Author: SurvivalBlog Contributor

After two years spent traveling and volunteering both in the US and overseas, I’m now back in the US and looking for a place to settle down again. For someone who’s definitely oriented towards a preparedness lifestyle, living out of suitcases with no garden and minimal ability to stockpile food, water et cetera for two plus years has been an eye opening experience. After spending many years on my off-grid farm with photovoltaics (PV) and wind, a gravity fed spring, wood heat, an orchard, greenhouses etc. there has definitely been some discomfort associated with having left (and sold) that tie …

(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the series.) — Monitoring Work I don’t like to micro-manage but at the same time monitoring the progress of work helps ensure that you are getting what you pay for. As I have stated, the building contractor who built our addition had a very detailed quote and nice computer-generated layouts of what it would look like when done. The only drawing he did not have was one for the addition onto the basement. Guess what the only issue we had was? The mason put the man door in the wrong spot. I caught it …

(Continued from Part 1.) Construction Type One of the other expectations that I had was that the home be built post-WWII but not past the 1970s due to both construction practices and construction materials. It was not a common building practice to attach the frame of a house to the actual foundation until after WWII. This means that an earthquake or even the winds from a tornado could literally move the house and unfortunately the electric wiring, plumbing and gas lines that are not meant to move. My personal opinion is that the quality of building materials started to fall …

For many of us, being able to move to our retreat/homestead/bug out location (BOL) full time is an elusive endeavor but for some the homesteading life dream does become reality. Our permanent move to our BOL was planned for post-retirement but those plans were moved up due to a medical condition. This article will recount the good, the bad and the uncategorized of our journey to find, improve, maintain and move into our BOL. Finding a BOL wasn’t easy. At first, I was looking around the Allegheny National Forest, in Northwestern Pennsylvania. (see “Picking a BOL” by Pete Thorsen, posted …

(Continued from Part 2.) Introductory Disclaimer (Repeated): Making black powder, while safe in the author’s experimental experience, can be dangerous. The author and SurvivalBlog.com do not endorse making black powder, and you do so at your own risk. Making black powder could also be in violation of the laws in your jurisdiction. You are responsible for compliance with all laws in your area. Neither the author, nor SurvivalBlog.com, are responsible for your use of the information in this article. The processes described herein are therefore for informational purposes only. Safety Note (Repeated): Black powder can be dangerous if there is …

(Continued from Part 1.) Introductory Disclaimer (Repeated): Making black powder, while safe in the author’s experimental experience, can be dangerous. The author and SurvivalBlog.com do not endorse making black powder, and you do so at your own risk. Making black powder could also be in violation of the laws in your jurisdiction. You are responsible for compliance with all laws in your area. Neither the author, nor SurvivalBlog.com, are responsible for your use of the information in this article. The processes described herein are therefore for informational purposes only. Safety Note (Repeated): Black powder can be dangerous if there is …

Introductory Disclaimer: Making black powder, while safe in the author’s experimental experience, can be dangerous. The author and SurvivalBlog.com do not endorse making black powder, and you do so at your own risk. Making black powder could also be in violation of the laws in your jurisdiction. You are responsible for compliance with all laws in your area. Neither the author, nor SurvivalBlog.com, are responsible for your use of the information in this article. The processes described herein are therefore for informational purposes only. Safety Note: Black powder can be dangerous if there is a gap between the powder and …

Premised on the advantage of the’ element of surprise’, the bold and hastily conceived juggernaut, the subsequent hasty plan of piss poor preparation, lead to the piss poor execution of an operation of huge proportions, in that made Operation Market Garden, impressive in all regards. Although I’m certainly not a military historian, one can easily take that perspective, and learn something. The 1977 movie, A Bridge Too Far  [which was recently made available via Amazon Prime] is actually a great big fat 3-hour-long After Action Report, Hollywood style.  The fine and honest You Tube channel, History Buff provides criticism, insights …