalling lack of history education, or even worse, they were taught a slanted, propagandistic view of history, and then had the fight brainwashed out of them. Unfortunately, they won’t see how far-gone we are as a country until the jackboots kick in their door and force them to kneel. My graduate school thesis was in propaganda and its impact in creating law, so I’ve been watching, horrified, the last four years at the Stalinist takeover of our country. Alas, you can give people the information, but if they’re too stupid to wake up, then at some point you have to abandon them to their fate.
Here ~ once again ~ is a simplified way to tell what time it is.
✔️ The soap box
✔️ The ballot box
✔️ The jury box
__ The cartridge box
Tick Tock Tick Tock – prepare accordingly brothers
You got that right CORD7.
Here are the things which still function properly in the US of A:
X The soap box – too much censorship from the Ministry of Truth
X The ballot box – HA!
X The jury box – innocence is irrelevant, only how well you argued your case
✔️ The cartridge box – Lock and load!
This was a week of firsts for me, first time hunting in a new area for deer, saw more than one deer during a 3 hour period. This exceeds all the my deer sightings here to fore. My hunting partner guided me into shooting a 4 point buck. My first deer kill. He showed me how to gut it and then clear the meat off of it. Time didn’t allow for me to learn the processing of the meat. Needless to say, I am very thankful for my hunting and prepping partner. Cheers, Jack Hammer
Congratulations!
Lily,
As for the delicata squash, I live approximately in your neck of the woods (couple hours from Sandpoint, can hike to Canada) and grew it for the first time this year. I’ll admit I was busy with other projects and somewhat neglected the garden more than usual. However, these sweet little babies gave me enough to put up plus share a few from just a handful of plants. And that was with direct sowing and I rarely get away with that! I’m planning on more next year and I’m sure they’ll do just fine anywhere in the Redoubt. You and I share the same weather patterns with my snow showing up a little earlier and sticking around a little longer, so definitely give it a try. They’d probably give you a bumper crop if you give them just a little love.
I like the little Delicata squash as well although I haven’t grown it in a while. You might want to check on the “Candystick Dessert Delicata” from Adaptive Seeds. It is similar, but bigger than the older version.
https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/product/vegetables/squash/winter-squash/winter-squash-candystick-dessert-delicata-organic/
I have not grown this exact variety before, but I have grown Honeyboat, Sugar Loaf, Sweet Dumpling and of course the original Delicata. Next year with an expanded garden I plan on trying it and adding it to my permanent seed collection.
I’ve ended up with quite a lot of carrots this year. Usually I just can them diced in half pint jars as there are just 2 of us at home now. I can easily add them to various dishes. But I’m running out of the half pint jars as I now can a lot of jellies and other foods in the smaller jars so I don’t waste food. I peeled, diced and blanched my carrots. I then dehydrated them. I can’t believe how handy they are. I can add however many I feel a dish needs and not waste any carrots . They reconstitute quickly and they also take up a lot less space. Also I’ve found dehydrating mushrooms is easier than canning them. You can add them to stir fries whole or crumble them in various dishes. Now is a good time to be preserving these two foods as carrots tend to be plentiful in the fall.
Animal House : May I sugest you cook your ham pieces, roasting or boiling, before you give them away. Many people don’t realize hams are not cooked. The hams in stores are often pre-cooked. And single people may use for sandwiches or snacking, rather than making a “whole” meal, just a suggestion, may the Lord bless you for caring for others.
VCC, yes, I will be cooking the hams b4 gifting them. You are so right people rarely know anything about fresh from the farm/garden food. Some dummies don’t know how eggs come out of chickens!!!
Animal House
Check out saw mizer.
Xzebek. Thanks, will check it out.
Feeling worn out today. I kept both my leaf rake and Sir Beeman working long hours this past week. We only have one small area left to till and I’m still debating on the raspberry patch. It never has liked staying in one spot like the blackberries do and this time they hitched up the wagons and migrated west so I’m thinking I should just let them take over their new area and till their old home under. That would give me way fewer plants for next year but probably better in the long haul.
I got my preliminary parabolic solar cooker/water heater model up and running and did the first tests. The satellite dish I used is only 18″ across and has 250 square inches of area which took 106 of the 1½” square mirrors I made plus a few smaller scraps for the curved edges. The final one will be made from a larger 5′ dish which I haven’t yet talked a neighbor out of who uses it as a yard ornament to scare off the Big City types who love their HOA’s. The first test results were in the jaw-dropping WOW category. I held a piece of 2 x 3 board at the focal point and it took exactly six seconds before there was so much smoke pouring off I could hardly see the board anymore, let alone my jaw that was laying on the deck which made it hard to say “Wow” since you need to have your two lips more or less in proximity to one another to enunciate that particular exclamation. I next held a large metal binder clip at the focal point using a telescoping wienie-roasting stick. In less than 10 seconds the black paint began to blister and using my Billy Blastoff ray gun thermometer, recorded a temperature of 796°F. I tried but couldn’t get it to hit 800°. But, I’ll take the 796°. The next step is to rig up a way to hold an old wire grate I have so my smallest cast iron frying pan will fit on top to see if I can fry some eggs. Then, make a small copper coil to circulate water through to see what kind of temperature increase I can get. Lead has a melting point of 621°F so I want to try melting those pieces of lead I stripped out of some floor lamps I bought at an auction last month. Once I get the 5′-foot version complete, I’ll have the only post-TEOTWAWKI blast furnace in the county.
I split up a bunch more kindling this week and put it in an outbuilding to keep it dry. I finally got the bees put to bed for the winter. The cardinals are much more frequent now and always fun to see. They and the bluejays and the wrens too, are pretty quiet this time of year.
If you’re like me, you want to route all your Amazon purchases through SB to help keep JWR and AL out of the poorhouse. I generally don’t remember until three nanoseconds after I hit “send” on Amazon, so here’s how I fixed that on my computer. If you have an Amazon button on your button bar, delete it. Then go to any Wednesday edition of SB’s Recommendations of the Week (link at the bottom of this post). Click on any of the book recommendations to take you to Amazon. As soon as you’re at Amazon, now create a new Amazon button on your button bar by dragging the Amazon address bar to your button bar right next to your SB button. This will contain all the SB associate info to give SB a small fee on your purchases regardless of whether you buy the SB-linked item or not. That fee costs the purchaser nothing and when you think about it, amounts to Jeff Bezos making a small donation to SB. Now on your new Amazon button, right click the button to open a small menu, then scroll down and click on “properties.” Delete the top line where it says “name” and type in “SB”. Now you’ll have on your button bar, the SurvivalBlog button with the Amazon SurvivalBlog button right next to it as a visual reminder. That helps me to always route my orders through SB now and I feel much better not having to imagine the Rawles family on the corner of State and Main asking people for spare change. They do a great job keeping our favorite blog up and running so this is one small way to say thanks every time we make an Amazon purchase, and it costs us nothing.
Here’s a SurvivalBlog page with recommendations you can click on. The books all to go Amazon so those are good choices to create your Amazon button from.
https://survivalblog.com/jwrs-recommendations-week-177/
Everyone have a great week!
Good Morning St. Funogas,
First of all thank you so much for the Amazon plug. We really appreciate it. And No, folks, we didn’t put St. Funogas up for it! 😉
As I read it, I actually was ROTFLOL because it’s such a thought to think of making Jeff Bezos pay us some money from his incredible monoply wealth.
I think that this was very providential and coincidental, St. Funogas, because I actually, the wife, received THAT particular lecture from James Wesley, Rawles just last night for not putting up a couple of links through our SB Amazon site.
He hadn’t yet set up my new computer to do so….I, in reality, have had him do the links the few times I needed them. It’s time for us to get off our duffs and put the link up on my Tool Bar.
Second of all, please, think long and hard before rototilling those older raspberries under. You might need that food come next winter and in the following years. I’m having the same problem. My Red Raspberries are also marching west and will soon merge with my Golds, if I don’t do something about it soon. Decisions, decisions!
It’s fun to hear about your cardinals now making more frequent appearances. I miss those birds.
Blessings,
Lily
Hey Lily, actually Jeff Bezos put me up to it so he can say he shares some of his cashola with some of us deplorables that got him there. I recently found out I was one of the first 175,000 customers so Jeff and I go way back, back to when AMZN was $7 a share. Let’s see 1,000 shares at $7 would only be worth… $3.9 million today. Too bad my Radio Shack crystal ball wasn’t working at the time.
This is the link I use for my Amazon purchases. As far as I know this is still your active link. If it’s not, let me know so I can fix it.
https://www.amazon.com/?tag=survivalcom-20
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-bzWSJG93P8
I don’t think that’s a moon.
Thanks for the laughs.
Holy Smokes!
(pun intended)
Am finding my list of things I still need, and adding:
“Saint’s Blast Furnace”
smile.
Hey Krissy, life’s short so I always try to have a blast whether I have a furnace or not. 🙂
Billy blastoff ray gun had a thermometer on it?? I never knew! I got mine from a cereal box, I guess it was the cheap version!
Hey AH, you definitely had to go all out and pay for a Billy Blastoff set if you wanted the ray gun with thermometer. They’re selling for $950 on eBay now. The CrackerJack and cereal box versions aren’t bringing in the bucks like the store-bought ones.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/163334010283
Five weeks ago I woke up feeling lousy. The next evening I went to MedExpress where they found no explanation for headache, ear ache, and sore throat so they tested me for Covid: found out two days later I had it. By then I was already feeling better: basically a head cold and fatigue. After 18 days off I was permitted to return to work as an AEMT (which is probably where I contracted it). Gradually regaining my strength: this week my part-time job turned into 49 hours to cover for a Paramedic who quit. Praise to the Lord, I was able to keep up pretty well. Praise to Him as well that I did not get anyone else sick.
Covid is rampant in my area: I have a Covid patient pretty much every shift. Not such a concern for me now as a should have some immunity for a while, but a few other members our station have come down with it as well (all recovering).
RickS, glad to hear you are recovering well. I’ve known a number of people who’ve had it, some had very mild symptoms, and some quite severe. Best wishes.
RickS, Thank you for sharing your experience with the virus. Am thanking the Lord for your quick recovery, and also your ability to help those in need of a paramedic. One of my son’s is like you, a firefighter, training to be paramedic. You see a lot of trauma. May our Lord give you strength, wisdom and peace as you bless others.
Good morning, SurvivalBlog Community.
There’s not much to report on this front. Winter has settled in and will be our constant companion for many months. Life has been busy, and I don’t anticipate that changing much until the new year. We continue to move forward on our projects and goals.
Our plan for Thanksgiving is simple and delicious, with the whole family pitching in and enjoying time together. Our turkey will be living its good, local, farm-raised life until tomorrow. It doesn’t get much fresher than that.
I am grateful for this community, knowledge shared, insights given, and, perhaps most importantly, the awareness it brings that Patriots still live amongst us. May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.
This week was spent on the road. First few days were spent on work stuff but I got to visit a few stores and found .45 HPs at $.90 a round and bought a few boxes. Also some hunting rounds. Everything else was out of stock except for oddball calibers and 300.
I then flew to FL to help my son load up a truck and drive for a day or two. He is moving back home until he finds a job. Hint – when in a rush check your backpack or purse for those prohibited items or it can turn into a very expensive day when you have to dump stuff in the trash.
We will now have four adult kids in our home with a manufactured but growing crisis on the horizon. I need them to take organization, cleaning and stocking up more seriously. I have been as patient as possible but I find myself praying for patience often. Love my family but it’s coming down where I need to leave lists for people to get stuff done while I am at work.
We have an extra turkey we will be canning up into Thanksgiving stew. Turkey, cranberries, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, peas, carrots and leftover stock and soaked stuffing. Not sure how it will work out but if we can yield 21 quart jars I’d consider it a success.
Also spent some time refurbishing a Presto canner we picked up at a Goodwill for $15. It worked ok as-is but required quite a bit if heat to keep the oressure up to 10 psi. New relief valve, lid gasket, gauge, three piece weight and some elbow grease with steel polish and it looks like new. Overall cost all-in was about $50 – still less than half of what a new one costs.
Have a great week everyone!
We’ve had older kids move back in (one with grandchildren) in the past, though at the moment, the older kids are all still out on their own and we just have the younger three who aren’t adults yet. Might I suggest you sit down for a family meeting and then write up a formal written “contract” where each family member will agree what they will contribute towards living expenses and what chores each will perform daily? And then post it conspicuously in a central location. Your home, your rules… If everybody is pulling their weight, it will head off a lot of family drama where one kid resents the fact they’re helping out more than another grown kid, especially if each is performing different, helpful duties that YOU appreciate, but that the other kids don’t recognize as “work.” Best of luck to you and God bless.
Chris in Arkansas,
My youngest was my least motivated, difficult to deal with, child. Computer game addition, ugh! He also could give me some good laughs.
One time, for example, he gave me a cartoon: a boy was sitting in the backyard lawn, with a long extension cord plugged into his laptop, and he was playing video games! The cartoon caption read:
“What? You said go outside and get some fresh air…”
With rain on and off all week, we’ve spent our days going from indoor chores to outdoor and back and forth. It is not helpful for long term projects but we have ticked off several quick items on our list. We installed some rather inexpensive outdoor cameras with IR capability. Put up a couple of outdoor motion lights and put up our holiday lights across our fencing perimeter. I always enjoy seeing the place lit up at night.
We’ve had our freeze dryer running 24/7 for the past several weeks. This week we have put in pumpkin which I baked and processed then put into the freeze dryer. I turned this into a pumpkin powder that can be used either as reconstituted pumpkin for pies etc, or as a powder added to yogurt etc. We have also put in onions to use as crunchy onions for green bean casserole, yogurt and split pea soup that will be turned into powder and can be reconstituted as needed and finally veggies that I am trying to get out of my freezer.
This week I hope to cook up a couple of turkeys so that I can freeze dry a thanksgiving meal much like the stew mentioned by Chris in Arkansas. One of the freeze dry channels that I watch (Retired at 40) did a video on freeze dried dog food. It’s made from good wholesome food such as rice, sweet potatoes, broccoli, chicken etc. I mentioned it to my husband and we decided to try this as well.
Keep up your hope and prayers,
Cal
Hey all,
This was an uneventful week, with more last minute touch-ups to the list. Went thru and pulled some LT food storage to use/rotate (pancakes/muffins/eggs – 10 yr shelf life), and ordered more to fill in the holes. Food Saver seems to have their Vacuum sealer attachment in stock so DW ordered one. It says 5-7 days so we’ll see. I haven’t got the Brake-Bleeder pump cannister assembled yet so that will eventually provide some redundancy.
DW has some pre-existing conditions and she is a Breast Cancer survivor now for 7 years, so I do all of the out of house ‘errands’ which get limited to once every 3-4 weeks. However one thing that prompted her first outing in many months occurred last week.
I reminded DW to check her CCW because county was going into shut-down again for the China Virus and it was a good thing. Even though we have Constitutional Carry, her CCW was up 11/30, has to be renewed in-person, and we didn’t want to give up her CCW. Although we don’t need a CCW here (and I always go back and forth re: having to submit to laws to exercise a Right and then be on a ‘list’), we do so for the possibility of going into another state that doesn’t have Constitutional Carry, and requires a CCW from our state for Reciprocity. So we made a trip to the county seat, were she renewed hers, (mine is good for 3 more years) and I paid our annual Personal & Real Property taxes. I like to do it in person & get that receipt ‘in-hand’ in case the County Bureaucrats drag their feet processing the mail-in payments.
We always look forward to the sharing of knowledge, wisdom, humor, and personal experiences on this particular weekly article. It is hands-down our favorite! Thanks to Jim, A.L. and all who share.
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
Follow-up:
A relative in TX sent me the following for Thanksgiving: This was written (tongue in cheek) by someone in California in response to their governor’s (tyrannical) COVID orders:
“We’ve been told that only 6 people are allowed to meet for Thanksgiving, but 30 may gather for a funeral. With this in mind, I announce that we will be holding a funeral for our pet turkey, who will pass away on Nov. 26.
Refreshments provided.
P.S. In lieu of flowers please bring a side or dessert.”
It’s good to have a sense of humor, even if the subject is less than funny!
SB readers – Please know we read everyone’s comments here daily, and while we don’t always comment for time/security reasons, please know that we are thinking and praying for everyone in our SB community, and hope that the Almighty gives you the strength, and resolve to do all the things you wish and need to do for yourselves, your family and community.
May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace. – (Aaron’s Blessing) Numbers 6:24
As always, hoping you all…
Seymour Liberty
Thank you for the tip on the FoodSaver – I had checked earlier this week and they still were out of stock. So I just grabbed one.
In the theme of the turkey funeral – some enterprising soul in NY is selling, for ten dollars apiece, window clings of Gov. Cuomo’s face and head, to be placed along the bottom of the window as though he is peering in to count persons. 😀 God bless America, and hooray for the smartasses.
Bear,
You’re welcome!
“hooray for the smartasses.” Hey, I resemble that remark! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
Aaron’s blessing is my favorite!!!!!
Krissy,
One of mine, too!
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
I read this message a little while ago and it fit right in with the idea of listening to the Spirit. May we all be able to do more listening this week!
“Oftentimes, when life is coming at us quickly, we can become overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. When we only use our natural senses to experience what’s taking place while we’re in the midst of troubling situations, we miss the opportunity to rely solely on God and trust all He has promised us. We’re reminded in Colossians 3:2 to “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” So, friend, be aware of — but not distracted by — the storms you’re experiencing. They don’t change God’s presence, power, protection or provision. He is indeed with you, showing you which way to go and offering you shelter in the midst of the storm.”
-Tracie Braylock
Bear, thank you for that.
It’s been a rather quite week for me. Not too much done as far as prepping for myself, but a friend had me put up a security light for her. She needed two done and we ran out of daylight so only one got done. Yesterday I found out that a neighbor who works in the medical profession has Covid. I ran into her about a week ago in town and noticed her eyes were watering and her nose was running and I just assumed it was because it was cold and windy. I was wrong. She is in her mid 60’s. That makes two people that I personally know that have Covid. I’m aware of false positives, but she has all the symptoms.
@Avalanche Lily
The book of Hebrews is a very interesting one for me as chapter one (you mention Acts chapter one) outlines some very important theological points that nearly every “Christian” church has discarded. I can only think of one religion that still follows the Bible teaching.
Thank you Wheatley Fisher for the recommend on the hydraulic log lifter/turner accessory . Even though it has a hefty price tag, I was leaning towards it as we are not getting any younger and I think it would increase our safety when dealing with larger logs. Appreciate your sharing your experience.
You are very welcome. I paid the friend to bring his high tech Woodmiser over for a week and together we milled a huge stack of lumber.
Later I bought the small manual mill and while I milled some logs, it took a very long time and got very small yield because of it.
I’m in my 60’s now with worn out L3 and L4 veterbral disks. There active 80 year olds I know who have worked hard while working smart and they’re still out there getting after things, and some can outwork me. Another lesson learned
God Bless
My flock of 29 chickens comprised of Red Comets and Barred Rock hens is now producing at a greater rate than expected, 22 per day and climbing. This is almost .8 eggs per chicken per day. I did not expect this level with half Barred Rocks in the flock. The eggs are medium to extra large in size. I sell them locally. When meat is scarce, eggs will be extremely valuable not simply as a source of muscle building protein, but also as a source of other hard to get nutrition. Locally, many have started flocks because of Covid.
Red Comet and Barred Rock are exceptionally easy to handle and are a good choice because of their calm nature, especially if the flock is large and will be confined at night in a hen house with no more than 3 square feet for each chicken. Plan on attrition. Start the maximum size flock given the size of the hen house and your budget. I’ve only lost one chicken, and not to disease, but by accident, however, many hens will be lost if they are free ranged. These will eventually be free ranged. A small hen house relative to the size of the flock also means the flock will stay warmer and eat less. We talk a lot about gardening, but forget to talk chickens. Hopefully some one can run with this…. I am not an expert….
It is almost ”Go Time”, so my antenna farm is being erected once again. Originally installed an excess of cables for transceivers to allow for different types of antennas, and as redundant cables should there be a failure. This approached proved to needed as over time cables/antenna can be damaged, or fail in some way. If an antenna and cable goes bad, I simply connect another, so that I can quickly resume operation. Winter is a lousy time to run cable and install antennas. So far the winter is has been mild, so I can dig to install another pole. The oft touted saying in prepper circles, ‘two is one, and one is none’, is golden.
Tunnel Rabbit:
Good thoughts on the yard birds.
Did you see the email I sent you?
Blessings to all of those on the SB site.
As always my wife and I look forward to Saturday’s postings about Prepping Progress and again today’s postings were exceptional. Thanks to all who contribute!
This weeks progress included finding and ordering a pair Glock 19s, something I’ve been seeking for several months. I previously ordered a slew of extra magazines early during this current “event” anticipating at some point in finding the accompaning pistols. Now I’m just waiting on the paperwork to be completed and get the Govt OK. This all as the result of my DW trying a Glock 19 and deciding she liked how it felt better than her Hi Power. I’m not convinced, but I’m switching as well so we keep common interchangeable magazines for our handguns.
This week I was also fortunate to receive one on one instruction from a friend on the operation of a Jet Mill Drill that I purchased last summer. Acquiring some tooling for the mill and having some unfinished items liberals have nightmares about I was able to complete them. Some time back heeding the advice JWR shared on this site, I purchased and stacked some items deep. Those were items that I thought might be useful in the future.
I’m slowly working on reloading, but this week I’ve primarily been polishing brass as that is the one step of loading that I might need power for. Everything else can be accomplished without power.
Purchased more non-ethonol gas and started filling my last drum. My goal is to all our tanks topped off by the end of the month. I too sense something very dark is coming and I pray that I’m ready spiritually and work at prepping physically.
God Bless and may He place a hedge of protection around His Survival Blog family.
Avalanche Lilly, have you ever tried Kabuchi squash from Japan? Its a wonderful, nutty like squash. My wife used to grow it but up here in the arctic its a no go, so when we see it in the store we buy them at a high price ( usually 5 to 6 $$/ pound.) someday I want to buy a bunch and try canning them. Bought my wife a new 21.5 quart pressure canner for Christmas; I hope she will become comfortable with it. She is afraid of them. Be safe, and may God richly bless all of you …
Lt. Mike,
I am afraid of pressure-canners, too.
I am also afraid of chain-saws, explosives, and ‘gifts’ involving house-hold appliances.
Jim, thank you so much for your service.
I enlisted in 1967 (Army) and served 11 years active. Then went in the Army Reserves (enlisted) National Guard (Warrant Officer) and finally the Guard as a O-1 (Communications Detachment Commanding Officer) and finally hung up the hat in February 2018 after returning from a deployment to Puerto Rico for rescue mission for Hurricane Maria.
My last drill we did the Arctic Warrior training (Cool School) and for me that was enough; playing army in the snow in your 70’s is no fun and I had several thousand more point than needed to bail out; so I called it quits.
I hated Klinton, and I hated Osama Bin Obama and the that ilk; but I hate war as well and I hate even more the deep state death of our Republic so it seemed to me best to fight on and disregard all the flack, crap, and outright lies I’ve / we’ve had to bear over the years.
For those who take their oath to the Constitution seriously, it is for life not just to ETS. We cannot swear before God and Man an oath that should be regarded as essential for life and liberty. But in that regard there are so many who are fearfully ignorant of our founding documents and who fail to understand that with out a commitment to Jesus Christ (Divine Providence) it is impossible to know, love, and commit to the documents appropriately, and make a worthy change to this republic.
The check every month is a good supplement to other income streams, though it is mostly use to prep, and this last visit to teh
he ICU saw, for the first time ever, Tri-Care step in and really make a commitment to good medical attention; something totally unanticipated and not normal for the system. Thank you President Trump!
I only made it to O-1, a cranky old, butter bar … but no matter the rank there are those of us who tried our best to make a definitive difference; posterity will tell if enough of us ( yourself included) did the right thing.
De Oppresso Liber brother and remember RLTW.
Jim,
It is interesting the manner in which you left the military- I also declined to remain when Slick Willie was elected. I passed on a yuge reenlistment package and a guaranteed stint at DIA or the Pentagon. I left in 1994 after eight years in the Marine Corps, including Panama and Gulf War I. I had a wonderful experience in military intelligence, same as you, except I was an Interrogator-Translator. Times were not good for our profession during the Klinton regime. I lost a partner in Somalia and another in Bosnia due to the president’s inept application of military forces. I left law enforcement and went back into the Army in January 2000 to try and finish out my time. Got *boomed* in October 2005 in Iraq and left the service again in 2009 after 17 years total service- was not going to be played by a communist president. I saw the same garbage treatment under the Hussein administration, so I did not fight to stay in.
We can expect much of the same with the Harris-Biden ticket. More insurgency and counterinsurgency, and total disregard for the lives of the troop they will move about like pawns on a chessboard. I will always preach about the benefits of service to one’s country, but I am starting to doubt the socialistas will use our military appropriately.
I am so thankful my #1 daughter is done with her five years in the Marines; my #1 son has also finished his six years in the Corps.
My #2 son is now becoming a Corpsman, and he will serve with honor even with the leadership change. I pray he will see the end of the current war, and will not have to experience the way combat is prosecuted these days.
Peace to you and yours,
S4H
I feel like if I comment here I would be revealing too much about myself. Its been a tough week, and I am preparing for the fight to come. Hate to be so non-descript, but its simply a matter of time before the internet becomes the trap for prepared folks. Maybe we can switch to some other form of coms that’s less open.
SBGrace, You are not alone. We are your silent partners lifting you up in prayer! Krissy
For a long time now, the alphabet agencies appear to me more concerned about God-fearing patriots than our actual enemies. Be cautious, don’t “fedpost,” and avoid getting sucked in by the glowies. There is no such thing as a hackproof internet site, social media is essentially spyware for the NSA, and even your private telephone conversations are getting diverted to servers in Germany and the Ukraine. Keep your cards close to the vest and meet trusted friends in-person.
For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been.” – John Greenleaf Whittier
CURFEW in Los Angeles.
Yep. Spoke with my daughter today, and she told me. I couldn’t believe it.
Curfew from 10:00 PM – 5:00 AM
(Okay, so I’m not going out at night anyway, but that’s not the point.)
But it’s okay, because that is only for the little people right? Congresscritters can still tend to hair emergencies, and cronies of His Majesty Grabbin’ Nuisance can still have their posh birthdays?
@Avalanche Lilly – have you tried fermenting coconut kefir? It comes out lightly bubbly and slightly sour, almost like drinking a Sprite. Coconut yogurt is great because it has 6 different helpful probiotic strains, but kefir (milk or non-dairy) has 30+ helpful probiotics and can heal most gut dysbiosis. I have mild dairy allergies, so I keep a culture of “small, strange friends” on the countertop, fermenting away. You have to order kefir grains (unless you know a friend who already has some — they double every 30-60 days), but once you have them, you can keep a batch going for years.
You can ferment reconstituted powdered milk from your doomsday stash, as well 🙂
Maybe I should write an article on it?
Here’s a video about one possible scenario in the future
https://rumble.com/vb7fll-vbs-no.-7-jack-decker.html
Steve, I am indebted to you for posting this video link. I just finished listening to it, and I’m kinda in shock. I come from the, “naive,” category of persons, and this is just one more tool the Good Lord is using to make me aware of what is coming.
It is shocking, to say the least, that the abcgov. has possible plans to,
“secretly do away with,” popular folk with a following, that are against socialism. This will supposedly happen during a nationwide internet shut down. But wait, there is more. That is only the first wave. The evils that be, plan on a second wave as well.
If I believe this, and am still shocked by it, no wonder the sheeple cannot believe it.
God continues to open my eyes for some reason.
Again, I am so indebted to you for sharing this. IMO, EVERYONE reading this blog needs to listen to this! Yes, it is long.
Wanna live?
Want your family to live?
Make the time.
Krissy,
Without trying to sound like a “know-it-all” I will have to say that I’ve had a general awareness of what the interview was about for at least two decades. [on the job info and from other people that “were in the know”] Yes, there has been some “fine tuning” of the details, but the general overall objective by the dark side has remained unchanged. However, a phrase from the Bible comes to mind:
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
In the interview they focused mostly on the “ tribulation” part whereas I like to focus more on the “…but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” part.
Peace,
David
David, Love the scripture encouragement. Thank you, I needed that.
Blessings on your Thanksgiving, Krissy
A REAL EYE OPENER …
Dear James, Lily and SB family:
On this Saturday (or Sabbath) before Thanksgiving, I want to express gratitude to our Lord and to each of you. Survivalblog is not just a treasure trove of information, but — in a very real sense — it’s also a ministry of encouragement. Thank you, Jim and Lily, for your faithfulness in doing what the Lord has called you to do. Lily, I look forward to reading your upcoming article on the one-world government and the one-world religion. May the Holy Spirit grant you special insight as you write this.
Many thanks too for the “prayer warriors” in this group — I have been blessed by your prayers. I continue to heal from my recent eye surgery and things are going well. However, I did notice something interesting about the new lens that was implanted in my left eye, and thought I would share it. I think it imparts a spiritual lesson that the Lord is teaching me.
After the eye patch was removed, I noticed that I was seeing a different color spectrum with the new (artificial) lens as compared to my existing (natural) lens in my right eye. Whereas the natural lens seems to be attenuating the higher (blue and violet) frequencies and emphasizing the green colors, my new artificial lens is accentuating the blues and violets. Also, when I look at a white wall through my right eye, it looks cream colored — whereas looking through my left eye, it now looks perfectly white.
As one who has taken a course in Optics during graduate school in Physics, I began to think a lot about my new artificial lens. I began to wonder and suspect: did my ophthalmologist implant a blue-tinted lens during eye surgery? Since I had become accustomed to seeing through my degraded natural lenses, I just assumed that my one remaining natural lens was “right” and that the new artificial lens was distorting the spectrum by suppressing the green colors and accentuating the blue colors.
Well… on my recent post-op visit, my eye doctor assured me that he implanted a clear lens with no tint. He explained that our natural lenses tend to degrade over time — probably due to the accumulated effects of sunlight or other UV radiation. I had gotten used to the greenish look through my natural lenses and had accepted it as being normal. However, it wasn’t normal at all. I didn’t realize the abnormality until getting a new artificial lens in my left eye that allowed me to see the full optical spectrum with fresh clarity and realism.
As I pondered the aftermath of my eye surgery, I began to wonder: are there things in our lives or in our environment that have slowly degraded over time? Has sin or dis-function crept into our lives, our families, our churches and our society?… and have we not even noticed it? Or… if we have noticed it, have we become so accustomed to it that we shrug it off as being “normal”?
I have recently been saddened to see some of the attitudes displayed by some church goers. It seems there are those who are no longer shocked by moral and spiritual decline. Things like abortion-on-demand and “same-sex” marriage are accommodated and shrugged off since they are now the “law of the land.” One of the largest and most historic churches in my town recently experienced a painful split over the issue of “same-sex” marriage. The new emerging church that broke away from the historic church now embraces a non-Biblical view of marriage.
Especially among the younger generation of millennials and college age students, there is a greater tendency to compromise when it comes to Biblical truth and morality. In my view, these new “emerging churches” are claiming to be welcoming and inclusive — but in reality, they are compromising the truth of the Gospel. As we get closer to the return of our Lord, the downward trend toward apostasy will continue. Sadly, far too many will hardly even recognize the decline because it has gradually happened over such a long period of time. For those who do hold to the traditional teachings and doctrines of Scripture, they likely will be viewed as old fashioned, legalistic or out of touch with reality. What is really needed is a supernatural move of God that will heal the spiritual blindness afflicting our nation. I think this will occur when there is genuine repentance in our churches, beginning with the spiritual leaders.
While it can be easy to get discouraged or cynical over the moral decline in America, there are some very encouraging signs. Last night, I was watching evangelist Mario Murillo* on my Roku player. Mario said that he is seeing signs of a major spiritual revival in California — particularly Southern Cal. Mario noted that more revivals have occurred in greater Los Angeles than in any other city except Jerusalem. (A few notable examples are: the Azusa Street revival, the first major Billy Graham campaign, and the Jesus movement.) We are now seeing reports of youth crusades on the beaches of California, and numerous young people are being baptized in the ocean. In short, it seems that the eyes of the spiritually blind are indeed being opened. These young people are not only seeing, but are experiencing, the amazing Love and life-changing Grace of God. Perhaps this is the start of a new Jesus movement in our generation.
Thank you again for your prayers, and let’s keep praying for our nation at this critical time. I know that things are very discouraging right now — especially with all that has happened in 2020. There are times when I’m tempted to retreat to my daylight basement, to crank up the worship music and tune out the outside world. This is not bad. In fact, it’s good to set aside time to retreat and spiritually rebound. (Jesus often retreated to the mountainous areas to pray alone.) But there is also a time to fight the good fight of faith: whether it’s engaging in intense intersession, evangelizing the lost, feeding the hungry, giving generously to missions, or whatever our Lord has called us to do.
Let’s be encouraged with the Scripture: “… where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Rom. 5:20). Let’s also rejoice in that, before our Lord returns, this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached unto the ends of the earth (Matt. 24:14). I’m believing that there will yet be a great end-time harvest — and that will be great news!
Best wishes to each of you for a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday weekend!
Many blessings!
Cliff (in Oregon)
* Mario Murillo established his ministry many years ago while evangelizing the “hippies” and drug addicts around UC Berkeley. Mario would sometimes visit Portland Foursquare Church where I attended as a young person. I used to run the sound-system console up in the balcony, so I had a “birds eye” view of him preaching. 🙂
Cleaned the chicken coops on a sunny day and threw in the new bedding, which is awful. Going to stick with straw bales, the packaged stuff is just duff they swept up from the floor in a barn somewhere and super dusty. Bought a hunting rifle and promised the poor salesman I would take some classes. Quite obviously new to shooting sports, apparently. I’ve been jogging and this week I was charged by two fat miniature German pointers, or something similar, and my dog-pup, who is 11 months old, defended me, and listened to me when I told him to fall back. Super proud of him. He’s twice as big as them so he wasn’t terrified, but he was angry, and he still listened. Going to see about jogging with a pistol I think. Wrote two herb-related articles and started a third, and I have a gig teaching tomorrow. I’m so grateful for the education I received every day and I am praying this is what God wants me to do with it, and hoping he forgives me for being an idiot, because I know it will take time and practice before I am any good at teaching and writing. I’m also praying for guidance during these weird times, because it feels like I should be doing something. My church traditions encourage me to pray, love neighbors, be honest, take care of family, work hard and be forgiving. The work hard part is where I’m stuck–who can say what will be fruitful.
I have grown the “Honeyboat Delicata” squash for several years, as far north as NY. Its a great little producer! Seeds have grown true for me for several years now. Even if they’re a couple years old.
I like it cut lengthwise down the middle, scoop out the seeds, peel the skin (veggie peeler), then cut into small half-rounds (perpendicular to first cut). Drizzle with brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, what-have-you, bake, flip, eat. Yum!
Came up with a new idea that works for me…..the five dollar roasted whole chickens from Costco…..usually buy at least a half- dozen that’s like thirty dollars. I then debone by hand and bag them in to one quart freezer bags.get about eight bags per chicken. They keep great in the freezer and I always have their seasoned meat for sandwiches or casseroles. This is a no brainer……the price and the taste is a winner…….have about twenty hens for eggs etc,……but prefer the Costco chicken as a near term supply while it’s available. Wallyworld roasted chickens are 10 buck they are small and are not comparable to Costco. My local grocery store gets 12 bucks for a roasted chicken, and they are greasy and gross.
I’m late on my report (#puppies). The German Shepherd puppies are now 20lbs and 40lbs at 3 & 4 months old – they are from different lines so their growth progress is different. They could eat a house, which has caused me to think more specifically about stocking up for them. I consider them an investment, but enjoy them as my new loving companions. I was worried about being so out of shape after several years of being “down” from several illnesses. I’m happy to report that we take long, brisk, walks UPHILL, here at about 4,000′ elevation. The views at the top are spectacular! I’m finding myself having tons more energy comparatively speaking – also exhausted. LOL. Since I want the best for them, knowing they will return it 10-fold, I push myself every day.
I stocked up on winter squashes and have processed some. The rest are in a box in one of the spare bedrooms that is closed off and stays about 50 degrees. I met our city mayor, quite accidentally, and she is a delightful, level-headed woman, so no mask mandates, just common sense.
I feel as if we are holding our collective breath waiting to find out if the lawsuits over rampant voter fraud will yield justice. I thought we could all breathe a sigh of relief after the election, but it appears that the censorship and reprisals against Christians and Patriots has increased. Although, if you can find Lin Wood (the attorney representing Kyle – 17 year old American hero!) on social media, youtube or elsewhere, I can tell you that man has his head screwed on right and he has no delusions about the enemies we are facing. Pray for him. He’s sticking his neck way out there because God told him to. I am heartened that so many people are rallying around the country at state Capitols. Will it do any good? We shall see.
My extended family (still in Commiefornia) and I had a brief conversation recently. We are back on the idea of finding about 100 acres or so to build our homes (or use/convert what is there) so we can form our own community, raise the children, farm the land, raise food, etc. I’m no longer just looking at the Redoubt area. I don’t know if we’ll actually do it – it’s been a long time plan with no details. But, the events of the past few years have made it abundantly clear that we may have to seriously protect ourselves and the little children from the current Socialist/Communist/Marxist/Evil influence. We are praying. In the meantime, my home is the safe house here in Idaho. We’ll see what God’s plan is.
Hugs to all!
Hello all, I just wanted to update you on some things going on here. I was able to attend a lead projectile dispersion unit show yesterday. I was somewhat shocked at the low attendance. The amount of tables was about 75% of normal due to COVID related distancing and there were a lot of empty tables. There was still a good selection of everything except for primers. The ones I did see were $100 a brick. There was a good selection of ammo but 9mm was running $35 for 50 and .223 was as high as $1 a round. Lead dispersal units were at least $2-300 higher than normal. I anticipate that it won’t get any cheaper. Get what you can while you can.
I love delicata squash too! I’ve grown it for 2 seasons down here in our warm 9a garden zone. We will be moving next spring/summer to our new property near Sandpoint and I hope I will be able to grow it up there. Perhaps one day we will see you at some North Idaho prepper events!