Continued from here
Heh guys- everyone safe and warm? an inch of inch and snow coming down hard here for over 2 hours now.
Preparing for *blizzard* conditions here. DH is double-checking the kerosene heater. Hope our power stays on but glad we have our preps if needed. We’re so much better prepared for this now, thanks to (lots of time spent on) FluWiki. Take care all:-)
Hello All,
Watched the ice and snow come down…with a sense of satisfaction and contentment. Not a bona fide disaster, but certainly extreme conditions.
Conditions which my wife and I are well prepared for. So, with a hot cup of coffee and a meal heating on our propane stove, we watched the snow falling and the temperatures plummeting. All was well with us and our little corner of the world.
Maybe we all are not such crazy, paranoid, demented misfits after all?
Love you guys. Stay warm and enjoy the holidays.
P.S. Really don’t like the new forum, but will keep trying to adjust to it.
Brown,
Great to hear from you! I was beginning to worry a bit. Our little “blizzard” just confirmed why it’s a good(great) thing to always be prepared for whatever may come along.
“All was well with us and our little corner of the world.” Same here and may it always be so for us all:)
I too still like the old forum best, but visit the new one regularly and I am getting used to it.
DH is out on the tractor blading snow from the driveway - time to get a fresh pot of coffee on…..
I’m with Brown- prefer the old to new forum. The whole diary thing makes it very time consuming to find threads - where as on the old you see them all easily on 1 page with the hot posted topics at the top.
Got 3 inches of snow here- so serene and pure looking. Used teh gas fireplace last night. Dripping every faucet in this old house to keep pipes running.
Those preps are great- no need to venture out into the cold and dangerous streets. Have everything we need.
OKbirdwatcher,
How much snow did you end up with? While I didn’t measure it, I think we got about 10–11 inches here? We’ve still got about about 4–6 inches on the ground…a little more in drifts and a little less on wind blown patches.
Haven’t been out my drive to the road yet. Might go out either today or tomorrow…mostly to try and get the belated seasonal flu shot at the Health Department.
If they (the Health Department) are having this much trouble getting seasonal flu vaccine to the people, imagine what a boondoggle it will be with a pandemic Avian Flu?
I’m afraid fear and panic will be the norm, not the exception. Death and dying tend to have that effect on people…especially when their loved ones are those sick and maybe dying. They will probably feel that a desperate situation calls for desperate measures…and they’re probably right, although probably too late.
All the more reason to hunker down and try to ride out the storm…if and/or when it occurs.
Prep., prep., prep., be the ant and not the grasshopper, with Winter coming on.
Brown,
We didn’t measure the snow either, but easily got 10–12 inches. I haven’t gone anywhere since, we have everything we need here. I’m so thankful we didn’t lose our power. I really sympathize with all the folks north and east of us who have been coping for days without all the comforts and conveniences. It’s still dangerous walking around outside our home. DH has shoveled snow from walkways, but that thick layer of sleet that’s packed underneath hasn’t budged and the areas with lots of shade especially are going to take a while longer to thaw.
I haven’t gotten the flu shot and probably won’t. I have reservations about vaccines in general, although I have had the flu vaccine in the past and my daughter had all her vaccs. as a child. Hope I don’t regret it. I am certain I wouldn’t be getting the first pandemic flu vaccine they trot out. Too many worries about safety and efficacy. You might say I don’t trust TPTB and Big Pharma to have our best interests as their top priority.
As you say: prep., prep., prep., and SIP. That’s our plan.
I finally got out yesterday to prep a little more. My basket was pretty full. The exact words from the check-out guy were “Oh, wow.”
Maybe the next cold spell won’t be as bad. But, it was nice to be snowed in for a few days.
Michelle in Ok,
Yep, it’s about time for me to make another “Oh, wow.” prep trip too. I’d like to just stay out of the stores entirely until spring, but with Christmas coming and considering all the food we ate while snowed in, that’s not a very realistic plan. More likely for Jan-March. We still have plenty of preps left, but I feel the need to replenish.
Hello All,
Got out for the first time (since the snow starting falling) yesterday. Almost couldn’t get back into my drive because the road grader had piled snow/ice/mud at both ends.
While out, I got my seasonal flu shot…boy, my arm is sore. But, the acquisition I got and which my dear wife didn’t even raise an eyebrow about was: a new Radio Shack Grundig YB 400 PE short wave radio.
Haven’t done much with it yet, other than listen to OSU beat Syracuse in basketball at Madison Square Garden. Sweet. Radio Shack had them on sale for $99.97. Not my first or even second choice…but the price was right and hopefully I’ll have local service support or replacement. If we’re forced to S.I.P., then maybe I’ll be able to tune into what’s happening outside my immediate/regional area…thereby lessening our sense of isolation.
In any case, it’s good to hear that we all seem to be doing well under our present conditions.
God Bless and may all your dreams be nice…and merry.
bump bump
D.C.,
Seems like thee and me are it since the 5th. Don’t know what happened to our compadres, just hope it isn’t the pandemic or other such disaster…and nobody told me.
The snow and ice have pretty well melted now, but before it went the melting snow on the roof formed ice dams and caused water to come down between our double windows. Sure had the wife a bit worried.
Am sure glad that I put up an extra support roof cross beam in my new remodeled shed, otherwise I’m afraid the accumulated ice and snow would have brought it crashing down…as it did so many steel commerical buildings around here.
Is it paranoia if “they” really are out to get you? Whether the “they” be people, organizations, weather, circumstances or just plain wrong place at the wrong time? Maybe it’s just called life?
On the other hand, maybe they’ve just completely migrated over to the new forum?
Well, here’s hoping somebody shows up here before too long, besides D.C. and me.
Have a merry Christmas and remember Him who made it all possible.
P.S. In the last post, the paragraph starting with “On the other hand…”, should have said:
On another issue, maybe the absense of our compadres may be the result of them completely migrating over to the new forum?
Brown, DC -
I’m still here!!! Last time I checked the new forum there was no action on the OK Preppers “diary”. I’m hoping everyone is just busy with Christmas activities and such. I know I have been. I’ve been trying to decide whether to give family members prep-related gifts for Christmas. You know, emergency radio, non-battery flashlight, battery-op lighting, etc. I hesitate because I’m pretty sure those things wouldn’t be found on their Wish List ;)
We, too, had a little of that water seepage from the melting ice dams :-( Nothing serious though.
Brown, I believe you said in a previous thread that you had several water barrels on hand. May I ask where you came by yours? I’ve been holding off, but I think after the new year, that will be one of my first larger prep purchases. Any info would be much appreciated.
Take care.
Merry Christmas, Brown and OKBirdwatcher!
Hate the new forum format- will go only when forced!
Have noticed a large drop in activity on the board in general- both old and new versions- many people who posted in past have been absent- especially Okieman
Where are you Okieman?
Serious discussions have been largely replaced by nonsense or hysteria.
Maybe those of us that feel we are “as prepared as we’re ever going to get” are just browsing.
Personally, I do google news checks daily but only look though the board every few days and then rarely post.
Water- water here tastes SO horrible that I’ve used Culligan bottled water for years. Keep 6 Huge cooler bottles on hand plus the smaller individual sizes. If TSHTF will call and request immediate delivery of 10 more. With the water contained in all the canned goods, juices, and alternative ways to keep clean (such as alcohol towelettes) I think I’m in good shape. Have large barrels to collect non-drinking water from roof run off.
Christmas gifts all wrapped and everything done- avoiding stores- drinking eggnog and listening to Christmas CDs
OKbirdwatcher,
Picked up my big blue plastic barrels from the local metal salvage yard on the “truck route” in Miami. They were originally used for apple cider and so are food grade.
My only complaint with them is that there is not a LARGE top opening, rather than a screw out bung hole…the LARGE opening would be a lot handier for cleaning purposes.
As best I recollect, they were $5.00 each…but that was over a year ago.
Hope this helps.
“Serious discussions have been largely replaced by nonsense or hysteria.”
“Maybe those of us that feel we are “as prepared as we’re ever going to get” are just browsing.”
That just about sums up how it is for me. Although I still have prepping to do, I sure won’t get anything accomplished sitting in front of the computer every day. I feel less inclined these days to offer up my 2 cents on things. Lucky for the forum. lol
Water is the prep item I’ll be working on first in the new year. Still have a good ways to go.
Can’t learn to like eggnog, but I do love my Christmas music. Treated myself to a new Mannheim Steamroller cd last weekend. The tree is beautiful. Simple, but beautiful.
I’m avoiding the stores too, as much as possible. Mail order is my friend and DH runs errands as he’s already out and about going to work.
Bird Flu? What Bird Flu??? ;-)
Merry Christmas everyone!!!
Being an obsessive-compulsive personality and very concerned about the possibilities of an epidemic Avian Flu…I’m not sure I can ever be completely comfortable with my preparations. However, perhaps ‘tis the season to focus my attentions on other matters, such as family and my relationship with my Creator.
Everything in it’s own due time. A season for all things, if you will.
So, doubt I’ll be doing much, prep.’s wise, until well after the New Year (son getting married in early March).
However, will continue to monitor this and a few other sites just in case the balloon goes up and I need to scurry about for some last minute prep.’s (literally).
Enjoy the Season and to all, good cheer.
Merry Christmas to all!
DC? — 13 December 2006, 16:01
I’m still around. I have not checked this forum (ol yeller) in a week or so. Sorry to be slow in my reply. I have transitioned over to the new forum, but I have not been posting much there either.
Recently, a health problem has been identified in my family and I have purposefully not been on the fluwiki forum much. Once this issue has been resolved I will return and participate a bit more.
But, to be honest, I have not felt the need to comment as much as I have in the past. After following bird flu developments for several years (a year plus on Fluwiki), you begin to feel like you have said what you have to say and are now just waiting and watching. I’m not quite in “lurker” mode, but slowly leaning that direction as time goes by. I had decided to backed off on doing the Indonesia case maps as often as before. I was doing them every ten days. But since things slowed down I had decided to go to a monthly schedule. Alas, suspect cases have picked up again and seem to be gaining momentum. Right now I intend to produce a map for the month of December and an updated cumulative map at the end of the month. They will be posted on the new forum. If suspect cases continue to occur at the rate they are now then I probably will go to a bi-monthly schedule. Let us hope they do not increase, but trends from past years indicate there will be an increase (hopefully not in a logarithmic fashion though).
I would recommend making the transition over to the new forum. It is awkward at first, but after a week or two it comes natural. Ol’ Yeller seems clunky to me now. I also think the bulk of the serious discussions have migrated to the new site (not that there are not serious discussions still here on ol yeller, but I believe much of it has migrated.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We did our best to enjoy it, in spite of the fact that my MIL was critically ill and has been in the hospital since Dec. 23. She is improving.
Brown, I think I have a bit of an O/C personality myself at times and I too will probably never feel as though our preps are adequate/complete. But that’s OK. I just keep working on it. Have finally purchased some masks and sleeping bags.
I ordered 2 55-gal water barrels (also a siphon pump and wrench) today. Next is an AquaTank and water purifier. Then I’ll feel pretty good about our water preps and can move on to other areas.
The situation in Egypt has me a bit anxious right now, but maybe it will level off after a little while, like so many other situations. Fingers crossed.
Happy New Year to everyone and hope to see you posting here soon!
bump :)
Hello all,
The medical problem in my family has been addressed successfully and I am in a much better frame of mind. Worry is not useful, but I seem to do it never the less. I’m not too talkative when I worry.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
One observation I wanted to bring up is the fact that we have three different countries actively generating human bird flu cases at the same time. Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt. I don’t remember this occuring before. It always has seemed to be sporatic cases from one or another country, but not simutaneously. I can’t help but think the risk of a pandemic strain emerging has increased as well. Any thoughts?
On a different note, I plan on ordering my heirloom garden seed sometime the next week or so. I am going to try to grow herbs this year for the first time. Primarily herbs used in the kitchen (versus medicinal..etc). Any suggestions, recommendations or words of advice?
Ya’ll have a safe New Years holiday.
Okieman,
Interesting how quickly panflu takes a back seat in our lives when a family member is having health problems.
As you say, worry is not useful, but it seems to creep up on us anyway. The Indo-Vietnam-Egypt situation has me concerned and concentrating more on our preps than chatting on the forums. Guess that’s how I handle worry. I’m hopeful the cases in these countries will not escalate and we’ll be able to relax a bit soon.
Okieman, basil is super easy to grow from seed, as is parsley. Parsley likes to be sown in cooler weather (about like carrots), basil shouldn’t be sown before your area is frost free (although both of these will self-seed reliably for me). Parsley will live through most winters, too… just walk out and brush the snow off to harvest some fresh. I recommend the Italian flat-leaf parsley, has lots more taste and aroma than the curley-leaf type. For parsley, though, you’ll want to pull it up and compost it after it’s lived through the winter, because while it’s still edible, it’ll start getting bitter as it’s second summer goes on. Rosemary is another fairly easy herb, but I think you need to start with a plant rather than seeds (well, I do anyway). Rosemary will live thru mild winters, but man there’s nothing better than fresh rosemary.
OKbirdwatcher,
Panflu of the future does in deed fade into the background when a family member has problems in the here and now. One day at a time is all we can live, and the problems of tomorrow will be faced when they appear. It is important to maintain perspective. Plan for the future, good or bad, but live in the now.
Kim,
Thanks for the herb info. I have become fairly knowledgeable about vegetable gardening over the past few years, but I am very much at the beginning of the learning curb for herb gardening. I enjoy learning such things though and look forward to the next growing season. Thanks.
Hello All,
I’ve been preparing my heirloom seed purchase on and off for about two weeks. Also, think I’ll use Heirlooms.com for my source as they seem to have a good price and selection. However, they don’t seem to have purple hulled peas, nor jersualem artichokes or potatoes. Guess I’ll continue looking for an additional internet site for those.
As an update on my heating coal use; It’ pretty much of a success. Putting aside that it doesn’t smell particularly good and is quite dirty…it’s pretty good. That is, it’s much easier to handle. Instead of lugging several arm loads of heavy wood, one just shovels a wheel barrel full and unload it in a outsize outdoor trash can next to the back door. Then a 6 quart feed scoop full or two will burn for several hours. Easy on the back and less ash to dump, later. Pluses are: smaller increments, easier to handle, burns long, generally impervious to weather, cheaper, less work.
Will be making a pickup run for another load within next 7–10 days.
Kim, thanks for the advise on the cooking herbs. Helpful.
The Indonesian/Viet-Nam/Egyptian flu clusters are certainly worth monitoring and I will be doing so.
However, while I deeply believe in preparing for life’s eventualities, I also don’t believe in going into debt. Therefore, if disaster strikes before I’m completely ready, then it just will have to do it’s worst.
Having talked to a number of people about preparedness and possible pandemic flu…my less than “completely ready” will still be far more than most. Just pray it’s enough.
God Bless You All
Brown
I think you’re going to love those herbs. Be sure to plant rosemary and lavender- they get huge here and Smell so wonderful! Both have antiseptic properties
Can make lavender shortbread cookies and fascial toner. Rosemary makes a great hair rinse for dark hair and tastes great in so many dishes.
Oh- and lemon thyme smells so fresh and invigorating- great in tea, bath or to sweeten up garbage disposals
DC,
Thanks for the advice on Rosemary, Lavender and Lemon Thyme…I was wondering what additional herbs to include in my garden and/or around the perimeter of the house. Good smelly things make me smile…tried to grow roses once, managed to kill everyone of the 20 or so I planted. Here’s hoping your suggested plants are tough.
Guess it’s fair to say I don’t have the proverbial “green thumb”. Consequently, I try to go with those plants which are purported to be BULLET PROOF (both to folks like me and the extremes of Oklahoma weather).
Again, thanks.
Okieman and Brown ( Seed Savers Exchange is doing good work and has good selection) (might want to also look at Pinetree’s selection and prices, too) some easy, sturdy, useful, herbs might also include
chives (easy to grow, divide when clumps get too large) nice for chopping fresh on just about anything -except desserts. I like the flat-leaf parsley (and am going to try letting mine make seed this year), sage is pretty sturdy, and if you like to grill meat (my old Italian neighbors used to put rosemary on top of their chicken) probably could work well with sage (grilled mushrooms might taste good with sage), or for stuffing, and, oregano is coping up here in MA prety well so far, I use it fresh or dried, (haven’t killed the lavender either, and it is now quite large) and, I usually add chopped herbs to butter and freeze it in small glass jars -yum! Single butters, like basil or lemon basil, or chive butter, or, just mix whatever herbs you want.
(I have more lemon balm than I know what to do with; it is mint family, and, self-seeds, as does the “anise-hyssop” (“agastache”, but, I find that hard to say ;-); guess I better figure out uses for those. Herb teas comes to mind, although, the anise hyssop smells like it would flavor sugar nicely for cookies… mine has purple flower spikes and the insects love them. (Wish I could have a varietal honey from that herb!)
Health to you and yours in 2007. (Sneaking off to get my MA house in order…)
Just got through doing my shopping for vegetable and herb seeds. I used a company based in southern Missouri called Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Here is their website:
I felt like a kid in a candy shop, they had so much to choose from. They have the old standbys and alot of S. American, European and Asian varieties. Good prices. I’ll let ya’ll know how they turn out sometime around June or so;-)
I hope all the OK Preppers who have posted here on “Old Yeller” will come on over to the new forum so we can stay in touch. There are some good topics going over there. Pandemic Flu Information (PFI) forum is also a great forum you might want to check out. Find it at singtomeohmuse.com
OKbirdwatcher- Sorry but I just don’t care much for the new forum format!
Brown
Roses- try the Rugosa roses- I have 2 that I got at TLC Nursery in OKC- can also order bareroot online or by catalogs.
They go gang busters here- grown on their own roots, won’t die in hard winter, no diseases, huge rose hips for the birds (or Vit C for you)
Very fragrent and very thorny!
DC,
Thanks for the Rugosa Rose information! I also share your dislike for the new forum format.
However, I may just have to make more of an effort to acclimize…as I sure like the friends I’ve met here and it’s my understanding that as of tomorrow this format is read only.
Helpful friends, the comradiere of like minds, good neighbors…they’re kinda hard to find.
I don’t yet have a “fondness” for the new forum, but neither have I had any difficulty with it. I will greatly miss “Old Yeller”, but the information available at the new place is something I don’t want to miss out on. I’ll be hanging out there some, if only to read (mostly;-) I also “read” a lot at the PFI forum and curevents.com
Looks like we’ve got another ice/snow storm coming. I hope we’re all prepared. Stay safe and warm everyone!
Thought I would follow up on my post concerning ordering some heirloom seeds. The seeds I ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds came in the mail today. Very prompt service. They even sent me my money back for a couple of items they no longer had in stock. I’ve had a good impression of them.
Yep, looks like we are in for a hard time with the ice storm over the next few days. Reckon we will get to try out some of our preps if it plays out like they are forcasting. It’ll be interesting for a few days.
Ya’ll stay safe and warm.