Editors’ Prepping Progress

138 Comments

1. Wrapped up a long two weeks of work without much in the way of breaks. I am happy for a weekend with some free time. I have some chores to catch up on around the house and some vehicle maintenance, but plan to take Sunday completely off from any sort of work. The Sabbath was a commandment for a reason, and it’s fallen by the wayside in my family. We’ll be changing that.

   My wife has been extremely ill. I feel terrible as I have been working long hours and did not realize how bad things had gotten until yesterday. My daughters have been taking care of her. If there is no improvement this morning then I am dragging her to the doctor’s office. Everything is on hold until that is worked out. She absolutely does not want to go. If y’all can pray for her I sure would appreciate it.

   This week has not seen much prepping progress due to long hours at work. I need a scope for a 1970s Ruger M77 Hawkeye I bought last month, so I researched best buys under $200. We also starting the shift over to gluten free food storage purchases. We are stocking up in quantity now that three of my kids are home, with a fourth more than likely on the way here in two weeks unless he can land a job.

   So not much progress to report. Sometimes it’s ok especially when you need a break.

   1. Praying for your wife! I am another who is extremely reluctant to go to doctors, so I get it.

   2. I’m praying!

      1. Joining the prayer circle.

   3. Chris, I will be praying for your wife, as well.

      1. She is doing so much better! Thank you!!!

         1. Thank you, Jesus! We have been lifting her up in prayer at all times of the day and night. Tears of joy and thankfulness that our Heavenly Father is healing her.

            Thank you, Chris, for giving the much awaited update with good news.
            Blessings galore to your family, Krissy

         2. PTL Chris! Thanks for the update.

         3. Chris in Arkansas…so good to see your wife is improved but will STILL be holding her up before the Father.

2. Did not get as much done this week as I wanted as my allergies went into full reaction mode when the leaf mold blanketed the property. I woke up Wednesday with swollen itchy eyes, draining nose and cough. I doubled my allergy meds which at least got me up but some of the OTC meds make me sleepy so it has been a fight. Just getting the chores done seems like an accomplishment.

   Finished preparing and PC-ing asparagus and mushrooms I got the end of last week. Pickled some sliced and diced jalapenos for every day use. Also dried fresh ginger and celery and ground them.

   My on-demand water heater had a 3-way valve go bad but since it was under warranty, called the company that installed it to come and replace the valve. Now, I need to find and extra valve to keep on hand.

   Put in a pickup order at a WM (an hour away), confirmation said they had everything; but when I arrived for pickup the next day, only 30% of items were available in stock. Signs of the times?

   I try to bring new blood in to all the small livestock every two years. This spring I ordered Rhode Island Red chicks which are now laying beautiful extra large brown eggs. This week I made a trip to get some new female rabbits to freshen up the blood lines; got a pregnant doe and 3 youngsters. Still looking to find my favorite Giant Flemish rabbits from a source which is within a decent driving distance. Will do the other animals next year.

   Made up about 35 large (tea bag size) silica gel packets which I use in storage containers to control moisture. I use silica cat litter to make these. I recycle the tiny silica bags from pill bottles by putting in the microwave for a few seconds and then put in large-size spice bottles. Keeps moisture under control.

   Cleared out old spices and reorganized one of the spice cabinets; one more to go. Being organized leaves a lot of empty space that being disorganized uses up!

   Mike Adams, Health Ranger, published an article on Natural News Wednesday of this week which kind of blew my socks off, https://www.brighteon.com/2c858fe9-2bd6-4d0a-852d-cda51f21727a .The article linked to videos on https://oblivionagenda.com/ . Still trying to process the information he provided and see if and how it may fit with my Christian beliefs and world view.

   May your week be safe and productive. God Bless America!

3. So a guy at work asked me desperately to help him find 380 ammo Thursday. He’s got a little Ruger pocket rocket. I says “sure there’s about 4-5 places online that still have it”. He says “I can’t find it”.
   I found the cheapest .380 range ammo for .78 rd which high and the federal hollowpoints he liked for $3.75rd.
   Yup $3.75 a bullet.
   He was stunned. I told him “I’ve preached to you before Buy It Cheap Stack It Deep”. He says “yeah you did but I didn’t think it would get this bad.” I said “yeah I know I’m the crazy guy everyone whispers about but y’all ain’t whispering no more”.
   I told him “well no warning shots” then later I said “if you think this is bad wait till the food crisis”.
   I’ll bet he won’t listen.

   1. last month i was able to buy 1k rounds of cheap brass 223 ball for .$60/round. it normally goes in the upper twenties/round. i only bought it for my cousin.

      i ordered some 32 rd toolman tactical ar-mags from rw arms. i don’t think they are equal to pmags or hex mags, but i keep selling these to friends and family to better equip themselves. I don’t want to touch many more of my “good stuff”.

   2. Timely comment. I got a haircut on Wednesday from my long time barber. She informed me that her husband just bought for her a new .380 but they can’t find ammunition anywhere. I guess I’ll cut into my supply and give her a box. Maybe I’ll include a couple cans of tuna?

      I’m visiting Arizona right now and the sheves are bare.

      1. Freedom Munitions still has some 380
         .78 for ball and $1.35 for HP.

   3. Hi Matt,

      Keep it up. Let them know. They will likely ignore the warnings, but then you know you did the right thing and told them. You can rest assured you tried.

      Matthew 25, 1-12, The Ten Virgins. Although it primarily regards Jesus recognizing believers it also speaks to me that even telling everyone in advance of what is coming, all can not be saved.

      God Bless you for your efforts.

      1. Well I know I’m one of many. The more we can get there the better it’ll be. Ammo is a luxury but food sure ain’t.
         Y’all stay safe

   4. Matt, had a guy on my church safety team who is unable to find any .38 for his revolver, so I and another team member gave him a few boxes. He and I both have a fairly significant stock, and it’s not a primary round for either of us, so we’re able to do this at little personal cost. Hopefully, this will help our friend wake up…but I doubt it.

      1. Yeah Francis Marion I’m kinda at the point I’m not gonna give anything. It’s becoming a fine line between friendly charity and “have and have nots” where I’m going to take care of family/team only.
         Them hard decisions we discuss all the time are upon us.

         1. I completely understand, Matt, and in most cases, I agree. I see this specific situation as a force multiplier and hopefully a team/community building exercise. Granted, there’s a risk, but the platform in question is kind of the back up to the back up to the back up. So it’s an acceptable risk. This time at least.

4. Jim, love the “a man has to have priorities “.
   Grandpa always went Elk hunting every year. Almost always he was successful. Grandma canned a lot of the elk meat. I remember eating it at supper with homemade cracked wheat bread washed down with tasty raw milk…..
   Ah the good old days….

5. Hey JWR, glad to see you have your priorities straight! 🙂

   Winter’s definitely on its way. I generally try to tough it out and wait until November 1st to fire up the wood stove but may not make it this year…

   Last weeks’ auction was excellent, I’m sure I gave 3AD Scout a run for his money. lol. Here’s the short version: For a grand total of $4.50, I got a newish box fan like the one I paid $20 at Walmart in July, 2 large mirrors and several smaller ones for my solar project, 4 plastic totes with lids (perfect for organizing all my plumbing parts), four 1-gallon pickle jars w/lids, a super-duper walnut cracker (I have 20+ black walnut trees) brand-new, still in the box with the $35.00 receipt from the farm store, a nick-knack shelf I’ll take apart for the 1 x 8 lumber, a bunch of candles, a set of World Book encyclopedias including the Childcraft set (sending it to some of my home-schooled grandkids), 2 cabinets which I disassembled for the lumber, two floor lamps which I stripped for the electrical parts and large piece of lead in the base, a bunch of educational CD’s on math, English, reading, etc for my home schoolers, some children’s books, a 20-gallon water heater which I’ll strip down so I just have the heavy-duty steel tank for a solar project, a box of video tapes (which someone here on SB recommended to improve the deer fence,) a wind-up wall clock, and a 4-quart Presto pressure cooker. That was a well-spent $4.50. There were also a lot of smaller items I didn’t mention. I bought an entire table worth of stuff for a dollar, and as soon as the auctioneer said “Sold!” a guy asked if I wanted to sell the 15 or 20 old 45 rpm records which he gave me a dollar for, so I got my dollar back meaning everything else was free. It turns out the encyclopedia set included a nice book shelf which was not on display. That alone had $30 worth of 1 x 12 lumber which I can make some beehives out of. I’m sure a lot of people were wondering why the heck I was buying some of this stuff but I always look at the alternate creative uses and make out like a bandit. There were two of the oldest twin bed frames you ever saw in your life that I wanted for the steel side rails to make a bomb-proof bean trellis with, but a poor-looking family with two boys was bidding on them so I didn’t bid and they got both sets for $2.50. I’ll get mine at the next auction. Everything barely fit into my SUV and was so cheap I kept my eye glued to the rear view mirror all the way home, expecting to be pulled over by the sheriff and hauled off to jail for stealing.

   When I got the pressure cooker home I cleaned it all up with some steel wool and it shone almost like a new one. After cleaning, I took it on a test run with a quart of water. The rational, logical part of my brain was telling me according to all the laws of physics, everything was fine: the hole under the weight was clear and the gasket was still flexible. When the button popped up but the weight was taking forever to start rocking, the primitive portion of brain took over and was screaming, “She’s gonna blow!” With my head poking up from behind the recliner in the living room, peering through binoculars, I waited for the weight to start rocking. It finally did without obliterating the kitchen or the cat. Now I’ve got a 4- and a 6-quart pressure cooker, and an All American pressure canner, so I’m looking pretty good. I ordered backup gaskets for the two Presto cookers.

   With the election just around the corner I took all my propane tanks to the Big City and got them filled and/or topped off.

   I processed and packaged a bunch more seeds and only have a few left to harvest and package. It’ll be nip and tuck to see if the lemon basil produces seeds before the big frost. I may transplant a few plants into the house for the last little push.

   The election is only 10 days away and I can’t recall ever being in a situation where there was so much certainty that an incredible amount of chaos was going to erupt. Well, not counting when the Cubs won the World Series. I can’t even imagine what things will be like two weeks from today but I won’t be surprised if the changes will make all the radical changes between January 1st and November 1st look like a walk in the park. The possibilities are endless and normalcy bias is a real killer.

   I tried Roadkill’s suggestion increasing the pressure-cooker time to soften up some beans which were so old they looked like they could have come from an archaeological dig somewhere. I doubled the time and they did indeed soften as he said they would. The texture wasn’t ideal but they still made a good batch of chili. Thanks Roadkill! That gives me about 200 more pounds of beans in the larder instead of the compost pile and fewer flatulating squirrels.

   Everyone have a great week, this could be our last full week of The New Normal before we hit the Really New Normal and a major turning point in America!

   1. St Funogas-

      $4.50!! Wow I’m impressed. I think many people are one dimensional thinkers and can’t extrapolate other uses for items. I was at an auction once and they had a grill that was well used and probably never cleaned. The Auctioneer broke rule number one and talked it down asked if anyone would give a dollar and I jumped and he said sold. He then said make sure you don’t go to his house for a barbecue and the crowd laughed. And then I went up and said yeah but all I wanted was the propane tank and oh it’s full- auctioneer said I guess he showed us.

      Great minds think alike that is my chore this weekend – top off all propane tanks. Already did gas cans.

      1. A neighbor was moving and giving away all of these truly ugly tall old bookcases. I got one from them and realized too late that the back was a solid sheet of good plywood and the sides, and shelves were decent lumber as well! Sadly, someone else had copped to this fact before I did.

         1. Hey Ani, I hear you. My worst “Oh nuts!” moment at an auction came when I was trying to buy 2 tiny containers of rooting hormone. The crowd had mostly dispersed, not realizing there was a whole shop full of odds and ends. I ended up getting an entire section of this shop for $5. There were all kinds of cans of paint and other stuff I didn’t want, but the shelves everything was on was pure gold, as well as a lot of high-quality brand-new paint brushes still in wrappers. Plus I got the two rooting hormones for a fraction of what they would have cost new. It wasn’t until I got home and was looking at the receipt that I realized that all the benches were included in the sale. Arrgghhh! They were made from 2 x 6’s and not only could I have salvaged a lot of lumber, but some of the benches would have fit in my own shop to use as benches.

      2. Hey Scout, I’ve arrived at the same conclusion and think that most people probably don’t think about all the other possible uses. They also tend to concentrate too much on what’s inside containers instead of the containers themselves, which are expensive and have lots of uses for storage, sorting, organizing, as planters in the garden or back deck, etc.

         That was a great steal getting a propane tank for a buck. 🙂 I bought a totally nasty worn-out barbecue grill for a dollar so I could cut the heavy-duty stainless steel grates into two pieces to repair the grate in the bottom of my wood stove. It won’t last forever but gives me a year to find a better solution.

   2. I’m wondering if I could grind old beans into bean “flour” and use them that way. Has anyone done that? If so, we’d have yet another way to use those tired ‘Ole beans.

      1. I have a bucket of old beans. They’re still edible if you cook them for a bazillion hours, lol. I’m going to soak mine overnight, and then can them up with the pressure cooker. But, you probably could grind them for flour. My grinder has a corn and bean auger but I’ve never used it or bean flour.

      2. Good thinking! Yes. That works just fine. I grind old pintos and add a few spoons full to cooking whole pintos beans. It helps thicken the juices. You can do the same with any bean you are cooking. Also you can add bean flour to regular flour in baking. I grind up any kind of white beans and substitute a tablespoon or so for white flour in any recipe – like in pancakes, bread, muffins. You can add the darker bean flour to any whole wheat recipe. It adds to the food value and protein content. Bean flour can be used to thicken any soup or sauce.

      3. I canned up some 5-10 year old black beans that had been in food grade buckets in a barn for some time with temp fluctuations. I soaked them, then cooked and skimmed, added some seasoning, then canned them up. They were/are the best black beans we’ve ever had.

      4. 1. Cook the beans first.
         A pressure cooker will pay for itself, because of the cost energy savings. SurvivalBlog advertisers sell quality pressure cookers. Besides just cooking, a pressure cooker can sterilize many things including water if needed. … For ordinary cooking, I use the popular brand, electric pressure cooker.
         For a prepper a stove-top Pressure Cooker would be handy if the power grid disappears.

         Once the beans are cooked, they can be well Mashed [labor intensive], or turned into a puree of sorts. [Easier if you use a food processor, or blender if that’s what you have.]
         Place the ‘refried’ bean paste, along with >cheese and your seasonings, all into a flour tortilla; rolling everything up inside the tortilla. The end result should look like a big fat cigar, or a store bought burrito.

         Maybe, heat up the homemade burritos in a Solar Oven from a SurvivalBlog advertiser, to melt the cheese. The kids will like the cheese for sure; the burritos can change ‘Ole beans into Olé! Olé! Olé! beans.

         The burritos would make excellent road trip food for families practicing their bugout routes. For years afterwards the kids will laugh about the long road trip, and the refried bean burritos.

         I have never been able to cook old beans, long enough to change the texture to resemble fresh beans. Making refried beans could be the answer for some people with a large supply of old beans.

   3. St Funogas, Have you ever thought about being an auction middle man? One of those guys with a phone glued to his ear talking to his clients? You could charge a nice fee for attending an auction on other’s behalf; think of it as a charity case for all of us blog members!

      1. Hey Animal House, maybe you have something there. With today’s technology it would be easy to do a video tour in the hour before hand and then take orders from customers. 🙂 I see people doing that for things like classic restored vehicles but there are probably a lot of people interested in a lot of other smaller items as well. Some auctions end up with crowds that appear to be broke and penniless and you can get many things for next to nothing. I saw a grandfather clock go for $35 this year. Yes, thirty five dollars. They never work but a week later I finally learned the basics of cleaning and repairing windup clocks and I haven’t been able to forget that grandfather clock since. Or forgive myself! lol I saw a fairly new washer and dryer set go for $25 because only a few people could fit into the basement to bid on them. It’s amazing what you see sometimes.

         1. I have a neighbor who wants to hire me when I retire to go to farm auction to bid and pick up used farm implements/equipment. I may do but when I retire, I really don’t want another “job”.

   4. St. Funogas, what’s the best way to process your walnuts? Mine are full of tiny worms, any advice? PS glad you didn’t obliterate the kitchen or cat! I still want to go with you and 3AD Scout!!

      1. Throw those walnuts out, K.
         Please.
         Yikes.

         1. Les, should’ve specified, enormous amounts of walnuts dropping this year. What to do before the worms get them.

      2. Hi K, I’ll let you know later after I figure it out! They are a lot of work just to dehull, your hands stay black for then next ten days, and the shells may as well be made out of cast iron, so I’ve never gotten very far. The few that I have done worked best when you crack the shells, then leave them in a box for a few days to dry out a little. As they dry they shrink and pull away from the walls of the shell and are easier to extract. They’re not like English walnuts or pecans which you can often get out in neat halves, black walnuts usually end up in small pieces.

         Perhaps 3AD Scout and I should set up our individual Air BnBnA services: Bed, Breakfast, and Auction. People come, get a good night’s sleep in the country, a great breakfast, and then taught the secrets of the trade while being chauffeured to the auction. 🙂

         1. YESSS!! I’m in!! When can I book??!! Yes, have run them over, worn gloves, set in different places to dry, the whole 9 yards, usually give in and leave for the animals…

   5. Nice job at the auction and having foresight to be able to repurpose items. I must have flatulating squirrels in my house. My wife and granddaughter always day it’s not me.

      1. Hey BWL, sounds like someone needs to scatter a few acorns around the house to make the story more convincing.

         1. LOL!!!

   6. I had to laugh when you talked about waiting nervously for the pressure cooker to come up to pressure and worrying she was about to blow 🙂 We had a pressure canner blow up when I was a kid, BOOM!!! Modern pressure canners won’t do it as they have a built-in blow bolt, but if you bought a vintage used canner, it is still a worry. Just make sure the valve-stem is clean and don’t fill it past the halfway mark and you won’t have a problem.

      1. Hi Anna, thanks for the info. I’m normally a logical, rational person and I understand all the physics involved, but when testing pressure canners I can’t stop the survival instincts of the primitive brain from hijacking the proper function of the more developed portions of the brain. Perhaps that’s because I know from the physics what can happen and how pressure cooker bombs are constructed? lol.

         This one had the smaller rubber blow hole hidden underneath where the two handles come together, which I hadn’t seen before. I was laughing as I thought it must be to make it easier to find when it blows.

         I’ve heard a few people here on SB say they’ve experienced pressure canners blowing, but none have mentioned the gory details so I keep wondering how much damage they do, how badly anyone nearby was injured by flying metal, flash steam, and 250°F water, and whether or not your Fruit of the Looms can be salvaged?

         1. My neighbor had an old pressure canner blow a whole load of jambalaya and cover their ceiling and walls. What a waste.

         2. Hi St. Funogas:

            We had a pressure canner loaded with piccalilli blow on us. One of the jars must have cracked and blocked the steam escape valve. We had idea something was wrong, it had started to tick-tick-tick with steady pressure than stopped, but we had this ancient propane stove that heated unevenly so assumed the problem was with the heat as we’d used that pressure canner for many years. And then it went BOOM!!! The lid punched a hole in the plaster in the ceiling and boiling hot water spurted everywhere out the side. Luckily the only person in the room was shielded by the refrigerator. The outside of the pressure canner split and most of the pressure went out that side (it wasn’t shrapnel … some glass exploded out the top, but most of the broken glass stayed inside the canner). ALL of the jars shattered.

6. On the price of ammo I asked the clerk if he had any 9MM for sale . He stated yes , he had two boxes per person . The caveat was you had to buy the pistol also..

   1. MacHam,

      I am starting to think based on observations that many small gunshop owners are keeping ammo off the shelves and keeping it for their “normal” repeat customers. I was looking for 9mm bullets for re-loading at a local hardware/sporting goods shop and the guy reaches down under the counter and says I can sell you these, I said no no I’m looking for just the bullets for reloading. That got me to thinking about things I’ve seen at other shops. The big box stores don’t care who they sell it to. The small business owner wants to take care of this repeat customers. So paying a little more over the years really pays off in times like today.

      1. Can’t blame the retailer for treating his regular customers better than everyone who comes in. Loyalty paying off.

         1. Usually both ways, but sadly not always.

7. Went to an auction on Saturday and picked up the following:
   Meat saw with extra blade, splitting maul, sledge hammer, forge with hand cranked blower, 3 five gallon gas cans, a drum cradle, 100 gallon fuel tank w/rotary hand pump, a push beam (for horses/oxen), nice pitch fork, medium size hand plane, box with various sizes and lengths of roller chain, a box of large “V” belt pulleys and several roller chain sprockets, a very heavy duty cable with eyes and a very nice shackle, a box of miscellaneous farm tools such as hog ring pliers, castrators, ear taggers, etc, and a box of miscellaneous “junk” (but good junk). When I bid on the box with V belt pulleys and roller chain sprockets the auction also put 3 large Boxes of old leather horse harnesses with them. Much is probably garbage due to the leather being cracked but will try to salvage what I can even if just for the leather. $5 for the v belt pulleys, roller chain sprockets and the 3 large boxes of horse leather.

   Started to tear up the deck boards from our deck that we are replacing with a larger screened in and cover deck, trying to save the wood for a roof on a hog shelter. Stained the grain bin.

   Stopped off at Sam’s Club and got the last 50lb bag of rice. Got a 25 bag of sugar and a 25 pound bag of flour, 2 packs of yeast, 6 pounds of elbow macaroni for long term storage.

   Ordered and received via Amazon twenty four 12.5 oz cans of chicken, 2 used ammo cans and a copy of The Ultimate Prepper Survival Guide.

   Picked up 2 pound of gun powder and even found one box (1K) of primers however they were for large rifle and didn’t need them. Bought 20 small vintage button compasses made in Japan for $1, A roll of clear 6 mil plastic sheeting, 2 packs of silicon canning jar rings, about a pound of wheat berries for sour dough starter. Picked up more chicken food. At the Salvation Army I picked up a Coleman Propane stove that looked new for $6 and a made in Germany (old probably 1950’s or 60’s) hand powered food press for squeezing fresh food. Looked brand New still in box for $4.

   Already seeing that there are “protest” planned for Nov 4. Lots of “chatter”. Has anyone else noticed at their local Walmart’s that lots of shipping containers have been placed in the parking lot or behind the building? Alaska Granny did a video on this and a friend pointed it out to me so I checked and Yep- seeing and hearing about a lot more shortages of “stuff” the common key is people say “it is worst than it was in the Spring when this all started”.

   1. Also, I was shocked when my wife – Ms I hate politics – said that she was concerned in that 2 people – one a democrat and one a Republican both told her that they felt that people are getting ready for the “Purge” (there are several movies). She hated that movie so it shock her up good. She asked if she should go to work on Nov 4. I said she probably could but we will have to play each day by ear. From what I understand our county has sent out 60K ballots by mail so the county said it would be at least Friday before all the mail in ballots are counted. When my wife becomes concerned – I’m really CONCERNED!!!

   2. About-what’s theory on the shipping containers? Going by Sally World later today out here in PA, will have to see if they’re there.

      1. Either essential products in case of more Covid or for more riots is my best guess. I had heard that many big firms like Walmart reply upon (either directly or indirectly) owner/operator truck drivers for deliveries and during spring when Covid cases were peaking for the first time and riots started that many owner operators would not take jobs and it caused another kink In the supply chain. Walmart has an amazing corporate emergency planning department so if they could convince the CEO’s to stock shipping containers full of product at every store I think that we should take note.

      2. WM always gets shipping containers this time of year. They’re usually for layaway…people will probably do more of that this year.

         1. I would normally agree but over forty 40’ containers?

            1. None at either of two WMs I checked in eastern PA. As for truckers, WM uses both O/Os and their own drivers. My cousin drove as a company driver for years. Said it is one of the best trucking jobs: good pay,home when they said you’d be, treated well.

   3. Thanks for the tip on the shipping containers. I’m envious (I know, a sin) of you and St Funogas, I never find much useful at the rates auction I get to.

   4. The reason for shipping containers behind Walmart COULD BE that they do that when they remodel a store. Or they could be stocking up, which is not likely unless it is a government-sponsored program because Walmart considers high inventory to be an unnecessary expense. There have been rumors about Walmarts being used for food distribution in some kind of an emergency but they are only rumors.

      1. Or MAYBE they are stocking up for CHRISTMAS.

         1. I think non-confused Nathan Hail has the answer. I’m a retired truck driver, and every year around this time observed a (sometimes substantial) increase in the number of rented or leased shipping containers in the docking and empty areas behind the big box stores. Those stores do not have room inside for the Christmas stock they order and need for the influx of Christmas shoppers.

   5. Hey Scout, nice haul at the auction. How about sending some of those pulleys my way? 🙂 I’m trying to motorize my Country Living grain mill but don’t have the right pulleys yet.

      I can’t remember that last time I even saw something that said “Made in Japan,” and wracking my brain trying to remember what I have that says “Made in Occupied Japan.”

8. I came through the city on the way back to work. Stopped at an LGS and at the local Cabela’s just to check the ammo supply. (And pick up a couple things) The shelves are still full, and there’s still bulk available. 9mm is still going for about $329/1000. .223/5.56 is up a bit to about 60 cents a round. 308 was already at $1.00/round before the Covid hit, and it’s still sitting there, although for hunting rounds you’re at $1.50 to $2.00/round. And remember, that’s Canadian dollars, not American greenbacks.

   I’m figuring that we haven’t had the run on ammo up here yet! The warehouses were full, and so far stores are doing okay. For us the run will probably start in the spring, when people start to see empty shelves, and the warehouses aren’t getting shipments from South of the border. Or it could start right away – depending on what happens in your election, and how crazy things get.

   Jim; a quick question. What is your favorite antique handgun? I know you’re selling them, and every guy I know up here that sells them has a favorite/keeper that will always be his go to.

   1. In answer to your question: My favorite practical antique handgun is the S&W Top Break Double Action “”First Model”, chambered in .44-40. The same model chambered in .44 S&W Russian would be my second choice. Barrel lengths ranged from 4″ to 6.5″ And if you handload, a Webley Mark I or Mark II converted to .45 ACP is a good choice. (Mild handloads only, however!)

      1. Up here because of our screwy laws the S&W in 44-40 is still a restricted/registered handgun, no matter how old. The 44 Russian isn’t though, as the cartridge is antique. I don’t handload for pistol calibers yet (need to look into this) but I do like the Webley Mark I. (although I do think it is one of the uglier handguns out there) You can get soft lead “target” rounds from Wolf that do work in them without over pressuring them.

         I’ve been looking recently at the Colt 1892 as well, in 41 LC. They seem to be a classic, but definitely need to be a handloader.

   2. Assuming by your name you are physically in Canada.

      I have been watching ammo on line in Canada and you guys appear relatively normal. It is not legally supposed to cross the border to the US so you guys appear somewhat insulated from the action down here to the South. And with COVID restrictions the insulation is greater than normal.

      1. Oh yeah, definitely, physically in Canada. I live in Texas North, or Alberta as many people call it.

         We are still relatively normal, but we haven’t had the civil unrest that you have had down South, and the panic buying. Also, not just anybody can buy guns and ammo – you require a license, so that also restricts the amount of people that can purchase. They don’t restrict you from buying once you have the license, and it’s not that hard to get, but it does mean that not everybody can walk in off the street and buy ammunition. Think of our license like your NICS checks.

         The other thing is that our warehouses were full up here when the craziness started. So the stores are, at present, still being supplied, but once the wholesalers are depleted we’ll be in the same boat as you, cause the manufacturers will try and fill domestic supply before worrying about small market exports – like Canada.

         Although we do have other possibilities for supply, including Europe, and China, most of our ammo still comes from the good ole U.S. of A. Once exported to Canada it can’t go back South. As you stated – it’s illegal. I believe that it’s your ITAR laws that govern this.

9. So I’m in South Texas and it’s still hot. I have a fall garden with lots of tomatoes growing.

   I also have lima beans and black eyed peas. I’ve never grown them before, so we will see how it goes. They have pods all over, but I have to research when they are ready to pick.

   We have been using a MantisX on our pistol for dry fire practice. It’s fun. Of course my hubs is better. I am all over the place. But it’s good to practice. Next is getting the hubs to sight his rifle.

   Our young hens are finally mature enough to lay! We had a dry spell the past couple of months. The old hens were molting. Finally we are getting eggs again. We have 11 hens. We lost a few over the summer. I feel like I need more.

10. Men, please also take care of your own health, don’t think you will be thought of as sissified by consulting a doctor or dentist now, otherwise all those preps will have to be sold again at auction-by your widow..one time cutting firewood without wearing the leather chaps because you were in a hurry and cut thru a femoral artery and bled out over that log, or one impacted molar can cause infection in your brain and death, one shot missed because you had no time to get new glasses and didn’t get that deer which would have fed your family for a month–you see the picture now?

11. Lily, I note you voted by mail in ballot. We also voted by mail in ballot in the Sandpoint area about a week ago. I found a link to check your ballot by state

    https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-track-your-absentee-ballot-by-state

    and went to the Idaho link and pressed to button which took me to the Idaho secretary of state

    https://elections.sos.idaho.gov/ElectionLink/ElectionLink/VoterSearch.aspx

    i entered my necessary information, followed the process and my information came up showing I voted, so all is well, right.

    I then proceeded to enter my wife’s information, we mailed the ballots it the same time, and checked. The indication came up as

    No record found,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

    Now, we both went to the county office to register for absentee voting last spring, got primary ballots and voted, yet my wife shows no record on the Secretary of state site so we are both going to the county office to fix whatever the issue appears to be. The site shows no indication of her even being registered.

    SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT

    I urge all of you to check your mail in votes to verify they have been received and if possible correctly show the vote is correct There has been far to much indication of possible fraud country wide and the last place I would expect it would be in conservative northern Idaho.

    If I cannot verify the vote on my ballot is correct I may annul my mail in ballot and vote in person.

    I will try and update this after going by the county offices.

    1. Thanks for the link. Just checked for my wife’s and my voting status and both show as “Accepted Valid” for November 2020 election.

       Nice to know we can do this. Idaho Panhandle.

12. Here in Canada we have lots of ammo available. A few of the popular hunting calibers are somewhat becoming thin , but even those calibers if you are willing to buy ball you are golden. I’ve fully expected the shortage wave to hit but it hasn’t .Though I imagine similar to 2008, it will probably hit us longer and harder….

    Our preps for the week:
    – This year we installed a propane stove with pilot lights to replace our electric. We had been running it off 100 lbs tank but trucking those around to get filled and replace valves was getting old…so we opted for a larger tank rental. So now we can set it and forget it.

    -we put the final touches on the severance of our 100 acre parcel…creating three lots out of the one. So now we are deciding on what to do… log the lots? sell a lot to pay down mortgage? build on the lot? Having options is nice but tough at the same time trying to make the best decision. Any preppers out there want to move to Ontario buy the 35 acre lot and be our neighbors? 😛

    -Ive been working on putting our raised beds to bed for the winter by mulching them heavily with composted goat manure/hay. Often out there running my shovel and wheel barrow by the light of my headlamp as there just arn’t enough hours in the day any more.

    1. Hey Canuck Prepper! Good to see another one of us has heard the call of Survival Blog. You sound like just the type that I’d like for a neighbor, but I don’t think I’ll ever give up on Alberta.

       I haven’t looked at a propane stove yet, but I’m looking at the Generac backup/standby generator right now. It will run on natural gas or propane, so like you, I’m also looking at getting a propane bullet for backup. Maybe need to look at a stove as well.

       Hope things go well for you, and I hope the weather holds out.

       1. Hey there. I don’t blame you not wanting to leave Alberta! I lived for a year in the Coaldale region– and didn’t care much for the terrain (I missed Ontario Trees) but I admit now I’m casting wistful glances at real estate up in the Edmonton area, though mostly for political reasons.. When are you guys going to hurry up and separate already?

          1. Yeah, I’m out in the Wainwright area, and I miss the trees as well. But, Northern Alberta and Saskatchewan are covered in trees just like Ontario.

             We keep talking about it, but our present premiere keeps resisting. Give us a couple weeks. Once the election in the states is over, it may mean separation/succession for a lot of different areas.

       2. What is a propane bullet?

          1. Sorry bout that. Either Canadian, or oil patch slang. A larger propane tank that sits horizontally on the ground.

    2. What part of Ontario?

       1. along the HWY 11 corridor between Huntsville and North Bay

          1. I was born in Huntsville! My parents still live near there. Wow, small world.

13. Just a little catch-up. Thank you for the prayers. They are still needed. With the reoccurance of the cancer, our entire lives have been thrown upside down. This round of chemo is working, but there is still the tiniest cancer present. It needs to be killed (reminds me of biblical stories where God told the Israelites to go in and take over fully!). I’ve passed test after test and it does look like I’m heading into a bone marrow transplant. I’m still stunned after 15 months of this battle that there was nothing I could have done (that we know of at this point) to prevent this blood cancer. An attack. No cancer in my family in either side…ever. Super healthy, organic eating, chemical avoiding country living person. But God is walking with me through it all and, because of Him and my extreme good health, I have a extremely good statistic for cure. I must admit that of all the disaster senerios that I planned for, this one never even came onto my radar. That said, we were able to keep our heads above water because of our preparedness.

    In light of the fact that I will spend much of November battling with chemo and most of December in the hospital, I have had the courage to move ahead on plans to ensure my family is as fully prepared as possible. I’ve bought several items for Christmas presents that include a wood/charcoal smoker, sausage stuffer, much better dehydrator, smaller mylar bags to make camping meals, aerogarden, wool sweater, lined pants, Pj pants (I’m not up to sewing and the fabric will store), and various additional food stuffs. I feel like the house is stuffed to the gills, but I am sure there are gaps I’ve missed.

    In addition, we’ve bought another bar and chains for the saw, a sled, extra bags of fog food and chewies, a new grate for the fireplace, rugs for outside the doors to try to keep the snow out of the house, extra cans of leather and wood conditioners (dry climate), coffee, more tea and glass storage jars.

    My thought is that I’ll earn a better return on investing in stocking up than in banking that money. It was a bit scary just buying and buying, but it is a good feeling to go into the next couple months stocked.

    I finally did get some reloading powder (don’t ask the cost), but cannot find any 308 primers anywhere. Anyone have ideas of where to look?

    1. PJGT, so sorry to hear of the set back; I pray for your and your family and may God’s love be abundant in your life. Stay positive, laugh and love; it really is good medicine.

       1. Animal house,

          Thank you! prayers welcome!

    2. PJGT, I’m so sorry to hear about the cancer coming back. God is the great healer and I have faith that His love is going to carry you through! Kudos for working hard now to get your family thru the next few months.

       1. Bear,

          Thank you. I think I’ve got them all stocked up for years

    3. PJGT,

       I’m glad you checked in today. We prayed for you during our family Bible Study and prayer time yesterday. We will continue to pray for your complete healing. By His Stripes you are healed!! Please look up Lorraine Day, she might have some advice you haven’t heard of yet.

       Blessings, Peace and Health to you,

       Lily

       1. Thank you, AL. I always add to my prayer list when reading this Saturday blog.

    4. Praying for you PJGT. Trust in the Lord. “Fog food” you must have the same keyboard as me. It never types what I want.

       1. Hahaha I hate that my auto correct does such a good job!!! Thank you for your prayers.

    5. So sorry I missed this!!! I’ve written you down for continued prayer. I also have an incurable blood cancer, but I dodged the bone marrow transplant bullet and am stable now. I’m so sorry. I know of many people who have had successful transplants. I wish you the best and I will be praying for you.

       May the Lord God of Hosts, bless you and your family. Amen.

    6. PJGT, Please know that you are remembered and prayed for often! Krissy

    7. PJGT…time to take care of yourself now as we will lift you up in prayer…

14. I cooked, but not as fast as they ate. I cleaned, but not as fast as they made messes. I did innumerable loads of laundry. The dryer works again; it’s a nice backup in the rain and humidity. I purchased groceries and silver and ammo and seeds for sprouting. Small humans did not get lessons or even baths frequently enough. Husband voted; I will return my ballot to the Supervisor of Elections Office next week. I researched and presented numerous things for discussion and consideration. Alas, discussion seems forever postponed; listening to political podcasts scoring cheap verbal “gotchas” is much more satisfying–but whyever won’t I share in the glee? Also, we don’t need no steenkin’ solar; we have the little generator and ~*~ten ENTIRE GALLONS~*~ of gasoline. I did not sleep. I un-quit again every time I did quit. Daughters have had physicals and are growing strong and healthy. Sons go next week for tetanus shot and polio vaccine. At present moment I have a very clean kitchen floor and one less 8-oz Ball jar; it leaped from my fridge and pulverized itself into smithereens on the tile. That sound is a magnet for bare little toes to come running.

    The bright spot in the week was that a family member, who I have felt was previously unreceptive to any of this, was actually discussing with me about which groceries and items to stock up on prior to the election! She got some items for me and I ordered some items for her. She put up some veggies into her freezer, is going to start sprouting as soon as I get her the seeds, and was considering turning a large cooler into a longer-term “root cellar” of sorts to store potatoes. Not wanting to spook her, I calmly said that sounded like a great and creative idea, and I bet she could find lots of tips online. On the inside, I was jumping up and down and thinking “Wow, you’re starting to sound like a prepper!” I emailed them a link to the three-part series posted here a little while ago about The Secret Salad Garden, so she can get more information about sprouting. I am secretly hoping she and especially her husband may get curious about what else is on this excellent website, and start to look around a little……..

    1. Goodness your life sounds a lot like mine! My little ones drain the energy out of me, and then fill me to overflowing with joy. If you had told me years ago how much work and stress kids are, but that it was totally worth it, I wouldn’t have believed you. May the Lord bless you and keep you in the days to come.

    2. Hey Bear, my daughter who has a bazillion kids ( and home schooled so they’re always home) and I were talking about the same thing, never-ending cleaning and how quickly things get messed up again. I told her that what helped me the most was to picture a very rapid clock that has hundredths of a second on it. The hundredths are spinning so fast you can’t even see the numbers. The tenths, slower, and you can see the seconds and minutes slowing adding up. The clock has a big red reset button the top and whenever you hit it, the clock starts all over again. Before you even have your hand an inch off the reset button, the hundredths and tenths of a second have already started counting. I finally quit stressing when I related cleaning and organizing to the clock: we’re not cleaning it so it can stay that way, we’re merely resetting the clock back to zero and it only stays at zero for a fraction of a second. Before the mopped kitchen floor has even dried, some other part of the freshly-cleaned house is already getting dirty again. I wish I would have thought of that years ago when all my kids were still at home, it’s been a big help and a de-stressor.

15. Due to the loss of our beloved Labrador Retriever our spirits were dampened by grief and our prepping progress was negatively impacted. We did however push thru and were able to make progress with our prepping. Our Spearmint had completely dried on the collapsible “A” frame rack that uses horizontal wooden dowels to hold whatever we are drying.. It’s sufficiently compact that it that it will fit in the garage making it ideal for our rainy season passive drying projects. Additionally we have the Excalibur dehydrator also in use with its racks full of apples. This was a project we both worked on and it turned out to be fun and with the Pampered Chef peeler, corer and slicer it was a breeze. BTW the Pampered Chef was recently found (NIB) in a Thrift Store that supports the local senior center, so it’s a win for everyone. My wife PC some more chicken breast as the local store sale on it continued. We used a jar the chicken that had not sealed for a chicken-noodle casserole dish and it was soooo good.
    We also purchased tins of canned chicken that was on sale. While grocery shopping I noticed that the price of dried beef used in our SOS receipt had not increased in price while everything else seemed to be on the rise. Salted, dried and canned beef….hummm, probably will last a really long time I thought. Not wanting to take unfair advantage I’ve purchase a few jars on each shopping trip until we now have a significant amount stored.
    We received numerous packages this week. So many packages that on one day we had three different delivery vehicles bring parcels. This came about as we thought it would be a good time to stock up on, among other things, cooking oils so they arrive prior to any issues that may arise due to the elections. We received Olive oil, some Crisco oil and Pam spray that we use on smoker and dehydrator trays making it easier for cleaning.
    When the rains came (we live in the temperate rain forest of the Olympic Peninsula) this fall, I started working on projects inside the shop and have already knocked out a bunch. I’m doing knife sheaths today if I’m not needed for something else. Next up is electrical wiring for my Jeep radios and power distribution. I’m installing a breaker panel under the passenger seat to power radios, including a Galaxy SSB CB and a Yaesu VHF/UHF mobile rig. I’m also adding a 750 watt inverter.
    We placed a seed order with High Mowing and they mentioned a new catalog was coming in about a week. They also mentioned the seeds will have new stock numbers.
    Assisted a friends sister sight in her new scoped and rifled shotgun for a deer hunt. The hunt was successful and she dropped a forked horn. She sent a picture and had the biggest smile on her face. Figure she will strongly support the 2nd forever….

    1. I’m so so so sorry for your loss of your furry family member. It sure hurts, we know. Remember the good times…

    2. Red Rover I think you are a potential voter for my candidacy. I’m on the north OP. Sorry to hear of your loss. When our last American lab died, I bawled for two days.

       1. We would have, if we could have….Too far South….

          Best wishes and prayers for your success with the election and during your tenure.

          God Bless!

16. I have ground up old dried beans and added them to dishes such as soups and also added some to my bread. An easy way to incorporate protein. I don’t know if I mentioned it before but I used to have trouble not scorching my apples while cooking them down. I did large batches as we had 5 kids. I found that if I took the rack from my pressure cooker and put it in the bottom of my water bath canner then put in a small amount of water in the bottom I could then cook down the apples without having to constantly watch over them and they wouldn’t scorch. You could also just use your steamer wrack in a smaller container. Normalcy bias is a strange thing. I’ve been telling my friends and family that I expected price increases and it would be a good idea to stock up. ( no surprise to anyone who reads this blog). Anyway in the last week two of the people I warned commented to me, wow! The prices have gone up a lot! I can’t believe how much my groceries cost! I don’t think it’s going to get better.

17. Miss Lily, I am curious as to why you dehydrate instead of freeze drying…is it better?

    1. We don’t have a freeze dryer, preferring to spend our money on other things more important to us.

       Plus we have a bought supply of freeze dried foods, already, put aside.

       1. I was just curious because freeze drying has no equal as far as shelf life I believe. Thank you for responding. God bless!!

          1. Anon- I have a size large stainless steel Harvest Right, with the oil-less pump, meaning, it’s the Mac Daddy. And……I don’t think I would buy it again. For the same money, I could have bought maybe two years of Mountain House food. Instead, I have to cook the food, run the freeze drier, package the food, and then the freeze drier is still on the table in the garage. And at some point it, as good as it is, it will require maintenance. Just as a comparison, I could have bought 4,500 cans of Progresso soup (which I really like), and it would likely be good ten years from now if it’s kept dry and away from temperature swings.

             Tolkein said ‘advice is a dangerous gift’: I say, spend your time and money on a 26 quart All American canner and put up a bunch of cooked beef, chicken and pork. Don’t even make soup, takes too long, and you can’t compete with canned soup prices/packaging.

             Regards-

             scott

18. This week I stripped and re-seasoned my castiron, took 3 days to do them all. I used my sons electric stove’s self-cleaning oven, I felt like I was cheating, but it really works well. I am going to research the wattage used and possibly find an electric stove to use with a generator to be used to clean junker castiron that I find at yardsales. Prayers to all for health and peace in this stressful time.

    1. I look for old “junky” looking cast iron at garage sales etc. The worse looking the cheaper the price. I use a self cleaning gas oven to get the crud off and then deal with any rust issues and then reseason.

    2. An electrolysis tank works really well for stripping really crusted or rusted cast iron is an electrolysis tank. All it takes is a plastic tub, a piece of scrap steel, a battery charger, and a box of washing soda. It doesn’t use much electricity, it’s safe, and you can reuse it for a LOT of pans.

19. This is the time of year Walmart gets containers for the Christmas season as well as “Black Friday” merchandise. I worked for them in Loss Prevention for 10 years. This is common practice.

20. This week, I vacuum-sealed the rice and beans that I’ve been stocking up on over the past month. I threw 1/4 cup of diatomaceous earth into them as it’s an extra level of protection against any residual bug eggs if a seal breaks and the oxygen absorber goes bad. Found a fellow prepper at Home Depot, also stocking up on buckets. As we live in a far-left state, of course we were both vague-paranoid about exchanging any information … pity…

    There are still lingering shortages of long-term storage food at all of the stores. The shelves LOOK full, but most of the stores limit you to 4 cans per visit per vegetable and there are NO boxes of cans behind the front-facing cans (i.e., they’re arranging it to make it look like they have more than they really do). My friend who works in retailer confirmed this is what is happening, a bit every week, but never as much as the manager orders. But if you go to the restaurant supply store and have a large enough family to eat a #10 can before it goes bad, you can buy what you want. Been repacking condiments into mason jars and using a brake bleeder to suck out the air for short-term storage (MUST refrigerate) those gallon jugs of ketchup and hoisin sauce to extend the in-refrigerator shelf life. Haven’t been able to pressure can any more meat as the price is beginning to skyrocket again.

    Am continuing my research on historical communist uprisings so we can spot AntiFa / leftist malfeasance if it comes to town. The correlations between the various uprisings, and what is happening in the USA, is terrifying.

    1. Hi Anna, we’re seeing food shortages here too on things that have always been in stock in the past. We made three trips to Aldi in a two-week period before they finally had the 40 oz jars of peanut butter in stock so I bought three cases, half their stock. They sell it for $2.12 compared to Walmart selling the same-sized jar for $3.79 so it was good to see them in stock again. I’ll probably regret later that I didn’t buy all six cases. 🙂

       Big Lots has the best spice prices around but the shelves have been very scantily stocked for the past month and some missing entirely. I stocked up two 5-gallon buckets of spices still in their containers three or four months ago thinking that old out-of-date spices are better than none if the SHTF. If supply chains are still up and running a year from now, I can always upgrade the spices. I’d hate to even contemplate a life without curry, cumin and cinnamon.

       1. Hi St. Funogas. I accidentally shoved some spices to the back of a high shelf back before 2011 and didn’t discover the stash until I climbed up to dust and found quite a little stash. Since I’m rather cheap, we used them up. Found some parsley, italian seasoning, cumin, and tarragon. While the flavor wasn’t as strong as it usually is, and the color had definitely faded, it all went into sauce or refried beans and we’re all still alive. The only one that didn’t age well was lemon-pepper seasoning. It solidified into a weird-tasting sludge, so I tossed that one. So while I wouldn’t RECOMMEND keeping spices as a prep long past the due date, I -do- keep a well-labeled rotating supply and don’t worry too much if it goes a year past the due date — I just finagle how much of that spice I stock up on the future. I have my “doomsday stash” and my “rotation stash.”

          And then, of course, there’s the pepper and the chocolate. My husband doesn’t understand my obsession with stockpiling pepper and chocolate. I keep telling him to read “Lucifer’s Hammer.” 🙂

21. Walmart always has conex containers during thid time of year for holliday merchandise.

22. First, thank you for all the wonderful tidbits here; haven’t really spent time in this section of SB and it seems a good use of my time to do so. Here’s what I’ve been doing lately, since around late August:

    Self-development: I’m enrolled full-time (at age 56!) in a highly-rated graduate degree program, and so have been doing schoolwork in-between other stuff. As I am in ‘pre-tirement’ mode (don’t need a full-time job) the grad school nicely fills in the blank spaces in my day.

    Bible: I pray a lot, but am not able to attend Sunday services as they are only online lately; seems like COVID is an excuse but I’m not in charge.

    Beans: Put the All-American 26-quart (?) through it’s paces; did 24 quarts of chicken noodles and 12 quarts of lamb chili (wife doesn’t eat pork or beef). Ran maybe 20 loads of stuff through the Harvest Right freeze drier: turkey ham slices, salmon and tilapia (uncooked), lots of cooked ground turkey, lots of shredded cooked chicken (when I make chicken noodles I do extra chicken at the same time). I use fat egg noodles, they are my favorite. Also did about $1,000 in deep-larder purchases: honey, peanut butter, #10 cans of tomatoes, canned fish, etc….

    Vehicles: finally got my Expedition into the shop for the wiper-arm linkage (broken) and air box (hot/cold). For the last two years I’ve been manually moving the blend door (cut a hole behind the glove box) but it was never right, never fully hot nor cold. Picking it up Monday I hope. Got new front tires on Uncle Buck (95 Cadillac DeVille) and all new copper brake lines (very expensive but oh well) and two new rotors. I don’t have car payments, I have a good mechanic!

    Cleaned out my storage containers (2 x 20′ shipping containers) and made room to put away my 650 Kawasaki for the season. I like when I close and lock those big doors. Put four each dry buckets (moisture control) in each container.

    Bought a couple cheap red dot sights, need to get them on and sited in.

    Voted! Was at the courthouse for a vehicle title two weeks ago and the sign in the auditors office said ‘come vote’ so I did. Two birds with one stone, nice.

    Waiting on my wife’s immigration visa; she is stuck in her country due to being locked down: more COVID. Visa went quick (four months) as DoS isn’t doing in-person interviews until the last requirement. We’ve been together five years (four of them overseas). She’ll be in the US with me as soon as her country opens up. I was going to winter over there (tropical climate) but can’t get in, either. Sucks to be me.

    God bless-

    scott

    1. Oh, man, that does suck being separated like that. So sorry. Will keep praying until she gets here. Please let us know the good news when she comes. May the Lord give you both strength during these trials, Krissy

       1. Thank you Krissy.

          Scott

23. Oldest son and family are in Denver, waiting to find out if their Grand Lake County home is still standing or in ashes. They may not know for days. They are under contract to sell their Denver home. Hoping they have a home to go to. Prayers for them, please. Had eye work done last week. Getting old is not for sissies, lol. Have most of the garden produce picked and dug. Continuing to stock essentials. Going to make a trip to Jungle Jim’s for a bag of brown rice this week. Anyone from the southeast part of Ohio will know where that wonderful store is. God is good!

    1. Let us know

    2. We LOVE JJ!!

    3. Jingle Jom’s! My favorite store!

24. Meant southwest Ohio on my post

    1. You had my hopes going there for a moment. I’m in SE Ohio and I was racking my brain trying to think where Jungle Jim’s was. Never been to the one you’re referring to but I hear it’s quite the place.

       1. Stu. Sorry. Been a long day. Attended the funeral of a girl the age of my oldest daughter and wasn’t watching what I typed. Sad day. There is a newer Jungle Jim’s International Market east of Cincinnati. I haven’t been to that one. The one in Fairfield/Hamilton area is huge. If one is visiting Dayton or Cincinnati area Jungle Jim’s is a must to see. Be prepared to spend at least two hours there, especially if you are a foodie and love cooking. So much to see.

          1. Not a problem at all. Sorry for your loss.

25. AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS…

    Dear Survivalblog family:

    It’s always interesting to read the weekly progress reports concerning preparations for the winter season — plus preparations for the possible chaos that could follow the U.S. elections. I too am busy with the usual autumn activities, as well as preparing for eye surgery on Nov. 3 (election day). However, in addition to natural preparations, I’ve been stirred to spiritually prepare and intercede for the events of the next two weeks.

    A few minutes ago, I watched a powerful and timely message from Sadhu Sundar — a Christian missionary from India. In the following video, Brother Sadhu shares a vision he had on Yom Kippur concerning America and President Trump.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZhtFKYdYo

    After watching this, I think many of you will be deeply stirred (as I was) to fast and fervently intercede for our President and for the upcoming election. Thank you for praying !!!

    Blessings to each of you!
    Cliff (in Oregon)

    Ephesians 6:12, KJV: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

    1. CDM, I had never heard of this missionary before. Thank you so much for sharing this video. Oddly enough, one of my prayers for a very long time has been asking the Lord to delay.

       Okay, Election Day Eye Surgery! Gotcha down for prayers. I had Lasik in both eyes back in ’99. Best thing I ever did, even with an infection in one eye that needed antibiotic drops for three months. Whatever your case may be, we at Sblog will be praying you through it, and asking our Father for the best outcome!

       Blessings to you and all you want to accomplish before eye surgery, Krissy

       1. Thank you so much, Krissy! I’m so glad you enjoyed the video, and it is a great comfort to know that you and other believers will be praying for the election.

          Thank you too for praying for my upcoming surgery. Just to provide a little background… nearly three years ago, I had a torn retina which resulted in blood filling up the vitreous fluid in the back of my left eye. I had a couple of different retinal laser operations but the bleeding still continued, making it difficult to see anything in that eye. Finally, about two years ago, my Retina Specialist decided to do vitrectomy surgery to remove the bloody vitreous humor fluid in the back of the eye — once the blood was removed, he was able to see the real source of the problem and do a third laser op to repair the retina. This time it stopped the bleeding — PTL!

          However, any time a vitrectomy is done, it accelerates cataract formation, so I will be having cataract surgery to replace my left (natural) lens. This should be fairly routine, but my ophthalmologist said the operation is a bit more difficult once a vitrectomy has been performed.

          In any case, I’m so thankful for the prayers of friends and our SB family — I know they make a big difference. Thank you again, Krissy, and many blessings to you and your family!

          Cliff (in Oregon)

          1. CDM, What an ordeal! It amazes me the varied trials the Lord puts us through to make us more like Him. I can only imagine through multiple eye surgeries and vision loss, that you are closer to Him than before this all happened.

             Am praying for great success with your surgery.
             Much peace to you, Krissy

26. Lily, I feel for you and the mess with the rug! Glad you were able to get it all cleaned up and smelling good.

    I am amazed and inspired by what so many of you get done in a week! Once again, thank you for sharing. So glad I am plugging into SB more regularly again.

    —

    Here’s a summary of the progress and happenings in our home this past week – and I actually got it in on Saturday! 🙂

    I have a fish tank. There have been many times when I wish I hadn’t set it up. I have learned there is no such thing as a budget fish tank. Family enjoyment (ok, I am getting joy out of it) keep me going. I have tried a couple of new things lately – namely, adding mystery snails and also a male bushy nose Plecostomus as a companion for the female. Well, the Plecos spawned, and we have baby albino Plecostomus in all corners of the tank. It is fun to look in the morning and count how many we can see. The other fish are enjoying them too. Hopefully a few will survive so we can watch them grow.

    I’ve been having difficulty getting a glass cover for my fish tank and was once again at Petco. This visit I was told that the Petco warehouses in the Lower 48 are “out of THOUSANDS” (emphasis the Petco employee’s) of products. The glass cover is -finally- in stock, and I ordered it for curbside pick up today.

    An order for 2100 pounds of produce arrived and was distributed to customers this week. So far, the organic produce supply chain appears to continue to move along with pre-Covid smoothness.

    I ordered more household staples like laundry and people soaps, toothpaste, herbs, spices, cat food and litter, etc. to add to our stockpile. This supplier has heavy out of stock rates and shipping has been slow. Hopefully I’ll receive a good part of the order.

    My indoor gardening supplies have arrived, but I have to wait to get started as a door will be replaced in our home sometime next week, and it is going to get cold in here while the space is wide open!

    Dear Husband has spent the week banging his head against the wall of bureaucracy but is now registered for the examination required for professional licensure in Idaho. Another step forward taken.

    Husband and I continue to stretch together before tucking in for the night. [Link to a “faith-based’ Yoga site deleted by the Editors. We do not promote yoga in SurvivalBlog.

    We continue to faithfully take quiet times out with the Lord and plan to have a budget meeting tomorrow. I have been slowly working on Cultivate What Matters’ PowerSheets goal planner. I am still working on the prep work in the 2020 workbook. (Please don’t judge! Ha ha. I am making progress, and it can be used at any time.) It is a tool for living a more intentional life. The prep work has led me down a fabulous path of introspection. I’ll finish prepping this week and am on my way for November goals. I am going to include preparedness in this project. [A link to a non-Christian “spirituality” site deleted by the Editors.]

    We watched the HBO miniseries “Chernobyl” this week. Have you seen it? The level of Soviet corruption and how close a continent and perhaps the globe came to unthinkable disaster is eye-opening. Communism at its finest.

    The daylight hours continue to shorten dramatically; currently we’re getting about 9 hours per day. We have some single digit low temps and snow to look forward to next week. It’s almost time to break out my sleeping hat and gloves.

    1. James and Lily, I apologize for the links. Thank you for giving each post its due diligence, including mine. 🙂

       1. Hey Mosh,

          Thank You for understanding. We wish to promote scripture only, not extra biblical activities that water down the gospel and have other agendas. Trust me, they do have other agendas. The very links are part of the watering down of the “Church” and the great deception that is now occurring. Please do check out those websites that I listed last week. Then please cast off everything that is not of the Lord, Jesus. He wants a pure non-compromised bride.

          Blessings,

          Lily

27. Didn’t know where else to put this, but this needs to be spread far and wide. Please, especially those who have young children, read this, then read it again. Thank you!

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/that-mask-is-giving-you-lung-cancer/

28. Grand Lake County Sheriff’s Department told my son and DIL their house is fine. Others not so lucky. A Denver friend of theirs lost his cabin, it once belonged to his deceased mother and was a true family heirloom. Waiting for snow tomorrow to end the nightmare for so many in Colorado. Continued prayers appreciated.

29. PrepSchoolDaily did a article on speeding up cooking and salvaging old dried beans earlier this week:

    https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2020/10/cooking-dry-beans-faster-and-other-tips.html

30. Two frosts this week and a forecast for temp tonight to hit the 20’s. We harvested a heaping wheelbarrow of zuchinni and pumpkins and wheeled into the garage. Oops, just as I was typing this I remarked to my wife that I forgot one other squash patch. ….OK that one taken care of.

    Got 9 five gallon containers filled with premium gas today. Next step is treat with PRI-G preservative and fill 15 gallon containers to the brim and bung tightly.

    Patiently working on election through the weeks.

    Ordering odds and ends…. gamma lids, good Sox and undies, getting ready for excitement 10 days away and a grim 2021 ahead.

    1. Wheatley Fisher, You are the go-to guy for info on where to buy things at the best price. With that said,

       Where do you buy the PRI-G at the best price?

       Blessings to you and yours, Krissy

31. Another crazy work week which inhibited prepping around our farm. I am definitely looking forward to a three-day weekend this coming week, as I don’t have to work the weekend and promised my Lady I’d use “comp time” to take Friday off, since I haven’t had a full day off in nearly three weeks, I was afraid I would have to be traveling on Election Day, but fortunately that got canceled. I would have had to spend that night in a metropolitan area, which would have been suboptimal.

    As things stand now, I’ll be voting that morning, then heading into work. I do intend to recommend to my boss that we be prepared to shift to telework for safety reasons in the event things get spicy. In addition to the Presidential race, we have a fairly contentious Senate race down here in the Palmetto State, with a lot of outside money being poured in to defeat Lindsey Graham. I can’t imagine why. Although we’re in a rural area, we’re only about a half hour from a city. During dinner last night with some friends, one of whom is a Sheriff’s Deputy, we discussed upcoming events, and he agreed that things are likely to get ugly in the city. They are also prepping for chaos through the rest of the year.

    My Lady did keep herself busy, reorganizing our closet for better storage, and our pantry as well. She also noted a shortage of some items in the stores as we continued to stock up. We were able to order a turkey from our local butcher for Thanksgiving as we’re hosting our family this year, and hope to use the opportunity to discuss my parents moving from their city home a couple hours away to a spot near us.

    I also finally received some body armor I’d ordered from AR-500 a couple of months ago. It fits fairly well, and is lighter and rides better than some I’ve used in the past. Although they had a long lead time on filling the order, they were up front about that, and they kept in communication with me until it arrived, so I was very impressed with their customer service. Most importantly, I received word that my quarterly shipment of Black Rifle Coffee was on the way. I shudder to think what would happen should I run short on that, As JWR said, a man’s got to have his priorities.

    Finally, we had a loss on the farm this week. One of our hens, who had been a bit lethargic a couple of months ago, died on us this week. There was no sign of trauma, and based on my Lady’s research, it appears she died of heart problems. She was a layer, but not a brood hen, so it wasn’t a major loss. Such is life on the farm.

    Keep prepping and stay safe, folks. Times running short.

    1. Francis Marion, Could you give us a general idea of your area? There may be others, like me, who want to stock up on Black Rifle Coffee so you will definitely want to barter with us! Bahahahahaha… just joking. smile.

       1. Miss Krissy, I’m a proud citizen of the Palmetto State…and my delivery came in yesterday, so there is peace in the realm, for now. I’m willing to barter for any 5.56 or .40…although depriving someone of coffee while providing them with ammo may not be such a good idea…:-)

          I usually order a 5 lb. bag of beans every 3-4 months, for around $75.00. We vacuum seal and freeze 1/2 lb. increments, which helps keep it regularly fresh. I thaw a batch as I need it, and grind the beans about every other day, using a French Press for brewing. This way, as long as I can boil water, I can make coffee. And that’s beneficial to everyone around me 🙂

          1. Oh, my gosh. Funny. I am in the Evergreen State and will be staying west of the Rockies, so someone else will get the benefit of bartering with you for your favorite coffee when the time comes. You have got me thinking, though. What would I want in trade? hmm. If it was today, I would say popcorn. I still need tons of popcorn.

             Blessings to you and your family, coffee man. Krissy

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