Third thread! Continued from here
Can you guys believe we’ve rated a third link to our thread!!! Or however you could describe this page. We must be getting down-right chatty!
We are growing in use, in participants, in knowledge, in community, and in readiness. Thanks to all of you!
Thread #2 got continued after I’d posted this, so I wanted to carry it over here so you’ll know about it….here’s what I posted last night:
Hey folks, take a moment to read this!
I wanted to mention to you, since they’re not pushing it on fluwikie, that the fluwikie ‘powers that be’ have achieved non-profit status & gave an address for donations in one of the Ask the Moderators threads. I hunted it down and posted it below in case you want to write it down & send them some helpful funds every once in awhile — a dollar or $5 or more; I’m sure that anything you can send would be gratefully appreciated. Send checks, or cash at your own risk.
I can’t express to you how much fluwikie has changed my life — I THOUGHT I was prepared for anything after Y2k, but never considered how we would get along if one or both of us was seriously sick. Only after camping out here and learning from all the folks here so many valuable lessons & tips, do I really feel prepared for handling illness along with a serious crisis.
Not only that, but my skill levels have increased, from learning more about using my canner/pressure cooker, to dehydrating, to solar understanding, etc.
If you can relate to anything I’ve mentioned, then please consider sending these guys a donation — I’d love to hear that they were swamped with donations from Alabama!!
Thanks for listening, my envelope is going out tomorrow!
Rose
Melanie – at 00:42 Yes, we’re a non-profit now. You can send a check to Box 195, 1096 W. Broad Street, Falls Church, Virginia.
Dennis in Colorado – at 10:28 Jefiner – at 08:50 Zip code?
Per USPS Web site, 1096 W. Broad Street, Falls Church, VA has a ZIP Code of 22046 - 4609.
Melanie – at 04:58 There are known legal problems with PayPal. For the time being, make the check out to Flu Wiki.
See the following link to find these entries at their location on fluwikie for verification of what I have pasted above:
I also posted this which might be of some help to you - I know we’re all bad about looking backward for previous posts - so here this is for those interested in food & menus: I’m-workin’-on-it – at 20:35 One other thing I wanted to mention to you guys that I had posted on another thread was that if you’re ‘into’ trying to figure out balanced meals & stuff from your preps, you might want to try a website that I use to track my calories, fat, carbs, and all kinds of nutrients compared to my activities that burn calories, etc. I use www.fitday.com
Try it out — play with it some — it’s very versatile and you can add and delete stuff at a whim. Here’s what I wrote to someone on another thread about fitday:
I’m soooo glad that you found it helpful! Use the setup goals for best tracking of your progress — there’s one report that shows a graph with a slanted line downward from where you are to where you want to be with your weight, then it shows each day’s entry by weight as little grey dots that are connected so that line bounces around and should follow the red line. I’d started out below the red slanted line, but right now I’m above it. So I went ‘off’ my caloric count for awhile to let my body rest, and first of next week I’ll be back ‘on’ again, trying to get below the red line!
I have to tell you that it’s interesting to track the preps we eat on fitday — it helps me to see if we’re getting balanced meals or if I’m heavy on the carbs (almost always am), etc.
The BEST help that fitday has been with prepping is that I can take Kathy’s (and other posters) recipes over in the food threads, and enter them under “new foods” to check to see what the ratios of fat to carbs to proteins are and write that down under the recipes — just like they do in recipe books — for future use. You don’t have to leave the foods saved in fitday, you can delete them when you get through with copying the information over so it doesn’t clutter up your fitday food files.
wow, three threads, why we are really chatty. Is everyone having a great day today, the weather is beautiful and my son and I just finished watching some movies about predators of Africa. I think today’s class is going to be a little low key, and just enjoy the day. One thing about prepping and an awareness of life changing, is not taking it so for granted anymore. I now take time to sit on my poarch swing and just relax at least every other day. For someone who felt like she ALWAYS had to be doing something, this is a big adjustment for me. I appreciate the small things and try not to take anything for granted anymore, funny how impending diaster makes you slow down and live life now. I am thru the stages of fear,panic, irritability, and the horriable feeling that what ever we did would really not make a difference. Now with faith and hope I just live everyday and prep with a future planned the best to our ability. Hope ya’ll have the best possible day and God bless ya.
Hello fellow preppers, I have great news!!!!!!! FINALLY, my neighbour took the time out to come over and watch Dr. Olsterholms lecture with me, she is now a believer…..YEAH!!!! She plans to prep, and get RXs filled etc. Gave her the link to this wonderful site, now to work on the rest of the block….LOL
NoFluingAround – at 23:10 that’s wonderful news! What peace that must bring to you. I’ve worked myself into feeling down in the dumps because I reached out to family with no luck at all, and after 3 days of sulking about it, I just feel so depressed. I’m glad you’ve made progress with a neighbor to prove it CAN be done.
guess we are lucky to have only two familys around here.both well stocked and aware of whats going on.we all have been here a long time and look out for the other.we are blessed with good hunting and fishing and share what we have.i hope each of you have or can build good relations with neighbours close by.talked to my eldest daughter the other day about her preps and somehow we got on the subject of her neighours shes lived there almost a year and doesnt know anyone.thats not too good.is it!
No worries I’m-workin’-on-it, it will happen, give it to them in small doses. It has taken me all of 6 months to convince my neighbor, and remember, all you can do is advocate, what they do with that info is entirely up to them. Having said that, chin up.
Sabrina :o)
Yep, I feel all fired up today to get more things done. Better than yesterday! I plan on getting to Radio Shack today for one or two goodies! But I’m not buying any more coffee for my husband — I’m putting chocolate instant breakfast for ME in it’s place — especially since he doesn’t tell me when he takes one out of the pantry so I can track my inventory. sheesh….
LOL, I think the only prep that I have actually finished is my coffee stash. I plan to also get some Tylenol PM for those nights when I’m entirely to stressed to sleep, I don’t think that is a bad idea, What are your thoughts?
I’ve used it and it’s a good sedative.
One consideration is that if we’re as tired as some say we will be from rising early, hauling water, washing clothes by hand, cooking for ourselves, etc., then we might be naturally so tired that we’ll go to bed early & sleep well without needing anything. But I have those days when my mind just won’t let go of worry, so I understand the need.
The other consideration would be your safety. If someone is by themselves, I’d consider not using anything, so that you can stay awake and alert to intruders. On the other hand, with a family other people can stay watch while you sleep so a dose or half a dose may help tremendously in your taking full advantage of what time you might have to snooze.
nothing against tylenol pm, but it always made me have really intense dreams. I switched to valerian root, 3 tabs a night, and it relaxes you right out to sleep with no druggy feeling the next morning. You can get it a health food stores, and I have even seen it at walleyworld. Not very expensive, oh but one thing, it really smells bad, I mean really bad, but hey it works,
Hi frankview, how’s your 11 yr old doing? Better I hope! Interesting about the valerian root — I’ve never used it….battling an intensely bad smell right before bed might make me feel all tense again! But I might brave it and give it a try!
11 yr. old up and about, feisty and total boy. Played mortal combat with him, used to be pretty good, many years ago when I played with now 23 yr. old, but this one moves so fast without even looking at the controller, that I lost every match but two. The valerian root is really good, and was having insomnia prior to finding about avian flu, and then it just drastically increased after that. My mom suggested this, she used to work in a health=food store. If you hold your nose like you used to make the kids when they had to taste bad smelling medicine, you can get it down. How is everyone doing in Alabama? I went to books-a-million today and purchased a book, can’t remember if it was suggested here or at ATF, anyway it’s called THE LAST TOWN ON EARTH BY Thomas Mullen. It is a fictional account of a town during the 1918 pandemic and the choice that the town made to quaratine an entire town and the consequences of this decision. It is based on true accounts of towns that actually did this and the results. Sounded interesting and I had run out of other material to read. I will let ya’ll know how it is. I plan on starting some canning Monday, thought I would go the the local veg-fresh and see if they had any bulk veg. to sale cheaper.
Hello all: I am sort of bummed out today. Trying to get some remodeling done (still). Only have one person close to talk BF to. My wife doesn’t want to hear about it. Thinks it is just like Y2K. We spent mucho dinero on preps for it. She thinks that I am delusional about BF. Sometimes, I think I am. Then, I think of what it is going to look like here. To be graphic, I see rotting bodies in the streets, fires, shooting, (sort of like a Mad Max movie) only worse. The pit of my stomach sinks and feel a wave of panic. If this goes H-H-H, somebody better send an A L E R T out on this forum for sure. Of course, I have signed up for Goggle Alert. Any news about AF comes across to my computer a work. Need to set it up at home too. It works really well. Got to go. Check back later.
I’m so sorry hide in the hills and anyone else who does not have the support of their DH or DW. I cannot imagine what I would be going thru if I was going alone. It’s bad enough with my family thinking that I am super dramatic and was even accused of being over-cautious, can you believe it. I have given up talking to my family about it, and the one neighbor did not even acknowledge the information that I printed out and gave to him and his wife. So,I have just given up. Sometimes I just want to walk up to a total stranger and shake them and say open your eyes, look around you and become informed, but then they would really say that I was dramatic and maybe even a little crazy. Don’t give up, just keep on prepping and know that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing, taking care and providing for your family.
ps when I say my family, I mean my mom, 3 sisters, two brothers, and on daughter. The other two children have listened to me and are prepping and planning on coming to my house during SIP.
Well, I just got back from WalMart ($220 on Mastercard) with preps & other stuff. I noted the empty shelves & will list those on that thread. I also decided for real to limit the stuff I buy for DH & opt for more of the stuff I like, like tomato soup! I’ll watch his coffee packages to see how long it takes to use up one, then figure on what he’d need for 3 months, and the rest can dwindle down & I’ll use the freed up shelf space for other things.
I wouldn’t be giving away coffee to neighbors anyway, I’d do tea bags or Kool-Aid packets, so the coffee can shrink. So there. I feel better. If he needs to live, he can eat tomato soup & drink tea or instant breakfast, which I also bought more of today, or Gaterade or Gingerale or other cola-type products — it’s not like he’s going to do without afterall. How’s THAT for spiteful shopping for calling me a loon! :-)
Anyway, I checked and the Swiss lantern at WalMart does run on the Coleman flourescent tubes for anyone that needs to know that. I haven’t checked on a place to find the batteries for the Brinkmann, but I’ll research that soon.
I dropped by Radio Shack ready to buy their windup radio on sale for $29 with cell phone charger, but it won’t work on my cell phone. I’m not sure a Sidewinder will work either, but that’s my next stop I guess - on eBay. I was disappointed about that.
So….now I have to rotate Clorox since I bought more of that and Lysol.
I wanted to share an idea with you that I’d forgotten about from Y2k. I learned back then (and haven’t practiced since) using wax paper on countertops, several layers if you need it, to use to protect the countertop as you’re preparing food. You can wad it up and throw away without having to wipe the counter with water every single time — great for crumbly things, but will work for wet foods too, just use more — it’s sooooooo cheap that it makes it reasonable to use it.
Man, I feel behind again….in the AM we’ll do some yardwork, maybe I’ll sneak off tomorrow to Academy Sports & buy some ammo! :-)
Hey-good morning everyone, hope that ya’ll are having a great day. We are off to do some prepping, going to local gun and knife show. I am looking for some inexpensive (maybe not possible) solar lighting. Anyone have any suggestions? Or has anyone purchased some and could kind of give me a baseline or ballpark figure on what kinda money we are talking about. Talk to ya’ll this afternoon.
Frankiew,
Went to Sams the other day and bought Solar Lighting for $99.00 (18 lights) the best deal in town. Home Depot had some on sale, set of 4 for $39.00. The ones at Sams seem to be a better grade as well.
Frankiew, It’s the Sams in Mobile :0)
thank you NoFluingAround, I will check it out. Went to gun and knife show, nothing there that we could use, but DH and son were in hog heaven. I walked around and just looked and waited on them, oh well. I think I am going to straighten out my storage area and maybe try to make a little more room, LOL.
Hi all, hope you all had a great weekend — isn’t this weather gettin’ better!!???
Doors and windows open today!
I did some rearranging all weekend, tightening up storage areas. My husband finished 2 projects that will allow me to stock 2 new little areas.
I ordered more oxy absorbers from Honeyville & using that AATW code still got a discount.
Today I’m starting off with putting dried milk in quart jars with oxy absorbers!
whoopee….at least it’s something!
Both our teams won our games this weekend…..hope yours did too!
“WAR EAGLE”
Yeeeeeesssssss Ma’am!!!!
Actually we’re a ‘mixed marriage’ — which only means that I lose twice the time watching football on the weekends instead of remodeling or prepping things because we (read that to mean HE) have to watch my Auburn team & his Alabama team.
LOL. same here, house divided. I was actually afraid to post War Eagle, It would have broken my heart if you came back “Roll Tide”. BTW….the kids tease dad all the time. They run aroun the house yelling “ROOOOOOOOOOl Tiger”.
Over the weekend I did something sneaky ;o), I called my kids ped. told her my oldest had a bad ear ache, she called in antibiotics and ear numbing medicine. Hate to HAVE to procure antibiotics in this manner, but as you well know, I did not have a choice.
LOL — your kids are a riot!! I may start saying that too!
Just be glad it worked to get the meds — ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
Things you might want to do before fall/winter: Add insulation in your ceiling. (Most houses could use more because of settling.) Install floodlights around your house (security). Keep your propane tank topped off. Heat trace your water pipes (only if they are metal). Get storm windows (or polyethylene). Thermal underwear. Anti-freeze in radiators. Till (or plow) the garden now to reduce weeds in the spring. Plant some greens for the fall.
Watch the sun rise. Watch the sun set. Listen to it rain on a tin roof.
I got my firewood Monday from One Man & a Load of Firewood—buy from him every time. We have a rack that’s about 6′ long & 5′ high and it’s now almost filled up with our dryest wood within easy reach.
I need to call the folks that service our HVAC & have it’s maintenance done.
I also need DH to make a cover for our attic vent fan to keep the heat from escaping. It’ a box not a turbine so we close it off from the inside.
It’s the garden that’s dragging along…..gotta have some dirt hauled in!
Hide in the Hills (and wait) – at 19:30
What of the flood lights if we have no power?? Do they make solar flood lights? Funny this should come up, have been talking to DH about it tonight :o)
They DO make solar flood lights — you should be able to get some at Home Depot for $99 I think. I started reading about them & found suppliers on the net that might sell for a lower price + ship, and the main thing I learned was that some are LED in which case you need a bunch (like 20–30??) to make the light bright enough and some have halogen bulbs. I haven’t purchased, and don’t remember exactly what I read, so bottom line, is to compare how much light output each light has before you buy.
Thanks IWOI, Another thing, since you seem to be an elder (experienced) at this tribal camp …LOL was wondering if you could possibly start a thread about SIP and the benefits of SIP. Have had a lot of people ask me just how effective it would be in a pandemic ie: can we catch the disease if we SIP?, is there a way to catch the disease if we SIP for several months? Just thought it might be useful info for the newbies:o)
NoFluingAround – at 09:39
SIP is an interesting topic — involving not only the medical aspects, but job security/necessity/who to SIP with, etc.
Try these 2 threads first to see if they give a good assessment of SIP:
Will Prepping and Isolating Work Anyway Part 2 (I couldn’t open Part 1)
or
Parts I II and III of SIP-a Solution or a Problem
Just wanted to touch base with all of the Alabamians. Hope you are all prepping away and enjoying our regional religion…uh…I mean passtime (football of course!). Love it. Could eat beans and rice indefinitely, I guess, but cancellation of football would really be a hardship.
Also, wanted to say that the pandemic flu planning contacts for all of the counties/public health areas in Alabama are now posted on the Alabama Department of Public Health website (www.adph.org). I actually got to talk with a human briefly for my area and am planning on going to the next planning meeting in a couple of weeks. Wish me luck; I am actually very nervous about going. For others that are interested in the planning process for your area, it appears that the process has been delayed and is in progress at this time, so if you are interested, it is my understanding that all of these meetings are open to the public. The contact for my area also offered to send information out to me if I was unable to attend, so you if you are interested in the planning process and can’t go in person, you might be interested in the printed record of the planning.
Hope all are well.
Galt
Great work Galt! Thanks!!
After reading the FAQ’s on that site, 2 things stood out — first, they sound ‘reassuring’ that vaccinations will be possible, but don’t mention that it will take up to 6 months to develop one and second, the very last sentence is that poultry handlers will be most likely to be affected….not mentioning that after it spreads to others, then anyone handling or being close to a sick PERSON for any reason will also stand a good chance of getting sick…..but it’s all better than having NOTHING out there!
Again, great work Galt!
September is rice month and our local Food World is running a month long special on all kinds of rice. Regular cook, flavored, Zatarain’s, etc. If you have a FW near you, take a look.
3 lb bag of Blue Ribbon Long Grain for $1.39, Southern Home brand 2 lbs for .88 cents.
Lots of deals on drinking waters of various flavors and brands.
Canned beans, tomatoes, and soups are on sale, too. Grills and coolers are marked down 25%.
Good deal on Pepsi products, 24 can suitcase for $3.99. I loaded up on these (limit 2 at that price), return trip made 4 of them.
I’m sure Winn Dixie has some good stuff, too, I just don’t shop there.
Y’all enjoy this beautiful fall weather!
Hey, thanks Alabamaprepper, the nearest FW to me is Theodore, but might just ride over there tomorrow after church. I usually shop at Winn-Dixie, but they really haven’t had any good prep items on sale. Hope everyone is having a great day, it is so beautiful outside, and today is my 51st birthday, DH just rode up to get some ribs from Sonny’s bbq, and I am just relaxing. Quess I will start back to my normal routine tomorrow and do some more canning Monday, my fig trees produced some fruit, but the birds got to all of them except 3 figs, oh well. oh wait, Winn-dixie did have a good sale, chuck roast on sale for $1.98/lb. I bought 4 of them and am going to make three of them into beef stew and can. Ya’ll enjoy today and talk to you later, here is DH with supper, YEA!!!!
frankiew: Oh, I love fresh figs! The birds got all of them on my mom’s fig trees. There was not a one in sight on ‘em.
Happy Birthday, too. Hope good things continue for you!
Frankview!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! What a great way to spend a birthday — relaxing! Sounds like you’ve been busy! I’ve not canned any meat — I have meant to do so, but just can’t seem to get up to speed. I ended up sleeping through the Auburn game today, right on through to 8pm — no telling what all I missed! Now it’s almost bedtime. :-)
Maybe tomorrow I’ll at least be able to stay conscious for part of the day and get some things done!
OMG!!!! IWON, it was one of the best ball games, EVER… we won. 7–3. bought a lot of butter a couple of days ago, cannot get myself motivated enough to start canning. I need to start reading up on canning meats, thats next on my things to do list.
Frankiew, HAPPY B’DAY. BTW, did not realize there was a FW in Theodore. The one in Tillmans Corner closed several months ago, the nearest one to me is on Cottage Hill, will stop by there tomorrow and have a looksi.
I know….I can’t explain it…..I may be having some dedication problems that’s causing me to sleep more…….just don’t know.
I woke up at 5am & was awake until this afternoon (no mid morning nap), and DH and I unpacked Bethlehem today — I have this huge shelving system 4 shelves high and 8′ long + what I refer to as the ‘annex’. I have buildings and people figurines, trees, fences, road, rivers and bridges, animals, etc. that make up my Christmas Bethlehem display. It takes forever to set up, and last year I started crating it differently as I packed it up to put away, so today, as DH unpacked each case of pieces, he arranged them and the lid with the label of what’s inside the box on a white background and took pictures so I’d know for sure what pieces go back in the boxes together & get it packed back up right.
It’s like having this huge doll house to play with and arrange! :-) So we spent about 3 hours doing that — as he unpacked I put pieces back into the display as best I remembered how it went without looking at last year’s setup. I couldn’t do the top row because we need to repair the nighttime backdrop that hangs on the wall behind the display. It’s just below the crown molding of the dining room, so requires a ladder to make the adjustments safely. Once we get that done tomorrow, we can redo some of the risers on the top shelf that actually make the top shelf have 3 levels to it! I refer to upper east Bethlehem, and lower west Bethlehem, the Women’s Cultural Center, the Men’s Industrial Center, the Riverwalk of Bethlehem, Starbucks-Bethlehem, The Williams Sonoma of Bethlehem, the King’s Hill, Temple Mount, the Vineyards, and on and on and on.
Anyway, we worked on that for a few hours this AM and got most of the hard part — the unpacking & organizing — done. We can finish unloading about 7 crates tomorrow then pack all the crates and cases away until after Christmas. Right now 1/2 of it is still on my dining table, but a LOT of it is in place.
I sat down as the ballgame came on to rest my back, watched the game for a little while, and then was fast asleep. DH said he tried to wake me up 3 times and finally gave up! Now here it is 10:30pm & I’m yawning my fool head off.
I can tell too, that I’m dehydrated so tomorrow I’m going to have to start drinking a ton of water again.
Anyway, the only prepping I did today was to dry two trays of green onion — had to set the dehyrdrator outside so that it wouldn’t totally stink up the house! Gotta bring it in before the coons find it later on tonight!
Make that first line to read may have MEDICATION…..
Make that:…. as best I remembered how it went without looking at PICTURES OF last year’s setup…
Hey, NoFluingAround, the FW is in the same shopping center as the mediacom payment office, right on schillinger rd.I forgot about the one on Cottage Hill, that is probably closer to me as I live in Wilmer, thanks.Wow, I’mWorkingOnIt, no wonder you are tired, I got tired just reading your post>LOL, it sounds like its going to be beautiful. Yesterday talked to my sister (the one I talked to about BF) and we were talking about the strengths and weaknesses in relationships, I stated that my husband helps me to calm down when I get stressed or obsessed about things. She said yea like when you were obsessed about the bird flu stuff. I told her I wasn’t obsessed, just worried and concerned and wanted to share the truth with her, she said well you have enough food now, I’ll just come to your house. I said if I call you and tell you to come to my house immediately, you have 2 hrs to get there. If you don’t, you can sleep in a tent in my yard for two weeks and I’ll leave you rice and beans on the front poarch. She laughed and said you’re kidding right? I said no and she dropped the subject. This sister is usually very practical and is more my friend than even my sister, so my question is, did I say the correct thing, tell her she is on her own and she needed to prep (always out of money), or should I have tried to get her to see the future as I see it? Keep in my mind I have 4 children, 3 grown, only one has agreed to SIP here and is prepping to bug out to our house when i call. One daughter read my material and stated that since her DH was retired military that he would be able to take care of them, when questioned how, she said he had survival training. The other daughter, refused to believe that there is a problem. I also have spoken to my mom and have 2 other sisters and 2 brothers, with no-one listening to me. So again, what would ya’ll suggest to someone like this?
frankview, I said the same thing to my college freshman roommate — a friend for 30 years. She’s single & childless, but is very close to her mother who lives in north AL, and her brothers who live in different states, with their own families.
She HAS the money & the means to get to one of their houses (most likely her mother’s) but I doubt very seriously that ANYone in their family is doing any prepping.
She also has a pool in her back yard yet made the comment she’d just come here to my house, letting me know she’d not thought through the issue at all, not enough to realize that she’d be so worried about the rest of her family that she wouldn’t be able to stay at my house, even if I’d let her.
I just made the comment that all my beds were already taken with my brother & sister in law being invited.
She gave me that ‘look’ of shock, but that was that. We had spemt 2 hours over lunch with me telling her about death rate and tuna and she has TIME and CHOICE-it’s up to her to use them wisely.
Savvy shoppers alert—Today’s paper has coupons for Hormel canned meats-.35 cents off a can, which Food World and Winn Dixie will double. Also, a coupon for rice (Mahatma rice mixes), .50 cents off two packages, which doubled would be a dollar off.
Its in the Smartsource coupon insert. There also are coupons for Success rice and Campbell’s Cream of soups.
Chicken/Turkey and rice, a good combination and very inexpensive.
Soups and chili usually go on sale in the fall, watch for the specials and stock up.
No Fluing Around:
Relative to your 23:10 Sept 8 post, I didn’t know there was an Osterholm lecture to watch. Could you give more info?
ssal, not sure how to post links on this site:o( computer savvy I am not…LOL, email me if you wish and I will pass the link on to you (sabby34@aol.com)
Just realized how I spelled neighbor on my previous post…hmmm no more posting in the darko;)
frankiew and I’m Working on It: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him (or her) drink. But (big but), the ones that you try your best to convince (but refuse to act on your information) will be the very ones that show up at your door expecting you to let them share your supplies.
You need to fore-think what your response will be to them and anyone else that remembers your were prepping. Maybe you can give them a meal and send them on their way.
Prethink the level of force that you are willing to use to ensure your group’s survival (and wellness). This takes a lot of planning and guts for a response that will convince them to find their own way through BF when TSHTF.
You have to remember that you have done all you can for them. Anymore action on your part will be an unacceptable risk to your group’s survival.
Remember that!!!
You’re right of course, and that’s why I want to make certain I have Short Wave access so I’ll know where ‘help’ can be found and direct them (those ‘friends’ of mine who think they can show up on my doorstep) there. My house would be good for one meal at best because I’m also thinking about my elderly neighbors who won’t be ready to care for themselves longer than a week, if that.
You are right Hide-in-Hills, I know that we have a plan for unknown and uninvited guests at our home, but we must resolve to be strong to help our family survive. I just finished reading The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen. Very good but intense book about a town who chooses to quarrantine themselves during the 1918 pandemic and the consequences of someone trying to get into their town. It also had some things that I had not even thought about, such as a garden was ransacked during the night because everyone was starving, no supplies in, no=one going out. It also paints a picture of life during World War I. I would highly recommend this book to read , it really gives some insight to our future.
Went to an area-wide pandemic planning meeting today—as disturbing a thing as I have seen in a long time. I left the meeting and went and bought more water and electrolyte/rehydration powder (both on great sale at Big Lots). Here is what I have come away with: The CDC says that the states must plan. State of AL says that all emergencies are local emergencies, and they punt the responsibility over to the Public Health Areas (groups of counties). The coordinators for the public health areas say that they can only do broad, generic suggestions and that it is really the responsibilities of individual counties. The county reps say that they can mostly offer general suggestions and some coordination services, but that planning is the responsibility of each individual agency/municipality. If each agency had had a chance to comment, I think it would have ended up that, surprise, preparation is the responsibility of the individual. And here we are, and I bought more water. I will say that I was disturbed by the planning, but I also came away humbled by the amount of details involved in coordinating a huge area. I was also impressed by the seriousness and credentials of the folks in the room. Again, the pandemic planning contacts for each of the AL public health areas may be found on www.adph.org (look in the A to Z index under pandemic flu). The draft plans for each area are underway, planning is going very slowly, meetings per area are happening only once or twice per month. The meetings are open to the public (at ours, no one was identified individually and they didn’t go around and do introductions). I believe that the plans (draft or otherwise) are public record, and that you can have one sent to you just for asking. Would encourage all to get a draft for their areas.
There’s such a great sense of community on the fluwiki; have really appreciated all the info, chance to bounce off ideas, etc. I will say, though, that sitting in a room full of physically (rather than electronically) present professionals who were discussing this with the utmost seriousness really brought it home for me in a different sort of way. Have spent a lot of my day sense then thinking about the holes in my personal plan/preps.
As a related aside, does anyone have any idea who (e.g., job title), I’d need to call to see whether having a well dug is legal within the city limits of my town and how I might get a permit for such a task if it is legal (I’m thinking I need a permit to pretty much sneeze within the city limits)? Anyone know of reliable well diggers in the central to north AL area?
Galt: I’ll ask around with some of my neighbors, etc.
Galt: I’ll ask around with some of my neighbors, etc. about the well drilling.
Regarding the planning and “passing the buck” of responsibility for actually doing something in preparation of pandemic flu…… If the towns and cities are supposed to actually be doing the work (the nitty gritty stuff), who is going to provide the necessary funds to supply/fund/staff this herculean effort in the towns and cities of Alabama??? This is the true grassroots level. These individuals are going to need funds to procure supplies, medicines, water, etc to care for the populace/sick/dying/living.
Hide in the hills and wait @ 21:42--I think that is the elephant on the coffee table (the one nobody’s talking about…). I think that there are some state-level funds. My general feeling is that these mostly go toward ADPH staffing, vaccination issues, etc. The state does have some N95 masks stockpiled. There are the state doses of Tamiflu. But as to the nitty gritty stuff on a local level, I think that the stuff is not there and the money is not there. There were some interesting asides re: not just no money for these things for the hypothetical future, but space is at such a premium, where would they be stored if they were to be had (if that makes sense). I wasn’t kidding when I wrote earlier that I left and bought more water and began to think about the specifics of getting myself an independent water source.
I think that people in positions of administrative and financial authority are all but immobilized by the enormity of the task. The people who impressed me most so far were the EMA folks. They were very serious-minded, down to earth folks who wanted people to go away and think **now** about what type of generator they would need, etc. in the event of disaster and then come back with a detailed list.
There was nothing from the meeting that made me regret any prep I had made, only things that made me concerned about things I have left undone.
Hey Galt, if you don’t mind, what were some of the things that made you be concerned about that you have left undone? I know for me it is, metal washtub for laundry, finishing up canning my meat in the freezer, and finishing up my medicine supply of insulin.
And it’s really scary when you don’t live in an incorporated area — we have no mayor to talk to, only the county officials 20 miles away!
I’m-workin-on-it - @ 13:06 I know how you feel. No mayor, no city government, no police… We do have a county coroner (who will be very busy).
Let’s see; we will have no preventive help before H2H, no on-going help after H2H, and no help with recovery after First Wave because we won’t have any governmental people in our non-existent city to plan it and put it into effect.
It takes the county deputies’ 30 minutes to get here now when called (not their fault) can’t be in two places at the same time…. When BF goes H2H, do you think it will be like starting a 1000 fires across each county. I hope not.
Greetings Folks,
First time posting, but have been lurking awhile. Enjoyed it and found alot of useful info. I’ve long been a financial prepper believing that we are in for touch economic times, but am fairly new to the rest of prepping. BF is just one of my concerns, actually I consider a economic meltdown a bigger danger - either because of the current economic situation, attacks in the US collapseing the economy or even the results of BF. The lovely wife isn’t exactly on board, but she says that my track record is good enough from the other calls I’ve made that she humors me. At this point I have it so we can pretty much lock the doors and not come out for 3 months and now I’m trying to learn more about the longer term storage.
We’re in the Birmingham area btw if any of you folks want to get together sometime.
Repomadman – at 18:25 Howdy neighbor,
I’m in the Bham area, and there are a few around us — it would be fun to get together sometime — in our first thread I think we talked about a really good restaurant for catfish out in Riverside near Anniston, if the eastern AL folks ever want to meet with us, or we could go south, if our Mobile folks want to meet sometime. Or we could consider Bham central & gather in this area. I’m up for any direction.
It’s just good to see someone else come out of ‘lurk’ mode & speak up — GLAD to know you’re here & taking care of business. I KNOW what you mean about the spousal support — or lack of it. I’d wanted to watch the tv program Jericho, but I always leave it up to DH to ‘announce’ what’s on and set the dvr for recording, etc. & he just ‘overlooked’ it, even after I’d mentioned it a couple of times. So we’re recording it on Saturday night when they’re running it again. I read the thread on the review of the show….maybe it will be OK. At least it’s something we can relate to!
I clip coupons & buy food that’s on BOGO specials or 10 for $10 & stuff like that and keep up with my savings then set that ‘saved’ money aside for emergency. Right now though we just finished spending $750 in vet bills, more to come tomorrow for teeth cleaning AND my car is in the shop & needs a new fan motor. sigh. It’s always something eating away at money I want to set aside for our ‘disaster recovery’, if ever needed.
A savings plan is so essential in these uneasy times & we started late, but at least we’re trying. Anyway, we bought gas for $2.19 in Leeds today, so that’s helping the pocketbook.
Today is DH’s birthday & he got loungewear clothes I’d picked out as ‘easy to laundry’ — better than trying to wring out wet bluejeans I might have to wash by hand — he wants to take half of what I got him back for DRESS PANTS TO WEAR TO WORK. I can’t say much since he’s the breadwinner in the family…..but I’ll sure make HIM wring out the wet jeans if we ever get to that point!
We’re off for a birthday dinner out!
Hope everyone is gearing up for a great weekend, WAR EAGLE!
Well, not as happy as my last post. Birthday went fine, next day we took 3 cats to the vet for dental cleaning, and in the end one cat died from other complications no one was aware of. Grief this unexpected is so hard. These are my children & we’ve lost 3 to illness in the last year. I hurt from head to toe.
I just was feeling alone & no one had posted since the 21st, so I hope you’ll all come out of the woodwork & let me knwo you’re all still doing something toward making your families safe.
Rose
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 18:51
If you guys could come to Mobile, that would be great. Would love to chat with folks who can relate and not think I’m a Looney Tune…LOL
Thought y’all would like to know that my employer has posted on our intranet articles right off of government sites about preparation for BF. They have a group studying what is to be done for employees (time off, etc) and what the company needs to do to ensure they survive. They are moving faster than I ever felt possible. These are higher up’s that can make things happen!!! They have stated (more or less) that BF is just about inevitable. Sort of like, “Get your stuff together, it’s coming soon!” It almost made me come home and fill up my water barrels today. Better early, than one day late….
Frankiew …was wondering if you could help me out a bit with my canning. I am going to make an attempt to can some sausage and hamburger meat, however I do not own a pressure canner, any suggestions as to do this without one.
Hide in the Hills (and wait) – at 19:43 that’s GREAT news!!!! I know it will be easier to talk to your co-workers now!!
IWOI: My heart breaks for you, I’ve lost cats, too. If it is any comfort, know that they will be waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge. There is a website for those who are going through the loss of a pet, petloss.com, it will help.
Hide: Your news is very interesting. Wonder if they will keep you guys at the plants, as has been done for bad weather situations in the past? Has there been much discussion among the others there about PF?
All: For those who have a Food World near by, fantastic sales on this week—Lots of B1G1Free on stockpile items. Winn Dixie is doing good, also. Coupons are coming out Sunday for Progresso Soup, Purina pet foods, and Proctor & Gamble products.
Am continuing the stockpiling here, as money allows. I’ve kicked myself a million times for not making a few extra house payments in the past, ‘cause if I had, I’d be done with it by now and have that money for other things.
Y’all keep your ears to the ground, and let the rest of us know if you hear anything interesting.
Hey,ya’ll. I am so sorry for your loss I’m working on it, we have not had a pet since we lost our dear sweet dog of 10 yrs. to congestive heart failure, this happened 4 yrs. ago. Now, No-fluing-around I would love to help you with canning with the little bit of knowledge that I have acquired. First off, DO NOT CAN WITHOUT A PRESSURE CANNER. The only thing I can with water=bath canner is tomatoes, everthing else has to be pressurized to keep you from getting botulism. The easiest meat to can is boneless=skinless chicken breast. I cook mine and in a big pot,but don’t use the broth off of the chicken boiling (to greasy). I make another pot of chicken boullion cubes with cut up celery and onions., bring to a boil and then when you are ready to can have your jars (I prefer wide-mouth, easier to get chickden in) make sure your jars have been heated up in hot water on top of stove, no heating in oven. Take your jar, place in a large plastic type of bowl (so when you miss jar with contents, in bowl, not on counter) and fill jar with hot chicken boullion mixture 1/2 way, place 1–2 whole chicken breasts in jar and fill up 3/4 of jar with chicken boullion mixture, place lid on and put in pressure canner. You have to can chicken for minimum of 90 min total, you will bring your pressure up to 10psi and keep it there steady for 90 minutes. After 90 min, turn off heat, let canner cool down, do not take off steam valve until pressure in down to zero, when it is zero wait 5 min, and release lock on top. Take out you jars and let them cool at room temp. for at least 2 hours, then put in cool dark area. I have used my chicken done this way and literally have been able to make home-made chicken noodle soup in less than 20 min. Good luck and let me know how it goes, tomorrow I am going to can my very first corned beef, cooked 2 tonight in my crock-pot and am going to put one up. Talk to ya’ll later.
Frankiew, thank you for taking the time out to reply. I was wondering, can chicken & sausage gumbo be canned? I make this awesome italian dish with bratwurst and tomatoes, can dishes like these be canned? Going to invest in a pressure canner, any suggestions as to what would be the appropriate to purchase for a family of 6. One more thing, <sorry about all these questions> when canning, is it done one at a time or can we do two or more?
NoFluingAround – at 10:06 Frankview can answer most of those questions, but do you mean by your last question that you want to know whether you can can more than one jar at a time? If that’s what you mean, the answer is yes you can. You can fill up your canner just so the jars don’t touch. Mine is a deep canner & it has a round flat disk (with holes in it) that I can lay on top of the jars I put in the bottom and stack another layer of jars on top of the first layer! I’ve never done it, but I could using that divider.
Would love for you to share your recipe!!
Thanks all for your kind words of comfort. We talked to the vet for over an hour & looked at xrays, etc. & still have to wait for the pathologist to determine cause of death, but I feel better somehow. We have the best vet in the world & I’ve known him for 30+ years & talking to him helps.
I’ll check out the pet loss site……we buried him at evening last night (he’d been at the vet’s for the post mortum until then) & I’m still grieving over losing our 22 year old in May…..now I can’t tell who I’m crying over anymore. Counting out dinner or breakfast plates is hard, well, everything is hard when you were used to a companion doing something with you. The other cats seem fine, but they know I’m upset so they offer comfort where they can. We love our little creatures because they love us so unconditionally.
You are able to can anything except pasta, it gets really mushy (first chicken noodle soup I did, then had to throw away 3 qts., mushy and greasy).The Blue Ball Canning book has alot of recepies and a 1–800 number you could call and tell them all of the ingrediants in your dish. i just took a a break I have 3 qts. of corn beef going with 4 qts of snap green beans with new potatoes. I am cooking 3 roasts that i got on sale at Winn-dixie and a portion of one we will eat tonight with the green beans, and the other two I will slice up and add broth and can later on this afternoon. DH and I were drinking coffee this morning, and we both were feeling a little uneasy and felt like we needed to step our preps up just a notch, so cooking like crazy today. Go to www.pressurecookeroutlet.com, they have a large selection of different types and sizes of canners, For my family of 3 we use a 23qt. presto canner which holds 7 qt. jars at a time.
This is a War Eagle bump — now we’ll return you to your regular programming!
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 22:43
LMAO. IWON, really sorry about your cats <hug>. BTW, does the disk come with the pressure canner, or do we purchase seperately?
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
3 49.5 oz. cans Chicken Broth 4lbs chicken 4lbs Connecuh Sausage (Spelling?) 3 cups finely chopped Onions 2 large Bell Peppers 1 bag Celery Sticks 2 29oz. cans diced Tomatoes 1 small can Rotel Tomatoes 1 16 oz frozen cut Okra 4 to 6 Bay Leaves 3 Tbsp. Oregano 3 Tbsp. Basil 2 Tsp. Thyme 2 Tsp. File’ 2 Tbsp. Kitchen Bouquet 2 Tbsp Garlic. 4 Tbsp. Worstershire Sauce.
Boil fryer in Chicken Broth. Take out the chicken, Debone and put in a seperate bowl. Fry sausage, drain grease and lay on a paper towel. Now take the chicken broth that you boiled the chicken in and add onions, bell pepper, celery, okra, spices, tomatoes, w.sauce, k.bouquet and boil for 2 hours, add an extra can of broth if it boils down a bit. Now add your sausage, boils for 30 minutes.
While the sausage is boiling, make your roux (Make roux with 1 & 1/2 cups oil + 1 and 1/2 cups flour).
When roux is done, add some gumbo to it, stir, then put it into the pot (this will allow your roux not to lump up when you add it to the gumbo), add your chicken, let boil for 30 more minutes, Wallah….Gumbo is served.
The secret to good gumbo is using only chicken broth, not water. Let me know how it turns out.
OOPS>..I put the ingredients on seperate lines, it did not post that way:o(
Frankiew. Thank you for all the help in regards to canning :o)
Good Morning Fellow Preppers, could not sleep a wink last night. DH seems to be so complacent about BF. Last night, I asked why he did not have a sense of urgency in prepping, his reply, “well, if it comes here, then we will be infected,”. I did not give him a chance to finish his sentence, and I blew up, threw my hands in the air and said, “well then, lets just start utilizing our preps, and when the BF comes, let’s take a ride to the nearest hospital, get as close as we can to the nearest BF patient, swap some spit and hope to God we get it, that way we do not have to live in fear of when, just get it over and done with”. After that I said, “here is some food for thought, we are not prepped, BF arrives in the US, you try to procure food, in your efforts to find food you come back infected, pass the infection to the kids, our 5 year old sick in your arms, crying, Daddy help me, it hurts so bad, am I going to die, I don’t want to die, and there you are, wishing, you could go back in time, wishing you had listened, but it’s to late”. I hated to paint such a grim picture, but. He never did acknowledge me, just got up and walked away. I wear a heavy burden today :o(
On a brighter note, the 5 year old tells the 14 year old to lay off the RWFK after he tripped and fell…..LOL
NoFluingAround – at 11:0 Aaaaawwww, Girl, you did the right thing & you know it, even if it seems harsh it’s the truth & the consequences are soooooo serious, they need to be clearly stated.
If he had cancer and was refusing to take chemo because he was scared, you’d not hesitate to remind him the kids need and love him & don’t want to watch him die.
If he persists in refusing to participate, ask him to write a letter to his kids, hat you can give them after his death, and have him explain to them why he had to be isolated from the family & why he allowed himself to get sick in the firsr place instead of listening to and helpong you protect the family.
Maybe making HIM the ‘doomed’ one will seal the deal on convincing him how bad it could be — if the image is him being almost too weak or being too contagious to hold and comfort his own dying child ………. man, I’m sounding so morbid we need to pass a box of Kleenex around. Sorry….but you get the idea; if he’s not responding to common sense, then load him down with guilt.
Us Southern women have used guilt as a finely tuned weapon for a couple of centuries! Fire away! :-)
You are so correct about the guilt, we actually have it down to a fine art. LOL. I was just skimming over the thread from the beginning and realized we haven’t heard from some people lately, such as:BusyinBama,KMan,DPT,Ima-prepper,W/Spider,MountainMan,Carol,SimpleLife, where did ya’ll go? Galt recentely posted but have not read any of your great posts lately, ya’ll come out and say hi and let us know what you been up to in your neck of the woods of our great state of ALABAMA.
Nofluingaround, on a more serious note, believe in your heart that you are doing the right thing, and sometimes, in fact most of the time, the right thing is the hardest thing to do, especially if you are doing it alone. REMEMBER we are here for you at all times, and you just keep on doing what you are doing to protect your family.
Frankiew & IWOI, really appreciate your words of encouragement. This afternoon, I looked at some land in Chunchula & Citronelle. Thinking about buying 10 acres. It’s very quiet and population is sparce. Thinking, maybe if we are in the middle of nowhere, maybe, just maybe, we have a better shot at surviving this. Then again, I wonder if I will have sufficient time to get the land cleared, dig a well, dig a pond, install septic tank, etc. I realize I will have to invest in a Mobile home, there simply will not be enough time to build a house, I’m sure of that. Would be so much easier if I could find a place with my specific needs, maybe I could take out an ad “ looking for 10 acres, with house, well, pond, something conducive to BF” LMAO.
Heck, frankview, they’re probably all watching the ballgames! I’d love to hear from them too…..there’s not enough of us doing anything and it’s worrisome. I was at Sam’s today (had a pass) and NO ONE was buying any prep stuff….the shelves were full of pills, laytex gloves, batteries, you name it, if it’s a prep item, they were FULLY stocked and none were leaving the building.
I didn’t realize I had so many typos in my message above at 12:11 ….I quite often lie on the couch, with the laptop to my right on the coffeetable & my head turned toward it & type with one hand. My head is just a little higher than the keyboard so I’m guessing a lot when I hit a letter because I can’t actually see the print on the keyboard to tell what letter I’m typing because of the light glare from the screen, so I type, hoping it’s the right one & have to backtrack some to undo mistakes when I see them, that is IF I see them, since I end up looking through the side of my bifocals so the letters are fuzzy. I have to squint to see if it’s an ‘m’ or an ‘n’ that I’ve typed sometimes! It takes forever to type a message that way, but if I have a cat curled up with me, then I don’t want to disturb them so I type the one-handed way. This message brought to you straight from my lap, without cat and therefore hopefully typo-free!
No one wants to have to think about unpleasant things. Being sick nearly to dying is really hard for some folks to get their mind around. We’ve had several decades of not having to deal with deathly diseases, and the idea of dying from sickness is strange to people nowadays.
All the movies and TV shows have the sickness or disease conquered by the end of the show, and we have begun to think that is the reality.
Dying is done in hospitals, hospices, and nursing homes, instead of in the home as was the case years ago. Death, from disease or sickness, was a constant companion, and was always close.
We’ve almost come to the point that we think (generally) no such thing can or will happen here, in this country. After all, don’t we have the best medical minds and care available in the history of the world?
So, for someone to say “Prepare, Be Ready, A Bad Thing is Coming”, results in the sharp look and the lifted eyebrow, if not the smirk of “it can’t happen here”.
Problem is, it has happened, and will happen again, whether anyone believes it or not. History repeats itself. There are patterns that are repeated over time, study them and see where they lead.
Nofluing around, I hope you can carry on, even in the face of active disbelief. You’ve got us, we’ll help you with your burden as much as possible, and hold your hand via the ‘net.
Vent to us here, and we’ll commiserate with you and pump you back up. In time, your DH will see that you have the survival of your family as your heartmost concern. That’s what Moms are designed to do.
AlabamaPrepper – at 22:38 Nofluing around, I hope you can carry on, even in the face of active disbelief. You’ve got us, we’ll help you with your burden as much as possible, and hold your hand via the ‘net.
I cried while I read your post. I guess reality is setting in. For a long time now, we have been reading the news, watching the posts, with just a wee bit of optimism that this might not happen, then we read the news again, and again and again and come to the realization that the beast is right around the corner and no one hears your screams, they refuse to get out of the way, only to be trampled. I tried telling one of the school teachers to prepare, great guy, has a wonderful family, two beautiful little girls. He said to me “ but thats in Indonesia, a third world country, that will not happen in America, we have better hospitals”. I felt defeated, did not go there with him, had no energy. I see my FluWiki family withdrawn as well. I have noticed a lull in posts, God Bless all of us, especially us Alabamians….LOL
Sleep well my friends, for we have work to do tomorrow.
Sabrina
I hesitate to write this….don’t wish to add to the grimness of the last few posts, but I feel compelled, hoping that someone who isn’t yet concerned might be swayed by what I write.
My DW is not with me yet on BF going H2H, but I continue to procure supplies on the sly.
When she does come around, I will make some massive purchases in a very short time locally and on the “net” from suppliers I have already located. The hammer is cocked. I’m waiting to pull the trigger.
I still have many things from Y2K and before that are still good. Dehydrated and freeze-dried.
Some of you here know my employer. They are now saying, not if, but when, pandemic flu arrives in the U.S. This is the consenus now. It is only a matter of time. When the right combination of events and DNA hit, it will go to Pandemic Influenza. They are preparing now to try and continue functioning. I hope we are successful.
I think the possibility is there for it happening during this fall/winter, or if we are providentially spared,it may be next year, when more of us are fully prepared. But, I don’t see the possibility of it just disappearing.
Vya con Dios! Go with God! Don’t try to get ready a day late!
Frankiew@15:00--Thanks for missing some of our postings.I am still lurking down in the Montevallo area.Been on the Wiki since Feb. Consider myself well stocked, but did eat quite a bit of my stash this summer.(Really enjoy a basement full of provisions—hate going to the Pig @ 5 pm for essentials.) Added a Natural Gas/ Propane generator this summer. I live alone, retired, so if things get bad,I feel I will do fine. My dilema is, that between me & my significant other, there are 7 adult kids with 10 plus grand-kids that are not paying attention. I prepared an informative folder for each family, hand delivered it, sat them all down, MADE THEM PAY ATTENTION,--got thru to only one. You know what the rest say-----We’ll come to your farm!! Do I prep for one, or 20??? Most of us are facing this problem.
Yup, you’re all right as rain. There IS a lull in our posts that we can’t blame on the hot summer sun, there IS an imminent threat that’s not going away but rather sneaking up on us.
None of us is already prepared — we’re more prepped for ballgames than a flu war. But we’re working on it & most if not all of us are trying our best to drag a loved one or two or five along with us.
We live & breathe this stuff because we HAVE to — we can’t ignore it because we understand the consequences of doing so, & if it was anything else our friends would be dragging us through an intervention & then to a 12-step program, but they feel this is harmless enough for us to play with unsupervised while they get on with their lives.
So.
What can we do?
What should we do?
What are we willing to do?
What will keep us on course? Urge us on in the face of lulls & blank stares?
Should we collectively, as a strong Southern group, work on lists together so no one lags behind — something different each week-food, lighting, places to hide water, or what varieties of meds to buy this week?
Should we hold a contest to see who can find the most places to post those great fluwikie Pandemic Awareness cards on bulletin boards in our towns while enlisting our draggy-footed spouses or who-evers’ help in pinning the ribbons to the cards, or just have another beer & and wait for our friends and families to catch up to us naturally?
I feel like I should end with shaking my clenched fist in the air and swearing something about never being in this shape again but that was already done in Georgia once.
So I’ll just return you to your regular programming now…..unless you think anything mentioned above might be helpful……..
OK, where are the pandemic awareness cards on fluwiki? I need some written material to try one more time to tell my loved ones. The DD that I thought was listening to me and in fact informed me she was going to prep, because her spouse used to be in the military and he had great survival skills, she now thinks I am over-exagerrating this. HELP. I agree, we need to be more supportive of each other, we are a strong collective force and posting lists and spending just half of our energy on infor that we spend on prepping for our families would be tremendous. Let’s start our first list with what I feel is a very important item:MEDICINE, prescription, OTC, and natural health medicine. Badger your physician about obtaining 6 month supply of your meds, ask for and receive samples. Your insurance may not pay for 6 months, but if it is a life-saving medication, budget it right along with food. OTC medication can be purchased very cheaply from Dollar General, this is cold medication, tylenol,ibuprofren,peroxide, alcohol, witch hazel, bandaids. There is alternative medicine that your local health food store can give you advice about that ranges from high blood pressure to high cholestrol. They have natural anti-biotics. Tomorrow is Monday, lets all concentrate on medicine this week, keep a running list of what we are purchasing, and come out of this lull we all seem to be in.Let’s not panic, let’s provide for our families and be active and not complacent. YEA STATE OF ALABAMA AVIAN FLU FIGHTERS!!!
This is a test…not sure the link will copy over this way but let me try, if this doesn’t work I’ll open the page & copy the link that way….
DemFromCT – at 14:38 yes, there is… see red ribbon campaign.
nope, didn’t work, hold on & I’ll open it & copy it — I just don’t know how to make the link read “red ribbon campaign” so it will just be a tinyURL. Hold on……
That will open a page that will show you how you can make (or have printed) business cards printed front & back, do a pin-able red ribbon with the letters “P” and “A” on it for Pandemic Awareness, a magnet or a button. Science Teacher is responsible for this idea & several other people put a LOT of time and effort into deciding on colors, formats, wording, what was ‘legal’ in mentioning fluwikie, what links to include, etc. It took a lot of work for a lot of people to provide us with a very useful tool.
I’d love to drop some down in a clear baggie & pin the baggie to grocery store bulletin boards, have copies made onto regular blank paper & cut to business card size & have stacks at supermarket cashier stations where customers could pick them up, etc. Leave ‘em in doc’s offices, at CVS pharmacies, wherever you can put them — office bathrooms for instance!
OK, so we’re up for Medicines this week — don’t forget to get different forms — for instance if someone is having trouble swallowing a pill, do you have a way to crush the pill so you can mix it in applesauce or pudding, or do you have a liquid form they could take?
What other medical tips should we be aware of as we shop? I want to mention that it would be a good safety idea to write in permanent ink on your aspirin bottles NOT TO GIVE TO CHILDREN since aspirin can cause Rhyes Syndrome (not sure of the spelling of that)and if you have 11 year olds who are having to care for you and their younger sister or brother as well, they might not know that so write it in BIG red or black letters so they can’t miss it!!!
Heading to bed….let me wake up to some great ideas & some inspiration! GO frankview!!!!
IWOI & Frankiew, gotta love you both. I feel better :o).
Hide in the Hills (and wait) – at 14:36 Friend, I may know a little bit of what you are going through, however, DH knows I’m prepping, so your situation may be a little different from mine. Hang in there.
Ok, so, medicines this week, sounds like a winner! Currently I have managed to procure 4 Rx’s of Antibiotics (Augmentin), 2 Rx’s of Maxifed (cold & cough), 2 Rx’s Bromaxefed (cold & Cough), 2 Rx’s Allegra (sinus congestion), 1 Rx Acetaminophen Codine liquid (pain), 2 Rx’s Singulair (Asthma Preventative), 2 Rx’s Antipyr/Benzocaine (Ear numbing medicine), 1Rx Floxin (liquid Antibiotic for ear infection) and 2 Rx Betameth cream (bacterial rashes), 50 viles Pulmacort and 75 viles Albuterol (breathing treatments). Going to try and get some puffers, and more Antibiotics.
OTc: 4 4oz bottles of liquid Ibuprofin (for my 5 year old), 2 x 500 200mg Ibuprofin tablets, 3 x 32 Tylenol PM, 3 x 100 maximum strength Allergy Sinus, 1 bottle Artificial Tears, 2 bottles Sterile Eye Drops, 2 3oz Saline Nasal Sprays, 1 bottle Suppositories (1 adult, 1 child), 2 12oz bottles Chloraseptic Salt Water Gargle, 1 Monistat Spray, and 1 tube Neosporin.
Please let me know if I have missed anything with these meds., going to get Vitamins next week. Aslo if you guys would be so kind as to maybe put our heads together for a super dee dooper First Aid Kit, it would be greatly appreciated. Have some basics, but thats for my next post.
Goodnight you guys, and Chin UP.
Hi to all. Good to see everyone around. I haven’t posted as much lately in part because I found myself being such a bummer the last couple of times that I posted. Frankiew, when I read back over the last several days worth of postings, I think you asked several days back in relation to my last post re: where I was finding the holes in my preps. Really, the issue is not just “holes” in the preps but more how far to go. For example, I am particularly concerned about water. Storing much more than a few weeks worth of water requires going to heroic means (e.g., shelling out $300+ on the Aquatank things, wells, etc.). Similarly, is it worth thinking about a small solar system, etc.? What I meant in that post was that I’m trying to decide how to allocate resources and what/whether to do about large holes (like water and some power) that can’t be fixed with a couple of $100 trip to Wally’s.
Interesting ideas on the meds. Here are a few ideas from my medical preps to add to NoFluingAround’s post above. Ideas include a few sick room supplies, which might be a different topic. Nitrile gloves, hydration salts and also Gatorade powder, tums, immodium (tablets and liquid), pepto, oscillococcinum, Gas-X/beano (if we ever have to eat all those beans, why not avoid the misery?), flexible straws (for easier invalid drinking), saline nasal spray, petroleum jelly, bedpads and washable mattress protectors, fish oil caps, ginger ale, anti-nausea liquid (generic emetrol), Zicam extreme congestion nasal spray (this stuff is the bomb, but expensive). Prescriptions include the typical things. For NoFluing Around, you guys may have allergy reasons not to stock both ibuprofen and acetaminophen. If not, you might want to consider stocking both in quantity, as they can be alternated for high fevers.
Hide in the hills—that’s **very** interesting about your work.
Good luck to all.
I’m so glad to hear from all of you! Hearing news from work & from family’s reactions helps us all to guage where we are with our own families.
I also want to to consider at least a day out of one week to PRINT stuff out. I’ve got stuff stored on the computer, but golly, if it shut down…………..
About the first aid kit, I priced out trying to put one together myself to carry in our car, & with my ADHD tendencies it was easier to buy something already put together, but being an ‘over the top’ sorta person, I couldn’t settle for one of those packed boxes off the WalMart shelf, so I ebayed, compared lists of equipment, & bought a paramedic’s medical kit, fully stocked. I added a stethascope and N100 masks & a few other things like Iodine, emergency food bars, our Frogg Toggs, etc. It stays in the car all the time sorta like it’s own bug-out bag+the medical stuff! Might at least want to check the prices.
Galt – at 01:01
Thank you for reminding me about the acetaminophen, no allergies, simply forgot. What would I do without you guys :o)
I have to run out for a bit, when I get back, will check my sick room supplies and post.
Have a great day boys & girls!
Im-Workin-on-it, Have similar contraption for bug out bags, will list that as well.
Frankiew, thanks for push:o)
Happy Monday, fellow ALABAMA FLU FIGHTERS, today my medicine preps were: Oscillococcinum, I purchased these bxs from GNC for 14.99, with a gold card 20% discount thru their savings plan from 10–1 thru 10–9. This was recommended on another forum, where someone had printed out an article, I’ll look in a minute and get the link for ya’ll. I also purchased SINUFIX, a natural nasal mist for sinus pressure, nasal congestion with irritated nasal passages, cleanes and moisturizes. I know the few times I have actually had the flu, my nose hurt so bad from sneezing, wheezing, and runny nose. This was also 14.99 a btl, with a 20% discount with gold card. I placed my re-order for my 3 months of high-blood pressure medication and will go tomorrow to the local health food store (GNC did not have this) for celery seed, this is a natural herb for high blood pressure. I have actually taken this one day Altace and the next day celery seed, with my blood pressure actually being 120/70 (very good for me I have had two heart stents and previously high blood pressure)> The celery seed ranges in price from 8.29 to 14.69, a viable option for high blood pressure, but again, check with your doctor (mine is actually a nurse practioner affiliated with my primary care physician and very open to alternative medicine, especially since my cholesterol and blood pressure is very low on natural medication.) But these are alternatives if you are unable to get your doctors to write a 3 month scrip and it is very expensive on a 3 month type of meds. My goal this month is to bring my insulin medication up to 2 yrs, need 5 btls of humlin n and 3 btls of humlin r. I already have liquid ibuprofren for the 11 yr old, he can’t swallow pills, and it would be very beneficial for fever when your throat is sore to take it in liquid form. Thank you for the reminder of not giving aspirin to children, I knew it, my spouse knew it, but 11 yr. was not aware, never had discussed it with him before, did it today and have put in red sharpie pen DO NOT USE IF UNDER 20,on btl.,just to cover all bases. I also switch back forth when there is fever between tylenol and motrin, 11 yr. old used to have severe strep throat, numerous times, so got used to having those two items in medicine closet. Going to do a little housework, have been gone all day, DH is on vacation so we just bummed some today, will talk later.
frankview: DO NOT USE IF UNDER 20
You might want to add “years old” to that statement so if an Aunt or Uncle or neighbor is dosing someone in your family, they don’t think you meant to not use if there were less than 20 pills in the bottle!
Sorry, but I come from a family that has the chore of being very literal people — it’s genetic apparently and fortunately there are very few of us left to get in the way of the rest of you…..but that’s what I first thought when I read your statement, even tho I knew what the topic was since I was the one who brought it up!! :-)
LOL,I never would have thought of adding yrs. My thinking way to abstract, now let me go back to the medicine cabinet and put on the btl, I guess on the back, arrow pointing to back of btl, because of course I printed it in BIG RED LETTERS, to add yrs old. Ya’ll make me smille everyday. I am still looking for the link about the oscillococcinum, that is a homeopathic flu medicine and a reputable agency recommeneded it, still trying to find my printout of it, again my abstract, messy thinking.
I have that “abstract” messy thinking, but mine’s called ADHD!!
Ppppsssssttt……did you see that list that NoFluingAround did for all the meds she has??? WOW!!! I’ll never come close to all that!! Hope she doesn’t hear us talking about her…….
NoFluing, seriously, you’ve done a fantastic job of getting medications! I don’t have ANY prescriptions beyond our regular stuff! But I DID get my flu shot today. Hubby should get his at work.
Hey, I finally found the link that recommended Oscillococcinum, only took me hours, not really just got back from dinner with my favorite brother and sister-in-law. Anyway, here goes: www.fortwayne.com/mid/journalgazette/business
This infor came from the Fort-Wayne-Allen county department of Health. The article stated that in October into November that prticipating pharmacies(Meijer,Kroger,CVS<Walgreens,Scott’s Food & Pharmacy will be displaying items for a pandemic flu kit, each weel will be devoted to a different category of supplies. Oscillococcinum was recommended by the health dept. to relieve symptoms of flu. WOW.
NoFluing, your list was awesome. Here are some of the things we have purchased over the last 4 months: Manual blood pressure monitor,BC powder (for spouse and myself headaches, will not give to anyone younger than 20, already marked on box),Preparation H wipes and cream (eating alot of beans, upset stomach in many different forms;vaseline; chigger plus (for tick,chigger,bug bites);uristat; gasx relief;snake bit kits;nasal decongestant PE;Halls honey-lemon cough drops;ricol-lemon-min cough drops;sugar-free cough crops (I’m a diabetic):liquid motrin, liquid tylenol-generic brand both;Day-time nyquil, night=time nyquil(generic brand);liquid benadryl (generic)pepto-bismol(generic) tylenol and motrin (generic); anti-nausea liquid (generic compared to emetrol-very good stuff) liquid anti=diarrheal and pill anti=diarrheal; 3 Geratherm thermometers with 1 digital thermometer;carmex for dry lips;chlorpheniramine tablets(antihistamine) got for 50cents with 24 tab at family dollar; Comtrex;Airborne formula-a herbal powder to be used when you have first sign of cold of flu symptoms;Mylanta;DIABETIC Tussin, sugar free cough syrup for me; no-drip nasal spray for nose decongestion; Coricidin HBP, decongestant made for people with high-blood pressure(me again). My natural homapathic meds are:Vitamin C<D<E<;Zicam cold remedy rapid melts; Silver biotics (anti=biotics); Zinc with antioxidants; Emergen-c;Chromium Picolinate(used to regulate blood sugars)multiple vitamins; fish-oil;vitamin b-complex;flax-seed oil;celery seed (for high blood pressure). My prescription medication of insulin (2 shots daily) and Altace, which to date we have gotten 1 3/4 yrs of insulin and 1 1/2 yrs of Altace. God has really blessed us financially, my mother=in=law estate finalized at the beginning of the summer and we took a good portion of my husbands inheritance and spent it on prepping. Talk to ya’ll tomorrow, be sure to go over your list and post what you have and what you are going to purchase this week, GOOD NIGHT ALABAMA AVIAN FLU FIGHTERS.
Morning,
Don’t know if you guys are familiar with craigslist or not but it’s a place to advertise on the internet that is nationwide.
I just went to www.craigslist.com and found my town & posted a message to people entitled
HT Prepare for Pandemic AVAIN FLU or BIRD FLU What you need to Know
With the following post message:
If you’re concerned about the possibility of a flu pandemic causing disruptions in your life, affecting your kids at school, affecting your work, causing days or weeks of water, phone or power outages because the people who keep our utilities up are sick & can’t work, or are just wondering what you should be storing in your home to help you NOT be a victim like the people who lived through Katrina, then you can find an enormous amount of information at
On the main page there are links to valuable information you need to know about the illness, where it’s been found globally to date, how it mutates & what scientific experts have to say about what actions we should take to protect ourselves and our families.
There is also a link to discussion groups where you can learn from others, ask questions, etc., about topics that range from storing & preparing foods, to medicines needed, to heating and lighting alternatives, and personal protection suggestions. And there’s a special thread just for us folks in Alabama where you can get to know others in your state who are also interested in learning more about how to prepare for a possible worldwide illness!
This is a reputable resource for accurate information — on the discussion forum you will find people of all description from ones who are ‘survivalists’ to the average housewife/mom/employee looking for some simple answers.
Please visit us there to learn more about how to take care of yourself, your pets, and others in your neighborhood. ……………………………
I probably could have written a better post, but this will do for a start just to see if I can let anyone else know about finding help here at fluwikie.
Why don’t you do the same thing for the town on craigslist closest to you? You just post it under the FREE listings and don’t fill in the price or location. ALSO be sure to NOT click on the box that allows people to contact you directly unless you want every spammer out there to send you ads for their stuff!!
We don’t have a lot of action on the list, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt!
Well, I didn’t complete my thought….post it on your closest town OR you can post in other states, so if you have family somewhere, you might want to post in THEIR town/city.
Good Morning,
I’m-workin’-on-it, Talking behind my back I see, LOL. Appreciate that you appreciate my list.
Frankiew, thank you.
Ok, looking at the lists above, I see that I have missed some important preps. I have 2 large bags of Halls from Sams, however, need to get items like prep H, did not even occur to me that we might need something like that. oh yes, I do have a couple of large bottles of Antacid.
Good Morning,
I’m-workin’-on-it, Talking behind my back I see, LOL. Appreciate that you appreciate my list.
Frankiew, thank you.
Ok, looking at the lists above, I see that I have missed some important preps. I have 2 large bags of Halls from Sams, however, need to get items like prep H, did not even occur to me that we might need something like that. oh yes, I do have a couple of large bottles of Antacid.
anonymous – at 10:43
that was me, sorry, not sure why it did that. I was not finished typing either…oh well, will try again.
All right, now to pick up where I left off.
Frankiew, Your from my area, thought you might want this info. I bought 3 55 gallon plastic barrels for $10.00 each, and 1 55 gallon steel drum (burn trash) for $8.00. The guy lives in Chickasaw. If you are interested, will give you directions. I will be going to GNC today, have a gold card:o)
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 09:25 What a great idea, will post there when I get through on FluWiki. BTW, what about that meeting of the minds we talked about earlier on the this thread? Would love to sit down, have a glass of RWFK with you Alabama Flu Killers, as Frankiew so elegantly puts it. There are a lot of places we could meet, the Casinos in Biloxi, perhaps. I don’t gamble, but some of them have a killer seafood buffet, and for those who gamble, you could possibly book a room for the night, they have some great rates, and WHO knows (pun intended), with enough RWFK in my system, I just might take a shot at the slot machines….LOL. If any of you have other ideas for a meeting place, please post.
NoFluing Around, hey, I depleted the supply at the GNC at the mall, but there is one on hillcrest. Please give me the directions to the man in Chickasaw, that is one of the things we have really been having an problem obtaining. Yea, would love to meet, how about a Wafflehouse for coffee one evening or day when not alot of people there for breakfast. Sounds good to me, my problem with the casinos is that I have no-one to look out for 11 yr. old, not old enough to stay home by self yet and financially not able to stay overnight right now,all extra money goes into preps (my DH vocal contribution to this post LOL) Today we are going to visit a favorite uncle and just relax today talk to ya’ll in a little bit.
Frankiew, Waffle House sounds great!! Let me know which one and when:o)
Ok, the guy in Chickasaw, exit 13, I believe it’s the Saraland/Chickaswa exit. get off the exit, make a right, pass the Super WalMart, stay in the left lane, go all the way down to the light (HWY 45) make a right. Cross the bridge, get in the turn lane, start looking to your left. You will see a white Van, a canoe on some barrels. I believe, it’s the 10th or 11th house on the left. He has blue barrels that are not recommended for water consumption, I am going to use those for water for washing clothes etc., and 2 of them to fill with gas. He has white barrels that were initially used by Pepsi for syrup storage, so there should not be a problem for water storage.
Thank you, I think we are going to head over to chickasaw, I’ll get back in touch and we will schedule a time together that is convient for both of us, anyone else, please feel free to jump in and make a suggestion also, would love to hook up with like minds.
Hello Everyone,
I’ve been really busy trying to finish my preps, it’s a lot of work. Antibiotics scrips are difficult to get in my area, docs just don’t want to write those prescriptions. So far, I’ve managed to get a script for one Z-pack, had to beg for it. Office visit including getting the script filled cost me $295. Doctor didn’t want to talk about bird flu, nor a pandemic. My older sister and elderly uncle will be SIP at my home when the time comes, I’m working on getting them scripts too. Sis has high b/p and is a diabetic. I had to drive to another state to get extra scrips for her. My uncle and I do not take prescription meds, but I need to get a lot of antibiotics just in case… this is the big gap in my preps. Somehow a squirrel got into the laundry room and now my washer does not work, he must have gotten into the wiring. Causes me to think about what else could stop working…..computer, cell phone…should I have two of everything ?? Three cases of cheese and two cases of butter arrived last week. (I don’t eat butter) I think I’ve over prepped in some areas. Ordered a 250 lb propane tank, it will be delivered next week. This week I’m preparing the guest bedroom, taking up the carpet and putting down oak flooring. Security preps are next.. I’m 5′1″ and hope I can find a shotgun I can handle.
I feel a urgency to get everything in place, but it’s time consuming, and a lot of work for one person doing everything.
Read something the other day about getting a PPV23 shot (innoculates against 23 different types of bacterial pneumonia),helps with secondary bacterial infections. Given, it will not help with Viral Pneumonia, but wiil definitely help if one is fighting Viral & Bacterial Pneumonia together. Seems like the odds would be in our favor. Hopefully, with the PPV23 and Flu Shot, a wing and a prayer, we might have some defences against BF.
Going to get our shots this afternoon :o
Frankiew, looking forward to meeting u :o), let me know how it went with the barrels.
I ended up on the university of south alabama site while doing some research for a paper I’m writing. They had a link to Al Dept of public health emergencey preparedness guidelines. Go to the first site on the list and there are 28 pages of info with flu being adressed on an elementary level, but it has good info. The last page has an emergency contact sheet that I copied for myself. Forgive if you’re already aware of this info, but reading what the woman said at Public Health Dept (LOL), I thought I would post it here.
Oops: http://tinyurl.com/eaovx
Carol, very good report! I don’t have a stitch of antibiotics in the house other than in cream form! :-)
Seriously, my doc was unwilling to help also, so I’m basically screwed on that topic. I’m glad for those of you who are getting some, and I’ll keep trying, but I’m not counting on any at this point.
My ‘thing’ for today is to ask my brother to ask his and his wife’s doctors to up their scripts so they might have more on hand and to send an overall letter to family — again.
If you’ve not read this story you need to — from a college professor—Goju posted it on another link: http://tinyurl.com/gh833
Leo7, thanks for letting us know about that link — that’s great!
Carol at 15:07--I’m 5′2″ and have no problem with the Remington 12 gauge automatic. Light as a feather, with an easy kick. Will hold three shells, load it up and pull the trigger three times and BOOM - BOOM - BOOM. Ejects the spent shells several feet away. Wonderful smell of cordite and gun powder, love it. Automatic means you don’t have to manually rack a new shell into the chamber each time to fire.
I have no idea what they cost now. I won this one 26 years ago in a drawing. Bought one ticket for one dollar. Won gun. ;^P
While of course no one could ever recommend this path, some of the folks posting on antibiotics above might be interested for educational purposes only in past wiki threads on fish antibiotics. Also some really good posts by JV and others re: best antibiotics to have on hand for pneumonia. Just a thought.
While we’re on medicines this week, would like to remind us all on the importance of rehydration formulas (whether gatorade powders, pedialyte, or homemade solution). Also wanted to say that I found six-packet packs (each pack makes a quart, I think) of the Gerber brand rehydration powder with a year away expiration date for $1/pack at Big Lots recently. I have thought, reading all the recent posts, that we talk a lot on different threads about keeping extra rice or canned goods to help the neighbors (which is a super idea), but might it not also be a good idea to keep some extra rehydration solution powders and fever reducers for those who might not have prepared.
Galt, that’s an excellent idea & one I hadn’t thought of — you know there’s soooo much we haven’t thought through when we start to consider the needs outside our front doors.
I got so confused on the rehydration ‘recipes’ that were being batted about — they we ever settle on one that was ‘accurate’ and if so, what was it?? There was also a link somewhere for a company that sells the stuff, sorta expensive, but already made up which I think is important.
I have Gaterade on hand, & I bought Pedialyte & flavorings, but I’ve not tasted the Pedialyte stuff so I don’t know if it’s something that I’d want to shove down a sick person’s throat.
I have several bottles of Pedialyte, Gatorade and Gatorade powder.
Went to get the kids shots today, they would not give it to my 5 year old :o(. Have to find someone that will.
Would a doc in a box do it I wonder?
I’m-workin’-on-it,
I’m sorry your doc want give you flu meds.. Just keep trying, that’s what I’m doing. Have an appointment with another doc next week. A few months ago, and for the first time in my life I had the flu, I thought I was never going to get well. Several days before I got sick, I was in the grocery store getting preps. It was around noon and a school day. A mother had her three school age children with her in the store, and all three of them were running up and down the isles coughing their poor little heads off. I don’t want to ever be sick like that again, and I get a little frustrated because I can’t get just a few flu meds to put away for a pandemic.
How are other people getting their flu meds , I wonder.
Preppers are responsible people, and the docs shouldn’t be giving us such a hard time.
I’m-workin’-on-it,
BTW, thanks for the link.
AlabamaPrepper,
“Ifm 5Œ2 and have no problem with the Remington 12 gauge automatic. Light as a feather, with an easy kick. Will hold three shells, load it up and pull the trigger three times and BOOM - BOOM - BOOM. Ejects the spent shells several feet away. Wonderful smell of cordite and gun powder, love it. Automatic means you donft have to manually rack a new shell into the chamber each time to fire.”
A Remington sounds nice, thanks for the tip..that’s what I’ll get. Again, Thanks
Welcome Birdie! Or welcome back! Have you posted before? If so, sorry that I’d forgotten….we’re glad you’re here.
What part of this great state are you in — I’m in Bham, we have people from east and west AL, north & south AL, so you’re bound to be in good company whereever you are.
I wonder if a doc-in-a-box medical clinic would give your 5 year old a shot? Might be worth checking into.
Birdie—try the website www.findaflushot.com It will let you put in your zip code and a radius (ex. 5 miles, 20 miles) and will give you some of the flu clinics in your area, like the things that are held at drug stores and grocery stores. You can call ahead to the clinics and they will let you know what ages they are serving. The ones in our area do serve ages that young. The website does not pick up all the flu clinics in the area; I know of two happening this week in my area that are not on it, but it might give you a better idea of your options.
Birdie, The exact same thing happened to me yesterday. Went to get my kids the PPV23 and Flu shots at Saads, they refused to give my 5yr old either one, said I would have to talk to my pediatric doc. One problem, my ped. will not have these shots till the first week of Nov., I really do not want to wait that long.
I’m-workin’-on-it – Saads, basically is a doc in a box type place. Oh, and pedialyte tastes like crapola…LOL
Galt – at 09:07 Will try that link. Thank you for posting it.
Also, a news reporter from our local paper “Mobile Press Register” returned my call yesterday, she has agreed to look at the info on BF via email. Maybe, just maybe, she will see the danger, and write an article. Keeping fingers and toes crossed…LOL.
NoFluing Around – at 09:49 I figured it would taste awful…..I’m hoping that if it comes to having to use it, I’ll be able to pass it off as useable with the flavoring….or that my ‘patient’ will lose their sense of taste enough to not be able to identify it as crapola!! :-)
Don’t you just love crapola;O)
I posted this in an earlier forum:
ANTIBIOTICS: cephalexin, ampicillin, tetracycline, amoxicillin, penicillin, erythromycine, and metronidazole (all in “fish tank” doses of 250 mg) at Jeffers Supplies @ www.jefferspet.com (“For educational purposes only”) They ship fast.
They also have syringes, wound dressings, clotting agents, forceps, cling dressings, needles for sewing, lots of “emergency type supplies”.
I believe they are located in Mobile, AL. I have received shipments in two days from them.
Hide in the Hills (and wait) – at 07:53 (all in “fish tank” doses of 250 mg)
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a fish tank dose?, is it the amount put in a fish tank?, and if it is, does that mean it will be in powder or liquid form?
ok, so I posted prematurely…lol, HITH, went to the site, found that the antibiotics are in pill form.
NoFluingAround @10:16…. Refer back to Galt on 3 Oct @18:17….While of course no one could ever recommend this path, some of the folks posting on antibiotics above might be interested for “educational purposes” only in past wiki threads on fish antibiotics. Also some really good posts by JV and others re: best antibiotics to have on hand for pneumonia. Just a thought.
No one could recommend using these for illness even if doctors were wading up to their armpits in patients and triage was set up under trees outside the hospitals or in the parking lots. And by someone’s lack of planning had somehow run out of any medicines to treat anyone with anyway. NO ONE could recommend it, even if it probably came off the same assembly line as what is prescribed in a pharmacy. YOU SHOULD JUST BE GOOD SHEEPLE AND WAIT YOUR TURN FOR A BED IN THE PARKING LOT. Right?? Actually, they are capsules.
Can squirrels get AF? I have a bumper crop this year. And a family of foxes.
Copied this from Flu Prep XVII about prepping Antibiotics:
lohrewok – at 09:20
Regarding fish antibiotics: standard disclaimer—taking fish antibiotics for infections can work, not work, or make the infection worse. You gotta know what you are about here.
With that in mind, get a copy of the Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics and a good drug reference (i. e. Physician’s Desk Reference)and start reading. Make sure that your ABX collection includes cefelxin, amoxicillin, erithromycin and tetracycline. Pay attention to expiration dates; tetracycline can be deadly if taken too long after expiration. Other ABX lose potency.
I think there was a forum thread regarding fish abx some months ago that addressed a lot of these questions.
I have read that Tetracycline is only good for one year storage. After that throw it out and get fresh supply.
Copied off the ‘net
Doctors use antibiotics to treat pneumonia caused by bacteria, the most common cause of the condition. You usually will continue to take antibiotics for 5 to 14 days, although you may take them longer if you have an impaired immune system.
Your doctor will choose your antibiotic based on a number of things, including your age, your symptoms and how severe they are, and whether you need to go to the hospital.
Although experts differ on their antibiotic recommendations, the first antibiotic used usually is one that works against a wide range of bacteria (broad-spectrum antibiotic). All antibiotics used have a high cure rate for pneumonia.6
If you do not have to go to the hospital, your doctor may use any of the following antibiotics:
Macrolides, such as Ery-Tab, Biaxin, Biaxin XL, and Zithromax. Tetracyclines, such as doxycycline (Vibramycin, Doryx). Fluoroquinolones, such as Levaquin, Avelox, and Tequin.
HEY, EVERYONE! I went to my DH fav. uncle the other day and while we were riding down Lott rd, low and behold there were 3 metal 55=gal drums on the side of the rd. for sale, (we were on are way to Chickasaw to purchase drums) turned around and asked, $10.00 each with lids and he had alot of them, checked them out food grade. WOW, what a find. Quick question, if this type of flu is not touched by antibiotics of any kind, do we need to purchase and try to stock anti-biotics? I am really having a hard time obtaining them and am trying alternative methods, vitamins,pneumoia shot, future SIP, ya know stuff that is outside of the box. I posted on another thread(flu clinic) about something that I just experienced at my local Winn-dixie. This is where I shop and get my medication, so when they announced a flu=clinic 11–2 today, I thought well why not, I’ll be there anyways and got my DH & DS to tag along. At about 11:15 there was almost a fight among the people there for the shot, they were yelling and fighting, to the point that the manager of the store had to step in and calm everyone down. To me it was a small glimpse into a full fledge panic that could happen, say something like what would happen with no food, water, people sick, ya know WTSHIF. It was very eye opening, these were normal everyday people, that I see all the time in my local store, needless to say, we did not get our shot, I proceeded to grocery shop and my spouse and son went and ran other errands (DH is on vacation, son on break from homeschool this wk)> It just proves to me again, to always be prepared for whatever in our life and I am eternally grateful to have this forum to keep my head in reality.
FYI - Pandemic Flu Awareness Week, Oct. 9–15, 2006
frankiew – at 14:22 I can’t believe the people were that unruly this early in the game! goodlord.
When I went on Monday, to our Bruno’s, I was 12th in line when they started & everyone was real nice. There were only about 16 people there for awhile, then another 10 or so came in while I was getting processes.
I’m not too worried about not having anitibiotics yet…..my brain just won’t allow myself to get scared over it because I’ve tried and had no luck yet getting any!
I’m going to email some of the press releases they’ve got prepared here on fluwikie into the Bham newspaper this afternoon — that may be all I get done for my Awareness effort, I’ll be doing good to get THAT much done at the rate I’m going.
Have to report that at least part of my family — the branch in Mass., are at least knowledgeable & making some effort which is great. My family in Tenn., is just a little too laid back to put much effort into it right now, but maybe there’s time for them to do something, and my DB & SIL who live in this state, are probably better prepared than both other branches put together! Besides, they have DH and me to help them too.
I’m leaving it up to the moms in those branches to share with their kids what they think they want to, and in the meantime, I’m sharing lengthy emails with them so they’ll have whatever tidbits of info they need to paste into messages to their kids as they see fit. I’m just glad I’m not being laughed at as much as some of the others here……my family doesn’t laugh at me any more than I laugh at myself & I can sure beat myself up really well over what I spend or what I plan or the lists I make, etc. I just have to keep remember what someone here once said….every can set aside in preparation is someone’s way of saying “I love you” to their family.
heck, that was me, I’d cleaned cookies.
Hi to all! Frankiew—that is a terrible experience. You might consider starting a thread on it, as many people might not stumble across the story on the fluclinic thread. You’re right, could be a very interesting look into how people might behave. I sure hope it was the case of a few bad apples… Got my flu and pneumonia shot at a doc in the box/urgent care place without trouble on Weds. I had to wait about 30 minutes. I really expected them to hassle me about the pneumovax, but they didn’t---just wanted cash upfront for both. You might have better luck at a place like that. I had planned to go to the “flu clinic” at a local drugstore that day but the line was over 30 deep out the door when I drove by. I probably paid $20-$25 more by going to the urgent care—they did not charge for a visit, just for the shots from a nurse.
IWOI—that’s great news about your family members. Makes me want to try at least once more to get some of mine to listen.
Hide-in-the-hills@ 15:07--LOL.
By the way, does anyone know if the outdoor lg propane tanks—the 250+ gallon tanks—are in danger of being siphoned or otherwise disturbed (and if they can’t really be siphoned but someone tried to siphon off of yours, would it blow up)? Also, if electric goes down in **our AL area** for an extended period of time, should we expect natural gas to stay on or is it linked to electricity/other supply issues? Sorry if these are stupid questions; I don’t know much about propane or natural gas.
Hope all are doing well and getting ready for games tomorrow!
GALT, do you think I should start another thread, never done anything on this forum like that? If someone doesn’t mind please give me detailed (very literal type person) instructions on how, and I will post it again on new thread. My immediate family has also gotten our pneumonia shot about 6 wks. ago at our local family physician. We called ahead and asked when to be there (beginning before morning hours) and the nurse gave it to us for $50.00 each. OUCH, but hey the pneumonia is what I am really concerned about small price to pay if we get the flu, killer pneumonia should be taken care of. Just got back from picking my medication up (at the pharmacy at winn-dixie) and talked to the tech. there, she stated that the people believed that there were only a few flu shots (20 or less) and that was the reason that they panicked, also someone came up and moved in front of people who had been there for awhile. Interesting note, all of the people involved in this were at least over 65, I did not really expect that type of attitude from our more mature generation.
frankiew our local family physician. We called ahead and asked when to be there (beginning before morning hours) and the nurse gave it to us for $50.00 each.
Frankiew, could you possibly give me your physicians #, I want to call and ask if they would give the shot to a five year old. My pediatrition’s office does not have any, and as I mentioned before, Saad’s Healthcare would not innoculate him because of his age. BTW…Sadds on University has Flu shots for $15.00 and the PPV23 for $40.00, very organized set-up, The kids & I were in & out of there in less than fifteen minutes.
Dr. David Phillips,on Moffett rd, phone # 645–8946, he is with Providence Family physician. We actually go to the nurse practioner there, but he is our family physician. Thankyou, we will got to Saad’s on University, the flu shot at winn-dixie was either 20.00 or 25.00 (to much confusion to find out correct price)>At first the nurse did not want to give our 11 yr. old a pneumonia shot, but I reminded her that he had had pneumonia several yrs. ago and numerous bouts of documented strep throat. With a little insistence, they gave it to all three of us.
Good morning to al you wonderful people in Alabama. Went to Sam’s this yesterday, purchased vitamins, box of wipes (which I think will be a life saver, with water being scarce), paper towels, TP, Swiffer wet wipes (again, life saver. Keeping floors clean without water will be difficult), swiffer sweeper cloths, swiffer dusters, 2 pk Lysol wipes, 3 pk Lysol spray and 2 cases water.
DH and I have decided to put wood floors throughout the house to enable proper cleaning WTSHTF. With no power, will not be able to vacum. We finished the formal living, formal dining and foyer last week. Will start on the den this week, yeah.
frankiew – at 18:08 Thank you, will call first thing Monday, hopefully they will not give me a problem with Logan getting his shots.
You guys have a geat weekend:o)
NoFluingAround – at 10:56 Very goof efforts you’ve made!
So, let’s make next week’s topic be TOOLS—for home as well as for bug out bags.
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 12:00
Tools sound like a great idea. Yes, and those bug out bags, was wondering, since I will have 6 bug out bags to prepare, should I put different items in each one, say, if I put a large bottle of Germ X in one, could I put something else in it’s place in another? Just a thought, or should should I have the same in each bag, and yes, they will be condusive to each one’s needs.
Hey everybody! Nice cool morning to start off Racing Weekend. Crowds are unbelievable here in my town.
I’d like to point out to those who are interested…Fred’s, the discount store, has a good sale on the Sweet Sue Chicken and Dumplings, 2 for $3.00. These are Delicious! They are the 20 oz cans, so there’s plenty in one. I think they are on sale thru Tuesday. Lots of other bargains in the canned meat section, too.
Also, they have the Fred’s house brand spray disinfectant for $1.50, compared to Lysol or Clorox brand at nearly $4.00. Their own brand of ibuprophen, buy one get one free, $2.50 gets you 200 tablets.
Lots of interesting items in their store, too much to list here, but you can find some good buys in OTC medicine, vitamins, and other prep items.
PS—I don’t work for Fred’s nor do I have any of their stock…heh, heh, just passing on info!
Local sporting goods store, Lucky’s, has ammo at very good prices, and will not require your life history to sell you some, unlike another big box store we know. HUGE collection of long guns along one wall, pistols in the showcase, knives, gear, fishing stuff….a virtual candy store for me…
I guess you could say I do have one bag which has the bare essentials and stays in our car all the time — that’s my paramedic’s bag that I bought off ebay & then added other stuff to it to make it fit my needs. But I’m not counting it as my primary BOB, but just as an extra bag — I’ll explain:
I have one BIG suitcase on wheels in a house closet that I consider our primary bag, with cold & warm weather clothes and hats, shoes, etc, some snacks & water, and bedsheets, important papers & money & an inner bag of toiletries & medications. If that’s all I can get out of the house, like in a fire after I’ve gotten the cats out, then it (and our paramedics bag already in the car) should provide for our comfort & needs for a few days in combination with what always stays in the car.
Then a slightly smaller bag for the cats with food, water, kitty litter (we could all end up using), first aid kit for cats and first aid books for cats, plastic bags, paper products, & their vaccination papers.
Third bag has MRE’s & their heaters & utensils, water, spices, cleaning supplies, etc..
Then there’s a smaller bag with blankets, more linens, small pillows.
All those bags are on wheels for easy grab even if they’re heavy. I packed them and store them in order of importance to getting out in a hurry. If I get only one, we’ll be ok, so long as we can buy things with cash that we need for us and the cats. If I have time to get bag #2, the cats will be better taken care of without us having to use up our cash. If I get bag #3 we’ll be able to eat without spending cash on food, If I get bag #4 we’ll be able to manage fairly well, whether we have our sleeping bags, or have to sleep in the car with screaming cats.
In the car I have a large first aid kit (a paramedics bag) that stays in the car trunk with everything from bandages to stethascope & blood pressure monitor, to N100 masks & survival gear like a can opener, light sticks, survival food bars, knife, Frogg Toggs that I vaccuum sealed in a bags to take up minimal space, etc.
There’s in the car also a wind up radio and an inverter to run the laptop, a small box fan, and a miscellaneous tool crate. What I DON’T have is stuff a normal person would have and that I need to get busy and get — fuses, oil & rags, gas can, and I have it on a list for DH to put together, but that hasn’t happened.
So some stuff stays in the car all the time, the rest is numbered in priority order with BIG luggage tags that I got from Academy Sports that are neon colored & very easily seen even in dim light.
After those are loaded, I do have other emergency duffles that stay on a dolley sort of like a flatbed to either load up in our vehicles if we’re having to evacuate, like a camping trip, or just use if the power goes out and we’re staying at home so all the stuff is in one place. We pull it out of it’s hiding place, open & use anything from an RV slow cooker to a big water filter, to leather pot holders in case we’re cooking in the fireplace!
AlabamaPrepper, is Lucky’s in Pell City? I might have to cruise over there & look at rifles and such!
I would like to ask our neighbor who retired from the power company, I believe if I’m remembering correctly, to please go post on the Keeping The Grid Up thread……there might be something you could offer there that would be very helpful overall. thanks!
Lucky’s is in Pell City. THE best gun store I have seen in many years. No pressure…just want to help.
Oh yeah, Lucky’s is on 231 South on down past the Kmart, and past the Cropwell intersection, on the left. You will love it.
When you get through there, come back up the road and stop in at Uncle Willies BBQ. Home cookin’ going on there. Best cheeseburgers in the World, bar none.
Give me a heads up and I’ll meet ya there, Lucky’s or Uncle Willies.
You’ve got a deal!!! Whooo hooooo!!!
I need to look at shotguns & rifles & 9mm just for info for right now. We dropped a couple of thousand on the cats’ treatments & on little Gabe’s emergency care & then putting him to sleep so that was a big ouch money-wise as well as emotionally devestating for me & we need a couple more paychecks before dipping that deep into funds again, but I want to settle on what I want & know exactly how much I need to spend so I can walk in next time & get it. So we can meet at least twice — for countercase shopping & then for buying!
I’ve mentioned before that we have a .38 that I haven’t practiced with in years — it just sits in a drawer.
This is obviously my weakest area of preps.
Maybe we could get together on a Saturday & I could get my husband to come along & let you help me convince him that having an arsenal isn’t a bad thing! Or maybe I just need to leave him out of this & bring the mastercard & take my pick!! :-)
Oh! I should mention that I am available ANY time during the week since I ‘work’ from home my schedule is flexible. And I haven’t been doing anything lately except grieving over all my cats that have died this year — I’ll have to make certain I don’t have red eyes when I go gun-shopping won’t I??!!!!
Hello Alabamians, Was just looking at the AL Dept of Public Health website and the county-specific pandemic plans seem to be posted now for most counties. They are pretty meager, much more like a checklist, with lots of things checked as “not started.” For anyone interested in how the planning is looking for his/her area, the plans are located at www.adph.org/pandemicflu/ Then just click on County plans and then click on your county from the state map. Maybe the planning is going very slowly, but what they have up currently as “plans” are not plans at all. Do you guys think that there is a big vault of private plans somewhere or that AL (and its constituent counties) has no plan at all?
ok, what are potassium Iodate pills, what are they used for and how do you procure them? LOL
BTW…Good Morning all:o)
Galt – at 10:54 Thank you, going to check it out now:o)
NoFluingAround – at 11:01 they have a limited use in that they are only helpful with one type of explosion
You can purchase them at www.nitro-pak.com
You can also shop on eBay but beware what you buy there — I’ve gotten some from nitro before.
You take them when you hear that a bomb has been set off (forgot the kind — that isn’t helpful is it?) and so you take the pills in order to protect your thyroid. Here’s the page to nitro-pak and you can choose which quantity you want.
http://www.nitro-pak.com/index.php?cPath=37
FROM THEIR WEBSITE: What Does Potassium Iodide Do? What Does it NOT Do?
In the event of a nuclear accident, radioactive dirty bomb or nuclear explosion, after the initial catastrophic event, Iodine 131 is released into the atmospere (basically, microscopic radioactive dust). This dust goes everywhere the prevailing winds are blowing… thus downwind of the target. If you breath in this radioactive dust (those around the target and downwind will) it is absorbed inside your body by the thyroid gland. This absorption can damage the thyroid and, over time, cause thyroid cancer.
When Potassium Iodide is taken as directed, it literally “floods” the thyroid with a stabilized iodine, basically saturating the thyriod gland so that the radioactive Iodine 131 particules cannot find a home and is expelled out the normal body waste channels. Potassium Iodide tablets can prevent up to 99% of the damage caused by radioactive nuclear fallout (dust). The recommended dosage for an adult is to take one tablet 30 minutes prior to exposure Click Here for FDA Information on Infant and Children Dosages for maximum effectiveness (the sooner you can take it the better after an event occurs).
What Potassium Iodide Doesn’t Do
False rumors and misunderstandings have spread for years that Potassium Iodide stops all kinds of radiation exposure, but the fact is that Potassium Iodide is NOT a magic pill. Its one and ONLY job is to preventing thyroid cancer as a result of ingesting radioactive fallout (dust). It is NOT a radiation protection pill somehow stopping “radiation sickness” or anything else.
Quick Side Note Nuclear radiation, like x-rays, is only stopped or minimized by… 1) Mass: The amount of solid material (concrete, lead, etc.) between you and the radiation source, 2) Distance: How far away you are from the radiation source, and 3) Time: There are many types of radiation. Most have what is called ‘half-lives’ that drop their radiation levels significant over the first few hours and days. If you are interested in learning more about what really happens in the even of a nuclear explosion, we suggested reading “Surviving Doomsday”. The title may seem scary, but it is written in clear, easy to understand language to help you understand the real facts, not hype.
Recent findings from Chernobyl (where 18 million children were given Potassium Iodide) suggest its is even more effective than previously realized, and that thyroid blocking can take place at smaller doses. Currently, however, package instructions should be followed in the event of a nuclear explosion from a power plant accident or a nuclear weapon.
Galt @10:54
Checked my county’s plan. Question: What th’ heck does it mean? What are they goin’ to do, provide, mobilize.
Again…it’s going to be patients in the parking lot…performing triage on them…No way is there going to be bed space. And if you need surgery……might as well stay home
Hide in the hills—I agree completely…re: what do these plans even mean. My take is this—the counties were under mandate to all get a plan together, probably because ADPH was under some mandate to get a plan together. Remember back several, several posts, the ADPH stance is that “all emergencies are local emergencies, so the individual counties should plan rather than count on the state, blah, blah, blah” (although the state is still happy enough to part me from my tax dollars…). I think either, 1) there are no real plans, hence these ridiculous documents/checklists that don’t give any useful information, and/or 2) there are plans, but they are not open to public scrutiny. As I understand it, the current “plans” on the ADPH site are the plans that are up for public comment and review. The current plans are so non-informative that I’m really not sure how you could ask many questions about them. I don’t see how anyone could realistically call these things plans.
Hide in the hills—if things do get bad, do you have any thoughts on what the power/electric situation might look like for north/northeast AL?
Thanks to all earlier for the suggestions on Lucky’s. Might have to mosey on over and coordinate it with a trip to the Ark.
Galt @15:30
I’ll get back to you 10/10 p.m.
I’m-workin’-on-it – at 11:11 , Thank you my friend, for taking the time to post. I appreciate all of you here on FluWiki.
Going to try and finish preparing bug out bags this week, also will be ordering Potassium Iodide pills today. Will post my BOB list later this week, then you guys can tell me if I have missed anything.
Have a great day, all.
Galt @ 15:30
This is based on nothing but supposition, not any special knowledge.
I believe all will be well unless full blown PI somehow gets inside. They may try to SIP from the outside. Especially if they can get volunteers. Don’t know. I am not privy to that.
When we get into widespread high casualties, some may want to be with their families, if they are not sick too.
We are all vulnerable.
Things may get spotty. I hope not. At this point, you may need the Y2K generator to keep the refrigerator and freezer charged. Once or twice a day until the compressor kicks off.
After the first wave is over (six weeks they say), I think they will try to rapidly come back.
In many places and various technologies they may bring in the National Guard. Again, this is supposition.
It’s happened before (i.e. coal mines and trains).
On the other hand. They may SIP, maintain a clean site, and run until the second or third wave is over, or the vaccine is distributed to everyone.
Your guess (at this point) is as good as mine, really.
Hide in the hills—thanks for sharing your thoughts. Interesting.
I remember a discussion with the guards at Miller when I went over there to work an outtage in 1989.
We were discussing the upcoming contract negotiations, and the possibility of the Brotherhood striking. The “old timers” who had worked through strikes in the past (guards are Company employees and do not strike) talked about how the company prepared for a big, long running strike in the past.
The company people, i.e., foremen, supervisors, clerks, admininstrators, and all were locked in at the plants. Food, cots and blankets, personal grooming articles, anything that might be needed was laid in. The strike lasted a looong time, months. Company provided everything those in the plants needed.
Something similar might and could be done now. Food storage space would be the biggie, though, since they’ve eliminated the cafeteria at my old plant. The guys might eat MREs for a few days, but are going to want real, hot, cooked meals.
Then, you get into bringing the employees families in for the duration. First of all, not all of them will be willing to leave their homes and go to their spouses workplace. Second, where would there be room for them, kids and all? This would be a logistical nightmare, imagine having two or three hundred families on the plant site to feed, provide medical care to, kids to deal with (of all ages).
Also, the plant site is not as secure as you would think. There is a gate out in front of them, yes, however, there are many ways to gain access to the site. If Security is stepped up, and someone put at the vunerable points, armed, and told they won’t be fired if they shoot, you may control the site better than at present.
You might ask yourself if the “rent-a-guard” firm they use for security will even show up.
The hydros on our system are run by remote from the Dispatch Center. A crew comes in each day to do normal jobs, and an operator is in the control room. He takes over local control from the DC at the start of his shift, and hands it back over at the end. So, in a pinch, the hydros will be able to be operated. As long as someone can—and this is the biggie—be able to check things such as oil levels, bearing temps, sump pumps, and such, the hydros might be okay.
Of course, they can’t carry the whole system.
I don’t have a clue as to what the answer is. It may happen that there would be enough time, which is doubtful, but let’s run with that for a moment.
Pretend there is enough warning about an outbreak of PF. Say it breaks out “somewhere else” and enough attention is given to it, news reports, all that. The various electric utilities, not just ours, call in all employees, declare an emergency, and lock the plants down.
Bring with you everything you need, clothes, food, whatever, be here by such and such time, and be prepared to stay.
(Been there and done this for bad weather situations.)
All the plants (ours, anyhow) have helicopter pads, and medical help can be airlifted in and out.
A lot is going to depend on each individual worker…family or obligation to the greater community vis a vis, keeping the power on?
To echo Hide: “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Alabama Prepper—very interesting info on how the plants run in adverse conditions. I guess we won’t know until we know re: how things will turn out.
Galt
Hello; this is my first post, but I’ve been “lurking” the Fluwiki site for well over a year.
My wife and I moved to Semmes, AL about a year ago, from Mobile. I grew up in rural TN, and wanted to live away from the city. We live on 8 acres, with 3 dogs and 11 cats. I recently retired, so I now have more time to prepare, not just for a pandemic, but for whatever life may throw our way.
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts, and recognized many kindred spirits. I thank you for this opportunity to enter into your discussions; to learn, and to share what I may have picked up along the way. - Thanks
HermitTao – at 21:11 ….11 cats…WOW!! COOL!
We’re glad to know you’re here. our friends in So AL will be delighted you’re on board with us. Have you gotten your flu shot yet?
Hey HermitTao. Nice to “meet” you. Glad you are joining the posting. Where about is Semmes?
I’m-workin’-on it (22:10) - Not yet, but will do so soon. I’ve gotten shots the last 2 years, and didn’t get the flu.
Things can happen quickly. For example, this past Sunday just as I was heading inside for a nap, one of our kittens got outside and up a tree. Our longest ladder didn’t begin to reach her, so off to Lowes, where I rented a truck to get their longest ladder 40′, home. In a short time we were both safe on the ground. You just never know what the next minute will hold, or when “quick action” will be required; but that’s life. By-the-way, fire departments don’t do cats up a tree anymore.
Galt @ 22:31 - Semmes is west of Mobile, about 30 min. from downtown. There doesn’t appear to be a town center for Semmes, just shops, businesses and homes along the main road. We like it here; almost country living.
Again, welcome HermitTao, my family of 3 live in Wilmer, just past the city limit LOL of Semmes. For everyone else, Semmes really consist of drugstore, wal-mart, winn-dixie, cvs, and some restaurants. It is a great place and very close to Mobile. We were supposed to be prepping for tools this week, sorry I got side=tracked with DH on vacation. My tools purchased have been a dutch oven, a camping set with an additional metal coffee pot (always need a backup coffee pot). I know that these may not be the conventional type of tools, but they are the tools that I will be using to make my family comfortable. We already had shovels, hoes, rakes, etc. Ya’ll let everyone else know what you have obtained for tools this week,, and let’s decide what the next weeks topic will be.
frankview, I’m the one who mentioned tools and I haven’t succeeded in much in that area either. BUT I had written myself a note to reseason my cast iron pots & pans so I think this weekend I’ll start that process!! I just spent money on pansies & 4 big mums. I end up with seasonal depression so having color outside the front door (we use our storm door as our front door and rarely shut the wooden door) helps as I walk through the house & see the plants out the windows and door. Too bad I can’t count that as ‘medicine’ for depression!
I drove by a Raceway and saw that gas was $2.01 — that’s great! Has anyone seen it for under $2??
frankview, I’m the one who mentioned tools and I haven’t succeeded in much in that area either. BUT I had written myself a note to reseason my cast iron pots & pans so I think this weekend I’ll start that process!! I just spent money on pansies & 4 big mums. I end up with seasonal depression so having color outside the front door (we use our storm door as our front door and rarely shut the wooden door) helps as I walk through the house & see the plants out the windows and door. Too bad I can’t count that as ‘medicine’ for depression!
I drove by a Raceway and saw that gas was $2.01 — that’s great! Has anyone seen it for under $2??
HermitTao @23:46
Glad to have you with us in “delurked” mode.
I’m-workin-on-it @ 13:15 - you reminded me about seasoning cast iron pots. I have got tons of them to do. We hardly ever use them now. They work good on a fire though. Did you get yourself armed @ Lucky’s. I favor HK 91, AK-47, Remington 870, Ruger P89, Ruger Security Six, and SKS in about that order. I’ll try to write more later. We have company.
I didn’t get to seasoning the pots like I had hoped this weekend.
As far as stocking tools, I have hand tools pretty well covered. Electrical tools too, for that matter. It just takes me forever to find the one I need. They are in much disarray in my storage building. I just need to organize them.
I did start taking stock of medical supplies though. My real need will be obtaining a 90 day supply of lipitor, blood pressure medicines, and metformin. I have avoided go the mail supply route in favor of dealing with a local pharmacy (I like dealing with local businesses), but my insurance will only pay if I go the mail route. Looks like I may have to, at least temporarily do that.
I have been taking carloads of stuff to the Goodwill in Pell City weekly. I think I have about ten of the donation receipts already.
My biggest concern right now is on stocking enough food. 300 pounds of wheat, nitrogen packed milk, vegetables, tvp, fruit. The only thing about all the dried and dehydrated food is it takes fuel to cook (and time). Of course, we’ll probably have plenty of time on our hands.
The company is getting very serious about PF. They are furnishing flu shots for employees and immediate family members gratis. Always before, employee (only) and we have had to pay for them. I wonder, why the change in attitude and policy. I think I know…
Well, I wonder if they will offer them to all us retirees, after all, if enough regular guys get sick, they may have to call some of us out of retirement to come in and help.
Side note: Winn Dixie having a massive canned goods sale (WD brand).
Alabama Prepper @ 2:35 I saw that sale. Have you tried the WD brand, and are they any good? I wondered if it was in any way prep related when I noted in the ad that you could buy them by the case. Don’t remember ever seeing a case sale at the WD before.
You got my attention. Same question…Is WD brand any good? What kind of prices? Selection? Thanks.
Hey guys, I’m having computer issues here, and couldn’t get online yesterday.
WD store brand is ok, not exactly a generic quality, but not top name brand quality, either. Lets say it is ok, and would be a good backstop. According to the ad, everything from beans to potatoes is included.
Food World also has their Southern Home brand canned vegs on sale for .50 cents per can. Green beans, corn, I know I saw these yesterday. They are on markdown thru the 1st of November, and WD’s sale is over tonight.
Campbells soups are on sale at FW, also. The big cans are 2/$4.00, and if you have saved your Sunday paper coupons, get a dollar or two off that.
The Bush’s Homestyle Chili in the glass jar is good, and there were $1.50 off coupons for it in the Sunday paper. (Its good for “bought” chili, nothing is like what you make at home, of course!)
Still seeing the 40 pound bags of rice at FW, and noted Saturday at WM the clorox section was about empty. Guess it was wash day.
I’m to the point of having to pile things in the floor again, have run out of room once more. How that can be with just me in the house, I don’t know. But, its better to have it piled up in my floor, than in the store and inaccessible.
Y’all dry out today from all this rain….see ya!
Darlin’s I didn’t get my cast iron done either. I totally wasted the weekend apparently because when I looked around Monday AM, the house was a mess and nothing was done on ANY list I had. sigh.
HermitTao – at 22:44 I had no idea that the fire department didn’t come get cats down anymore — guess you have to rent a bucket truck yourself or just wait ‘em out. sigh again.
OK, I’m going to can some beans today. Come hell or high water and we’ve had enough rain for slightly higher water! That’s a GOOD thing.
NOTE TO EVERYONE: If you haven’t kept up with the Canned butter….thread, Fully Prepped in SoCal worked a deal for us to buy from MREDepot with a deep discount on anything — ANYthing they have on their website — butter, cheese, MRE’s, first aid kits, whatever they have — they have some nice sized small generators too. Shipping is actual UPS price. All you have to do to get the discount is to type in the word fluwikie into the coupon section of your online order (or you can order by snail mail). No caps, no quotation signs around the word, just fluwikie
Think Christmas presents for those who might not be prepping in your family, or for sharing with neighbors if you think you want to do that.
I’m-working-on-it @ 09:52 - I was told by the station chief that they no longer got cats out of trees, and did not have a hook & ladder truck. I found a 40′ ladder at LOWES, and rented their truck ($20.00 for 75 min.) to get it home; not a bad deal. I now have probably the longest ladder in Semmes, AL. By-the-way, it is available for loan (free) for cat rescue.
How much of a discount will we get from MREDepot? This may be a good time to round out my supplies.
HermitTao @18:40
If I read it correctly on the other thread, it is 21% on everything: MRE’s, freeze dried food, canned butter, canned meat, etc, etc. Use fluwikie in the discount coupon blank. It will automatically deduct 21% from the total.
AND they’re going to add more stuff for us as well in the near future. It’s either 20 or 21% discount.
Ok, we test our generator each month on the 1st to make certain it will run and also that it will run something hot like a hair dryer. But……duh…we’ve never checked or changed the oil or added oil. We don’t even have any oil…or didn’t until today when I read on another thread something about oil and it just clicked that we didn’t have any. So my husband bought some today — the manual says 2 different kinds, some for winter and some for summer, and he only bought the winter kind (which means I have to return to the store and buy the summer kind because otherwise we won’t remember to do that in the summer) and I’ll have to use a permanent marker to distinguish one from the other — so check your generators AND your oil!
Hey y’all. I just saw the most massive WD prep items display/double end cap. No food on it, although all of their canned goods, etc. have little paper signs over the shelves saying things about preparedness—but this endcap had 4 or 5 different types of battery operated lanterns, oil lanterns, sterno type stoves and refills (Magic Heat brand), battery operated small televisions, tarps, duct tape, all kinds of neat prep stuff. Wow. The Magic Heat is cheaper than on the Internet. Says it has indefinite shelf life and will not evaporate like sterno products. Just really makes you wonder whether something is up. I am not in anything that might even remotely be considered a hurricane area.
Also at WD, they are having a HUGE toilet paper sale. Got 27 of the mega rolls of a name brand—think it was Charmin— (1 mega roll supposed to equal 3 regular rolls) for $10. More BOGO on Rayovac batteries with 2013 expiration date.
Hope all are well.
Are any of the rest of y’all seeing weird prep stuff? Has anyone ever seen this sort of thing in a WD not near the coast?
Galt,
I know the display stuff you’re talking about….they’ve combined some of the stuff from different parts of the store to make it….building on what they did in the summer. I think the duct tape probably came from the electrical tools section, the canned heat came from the misc section usually near the candles, over by the clothespins and phone jacks, the flashlights and lanterns are usually near the batteries, on the top shelf or the bottom, depending on how updated their floor plans are.
It just looks like they’ve picked up on the cross-sell idea due to the hurricane preparation sales along the coast & the fact that lots of those people live here ‘off season’ and will spend money on it here and take it to the coast later, so you’ll find the supplies in their usual places, but also bunched together on these emergency-oriented end caps.
On the other hand, maybe there’s major preps being dictated to them….but I’ll only think that when I see them mix aspirin into that display, then I’ll be certain they’re ‘prepping’ us for BF. :-)
anyone in gulf coast AL hear the sonic BOOM this evening? I heard it in Pensacola as I was arriving home from work and they talked about it on the news tonight. Said it was a military plane taking off I think. Sounded more like an atomic bomb going off somewhere. Wasn’t really a loud noise per say, almost like reverberation of some sort in my eardrums that just said to me some kind of explosion. Kind of hard to describe.
Hey P’cola prepper,
Glad to hear from you! Maybe some of our south-of-the-state folks will show up to comment….did you find a news link to it in any of your online papers? That would be freaky-scary!
Hello I’m working on it, It wasn’t in my newspaper the day after, but on the news from Mobile that night they said it was a military aircraft taking off from Mobile. Nothing else was said.
Hello
We’re about 40 miles or so east of P’cola and we heard the boom. Our den storm door swung open. My husband and I looked at each other and wondered if someone had set off a bomb. It was loud here and the floor vibrated. Very strange.
I was unlocking my front door just getting home from work when I heard it. I definitely knew it was not your ordinary BOOM. It rumbled for several seconds and was almost as if I was feeling it it my ears not hearing it (if that makes any sense). On the news they did say that some peoples walls & pictures rattled a good bit also, probably in Mobile closer to wherever it happened. Haven’t tried going to their news website.
Hello Alabama! Just wanted to de-lurk and say that everyone has been a fount of inspiration. I am north of Birmingham and I have been prepping since February. Trying to keep up with all the threads and wonderful information. We are at 9 months of preps for the two of us. But I know we will have 5 others in the house to care for. DH is tolerant of “my stash” but doesn’t feel the urgency I do.
Been canning like crazy all summer-“thanks Mom”. Grew up in Michigan on a big farm and learned to do all the old fashioned stuff. Like to be independent and grow our own food, live frugally. The freezer is full, refrig in the garage is full, have plenty of jars to can if needed. Thanks for sharing all your wisdom. This site is better than a good book. Feel like I know all of you as family.
VJay – at 20:58 well it looks like the family just increased by 2 - you avd your DH, WELCOME!
VJay DH is tolerant of “my stash” but doesn’t feel the urgency I do.
Boy do I know that feeling.
I’m south of Bham on 280. I wish I had as much canning going on as the rest of you. Glad you’re here with us….are your neighbors prepping too?
Welcome VJay! I’m so glad to hear that there is prepping going on in that area. I have friends and family in the Blount, Cullman, Marshall areas---which is what I think of as north central AL (but none are prepping to my knowledge, nor do they want to hear about prepping). Always nice to have another Alabamian checking in!
For everyone posting re: the big boom in South AL, that’s really, really interesting. Wish we knew what it was.
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow….
We live in Warrior, no prepping anywhere here that I can see. Make my swings thru the Pig, FoodWorld, WD, CVS, Walgreens, just the usual shoppers. I spend a good bit of money at Wallyworld in the camping section. Pretty well stocked from that. Spent a lot of bucks taking down a 60′ oak tree so it wouldn’t fall on the house. Hated to do it but the alternative was not a pretty picture. Try to do something to prep each day even if it is only reading the wiki. Glad to be here.
VJay, welcome. always nice to have another fellow Alabamian on board, we are down in the lower southern part, around Mobile. There has been no explanation for the sonic boom as far as I have been able to tell. A little conversation on local news with speculation and that has been it. We did not pick a subject to prep and discuss this week, anyone have a suggestion? So far we have covered medication and tools. How about clothing? Ya know like flannel shirts and a bigger size,especially if you have children or some suggestions and good prices of where you have obtained some things. Let everyone know what sounds like a good suggestion and lets get started for the great week of Oct. 23 thru.
As for the “boom”, I live in Semmes, which is not very far north of the airport; I didn’t hear it. I’ve been trying to sleep off a bad cold, so I probably slept through it.
I’m a gadget sort of person and what some would call a survivalist, so I’ve been working toward taking more responsibility for my family’s wellbeing for years. I read a book by Howard Ruff back in the early 80′s, that encouraged storing a year’s supply of food. That got me thinking about being more self-sufficient. Instead of a year’s supply of food, I developed a plan that calls for preparations to be made in “phases”, in response to fairly specific events or conditions. Since things can happen quickly, I may be caught short, but that’s always possible.
I think being prepared mentally is one of the most important aspects of survival; being hopeful, not fearful. If conditions around me deteriorate, I’ll do the best I can to deal with them, without self-condemnation for not having done enough. In the end, life is to be enjoyed. The phased approach I spoke of earlier, works for me in this respect. I’m not pressured to prepare for every contingency, since that‘s impossible. I try to recognize reasonable disaster scenarios, and prepare accordingly. If I fail in some respect, well, that’s life.
Sorry for the ramble, but I’ve needed to verbalize this for my own benefit, for some time now.
HermitTao – at 09:44 good attitude! Share your list of phases with us if you can — it might be just the catylist someone else needs to start prepping….or come out of lurkdom to introduce themselves.
Clothing is a good topic. My husband’s list of chores during a pandemic just got longer after his birthday in Sept. ….I had bought him 6 pr of comfortable lightweight cotton lounge-y type pants and tee’s (summer clearance) after reading the laundry by hand threads, but he returned all but 1 pair and bought work (semi-dress) pants. So. He’ll be the one hand wringing out his blue jeans when the time comes. I was planning to get him sweats for Christmas…..maybe he’ll get an axe instead!
TravelSmiths has very packable lightweight underwear made for travelers that’s not nearly as bulky as regular underwear….great for bug-out-bags since it takes up less room!
Chamois shirts are my absolute favorite thing — and flannel for winter. I need to visit the thrift store and get some more!
Oh and if you’re not familiar with Frogg Toggs, a set would be nice for each member of the family — they’re made in Albertville I think it is. They are lightweight & waterproof, fabric, washable, designed for easy put on over your regular clothes whether you’re hunting, golfing, fishing or whatever. They’re pricey at a sporting goods store, but you can find them on ebay….still a little pricey but better than retail store price!!! Even comes in camoflage print.
And if you’re planning a sick rooom, you might want to shop for used hospital gowns so that someone can wear those if they’re sick & it would make changing them easier for the care giver, more comfortable for the sick person & easy to clean in a bucket of bleach if necessary — don’t need to look good, just need to be loose & lightweight!
Hi all, I’m in the Theodore area (west of Mobile) and I’ve completed all the preparations required to completely isolate for 1–2 years if necessary. Thought I’d let you all know that there are quite a few of us who are prepared but don’t talk about it much. Good luck to all.
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