Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader C.W. forwarded some very scary news: Perhaps just one mutation away from fast transmission human to human transmission? H7N9 Carries Genes from Rare H9N2, H7N3, H4N9, H11N9 Bird Flu Viruses. Here is a quote: “This finding implies that H7N9 viruses have partially acquired human receptor-binding specificity. All of the H7N9 human isolates examined contained a lysine residue at position 627 in the PB2 protein. It is well known that this lysine residue contributes to the replication and transmission of avian influenza viruses in mammalian hosts. It is likely that the acquisition of this lysine in H7N9 viruses during their replication in human hosts has significantly contributed to their virulence and lethality in humans.”

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Just ten years left, Larry! Former Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Larry Langford will be eligible for parole on May 1, 2023. Perhaps Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) should start a “Graybar Hotel Pen Pal Page” for their many members that are in prison, or that were convicted but somehow weaseled their way out of prison terms. Oh, BTW, there is even closer light at the end of the tunnel for former mayor Eddie Perez. He had faced a maximum sentence of 55 years, but was sentenced to just eight years, suspended after three years, with three years in prison, followed by three years of probation.

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F.G. sent: NeighborhoodScout’s Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America. Needless to say, the American Redoubt’s few cities are at the opposite end of their lists.

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For just the month of May, Freeze Dry Guy is offering Freeze Dried Pineapple by the case: six # 10 cans yielding 114 servings, with free shipping in CONUS. The special introductory price is good until May 31st . For more information, visit their web site or phone 866 404-3663

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G.G. flagged this one: Government Uses Color Laser Printer Technology to Track Documents

Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of science fiction novelist Larry Niven. (Born, 1938.) Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer.

April 30th is also the birthday of futurist and computer industry writer Ed Yourdon. (Born, 1944.)

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Today we present another entry for Round 46 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300 and 10 TAPCO polymer magazines (5 AR and 5 AK) courtesy of Armageddon Armory, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 46 ends on May 31st so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Sewing, Mending and Altering Your Clothing After the Ball Drops, by Belle

My husband, children and I live in a largely off-grid community in the desert southwest.  We live on forty acres with solar power, a water well and water catchment.  We garden and live with chickens and are adding skills to our new life style all of the time.  My husband does not like for me to be too specific, but I outlined some of our lifestyle changes in an article on trash in July 2012.
This article is about clothing.  It is about sewing and mending and altering.  I know you’d rather read about AR-15’s, but IMHO, clothing is going to be a big deal in a TEOTWAWKI situation.  Before radically changing our lifestyle two years ago, I was the typical American mother.  I bought new clothing when the old became too small or too worn.  I bought when the seasons changed, and worse, I bought when the fashions changed.  Another thing I steadfastly did was to donate clothing by the tub and box full.  I worked very hard at keeping our closets clean and clutter free.  This is something that every home management book, blog, and article tell American moms to do. 

Whether you shop in charitable thrift stores or big box discount stores or big name fashion stores, the quality available to most Americans is pathetic.  But, while we still have shopping opportunities, look for quality clothing, for yourself and every member of your family.  Buy it whether you need it or not.  And once you own it, where ever you got it, you need to hang on to the quality stuff and learn to repair it.  I advocate charitable giving, but I also advocate the discontinuation of consumerist disposal of the old to make way for the new because of fashion dictates and other materialistic mindsets.
Have you taken an inventory of your closet lately?  Is it 90% professional clothing?  Do you have suits and ties for weekdays?  Is it chinos and button down Oxfords for the weekends?  Or do you have heavy duty work-type seasonal clothing that is suitable for your climate?  Do you have enough to layer in a cold climate with no household heating?  Can you protect yourself from the sun in the heat of the summer?  What about work boots?  Do you have a pair or two mixed in with your dress loafers?  Women, how many of you have heavy denim jeans?  I say this because women’s jeans are usually thin stretch denim and it is flimsy.  I know because I repair it!  Ladies, those high heels and flirty flip-flops that we all love are not going to serve you well in most TEOTWAWKI situations.  Neither are the flimsy tank tops that are so popular in summer.  Most of us do not wear them in the desert.  What is in your closet?  If you can’t imagine what you’d need, there are books, like Mr. Rawles’, that have fictionalized accounts of what a TEOTWAWKI scenario would be like.  Look around for people who work outdoors or farm; go into GEBO’s or whatever your farm supply store is.

I’d like to add one last thing before I begin my main topic.  I have no idea what I’m preparing for.  We, those of us who have a certain mindset about future possibilities, don’t know what the future holds.  We all have an opinion.  We think it may go this way or that way, but really, we don’t know.  Our job is to prepare, as best we can, for many different scenarios.  There are plenty of scenarios where we will all be blessed to just get out alive, never mind our extended wardrobe. There are others, like a long slow economic decline, where we simply have to roll up our shirtsleeves and do more with less.  There are plenty of TEOTWAWKI scenarios in the middle of those two.  If you are preparing, though, you need to prepare to have no new and maybe no new-to-you clothing options in the foreseeable future.

New clothing construction.  This usually begins with a pattern.  There are a few points to think about with patterns.  First, what kind do you want?  Well, IMHO, you want basic patterns for clothing that suits your area.  Pants, shirts, coats, jackets, hats, gloves, vests, the list could go on and on.  You can find a sewing pattern for just about everything, so if you’ve got an interest, look through the books and pick out patterns for additional items like luggage, organizers, tea cozies, etc., whatever suits your interests.  Just make sure you cover the basics first.  Also, if you are young, starting a family, think you may continue to add to your family, you need to consider the different stages of that child’s growth when looking at patterns.  Second, if I were you, after searching out the patterns that I like and want, then I would wait for a pattern sale.  Patterns can cost $10 to $15 these days, but most stores put patterns on sale regularly.  These sales used to be across the board, come in and get it sales.  These days, they have restrictions here and there.  Just educate yourself.  They all eventually go on sale.  Also, you can find many free patterns on the internet.  Granted, most of these are craft patterns, but you can find basic patterns too.

| Quick side note.  While tissue paper patterns have been around for a long time, they haven’t always been available. So what was the process before tissue patterns?  You can use newspaper, butcher paper, freezer paper (smaller items), muslin, or light colored sheets to make a pattern.  It is always easier to have a deconstructed item of clothing for this, but simpler garments can be traced without deconstructing.  You lay the garment pieces out on the fabric you are using and you trace around it.  You need to make sure that you leave enough for a seam allowance, usually 5/8 inch.  A basic understanding of clothing construction is helpful here.  Let me admit right here that the only time I’ve done this was in college.  Several of us in the dorm made matching sleep pants.  Two hours and lots of giggling later, we were done.  We used shoe strings for the waist, so I’m pretty sure that experience doesn’t qualify as “making my own pattern”.  So, I haven’t done this before.  If it interests you, research it.  However, one of my roommates could draw a basic dress on the fabric, cut it out and sew it up.  Many people can do this and they don’t all live in large cities.  Maybe you can find someone with this skill who is like minded enough to join your group.  Wouldn’t that be a great asset? 

Back to store bought patterns.  Patterns come in a range of sizes.  For example, women’s pants can include sizes 8, 10, 12, and 14.  You simply cut the pattern along the line that corresponds to your measurements.  And you need to have accurate measurements.  Sewing patterns do not always correspond to store sizes.  This is mostly a problem with women’s clothing, not men’s.  And, IMHO, you should buy a range of sizes from the smallest through at least extra-large in a range of patterns.  Example: my youngest son was tiny until the age of 14.  He is now the size of The Hulk.  Many women are different sizes from top to bottom.  A range of sizes is good. If you don’t want to have that many patterns, then just get the most basic clothing patterns in the widest variety of sizes.  For the more specialized patterns, you can be more size specific.  You might be able to barter with extra patterns, though, you never know.  Patterns are meant to be cut.  I don’t cut mine.  I trace them onto paper.  Besides having an aversion to cutting that pristine pattern, I don’t cut mine because I can be different sizes at different times.  I gain, I lose, I add pockets.  If you cut the pattern, it is cut.  I don’t cut mine. 
If you are going to sew new clothing, then fabric is the next step.  Useful fabric is probably another article all together.  I came from a small city of just over 200,000 and if you want to make a prom dress, no problem.  Most fabric stores sell craft fabric, home decoration fabric, and fabric for special occasion clothing.  Professional suiting (for women), fabric for Sunday dresses can be had, but the everyday hard wearing fabric is harder to find.  You can find home dec denim or denim for dressy skirts, but not hard wearing, “play outside” denim.  Since I haven’t lived in a really large city, I can’t speak to what is available there, but I don’t think it could be too different.  If I’m wrong and you live in a large city and can find good thick denim, canvas, thick flannels, strong thick cottons, then stock up and learn to sew.  Let’s not forget all of the other necessary sewing notions, either.  Thread, buttons, zippers, slacks closures, hooks and eyes, the list could be long, but it doesn’t have to be.  Stock the basics.  Now, here is the kicker, after four paragraphs, I say to you that, right now, new clothing construction is not cost effective.  I think in some scenarios, it could be…again, but right now, it isn’t.  There are just too many lower cost and more efficient ways to find clothing, such as thrift shopping.  I still stand behind what I just wrote, though.

So what were the previous paragraphs for?  You’ve got store bought patterns and sewing notions, now what?  Well, I haven’t sent you down the rabbit hole; I simply do not know what role clothing manufacturers or cloth manufactures will have in certain end times scenarios.  So you take those patterns and you read them.  This is how you learn about basic clothing construction and then, in turn, you learn about alterations and repair.  I find these two topics to be more useful for my continued efforts in prepping.  If what is ahead is a severe, deep depression similar to the 30’s, then it could be that fabric is affordable and store bought is not.  Sewing in any form will be a fundamental and much needed skill.

As I’ve stated before, I live in a small community.  I often work in a small quilting shop.  The owner will take in repairs and small, easy alterations.  We repair a lot of clothing here.  We sew up pockets, we hem new jeans, and we repair rips, tears, and wears.  For many in our community, they have no concern whatsoever about how a repaired item “looks”.  We can repair holes with a patch and the heavy and liberal use of the zigzag stitch.  If a pocket is ripped, most don’t mind if we put on a different colored pocket.  In my family of men, there are so many tiny holes in underwear and socks that can be easily repaired with a darning stitch or a zigzag stitch on the machine.  My daughter’s things have to be handled more carefully, but all in all, she’s not that picky.  My point is, when you find a rip, or a tear, fix it right then.  Don’t wait for it to get worse.  Sew it together with a strong stitch and be as neat as you can with it.  Don’t throw it away if the main part of the garment is still useful.  If you cannot wear it in public, then wear it at home or store it.  If the repair is major, get out a pattern and cut a new sleeve, or a new collar.  Use the patterns to fashion new pockets or cuffs.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot just wing something like that on the fly.  I need a pattern. 

Patterns will be very useful when altering clothing.  In any end-time scenario where people actually survive, you can pretty much count on losing weight.  Regardless of how much food you’ve stored, your supply is limited. You’ll ration your food.  Pair that with the absence of processed foods and you’ve probably got a significant loss of excess pounds.  What you also have is a closet full of clothing sized for your pre-TEOTWAWKI self.  Now, you can prep for weight loss and buy clothing in smaller sizes and store it.  You could go ahead and lose the weight now and that way you’d only have minor changes to make.  Still, your clothing is going to need alteration at some point.

I’ve thought about this portion of this article for a while now.  There is no way that I can write, describe, or illustrate all of the ways to alter clothing in this article.  So, what follows is a simple start to a much larger learned skill. 

The very best way to alter clothing because of weight loss is to deconstruct the item, cut them down and reconstruct them.  This is where those sewing patterns come in handy. Not many people will to want to do that. I wouldn’t do it unless the item of clothing needed to be severely cut down. 
So, if we are not going to deconstruct the item, then what?  Starting at the top, most shirts can be altered by simply taking in the side seams.  If the shirt has sleeves, then you probably will need to take in the seam of the sleeve as well. The seam is usually on the underside of the sleeve.  You can use pattern pieces to keep the shape of your garment.  Pattern pieces also will have the seam allowance already marked.  If you are a complete novice, break out the patterns.  Or, if you have some basic knowledge of sewing, then put the shirt on inside out and have a friend or family member pin (straight pins) the seams to the contour of your body.  You don’t want to do this too tightly.  Most clothing seams have a 5/8” seam allowance, meaning you sew your seam 5/8” from the edge.  You’ll need to consider that allowance as you pin.  If you need to take in the sleeves, pin the sleeve as well.  Take the time to mark it.  Any writing instrument will do, it doesn’t have to be a sewing marker.  These two seams will meet at the sleeve hole and will have taken up the necessary excess fabric in the sleeve hole.  Sew it up with a straight stitch.  I would suggest you try the garment on before you cut away the excess fabric.  If it isn’t right, that is okay. A straight stitch is easy to rip out.  Rip the seam and make any corrections needed.  Once you are satisfied, then I suggest you use a narrow zigzag stitch just inside the straight stitch to make the whole seam stronger.  Then you cut away the excess fabric.  It probably took me longer to type and edit this paragraph than the process actually takes, so don’t be intimidated. 

To make a small shirt larger, say for children who are growing, you could cut the side seams and add fabric to each side to the seam. Sew it up with a narrow zigzag stitch or a straight stitch.  Add fabric to the bottom of the shirt; add more fabric to the underside of the sleeve and you have a larger shirt that can see some more wear.  You can probably get at least another season of wear out of a shirt by using this technique.  Actually, since adding fabric at the seams is a style statement at the moment, you can find examples of this on the internet if you look.

Sleeves deserve a little extra attention.  Shortening sleeves? Not a problem. Most people can easily cut sleeves off and hem either what is left of the sleeve or hem the sleeve hole.  Pretty obvious and pretty easy.  Can you lengthen sleeves?  Well, if you don’t mind fabric that doesn’t match, then sure, you can lengthen sleeves.  You can add extra material at the shoulder seam or at the wrist.  Here is another time you can use the patterns that you’ve stored.  You can make a whole new sleeve by using the sleeve from a shirt pattern similar to what you are altering. If it needs to be lengthened, most patterns have a line where you can cut the pattern to lengthen it or fold it to shorten it.  Cut it out and sew it up.  Or, at the shoulder, use the upper part of the sleeve to make a pattern for the sleeve hole.  I’d use an inch or so in addition to your seam allowance of complimentary fabric and not even try to match the fabric of the sleeve.  Use a straight seam to sew the sleeve on to the new fabric. Pin your whole sleeve into the sleeve hole. If you have a pattern, follow those instructions. If you don’t have pattern instructions, then find the side seam of the shirt and pin to the seam on the underside of the sleeve. Do the same with the top of the sleeve. Once those two pins are in place, ease the rest of the fabric in on the curve.

You could also take the cuff off, if there is a cuff, and add fabric there.  Same procedure, you simply make a pattern from the end of the sleeve with the cuff off.  Sew the new fabric on and then reattach the cuff.   If there is no cuff, add one for extra length.  This is probably something that you would only do in a TEOTWAWKI situation.

The next obvious item of clothing that might need altering is pants or slacks.  If the waist needs to come in just a bit, then add darts.  Basically, to make a dart, you put your index finger in the back waist band and then using your thumb and third finger, press excess material to the front of your index finger.  You’ve done this a million times, so you know how to do it.  Pin it.  Once you have the clothing off again, pull the material together and smooth it into a long triangle on the wrong side of the fabric.  This is a dart.  Pin it and sew it up.  Make another dart on the opposite side in a similar place.  If you have a lot of material to take in, you may have to take the waistband off, take in the extra from the center seam in the butt. You’d also have to take in the waistband and that will involve removing a belt loop or two and the pockets as well.  This may be worth it if you have nothing else to wear, but it is a pain otherwise.  For general resizing in the hips and thighs use the inseam. If you are sizing jeans and the inseam is a double hem, then I’d just cut that off and make a flat seam.

After all of that, hemming the length of the pant leg is a breeze. Get a friend or a family member to pin them and sew with a straight stitch. If you need to hem more than an inch, consider cutting the material off leaving enough for a 5/8” seam.  You’ll want to turn the raw edge and then turn it again for the best results.

That is a very basic description of alteration for basic clothing. I didn’t cover altering a suit or a prom dress or any other kind of dress for that matter.  I don’t really consider those items important after the ball drops. I don’t think any of the readers on this site would either. If the world is truly gone, then I’d cut up those wool suits and make quilts out of them (you can’t wash them, but they are WARM). I’d use the softer prom dress type material for sleepwear or underwear for women or children.  You also may need to cut adult clothing down to child size.  Another good reason to have patterns on hand.
I have a final observation about Americans and clothing.  I said above that I do believe in charity and I do not advocate discontinuing that practice.  I don’t know about you, though, but the images of the mountains of clothing dumped on Sri Lanka and other areas affected by the Christmas tsunami in 2004 was eye-opening for me.  As Americans we have SO MUCH that we sent it to those people by the container full.  I think it was a wonderful testament to the giving hearts of most American people.  But!  Most of it was not usable in their tropical climate.  I read that much of it was destroyed.  The people there could not use it and they could not deal with the onslaught of all of that clothing.  So, I urge you to look at clothing that you might give away with a more discerning eye.  Absolutely donate your professional clothing!  If an item is in pristine condition, someone will be thankful to receive it.  But I know that in our little church clothing room, I receive far more articles of clothing that are stained and ripped than those that are pristine.  Many organizations will not put these clothes out at all.  They destroy them.  But, if you do not donate them; if you mine those clothes for zippers, buttons, collars, cuffs and any number of embellishments that clothing companies use, then that clothing won’t be wasted.  You can either deconstruct the garment completely and keep the pieces organized, or just store the shirt.  You can also use the deconstructed garment to make a pattern if you missed those pattern sales that I told you about.  You’ll be tempted to say that you cannot possibly store one more thing.  I agree.  Storage is a problem for all of us, but buttons and zippers don’t take that much room.  Find a way to store at least some items because you will need them.  And before you throw away the body of the garment, could you use it for a blanket or quilt?  Could you use it for cleaning rags or even bandages if it comes to that?
So, my suggestions are:

  • Learn about sewing or better yet, learn to sew.
  • Stock up on patterns, material, and sewing notions that will be useful in a survival situation.
  • Learn to keep your basic wardrobe in good repair.  Learn to alter clothing.
  • When going through your closet, keep in mind emergency/survival scenarios.  Do you have the clothing necessary to keep you covered, cool and/or warm enough in any type of situation?
  • If the clothing that you seek to remove from your closet would be useful in a survival situation, do not throw it out or donate it.  If it is too small, it won’t be after the ball drops.  It may be something that you could barter with.   Good, heavy duty clothing will be a gold mine.  If it is not in good repair, repair it yourself or have it repaired while you still have professionals who can and will repair and alter.
  • Lose the bulk of the extra weight now.  It is just easier that way.
  • By all means, donate your professional clothing to charitable organizations, but the items that are too ripped, or worn, or stained to donate should be mined for usable parts.
  • On February 8th, 2013 Mr. Rawles posted an article to Survivalblog called “Industrial Sewing Machines for Prepared Families”, by Lockstich.  This is really an excellent article.  Obviously, if you don’t have a sewing machine, then that article is the place to start.  Get a good machine.  And then learn to use it!

Letter Re: One Year Food Supply at COSTCO

James,
What is you opinion of the “30,144 Total Servings 4-people 1-year Emergency Food Kit” now at the COSTCO website? Are the shelf lifes realistic? (Are they really long term storage kinds of foods?) What can you tell me about the company that makes them? Are they legit? Is this price realistic? I appreciate your sage counsel. Thanks, -Walt G.

JWR Replies: The THRIVE brand foods are packaged by Shelf Reliance, a very reputable company that has been a SurvivalBlog advertiser for many years. Unlike many of their competitors, they do their nitrogen packing under controlled conditions. (Tests have shown that some companies have packed their foods in #10 cans so sloppily that the oxygen and nitrogen levels were little different that normal atmospheric levels, yet they had the temerity to call their products “nitrogen packed.”) In contrast, THRIVE foods, are packaged correctly, so you will get the longest possible shelf life.

BTW, I discuss some options for storage food stocking with other inventory (bulk foods) at Big Box stores such as COSTCO in the Rawles Gets You Ready Preparedness Course. Now available only by digital download, the course is now advantageously priced under $20.

Letter Re: Building Cabins on a Shoestring Budget

Dear CPT Rawles,
This letter is provided as a reply to your reader who wrote in about “Building Cabins on a Shoestring Budget”.

There are two viewpoints to this reply, one from the vantage point of an architect with a couple dozen years of real world design and construction experience as though one of my clients was cabin builder whom I was trying to advise, solely for a cost effective, build – as-you-go, off grid home solution. The second vantage point is that of a fellow prepper, former Army National Guard Infantry Lieutenant, and in my present role as an Architectural Consultant to Hardened Structures LLC, as though the cabin builder were a client to Hardened Structures.

First, congrats on the land acquisition. This is a great blessing. Be so very thankful for three teen boys who hopefully can share the workload. This will be a key to your accomplishing realistic goals. Next, pray, and be super safe with power tools. I have had three architect bosses over my first dozen career years that were missing a finger or part of a hand from a table saw or something. In my very first self-constructed project, the electrician cut his own kneecap off with a Skilsaw.

Starting as the first viewpoint as an architect.  Before getting to my answer, I need to disclose that I receive no compensation from any of the brands, products or web sites listed (except in my role as an architectural design consultant to Hardened Structures LLC.).

Homebuilding can also be stressful on some family relationships, so expect good days and not so good days, but others have gone your way before and came out okay.

Mr. Rawles is correct about the shed arranged as spoke on a wheel concept with shed structures. I have also considered this concept for the same reasons of affordability to getting the first structures up and expanding as budget allows. Depending on the shed structures selected, an octagon or hexagon gazebo kit could provide the central space which the shed “spokes” radiate out from. This is a valid “build as you go” plan. But just please be aware, the chief drawback with the spokes design is the amount of wall area per square foot of living area. Five sheds at 14’x40’ is 540 lineal feet of walls needed to be built to enclose 2,700 SF. Conversely a 52 foot square structure would achieve the same 2,700 SF of living area, with only 208 lineal feet of wall to construct. So a square in plan is our best bet to achieve the most square feet for the least cost. So, on the build as you can afford plan, I’d steer a family towards each unit being a 20’x20’or even 24’x24’ “garage kit” but replace the standard roof trusses with “room in attic trusses” in particular Gambrel style because of the high amount of bonus living space which can be gained in a second story under a roof you would have to build anyway.

I like Gambrel so much that I’ll throw out my favorite type of shed if that’s the route you choose (but not an endorsement of this particular brand, just the style.)

Another consideration which people often fail to account for in the early stages of being an owner-builder is all the other skilled trades not related to the shell of the house: electrical, plumbing, and heating.  For this reason it is not an invalid starting point to build out and around and over a functional used trailer home, which comes readymade with plumbing electrical and a heating system. On Craigslist, a trailer still in towing condition can be found for $3,000-$9,000. Even if the interior finishes of the trailer need a complete rehab, this often falls within the skill set of the do-it-yourselfer, flooring, paint, cabinets, even replacing the lighting or plumbing fixtures is a plug and play, unlike actually setting up an actual hot and cold water, or electrical service within a new home. Most likely the roof on the old trailer is worn out, so a pole barn structure over the existing roof is a very common sight on homesteads with an older trailer.
Windows should be replaced if they are single pane, with dual pane type.

Some important considerations regarding cold climates:
Research has shown that continuous insulation is far more effective than cavity insulation. People like to think going to a 2×6 wall with R21 is far superior to a 2×4 wall with R13, however both walls have studs at 16” on center which transmit cold straight through the wall to the inside drywall. This is called a “Heat Sink” and is highly undesirable. So it is actually superior to save the money on 2x6s by building with 2×4 with  R11 (or R13HD) then sheath the home entirely with 1” of “Polyiso” type rigid foam board with a value of R6 per inch. R11 plus R6 only equals 17, but in the real world the R17 wall is a warmer home with less energy costs than the R21 2×6 wall. If you live in a seismic zone then either wall will require wood OSB sheathing directly against the studs, and the polyiso goes over the OSB.

Next, research has shown that after about R40 ceiling insulation is not a good cost investment, but foundation perimeter insulation in a cold climate is a highly beneficial upgrade that many builders totally overlook.  2” thick polyiso board installed against the concrete foundation wall from top to bottom after the forms are stripped off and before backfill will keep the cold out around the perimeter of the house.  I cannot stress enough how beneficial this is. Think of it this way, cold air is much less dense than cold ground, it takes far more energy to heat the ground than the air, so don’t waste your heating with concrete touching freezing ground.

A dilemma to struggle with for the economically constrained “retreat shelter” is also wood frame construction versus anything else.

Up till this point, we have been discussing Wood frame construction, since is the most commonly known method for the novice American builder to work with. However, this method is among the least secure from ballistic impact and fires.

Many other alternative construction methods are possible, but your first hurdle to cross is the local building and zoning department regulations. Depending on your location, this can range from onerous to nonexistent, but please be advised these authorities have the power to fine you  daily until you tear down what you built that violates their regulations.

Among the nontraditional home construction methods, Straw bale construction is an incredibly easy construction method.  In my past as an architecture instructor, I once led a design build class where the final exam was teams of students to build outhouses. Straw bale won the day when evaluated by a jury of local contractors and architects. The students who attempted this project had never built anything before. Construction by used wood pallets with foam insulation inserted in the pallet cavity by another group of our students was a very interesting design concept I think bears some mention as a fast and economical construction method.  There are YouTube videos of pallet-built sheds.

Other alternative construction methods include rammed earth, adobe, cob, sand bag/earth bag, or earth tube. Many of these methods are very cheap from a material standpoint, yet incredibly labor intensive.

I am also going to mention two additional alternative construction methods later as part of second viewpoint of this reply, that of the e- infantry, Hardened Structures LLC representative.
As we transition now to this second part of the reply, we would be asking questions of what your goals are in your retreat shelter, namely:

What are your potential threat scenarios?
What are the human and material assets you are seeking to protect?
What is your budget?
Do you plan to mount an active defense or do you plan to take shelter in a safe room or shelter of some type and allow the danger to pass before reemerging? Or some combination of both?
If sheltering, how long do you plan to stay sheltered?
If mounting an active defense is your team specifically trained in this role or are you seeking training? What equipment do you have for this role?
If mounting an active defense what consideration have you given to your existing topographic surroundings?
What are any special needs your group has?

As we go through these and other questions, we would be able to develop an outline of solutions for your specific group, given your own known threats. Also we would be asking if you have concerns for threats not mentioned. For example: What are the known weather disasters to your region? Have you considered the possibility of EMP caused by solar flares or terrorist activity, or a regional nuclear incident, or a localized chemical accident or attack?

The goal is to provide a solution with no Achilles Heel, but every client and every situation differs as to how this is achieved.
Since we are aware that your budget plan is to self construct, it may be that Hardened Structures role is that of an advising or design and security planning consultant and as source for specific products for your needs. However, for most clients, we would be performing those services plus managing the actual construction of your shelter. Often this is as your construction manager overseeing the efforts of local architects and contractors.

Depending on many factors, budget, timelines, threat analysis, site constraints, etc, Shelters for clients can be modular units constructed of steel and delivered ready to install on your site, or built from structurally engineered reinforced concrete build on site or other solutions. They may include EMP protection, provisions for extended durations, actively filter the air from contaminants, maintain communication with the outside world, handle human waste safely, and even provide a home like environment where inhabitants and relax, have entrainment and even exercise. Some clients choose a hardened retreat shelter built to withstand the complete loss of the home while protecting the human and material assets in the shelter.

If in this particular case you asserted the need to protect the home itself from some level of ballistic threat, but were on a tight budget, there are two affordable, do-it-yourself construction methods come to mind which may be of interest.

These two methods are Dry stacked masonry load bearing walls, and non load bearing rock gabions wall infill with a post and beam supporting frame.
Dry stacked masonry walls were developed as a result of a 1970s US Dept of Agriculture rural housing initiative for improving housing of persons living on Indian reservations. Instead of skilled labor with  mortar joints between every course of block, the block walls are stacked without mortar, totally dry and a special fiberglass fiber reinforced “surface bonding mortar” is trowel or sprayer applied to both exterior and interior face of the wall.

The dry stacked walls are only about 70% the load carrying strength of wet set block walls, but for one or two story residential construction it is strong enough.  Hollow block must be filled with a solid material to have effectiveness against ballistic threats and there are requirements for reinforcing steel which also requires filled block..  A “dry pack” of one part sand to one part cement to one part fine gravel with post install watering may be the easiest method of filling block cores for the novice owner builder. This would be done after the surface bonding mortar has cured. I would recommend 12” block over 8” or 10” if a budget will allow. There are “U” blocks for window and door headers, but I have seen many 100 year surviving masonry buildings with timber lintels in Chicago. Either an exterior insulation and stucco finish or an interior insulation system is possible. There are merits to each.

Another method of construction which I have been developing myself is to use a “pole barn” frame and roof structure with a Rock Gabion infill wall system. Gabions are used in combat theater defenses, albeit in a less elegant manner.

This construction method, however, is a derivation of how a Gabion fence is constructed and is more economical than a concrete wall. The poles of the pole barn not only provide the support for the roof, but the lateral support for the rock gabion wall, so that the gabion thickness can be kept at about 12”-18”. Crushed rock and concrete are about 11 0lbs per cubic foot, and concrete is about $200 per cubic yard.  4” crushed stone is only about $9 per ton or less than $20 per cubic yard.

Wire gabions filled with stone are attractive to many people, and allow a place for vines to grow, if that’s the look you desire, or another school of thought is that the wires themselves are a weak link to a persistent person with wire cutters, and they should be covered over in shotcrete.  If covering the wire with a cement, one may wish to opt for stainless and not just galvanized wire mesh, and cover with a minimum of 1” of shotcrete or layers of stucco. This is because the covering of shotcrete traps moisture with leads to corrosion, but how many years to failure is a variable, houses with stucco over chicken wire last in San Diego a hundred years, in Chicago, perhaps 30 years.

An 18” thick wall of 2” to 4” crushed rock gabion will defeat nearly all commonly available small arms, with the possible exception of .50 BMG. Added benefit of the Gabion system include, self healing from ballistic attack; any rock damaged by incoming rounds is crushed down by the weight of the stone above. Minor breaks in wire can be field repaired. Gabions provide a high level of thermal mass, which though not the same as insulation, is beneficial, but a topic for another post.

The roof itself must be addressed and there are several tiers of upgrade from conventional shingles. A metal roof is a low cost fire resistant upgrade. Tile roofs, clay or concrete are even more so. Actually building the underlying structure of hollow core concrete panel or “Spancrete” is a more expensive upgrade but of some ballistic protection. A “flat” roof (actually low slope) of corrugated metal panel with a topping of concrete, then insulation, then any of many rubber or PVC roofing membranes is a common commercial roof structure not beyond the skill of  most owner builders with proper instructions on  temporary shoring. This method could allow either direct run off of water, or drains, or even incorporate a concrete block parapet wall, which can be of tactical value.
For the very budget conscious, but defense minded, one could envision how this pole barn and gabion structure could be the basis for enclosing one or more used mobile home trailers as mentioned earlier to create a “dirt cheap” homestead retreat starting point,  but there is a much larger topic of “defense in place”, and one is advised to investigate foreseeable threats and how to respond to them.

While this is only a primer on these topics, a wealth of information is available with online research or by seeking out consulting advice.
I sincerely hope the best for all your readers and welcome any questions on the built environment and active or passive defense. – Douglas Clark

News From The American Redoubt:

Now it’s Oregon Senate’s turn to vote on gun laws. If the ban on private party gun sales is enacted, it may prove to be “The last straw” and trigger a partition of the conservative counties east of the Cascades.

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Errant gunshot’s shrapnel wounds two men at Idaho gun show.

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Ban Idaho! (Thanks to Ben H. for the link.)

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There are still several pro-gun pieces of legislation pending in Montana, including permitless concealed carry. Montanans should contract their representatives, to encourage the passage of these bills. The Wyoming/Arizona/Alaska/Vermont-style permitless concealed carry will require a veto-proof majority, since the state’s democrat governor vetoed the bill once before.

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Get in on the ammo-making boom: International Munitions & Technologies, Inc. (IMT) in Lewiston, Idaho is looking for both an IT Manager and a Site Leader Manager.

Economics and Investing:

This confirms my assertion: The Spot Price of Precious Metals Is Becoming Irrelevant

Pete H. sent this from Paul Farrell: 10 investing rules for the coming bond crash

The drawn out impact of quantitative easing on real estate: Japanese real estate continues to struggle while Bank of Japan expands monetary base. JWR’s Comment: Back in the 1930s, folk comedian Will Rogers was famous for saying: “Buy land: They ain’t making any more of it.” The modern-day corollary is: “Avoid Dollars: They can make as many of them as they want to.”

Items from The Economatrix:

Jim Willie: Physical Gold Premiums Will Be $500 Or More In The Near Future, Silver 40%; Dealers Sold Out

World Finance Leaders Issue Somber Assessment

Jobless Claims Rise Slightly

SurvivalBlog’s G.G. sent: Douglas County Bank, Georgia, Biggest Bank Failure of 2013.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Stopping the Common Core curriculum freight train

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A clever new product with a seven year shelf life: New Ovaeasy Pop and Cook Eggs at CampingSurvival.com. You can order them here.

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Today Marcus Hook Pennsylvania Mayor James “Jay” Schiliro is scheduled to get his first day in court. He is one of many hypocritical members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns who is in serious trouble with the law. In his case it was providing alcohol to someone under 21, attempted homosexual seduction, and unlawful imprisonment, at gunpoint. Mayor Bloomberg certainly has collected a motley assortment of criminals and pervs for his “crime fighting” anti-gun political pressure group. It is time for a counterbalance: Citizens Against Illegal Mayors.

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Michael M. sent: Marijuana Laws New Tool to Ban Gun Ownership

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Two more bits of evidence that California is truly a lost cause: Boy suspended for having pocket knife on camping trip and California lawmakers weigh first statewide ban on lead ammo

Notes from JWR:

Ready Made Resources just started a 25% off sale on Mountain House canned long term storage foods. Check it out!

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The volatility in the precious metals markets is continuing, with some dramatic intra-day swings in spot prices. My long-standing advice has been “buy on a dip day”, but perhaps presently it should be: buy on a dip hour. Once silver resumes its bull charge–past $30 and then the $40 per troy ounce, you will be glad that you “bought low.” OBTW, sales have been very strong for the new American Redoubt .999 fine silver coin. These very attractive 1-ounce coins are produced by Mulligan Mint and and are being sold at a very competitive market price. Because of the huge rush of orders created by the big market dip (down 20% in recent weeks), all of the mints are getting slammed with orders. (Even the U.S. Mint had to suspend some sales.) You can expect at least a five week delay from most mints, at present. Be patient, and keep stacking silver.

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A reminder: There is a May 1st strike on the banks planned. If you want to participate, I recommend that you withdraw your extra cash and buy tangibles!

Pat’s Product Review: Ruger SR556E

I’ve always been a big fan of Ruger firearms – all of them! There’s many reasons for my liking Ruger firearms, first of all, I find their firearms robust, strong and well-designed. Ruger doesn’t simply copy some other designs for the most part – instead, they are innovators in many ways. I still remember when the first Ruger P-85 9mm handguns came out, and everyone thought they wouldn’t last because they were made from “investment casting” aluminum frames- Ruger proved everyone wrong.
 
A few years ago, I tested the Ruger SR556 piston-driven AR-style rifle, and loved it. Everyone was jumping on the piston-driven AR bandwagon, and Ruger was no different, they than they didn’t copy anyone else’s piston-driven design – they came up with their own, after a lot of research and development. The SR556 comes with all the bells and whistles you can ask for, and then some – including a nice padded carrying case, several MagPul PMags – which I personally believe are the best AR mags on the market, and top-of-the-line pop-up front and rear sights and many other accessories, that don’t come on many AR-style rifles.
 
However, not everyone wanted or needed all that the SR556 came with as standard equipment, nor was everyone willing to pay the almost $2,000 price tag. Now comes the Ruger SR556E. Many people mistakenly believe that the “E” stands for an “Economy” model, but that is NOT the case. For the past several months, I have been testing the SR556E sample, and I have found nothing economical about this neat little rifle. What we have is a 5.56mm carbine, that can also fire .223 Remington ammo. The gun only weighs-in at a mere 7.36-pounds, a bit lighter and it balances better than the SR556 does in my humble opinion.  The SR556E also comes with a 16-inch cold hammer forged mil-spec 41V45 barrel with a flash suppressor on the end of the barrel. There is also a 6-position telescoping stock – closed the gun is 32.75-inches long and fully-open the gun is 36-inches in length. The flat top upper also has a forearm that has a Picatinny rail for mounting accessories at the 12:00 O’clock position and you can add other rails to the 3, 6 and 9 positions and these are sold separately. There is also a dust cover over the ejection port, and a forward assist – that I never recommend anyone use – it only leads to more problems, but it’s there just the same.The SR556E also comes with a soft padded carrying case.
 
I like the MagPul (I believe that’s the make) pop-up rapid deployment front and rear sights – they are outstanding. The front sight is adjustable for elevation and the rear sight is adjustable for windage. Where one would normally find the gas block for a direct impingement operating system, we have the patent-pending 4-position gas regulator. That’s right, this is NOT a direct gas impingement gun, it has a two-stage piston system that is chrome plated for easier maintenance, and the hot gases vent out of the bottom on this two-stage piston, causing the gun to run cleaner and cooler, and that is a very good thing in my book. The direct gas impingement system vents dirty, hot gases directly into the bolt and bolt carrier – causing guns to run dirty and very hot – not a good thing in many instances – it can lead to malfunctions if the gun isn’t properly cleaned and lubed on a regular basis – as in combat!
 
The 4-position gas regulator can also be completely closed off so the action doesn’t cycle for using a suppressor, where you don’t want any noise from the bolt cycling back and forth [or any sound of gasses escaping a gas port]. The other three positions are for running various types of ammo, and if your gun starts to run a bit dirty, you can adjust the gas regulator to a different position. Ruger ships the SR556E with the gas regulator set at the #2 position and suggests you do most of your shooting from this position. There is a complete tutorial video on the Ruger web site, that demonstrates the various settings. I left my sample on the #2 setting, and never looked back – although, I did play around with the different settings for just a bit – just to see how they function and how the gun ran – it ran fine in all but the closed position. However, for all my actual function testing and accuracy testing, the gun was left in the #2 position.
 
One thing you will readily notice with a piston-driven AR-style of rifle is the different recoil impulse. Hard to explain, but the gun runs a bit “differently” than a direct impingement operating system – it runs smoother, and it seems to run a tad quieter, too. Again, hard to explain, however if you shoot the SR556E next to a direct gas impingement rifle, you will hear and notice the difference in very short order. Now, some piston-driven AR-style rifles have had problems with “carrier tilt” – in that, the bolt carrier tends to tilt downward into the buffer tube, causing unnecessary wear and tear. Ruger overcame this problem by redesigning part of the bolt – removing some material here and there, and there isn’t any problem with carrier tilt. You might notice a little bit or wear from the anodized coating inside the buffer tube, but no actual wear on the material. Ruger did their homework – as they always do!
 
During my initial testing of the SR556E, I ran 5, thirty round magazines through the gun as fast as I could pull the trigger. When I was done, there were zero malfunctions, and I broke the action open and pulled the bolt carrier out – it was cool to the touch. Try that with a direct impingement AR and you’ll burn your fingers after just running one 30-rd mag through the gun. Additionally, the bolt carrier and bolt were still very clean – one mag through a direct impingement AR and the upper receiver and bolt carrier and bolt are dirty, very dirty – especially if you run some Russian-made .223 ammo through an AR.
 
I ran well over 500 rounds of various .223 Rem and 5.56mm ammo through the SR556E – however, in future testing, I won’t burn-up that much ammo – not with the big ammo drought we are facing, and my inside sources tell me that, they expect ammo to be in short supply for about two more years – or even longer, depending on the political climate in DC and in some states. Be advised and act accordingly. In future firearms tests, I’m only going to run about 200 rounds through gun samples. Even with my several sources of ammo for use in my articles, ammo is still hard to come by these days. My sources want to give me more, but they don’t have it – every round they make goes out the door each day – they don’t have a warehouse full of ammo any longer.
 
From Buffalo Bore Ammunition I had their Sniper .223 ammo – a 55 grain Ballistic Tip bullet, a 69 grain JHP and their heavy 77 grain JHP – which is recommended for barrel twist of 1:8 or 1:7 – the SR556E comes with a 1:9 barrel twist – the most popular for civilian AR style rifles. From the good folks at Black Hills Ammunition, I had a wide assortment of .223 – a 52 grain Match HP, 55 grain FMJ – new and reloaded, 55 grain SP, 68 grain Heavy Match HP and their newly released to the public, 5.56mm 77 grain OTM ammo – this is almost the exact same ammo that Black Hills Ammunition – and Black Hills Ammunition alone – provides to all the US Special Forces – no other maker produces this ammo. I also had a couple boxes of Winchester 55 grain FMJ USA brand .223 on-hand, and I use a lot of this for simple function testing – its a great round and less expensive than burning-up some more expensive ammo for function testing.
 
Once I had the SR566E zeroed, I did all my shooting at the 100-yard mark for accuracy testing – although the gun was zeroed for 300-yards – just my zero mark with all my AR-style of rifles. The Buffalo Bore, Black Hills and even the Winchester 55 grain FMJ loads were all giving me 3-inch groups if I did my part, with open sights, at 100-yards. This is about average for many AR-style rifles – nothing to write home about in the accuracy department. The Black Hills new and reloaded 55 grain FMJ ammo gave me the same accuracy results, so don’t go thinking you are getting slighted by using reloaded ammo instead of brand-new ammo all the time. The Black Hills 52 grain Match HP load gave me groups a little under 3-inches – better, but I knew the SR556E could do better – a lot better. I should note that the Black Hills 55 grain SP gave me 3-inch groups as well – and this would make a dandy load for varmints – even smaller dear, at close-in ranges. Although, I suggest using a larger caliber rifle round for deer – the .223 can still do the job if you place your shots where they need to go.
 
The Buffalo Bore 69 grain JHP was giving me groups right at the 2-inch mark, and I was starting to get impressed with the Ruger. The Black Hills Ammunition, 68 grain Heavy Match HP load was giving me groups around an inch and a half if I did my part – I’ve found this to be a very accurate load in all AR-style rifles I’ve tried it in. I ran out of the Buffalo Bore 69 grain JHP load, just as I was getting a good feel for it – and I believe it can match the Black Hills 68 grain Heavy Match HP load in the accuracy department.
 
Last up were the two heaviest loads, and you should be advised that, some rifles with a 1:9 barrel twist will only accurately shoot bullet weights up to about 68 or 69 grains – some will even shoot 75-grain bullets – but not all. Each gun’s barrel is a little different, and as I’ve said before in my articles, experiment with your gun and various types, brand and weights of bullets, to see which one will shoot most accurately in your gun. The Buffalo Bore 77 grain JHP and the Black Hills 77 grain OTM 5.56mm loads were both giving me groups in the 3 to 3 1/2 inch range. I honestly didn’t expect either one of those rounds to actually give me accuracy this good – considering the SR556 has the 1:9 inch barrel twist. I will admit though, that there were some groups that opened-up quite a bit more – however, I was advised by both Tim Sundles at Buffalo Bore and Jeff Hoffman at Black Hills, that it might be a waste of good ammo, shooting these heavier loads in the 1:9 barrel twist. Well, not a waste of money, but it proved to me, that in a pinch, you can shoot these heavier bullets in the 1:9 inch barrels, just don’t expect the accuracy you think you’ll get. I have fired both of these loads in another AR-style rifle with a 1:7 inch barrel twist, and had outstanding accuracy in the one inch to an inch and half range if I did my part. So, I know both of these heavier loads can shoot a lot more accurately in the right barrels, than they did in the SR556E.
 
During all my testing, I had no malfunctions of any sort. When I tested the original SR556 when it first came out, I did have a couple failures to extract in the first magazine, but after that, the gun ran fine. So, I was very pleased with the performance of the SR556E over the course of more than 3-months of testing. I never cleaned the gun during all this time, nor did I give it any further lubrication, other than the day I got the gun and inspected and lubed it. The gun was extremely clean at the end of my testing – and I believe I could have easily shot several thousand more rounds without any problems or further cleaning or lube. The SR556E with the two-stage piston-driven system really proved it’s worth and ran cleaner and cooler than direct impingement ARs do. There is no comparison between the two systems in my humble opinion. If you want a gun that runs smoother, cleaner and cooler, you need to take a close look at the SR556E, as opposed to a direct impingement operating system. Now, with that said, I’m not about to take my other ARs that are direct impingement and sell them or toss them in the trash – they all work just fine – I don’t keep guns around that don’t work – simple as that. I either make them run properly, or I get rid of them if I can’t fix the problems.
 
Now for the good news and the bad news. The good news is, the Ruger SR556E has a full-retail of only $1,375 and that’s a bargain in my book – for all that you get – there are other piston-driven ARs on the market that retail for a whole lot more, but they don’t give you more. Now for the bad news, with the big drought on all AR-style guns these days, if you can find an SR556E, they are going for about $2,000 these days. No, Ruger did not raise their prices, it’s just supply and demand, and all SR556 rifles are in great demand, ever since they came out, people have wanted them. If you’re in the market for a gas-piston AR, then take a very close look at the SR556E from Ruger – I think you’ll like what you see – just don’t pay too much – shop around and spend your money carefully. Now, after my wife shot my sample SR556E, she wants one of her own – she owns a different brand of AR-style rifle – a direct impingement version and while she shoots it very accurately, and hasn’t had any problems with it – other than a few hang-ups with some Russian-made .223 ammo – she just likes the way the SR556E handles, and she doesn’t hear that “twang” inside the buffer tube, like you hear with many direct impingement ARs – I personally don’t hear it – after so many years of shooting, I have some hearing loss. But now I have to find a way to not only pay for my own SR556E sample, I have to see if Ruger can ship me another one for the wife. I should have learned long ago, to not let my wife shoot any of my gun samples, she has fallen in love with more than one and ended up in her growing collection.  – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Harry’s Book Review: After the Snow by S.D. Crockett

Book Title: After the Snow
Author: S.D. Crockett
Copyright Date: 2012
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
ISBN: 978-0-312-64169-6
Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? Yes–Kindle
Suitable for children? Teens probably.

When you find a story predicting that the future is another ice age you know you have found an author who is thinking outside of the box. The global warming crowd is not going to be pleased if this is our future. Not only do we get an Ice Age, but the solar farms and wind farms are a complete failure. Nuclear is king and coal is the next best alternative.

As a consolation prize, just about everyone else’s sacred cow gets gored too by the end of the novel.

The premise behind the novel is that the polar ice caps do indeed proceed to melt, but once they have an impact on the oceans the currents stop and then everything ices up.

The story revolves around Willo, a teenage boy who has only ever known the ice and snow. He has heard the stories of the graybeards. He knows that once upon a time water came out of the walls and the world was warm, but it’s all stories to him. His life is trapping hares so their pelts can be traded for oats and the supplies needed for the family to survive. His family is one of those known as “stragglers”.

Almost all of the world has been moved into the cities, and there is no going back and forth. The cities are fenced in and guarded. There is not supposed to be anyone living up in the hills, but that is where Willo’s family is, their cabin hidden by trees which grate against the walls with the wind. The author does not go into detail about how they subsist except to say that they raise goats and eat poorly. They trade the furs of the hares which Willo traps in order to get supplies. The trading is done through Geraint, a permitted farmer who has Willo’s sister Alice who Geraint got pregnant when she was fourteen.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The story opens with Willo watching his family’s empty house and him wondering what has become of them all. The family has been taken away, but there is nothing to tell him by whom or to where. Deciding that the house is not a safe place to be he loads up some essentials on a sled and heads for a cave he knows up on a mountain.

In the process of traveling to his cave he comes across a starving boy and girl in a derelict cabin. They are waiting for their father to return. Willo discovers a dead man in the barn and decides he doesn’t want the burden of two starving children. He goes on his way and camps that night in the empty cone of a downed windmill. However, he can’t shake the images of the starving children, so the next morning he goes back to get them.

Once he gets there he finds that a pack of wild dogs have found the body of the dead man. Willo is nearly killed by the dogs just trying to get into the cabin. There he finds the boy has already died, and now Willo and the girl, Mary, are trapped by the dogs. Mary doesn’t even want to leave, but Willo persuades her that they must. Although he loses his sled in the process he does manage to fend off the dogs and get away with Mary.

His goal is to take Mary down to the road which goes between the city and the coal mines so that she can get picked up by a truck and taken to the city to live. In the process Willo and Mary run into the “stealers” who live in the forest. Pursued by these cannibals Willo and Mary both end up on the road and are both picked up by a truck and taken into the city.

In the hills Willo knows what to do and how to survive, but in the city he is scared to death and doesn’t know which way to turn. Here Mary is the capable one. She leads him to a place where they can both get some food, and from there they follow a drunken rat trapper to his hidden abode.

Willo isn’t at all comfortable with the situation, and his goal is to find his family. Early in the morning he gets up and leaves Mary behind. In short order he is captured by a gang of children, but then soon freed by one of them who takes him somewhere with the goal of selling his coat so they can purchase some grog (alcohol). She abandons Willo in disgust when he makes it clear that he has not intention of exchanging his coat for grog. Eventually Willo ends up at the home of Jacob, and elderly man who Willo helped out in the streets.

Willo’s jacket is the subject of much interest to Jacob and his wife, especially when they learn that Willo made it himself. Jacob is a furrier, and he has a wealthy client who has commissioned a jacket, but Jacob is getting too old to do the work. Willo is quickly seen as a welcome addition to Jacob’s household, but Willo wants to be out looking for his family. Jacob argues for patience and suggests that Willo needs to have papers in the first place. Thus it is that Willo has to learn how to live in the city.

After living with Jacob and his wife and earning their trust Willo is shown a book which Jacob has carefully hidden under the floorboards in his house. It is a book which Willo recognizes as one his father owned, although his father’s copy lacked a cover and was held together by string. The book is titled “In Search of an Ark” by John Blovyn. The book covers such topics as making snares,tanning hides, childbirth and other survival skills. The mere possession of the book identifies one as a “straggler”, and as such, as a subversive element.

Apparently the greatly subversive message of the stragglers is one of optimism. The hope that things could get better and that one should

seek out a better place is an unacceptable message.

In the past John Blovyn had called his followers to the hills. In this book he is calling them to an island. The authorities are determined to find out where the island is, but for all their infiltration, interrogation and torture they have yet to get an answer. Nonetheless, their efforts continue undeterred.

It comes as a shock to Willo when he learns that Robin Blake was not his father’s real name, but rather John Blovyn. To make matters worse, apparently not only did his father not tell him his real name, but he didn’t love him either and was disappointed in him because he was such a “simpleton” and just wanted to run around in the hills.

Rather than spoil the entire book I will simply say that everything is the opposite of what one would expect. The renowned survival author is gone and his son rejects his hopes, choosing instead to make the most of the world at hand rather than seek out a better place.

A major theme of this book is that things are not going to turn out the way anyone expects. Chinese steel is the good stuff, and Chinatown is where the wealthy live. The premium real estate on the planet is Africa. “Go west” is out. Now the way to head is east.

As long as you are willing to see your own sacred cow served up as hamburger there is value in considering the ramifications of dramatically different outcomes.

After the Snow spares the reader of the details of what could otherwise be graphic scenes. There are plenty of bad things which happen, but most of the details are left to the reader’s imagination.

There is some foul language, but only in a couple of incidents, and there it is a matter of a particular character in the novel. On the other hand, the author’s choice of devices for indicating the degree of sophistication of Willo’s vocabulary may be a nuisance to some readers. Willo speaks in the vernacular of today’s youth using such terms as “cos” instead of “because”. I suppose there may be some who appreciate the use of their preferred vocabulary, and I expect them to be under the age of twenty. Such is probably the intended audience, and this book is a reasonable option for provoking them to consider alternative futures.

Letter Re: CCW Permit Holders are The Good Guys

JWR,
One topic that has come up recently is that license holders are more law-abiding than the general population, presumably because they’ve undergone background checks by the state.    The reality is that this has been shown in multiple case reviews.
 
A 2011 study in Texas concluded that CCW/CCL permit holders generally do not use guns to commit crimes and they commit crimes of any nature much less frequently than the general population of Texas.
 
According to an article by the Beaufort Observer concerning the study:
 “The Texas Department of Public Safety published a list of crimes committed in Texas in 2011 by everyone convicted and by those convicted who also held CCL’s. The bottom line: Concealed carry permit holders commit less than 1% of the crimes. If you want to be exact, they committed two tenths of one percent of the crimes in 2011. And not all of those involved firearms or violence.”

“The data show that 63,679 people were convicted of a long list of crimes. Of those 63 thousand, only 120 were CCL holders.”

“Ironically, if you drill down into the data it shows that the most frequently committed crime by CCL holders were domestic violence related crimes.”
 
Likewise, a recent article looking at Kansas CCW permit holders by the Wichita Eagle concluded the same:
“Of the 51,078 permits that have been issued by the state since the law took effect in 2007, 44 permit holders have been charged with a crime while using a firearm through late October, according to records provided by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.    That works out to one charge for every 1,161 permit holders, or 0.09 percent.   The numbers squeeze even tighter when you consider that of the 44 permit holders charged, 17 licenses have been revoked because they were convicted of a crime that disqualifies them from having a permit.
 
Additionally, a 2011 New York Times article derived that among North Carolina permit holders, they were 5.48 times less likely to commit a violent crime.
 
Granted, there is no guarantee that someone with a clean past cannot commit a future crime – we are all born without a criminal conviction.     However, it would seem impossible not to concede that those who legally carry a weapon are the Good Guys.

Thanks again, – Doc C. in Flyover Country

Recipe of the Week:

C. in Florence’s Sandwich Spread Recipes

Cottage Cheese Sandwiches
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
8 slices brown/wheat bread
4 tablespoons margarine
1 egg
2 tablespoons cold water
Covo (cottonseed and peanut oil) or your favorite frying oil

Mix the cheese and nuts together. Spread on 4 slices of bread. Cover with remaining bread. Beat egg and mix with water. Dip sandwiches into egg and water mixture and fry in hot oil until golden brown. Serve with chips.
 
Peanut Honey Sandwiches
6oz. Cream cheese
1/3 cup Honey
12 slices Brown/wheat bread
peanut butter, creamy or chunky
Mix cheese and honey together. Spread six slices of bread with this mixture. Spread remaining six slices of bread with peanut butter. Sandwich bread together and eat!
 
Date and Orange Sandwich
2/3 cup dates
1/4 cup Orange Juice
12 slices of bread
pat of margarine
 
Heat dates and OJ together in a stock pan. Heat until dates are blend with juice. Leave to cool. Spread between buttered slices of bread.
 
(The following is a sandwich that takes a bit of time. in my youth [in Rhodesia] I would have used Dairibord Butter or Stork margarine, Willards salt, Colcom bread, but they are gone and I live in the US, so we do with what we can get.)
 
Rarebit Sandwiches
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 grated/shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mixed (prepared) mustard (I like stone ground/dijon)
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
2 tomatoes
6 slices (meaty )bacon
6 slices Bread (I like 100% whole wheat)
seasoning

Chef’s Notes:

Toast bread. Cook the bacon crisp and set aside. lay toast on serving plate.  in large bowl beat egg with a whisk. set aside. Thinly slice tomatoes thinly length wise. place two slices of tomato on each bread. In sauce pan melt butter and then add cheese, stir until cheese has melted. Add salt and mustard. stir a second. stir in milk SLOWLY and then pour in mixture on top of beaten egg. stirring continuously. (From heat of sauce the egg will be cooked) sprinkle tomato with salt and pepper. Cover all bread with sauce. top with the bacon and serve while dish is hot.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Sandwich Spread Recipes

Cold Sandwich Recipes

Rhodesian Recipes

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!