Number Eks Eks Eye Vee. Continued from here
Kathy in FL – at 10:22
Carrey in VA – at 10:15
Homemade apple butter is far and away better than anything you find at the store … and I live fiddling with the flavorings/spices to make each batch just a bit different.
You can also make “butters” from other fruits as well … some of my favorites are pumpkin, pear, and peach.
Hillbilly Bill – at 10:23 another candle supply company
Hillbilly Bill – at 10:28
I think I’m going to start saving jelly jars and other small glass containers for candle making.
Sailor – at 11:07
Hillbilly Bill – at 10:28
HBB You would want to confirm that the jars you are using will not crack with the heat which may cause a fire if the candle is no longer contained in the broken jar.
well I just got back from shopping, I actually have fun finding what I want. I bought four more gas cans , filled them up added stabil and put them in the garage. every little bit helps. I did pick up more cleaning supplies and bath soap. can never be too clean about anything. I do have to get more meats and fruits and am workin up to that. I keep gettin side tracked. I am havin a hard time gettin away from cleanin stuff, probably cause I can’t visualize not having or being able to get anymore. I am putting up more pumpkin butter tomorrow. I bought some pumpkins and jars today too. fun fun time and it’s feel good time too. someone will enjoy it.LOLOL
Oh Boy Oberto! Thanks to someone’s heads up last week I went ahead and took advantage of the factory closeout’s that Obertos was having on their jerky and cheese products. free shipping on orders over 75.00 So today I got a huge box of all different types of dried meat. and some processed cheese. Well worth the $.
Also got the black berkey filter. Finally got DH to agree to rig up a water filteration system. Now just need to find those plans someone posted before…
Went and picked 4 bushels of grapes from a sweet couple out in Amish country today.They also loaded me down with squash and Rhubarb and tipped me off to a church yard sale where I got 40 pint jars for 4.00.Since I was in the neighborhood I swung by the discount/outdated/dented can store.Wow,I cannot stress enough how cool those places can be.I only started out with 12 bucks,but my list of finds included 4 pack double rolls of tp 60cents a pack,Taste of Thai seasoning packs and Peanut chicken coating 25 cents a pack,Taste of Thai fish oil 50 cents,Grey poupon mustard 35 cents,Star Bucks coffee beans 1.10 12 ozs,Progresso Lentil soup 55 cents,Great deals…..They also had local raw honey 9.99 for 6 lbs tub.I will have to return for those.With all my messing around I only got 3 1/2 gallons of juice made tho.
Boxed pizza kits make good preps. They store well and provide a decent meal as is, or can be improved with other preps such as canned mushrooms, dried or canned hamburger or sausage, dried or canned cheese, etc. The ones I get at Aldi’s make 8 big slices of pizza and the price is really reasonable.
Emergency Essentials has freeze-dried MANGO on sale for $ 15 a #10 can (when you buy 6 or more)
If you order one of the “group specials” (as long as you order a certain minimum, e.g., 6 cans of mangos) you get free delivery for your entire order.
I did that recently with the granola they have on sale. Ordered 6 cans, free shipping for everything.
Sorry, forgot to add “Emergency Essentials” to the above post.
well the apple butter is done and canned and boy is it yummy on toast!! My really big crock pot full of apples (one of those oval crockpots, not the smaller round one) made exactly 3 and a half pints of apple butter! LOL Jeez I didn’t realize it would cook down so much. But man is it tasty, and EASY! I peeled, cored and quartered a crockpot full of apples, then filled the pot about half way with water and turn it on high yesterday morning. Last night at supper time the apples were cooked down but still watery so I added the sugar and cinamon, then took the lid off,turned it down on low and left it over night. The next morning I had perfectly thickened and browned apple butter.
Next time I’ll let it cook on high over night, and then let it simmer on low with the lid off during the day so I can keep it stirred. There was a film on top this morning cause I hadn’t stirred it.
So if you’ve been thinking about trying, go ahead and do it. It’s SOOO worth it.
Thanks for the head’s up on candle making. My Joann’s going out of business and as I was browsing around I came upon the candle stuff. 60% off, I got vybar for hardening, a couple pounds of wax, and 12 yards of wick. I bought 24hour candles in heavy glass for 25 cents apeice from the grocery store(I got about 4 dozen). I plan on using them for Halloween and then refilling them. Would never have though about it if I hadn’t read it here on fluwikie!
HI
If you are in the Tucson, Az area the Albertson’s Food Stores have Quacker Oats in the big 42 oz size 10 for $10.00. This makes a great prep item.
Suzy
LOL: quack quack! Was that a freudian slip?
silversage – at 22:30
Yes, it was. Sorry about that. It should have read Quaker Oats.
I was just on the humor thread and my funny bone is still tingling…Don’t ya just love all our typos?
Hillbilly Bill – at 16:19
You can also turn those boxed pizza things into calzones by folding them in half after you’ve layered all your leftovers. <grin> Trust me … we’ve had some wild calzones this way, but they turn out really well.
For those of you who are looking for canned/bottled 100% juices to supplement your fluids in your preps … or you are looking for juices to make jams and jellies with … I just found out that our local Target carries blueberry juice and pomegranate juice as a regular item.
They also have some unusual specialty sodas … blood orange, strawberry-lime, green apple, grapefruit, etc. I’m probably going to go fill a grocery cart with that later this month. I want the blueberry and pomegranate juice for canning … the sodas will be for treats during SIP, if they last that long.
Also, they’ve got some half-size silly sodas for kids right now … gruesome grape, berried alive, spider cider, and <drumroll please> candy corn. Thought these would be great distractions for the kids if necessary.
And our local Target has some of its store brands of food on clearance. Their “helper” type casseroles are on 82 cents a box and weren’t bad at all. They also have their pkg of six microwaveable macaroni mixes for about a buck fifty I think. Might be a good, easy prep item for the kids to have on hand.
My BJs was havng flu clinic today. Zero line. I asked the nurse if they’ve been busy at all and she said ‘no. It’s been really slow”. Anyway, flu vac and pneumovac both for $50.00, for anyone who might be having difficulty finding them.
Got my Texas Atlas the other day. The husband started leafing through it and making little happy noises. The man loves a good map, I guess.
Picked up 2 more security cameras and a PCI card (ebay) that will take 4 cameras and record (I already had 2 cameras).
http://tinyurl.com/ptx27 Sam’s lists them for $40 online, but they are $20 in the store. My local store didn’t have anymore, so I hit the next store north and they easily had 200.
I think it is good for what it is, a cheap non-water proof color camera. Plus the 110v adapter puts out 12v so I plan to wire them to a battery if the power fails. I have a 5″ B/W TV that is also 12v and I would use a simple RCA switcher to change the cameras.
This has been a project before I started prepping for panflu that I’m finally getting around to.
I found a 23,000 BTU kerosene heater on Home Depot’s web site for $83 (marked down from $119). Shipping was $27. I checked our local Home Depot and the price there was $124. Today, I took a print-out from the web site to the store, and asked for the “online sale price.” They honored that, and I bought it for $83. I put it together, filled it with kerosene, and am waiting the requisite 60 minutes before lighting it.
The kerosene heater has exceeded my expectations. It is easy to light, heats a large room (and two adjacent rooms) very well, and has no perceptable odor except immediately after being extinguished. It is approximately 12–14 inches in diameter and a cast iron skillet can rest directly on the top plate of the heater and bring water to a boil in ~15 minutes.
I bought four blue 55 gallon food-grade drums for $16 each. Previously held soy sauce. He also had white drums which previously held vinegar. Had siphon pumps, extra bungs, bung wrench etc. too. Feel much better about our water supply now.
Also bought a boys bike (I have short legs) for $5 from craigslist. Now I have to learn about all those speeds. When I was a kid speed was only determined by how fast you pedalled.
I have been doing lots of ‘paper preps’…organizing birth certs & such, making a household inventory, etc.
I’m also doing a lot of reorganization in the garage and closets (to make room for preps & for ease of access in case the lights are out), with many resultant postings on Freecycle and trips to Goodwill, lol. We have a small house but it’s amazing what a change in priorities will do for how you view ‘stuff.’
Actual purchases are still on the extreme budget plan, though I was very happy to find a 2-for-the-price-of-1 pkg of the large size Lysol wipes at Walmart last night; managed to scrounge an extra $10 to get two sets. I’d been contemplating how to make them at home myself (visions of baby wipe boxes, paper towels, and 91% rubbing alcohol) but this is a happy splurge for me.
Everything has taken a back seat to my husband’s health right now, though. His blood pressure has been spiking since last week and 5 calls (in 4 days) to the cardiologist later (grr) there has still been no response from the dr’s office. Keeps me ever mindful of what life in SIP may be like. And even more determined to find a way to get the extra meds that have so far eluded us. (Especially since his mother died of a stroke at 45, only a few yrs older than he is now, and he is the age that his father had his first massive heart attack.)
I tried my hand at dehydrating pineapple and peaches today and learned a valuable lesson, which I will pass on to others: Don’t put the fruit on paper towels for the dehydrating process.
The towels absorbed liquid and some sugar and dried out, forming an impenetrable shell on the pan. I scraped off as much as I could and the pans are currently soaking in the sink in the hope the rest of the paper will dissolve enough that I can remove the bits.
In addition, there are bits of paper stuck to pieces of fruit. I picked off as much as I could but whoever eats those particular pieces will get a bit of extra fiber in the diet.
I’ve filed this under “Useful Information I Wish I’d Known BEFORE I Did It”.<grin>
Thru freecycle here I scored a nearly new vaccum sealer, 2 unopened boxes of bags, and 2 vaccum sealer casserole dishes. My brother is going to be so jealous. :)
Petticoat Junction – at 22:14 I hope your husband’s condition gets stabilized — that can be very scary for both you and him.
I know what you mean about the big purchases list being on hold…..but I moved one thing off of it yesterday. We’ve had a portable generator since before Y2k & we’ve used it on a few occasions. It runs off propane so I have extra BBQ tanks for it, but don’t want to have to use them up recklessly. Yesterday I went back to Sam’s, after having researched what I’d seen there the other day, got a guest pass from the guy at the door, and bought (with an added 10% fee for not being a member) a Vector Power Center.
It’s an AC/DC portable power supply with AM/FM & NOAA Weather Alert Radio. We can use the generator to top it off when needed (if the power is off) and then my husband can use it to run his laptop & cellphone to make working from home easier without running the genny for hours on end so he could work.
Eventually I’d like a solar setup to recharge things like this, but for now, this step helps us (me) feel more secure that he could continue to earn a paycheck even if the power is out!
I also bought a $20 15 million candlepower spotlight from Costco — it’s sorta bigger than the 2 yellow rechargeables we keep in our car trunks that NEVER stay charged. This thing absolutely lights up our living room as if I had all our major incandescent lights on. It’s amazing!!
I know that there are more powerful powerpacks out there; I was looking at a 600watt with 3 110V outlets, and the one I bought is a 400watt, with 2110V outlets, but we can use a surge protector in one of those outlets and increase the number of ‘things’ we plug in so long as we don’t run over the maximum wattage with any surges. But I got this one because it has a detachable LED flashlight, NOAA weather features & a USB port.
Coming home, my car ‘made a sound’ in the air conditioner which we’d had work done on a couple of weeks ago, so I took my stuff home & then drove to the shop to leave the car to be worked on. DH picked me up and on the way home I was telling him what I bought & explaining about the flashlight, the NOAA and the other great feature — a USB charging port. I was so proud of that! He then said, ‘why do we need a USB port’?
I was dumb-founded but pulled myself together long enough to say it was for his PDA, our digital camera, etc. That’s when he informed me that we don’t have anything that runs on USB’s!! I thought those cords that I connect our ‘little equipment’ to the computer with were USB cords but apparently they’re just plain cords.
SO. I’m going online shopping to see what all runs off USBs to see if I need to consider anything for a Christmas present!
He wasn’t upset about the $97 I spent on this powerpack because he can see the usefulness in it even if we never have to charge a USB.
I’m going to get a 600watt one with jumper cables next month for us to keep in our main car (it just doesn’t have the NOAA or detachable flashlight) and if the power goes out we can bring it in & use it so we’ll have one for ‘home office’ and one for everything else like cooking!
Decided to look into getting a big army kitchen tent.One that we can start a fire in.Will put it up way way out back in case things progress to hiding in place.We have no basement or hiding room and feel lately that it would be prudent to have a spot to get away to.
I woke up early for a major shopping trip to super Wal-Mart. Finished before noon and beat the crowds. Spent over $300 and didn’t even buy everything on my list. While I’ve always been a careful shopper I’m more aware of prices now and found that I can get better deals on some things at the grocery store.
Over the summer about a months worth of food from the pantry was eaten. Replacing it and adding more was the primary goal today. Besides food I bought three more large containers of lamp oil, a couple of propane cannisters, 6 containers of antibacterial handwipes, a big dispenser of Germ-X, a couple of boxes of N95 masks, solid air fresheners, multiples of toiletries and some cleaning products. Now I’m ready for a nap.
I think I should start cleaning out all the glass Sobe tea bottles I’ve been collecting. It’s astonishing how many empty bottles I’ve managed to collect. I prefer glass to plastic. Will also be researching 0 degree sleeping bags and learning how to knit since somewhere along the way I accumulated a lot of baa baa black sheep wool. I doubt if I could be accomplished enough to do a sweater. An afghan would be about my speed. I think everything I’ll do in the next weeks will be to conserve heat in my house. Clear plastic on the north side of the bedrooms. Bean snakes for the doors. Even if we don’t have a power outage it is reasonable to do what can be done without a lot of expense. My husband did some woodworking so I have a lot of good wood to burn if need be. Saw that climate change movie where they pitched a tent in the NYC Public library and burned books to keep warm in sub zero conditions. I decided then, last year ,that I would have to get a small pup tent to put in front of the fireplace and camp out indoors. I still haven’t, but all this talk of the grid being down is prodding me a little. It is time to stop thinking and start doing something.
diana – at 13:20 Bean snakes for the doors
great idea. A great way to keep down drafts and also a food storage item. I will make some.
Saw another thread about butane stoves and decided to check them out, did some research went to Sportsman and they have them for $19.99 and bought one as cooking source so I will be able to use more of my propane for heating. Also didn’t get one but a lot of you have talked about the Excaliber dehydrater being the cream of the crop—they had that on sale for $59. If you have a sportsman warehouse near you, they might have them on sale near you.
I placed an order for some extra reishi mushrooms (dried). I’m using my current stockpile of dried reishi to prepare for a tea mixture. You need a good grinder to powder the tough exterior of this kind of mushroom, though, unless you use a pestal and mortar, as some do. I plan to mix it with some chaga that I’ve also ordered. Reishi has been used by the Chinese and others as an immune response modifier as well as an anti-inflamatory. Chaga has been used by the Russians as an influenza remedy (strong anti-viral and one of the most potent anti-oxidants), among other things.
De jure, might you have a link to post for Chaga and reishi? Sounds interesting, thank you for sharing.
Al, the link for reishi is www.fungi.com. I have used them extensively before and am very satisfied with them. I am using a new source for the chaga, as fungi.com doesn’t have the dried mushroom form (they do, however, have the extract, but I’d like to make some hot water extracts with chaga to mix with other kinds). I’m using www.mitobi.com for dried chaga, and I’m just crossing my fingers that they’re as good as fungi.com.
De jure, does it have a bitter taste? I’m wondering if the extract could be added to herbal teas and if the taste is palatable enough.
In noticing your handle, I’m also wondering if we ought to start thinking, on another thread perhaps, about “model” draft legislative initiatives regarding panflu issues, specifically in the domestic relations,, child contact and visitation area but also with respect to law enforcement priorities in crime, domestic violence and domestic abuse issues in the midst of a national emergency. I know of nothing on the horizon about how the Courts and law enforcement will handle things that arise and how local resources will be prioitized. I am confident that even if the grid were down, some of our local court clerks and law enforcement personnel would drag themselves in to work, walking if needs be, at least in my area, even in the middle of chaos reigning around them. This has just been kicking around in my brain for awhile and I wondered if you’ve given it any thought or have seen any discussion about it somewhere. I’m sure that broader issues like debt relief might be introduced on the legislative level but I’m thinking local here. Thanks for the fungi links.
Al, there are 2 kinds of extracts: alcohol precipitates and hot water based extracts. Most of the active polysaccharides in medicinal mushrooms are soluble in water; however, there are different active compounds in the same kind of mushroom that can only be extracted via alcohol. So when you are looking at hot water extracts from cordyceps sinensis, for example, they are different medicinal compounds from the alcohol-miscible ones. As for taste, I have only tried the hot water extracts (teas). I don’t think they are bitter, but then again, I like the taste of mushrooms. Fungi Perfecti (fungi.com) makes their own kind of medicinal tea and I have had it on several occasions. It is quite good; however, I plan to use my own blend since I am selecting the kinds that are either powerful anti-inflammatories or potent anti-virals.
As to model legislative drafts, I can’t see how the court systems and status quo state law enforcement systems will be able to function to enforce the law during a pandemic. If the worst-case happens, I perceive the feds taking over as far as the law is concerned, even though they will be telling states that their on their own. I can’t perceive a situation where the under-staffed, under-paid and otherwise under-resourced local law enforcement will be able to handle the pandemonium (think Army hospital camps, something along that line). When you read John Barry’s book, the failings of Philadelphia come to mind (would we allow that kind of gross ineptitude today? Probably not.) In the absence of some kind of federal governance, I don’t see how the states would be able to pull it together to enforce the law. I could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong.
anonymous – at 09:25
I’ve been watching tents on Ebay. Haven’t seen a “kitchen” tent, but have seen some very large army tents. Also, I have been looking at Yurts. There are some do it yourself Yurt kits… but… that is some serious tent making!
There were 5 diffrent homicides this past weekend and the news tonight talked about they didn’t have enough crime scene vans and people to get to all of them and the lab is backed up bigtime. One lady said this was the worst situation of not being able to handle everything in over 25 years of working at the crime lab.
In a pandemic they will really be overwhelmed.
I will work more on security preps. Have gotten door and window alarms that run on batteries but obviously need to do more.
Crime labs across the nation are notoriously underfunded and understaffed. I can’t watch the CSI type shows because they completely misrepresent these situations. Its not at all glamerous, and these people work in the most appaling conditions. Crime scene/lab techs are trully unsung heros.
I have spent every day of this month so far canning, dehydrating, and freezing the harvest from my garden, plus various specials from the local grocer. I have about 3 months worth of canned meat alone, packed in pint jars. Then I have a lot frozen too, my freezer is packed to the very top! It sure made me happy when it got that high, let me tell you. I will have to do some more meat canning though after reading Hawn Boy’s post with his recipes for chicken, beef, and pork. Gosh, I almost started drooling just reading the ingredients.
The prices offered at MREdepot are too good to resist, so I will probably be placing an order every week as long as the special rate is honored. I can’t afford to buy a lot every week, so the 2 1/2 month limit will let me stock up on long-term preps which I am deficient in at this time.
On another note, I am taking a trip to SAM’s Club this weekend to get the dog food restocked. We buy a new bag every time we open a bag, so they always have at least a 6 week supply of food. I need more hand sanitizer, and I love the large containers they sell there. I make it a practice to grab at least 1 large prep item for long term stores each time I go, usually focusing on food. Last week it was a HUGE jar of dehydrated onions, and a 3 pound bag of coffee beans. Gotta have my morning cup, even when TSHTF.
And hubby promised me Big Berkey for Christmas…he asked what I wanted and so I told him. ^_^
DenisC and others r/e propane heaters: About how long does one go and what type of fuel are you using? A 20lb canister? We have a FP and can camp in that room, but in case someone is sick I’d like to have a heat source for another room.
Deborah - lol a Berkey for xmas! Too funny!
KathyinFL: also at Target and other places, Crystal Light makes these “On the Go” packets - single serve flavoring that you can add to a bottle of water. I’ve stockpiled a bunch for the kids so they don’t sick ofplain water all the time. My DH loves them - he has to watch his sugar and would prefer a soda and these have helped him drink more water.
Off to BJ’s today to buy more shelving to re-organize all my preps. I’m sick of trying to find them all over the house. Spent yesterday moving junk all over the basement to make room for it all. What a project - and dh is out of town so there I am trying to move a freezer by myself lol! If TSHTF and things get ugly and I need to hide preps, I’ll just move it all back again.
BTW: in one day alone, two different friends’ had children break a bone! Everytime I hear that (and my own youngest recently did the same thing) it makes me shudder to think of emergencies in pandemic situations!
LauraB, for a small room, try the Coleman Black Cat. The output is 3,000 BTUs and they can operate for 6 hours on a 1 pound propane cylinder.
Before I moved to sunny Arizona where it never gets cold, I lived in upstate New York—where it was cold all the time! We had a woodstove that would eat eight face cords of oak all winter long, but we supplemented that with a Toyo Kerosene heater, which completely heated the upper floors of the house. These newer heaters are very safe, with tip switches, wide bases, cages around the globe, etc. If I really needed consistent heat I would look into a kerosene heater, as the fuel is easier to store (and hide!) than a huge rick of firewood.
We are now looking into getting a larger water filter—any recommendations out there? What about the Berkefeld?
Thanks in advance.
Jenifer, the Big Berkey is a high end stainless steel model. For about 2/3 the cost, you can get the same filtration quality (0.2 microns)in the plastic Katadyn Gravidyn.
Jefiner – at 09:45 I have the Big Berkey (from my pre-Y2k purchases) and I love it — but Dr Dave is right — the Katadyn plastic didn’t exist when I was buying in 1999 so it’s probably just as easy — the only consideration is that the stainless will NOT pick up odors or get discolored from dirty water where the plastic could if you poured filthy water into it (which you can certainly do if you have to) so you want to have a really BIG funnel that you can line with coffee filters to pour water into to strain out the big impurities before you treat with your filter otherwise the inside of the plastic might pick up odors or stains — it might not — but I wouldn’t risk it. Whichever you get, be sure to order a repair kit for it….the most vunerable part is the spigot, but you need some gaskets or washers or whatever they are to make a new spigot fit properly if something happens to the original.
Dr. Dave, I got your emails with the booklet you wrote on being self-sufficient for 6 months — EXCELLENT JOB — thanks so much - I wrote you back — have a great day!
I love my Berkey water. I bought the Berkey Light which is plastic with a lid made from material. I really am pleased with the water but I wish I had purchased the Stainless Steel Big Berkey for a few dollars more. Dh still makes fun of my Berkey, he will look at it and laugh and say “You could’ve had a stainless steel one”. Uuggggg.
And by the way I hated the material lid and now use a glass lid from my stock pot.
Also, someone posted here about using two 5 gallon buckets, the Berkey filters and making your own! I wish had seen that first, because that’s what I would have done. Lehmans sells one in their catalog, so you can see a pic of one there.
Thanks for the info! The Gravidyn looks like the good choice (I will prefilter water through several layers of coffee filters).
Off to order from REI . . .
Jefiner, don’t forget to look at the earlier water filter discussions about other posible pre-treatments for your water before it goes into your Katadyn.
Petticoat Junction at 22:14, or anybody with high blood pressure:
If you are having trouble stabilizing high blood pressure (or can’t get your meds), cut back on salt intake drastically (no canned goods, no convenience foods, unless no salt added), and drink lots of water. Look at the sodium content of everything, including bottled salsa, drinks, bread -it varies drastically. Keep your intake to 2000 mg of sodium per day or less. Forget V8, most soups, canned chili - it’s out of range. Home canning is best for convenience foods, but you can get a lot of no salt added canned fruits and veggies in the “Great Value” brand at Wal-Mart. Also look at Mexican brands - less salt, and often packaged in the USA to US standards. The label discloses where it’s packaged - often Southern Cal or the Northeast US.
We went through this with my Dad - after three weeks of fresh fruits and vegetables, lots of fiber, no salt added tomatoes and veggies, low sodium cereals, crackers, bread, everything, he cut his blood pressure meds by 2/3 - and he’s very overweight. Good thing to remember when stocking preps for high blood pressure family members.
Thanks Dave and Jefiner!
KimT, Thanks for the tip about the butane stove. I’d never been to the Sportsman’s Warehouse before (didn’t even know there was one in the area). Since the stove was only $19.99, I felt I could afford to get one---to supplement my propane campstove and my charcoal BBQ---plus a few cans of butane.
I looked for the Excalibur dehydrator, but, unfortunately, they didn’t have any. When I asked about them, the employees clearly had no idea what I was talking about, so they apparently haven’t ever stocked them here. Too bad---I’d like to get a dehydrator, but I’m holding out for a good one and don’t want to pay the high price.
I looked around local stores but only found 2 styles, no Excalibur, so I ordered online. I found a $40 Nesco American Harvester without a timer at Meynard’s hardware near Chicago. It does have the heater at the top, so juices won’t drip on it, but I’ll have to return it after my Excalibur comes. The Excalibur website points out that the round ones don’t have as much usable space, since there’s a hole through every screen for air circulation. (Yup, I read all about it, so when DH sees the charge next month, I’ll have something to say.) (But he told me to get one with a timer. :) ) (Online there are many sites offering Excalibur, but I didn’t find it cheaper than the company’s site, because they give a few free items too.)
I orderered my Excalibur from the factory web site, too. I like its removable trays. One could use them in a make-shift solar dryer if there’s no electricity.
check on ebay for excalibur dehydrators—they have refurbs and scratch n dents available at a cheeper price.
I don’t prep because I think it will become a pandemic. I prep because it may, or it could be anything else coming down the pike that we can’t see , which just might overwhelm us. Today got two bags of books. Had them moved to my car by a dolly I commandeered for that job. Learned in the past that overloading and carrying the things in or out of the car leads to bursitis and visits to the physical therapist. So you out there whose ligaments and tendons and muscles aren’t in prime condition ,take it easy.My pandemic library is in the basement. Added all kinds of hunting fishing, cooking, medical, herbal, books. Took a Junior whopper and coffee break between paying full price and bag for $3.The place loaded with toddlers and youngsters. Hope we all make it through. With Dengue and Chik making such inroads I am reading up on these two viruses. I was startled at how close they are to home. Evidently the mosquitoes which can carry it are in Morris county a 5 minute drive from where I live.
diana @ 14:47
I don’t prep because I think it will become a pandemic. I prep because it may, or it could be anything else coming down the pike that we can’t see , which just might overwhelm us.
I agree with you totally…for me prepping is a part of my life…I plan to live prepared for the rest of my life. I like the feeling.
Spent this past week refurbishing our “retirement” home. Its really a second home that we can’t afford to move to full time until we retire <grin> so we currently use it as a monthly family getaway type thing … which is fine, but no vacation as the place is always needing something done like mowing, tree care, etc. With five kids to soon put through college, retirement is a heck of a long way off.
But after being unable to take the family there since May when we had a terrible amount of vandalism done to it, it was nice to finally have it back in the kind of shape we can take the kids to. We are back to having all the walls and cabinets in as well as running water.
Found out my mom is saving me all the empty jugs … not milk jugs, the clear plastic stuff … she can and is having her neighbors save them for me as well. Got nine one-gallon water bottles and decided to bring home six and leave three there. Also scored some large empty condiment jugs from a sandwich shop. Cool, as they make great containers for storing rice and pastas. Will be great to keep any trespassing rodents out of the groceries as well.
On the down side, I came home with a laundry list of linens and stuff that I need to replace that were ruined. Ugh. Also found that a lot of the paper goods that I had stored there had gotten ruined by water. Double ugh. Will replace and will be storing them in a different way.
On the up side, the shutters and roll down doors are now finished. Gives me a nice glow-y feeling to throw all those locks and bolts when we leave … even if the place does wind up reminding me of Fort Knox. Security comes at a high price, but after our bitter experience we were willing to pay it … but it still sometimes feels like shutting the barn door after the cows are already loose.
Kathy in Fla - Glad your second home is liveable again, and very glad it’s so secure. Perfect for sip.
Congratulations on the restoration of your second home. I’m watching a house that is built around another rising. It was nothing much, and I see everything but the foundation and chimney is gone. Now it is evolving into a very expensive home, with solarium, porches, turrets etc. What an opportunity these people have, but I don’t think they are thinking of anything but building a grand house. Still, it is interesting to watch.They have enough acerage to farm it out and get farm rate taxes. They built two barns and for a while sheep were grazing. One of these days I’ll ask a neighbor who keeps track of this sort of thing what is going on. Just think what any of you would do in a situation like this, what a golden opportunity. Sort of Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House.
Hindsight is 20–20 and there are certainly some things that I would do differently if I had it to do it again … more storage, larger fireplace, water storage/purification system, solar panels, etc. But overall we are pretty happy.
Kathy, I am so glad you are getting everything put back together!
Purchasing prep stuff is at a standstill here at least until next month’s paycheck. (I literally dug change out of the bottom of my purse and the car yesterday to manage to buy a couple of sale bottles of 59 cent spice at CVS. The gal looked at me like I was a nut, counting out pennies, lol.)
However, there’s still plenty to be done. Organization, copying files, etc - many hours left to put in there. When the site was down this morning I had a brief panic trying to remember which files I’d copied off and which I hadn’t. ;o)
My big prep of the day was of another type. We had been given a telescope, not professional but a step (or two) up from the normal department store variety. Catch was, it was literally in pieces (as in a couple of sandwich bags + box).
I contacted the head of the local astronomy club and we got together this afternoon. He very graciously put all the parts together (only missing a few screws…I’ve always had a few loose, though, lol) and showed me how to set it to our latitude, fine tune the other settings (it’s an equatorial mount) and got us up and running.
I figure if the electricity is out and the kids are stuck in, it might be a very nice diversion indeed. ;o)
The seniors are getting their flu shots at their monthly meeting. One gentlemen brought in his medals. He was one of the men at D Day in the European theater. Very impressive display of his war medals from the Bronze star; I think a little admiration made him feel rightfully proud. I wonder how many men of the fourth division are still alive and kicking. Now I will go and enjoy the hugh apple pie and other baked goods that the ladies have brought in. A generation, (oldest is in her very spry and beautiful nineties) that we could all emulate, and I hope all reach agewise. Saw “Queen” yesterday, and there Elizabeth 11 stood in a pink old wooly bathrobe clutching a hugh hot water bottle in the chilly hallway of Balmoral Castle. Another lady from the past . generation. Will go redeem a bunch of newspaper coupons off for more and more canned clams and clam juice etc. The second world war is in my mind today between the medals and the film.
My shipment from MREdepot is due in tomorrow. After it arrives I am getting my flu shot. I have been trying with no success to contact someone with the LDS to ask about local canning facilities. I guess I will have to try a regional number, no one ever answers the phone at the number I am calling. No message machine either, bleah. On the whole, my preps have grown nicely since I started prepping in earnest at the start of this year. I need to focus more on meds I think, since the food and water supply needs have been pretty much taken care of. I know we could use more food supplies, but balance is important, and I have very little in the way of general flu meds. I will always be grateful to everyone here for opening my eyes a year ago.
Expectorants Fever control meds Rehydration salts
Plus the stuff you would need for first aid if you were shut up with no outside help for a couple of months.
Last week kids and I sat down and drafted a written pandemic plan. Far and away the biggest chore on the list is a thorough cleaning/organization of the house. We need more space for preps, and we need to get rid of clutter to make cleaning/disinfecting easier. The possibility of sharing their rooms with young cousins during a SIP has thrown my two teens into a organizational frenzy. My son is even building a shelving unit!
So this week, we are suspending our homeschooling activites-there will be plenty of time for lessons later, and completely cleaning every inch of our house. As an incentive, we are throwing a big Halloween/Samhain party Saterday night.
Speaking of disinfecting … that will be the first thing on the chore list as soon as we are up about about. I swear I’m beginning to think our 2 year old is some kind of typhoid mary. Every time that boy gets sick he spreads it through the whole house before we can do a thing to stop it. <ugh!>
Today is actually cold here in Tampa … will reach about 71 degrees maybe … and I’d love a chance to open the windows and air the house out. But while we have a few still running low grade fevers, window opening in out.
Kathy in FL – at 13:41
It takes a smaller viral load to get him sick. He builds it up to a level to get you sick.
At least he’s cultured. 8^)
Now that is a chuckle 71 degrees or to us Canadians that’s a comfortable summer day. We have windows open until it is about (in US terms) 0 degrees. What would your normal indoor temperature be? We have lower our indoor temperature in the day time to 55 to 60 degrees and at night 45 degrees (normally around 70 degrees)so we can start getting use to cooler temperatures and where more socks and sweaters. We use a programmable thermostat.
OMG I get cold it it’s below 70 degrees. We try to keep our thermostat on 68 degrees (wish we could keep it lower), but our living room ceiling is 17′ high and all the heat goes up, so we keep it a little warmer at 68 and dress warmer as the weather gets cooler. That’s why I love to build fires every night…..love that warmth! I kept a pet heating pad on the couch all the time for my 22 year old kitty with arthritis, but she died in May…it’s still there and I’ve been turning it on and off now for days because my feet get so cold. I like being warm like a cat does.
I went to Big Lots today and bought thick cushy, warm, Dearfoam house slippers to put in our bug out bags for $5 and some cordovory ones for my husband that retailed for $25 and I got ‘em for $6. Also, flannel pj’s for $10 (seemed a little high, but I was there & they were cute) and some thermals (tops and bottoms for hubby) and bottoms for me for $5 each piece.
It is time to rearrange things again, it seems like I spend a lot of time doing that! I have ordered a apple peeler it will come Friday, can’t wait want to do a lot of apples this fall. Going to dry them. I need to get back to my shopping now that I have had my vacation. I need to make a big list----
Green Mom: “Far and away the biggest chore on the list is a thorough cleaning/organization of the house. We need more space for preps, and we need to get rid of clutter to make cleaning/disinfecting easier.”
Ouch! Big undone chore on my list, too (and, it’s getting late for me to clean and have a Halloween/Samhain party…)
Love Texas, hope you enjoyed your vacation…..I had thought about an apple peeler, wanted to make and freeze some apple pies to bake, but I don’t think I can justify a peeler just for a few pounds of apples — maybe next Fall I can do better!
I can’t remember who was asking about a coffee grinder??? I found one on mainstsupply.com
I am still looking but I think this one could work.
I’m not sure where to begin….recently one of my precious cats died unexpectedly. He used to sit in my lap when I’d type on my laptop sitting on the coffee table and lean over onto the laptop and rest his head on the built-in mousey thingie and move the mouse around unexpectedly as he tried to get comfortable, or on my hands, causing me to mix up my ‘R’s and my ‘T’s and other letters.
You may have noticed my typing would stink at times and that’s why — his head was resting on my while I typed. He would also love to try to sit on the keyboard, totally NOT allowed, so I used a Priority mail box and made myself a “cubicle” for my laptop! It had a top and sides and a back with a vent cut in the back for air circulation & I had covered it with pages from my favorite calendar so it’s colorful & I never minded it sitting in the family room where we stay most of the time.
I just can’t bring myself to get rid of it and probably won’t ever since it’s useful for holding paperwork on top so that it’s handy without the cats walking on it if it were lying on the tabletop.
Another thing he would do and the others do too, is lay on my chest while I’m watching tv on the couch with the laptop nearby. The light from the screen would cast a glare on the keyboard so I couldn’t see the letters and since I could only reach the keyboard with one hand, I’d sit and peck out messages to you guys with one finger, trying to figure out what letters were what by their location. I know how to type without looking of course, but it’s suddenly different when you’re doing it one-handed.
ANYway, I tried putting a battery-operated LED tap-light in the top of my cubicle but it was visually in the way and it was hard to turn on and off at an angle with just one hand, etc., and it wouldn’t light up the keyboard much to make it easier to see the keys.
Well, the other day I bought a 400 watt battery pack with radio & light and flashlight, etc. from Sam’s — it’s great — and it also has a USB port charger. I thought we had USB things since we have a digital camera, but my husband told me that we don’t. Oh well.
I started searching on ebay to see what we were missing out on by not having anything that needs USB capability and boy did I hit a gold mine! I still don’t have anything that needs charging through a USB port, BUT on ebay I found this cute little set of USB thingies that plug into the back of your computer and I got a set of “toys” that include a LIGHT on that bendable wire cable stuff that you can shape and it stays in place, a FAN on the same shapable cable, and a MASSAGER with a long cord so you can put it behind your back or under your leg or wherever you want a massage and it really works well (I’m glad because I bought my husband a different type light for HIS laptop in case the power goes out and he has to work from home)!! All for around $10 I think it was for my 3 toys.
Trouble is, I only have 2 ports available in the back of the computer since I use a mouse that’s plugged into one port, so now I’m off to find a port hub at Best Buy or WalMart or somewhere. I looked on ebay and found hubs with up to 7 ports. That would mean I could get one of the little sets of Christmas trees with USB connectors for the top of my box/cubicle!! :-) Won’t I be uptown! I’m actually getting a little chilly with this fan on! You can only unplug the light and the fan by unplugging them, but the massager has an on/off button on the back of it.
Lordy, who knew such things existed……all because I bought a 400 watt battery charger/emergency alert thingie at Sam’s for $94.
Here’s a note for any dark chocolate lovers who are looking to increase their prep stocks of chocolate -
If you have an outlet mall near you with a Harry & David, swing past sometime. I was there last weekend and they had chocolate bars (75% plain or 72% with nibs) on sale for either 3 for $5 or 12 for $12. These are regular size 3.5 oz. bars. A buck a pop is pretty good for the dark stuff! I am not sure how long the sale lasts, though.
Also, I saw yesterday that Eckerd has 70% Lindt bars (again, 3.5 oz.) on sale for $1.69, not a bad price at all.
Budget prep idea from here:
I got to thinking about maps after looking through my new state atlas and realizing that our USA atlas is almost ten yrs old and probably rather out of date.
So…I got online and looked up the tourism board websites for 8–10 surrounding states and ordered their free tourism packets - each one of which includes a full-size official state map. Took about 15 min total and they should all be here in a couple of weeks (plus the kids will have extra magazines to cut up for crafts).
Or maybe we’ll just plan a little vacation in case this doesn’t pan out. ;o)
Stop and Shop sells the very dark mostly cocoa bars by Lindts for 1.99, but Eckards price is better, about what I used to pay a year or so ago. Will swing down and stock up. I don’t like being around on mischief nite, and not many kids come trick or treating. Getting tricked out as a gypsy, Snowy white Black forest blouse, black velvet lace up vest and a black Austrian ethnic skirt with lots of spangles and ribbons. Is any one else out there nutty about dressing up for Halloween? Used to win prizes as a kid, guess I never will grow up. Kids don’t come round nowadays, so I miss seeing all the costumes. Not worth stocking up candy for trick or treat. If I see kids I give them my shiniest change. (Wash it so its sparkling).
Anybody have an opinion on what OTC meds for colds & flu actually work, now that they are all re-formulated to stop meth production? It seems they are not as effective as before.
I’ve never really used those for colds and no one has had influenza that I can recall, the past decade or so, (just some food poisonings, or, 24 hour gastro-intestinal stuff), I just use separate things; one for pain/fever, and maybe an expectorant when I got bronchitis. Lots of fluids, warm herb teas, ect. I used to take extra VitC, like, the EmergencyC mix.
Those OTC cold/flu med combos never seem to be what I want; always some extra component I don’t need…
Colds always seem to last about the same no matter what I do.
Oh -if I do get cough drops, I check the active ingredient % The menthol % can vary quite a lot; brand and flavor don’t mean much.
(hm; dark chocolate as couch medicine, eh?) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antitussive
crfullmoon – at 13:55 Colds always seem to last about the same no matter what I do.
Ah, yes; another quote from my favorite physician of years ago. “We can treat that aggressively and cure you in 10 days. If we do nothing, it will take a week and a half.”
If anyone needs baby food the wal-marts in our area at least have select Gerber baby foods 4/$100. That is less than half price. One of our stores had them in the center aisle on a pallet with them stacked in shrinkwrapped cases. Good expirations dates of 1–2 years. The other wal-mart I was at just had them on a shelf by the regular baby food. I bought 10 cases of 24 jars. I asked the cashier if anyone else was buying many and she said no. She said she was going to get some to put back because she had a baby that wasn’t eating baby food yet. Maybe other stores have sales that are that cheap but none of the ones I shop at do. I was thrilled to be able to get them at that price and can’t imagine people that are using baby food not snatching them up.
And the pre-mashed foods are also pretty good for those recovering from the flu.
Not just babies.
LA Escapee- You can still buy thoses meds you just have to go to the phar. and ask and show your drivers L and sign. I use them all the time as it helps my headaches. I have been stocking up a little at a time I don’t want them to think I am into making drugs. Hope this helps!!!!
CRFullmoon-
Couch Medicene?
countrygirl77 – at 17:10 If anyone needs baby food the wal-marts in our area at least have select Gerber baby foods 4/$100
Man thats some expensive baby food LOL LOL LOL
I read that a Canadian cold/flu product is now going to be marketed in the USA. The name is Cold-FX & it boosts your immune system. You can take one a day to prevent cold/flu (I don’t do that because it isn’t cheap)or take as prescribed for fighting a impending cold/flu or full blown cold/flu. Go to Google and type Cold-FX
I have used it over the past few years and at the first hint of a cold or flu “if” I get it in time and keep taking it for about 10 days I do not get the cold or I get a very weak strain of it. In the past 5 years I’ve had one cold (I didn’t take it soon enough). I got it last at Costco for 180 tablets at $55.00 but since found it at Superstore for $44.00. I am in no way associated with this company. I fought a cold two weeks ago and I won. My husband who didn’t take the pills right away had it for two days and not enough to slow him down. I don’t know of any other product that works as well.
We had dead wood in our trees trimmed to protect the wires, I bought some waterproof hiking boots, and my Pump’n’seal and-ta-da— the Excalibur dehydrator came! Now I have to get back to dating, shelving, and inventorying my foods, while the frozen brocolli and carrots get dried.
DW and I brought home two more truckloads of firewood yesterday. Now we just need to get it stacked and under a tarp.
Have been having pleasant interactions with Police. Went into a store at dusk, left lights on for about 10 min. Battery Dead as as dodo. Nice cop helped out. We talked about my town, he had wanted to buy a house there, it has a reputation as a good family town. Certainly not the most charming of the towns around here but notably down to earth and family oriented. Picturebook houses painted in unusual combinations with a backdrop of rolling hills. Today I was scoping out some overloaded pine trees to photograph, and if next to the road to gather cones for the fire. Evidently drifted over the shoulder line a few times. When the young officer heard my checking out the oddities in nature spiel he realized I was one of those wacky enviormentalist types and kindly let me be, since I obviously was neither drinking nor on drugs.. Very polite men. You feel safe with this sort of officer. Tomorrow it will be raining at least an inch an hour, so I think I’ll do an inventory of what I have, and what I lack. I’ve beem dumping bag after bag down and procrastinating..It’s time to check what I have and think things through rationally.Get more water in before it begins to snow.The trees will lose the rest of their color tomorrow. Winter arrives. here by Halloween.
Got 60 pounds potatoes sitting on the floor,have to stay there as I`m off to another town to work this weekend. Have celery drying, hope it`s done before I have to leave. If not, guess I`ll just throw it in a ziplock and put into frig, until I get home Mon. am.
Funny about all those tators. I actually don`t eat them very often. I`ve gotten into the habit of buying just 1 or 2 bakers at a time, and then still have them go bad before I eat them.So, why did I think that I have to have them ? Well, I guess eventually they`ll get eaten. ;-)
Still wish I could get a woodstove, but don`t think my landlord would be happy with me if I chopped a hole in his roof for stove pipe.Good thing that heat is really not a problem in my desert.
My local Walmart had vacuum-packed whole pitted dates, 840 calories of sweetness and loads of potassium and fiber for $1.50 each. I don’t know whether that aisle item was a national offering or not. The expiration date went clear out to July 2009.
I thought that was a good price for the shelf life, the amount of calories, and the sweet, nutritious addition to my stores.
Our local Walmart has hand-crank flashlights for under $8/ piece. I tried them out and they seem to work just fine. I bought a few extra (I figure they’d make good barter items in a bad situation).
Just got back from making a Costco run, and got some great deals on canned meats. They have Roast beef (Kirkland brand) that is cut in chunks in a beef broth that’s really good! I just had to open a can when we got home, and it tastes like homemade roast beef. It’s tender enough that you can shred for use in burritos, sandwiches, etc., or use as is for beef stew or stroganoff. It’s only $1.67 a 12 oz. can (6 pack for 9.99.) I also got canned turkey (12.5 oz)for $1.82/can, chicken (12.5 oz) for $1.63/can, premium wild Alaskan pink Salmon, skinless & boneless for $1.50/6 oz. can, tuna for .52/can and even got some premium sardines packed in soybean oil for $1.16/can. Dr. Woodson recommends all of these in his book for good sources of protein w/o a lot of the bad fats. They also totally shocked me by having cases of MREs w/ heaters for sale. A case of 12 for $56.99 (that’s $4.75 each.) They are the same ones sold by MRE Depot (just ordered a case of them a while back.) The brand is A Pack, distributed by Ameriqual Group in Evansville, Indiana. Each pkg. contains an entree, fruit bar, cheese spread or peanut butter, raisins, cracker, cookie, drink, utensils, towelette, etc.
Sorry about the formatting. I’m new and need to practice.
Welcome Debbie in Ala!
I have been here a while and still need practise. :)
Found a possibility for shelf-stable “real” cheese. The local grocers have become setting up little kiosk type things with Hillshire farm and those other cheese & sausage makers that really come out the woodwork at Christmas. Forget all their names.
Anyway, noticed they had some nice blocks of cheese … the two I noticed were “smoky” and “garlic” … with use by dates way out in 2007. I know I could get them used up before then if need be.
I thought that we had everything. Then today, our local smaller grocery had Big Chunk chocolates. Remember those? These, however, were giant Big Chunks with 16 chunks of chocolate with the raisins and nuts. I must get some more and vacuum pack them and freeze them. You know, for comfort foods. :-) I also got a few cans of Chunky New England Clam Chowder. One of my favorites because it it thick and rich. I hate thin chowders. I just have to figure out how to store oyster crackers. My Food Saver has a pulse option to just take out as much air as I want but I don’t know how to get it to preserve the crackers just right and not crush them. I also got a couple of large bags of dried fruit and nut combos. Need to vacuum pack most of it in canning jars but I don’t know if it will keep the nuts from turning rancid. Is it the air that makes them rancid over time or do they need to be frozen or refridgerated as long as possible?
Thordawggy – at 01:01 -snip-I just have to figure out how to store oyster crackers. My Food Saver has a pulse option to just take out as much air as I want but I don’t know how to get it to preserve the crackers just right and not crush them.-snip-
Silly dawggy, use your foodsaver with a jar just like you do your dried fruit and nut combos. Empty the crackers from the box and into whatever size jar seems best for use. (I use 1/2 gallon and quart size for dry storage generally) If you are the only one going to eat the crackers, you might want them in a small pint size. Then use the jar sealer attachment. The crackers only crush if you try to put them in a bag. You can also pulse the foodsaver on the jar after dropping in an oxygen absorber so that you take out just enough air to seal the lid down.
Speaking of vaccuum sealing jars. I did this last week with some mason jars filled with wheat berries and last night I heard about 3 of them pop off loosing their vacuum. I have had my sealer since they first came out and I have never sealed jars before. I have to say I wasn’t really impressed while sealing because some of the jars just wouldn’t seal.
Do others have this much trouble or am I doing something wrong?
Need more food, I’ve experienced the same problem with jars sealed with my FoodSaver losing their seal after a short while. You might consider getting a Pump-N-Seal, a small manually operated device that is MUCH more reliable and easy to use for this purpose.
Mouse traps, the covered kind at half price. Have to stop and stock up on that and fill up on the bottled teas I have been drinking out of my prep stock. Heavy rains, and overnite the trees have dumped most of the remaining leaves. Roads covered with leaves and slippery. One of the towns has a steeplechase race that raises money for the local hospital, sorry for anyone who braves the mess .Lakes and slippery mud and muck. The fields where just reseeded. Reminder to go out and buy some Wellington boots. The police and auxilary police are out in full force, they’ll be a lot of stuck Suv’s limos and cars, and the usual excited and inebriated crowd of young men. Gale force winds expected. What a god awful mess its going to be. Very exhilerating, a little danger, and tow trucks to pull you out of the muck and mire. Must go and buy the mouse traps.I’ll talk to one of the committee mens mothers and find out all the gory details of the steeplechase tomorrow. I gave away my Wellies to a avid gardener, am very sorry now. It’s a day for chunky clam chowder and oyster crackers, will stock up on those too.
OK!!!!!
We just had MRE’s for lunch! THEY ARE GREAT!! My ONLY 2 suggestions for convenience is that you put a pair of scissors or a knife with your stash of MRE’s. If you have wet hands (raining) or a bad cut or a broken finger or arthritis, it’s harder to open the inner packages — not impossible, especially if you use your teeth, but it would just be sooooo simple with scissors, and that keeps you from breaking your pop tart or crackers, etc. And 2, that you put napkins with your meals— you might need to wipe your fingers or mouth or catch crumbs!!
There is enough in the kit to stretch the whole day if you’re not just doing back-breaking work all day long - a breakfast tart, a couple of snack things and a main course.
If you’re unsure about how these kits work, you get a plastic bag that you tear the top off of and you open a box, take out the main meal and slip it into the top of the plastic bag. Then you open a salt water pouch and pour the salted water into the plastic bag, fold the top over then tuck the bag, folded end first, into the box, close the box and let it sit for 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, I opened the other little packets — my kit came with raisins, crackers, peanut butter, a strawberry poptart type thing, pepper, a packet of red fruit powdered drink in a small packet but big enough to flavor a 20 oz glass of water nicely, and an oatmeal cookie. And a moist towelette. (No napkin)
My husband ate the Chicken Noodle kit and he everything I did except he got a spreadable cheese packet (so I gave him my peanut butter and I ate his cheese) and a shortbread cookie instead of oatmeal. 1180 calories total.
I had the Spaghetti with meat and sauce. It was heated thoroughly, tasted GREAT — was seasoned well so that it had some ‘spice’ to it — not bland kid’s meal sauce. Large amount of food, covered my salad/dessert-sized china plate (smaller than a dinner plate). One of my cats licked my plate after I was done — he’s finicky so that was a good sign too! 1310 calories total.
My husband’s Chicken Noodle looked like a chicken pot pie with out the pie dough. He said it tasted GREAT! Was unsalted, but very flavorful and he had a pepper packet but didn’t use it — said it wasn’t needed. He’s full now.
I’m forcing my 3–1/2″ wide (guessing) oatmeal cookie down and washing it down with the last of my red fruit drink, because I’m already full!!!
This is definitely a package/kit that can be spread out over the course of a day or at least a half day.
These came from MREdepot using the word fluwikie as the promotional code! Buy with confidence — I’m gettin’ some more!
Yes, the MREdepot.com site is for real. Steve is giving a 21% discount on any and every item in his inventory to those who use the word fluwkie in the promotional code. I have received a couple of orders and will order more stuff.
diana’s post above was another good reminder to have a good set of boots, wellington or not. You should have Gore-Tex waterproof and Thinsulate insulated boots. They are pricey, but you get what you pay for. Might be a great Christmas present for someone you love. And don’t forget the work gloves, several sets.
We could enter a very labor-intensive outdoor sort of existence in all kinds of weather. You will be more on the same survival level as the rest of the predators and grazers and nest-builders on this planet. If you lose the functional use of your limbs, you are toast or a burden to your survival pod.
Our ancestors would have killed for the durability and qualities of boots today.
Must-haves, for me at least, have been a pair of short, light snowshoes and a pair of ice cleats.
There have been many times when I couldn’t have left my house due to deep snow or ice without these and if town resources are stopped or if one doesn’t want to chance a fall or accident while shovelling, these would certainly give one more freedom and safety. My dog appreciated the snow-shoes too as they made a nice path for her into the woods.
Got this in an email from Amazon.com:
Stock up and save at Amazon Grocery, a store filled with stuff you need and stuff you love, everyday staples, and fun new snacks. For a limited time, we’re offering a $10 instant rebate when you spend $49 or more on any combination of items offered in Amazon Grocery, including food and household items.
Use code— GROCERY3 —when you check out. This offer is valid through November 30, 2006, and there is no limit to the number of times you can use it.
Plus, all products offered in Amazon Grocery are eligible for Amazon Prime and FREE Super Saver Shipping.
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 14:40
OK!!!!!
We just had MRE’s for lunch! THEY ARE GREAT!! My ONLY 2 suggestions for convenience is that you put a pair of scissors or a knife with your stash of MRE’s. If you have wet hands (raining) or a bad cut or a broken finger or arthritis, it’s harder to open the inner packages — not impossible, especially if you use your teeth, but it would just be sooooo simple with scissors
I tape one of those free letter openers you get at trade shows to the inside of each MRE case.
I have bags of them.
Zips MRE’s right open, and no chance of getting cut, because the razor blade is concealed in the plastic.
That’s a GREAT suggestion! I had a couple of those around at one time……
Closed for length. You can continue in Flu Prep XXV.