Continued from here.
Opening post from previous thread:
Kathy in FL – at 18:12
Eccles – at 15:39
We use flourescent bulbs in light colored shades. <grin> I rarely use regular bulbs anymore … don’t even have them in our ceiling fans. Besides using up more electric … they are just plain hot. <grin>
We run our ceiling fans to ease up on the ac usage. We also have ceramic tile on the floor in all the living space, except bedrooms. Pain to clean, but does keep it cooler. I put down rugs on the tile in winter to do the opposite.
My big culprits are my dryer, the ac, the well pump, the pool pump, hot water tank, and the dishwasher. Dishwasher solved by going to washing by hand except for one load per day. Well pump I really can’t control … we did get a larger bladder last year which has helped some. Pool pump is only used about 1/2 the year on a regular basis … we close the pool about October and don’t open it until April or May … but when that sucker is in use it can eat a lot of power. Hot water tank we can’t turn down or the bathroom on the other side of the house wouldn’t get hot water.
That leaves the dryer and the ac. We have a two unit system because of the size of the house … we turn one off during the day and close those two rooms off. The other unit is set at 78 or 79 at all times.
I’m hoping that the clothes line helps with that problem.
Just not a lot you can do with a family of 7 … that’s a lot of laundry, water, cooking, cleaning, etc.
Hey Kathy - I’ve been drying clothes on a line for 57 years. It’s great. Sweet smelling, few wrinkles, quick and easy. Winter can be a drag, but you’re in Florida - I would think you have plenty of sunshine, as long as you can deal with the monsoons!
Hi everyone, The discussion about the B&M brown bread got me thinking about products that we might take for granted because they are common in our regional market, but are not available nationally. I grew up just outside Boston, MA (aka beantown). Like Nautical Man our family had franks, beans, and brown bread almost every Saturday night. The MyBrands link that Kim posted has a fair price, $2.50 to $3 a can is our regular non-sale price at our local Stop & Shop or Shaw’s.
I have been looking for Tyson Premium Chicken in a pouch http://tinyurl.com/jz6ow, after it was recommended as top “hurricane food” for the second year in a row, by the Miami Herald http://tinyurl.com/f7vnn. The article mentions that it is $3.29 a pouch at the Publix store in Miami. I have never found it in any grocery stores in Mass or Maine. Has anyone tried this? or have a link of where I my get it? Thanks.
Dan in MA, google “tyson chicken pouch”. Looks like you’ll come up with plenty of sources to buy it.
Kim, I respectfully disagree. Happy to provide a finder’s fee to anyone that can provide a link for a company that will ship the Tyson chicken poouch described above…name your price.
With the coming of fall its time to take to the apple orchards and start picking my apples for storage. Will stop by the closest farm stand and check out schedules. Our local Kings is having specials on specialty potatoes and sleeves of garlic. Have one big elephant head in a garlic jar, and a bottle of chopped. I think thats about it for me and prepping. Outside of getting a few kiddie pools when they go on sale and barbeque items when their reduced. I like to make my cash stretch as far as I can make it go. I’m stopping using credit cards to everyday purchasing as I want to feel how the money is disappearing and for what. When you have the cash disappear its different than just the bill every month. Its like gambling, its too easy. I want to get on a different footing with what I do have to get more realistic about things. It is time to start living again, Nothing like meadering around historic sites when the weather is good. Nothing like driving down winding country roads, lined with sugar Maples that are turning golden or russet. I live on one of the most perfect roads for this in the North East, and every days driving is a joy until November 2nd when we always get the first light snow. Its time to enjoy the turning of the seasons and just soak it all in day after day.
Lily, you make me wish I lived in your world…through your eyes…….
Dan, if your local grocer carries anything in the Tyson brand, he should be able to special order the chicken pouches for you — just ask, but be certain to follow up. I’ll die before I special order anything else from Publix because first they tell you it will take 6 weeks to get, then they NEVER call you to tell you it’s in — if it even came in in the first place. I’ve had trouble with our local Bruno’s as well — had to check over a 5 week period each week for a 7 case order of canned catfood. Laborsome. However, if I tell our local Winn Dixie, they’ll say it’ll be in on Tues, or Saturday, and most of the time it truly is. Every once in awhile the order will have to be placed again, but nothing like dealing with the other 2 stores, so just shop around and ask the managers to follow up with you.
Today: Bread — sourdough, first attempt, home-ground wheat and my own experimental starter. It’s in the oven right now. Okay, it’s not rising much, but … oh my, the aroma. My mama never told me.
Pat in AZ – at 15:20
I never did get any of my sourdough attempts to raise very much, especially the second time. However, those that I could cut were very tasty!
I’m willing to gnaw on it, it smells so good.
Thanks Nimbus and IWOI! Nimbus, feel free to name your price…how about some Boston baked beans??? :)
Dan in MA – at 15:59
Thanks for the offer of the beans but I seem to be drowning in beans these days! ;-)
To Nimbus
The link you gave has some personal info (yours?) to it. Perhaps you could log out and then go back to that prod. page then do the link.
anonymous – at 19:35
Thanks for flagging me on that! As it happens that is not my info (I haven’t bought anything from them and haven’t opened an account). It certainly doesn’t speak well for their security!
On Sunday DH and I bought a used 16 foot travel trailer. Our most extravagent prep yet, especially considering we don’t have a vehicle that will tow it. But we plan on using it for a quarantine room or a sick room if TSHTF. If TSDNHTF then we will use it for guests who want a little bit of their own space.
prep for today-recover from the scare I had yesterday when the wiki went down!
I’m clearing out the clutter from my house-a chore I started a few weeks ago when the weather turned really hot. We have a small house, so stuff tends to pile up quickly. I reckon that if we have to go into increased hygene mode, it will be much easier to clean if theres no clutter, plus I want to be able to lay my hands on supplies in case of emergency without having to clear a bunch of stuff out of the way. Plus its a good way to work off a little nervous energy!
After doing some chair yoga and having some massage by someone who is taking a course in becoming a Yoga instructor, I decided after realizing how creaky I had become in a summer of inactivity to walk on the few goose dropping free paths in our town park. The clean pathways border trees and brush which make the geese nervous about predetors. I think people should be walking now that the weather is bearable, and getting into better condition. Just walking taller, breathing, doing a bit of yoga before I get out of bed is making me feel more vibrant and alive, just as the sunlight is turning. I had stopped taking vitamins and herbs, but am beginning to take them again. Buying things like canned beets for Harvard beets, pickled beets and eggs. Gearing up for a wonderful Fall season and Indian summer which is so welcome after the first hard frost. Though I am finished in food prepping, I still pick up a few items on sale. Latest jumbo lump crab in a pouch. It was on sale, will try it tonight to see if it matches the fresh kind. Also got the little tuna cans with crackers that have thai seasoning, dried tomatoe, and lemon seasoning. I always took them when I traveled for a quick protein pick me up. Got a slew of tapes of Ballets, operas Der Rosenkavilier and La Traviata at 50cents each. Will be going to the Womens club booksale after my physical therapy session. An entire school auditorium, and toss aways from a very literate, well educated group of townies. I have thousands of books in my home library, and now I’m stocking a basement library of these toss aways. Will be putting sheets of Bounce in each book to discourage silverfish and mice.
Lily if you ever write a book, I would be the first in line to buy it.
Thanks Lily- your posts are like a breath of fresh air-especially when I’m feeling edgy. You are soooo right about yoga and walking-though its still hot here-mid nineties, but we have been getting some rain which helps. Best of luck at your booksale- hope you find some great volumes!
This afternoon I will be doing a little restocking of the preps and will also be working on next month’s menu. I plan to include even more prep-friendly recipes to try out.
We also finally started painting the outside of the house. We’ve been stuck in repair mode for over a week before we could even start putting paint on the walls. But I’ve had to litterally take the outside and yard apart so that we could even do that. Once the house is painted it will be on to landscaping where I’m trying to create a plan that includes some edible landscaping.
Tomorrow I’m off to the flea market to see if I can pick up some stuff at the produce aisle on the cheap. I’m also looking for more of those “shaking” flashlights. One of my husband’s employees left his by the wheel of his van and it got crushed. <sigh> I have two small ones but I want a bigger one and I’d like to get it less expensive than what they are in the regular stores.
Just FYI: due to the latest activity on the news thread and the fact that a number of posters have indicated that their PPF’s are increasing, I thought I would just post this for general knowledge. As of this last week, an order from Honeyville Grains, is taking less than a week to be shipped and delivered. Survival Acres is running about 2 weeks from the order date to delivery, and on some items it will be closer to 4 weeks. I suspect that if the news gets worse, the time it will take to get an order from either place will be longer. Please note: I am not endorsing either company and have no vested interest in either company. And, I placed a very small order with both companies last week. It may have changed by now, or if you place a large order, it may be different. Just thought that if some of you were thinking about ordering something and had not gotten around to doing it, you might want to consider the time it might take to receive your order.
Watching in Texas – at 14:30 Just FYI: due to the latest activity on the news thread and the fact that a number of posters have indicated that their PPF’s are increasing, I thought I would just post this for general knowledge. As of this last week, an order from Honeyville Grains, is taking less than a week to be shipped and delivered. Survival Acres is running about 2 weeks from the order date to delivery, and on some items it will be closer to 4 weeks. I suspect that if the news gets worse, the time it will take to get an order from either place will be longer. /////////////
Absolutely.
This happened last year with some clusters and Tsunami relief contracts, and of course with Y2K preparations.
MRE’s are just now coming back on the market after a year on backorder.
The food storage industry is small compared to the “regular” food industry, and the processing is certainly specialized.
Walton Feed is about 3–4 weeks behind, however Mountain Brook Foods in California is shipping within a week, so there are still viable suppliers out there….. NOW.
Don’t wait and expect to do any of this last minute.
Not going to happen.
Kathy in FL - We’ll be doing someinside painting starting tomorrow, but I’m finding it hard to focus on the job at hand with all the news swirling about. Think I may just have to “unplug” for a little while;)
Watching In Texas - Yep. I’ve been getting that feeling. I’ve got some things in my cart at Honeyville. Guess I’d better get that order on it’s way.
Bought 10 $ worth of books on Herbal, Alternative and Natural Health, plus 2 on Carl Jung, one on dreams, the other analysis, and oddly one that makes me feel very calm. Its a picture book of Princess Diana in her pregnancy with Prince William. There she is photogenic and lovely and serene. A natural beauty hughly pregnant. Sadly, that marriage was a disaster, but at that point it didn’t show, and looking at this English Rose, natural and genuine in her way with people made me smile. Life is good, but complicated. A little sleeping baby left at the door under the care of a complete stranger. We still have trust in other people in these little towns around me. I doubt it would happen in NYC or London or Paris. Bought a very comfy pair of Life is Good Logo Zoris on sale. Grateful to toss off the rather ratty 1$ pair I was wearing. So comfortable, and cheaper than the same sale item on the Life is Good clothing internet sale. I would have bought two, but its time to go to the bank, and I swore to myself to cut out using any of my credit cards for a while. Didn’t have a cent left in my pockets. I really like doing this reality check. You have to pay sooner or later. Going to a big pig roast tomorrow so better not eat anything till then. Everyone pigs out, supurb American picnic foor. Hundreds of chickens. 5 pigs, A few haunches of beef, and everything else that goes with it. Wouldn’t you know after weeks of gorgeous humid free weather, the humidity has begun and will be worse tommorrow. But there is a pool, and two shaded bocce courts under enormous weeping beeches.With so many children attending the hostess( a friend ) is always attentive to the weather, and so far no children have been injured, but she always breathes a hugh sigh of relief when it is over, without a hitch. A perfect hostess. It’s a set party, perfect in its way. For me, one of the pleasures of being older and single, is that I don’t need to do parties. You love it or you don’t.Depending on who sits near me I might find out more about county and state preps. Last year some county commissioner and I chatted, the year before some political wives and their husbands. Just have to sneak the subject in carefully and not press.Usually conversations are light and airy as we are all concentrated on oohing and ahhing over the hundreds of different sweets, cakes, pies and cookies that guests bring with them.
Thanks for the recommendation to try the Hormel shelf-stable meals. It would be too expensive to try and live off of them for a family of our size … but I thought “what the heck” get a few and throw ‘em in with the preps just in case. Well, I almost didn’t because the cheapest I found them was $2.50 a pop … stopped at a local Big Lots and found 2 varieties of the Hormel meals for $1.49 each. Bought 12 to use in case of extreme emergency only … too expensive for regular use.
Kathy in FL – at 19:07 Bought 12 to use in case of extreme emergency only … too expensive for regular use.
I agree, too expensive for regular meals in this household also, but good to have on hand for extraordinary times. We also took them on vacation once when we were staying in a hotel room with a microwave. We saved on eating out for a few meals and that was definitely worthwhile.
Watching in Texas – at 14:30
Your post motivated me to get to Honeyville grains and place the order I’ve been wanting to. I’m a single home dweller and my preps are getting close to where I am beginning to feel comfortable. I have a 200 gallon vertical tank for water that I need to complete the “filling station” plumbing for but for the most part, I’ve really kicked the prep activity into high gear. My PPF is at a rock solid 6 until confirmation of H2H in the newly reported cases returns positive. My gut feeling is that the pandemic will be upon us this flu season — qualified only by my own observational assessment. I value everyone’s input that I’ve read and appreciate the things you all have taught me.
Lily, Wow, a few thousand books! Thought my house was jammed with just a few hundred. Where do you put them all?! As mentioned on another thread, got my Aladdin Lamp, which I guess is about the fifth option for when the juice goes out. It is a very cool item considering the design is almost one hundred years old and puts out a considerable amount of light. Think this will be my last order of FD and Dehydrated foods, have been getting a box every other month. The fastest have been Emergency Essentials, ordered on 8/14, already shipped and should arrive on 8/22 according to their info.. Maybe later a couple of boxes of MRE’s, these would also be good if someone needs a care package like a friend or neighbor. So other than rotating what I have in the way of canned goods, water and that, am satisfied with my stores as is. Only thing left is possibly a breadmaker, as can not store much bread in our small freezer. Have come a long way from last September and those first extra cans of beans and veggies. It all seemed overwhelming back then, but it has all come together, so take heart newbies, one step at a time! Only thing left is to inventory and list it all so I know what I have and then if I really get ambitious, try to figure out what kind of meals and how many. The freeze dried and dehydrated veggies and fruits really give your diet some balance, man does not live on rice and beans alone. Even stocked a few dark chocolate bars, let’s see if they survive long.. Have Tamiflu, RWFK, WWFK, SMFK. Don’t know how effective the last three are, but will go out happy anyway! Be Well All
NauticalMan,
All of my walls are bookshelved and I have 10 times more than Lily in much less space.
I guess my ppf did quietly and sneakily rise because today I found myself with a full cart of chinese noodles, tamari, sesame oil, coconut oil and milk, ghee, lentils, rices, and various other cheap bulk foods from my asian supermarket. Then, I had to go to w-m to get a couple of containers for the new food. Also bought a case of motor oil from the auto store. Will have to spend a day this weekend putting the food into mylar bags…just when I thought I was done! On a positive note, we ran out of milk and opened a parlmat(? spelling?) for breakfast cereal and it was perfectly palatable.
ColoradoTom - glad my post helped someone:-)
NauticalMan - I am a firm believer in the effectiveness of RWFK and chocolate!! Just not at the same time….
FYI: WalMart’s everyday price on the Hormel meals is $1.49 and the variety is wonderful!!
Kroger’s has catfish (not exactly filets or nuggets) on sale for $1 a pound. When I bought mine, you could buy a case for $15 (15#’s.) Now, they are in packages on yellow trays with plastic wrap.
Tonight, I stopped at Dairy Queen to get a Power Slush for my grandson after football practice. They were selling food grade 5# buckets with lids for $1.50, with a limit of 2. I found that especially interesting. We stop there every night after practice, and tonight is the first time they were advertising this.
Oh… another interesting thing … well, at least to me. I was snooping around on my county website this morning. They have a posting for an epidemiologist (sounds like an assistant position) with emphasis apparently on tracking of infectious disease outbreaks. What this has to do with prepping… well… eyes and ears open, I guess! ;)
I went to Wally World this morning and bought all 15 of their 2% UHT milk. I also bought 16 of those two can La Choy dinners; the ones where one can is the meat and the other the vegetables (I have plenty of rice to serve over).
I pity the fools (in my best Mr. T imatation) that wait to prep. No UHT milk or La Choy for you.
Going to Sam’s tomorrow.
Bought a taupe market umbrella greatly reduced. Yesterday they had a dozen, when I looked today they had four, three coral, when I checked out they had one left. Good thing I stopped after the stop at the farm produce where I brought purple asters and a mess of sunflowers to bring with the piggie calender and piggie oven mit. I always bring something a little differenet though the blueberrie cakes at the market looked great. I keep thinking prepping is over for me, but its a treadmill you hop onto, a habit… My husband turned a wing of the house into a library, had the builder add studs in the basement to hold the overload, and built a library out of redwood. It probably is the reason I haven’t moved, He carefully made it detatchable, but it would cost a great deal to transport. Fortunatly my kids are biblophiles also. Its a great thing to detatch yourself from everyday problems by reading a cookbook or something light and frothy before you doze off. Need to get my flowers into some water, so stopped and am filling a plastic bag with water before zipping back for half price day at the book sale. Lost another pair of glasses, so I hope my typing isn’t too bad. Time to buy another dozen magnifying glasses at the dollar store.It will be nice to sit outside under the market umbrellas and read while its so pleasant out of doors. We had our really hot spells, but the grass is emerald green, you’de think yourself in Ireland, and this dry pleasant spell is a god send. I am getting acclimated to staying in one spot after years of wandering. SIP won’t be bad if I ease into it slowly.
Oremus – at 00:21 You have to watch the expiration dates of the UHT milk at Wal-Mart. I was looking at it a while back and it was all expired. I also bought some canned cream there that was at or near its expiration.
Melanie and Lily---nice to know that I am not the only book nut on the site—I admit it is a real sickness, but if the bird flu hits—I can read forever and have a lot of fun. My husband is building bookcases even as I write this.
I try to check expiration dates on everything I buy, but it sure lengthens the shopping trips (and probably annoys others as I search for the freshest items).
How long beyond the use by date can the uht milk go?I had a friend give me 10 quarts with yesterdays date.Any guesses?We used it for cereal today and the kids drank glasses of it chilled and liked it just fine.
Oremus- my family likes those La Choy canned meals pretty well-they are generally not keen on “instant food” Thats a good prep item. Your post made me laugh-dh is a big A-team fan!
Glad to meet other “book nuts” We ran out of book cases a long time ago, but we try to to keep the books corraled the best we can. I havn’t counted my books but theres at least 500 paberbacks in a niche in the hallway, four floor to ceiling bookcases-one in living room-three the library plus 16 milkcrates full, plus the books scattered here and there. We’ll have enough to read…..
I spoke with the VP of quality control of a major food producer. He said that the expiration date on canned goods were a suggestion. That is to say the food past it’s date may not taste quite right or may even taste “funky” but it will not hurt you as long as the can is not bulging, rusted or other wise impaired. It is the quality of the food that goes downhill not the saftey. Good news for me as most of my canned foods will expire next year, though I do not wish to eat funky food, at least knowing it won’t kill me or my family puts my mind at ease if we have to eat expired food.
Picked up my extra pair of glasses today, more propane and a marine battery and cables, also got my hair done with my daughter today; it was getting a bit unruley and its something I rarely do. Going to the state fair tomorrow with my kids. Surrounded by 100,000 people, not something I would want to do when tshtf, I’m trying to get fun family type things into the normal routine, I want recent happy memories should it hit soon.
I also am a major reader with books all over the place, I need more bookcases tho, the ones I have are over full, with excess on tables, boxes.
I need to make a run for more pet food, the cats eat like pigs. I have garbage cans full of food for them, my dog eats a lot less and he often shares with them.
Malachi – at 18:03 The milk is good for a short while after, but not months. I’d use it up in the next month if I were you. At six months past date it is separated and turning to something else. It is really a great milk, comes in full, 2%, skim, and small (school lunch size) boxes of 2% and chocolate.
I have been like everyone else here and prepping away , and have been feeling pretty good about what all I’ve got hidden. and then……..I get on a Government site about Avian Flu and they are saying prep for possibly three years. Three years, that’s a little more than my mind can take in right now. Three years, so come on someone please rationally tell me how a person preps for three years and doesn’t loose it completely. I’m ready for my Prozac now. I gotta go lay down. way tooo much for this little girl to even comprehend.
tjclaw1 – at 11:44
I always check exp. dates, at least since I started prepping last year. I have enough ( I hope ) UHT milk now, I’m just rotating the stock.
I’ve posted this before but in case anyone missed it: [[http://www.y2kkitchen.com/html/can_code_decoder.html|Canned Good Shelf Life And Stamped Code Decoder]] Surprising Expiration Dates
I think I needed a line separation between those two links, but they both work.
lady biker — WHAT? Please tell me what government web site is saying prep for 3 years!
Average Concerned Mom at 2345 I’m trying to get it to you but it doesn’t want to cooperate hang on.It’s on Survival Acres.com/bird flu
thanks lady biker! I see that is a commercial site, not a government site. Wasn’t actually able to open the “bird flu” section though to see what they were saying.
US Fire Academy has told us to prep for 3 months or one wave of flu as a minimum.
Personally I’m prepared for 18 months, with a 2 year goal.
But 3 YEARS ?
Ya, I’d tell you to prep for 3 years if I was selling you the stuff too.. LOL
3 Months should be a MINIMUM, and HOPE you can re-supply during a break in waves.
You are much better off prepping for at least a year so you don’t have to expose yourself in between waves and HOPE there is something to resupply with.
Does anyone have any helpful hints on storing potatoes and similar vegetables so they don’t go to seed? I would like to be able to use ‘the real thing’ for as long as possible before having to resort to dried, canned and packaged forms.
AnnieB – at 05:09
Keep them cool an dry with some air ciculation. Really 3–4 months is the best you can do and still you are going to have to check them often and remove sprouts. It is their nature to start growing again and you just can’t get around that.
We had a little SIP expriment this week, the kids and I. We stayed home all week and didn’t see anyone (‘cept DH) for a week) We homeschool in a rural area so it was fairly easy to do. Here are a few things I learned:
Oldest Son and I drink WAAAAAY to much coffee-must cut back.
Its important to have some kind of schedule-you don’t have to be rigid, but a schedule helps.
I’m thinking in case of a real sip situation keeing things as “normal” as possible is important.
I’m gonna need something to do with my hands-one can only clean a house so much. I have tons of books, but when the wiki went down I had trouble concentrating on reading. Maybe I’ll take up knitting again!
If the power stays on, it will be much much easier to survive all this-Something I think we already know.
Oldest Son (15) and I- sat down one afternoon and had a serious talk about bird flu-and other possible disasters and what we could/would do. It was rather amazing how he jumped on the prep-board, and he had some pretty good ideas! We’re working on a family plan,-he’s looking into some alternate energy ideas.
We’re cutting back on pre-packaged snacks-never used them much anyways but young teens need to eat. I bought lots of cheap bread (whole grain, high protein) at the bakery outlet) Kids love it-that will be one of my last stops before a permanant SIP.
I think my prep for today is live large. Life gives, life takes away. So much bad news yesterday. A young man with pancreatic cancer. A neighbor , like Mom of 5 who got a skin abrasion in Mexico, and ended up on IV drip for that nasty business one can get with skin wounds. Lyme disease in that one, sciatica in another, A exchange student drowned in his hosts pool at the age of 23. A young boy who had been scheduled for a sleep over with the 12 year old who was smothered to death by his mother. Very sobering news all round. The young boy will always mourne his friend, the family of the mature man with cancer will limp along as well as they can if it can’t be stopped. While his mother has him on every prayer group she knows and that aspect is covered, I”m adding him to the local prayer group. NNNNNOOOOOO politicians to talk to. Strange feeling off sadness, as though this is the swan song at the farm. While a blue grass band performed while we were sitting under the weeping birches it began to rain. (had gone to escape the flies, never seen before here) As it got heavier and heavier we retreated to the main tent, and with over 200 people the noise level escallated higher and higher, and rather than try to talk, or wait for coffee and desert, we abandoned the party. Though I carried an umbrella the line to the food tent would have been long, and who wants to feel like a drowned rat. Still, with wine, root bear, good food and company it was with mixed feelings that I left. A mile away, nooo rain. All the way home nooo rain. It was like one large cloud have hovered over the farm, and there alone had showered down on us. So, while I am always of the mind that LIFE IS GOOD, it also has its tragic moments, days, months and years.
?
Kathy in FL.: Thank you so much for sharing your family’s experience with stomach flu earlier this year. Your comments along with Dr. Woodson’s statement in his _Preparation for the Coming Influenza Pandemic_ that “preventing dehydration in flu victims will save more lives than all the other treatments combined” (17) spurred me into action.
After weeks of on and off work I’ve finally finished eight Rehydration Kits for family members. Into each cooler, I placed the following:
1.) packets of homemade O.R.S. (using the new lower osmolarity WHO formula)
http://tinyurl.com/gfb27
2.) enema kit for rectal rehydration
http://tinyurl.com/k9b47
3.) a one-liter nalgene bottle with funnel to mix the ORS
4.) a variety of unsweetened Koolaid to flavor the ORS
5.) some anti-nausea medicine
6.) medicine droppers/straws to help get ORS into very sick patients
7.) anti-diarrhea herb Tormentil Root
http://tinyurl.com/ry823
8.) a brief notebook with “How to” instructions
9.) a mini LED lantern
http://tinyurl.com/c9tng
I am keeping our kit in our bedroom when TSHTF.
Bird Guano at 1:37 USFA is stating prep for 3 months? Did I read that correctly? Is it on their website somewhere? Thanks…
I worked at Grand Canyon National Park for 9+ years. Five of those years I worked in the canyon, along the most frequently travelled trails with hundreds of hikers each day. During the summer months it was common to have multiply heat exhaustion cases, normal day 5–10, busy day 20–30 people. Most mild, some very severe.
The reason I bring this up is that dehydration was/is a common effect and can be extremely severe and life threatening. My experience, based on hundreds of cases that I worked, is that the oral re-hydration is critical and time consuming (have to be very patient). The best product that we had is called Gookinaid. To us, this was the best medicine (if IV was not available), looks and tastes like gatoraid, but the chemical makeup was a lot more effective in replacing the electrolytes into the body. I am not associated with the company and have not used the product in over 15 years, but at that time and place it was a true life safer.
Included is the link, but am just providing information based on my past experience. The excellent list that Stinkinrose put together, made me think of this as another possible tool in the tool box to address dehydration.
lady biker – at 00:09, Average Concerned Mom – at 00:17, BirdGuano – at 01:37 and giraffe – at 14:11 ---
Here is the SurvivalAcres website. A caveat here: they ARE commercial, and are quoting someone’s opinion from someplace called the “Sustainable Living and Common Sense board”. I’ve Googled and Yahoo!ed it and can’t find it anywhere. The author is claiming that a pandemic will last “years, not months”, and that people should store “several years worth of food” for survival. This site also has a political slant to it, and does a lot of “fear-mongering”. Oh, and the link for their “Bird Flu News Site” is Recombinomics.com
A quote from their “News”:
Bird Flu News Site (all the world developments and maps): Yesterday WHO (World Health Organization) was testing for Human to Human transmission. Today the US government is officially telling people to stock up. They wouldn’t do that unless they ‘thought’ (or want us to believe) that H5N1 was about to go pandemic.
COMMENT
Be very careful regarding what you read on sites that want to sell you something. They’re going to try to scare your money out of your wallet by making one helluva lot of false and misleading claims. If you read it on one site, search for it on other sites as well, just to verify the claims…
AnnieB – at 05:09
Try dehydrating the “real thing” and you still have the “real thing” … you’ll just need to rehydrate it. <grin>
I’ve done it so far with broccoli, grated potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn. All sorts of fruits but I usually buy my dried fruits in large commerical size containers as they are “prettier” than what I wind up with and are already packaged for long term storage.
Green Mom – at 10:43
I hear you and then some. I’d go nuts without at least a skeleton schedule … it helps you get from point A to point B, even if you have to make a few unscheduled detours.
Stinkinrose – at 13:35
Glad the bought of stomach flu helped somebody. <grin>
Seriously though, we as a family learned a great deal from it in terms of learning not to overestimate our capacity to do things while attending to the sick or being ill ourselves. Its also led me to prepare a sick room cooler full of supplies that has a home in the bottom of my closet at present. Had to get one with a locking lid because of our curious 2 year old or I would have put it under the bed.
I’m rethinking some of our medical preps this week. I was feeling fairly confident, but am now wondering what else to add. Our 9 yr old was at asthma camp the week before last: loved it, had a great time, but mentioned when she got home that one of her cabinmates had a lot of coughing, many nebulizer treatments, etc. I idly thought about the conversations here of unexpected disease transmission and hoped she hadn’t picked up a summer cold.
Well, we got a call from the camp director on Thursday. Turns out the cabinmate (who slept in the bed next to dd and was with her day and night for a week) had….*pertussis/whooping cough*. (!!!!) NOT what you want loose in a camp full of kids with lung problems! They were having to notify the parents, volunteers, counselors, kitchen staff, drs/nurses/resp techs who were on staff (and were treating her symptoms and yet, being asthma camp, assumed the zebra was a horse).
The dr here bumped up her DTaP booster by a couple of years and put her on antibiotics 4x/day for two weeks. (She is right in the middle of the incubation/early symptom period and has been feeling under the weather and coughing a lot, but that could also easily be the allergies which hit her hard this time of year). Apparently it was quite the talk of the dr’s office. We are quarantined and hoping that she didn’t get anything, let alone give it to my parents and niece and eldest dd who left for Colorado the morning before we got the call.
THEN it turned out that she had a reaction to the meds and was up sick all night long and now is on something else for the next two weeks and being watched closely by the dr’s.
It really brought home to me how easily the very serious diseases (which are supposedly ‘mostly eradicated’ can be encountered (not like I didn’t know it before) and how glad I was that we could make a quick phone call and get right in to the dr, get multiple rounds of meds, etc. Obviously I wouldn’t have access to antibiotics, but it has gotten me thinking of medical issues ‘outside the box’ that I now feel a greater need to prepare for, in case they hit at the same time as tshtf.
Stinkinrose, what exactly is your recipe for the ORS? Is anhydrous glucose the same as sugar? Did you use iodized table salt or non-iodized? Did you use salt substitute for the potassium chloride? The trisodium citrate, dihydrate, is completely new to me. Did you get it at a pharmacy? Thanks for the help!
Thanks HBB and Kathy in FL for your suggestions about the spuds. I have decided that probably the best way to get a supply of fresh veges is to increase the size of the vegetable garden. I am also going to get one of those camping food safes - the mesh cages that you stand in a cool air flow.
AnnieB – at 17:09
The nice thing about potatoes if you can grow your own is that the period without a real one is short, unlike other veggies like tomatoes. I harvest our potatoes before the first freeze in October and they last until about March. You can plant potatoes early in the spring and start digging them as soon as they are big enough to eat (no peeling necessary on young potatoes). “Peas and new potatoes” is the first dish eaten out of the garden around here.
HBB, in NZ, Christmas isn’t Christmas unless you have new potatoes and fresh green beans as part of your meal. My Mum-in-law always kept a small garden but these 2 were always guaranteed on the day … yum. (Remember that our Christmas is in the summer …)
Thanks—Bronco Bill @ 14:56
I was referring to BirdGuano’s post at 1:37--“US Fire Academy has told us to prep for 3 months or one wave of flu as a minimum.”
I was wondering if the info was listed on the National Fire Academy or United States Fire Assoc. website. I tried to locate any mention of avian flu on the site, but to no avail. It surprised me that a national association or training organization was speaking in favor of prepping for three months. If this organization is stepping up with such an anouncement, my family will definitely raise our own personal threat level…lol.
Did I misunderstand his/her post? thanks
Jane
The formula for the reduced osmolarity ORS formula is in this WHO document: http://tinyurl.com/jf99v
Let me know if the link doesn’t work.
Here’s how I made it:
My husband purchased a small digital kitchen scale to measure all ingredients in grams. http://tinyurl.com/jdf4x
For anhydrous glucose, I used regular white table sugar. For sodium chloride, I used non-iodized table salt. For trisodium citrate dihydrate, I substituted baking soda (the WHO documents that this is an acceptable substitute) For potassium chloride, I used “No Salt” (a salt substitute found in most grocery stores)
Then I just put all the measured ingredients in small sandwich baggies with labels I printed. I’ve made several hundreds for my immediate and extended family.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions. Cheers.
I went to a restaraunt in San Fran called the StinkingRose….garlic…loved it…..flu prep…Garlic, good shelf life
Chesapeake
I love that restaurant! and garlic is such a great antiviral with wonderful taste and aroma.
Cheers.
Bronco Bill at 1456 Thank you for that information , I wasn’t thinkin right I reckon and got a little shook. Three years was just a little much.
When I cook I usually use 10 times the garlic called for in the recipe.Love that stuff.My sister once made a remedy for flu or cold that was crushed garlic and lemon juice, pulp,grated lemon rind.It seemed more like an appetizer to me….Came across “The diary of Anne Frank” and reread it.I noted that they were eating in season crops and veggies and even peeling the film out of the pea pods and using that part of the food that we now toss out.Here it will be only 3 or 4 week until it is time to plant next years yummy garlic crop.My daughter and I picked 4 quarts of blackberries from a big wild bramble.We have the picky scratches all over our arms to prove it and will enjoy them all the more for it.
3 years. ~faint~
Just got a e-mail from Internet-Grocer.com, they now have a source for the canned butter, they will get a shipment in Sept. date not known, depends on customs. This makes me real happy, now I know I can do some real baking during SIP!!!!!!
Love Texas - Great news!!! Thanks for sharing. I’m on their list for notification, but haven’t heard from them yet. Canned butter - I’m almost giddy! :)
I’ve got a #10 can of powdered margarine. I’m hoping that between that, the butter I have in the freezer (I still haven’t attempted to “can” my own butter though I’ve eaten stuff that friends have canned without incident), the butter substitute I can make from powdered milk … and if I can find ghee … that I should be able to cover our butter needs.
This weekend I stocked up on household supplies from Family Dollar. I also drained and re-filled my water tank. I know that I could leave it empty and fill it when TSHTF, but I enjoy the peace of mind I get from knowing it is there and ready if I need it. In fact I give it a pat evey time I walk by it in the garage. While the tank was empty I built a platform out of cement blocks and boards to get it up higher and make it easier to fill containers from it. It was a herculean task to get the tank up on the platform. Have you ever tried to lift something heavy that is big and round?
On the downside, I have given up on stocking Vanilla Wafers. Instead I’m looking for a recipe to make them. I can resist eating them if they are in the cupboard unassembled.
Home Depot had Rubbermaid containers on sale right by the door of my S. Florida store, don’t know if it is regional or national. Unfortunately they were the 18 gallon that I can’t fit on the shelving in my garage so I had to go over to Lowes and pay a buck more for the 14 gallons that I can use. Home Depot also had some larger, 37 gallon maybe, Rubbermaids on sale as well as some really small ones that didn’t seem practical for prep use.
My only complaint with the Rubbermaids is they don’t stack well which is why I have to use the shelves. Lowes had a heavy duty model that was atleast 40 gallons and claimed to hold 400lbs on the lid. It was twice the money but you don’t have to worry about your items on the bottom getting crushed.
Hillbilly Bill
Can’t make promises, but try this one. I’ll keep looking and see if I can find any copycat recipes.
Vanilla Wafer Cookies
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies.
Kathy in FL - 13:09
As always, you are the bomb!! I can’t tell you how much I LOVE all of your recipes and all of the time and attention that you’ve spent getting them together.
Kathy in FL – at 13:09
Thanks! Is there ANY recipe you DON’T have? I’ll give this one a try and make sure I can make them if we have to SIP.
Thanks BRMM and HB …
After all the help that folks here on the wiki have given me … I want to try and give back when I can. Its trading ideas and lending support that will get us all through this with as few scars as possible.
“Its trading ideas and lending support that will get us all through this with as few scars as possible.”
So very true.
I thought I would share my Bird Flu treatment program since I got a practice run this summer. Of course it wasn’t bird flu but just plain pneumonia. I have a chronic illness that makes me susceptible and I am allergic to every antibiotic ever tried on me although my doctor has tried out a few that I don’t react to for a couple of days. My doctor understands how bad hospitals are for me for antibiotics and a few other complicated reasons so when I come down with pneumonia, he puts me on oxygen and breathing treatments and trusts my own herbal treatment. In June, I was hit harder and faster than I ever have been and they weren’t sure I was going to make it. Then I realized that I had my bird flu treatment. I was so out of it I had been thinking I should save it for survival of bird flu. Duh! I realized it wouldn’t do me any good if I didn’t survive until the pandemic. For three days I took the treatment except for one item and I improved a little. Then I had a dangerous night and my frantic husband realilzed we had forgotten the oil of oregano and began giving me that in large doses. In one day there was a dramatic improvement. Over the next few weeks, whenever I went off the gelitan capsules of oil of oregano, I would go down hill. I tried just that and went off the other stuff and I also went down hill so I believe it is all important, especially the oregano. Here is what I did: Two packets of emergenc-c per day in a glass of fresh lemon or limeaid, sweetened with real maple syrup. Also added a dropper full of elderberry extract to each glass. Two cayenne capsules per day, four capsules of gingerroot, a zinc lozenge, 8 capsules of oregano oil. I also was given a very high-roughage diet to clean out toxins. Needs to be natural roughage IMO. It scared me how fast this hit and now I realize that if we get bird flu and one of us even seems to be getting symptoms, we will start them immediately on the full program, no time to waste. And, if we believe the pandemic is really starting, we will increase our daily vit. C before it hits. I know some of you think this may not apply since this wasn’t bird flu but all I can say is, my family and I believe it will and this is what we will be doing. I don’t need scientific proof, it was in the pudding and I ate it and it was good! ;)
Dang, I forgot one of the most important parts. I knew I was forgetting something. Must have been psychological since I doubt most people want to do or even hear this but when you are fighting for your life, its amazing what you’ll do. Fresh garlic enemas was crucial for me. One a day, plus I drank down garlic suntea with honey. Actually, with honey I kind of like it. Weird huh?
A frog or toad got into one of my roof water collection barrels,result: lots of little tadpoles. we rescued them-a few went into a small (10 gal) aquarium for my daughters science porject, the rest we liberated into a farm pond. there was a lot of algae build up so the barrel had to be scraped, and washed out with bleach. Fortunantly, this barrel collects water for my backyard garden and NOT drinking water. So the fifteen minent chore of watering the garden turned into a halfday chore. Oh well.
I have a feeling that this might be an example of unforseen things that will pop up as we do more gearing down towards our possible SIP.
Vanilla wafers do not last long here-I’m also going to try Kathys recipie. Thanks!
Allquietonthewesternfront – at 16:02
I have one question…..you said, “Also added a dropper full of elderberry extract to each glass”……
In the prep lists here, once upon a time, I think either Owl’s or EOD’s had a link to a page explaining about cytokine storm & how chocolate can intensify the storm effects and it also said that elderberry extract did the same, or was suspected to do the same. The pages have been modified or something or I just can’t find the link anymore (the page had a black background and on it was a link to the light blue-I think-page explaining about chocolate & elderberry extract)…..
Anyway, I had taken the liberty of copying the following information from that website & added it to my own prep list which is published below Owl’s list. It said:
“Tamiflu or Relenza if prepping for Bird Flu-do NOT give black elderberry extract (increases Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha [TNF] & more cytokines which the H5N1 flu is already increasing called a chtokine storm) and don’t give CHOCOLATE to a H5N1 patient (stimulates TNF) “
So did you find that was incorrect or does the regular pneumonia not create a cytokine storm so you didn’t have any problem, but if it had been the bird flu & you took the elderberry extract would it actually aggrevate the condition by intensifying the cytokine storm?
I hope I worded all that right, I’m not good at this technical stuff at all, just remember that the elderberry extract was considered almost a poison, like the chocolate was in the case of BF & cytokine storm…..is it safe to take under regular pneumonia conditions but not under BF conditions?
Heck again and again…that was me above. I just can’t seem to remember that my computer cleans cookies on Mondays!
Elderberry is ok as prophylactic, but once you have the flu, yes, it promotes cytokines so is counter-indicatd in bird flu infection.
Elderberry extract is not for pneumonia. It only affects the flu virus, and nothing bacterial.
For secondary bacterial pueumonia infections, you need a good Rx antibiotic.
Chocolate considered almost a poison? Oh dear……..
That might be the most disturbing news Ive heard so far.
OKBirdwatcher—I got a e-mail about the butter because I e-mailed about something else and asked about it and she replied. I am sure she will let us know when the shipment comes in---
I bought a big bag of frozen broccoli at Sams last time I was there. I’ve just let it thaw and loaded it into the dehydrator. I can’t wait to see how it comes out. This will help rice ALOT.
Carrey in VA – at 11:04
I’ve dehydrated lots of broccoli. I use it in rice, soups, and stew recipes rather than reconstitute it and cover it with cheese like you can with fresh or frozen stuff.
I’ve never had a problem with it.
I like to bake rice, chicken, broccoli, cheese, and cream mushroom soup. YUMMMMY LOL
I also thought I could grind some up and use it in other things just to boost the nutrition. I could get really good at sneaking veggies into things if it were dried and powdered LOL
Kathy and Carrey - I just bought a dehydrator. ANy good links/suggestions you can give me for using this thing? What is the best way you’ve found to store the items after dehydrating? And how long do they last? I am worried about making us sick from growing bacteria or something while I am storing it.
or anyone with experience in the dehydrator area…. not being exclusive to just Kathy and Carrey :-)
amak, try the Excalibur website, lots of instructions on drying different products.
amak – at 11:22 --- Whilst you have power, dry your foods and put them in plastic bags and then into the freezer. I dehydrated fresh sliced tomatoes two years ago, and they’re still great in soups.
Dried Roma (pear) tomatoes are also really delicious when reconstituted in olive oil. Add a little garlic if you desire. I dried several gallon freezer bags full last year and they are still fine. As BB said, keep them in the freezer after drying.
I just bought a dehydrator too, a Ronco 5 tray from Big Lots for $30 — I need to line the trays with something for some chopped up onion & peppers…..anything around the house I can use or do I need to purchase liners from somewhere?
I dehydrate almost all my hamburger now. It is so nice to decide to make chili an hour before supper and not have to worry about thawing the burger and then frying it up. I just pack it into a jar and vacuum seal it keeping it on the pantry shelf. Its really nice.
I’ve dehydrated apples alot, but found that I will just eat and eat them till thier gone, so I stopped drying them LOL
I tried drying sausage like Ido the burger, it didn’t work well though. I guess the sausage just has too much fat, I could never get it all rinsed off.
Bird Guano, First off, I figured since this was the wrong place to talk about flu treatment since nothing else on this thread discusses it so sorry to others for hijack. Anyway, my pneumonia was viral, and in addition, I am deathly allergic to antibiotics. More to the point, since I was attempting to suggest a program to others, more to the point, bird flu is viral so that is the point here. I have to admit, I didn’t specifically focus on elderberry extract so I can’t tell how efficatious it was in my treatment but I have read a great deal about it on many flu boards (but not lately so maybe new info came out re: cytokine storms and sambucol) so I thought it was widely believed to help. I am certainly willing to adjust my treatment and obviously since I didn’t have bird flu, I can’t be certain what will work best. I studied it for months and put together my program. Any others know why elderberry was so talked up and now is thrown out? Does it conclusively cause the cytokine storm?
Most excellent series. This thread getting long, so continued here
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