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:
Just in case “President” Biden (or should I say… Harris) gets sworn in, I hedged my bets and bought another $1,800 worth of full capacity magazines. (Mostly AR-15, AR-10, Glock, SIG P320, and M1A.) I expect that we’ll soon experience massive and chronic shortages of 11+ round magazines.
This week I got the studded tires back on our SUV and had the oil changed. (Yes, I’m now at the stage of life where I pay to have that done.) I also hooked up our Western plow on our pickup truck. The controls were acting a bit glitchy, so I gooped all of the terminals on the detachable control and power cables with dielectric grease. That fixed it.
I”ve been busy with radio and podcast interviews — promotion of my two most recent nonfiction books: Survival Retreats and Relocation (now available for ordering) and The Ultimate Prepper’s Survival Guide (in print since late August). The latter has been selling very well, so it looks like there will soon be a second printing. That batch should be available in late January or early February. (They are printed in Hong Kong, and they come to the States via cargo ship.) Take note that there could be a drought of available copies, in the interim. So if you get the chance to buy any at your local Costco, then jump on them. You’ll be able to re-sell them for $25+ each, on eBay.
I also did yet another Polish radio interview about the new Polish-language edition of my bestselling How To Survive The End of the World as We Know It nonfiction book.
It feels good to settle into our winter routine. Summer and fall tend to be very hectic for us. So it is nice to have days where the most memorable highlights are, feeding the cows and horses, sweeping snow off the porch, and tossing logs in the woodstove.
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
It is snowing again, and there is enough snow for skiing. Therefore, for the first time this year, I cross-country skied around the ranch. Fun!
This past week I had trouble getting a batch of white beans to soften. Those had come from one of our older buckets. Therefore, I put them in our pressure canner, with plenty of water. I brought the pressure canner up to 15 pounds and left them there for 35 minutes. That really worked. Later that day, I made them into sweet baked beans, with some beef hot dog chunks, and plenty of maple syrup. Yummy!
We received an order from a food company that delivers to a central drop point. Among the items that I ordered were two cases of fresh tomatoes that I plan to make and can salsa and diced tomatoes. They have been washed and frozen. I received Avocados that I will freeze, fifty pounds of oatmeal, and various essential oils. I now nearly have the full complement of essential oils for various applications. I also bought more various fats and oils to try and to have on hand besides our supply of Olive oil and Coconut oil. They were lamb and beef tallow, and avocado and grape seed oils.
I sewed a few garments that needed mending.
This week, I have been doing an in-depth comparative religion study. I may get back to you later on it, since it has great relevance to the coming New World Order’s One World Religion that will go with the One World Government and One World Economic system: The end game of the Internet Of Things will usher in the Beast System. How will the major religions of the world unite and be “In Unity”?
I listened to many of the Psalms. One of my favorites is:
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.
Can anyone recommend a source for oatmeal in 5-30 lbs sealed plastic bags? I eat oatmeal 5-7 mornings a week n want to store some in a container better than the typical cardboard containers in grocery stores. If necessary, I’d buy 40-50 lbs, n separate into smaller bags to store.
Chris,
Grains are inflammatory to folks of my Keltic heritage, so I limit them to maybe once a month.
I can sure feel the difference between a carbohydrate-heavy meal and a balanced (for me) breakfast of vegetables with animal proteins on the side.
One oatmeal meal example is my infamous ‘haggis’ of seasoned ground meat mixed into cooked oatmeal.
Of course, I soak the grains overnight in their cooking water with a squeeze of lime juice to help dispel the natural-occuring pesticides known as ‘lectins’ and ‘phytates’.
We order our organic oatmeal through our local hippy-owned grocery The Kiva or the branch outlet of NaturalGrocers.
I admit, for organic, I am willing to invest a premium over the usual genetic-modified organisms drenched in petroleum-based chemicals.
The GMO stuff is pointedly not called ‘food’, and I concur with that designation.
*****
At church, back in the olden days before this phase of this Economic Lock-Down, we scheduled Canning Parties to divide yuge group-purchases of grains and legumes and freezer-ready meats.
Those were the good old days.
These days, we lawfully abide by the dictates of Oregon’s unelected governess Kate ‘Moonbeam’ Brown and her infinite hypochondriac wisdom prohibiting gatherings of hypochondriacs, mandating her two-meter Anti-Social Distancing between hypochondriacs, and her mandatory hypochondriac contraptions covering our obedient faces.
Does this sound familiar:
* Anything not mandatory is prohibited.
* Anything not prohibited is mandatory.
Naturally, being good citizens of The Democracy, we see the wisdom in compliance with her hypochondriac dictates.
Ask a simple question, get a ranting diatribe.
Oh, believe me… I am happy to oblige.
I can relate to an ‘occasional’ rant! 😉
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
LargeMarge I did not think you would be the kind of person to lawfully abide by the dictates sent down from your Governor esp. from reading some of your posts from the past.(thought you were more of a rebel)
These past few weeks have brought up some very interesting conversations with others as to how i/we are to behave and act in these most uncertain times in front of us all.
The closet big town for us is just inside the Oregon boarder, the town of Ontario from what i gather when i do go over there no one has any respect for the Governor or the dictates that come from the state capitol.
The stores that i do use, if they are corporate they comply with masks for their employees but do not enforce masks for their customers as for small business owners they are of the opinion that the folks at the state capitol should all go do something both physically and biologically impossible to themselves!
It is very difficult when you see lines at the pot shops at 9:00 am although a majority of the license plates are 1A and 2C (Boise area)
When does a person stop taking orders from a lawless government? or do we as good Christians submit?
I then remind my self that the people have voted, this is what they want.
Even though I reject our New York governors edicts, I follow the gray man idea and where a mask.
“I then remind my self that the people have voted, this is what they want.”
Some peoples vote count more than others. How many counties actually control the vote in your state? I’m in Michigan, we are literally down to one county that is controlling this current election fiasco. That would be one corrupt county, controlled by one corrupt political party. If this election was on the up and up, why not be open and upfront about the election counts? If “The Party” has nothing to hide, they have nothing to fear. Obviously they “The Party” have a lot to hide and to fear. Oh, almost forgot….. Heil Whitmer!
In New York also. In 2016 Trump won 45 of 62 counties. Without NYC, NY state would be red.
There’s three phases to law.
Total Christian principles on the law books.
Total anti-Christ principles on the law books.
Both on the law books.
We are at the latter.
They have legalized abortions but not legalized every pregnancy have an abortion
They have legalized pot but not legalized everyone to smoke pot.
You get the point. When we’re forced into complying with laws Christ wouldn’t follow. We don’t comply. I’d force is used we use force right back and guns if necessary.
Get my drift ?
Chris, I like Honeyville.com. They have a reasonable standard shipping fee and you can get a wide variety of grains.
I use to inspect Honeyville while working for the Utah Dept. of Agriculture. Great and outstanding people and they get my money when I need additional stuff.
Chris…My dad was a huge oatmeal fan too! We get Bob’s Red Mill Thick Rolled Oats in 25 pound bags (and lots of other stuff) at what is now called ‘Smart Foodservice’, which is a warehouse/restaurant supply type outlet relatively close to us here in NorKal. They have stores all over the western states. I have no interest in them other than being happy with their customer service, the manager at the one I shop at will special order me anything I ask for, that he can get, What we do is repackage our oatmeal into mylar bags with 2, 2000 cc oxygen absorbers in food grade 5 gallon buckets, and keep one bucket of them with a Gamma Seal lid to use out of as we go. 25 pounds fills about 1 1/2 buckets. Not knowing what area you live in, but most places have some sort of restaurant supply type outlet (although they may be a ways). Or a Costco or Sam’s Club or similar. You can find the same Bob’s Red Mill product on Amazon, but the price s exorbitant at about $75-80/25#! I paid $21.39 for 25 # bags last week. I hope you can find someplace local that sells a brand you like in bulk.
We travel a distance into Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho to shop at the Smart Foodservice there and they have excellent customer service and pleasant employees too. I get many of my supplies there.
they have sprouted oatmeal at Costco right now (at least mine) that comes in 5 lb bags.
We got the 10-lb boxes from Sam’s Club, which contains two sealed plastic bags inside. (A couple got opened to put into Mylar in a bucket, and the rest just hang out in the pantry for medium-term storage.) Costco might have something similar. Don’t know; we don’t have one around here. Gordon’s (restaurant supply store) did not carry oats in bulk last I checked – that was kind of surprising.
We buy Grain Millers brand organic rolled oats in 50-pound bags. Top quality, freshly-bagged, and economical. We re-pack those oats in five gallon food grade HDPE buckets. That company is located in Eugene, Oregon. See: http://www.GrainMillers.com
How can a person buy from this grain supplier? I looked at teh site via the link you posted, but I could not see any way to order from them.
My question s the same as Lt. Mike. I failed to see how to order. Thanks.
re:
Grain Millers
We live near the outskirts of Eugene Oregon.
The Grain Millers plant is yuge!
Their multi-story building complex spans two streets.
They are at the east-west railroad lines, and are fed by railway spurs with sixty-foot hopper-cars carrying upward of a hundred-ton each.
Around each building every fifty-feet or so is a warning sign about the explosive potential of grain dust from the milling process.
As far as I can tell, they have no cash-n-carry retail store on-premises or in town.
I get the impression they work for major users and distributors.
In Oregon, WinCo super-groceries have a massive bulk-bin area… including bulk organics.
I wonder if the staff could order part of a rail-car.
.
.
PS:
I just had a terrible realization.
At our church Canning Parties, we poured flours — dust everyplace — into five-gallon buckets with nary a consideration to blowing the place to smithereens!
https://www.lindleymills.com/
Here’s another company that sells organic and sprouted bulk flours and grits(not oats thou).
Chris:
Try Bob’s Red Mill Organic , Gluten Free, old fashioned rolled oats.
Ordering online prices are at least 1/2 cheaper than Walmart (when they can be found at Walmart) .
Walton Feed has been a good resource for me over the years.
Don’t know where you’re located, but we get our oats in 25 or 50 pound bags from Azure Standard, usually costing about $1/pound delivered for Certified Organic. These are not weatherproof bags, but a rubber pickle barrel takes care of that. (25-pound bags are much easier to get through the mouth of the barrel, so it’s worth the extra cost.) For dispensing in the house, we put the oats in 5-gallon buckets with good lids.
And yes, we are quite careful to get Organic oats, because we feel the difference in our health. Seems that conventional oats have significant amounts of pesticide residues–likely from pre-planting and pre-harvest applications of Roundup?
Costco sells a 10-pound box of Quaker oatmeal that has two 5-pound bags inside.
I purchased 50-pound bags from Wheat Montanna back in 2013 or so, but I don’t know if they still offer it. Restaurant supply stores may.
Costco sells a organic steel cut oatmeal (Coach’s Oats) 4.5 lb sealed in a Mylar re-closable bag. They are pretty good and seem to be bug free while stored (are “toasted”). Have stored some for over 3 yrs now and still taste fine when I open them up.
Last Sunday, I opened a can of Brazilian corned beef which I purchased in 2015; the expiration date was 6/18. It smelled OK, I heated it up and put it in some pita pockets with some onions, chili peppers, tomatoes, cheese and cajun spices and it was delicious! Felt great, no stomach problems for any of us.
Made vegetable stock, some basic soup stock, and PC’d boneless chicken breasts and thighs. Placed another beef order for next spring delivery. Have 6 pds of fat asparagus waiting to be canned and another 5 pds of carrots.
The chain grocers in the closest city have put limits back in place on canned goods, TP, PT, and some cleaning supplies. I am seeing more “out of stock” in the online product lists of the big stores, but the small town grocers are not putting limits on items and seem to have good availability, for now.
Went by the closest trading post looking for a few items and came home with two job site security boxes, one full of various types of hoses. Also got a 30 pd mallet and metal roofing in the exact shade we use on the farm. Prices weren’t as good as St Funogas gets, but they were in good shape and competitively priced.
Got a notice that one of my CDs is maturing next month, so JWR’s article from Friday was timely. I did a lot of research and will not be rolling over that CD. The global economic situation is precarious to say the least and precious metals are all over the place right now. I’ll be using it for tangible investments for the farm to help us become more self-sufficient.
This week I have been studying the Book of Daniel and using Matthew Henry’s Commentary. Lots to ponder in the last half of the book. I also listened to a couple of different Christian podcasts; one of which claimed the mark of the beast will not happen until Jerusalem is attacked and the abomination of desolation occurs. That is the first time I’ve heard anything like that. Anyone have an opinion on that?
May your week be safe and productive. God Bless America!
Animal House, Congrats on the find of matching roof materials. PTL. Your pita pockets sounded delicious. A friend went to her Costco yesterday and there was “0” toilet paper. She was going to try again today. PTL on your CD. Timely, indeed.
Blessings on your week, Krissy
Animal House I enjoy reading reports on tested food. Thx
You can order from an LDS cannery for a slight up charge for shipping. Their products are put up in #10 cans. You can obtain a current price list from their web site.
Ditto. I’ve found the one by me to have a pretty good selection of standard products (that they offer…), friendly people and decent prices.
If you don’t have the means yourself, are just starting out, or looking to top off a few sundries due to all the recent news, its a great way to get some stuff socked away.
I stopped there randomly on my trips-to-town and dropped 20 bucks here, 30 bucks there… and now there is a deep stack of No. 10 cans in my pantry. You pay a bit more over DIY, but the convenience can’t be beat, and the money goes to good use.
providentliving(dot)churchofjesuschrist(dot)org/self-reliance/food-storage/home-storage-center-locations.
The stores are called Home Storage Center Locations (with Prices). It’s rare to find a ‘Mormon Cannery’ that allows onsite canning now days. (I believe, the local government bureaucrats caused too much trouble for everyone. I could be wrong though.)
“There are 101 locations across the United States and Canada. Click here to find a center near you.” … A map for the USA at the site. There is a recommendation to call the telephone numbers for the ~local Storage Centers, if hours are NOT listed.
Everything is the ~straight and narrow. Prices and Quantities are listed. …. I’m NOT a Mormon, and I’ve bought things at a Center. The people working at the center are polite and welcoming. >Everyone is welcome to buy the LDS products. The listed prices are for everyone.
It’s also possible to buy ~online too. … “Utah is also known as the Beehive State; and designated the Western honey bee as the state insect, because it directly represents the hard work and dedication of a hive.”
+Once again look at the Map for the Storage Locations. There’s 101 of them around the USA. Look around the Provident Living ~ Internet site for ideas about prepping too.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sermons-redeemer-church-of-abilene/id1418919507?i=1000497871768
Our pastor preached on Psalm 2 this week. Very timely. Enjoy!
I made almost $1000 prepayment on my mortgage…not exactly a sexy prep but I know I will sleep better owning our homestead free and clear…Sadly, A long way yet to go
I prepaid on our land taxes, not “sexy” either but it warms my heart.
Ditto on our land taxes. Right now we feel like the less we owe anyone, the better off we are
@Canuck Prepper – that’s great! I did something similar this week, and understand the feeling. I started calculating the percentage l’ve paid as I pay more off…somehow, seeing the percent change keeps me thinking a little more positively about the situation than watching the $ amount, which can be daunting.
Canuck Prepper, You are leading by example. Good for you!
This has been a pretty busy week. After hitting a deer and totaling our mini van, we’ve been on the search for something AWD and big enough to haul out quickly if need be. Not that I wanted to hit the deer, but it gives us a reason to find a good vehicle for getting out of dodge.
Also been picking up a lot of canned goods that have been on sale. Can’t find Dinty Moore Beef Stew in any store so found some online at a decent price. Love that stuff!
Then just last night ordered a few more 30 round magazines. Because, well you all know…
Years ago, a friend of ours came upon a lady who had just hit and killed a deer. She didn’t want the deer so he offered to take it off her hands. He gutted it on he side of the road. It was June or July and he was on his way to his son’s baseball game. The accident was just a mile from our house, so he rolled up in our driveway and asked if he could hang the deer in our garage until the baseball game was over.
Imagine my husband’s surprise upon returning from a long day of guiding. He was backing the boat into the garage and all of a sudden I heard a loud,’ WORMLADY!’ (not my real name). Apparently he was not expecting to find a dead deer hanging from the trusses in the garage…..
LOL!!!
Sounds like the sort of thing that becomes an inside joke in the family… Whenever one of you comes home with something unexpected, “well at least it’s not a dead deer!”
The deer ran off, unfortunately so I couldn’t even eat the stupid thing! I actually got out with my knife ready to do the gutting right there in the side of the road (which was also on the outskirts of the city) and she was gone. The policeman just laughed at me when I told him I was going to gut it right there.
I would love to have seen your husbands face! I can imagine what my wife would have done coming home to an unexpected deer hanging in the garage!
Mkirk, What a bittersweet experience; you are fine but your van is toast. And, like you said, you didn’t even get to eat the stupid deer! Good grief. I pray you find something wonderful for your needs and budget. Krissy
Perhaps we should call Biden “His Fraudulency” – but not too loudly…
Definitely not too loudly! He might be napping!
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
Oooohhhh, I like it!
It’s from an article I wrote in 2012 regarding the shenanigans surrounding Obama’s re-election.
This time around their political Machine had all the chips in, and all knobs cranked to 10.
https://westernhero.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-hail-his-fraudulency.html
I like your username!
MKirk ~ Just reminded of hitting that deer in my wife’s van. Thankfully, had a roll of Visqueen in the vehicle and plopped the tenderized deer right in the back. Took it home, cleaned, butchered and froze her. Most expensive deer I’ve taken.
Psalm 2:1-12 <>
Kitchenbot 9000 had a satisfactory week, performing mostly to specification. Kitchenbot observed that the small humans are still intermittently unwilling to consume fluids and sustenance, but more than willing to scream at Kitchenbot when it’s suggested. Kitchenbot prepared meals and ‘snacks’ and ordered supplies, and shared food with another family. Kitchenbot cleaned many many dishes. Kitchenbot observed that the microwave does not do well on generator power when the refrigerators are also running; shut them down for a time with no ill effects save for the largest human’s disgust at having to eat the previously prepared meal rather than leave the location to obtain ‘fast food.’
The projected hurricane was a non-issue in this locale, but Kitchenbot inspected the roof, cleaned the gutters, and trimmed some trees nonetheless. Yard debris left by the largest human over the summer still remains. Perhaps Kitchenbot may have time during Naptime to change the oil in the generator, but as most of the small humans no longer observe this occurrence, they must be kept quiet (for the smallest human’s sleep cycle) and taught their lessons during this time.
Kitchenbot 9000 is having trouble processing the news that the family will not be relocating anytime soon, despite much previous discussion to the contrary. Humans have been observed to be capricious, and it is much easier for them to bemoan the news and shake their fists along with the ‘analysis’ than to take action. Humans suffer from inertia and normalcy bias, and many can be addicted to small hand-held devices. Kitchenbot hypothesizes that it is a form of self-soothing or an escape mechanism, perhaps physically healthier than ethanol.
Kitchenbot 9000 must go initiate the next meal preparation sequence, and wishes all of you the very best.
You gave me a good chuckle.
I read that hearing Jane Curtains voice from The Coneheads.
Oh Bear!! I used to call myself Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons cartoon series. When the demands mounted, I’d say out loud cheerily, “Just call me Rosie!”
Kitchenbot 9000; I know it is tedious now, but in a few years it will be fond memories! You are blessed that you are so talented you can multi-task with ease. God bless you!
I ordered more preps. Yesterday we trailered 5 hogs to the butcher in a terrible snowstorm. It took us 6 hours from when we left the mountain until we got home home, safely, Praise the Lord.
TeresaSue, Yes, indeed, Praise the Lord for your safety. There sounds like a good Thanksgiving story in there to entertain family with. Bacon. Yum! Blessings, Krissy
A little slower this week, thank goodness. I actually got a book read.
At last week’s auction I bought a decrepit old satellite dish for $1 leaving everyone wondering what kind of durn fool would buy such a thing. It even came with a 4′ adjustable tripod which was icing on the cake. It will be perfect to pair up with some of the 1,000+ 1½” x 1½” mirrors I’ve been cutting from larger mirrors I’ve gotten at auctions for next to nothing. In the next few weeks I hope to have a solar cooker made as a trial run for a really huge solar cooker made from one of those ancient 5-foot-diameter TV satellite dishes which look like something NASA uses to check for intelligent life in distant galaxies since, after this least election, there doesn’t appear to be much here. With a dish that size I should be able to barbecue the fatted calf in one piece.
I did my best to ignore visions of Krissy hypothermically drinking her coffee this morning as I lit my wood stove for only the third time this month. Hearing the wood crackle makes me feel sorry for all those folks with central air and heat. It’s hard to beat coming inside from working out in the cold and backing up to the wood stove. Not too far or you’ll find out what hot cross buns really are.
During my monthly outing to Walmart I always check to see what’s in the canning section just for the entertainment value. Still no jars in sight but they had six boxes of wide-mouth plastic lids which I haven’t seen in months. I color code them with paint and use them with two-quart jars to make entomologically-resistant canisters in the pantry for flour, cornmeal, quinoa, beans and all those edibles I need quick access to when I’m cooking. Toward the end of Alas Babylon they were dying for some salt so I’ve been trying to figure out a good way to keep large amounts without it doing the Lot’s wife thing in the humidity here. I’ve used metal lids but the salt corrodes them pretty quickly. The farm store had a lone box of six water-tight plastic wide-mouth mason jar lids so I bought it and, since Walmart finally had their 54¢ salt back in stock, filled four two-quart mason jars with salt.
When I first made the garden at my homestead there was a patch covered with a weed called lespedeza, a gnarly-rooted perennial legume that’s nearly impossible to eradicate. Three years ago I finally covered the whole area with tarps, piled the mulch deep to hide them, then grew my squash in planters on top of the mulch. I finally removed the tarps last month and the lespedeza had finally gone on to its reward. As I was tilling compost into the soil, I forgot how rich the soil was in that part of the garden and wished I had spread the compost elsewhere. While weeding out a few lespedezas in another part of the garden, and having the same parody problem as Bear where I can never sing the real words to a song, I began singing the lespedeza song to the tune of the Eagles’ Desperado. It goes something like this. ♪♬♬♫ “Lespedeza, why don’t you get outta my garden, get outside my fences, and close the gate. Please be refrainin’, cuz there’s a sharp hoe above you…” Okay, admittedly it still needs some work if I’m going to have a shot in the parody category at the American Music Awards. Meanwhile, I better stick with my day job for now.
The tiller I resurrected ran like a charm all week as I got more of the garden ready for spring, and more immediately, to prep a place to put all my neighbor’s leaves that are piling up. They should be more than enough to mulch the entire garden and then some. I christened the tiller “Beeman” after that wad of gum MacGyver found under the left hand grip. One afternoon I took a break from the tiller-wrestling competition to help the neighbors rake more leaves. When I left, the tiller was ahead by six points, two of those on a technical for unsportsmanlike conduct when I used a few choice words twice and the ref refused to believe I was talking to the large rocks the tiller was trying to unearth and not directly to the tiller, which I wasn’t. After raking leaves with the neighbors for a while I finally said, “Well I gotta get outta here and go take the Beeman for another spin.” “What??! You bought a Beemer??” I went straight home and redubbed it, “Sir Beeman,” though he doesn’t look too knightly, more like a squire snatched from Skid Row and ran through rehab without the benefit of a shower and shave. Next spring when it warms up I’ll give him a bath, get him all cleaned up nice and put on a coat of new paint. He deserves it. Like people, we shouldn’t judge tillers by their looks and together we’re going to go far, Sir Beeman and me.
Everyone have a great week!
Our old rototiller was Atiller the Hun.
St. Funogas-
I buy salt in 25 pound bags and put it in 5 gallon plastic buckets with a gamma seal lid or a regular lid with rubber gasket. Nice thing about salt is I can store it outside in the barn loft without a worry.
Hot cross buns is what you get when you spill your tea down a rabbit hole, right? 🙂
The Desperado/Lespedeza has real promise! Maybe after Sir Beeman’s tune-up you can get him to hum the harmonies.
Thanks for the laughs. Hot cross buns indeed, it could also be a problem if you eat a lot of legumes. I hope you don’t live near an airport, that solar cooker might blind a pilot taking off or landing. I can hear it now, astronauts looking out the window of the space station, “look Funagas is cooking dinner.”
“The beacons are LIT! Gondor calls for aid!!”
😉
Hilarious! Made me laugh out loud!
Saint, I’m really looking forward to the fruition of your cooking satellite dish. Maybe JWR will let you show a picture. I’ve always wondered what the math is to make mini ones like that, to place behind a candle or lamp for the ultimate reflection. Math, as in how many angles…
Anyway, you’ll be pleased to know my experiment is over. I turned the heat pump on three days ago because the house was warming up in the afternoon to only 48 F. I was so excited about doing it, I completely forgot about my books and storage food!
Congrats on finding the lone box of plastic wide mouth mason lids.
I grew up listening to the Eagles. Enjoyed your version and sang out loud as I read along.
Loved that you named your tiller, and the whole story that went with it made me laugh. Blessings on your week, Krissy
The Mythbusters actually tested a myth using an old satellite dish and mirrors. Interesting to see the build and the results.
Seymour Liberty and Lt. Mike… Agree with you both! In fact, I posted in response to the message you’re referencing, but think my post may have been deleted when the original post was removed.
We may be very close to a BIG REVEAL. Sidney Powell was interviewed by Lou Dobbs last night, and she says they will RELEASE THE KRAKEN. In addition to the out and out tabulation fraud, there are significant financial interests held by Governors across the country. Let’s just see who is invested and where!
The full interview has been posted to Brighteon:
https://www.brighteon.com/2a3207de-dfa6-4fc1-929d-98856e168794
Also… Rudy Giuliani reports that 3 Dominion employees have come forward, and are prepared to testify under oath that 3.8 million votes were either switched or erased by the software used to tabulate the votes.
https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/news-nation/voting-software-company-whistleblowers-come-forward-claim-their-software-changed-38-million-votes-stole-election
When the facts are revealed, President Donald J. Trump will have been reelected in a landslide victory. Do not be dispirited by people who have fallen for false reporting designed to discourage us.
If you haven’t yet signed on to PARLER. Check it out.
Be sure as well to listen in at Steve Bannon’s War Room and America’s Voice as well as NewsMax. Greg Kelly and Grant Stinchfield are especially good.
REMAIN STEADFAST and COURAGEOUS.
Here is a link to the actual court documents from the Wisconsin lawsuit to stop voter fraud; it is important that we see actual documentation in all the hooha going on.
https://www.wpr.org/sites/default/files/1_1.pdf
An excellent link. The details of legal filings are important. They’re not always quick reads, but they are important investments of time in understand what is truly going on.
Thank you so much, Tellesilla, for posting the link to Lou Dobb’s interview with Sidney Powell. I was going to do it, but you beat me to the punch! 🙂
I too watched this interview last night and am trying to get the word out. It seems that Big Tech and the Legacy media (MSM) are doing their best to cover up any reports of election fraud. I believe that Sidney is an outstanding attorney, as well as a person of great integrity. I don’t think she would be making these astounding claims about the Dominion voting systems unless she has rock-solid proof.
Last night, I posted Sidney’s interview and the following introduction to my Facebook page. (Yes… I still use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, but am very careful in how I use it due to OPSEC considerations. Also, I may be joining some family members in migrating to Parlor and MeWe.)
Here is my FB post, and let’s continue to pray fervently for our nation. Many blessings!
—————————————–
2020 ELECTION — PLEASE BE IN PRAYER !!!
As some of you may know, hundreds of “whistleblowers” have come forward and have signed affidavits (under penalty of perjury) asserting that there has been serious fraud — on several different fronts — in the 2020 election. One of the most shocking allegations involves the Dominion voting systems used in many different states. In the following interview given today, Attorney Sidney Powell (who I believe is a committed Christian and a person of great integrity) asserts that: “President Trump won the election in a landslide… It’s going to be irrefutable.”
Whether we are Republican or Democrat, election fraud of this magnitude — if proven true — should shock all of us to our cores. Please be in prayer that the truth will be quickly revealed, and that the alleged perpetrators (if guilty) will be brought to justice. By the way, please don’t be distracted by Facebook or Twitter “fact check” algorithms designed to automatically discredit any reports of alleged election fraud. This election has been different than any other, due to the widespread use of unsolicited mail-in ballots. We need to pursue the truth wherever it leads. Without election integrity, our democratic republic is in great danger. Thank you for praying !!!
CDM, Well said. Krissy
Speaking of Parler, I notice that the President is now on Parler. As for NewsMax, check out the Chris Salcedo Show, on at 8:00 AM as simulcast with his morning radio show on KSEV-700 AM in Houston, and at 5:00 PM just on NewsMax. On the weekends there is also Michele Malkin’s Sovereign Nation and Diamond and Silk, Crystal Clear. I’m almost done with Fox, as are millions of others.
Or maybe the Eye of Sauron?
Bahahahahahahaha!
Sounds like everyone is doing well. I broke my foot 5 weeks ago and it’s really put a damper on what I can do. I’ve been programming radios(BoaFengs) and working on some firearm tweeks. Can’t wait to be ambulatory again.
I feel for you being incapacitated with a broken foot and pray for a speedy and full recovery. As you sit with your foot elevated and iced, the worst thing is knowing what needs to be done and knowing you shouldn’t do it so that you can recover. I mention this as I was in the same condition last winter. Finally found a good Doc that preformed a couple of surgeries and added to my collector’s edition metal parts making me somewhat operable again in time for last summer. You most likely will be fine before the good weather comes around again.
God Bless!
Roadkill, Now that sucks! I’m really sorry. Glad you let us know so we can pray specifically for a total recovery. Take care, and don’t go stir crazy. Krissy
Conditioned several knife sheaths and holsters.
Continue to re-load as weather and time dictate.
I got 3 boxes of Horse harness leather- for working horses not riding at an auction a few weeks ago. I Started to clean it all up and condition it. It didn’t garner any bids by itself so it sold with a box of pulleys/cogs/roller belt spokes that I wanted. Stuff is in rough shape but I think it is salvageable. Had an Amish construction crew working at the homestead this week and while they were here I asked them about it and they showed me where various pieces go and what they do. They were great to talk to about small scale/subsistence food production. They were very interested in why I wanted ground drive farm implements. Told them my tractor didn’t have the horsepower to run most of the modern day implements so ground drive was a very good option for me. They told me that ground drive implements are getting very hard to find and due to the Amish demand/competition and price are high.
The weather was forecasted to be very nice Monday and Tuesday and I already had Veterans’ Day off so I burned a few hours of vacation (I had a few zoom meetings I had to be on but between to calls I worked around the homestead preparing for winter. I painted the 100 gallon fuel tank (2 coats). I sprayed truck bed liner on the bottom of the tank to offer it even more protection. The next day the owner of the construction company building our deck offered me $200 for it so I might be selling it. Moved a bunch of plywood from the pole barn into the loft of the old barn along with some other items. Trying to make room so that we can park 2 vehicles inside. We are having a new deck put in and I spent a lot of time pulling nails out of the wood from the old deck. The contractor did a great job and I was able to salvage a lot of 2×6’s and much of the wood decking. I even saved the metal hangers, what I couldn’t salvage I burned, the rest I stacked out side. Although the new deck isn’t necessarily for prepping it will be covered and screened in so it could be used for food prep and cooking in the a grid down scenario. We have already talked to a local Amish guy that makes boat and truck covers and the like about making large clear vinyl covers that we can put up in the winter.
Everyone went shooting Saturday morning. The wife spent some extra time practicing as she is very concerned about post-election violence. She likes the Taurus 94 with a 4” barrel but then I got the Ruger SR22 out and she really really liked it. I said perhaps I should buy another one just for her and she said yes. Was telling a friend about that on Saturday night and he said he had one but that he didn’t like it and would trade me some 38 special rounds for it. He is a good friend so he is going to get some cash too. See bartering ammo can work without lightening striking. I was going through my Man Tupperware (ammo cans), and saw an unmarked can looked inside and it had primers inside – 1,000 large rifle and 1,000 small rifle, not sure why I put them in that particular can but hey it was a nice surprise- what was even more sad was the $16.99 price tag on the small rifle primers. I have been digging into the reloading stores and am having some luck trying to replace the supplies I use. After shooting on Saturday morning I taught my daughter how to ride/operate the ATV. I rode on the back seat for a while, making her stop occasionally to make her put it reverse or 4WD. After I was comfortable that she could handle it I got off and she rode it for about 2 hours. My general rule is that kids like to push the envelope and will ultimately do something that will make them respect the machine. Generally this seems to be not slowing down on a turn. Amazing what driving into a bunch of black berry bushes does for kids understanding about speed. So once my daughter (just like my son did on the same turn) ended up in the pricker bushes it was time for dad to get off the atv. I don’t think she went much over 20mph the rest of the day.
Picked up 2 new 30 round AR magazines, a box of 45 ACP ammo, a pound of gun powder, a replacement hatchet handle, replacement claw hammer handle, some tin to mix in with my lead for casting bullets. Found a really nice woodland camo poncho liner at the Salvation Army for a minuscule $7. Wife asked what it was and I told her it is a soldiers “wobbie”. Ordered and received a replacement can of dehydrated banana slices to replace one. Ordered 2 drip irrigation kits for next years use.
This week when I went to tuck the crock full of yogurt in for its culturing nap, I found that the kids had taken all the fleece blankets for their beds and forts. Husband said to use the poncho liner! I wondered aloud if anyone else from his old unit had used their woobie as a yogurt maker. They really DO have a million uses! Forts, liners, picnic blankets, shelters, carrying sling, thermos wrapper, now yogurt maker… heck I’ve probably given birth on this thing at some point.
Hey Bear, my batch of yogurt fits nicely into 5 wide-mouth pint salsa jars and I stack them in a 6-pack cooler (the slightly taller one for bottles) to keep them warm as they do their thing. It’s worked for 100+ batches so far.
I have some memories of freezing in a poncho liner in various locations in the world but much better memories camping with them. They are great- I was shocked at how expensive they are now.
I had such a strange week. Besides missing the bottom step of the stairs outside as the blizzard was hovering in the wings ready to dump a foot or two of snow (Idaho), I think I got a lot done this week. LOL. As I lay on the ground and thanked the Lord that nothing felt twisted or broken, I reminded myself to s.l.o.w.d.o.w.n and COUNT the steps, which is my custom. That way if I can’t see my feet because I’m carrying firewood up or trash down, I’ll know for sure when I’m there. Thankfully just a skinned knee and some sore muscles. And this time I can’t blame it on tripping over the puppies.
I processed another couple butternut squash for soup base to go into the freezer. Baked off some sourdough loaves. Canned only 7 pints this time of Delicata squash. Had a very strange encounter with a trades person who was to do some work at my house which completely derailed my plans. The first visit was supposed to be about seeing what needed to be done. Check. The second visit turned into a “may I sit down” and then a very long (too cozy for comfort) conversation. The third visit was also a very long “may I sit down” and a long conversation. Note: no work was performed during these visits. Per the usual, I treat people with kind respect. I started getting a bit suspicious and frankly a little creeped out. Now this person was well recommended by family. The 4th, I kid you not, “appointment” was delayed hour by hour by hour and then finally when it was getting too late in the day and a storm expected, an INSISTENCE on performing the work, to which I said, no sorry, too late. Then a DEMAND, at which point I called my retired LEO family member to intervene. Then, you are not going to believe this, in the middle of a blizzard the next morning, another DEMAND and this person showed up at my home. However, my retired LEO protector and defender arrived ahead of this person, kept this person out of my house to supervise whatever it was this person said they wanted to do… (which turned out to be nothing!) Are you starting to get the creepy crawlies yet y’all? All the while the blizzard is raging, and my retired LEO protector and defender’s truck slid into a ditch trying to finally leave my house after “handling the issue”, what I now call “The Intruder”, due to the snowfall and no plows had come through yet. And his day got worse from there. This is what a single (whether divorced or widowed) woman can face in life and I was very thankful to live near family. I must’ve exhibited “vulnerability” in order to attract this kind of behavior – I have a very empathetic and compassionate personality and I know that. I have to remember to be more of a “beach” because it doesn’t come naturally to me.
Thankfully the 2nd Amendment is alive and well in Idaho and should this person arrive unexpectedly again, he will face the barrel of a gun. I was trained by my retired LEO family member and if nothing else, I can shoot straight and I’m not afraid to pull the trigger. Sadly, the German Shepherd puppies are too young to be of assistance, but I’m thinking of getting them trained in protection next summer if I don’t see natural protective instincts kick in. They just want to lick everyone and pee on their boots. LOL
… this whole thing sucked so much energy and life out of me last week and this week, and I couldn’t sleep. I so do LOVE LOVE LOVE THE SNOW!! It gets so quiet here and it’s gorgeous. I save all my inside projects for our long winter here. My little wood stove puts out so much heat, I don’t have to run the electric heat during the day.
Y’all have a great day and if nothing else, turn off the News and turn on the Christian music. “God Inhabits the Praises of His People” – Psalm 22:3. Side note: Shooting an intruder is in no way contradictory to the Scriptures. It’s called self-defense. LOL. Just sayin’.
WOW my creep-o-meter was pinging off the charts halfway through that!! There’s “friendly” and then there’s “you’d be delicious with Chianti and fava beans” and this goofus definitely doesn’t fall toward the friendly end of the spectrum.
PLEASE PLEASE be careful and stay safe, both with the humans and the stairs!
SaraSue,
Sorry you had to experience that, and you were right to notify family/friends. Creepy doesn’t begin to describe that behavior. Also glad you have taken the time to become proficient with a firearm.
My DW says the scariest thing for an unwanted intruder is the sound of a pump action shotgun being racked, and look up to find a middle aged man at the top of the stairs in his undershorts pointing a 12 gauge at you. I don’t know how that tanslates with a single/divorced woman or widow, but I’m guessing the perception would be the same for the intruder. And my guess is any firearm, whether it is a pistol/revolver or especially an AR-15 might have a similar effect. They both say go away or else!
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
Ruger LC9 handgun with red dot. AR-15 platform rifle. Mags loaded.
It still stresses me out and makes me angry at the same time.
Thanks y’all for the supportive messages.
SaraSue,
Thanks for your later post on Brake Bleeder for vacuum sealing jars. I had actually forgotten about that suggestion from someone’s previous post as a possible option, so your suggestion was a great reminder and much appreciated. I think DW would still like the gadget, but a non electric device would be a useful tool.
Regarding “it stresses me out and makes me angry at the same time”, all very understandable. No one wants to be threatened or bullied, but take comfort in one aspect of your experience; you have now experienced this type of behavior, and while unpleasant and infuriating, it has no doubt prompted you to mentally walk thru a series of scenarios you may not have previously visualized, and likely responses to these type of threats/situations. I’m guessing that you are even better prepared at this time mentally (although rightly incensed) than you were before this occurred.
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
Yes, thank you.
SaraSue: When ever I have workmen/repairmen/delivery people come to the farm I put the 9mm on where it shows. One guy had the nerve to ask me if I knew how to use it, so I pulled it out and shot a round into the tree not to far from him. I told him he should know better than to smart off to a grumpy old lady. Once word gets around that the old lady carries all the time, they are very polite and work quickly.
Good for you!
I was thinking this situation is a perfect opportunity to do a “threat assessment” because there will be plenty more threats should SHTF permanently in this country. I’m practicing getting my emotions under control so that I can react effectively. (From training: no warning shots, you keep shooting until the threat is neutralized, center mass, breathe, etc.)
This old lady carries too.
God bless.
Miss SaraSue, glad you had the cavalry nearby. Unfortunately, there are too many jerks out there who view single ladies as easy targets.
Regarding your last statement, I was recently listening to a recorded sermon from Chuck Swindoll. He was talking about living at peace as best we are able. He did however, insert the caveat that this did not apply to self defense, and specifically said that if someone’s breaking into the house, you don’t turn the other cheek…you shoot him! Of course, Dr. Swindoll’s a former Marine, so what do you expect?
@SaraSue,
Sorry to hear about your experience. I will have to agree with what Seymour Liberty stated. I don’t know if this would help out in your situation or not, but would your “retired LEO family member” be able to learn the skills needed to work on your house and do the work for you? That would keep any non-family members (or morons) out of the picture. Last spring I laid vinyl laminate flooring for the first time. Since I had never done it before I watched a Christian carpenters YouTube channel and learned from his first-hand experience and then did the job myself and saved my boss at least a thousand dollars on a rental house of his. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts here on SB I also do most repair / construction type work and most of that has been either learned on my own or working with friends that practice that particular trade. If I can learn it and do it other people can. As a conservative Christian prepper I try to learn as many skills as I can so I can help other people when needed. Yesterday (Friday) was such a time as I put my skills to work for a lady who has a no-good “husband” that is no longer allowed on the property. She is going through a divorce and since she is on disability she does not have a lot of money to throw around. I work for her for free, but consider it my duty to help her out because she is stuck in a bad situation trying to raise her grandson by herself. Just a thought. Please stay safe.
Thank you David and may the Lord bless you for caring for others. And yes he does everything I need and is extremely generous, a wonderful Christian. I’m sure we can figure it out! I know the Lord’s angels guard over me. Sometimes I feel like I can see their wings fluttering about – “oh my goodness, there she goes again falling down the stairs!! Let’s cushion that knee a bit! Oooops, she’s letting that guy into the house, let’s make sure he goes OUT of the house.” And then the littlest angel says, “Yay for the 2nd Amendment!” while the older angels say, “tsk, tsk, but yes!”
Sorry to hear about your issues with the perv. He had his warnings from you and your LEO family member. Time to be ruthless should he persist. If your LEO family member still has connections see what can be known of him via police records. I doubt this is his first rodeo so to speak.
SaraSue, The Week of the Intruder. It sounds like a book title. Actually, the crazy events sound like something one reads in a Sherlock Holmes story. What was the purpose of his, “May I sit down?” drawn out, useless, waste your time visits?
I’m so thankful you are safe from him and your fall. PTL.
May the Lord give you peace as you carry your piece. Krissy
“May the Lord give you peace as you carry your piece.” Now THAT made me laugh. Thank you Krissy!
Kind of a quiet week for us here. Snow, snow, and more snow. Finished up the latest project, so I’m actually off work for a while at least.
Hunting season is in full swing, so I’m prepping to go out next week once the weather settles down.
Like Jim, I’ve hit an age where I pay somebody else to do the work on my truck, so it went in for new brakes, and some front end work.
It was a good week to get a few of the smaller things done. Got some hay delivered for the horses. Had some time to finally get into “The Ultimate Preppers Survival Guide”. Figured I may as well use some of those components I’ve got laying around, so I spent a couple days reloading – nothing quite like the solitary repetition of that activity to let your mind wander and work on solving problems.
Bear – Thanks for the kind words about user name! I also found your weekly update style funny. I’m from the Jetson’s era!
Telesilla of Argos- Thanks for the kind words of agreement! We’ve also switched sources (Newsmaxx is on in the background as I type this). I saw Sidney Powell last night on Dobbs. Ditto on Steve Bannon’s War Room & America’s Voice, OANN, Parler, & Rumble. I saw on Maria Bartiromo this a.m. the Co-Founder of Parler, and he said the influx of customer sign-ups after the NY Post censoring by FB & Twitter had been overwhelming! Everyone who wants to use social media should vote with their feet & switch to Parler & Rumble, and stop using Twitter & YouTube if at all possible. If there’s one thing these Big Tech Oligarchs understand, it’s watching their ad revenues go away!
I’m cautiously Optimistic, but afraid to get my hopes up too much. After the last 4-12 years, of investigations that go no-where (Clinton emails, Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, Fast and Furious, Biden pay for play, etc), I can’t bear another disappointment which this time might further cost us our Republic, and our Liberties.
I don’t often offer much about our Prepping Progress. I have a high profile service business that is in the later stages of it’s lifecycle and although I know more than a few people, I have literally many thousands of clients from 34 years, plus 8 years in a previous high tech career who might still remember me. So I have to be very careful what I share. My Conservative Liberty-loving clients know my beliefs, but I try not to alienate the other half of society where business is concerned. Although, I’m getting to that age where I don’t suffer fools or liars well!
That said: we worked mostly on our food preps, storage, and fuel storage this past week. Our area is having a major surge in China Virus, and if you can believe what state health officials say, the hospitals are ‘near capacity*’, whatever that means in context. A lockdown of sorts is being imposed for all non-essential activities. My Shingles (and flu vaccine which I don’t usually get) may have to wait, as the last thing I want is to go into a Dr’s office, Hospital/lab, or Walgreens for a vaccine, where many ill people are getting prescriptions filled. Trips out for essentials have been averaging about every 3-4 weeks, but we should be set for the next 6-8 weeks or longer if there are any ‘new developments’. We’re very grateful to have found this site many years ago, and have stacked tangibles of all varieties high and deep! Thank you Jim and A.L.!
DW (SWMBO) requested I ask if anyone knows of a source for a Foodsaver attachment for Vacuum Sealing Mason jars (both wide & regular mouth). We have been looking for a source for the Foodsaver vacuum jar sealers for months, and they are out of stock everywhere. She even has several sources marked with reminders for whenever they come back in stock.
I saw online that a nearby Menards had Ball lids (both sizes) in stock… for less than 24 hours. They went fast.
Other than stress-related marathon chore tackling, we’re pretty well set for hunkering down for the foreseeable future and waiting like most to see what happens. I keep looking at the ever growing stack of winter reading with great anticipation!
As always, hoping we all…
Seymour Liberty
You can use a brake bleeder to suck the air out of mason jars and seal them. Search YouTube for “brake bleeder vacuum sealer” – lots of videos.
Thanks!! I looked that up – seems pretty simple. Of course you still need the lid attachment part, so it’s off to trawl eBay…
Hi, Bear! Check out the YouTube channel of Rain Country. Her hubby made her a vacuum chamber sealing device out of PVC pipe. It doesn’t require the lid attachments, just the brake bleeder, and it looks pretty simple to make.
SaraSue. As a widow I understand. I had a few minor problems when I was first widowed, won’t get into the major ones. My boss told me to let them know that there was a new sheriff in town on my place, meaning me. LOL Anyway, got a good deal on a 25 lb. bag of rye flour through bidfta.com during the week. There are several of their warehouses in the area I reside. Most stuff is Amazon returns. There is a run on tp in the area I live, glad I have plenty. I had an uncle die from Covid19 this past week. He had been sick for years and was in a nursing home. Been a sad week but I am still blessed. Everyone have a great week and buckle up. The election is not over!
So sorry for your family’s loss of your uncle! May God hold you all close in His perfect peace and comfort.
It has been a rainy wet week but in between the showers we managed to clean and clear the rain gutters from all the ash that fell last month in the Oregon fires that were close to us. We didn’t realize how much had fallen until we started cleaning. Please keep the folks we still live near those areas in your prayers as the rains may very well trigger land slides with no vegetation left to hold back the land.
We relocated one of our wood piles into a more convenient spot for the winter. We have been focusing on not using the heat from our furnace and burning our wood stove at night instead (~4-10 pm). All this to try and figure out how much wood we need for an entire winter season. Right now it looks like we may need at least another third more at the rate we are going through wood.
I processed some pumpkin this week and decided to freeze dry the batch. At the last minute I also saw a video from Balistic BBQ on freeze drying carmelized onions and decided to try it as well. Once they are done, they can be used as a burger seasoning or placed in their crunchy state on a burger. We will see how they turn out but they do sound good!
We are in the market for a good winch for the front of our RAM 3500 pickup truck. If anyone has recommendations it would be greatly appreciated.
As we age we have similar concerns to SaraSue. That is why we got a German Shepard. We got an older female so that we could skip the puppy stage and go straight to the protection phase. At times I see her protective nature come out as something goes by our place but not sure she will go into that mode on command. I am looking into online training programs just to be sure.
Be well,
We canned up a large batch of chili last night and another batch planned for sometime this weekend. In all we will add another 40-50 pints to our shelves.
Visiting our LGS today to buy 30 and 10 round AR mags along with a few extra Glock items. We have what we need – these will be sold later.
Walmart had tires on sale – they put pallets out a few times a year with oddball sizes and clearance stuff at half price. This time it was the size I needed for my truck, recent manufacture date code and it was a well rated tire from a major manufacturer. I got five (needed a spare too). Extra bonus – each tire rang up for $20 less than the advertised sale price. So I got them for about 70% off normal pricing. I told them about the price issue but she just shrugged and said it was fine. The used F-150 we bought still needs minor work but tires can now be checked off the list.
Son #2 is doing great at his new job. Son #1 just got his airframe and powerplant certification and officially completed his studies down in FL and is planning his trip home. Daughter #2 has chosen to not return to school next semester and will be working at a vets office full time. Daughter #1 left school mid semester this year due to the Covid prison lifestyle enforced upon them by overzealous school administrators, and is now starting a pressure washing business with my wife. They just landed their first job and I am happy to see them developing a side gig.
I really enjoy reading through all of your posts!
Work kept me fairly busy throughout most of the week. Still, we were able to get a few things done, we decanted and bottled our scuppernong wine, our first experiment in wine-making. Not a bad result, but the recipe needs a bit of work. We’ll be decanting the muscadine next week and see how that goes. We rarely drink alcohol, and never to excess, but this does offer us another way of preserving those grapes (one can only make so much jelly).
Canned carrots have been almost impossible to find around here, so we bought 10 lbs. of organic carrots, and pressure canned most of them. We also have carrots, along with snow peas, working in the garden, so hopefully we’ll have some fresh carrots in a month or two. I also roasted and froze the sweet potatoes from our fall harvest. We reorganized the pantry and found we don’t have quite as many jars as we thought. Unfortunately, canning supplies are pretty much unavailable at this time.
I was finally able to get back into my workout routine this week, including jogging. My Maligator was particularly happy about this, as she’s my running buddy. She’s about 8 years old, but when I come downstairs in my jogging clothes, she starts prancing around like a puppy.
Stay safe, folks. The ride’s just getting started.
Francis Marion,
“We rarely drink alcohol, and never to excess” –
Well, seldom to excess. There’s always Purim, where we’re directed in the Book of Esther to ‘drink until you can’t differentiate between…’! I love the lesser holidays! Lot’s of good lessons in them, and they make life ‘interesting’! 🙂
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
Hmmm…I’m familiar with Purim, bit I must’ve missed that particular passage. Maybe it’s in one of the newer translations? The Message maybe?
Of course, Esther does offer some solid lessons on prepping, too. Especially if you live amongst a hostile populace.
“A person should drink on Purim until the point where they cannot tell the difference between ‘Blessed is Mordechai’ and ‘Cursed is Haman.’
Talmud-Megillah 7a/Shulchan Aruch
(Code of Jewish Law)
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
Hmmmm…for some reason, that particular passage must’ve gotten left out the KJV, lol. And while I’m Christian by faith, part of my ancestry on my mother’s side is Jewish, so…
Chapter and Verse? Thanks!
A person is obligated to ‘spice’ himself on Purim until he cannot distinguish between “cursed is Haman” and “blessed is Mordechai” (Talmud Megillah 7b).
As always, hoping you…
Seymour Liberty
In my neck of the commie woods, full capacity AK and AR mags are going for $50 a pop!
We tried a new church again last week and I could tell by the vibe that they are excited for the time when they can turn dissenters in to the contact tracers, so for now we’ll keep driving an hour to the one church that is sane. Met some other moms at a mom coffee who share an interest in alternative health care. They are all business owners so I hope I can pick up a few tips and start a small side gig. Also reached out to a few moms in our homeschool group last week, so I hope some of our neighbors follow up, as we are still looking for our tribe. Our close neighbors are wonderful retired folks, but cowering and molding alone in their homes and have been all year.
Realized I needed to gear up for the walkout plan and bought a million dollars worth of underwear and socks and gloves and things for the kids. Learning to knit is now high on my priority list as I can’t afford to buy anything made of wool. Sorted out old jewelry and crockery and will try to sell much of it for the holidays on ebay. Dehydrated some carrots and need to find out how to keep them from getting soggy. Bought 50lbs of organic rolled oats–we soak ours too, with a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar overnight, or for a full day. We supplement with cod liver oil and organ meats and fish head soup when we can, and we balance our mineral intake with a couple of supplements. One person in our family lost a tooth due to a medication they were taking, and so far all the soaking and supplements have helped prevent further losses. Heard from a farflung friend their kid is going on psychiatric meds. So glad our kids have a yard and the relative sanity of lax restrictions in the country–they are still super stressed out, though. Sent her my recommendation for a book on nutrition and supplement therapies for mood disorders and addictions. Bought two dressed turkeys from a neighbor and forgot to let them rest before I froze them, so that should be fun. Fixed up a wind screen for the coop vents, which the chickens proceeded to sit on and break. Bought some extra sea salt and put it in a jar similar to the jar in which I keep sugar, and then accidentally salted my coffee, can’t recommend it.
I vacuum seal my dehydrated veggies with an oxygen absorber pack in the Foodsaver plastic bags. If we’re going to have them soon, like if it’s a new veggie and I am still experimenting with the rehydration before going into high gear for long-term, then I just keep them in a ball jar. As long as they are all the way dry, they shouldn’t get soggy.
Animal House. The mark of the beast happens in the middle of the tribulation. I agree with the message you heard and have found this to be the only way to explain the timing of the mark without conflicting other verses. This view also requires the rapture of the church at the beginning of the 1000 years which is the only way to avoid conflicts of other scriptures. An excellent book on the end times is “The Impending Apocalypse” by John Claeys, available on Amazon.
If someone is looking for a range bag for their pistol, NAPA has a great one on sale for $4.99. I bought one and it holds guns, ammo, ear protector with room to spare. The sale lasts for this month and if not in stock they will order it for you. It’s well built.
I follow trend lines and I also think the Coup against this President is going to be successful. There is enough circumstantial evidence to bring criminal charges to many high ranking officials in DC but absolutely not one brought up on charges.
The Constitution gives the legislatures of the Battle Ground States to provide oversight for a fair election and I do not see them doing that.
And if this somehow makes it to SCOTUS than it will fail. Do these judges want their homes torched and families threatened, no. They will refuse the case.
The best description I heard today is we are in the eye of the hurricane which gives us 66 days before we cross into the event horizon.
Vitacost.com carries Bob’s red mill oatmeal but I only saw it in 2# bags.
We get a lot of our bulk food from Huckleberry’s Natural Market found in grocery stores (Rosauer’s is the main grocery store I know of) because they have bulk bins and we can get a baggie or a lot (in a bag like you find in produce dept) or we order a 25# or 50# bag as a special order. Costco might as well be on Mars it’s so far away.
This week we finally got the 2nd (and bigger) chain saw back from repair shop. Have a lot of wood to cut up so that’s good.
Did a medical check up because if things are going to get crazy we want to have as much tended to as possible.
Finally finished the fruit processing.
And started on the snow.
Any news on RKRGRL68? If you see this and are able, how about an update. Still praying for your recovery.
Gods grace and peace to you.
She posted under ‘Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 14, 2020’ in response to Krissy.
BWL …under the first post for Saturday about the volcano, RKRGRL68 comments.
If you catch this RKRGRL68, add me to the group of your supporters! But also know to be kind to yourself in this recovery time.
As i am NOT quite 5 weeks out from surgery, it is frustrating to STILL not having bounced back from the anesthesia part especially. Not sure if _it_ has changed since the last time or if _i_ have changed in that growing older has made me less resilient. But it has been a “two steps forward, one back” progress with an occasional TWO steps back in the mix…usually when I overdo my activities. Grace to you…please be as gracious to YOURSELF as those around you are.
We chose to move forward with surgery so as to be more able in the future. The timing was good. Let’s do the best we can to facilitate our wellness…body, mind and spirit. Sometimes that includes resting.
Blessings and grace to ALL in this community recovering from injury, surgery and illness…
Some small preps got done this week, I planted some garlic for the first time, and mulched them well, hoping I didn’t plant them too late. Mostly did a lot of reading and research, much on this site from previous articles, about retirement money. I have been wishing I hadn’t gotten caught up in putting my retirement funds in IRAs years ago and am unsure about trying to start an LLC IRA or even just a self-directed IRA to give me more control. Anyone have any ideas or advice to share?
Skip I am not sure that the Supreme Court will reject the case. I agree that the 5 justices will not want their homes torched, families threatened, etc…..However, they have another option: Rule that the election had ‘widespread’ fraud — too much to invalidate single votes, or the votes have been accidentally ‘mixed’ in with valid votes. Then the Supremes can move the decision of President…to the US House of Reps. Only incoming can vote. Each state receives only one vote….grand total 50 votes to pick the President. The Supremes may claim that this option is a better representation of America. Rough ride.
With Biden’s gun control plan every mag over 10 rounds will become a NFA item requiring a $200 tax. Also just about every semi-auto will fall under the NFA as well.
I WILL NOT COMPLY!!!