Letter Re: Banking Questions

Hugh, August proved to be an eye opening experience regarding “Big Brother” and the banking system. We recently sold our home in a large metro area to move to our own redoubt in an adjacent county. During the underwriting process for a mortgage, the banker asked which bank has the money we identified as savings? Our savings was in physical cash, however, the bank underwriters won’t accept this when applying for a mortgage. The mortgage originator instructed us to get the money in our checking account. We proceeded to deposit cash every few days for a month. A couple of …


August in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Cochran of Gainseville Coins where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in August? Every August, most of Europe is off on summer vacation, as are a good number of Wall St traders. With far fewer trades per day, liquidity suffers. Orders that normally would not be big enough to move gold prices have a larger effect when fewer traders are participating. And …


Letter: Banking Questions

Sir: We only use our bank for a checking account to funnel our paychecks through and to pay bills. If banks go to negative interest rates or start confiscating accounts to cover their liabilities, what are we to do? Are we to switch to check cashing services and to money orders to pay bills? I am not seeing this addressed anywhere. HJL Comments: Right now, the negative interest rates mostly affect interbank deposits. However, many have already seen the effects of fees, which make your bank account essentially a negative interest bearing account. If your monthly fee for having an …


The Bride of Christ in An Apocalyptic World- Part 3, by R.B.

What Needs To Be Done? There are numerous books available to assist people who have begun to prepare themselves for the coming catastrophe. Indeed, prepping has become an “industry” in some respects, as many have come to the realization that the government will not be able to step in and solve everyone’s problems in the face of a true national disaster. Just ask the folks in New Orleans who suffered through the comparatively short-term disaster of Hurricane Katrina. At the end of this article, I will provide a brief and rather incomplete bibliography of some of the publications that I …


Letter Re: I’m Not In The Position To Right Now

Hugh, The last section of this article had me in stitches; the writer really knows his stuff. I could picture his ex-wife, the same as many people I know going through what he described. I myself am not as self sufficient as I should be, but I have a good start and understand the sacrifice and learning one must make to get there. Because I do know people who have made snarky remarks about my “life style” and because I do have many people that think because I now live on 14 acres, I can provide for all, I have …


The Bride of Christ in An Apocalyptic World- Part 2, by R.B.

What Would This Mean For Christ’s Bride– The Church? While all of this is frightening and should give us pause respecting the fragility of our civilization, what would such potential events mean for the Bride of Christ– the Church? While Scripture tells us that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church of Christ Jesus, that does not mean that His Bride will not suffer in this world. The genocide we see of Christians and their culture in the Muslim world should prove the point. It should be remembered that we still live in the Church Militant, not …


Letter: Tip for Oxygen Absorbers

Dear HJL, Here is a tip for those who will use oxygen absorbers for storage but will not use the whole lot. So you have your bulk grains and what not in mylar bags and buckets ready to close off. You bought a package of oxygen absorbers and you will not need all of them this time. What’s to be done? Quickly open the package and place the absorbers in zip lock bags, being careful to flush the oxygen out of each when you close it up. Put just what you need for each bucket in each zip lock. (Snack …


The Bride of Christ in An Apocalyptic World- Part 1, by R.B.

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:32-35) Understand the Times If you have been paying attention to current events, especially to economic news and news related to asymmetrical military preparedness (i.e., cyber warfare …


Letter Re: Dehydrator Screens

Greetings. I come across a lot of people who are looking for a solution to drying smaller items in their dehydrator. Over the years I have tried various solutions over the years while prepping and doing backpacking meals. The solution I finally came up with was to go to the hardware store and buy a roll of stainless steel screen door mesh. I cut it to the size of my trays. The mesh lets the air flow and the little pieces stay on the tray. – Crazyman o o o Hugh, I bought some pieces of this stainless steel fabric …


Recipe of the Week: Old World Sauerbraten, by G.M.

Ingredients: 3½ to 4 lbs beef rump or sirloin tip 1 cup water 1 cup vinegar 1 large onion, sliced 1 lemon, sliced (unpeeled) 10 whole cloves 4 bay leaves 6 whole peppercorns 2 Tbsp salt 2 Tbsp sugar 12 gingersnaps, crumbled Directions: Place the meat in a deep ceramic or glass bowl. Combine water, vinegar, onion, lemon, cloves, bay leaves, pepper, salt, and sugar; then pour it over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours, turning the meat several times during marinating. Place beef in a slow-cooking pot. Pour 1 cup of marinade over the meat. …


Letter Re: Dehydrating Tray Solution

Hugh, I’ve noticed a couple of letters from people writing in and asking about the problem of smaller veggies falling through the trays with the tier-style hydrators. I wrestled with the same issue in the beginning and started out by using aluminum foil stretched across the racks. That proved to be impractical for long-term usage because each time you moved the rack in or out of the dryer the edges of the foil would catch on the sides and tear, not to mention the trick of getting them into the dryer without everything falling all over the floor. Additionally the …


My Tomato Process- Part 3, by Sarah Latimer

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Freeze Drying Tomato Sauce I am absolutely thrilled with the results from our Harvest Right Freeze Dryer! I can not only dry fruits, vegetables, meats, and herbs, but I can freeze dry meals. With that accomplished, I began to think about sauces. Sometimes a recipe will call for just a tablespoon of tomato paste. Who wants to open a whole home-canned jar or even a store-bought can of tomato paste just to extract one tablespoon? Then, you have to figure out what to do with the rest before it spoils and (I almost can’t tolerate thinking of it) it has …


Letter Re: Low Tech Cooking

Hugh, One of your readers was asking about low tech cooking methods. He should search for Haybox Cooker. Articles will be found at Mother Earth News, Instructables, and elsewhere. It’s a very old method of first bringing food to a boil, then setting in an insulated box, and using fine hay to surround the cooking vessel. I’ve used blankets and towels, and it works wonderfully for soup, stew, making your own yogurt, and even for beans. Also, a sun oven is invaluable for low tech inexpensive cooking. Yes, you can and we did buy an expensive one, but our son …


Justifying Citizen Possession of Firearms, by S.G. in Florida

Most persons recognize the value of the firearm as a hunting and food gathering tool for the rural American. Often, gun control advocates will latch onto this justification for the Second Amendment when proposing various gun restrictions. The firearm tool can find utilitarian employment by an individual in many situations, and this article seeks to list the possible contemplated individual uses for firearms. Note that I am in no way suggesting that these situations exist now, nor am I advocating the employment of firearms in any of these ways. However, thinking ahead and outside of the box will allow us …


Letter Re: I’m Not In The Position To Right Now

Hi Hugh, My wife and I were discussing the most excellent post by D.D. She asked me did I write this. I told her, “No.” The reason she asked is that we have sat during “rest breaks” and discussed these very same items and scenarios in great detail. We have dropped many hints, some very “blunt”, to the people who may come to “our farm”. We raise cows, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, and have reserved a small herd of goats that we need to pick up. We grow sweet corn, field corn, field peas, butter beans, squash, potatoes, et cetera. …