Is anyone prepping in Florida? Know anyone else prepping there?
~raising hand~
mememememe…
SE Florida here.
And no, the current census on my preps is that I’m nuts so I have yet to meet anyone down where I live that is as nuts as me.
Shad.
Florida is my home state
SE Florida too! There’s a lot more than you think, but in order to stay under the “nut” radar, I tell people I’m prepping for hurricanes. When I used to prep for them, people looked at me oddly and said “don’t worry, we won’t be hit.” After Wilma and Katrina, things have changed. We got hit hard and I’m glad we were ready. It’s actually a similar prep.
LOL, guess I qualify.
I’ve got maybe a dozen other families under my wing, scattered around the state, that I’ve got prepping. Family and friends. I reach them with my daily blog, and get email feedback from them.
Staying low profile, of course. But trying to spread the word.
our best friends live down in florida and they call us to see what is going on with bird flu. they fell if something happens they know where to come. isn’t it all a little crazy in that everyone is so different in how they handle life.
~shad waves at dusty…~
It’s kinda cool down here today…lol
Yeah, you’re right about hurricane preps being kinda similar to bf preps…for me, the bf preps are more extensive, but the nice thing about having to maintain hurricane preps is that I started out with the bf preps far ahead of the game.
And NCG, it really is interesting how people process potential threats…some take charge of their own lives, some look to others they know to help protect them, and some (way too many), think the government will take care of everything. Then you have that whole other faction that think nothing will happen and are really gambling with their lives and the lives of those they care about.
Oh well, hopefully more will take this serious before it’s too far gone.
Shad.
~waving back at ya, Shad~
You’re right, we were ahead of the game with hurricane prep already in place. It’s the same “survival” mindset that we’re expanding on. I too hope others take this more seriously, but having lived here and watched lines of people waiting for water and ice, expecting the state to help them, a day after a hurricane hit because they didn’t prep at all despite all the warnings … well, somehow I think the same will apply for BF. Thanks for all your input — very helpful!
i live in fort myer beach and have most of my prep’s done!!
if anyone wants to chat, feel free to e-mail me at dakas.dk@comcast.net
Well, in that case cisco…
I’m shadddup on yahoo messenger and babeshades@yahoo.com if anyone wants to chat.
Shad.
p.s. Dusty, I’ve locked my soapbox up for the night so I can’t jump on it right at the moment butttttttttttttttttt…doesn’t it just blow your mind how hysterical people get right before and after a storm because they CHOOSE to not prepare for an annual event?
I am a biologist here in SWFL and hence watch carefully the genetic changes to Avian. If it does fully convert to a human infectious agent, well, preparedness should be possible before it reaches Florida. Assumed that it starts in Africa or China, where probablity puts it, we would be on the human or bird migratory path, both that occur next year, after the summer. Here we are safe for another season, if no conversaion occurs in the next month.
Unlike huricanes, flu can linger, last, even extend to become endemic. If that happnes, no preparation can help but prepare you for what is to come.
If anyone want to say hi, please feel free. Primitivemagic@yahoo.com IM me if you want…
I’m north of Tampa. Chilly here today is right - feels like winter. I stopped in Sam’s to pick up a few items and actually saw some that really looked like they were prepping. But then again, with the few things I picked up I wouldn’t have passed for a concerned Fluwikian either.
I know Shad, my soapbox is also put away for the night, but my eyes, they are a rollin’! It amazes me how people do not take responsiblity for themselves. Uh oh, I almost stepped back on that box. Gotta slide it under the bed :)
I’m in SW FL also. I also tell people to at least prepare for a hurricane of Katrina magnitude and then add some additional items. Since we have to do prepping annually, it sometimes helps to hear it phrased in more familiar terms. I am slowly getting some who will listen.
Hello from Pompano Beach and yes - most of my prep is done! The sad part is that I’m the only one, of all my friends, that has done any thing to prepare for the flu. If any one has any questions etc. please feel free to email me at - godhelpusall@bonbon.net (I got the email address after bush got elected) :-(
East of central florida here .. in between the Mouse House and the Space Shuttle. I”ve been a stockpiler for years, but always find just one more thing to do or get. I don’t feel the need to inform the masses, just my immediate family. I have actually made some progress with the naysayers among my family members. Only one member left who thinks she’s invincible .All three of my parents are actually prepping and my sister has been prepping steady.
Naplespark: My neighbor is a State Biologist also (black bears) ,I pick his brain when I can.
Hello from GA. My wife and I have both our families living all over FL. I have a daughter in Sebring and 2 in Gainesville (one presented me with my first grandchild last week! a BOY!) My wife has 1 son in Cocoa Beach with wife and child, and the rest (too many to list) in Saint Cloud. We have been trying to get them on board but it is like hearding cats. We live in N. Ga. on 34 acres near Amicalola falls and we are trying to get them to all commit to come up here to hunker down. One family is coming and one single daughter plans to come up also. It is really hard to convince some of them. We just keep giving them more information hoping that they will come around. I sent them the last interview of Mike Osterholm by citypages.com last week. Have you seen it? That one should put the fear of BF into them. I will tell my step daughter in law about fluwiki. She is computer savvy and very concerned about their 4 kids. They will be coming up when they reach their trigger point. I think she will be an active participant in the FL forum.
Hi Flourbug … we have got to be neighbors. I’m just north of Tampa as well. Just back from a week of getting my parents a little prepped. My dad was convinced enough that they could do something, even on their extremely limited income, that he bought 30 tomato plants and a few pepper plants. I helped move some stuff around in their pantry. My mom cans and I’ll be helping out financially … at least as I can without hurting their feelings … with some extra canned goods as I get them made up. What’s doubling a load in the canner anyway?
Cloud9 central florida middle of the state, just north of the big lake.
Wow, makes me feel better to see more SE Florida people. I certainly think having to prep for hurricanes helps with justification for BF prepping. While I am still a bit skeptical about when/if BF H2H will hit, I am fairly certain that SE Florida will get another Hurricane hit this coming season.
I had to sit through a bit of mocking questions at dinner the other night with my grandparents as I tried to plant preperation in their heads for BF (they just leave the state for hurricanes). They have the money, time, and space to prepare but something tells me they won’t. On the other hand, they are in the their 80′s so I will probably die from BF before they do.
Our parents are in their 80′s. They expect my wife and I to prepare for them. We do, we maintain the camping supples, generators and fuel. I agree with you I fear this is going to be a busy season.
The one I worry about is my son. He is a brand new attorney in Jackson, Ms. He works 60 to 70 hours a week and thinks of nothing but building his career.
Hello everyone. I am in Winter Haven.
I recently decided to take this thing seriously and am pretty well prepped. I am single and live alone, and have plenty enough food for a good 2–3 months or more : ). I used to be a river guide in WV so my closet is full of outfitters gear. I could live comfortable outdoors year around; even up north. Also have N95 masks, gloves, gowns, first aid etc. I am armed ( small caliber though ) I may head back up to my family in Southwest Virginia if this thing hits. I am currently renting so no problems with real estate….I am debt free and I can easily bail, though I would hate to leave my job of the last ten years behind. I started prepping with a frenzy about two weeks ago, and I want to extend my gratitude to the posters on this forum who have helped me rationalize and understand the potential severity of Bird Flu.
I have finally tried to persuade my loved ones to make some general preps, but it is difficult because they think I am a little crazy anyway. Even at age 44, my parents still look at me like a 14-yr old sometimes. My “old” girlfriend lives on Maui and I have talked her into doing prepping and she is complying. I may try to bring her and her daughter from there to SW Virginia to shelter with me if it gets that way.
As I mentioned earlier, have enough food and supplies to shelter in place but I am gonna go ahead and top off everything today just in case this thing gets elevated in the next week or two.
God Bless.
Wow HerdChemist…
I’m trying to fathom pulling together all necessary preps for a 2–3 month period within 2 weeks…I can’t quite grasp how you were able to do that…
I had a strong base when I started prepping for bf last year because of my ongoing hurricane preps. I have the time and finances to allow me to gather whatever is needed to augment for the bf, and I have.
Maybe I just have so much that I’ve lost track of how long I can last…it just always seems I can think of something else I need or can use to further a broad spectrum quarantine. Then again, I tend to prep things in their natural forms like whole grains that I can grind myself for baking purposes, zillions of home canned products from veggies to meats, etc. which can be more time consuming.
Oh well, it’s great that you’re there…hopefully more and more people will listen and get their ducks in a row…(I feel guilty for using that expression lol).
Shad.
Kathy in FL, Fla_Medic is close by too.
I hear you about prepping family. Everyone is on board except my oldest daughter and her husband. He is an ER doc in a large NJ hospital. They have run the gamut from “nothing is going to happen” and laughing at my preps, to “well, yeah, looks like TSWHTF. He has to go to work but he’ll stop and get takeout on the way home” to “I’ll be down. MAYBE he will be too because the nurses are saying no one is going to show up and the hospital says it will close” to “Mom, can we come down in May and load up the truck at Supermarket Mom? It looks like we’ll have to play out whatever happens right here.”
They live in a little mountainous rural town where all the houses in the “town” part of the area have been divided up into apartments and rented out to doctors, nurses, etc, that commute down the highway to the hospital. They are all starving yuppie wannabes - ride around on bikes with ipods attached, trailering a kid or two, they carry laundry across the street to the one friend who has a washer and dryer in her apartment, and nights out are usually bringing a bottle of wine to someone’s house and cooking dinner together. This group puts the pandemic of 1918 right up there with other disasters, like the Posiedon adventure. So whatever preps I give her are likely the only preps she’ll have, and even those will be shared with the entire neighborhood.
Shaddup-
I can tell you from personal experience that you don’t have to do as much as you have done to last for 2–3 months. I have lived in cabins and hunting camps for 2 months at at time in the dead of winter with no power…no problem. I also went without power for a total of about 21 days in August/October of 2004 when Charley, Frances and Jeanne came through. I’ll do OK for 3 months but longer than that and I would have to stretch it out. Hell, you don’t have to eat the freakin’ food pyramid three times a day and at every meal.
I bought plenty of canned goods: approx. 2 cases each of veggies, fruit, ham, spam, 10 lbs pasta, 20lbs rice, 10lbs mixed beans, 5ft3 deep freezer full of pork loin, chicken, sausages, beef, pizza, frozen vegetables, have dried milk for 10 gallons, dehydrated egg powder, plenty of spices and seasonings, sugar(s), flour(s), etc, etc. Already had plenty of lanterns and stoves, etc. bugsprays, meds, toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
Remember that I am single too…so I should be OK. It took me about 2 weeks of carefully shopping after work and on weekends…..but it’s doable. If it got bad here in Orlampa ( Orlando - Tampa ) I would load up the Camaro and rush up to SW Va in the dark of night. Maybe before then if TSHTF.
God Bless
Hello neighbors - Orlando here! Like most of you I was also a little ahead of the game by being a hurricane prepper. Learned alot about what would make my life more comfortable after being without power from Charley, Frances and Jeanne. Battery operated fans and lanterns were some of the first things I bought! (Already had the battery TV) Have been steadily prepping the pantry and paper goods. The Dollar Stores can be great resources for all kinds of stuff also.
HerdChemist -
Yeah, I know what you’re talking about…I went 5 weeks without utilities after hurricane Andrew and I well remember the major adjustments that took place then…in a strange sort of way, I’ve been able to take that experience and to define the parameters that I would like in any future disruptions.
You’re also right about only having to prepare for 1 person. If all I had to worry about me, it sure would be a piece of cake, even if I continued to maintain my *everything from scratch* type of mentality. However, I am prepping for up to 24 people (yes I know I’m nuts but I have this thang about bonds with family), so who knows how many will actually need and/or at what level they will need assistance if TSHTF. So yes, my volume is quite high and my preps for keeping everyone healthy and alive is good for well over a year. (ok no more confessions from me about this, I’m feeling even more nuts reading what I’m typing…lol)
My preps are diversified…I have frozen items, long term storage items, home canned items, store bought items, vegetable garden, etc…luxuries like chocolate and home baked products has a priority in my preps…I know all too well how major interruptions like hurricanes and such can really broadside one. If/when bf hits, the potential devestation/tragedy itself will be enough and simple pleasures like the ones I take into consideration, could very well be the “pick me up” that makes a difference while going through it…I just try to cover several bases in case of…
If I COULD, and perhaps at some time I may, I would move from where I live into a more rural area which would further open up opportunities for preps.
~shrug~
Shad.
HerdChemist-
If you do head to Virginia just don’t sneeze as you pass thru Fancy Gap.
I began prepping about a month ago. Just a little at a time. I live in the Sebring area(between orlando & ft laud), and began to take the bf seriously after my Dad kept emailing me and talking to me about it. Thanks, Dad (Buzz from Ga above). I probably have 3 to 4 weeks of food so far. I’m stocking up on medicines and household items, cleaners, etc as well. My one big concern is water storage since we have a well w/an electric pump. We have a small generator, but I’m afraid getting gas could be a problem when TSHTF. My next step is to find food grade water storage barrels somewhere in my area to save on shipping. I’ve asked my SO for a solar oven for my b-day present in May. I’m prepping for 3 adults(myself, my significant other and my Mother who lives w/us, and 3 dogs and 3 cats)
Good for you Liz…sounds like you’re off to a great start. Ya gotta love Dad’s and their persistance (mine is so cute, he’s a lay it on the line kinda guy lol).
As far as the water situation goes, I’m not real educated in that because I had a hand pump well installed pre-y2k that I use and a Berkefeld water filter system that I filter it through, along with the many 5 gallon jugs of water I have from a spring water company that delivers my water.
A solar oven sounds really neat…I’ll hafta do a search on that and check it out myself…our sunny days down here are more than adequate to fire one of them babies up.
Good luck and keep up the great work!
Shad.
I’m in SE Florida too. Veteran of France, Jeanne and Wilma. I am also a veteran by proxy of Charley( I have a condo in Kissimmee). Have always prepped for hurricane season and now I’ve supersized it!
I will be FL.next week and part of my vacation I will be trying to persuade my family if N Tampa to prep.
HerdChemist my if the s*** hits the fan my hide-a-way won’t be too far from yours. Letcher County Ky.
also- are any of you planning on spending any length of time on a boat if b/f goes h2h?
KyJack, as a long time live aboard sailor, I seriously considered a boat. But I sold mine a few years back, and have not bought another. I’m sorta landlocked, taking care of my 81 year old father right now.
It’s an interesting proposition. Great way to isolate. But there are downsides.
Storage, even on my 36 footer (cutter rigged sailboat) was limited. Water tankage was only 90 gallons. Fuel, 45 gals. Propane 2 10-lb cylenders. And the draft of the vessel would make hunkering down in a lot of anchorages difficult.
My other boat had a much shallower draft, but was much smaller (23′), and the storage problems were worse.
Still, I’d consider it if I wasn’t planning to work thru a pandemic. Hurricanes aboard a boat are no fun (been there, done that), and they sure seem to be a more common occurance these days. <g>
The cruising community is very resilient. Great support group. So I think it might be doable with the right boat/setup.
Now, if I were living outside of hurricane country, say on an interior lake, it might make a lot of sense. Self contained, relatively safe, and mobile.
Hi KYJack … I live in the north Tampa area and have family in Kentucky. <grin> Western KY in and around Christian, Todd, and Trigg counties. Good luck on the prepping.
I have a couple of kids who live in Florida — does that count? Seriously, I have a question from Ohio. Instead of saying I have a friend, I’ll be honest. We have an indoor pool set at 96 degrees in winter and 92 in summer. The indoor hot tub is set at 105 (wee definitely like heat).
How will the pool/ hot tub water affect contagion with the flu? We could have as many as 20 people living in the house, children and adults. It seems to me that there is enough chlorine (and other pool stuff as appropriate via the pool people) to kill off most anything. Is that true?? Thanks for the help.
I’m in the Daytona Beach area. I’ve been prepping for several months now and I think we pretty much have our bases covered. I’ll slowly be adding odds and ends. I too consider this as prepping for any type of event…flu, hurricane, terrists, etc.
I find comfort in being prepared.
JoeW – at 10:55
I’m sure a properly balanced pool is hygienic enough to keep out bacteria, but I’m not sure about viral agents. High humidity might be an issue … both for and against.
The only consideration … beyond your questions that is … is whether you would have adequate electric resources to keep the filters going in the pool/hot tub as well as good ciruculation in the air where these are housed indoors.
Thanks Kathy in FL. I like off the grid living and we have some awsome tools that compensate for the grid. They will keep us going, that is the only way I could keep the temps shown. But thanks for your concern.
JoeW – at 11:06
Love that off-the-grid idea … pandemic or no pandemic. <grin>
Eventually hubby and I want to turn our “retirement home” into a house that is at least 75% run off-grid. Our goal is 100% off-grid lifestyle but current demands on our time and resources prevent us from doing it until later. I’ll just go on assuming there will be a later, one way or another. Gotta keep the optimism up, you know?!
Fla_Medic – at 10:45 A house with a private dock might allow for an isolated get away every no and then to shake off cabin fever.
Hello fellow Floridians,
I am prepping and have managed to get my folsk onboard too.
Living in a large condo building (150 units), my partner and I have been talking up the BF to anyone who cares to listen. Many have asked our advice on the basics to prepare. This has helped in reinforcing the need to prep for hurricanes too!
Thanks to this board, we feel we might get a few days jump on teh rest of the area in case H2H develops. We are the info link for a lot of people!
Liz, Hey sweetie it’s Dad. Re your water problem the suggestsion about a hand pume sounds good. You might try that depending on how deep your well is. My well up here is 160 ft. deep. I don’t know how useful a hand pump would be for that depth but I will ask one of the well supply companies here. There is one in Dalonega.
When your well comes on it must pump the water into a storage tank. How big is your tank? You might consider adding to your storage tank capacity by grafting on into the piping system. That way you wouldn’t have to turn on the generator to pump water as often. I am considering doing that myself. A bigger tank can be had from loews or home depot for a few hundred I think. Also I know we can get a 500 gal. water tank at Tractor Supply for $385 but I don’t think that one would be able to be pressurized to hook into your current system. It would just be a storage tank you could put in your garage.
Love, Dad
Kathy in Fl, keep the optimism. There will be a morning after.
Besides, we’ve all got to meet when it’s all over and tell war stories. <g>
Thought I’d mention that just this past week alone I’ve had 3 clients engage in full on conversations with me about bird flu and they told me about the preps they’ve started. I mentioned this site to our receptionist a week ago and she is now asking me every day about different preps, etc. There is definitely more awareness beginning to spread. :)
When are you guys going to start filling your gasoline drums?
When are you guys going to start filling your gasoline drums?
I keep 25 gallons in reserve, just because I’ve been known to forget to watch the gas gauge (who, ME?). For some silly reason, when hubby hops in the car, seeing that little needle on the wrong side of the empty line totally makes him freak out. I just smile wanely and hold up 10 gallons as a peace offering.
Sorry I stuttered. I have two 55 gallon drums I fill up for hurricane season. I usually do it when the first storm forms up. I just wondered what everyone else was doing
I’ll repeat my previous post before the server change :)
I have a 15kw gasoline that burns through 1.6gallons an hour at full load. Storing enough gasoline for more than a few days (running a few hours a day) is out of the question. My neighbor bought the same generator in the propane model last year and buried a 500 (400) gallon propane tank for it (he replaced a 100 he had feeding the house). I’m in the process of saving the money to install one before hurricane season and install the conversion kit on my generator to tri-fuel.
Cloud9, did you buy the 55gal drums from a fuel delivery company and do you have the fuel delived to your house? My old company bought a large (300gal?) tank for their 2 massive diesel gensets and have a pump truck come out and top them off when they get low.
I have a hanger that is all steel. My drums, generators, machine tools and supplies are stored there. I handle the drums with a lift device that hooks onto my shop crane that I bought from harbor freight. The drums sit on round dollys that have rollers on the bottom of them. Those also came from harbor freight. The full drums roll pretty easily across a concrete floor. I use a hand pump to transfer the fuel into more manageable five gallon cans. I have a pretty complete shop. I am building a Sonerai.
http://www.greatplainsas.com/sonerai.html
I usually only have about 165 gallons to carry me through the hurricane season. Gas storage for long extended poses problems. I have two 5500 generators that run my machines, deep freeze etc. I have a tiny generator that charges the battery on my R.V. If the power goes out forever, in time, I will be sitting in the dark with everyone else.
Propane would be an option, but in time even that runs out. We buy the gas before the season and then at the end of it burn it in our vehicles. We lose a little to evaporation, but not much.
You certainly have a good setup for gasoline storage, wouldn’t really work for me or alot of people with modest lot lines.
Eventually the propane will run out, but short of a full solar setup I think it is my best option for duration (I just wish I had a smaller, more efficient genset to run key items off propane instead of using the 15kw and wasting alot of juice.) My father just finished work on his house in downtown west palm beach and is going to pickup a ~6kw Trifuel to run his little cottage in the back yard (full bath w/NG heater, small window unit, small fridge/freezer). All his appliances in the main house are NG as well so as long as he has NG to the house, he will be comfortable.
Any idea how to get a 55 gallon drum for gas without ordering from online? I called several suppliers locally in Broward but they don’t sell to consumers.
If you go to one of the bulk fuel plants, they should be in the yellow pages, I went to Hicks Oil, they usually throw the drum in when you buy it full of gas. Get a pump from harbor freight to transfer the fuel. Harbor freight also has a nifty device that goes on a shop crane to pick the full drum up out of your truck.
Also, check your local agricultural/tractor dealers and they might know who sells to individuals. Explain what you want it for … not necessarily why you want it. Say its for small tractor or riding mower use.
Kathy, that’s what I did (there are many in Davie) and they told me about Graingers and Northerntools (sp?) and both places said I needed to be a wholesaler. Do you know of any specifically I can contact that sell to the consumer?
Anonymous — is Hicks Oil local to Southeast FL?
Hicks Oil is in Avon Park Florida.
Dusty – at 18:14
None specifically. But here is suggestion #2 … try contacting a local farm, citrus grove, etc. and asking them if they would allow you to purchase the fuel and drum through them.
Suggestion #3 is to call a couple of local lawn maintenance companies and see how they are doing it. Whether they store their own fuel or fuel up at the pump.
All they can do is say “no.” Its worth the chance if you really want that drum of fuel.
I’m really enjoying this thread, even though I’m not in FL. Given your experience with hurricanes, you guys really have a lot of great ideas AND great senses of humor.
Thanks for the suggestions - I’ll give them a try. We already use our boat (70 gallons) as a reserve (it’s on the side of the house) and we have 8 five gallon gas containers we fill as a hurricane approaches … all were used after Wilma even with using the generator on six hours, off six hours to reserve gas. (we had no power for 12 days) I think it’d be great to get the 55 gallon drum so we’re not at the mercy of the gas stations and can practice social distancing if TSHTF.
Hicks Oil has two locations one in Avon Park, the other is in Sebring. You don’t get any price break, but they have their own pumps.
Dusty, I’ll check with my dad when I get home from Orlando…he’s *in the business* and might know specifically where to get those things. I know after Wilma, he brought me gas for my generator, and his company has a Miami warehouse and Pompano warehouse. I’ll let you know what he says.
Shad.
Hi all, i’m gina. I live in nw fl. you know the land of Erin, Opal and Ivan the harrible. I’m just preppin’ heavier. Sure am glad to meet other floridians. I don’t know of any other preppers around here, but then again i’m not suprised. it seems state and local governments are out to lunch on this issue. what do you expect for fl this hurricane season?
Shad — thanks! I’d appreciate it. I seem to be hitting a brick wall on this issue.
Hurricane Alley RN — I’m expecting the same as last year and the year before when it comes to hurricanes. I’m just hoping they won’t hit us, but I’m as prepared as I can be if they do. Psychologically I’m stronger this year because we got hit hard by Wilma. We’ve learned what worked and what didn’t and are gearing up. It’s the price you pay for living in paradise. Good luck to everyone!
This season, the long range projection expects 17 named storms, 9 hurricanes, 5 of which will be intense. This is taken from Dr. Gray’s forecast. Last year his estimation was a little conservative.
Looking at what is happening to Oz, I expect our time in the barrel is coming pretty soon and it will be another wild ride.
I waited too long to fill up my gas drums. Now I am going to pay through the nose.
“I waited too long to fill up my gas drums. Now I am going to pay through the nose.” - Cloud9
Ditto. I said, “Gas is sooo expensive right now, it’ll have to come down and then I will fill up.” HA!
Just curious, has anyone here heard our governor talk about planning for a pandemic?
Dusty, If you are talking state government; I say no. I’ve looked all over the state’s gov, sites and have found nothing. AS far as utilities (not just local); no prep. It has to do with that thing called $$$. Oh yes, they are ready as they can be for hurricane season. I should know, my husband works for one. Please understand, my husband is with me 100% on the BF prep. We are not ones to walk around with rose tinted glasses on… we are reallists. I have had this unusual sixth sense since I was five. They need to increse the mortality rate to include those who will stave to death, be shot and/or murdered because they were not preped. Glad to have met you. Have a wonderful weekend! gina in pensacola
Dusty, the day Mike Leavitt arrived for the State Pandemic summit, Jeb Bush made some strong comments about the potential for a pandemic. “You can’t sugar coat this . . .” was part of his statement.
Since then, if he’s said anything, I haven’t heard it.
A visit to the State of Florida’s Dept of Health Action plan for pandemic webpage shows little to be encouraged over. The last line says it all:
While there is currently no vaccine for bird flu, our ability to provide mass inoculations to our population during a crisis has been successfully tested.
I’m reassured, as I’m sure you are to. ;)
Truthfully, to give the pencil pushers their due, they are faced with a predicted severe hurricane season. They are more than likely prepping for that than for a hypthetical pandemic that we’ve already been told by the powers that be that we need to prep for ourselves.
I’m inclined to give FL a break. While their responses haven’t always been perfect during emergencies, our state does seem to move faster than some other state’s response teams. And our state is more proactive in that area as well. Not perfect, but I think as a state we may be better off than many others.
Now if we could just reach the mass of the herd so that people in general will do more prepping … both for hurricanes and a potential pandemic.
I attended the state Summit meeting and was quite impressed. They even had Publix Supermarkets give a talk and let me tell you, they are on the ball. They were not sugar-coating anything and I was happy to see that. You should have seen everybody in the crowd trying not to touch their face after they mentioned that mode of viral transport ;)
800 people attended- half were from the health care community and half were businesses, church groups, and normal citizens. It was good to see a good cross-section attending.
Most of the prep work is behind-the-scenes right now, but it is gaining momentum. Lots of stockpiling at CDC with transport to the state soon, emergency plans being re-written over and over, etc. They want the citizens to help out too primarily by preparing ourselves! They mentioned many times the 6–8wk x 3 wave quarantine from HHS/CDC and were pushing the stockpiling for at least an entire wave.
Did I mention that Publix is awesome? They are spearheading the movement to get all the large supermarket chains ready to adapt and survive. They have already had table-top exercises in DC and are scheduled to have more. They are seriously thinking outside of the box on this one. Have you noticed the sales on canned items lately at Publix?
I have run out of time, but if anyone is interested in more, I can fill you in later.
Kathy, I hold little hope that in regard to hurricane preps alone, that people will prepare ahead of time. Several key areas of our State have been slammed with hurricanes over the past 15 years or so, and yet the lines for plywood go on ad infinitum from the Home Depots each season, the grocery shelves are emptied of supplies and still people complain.
I wonder sometimes if the mentality of the majority is along the lines of, “we’ll wait until it breaks out in the state of florida before we worry about trying to prep for that…”
I’m NOT gonna get on my soapbox (I hope) but I just can’t fathom (especially living in this state or other costal states) and not having an ongoing preparedness mindset 24/7/365.
Shad.
Here are the handouts we were given at the summit meeting: http://tinyurl.com/eghfk
Most you have probably seen, but it will be nice to have the emergency number lists on hand.
Hurricane Alley RN, My wife and I are also in Pensacola. She is an occ health RN for the Navy here and has been watching/studying BF. While we always prep for hurrican season, she is the one that came to me with her concerns over BF and suggested instead of 2 weeks supplies, we go 1 month. Now it’s more than 1 month (fine with me). The Navy is going from a “it won’t happen, and it’s not our problem anyway” to discussing ways to handle it at their occ health conference in Norfolk, Va last month. I am slowly convincing SOME coworkers to prepare. I have emailed my CEO twice about helping the business and employees prepare, but no reply so far. Talked to an ECUA employee…based upon his replies, it appears that ECUA has at least enough chlorine on hand for 24 days…he also said he has heard of no ECUA plans for a pandemic.
Thank you all so much for sharing — I also think we’re probably one of the most prepared states because of our hurricane preps, but I understand Shad’s frustration (I agree) with the fact that still, after all these hurricanes, we still have Floridians who don’t prep no matter what. If you hear anything further regarding meetings, or news regarding BF preps here in FL, please let us know.
Whole Bunches, Wow! I can’t believe it. Two families in one town. Okay, you caught me. Just got in a hour or so ago from prepin’. Sam’s is such a blast. Ran into an old friend their. She kept eyeing my cart as if she was trying to figure out what I was planning. My son must have picked up on it too. He told her I was getting prepared for the bird flu. Like his mom, his voice carries. It got real quiet around us. I told Susan about the movie comming on t.v. and how I thought people would react. I felt like I was in one of those stock brokers commercials. A couple of people even left their lines to shop some more. Maybe dropping hints in a grocery store is the key. gina
I am a long time lurker but would like to tell Whole Bunches and Hurricane Alley RN that I am another P’cola prepper. Hurricane, my husband and I were also at Sam’s tonight and bought a few preps. Maybe we were there at the same time as you! We bought a big bag of Krustez pancake mix, peanut butter and Tang.
Whole Bunches and Hurricane Alley RN- I’m not quite next door, but sort of close in Tallahassee. Didn’t get the direct hits you guys did, but the storms sure scared us to death. Hubby is a meteorologist at FSU, so I feel like I live in these storms no matter where they are.
Lets hope the meteorologists are wrong this year. It’d be nice if those storms would just stay out making loops in the Atlantic.
Hello RA, welcome to the group! It’s always good to hear from the lurkers. Wow, three in one town!
RA, Welcome! (to the best forum on the web) OK, off with the spy glasses, it’s time to come onboard. Now let me see, Krustez pancake mix and peanut butter humm….Oh that’s right. they were in my second cart. Sorry, no Tang just those little cans of M. oranges. Just goes to show you great minds do think alike! I think I managed to escape at about 4:30. Oh, and my son with the voice that carries, he’s not exactly a little tyke. He’s 6′3, 290lbs and 27 years old. Anyway, if we were their at the same time, I had two carts full… one of them had a 50lb bag of rice in it. Was yours peter pan or skippy? Mine was peter pan. I think I can actually see a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. A couple more carts of dry good and then and ocean of water and I’ll be finished. Yea! Here is my e-mail: gss052010@yahoo.com Send me yours and I will send you my phone number. gina
FLgardenmom, Well hi there neighbor! I can see I’m already in trouble. My friends call me the Jim Cantori (probavly sp. wrong) of Pensacola. The utility my husband works for calls me their resident hurricane advisor. Your husband would be groaning at this point. I know it has to be a rough time for both of you, for no mater where the storms hit you feel like you are right their too. The only good part is you know you will still have your utilities when it’s over. As you can see, hurricanes aren’t the only thing I’m tuned into. This virus will turn H2H. I feel it will be sooner than most people think. Sometimes I wish I could be an Ostrich. eeeek No I don’t. Thats a bird.LOL Hope to talk to you again soon. gina
Dusty ~
I talked with my dad today regarding the 55 gallon gas drum issue…
He said that the State prohibits selling the 55 gallon drums filled with gas due to safety reasons, i.e. gas expansion, etc. He said that his company does however, sell reconditioned 55 gallon drums (that housed oil and diesel fuel) but that one would hafta fill it with gas themselves. He said he would not recommend it though because of possible explosions.
Sorry, I couldn’t be more help.
Shad.
Hurricane Alley RN, it’s great to talk to other Floridians with similar interests. I have to admit that my husband has always supported my hurricane prepping because he knew he would eat well if the power went out. We figure Tallahassee is due for a hurricane so we are READY! Convincing him to prepare for the bird flu took about two minutes. Now he is giving me lists of comfort items he wants to make sure we have. I know how you feel about being a hurricane “advisor”. Since hubby is a meteorologist everybody at work hits me up hourly when there is a hurricane out there- either worried about us or loved ones. I work in the same building with the meteorologists, so this place is hopping during hurricane season. Lots of news crews around and chatter in the hallways. Every now and then, someone gets to catch a ride in a hurricane hunter aircraft. No thanks….not that I would ever get a chance, but no thanks… I’ll stick with the beautiful photographs.
As for flu preps, I am learning new skills. I’m learning how to make my own herbal salves, ointments, lotions, and soaps using herbs I grow in my garden. I am also continuing to learn new canning recipes and such. I figure flu or not, these all make great gifts for holidays, etc.
It’s exciting to read of some people also in Pensacola who are prepping! So far I know of no one who is and never notice anyone prepping when I’m shopping. I got interested in preparedness in general after the recent hurricanes. Although I am primarily concerned about BF, there are many thngs that could disrupt services and supplies I now realize. I’m not from here so this was all new to me. I have 2 young children to take care of and protect whatever happens. One great thing about all the prepping I’ve done is that I know I won’t be rushing out to get supplies this year if a storm or hurricane is threatened!
Thanks Shad!! I appreciate you asking him about this. Looks like we’ll just use our boat’s gas tank as a reserve. I’d rather be safe.
Welcome FLpreppingmom!
A rusty bung hole, no joke intended, can cause an explosion. A modest amount of grease on the threads negates the problem.
Anyone notice an increase in prepping in our state with the government’s latest report? In SE FL, people around me seem to be talking about it more.
Dusty ~
I haven’t been out to the stores today but am going tomorrow to the wholesale club, so I’ll check it out.
I’d be inclined to guess that for the most part, people are gonna wait, watch and listen some more before they move their hineys towards getting some preps. I think that the thought of a pandemic is something that for all of us, is kinda hard to wrap our comprehension around.
In the mean time, it’s good that there’s more media coverage on the bf as it transitions it from that crazy woman who always preps, to something the government and media thinks is a very real possibility.
‘shrug’
Shad.
Just bought a lemon tree for the backyard — predicted to have fruit by next year. (replacing the orange and grapefruit trees cut down during the citrus canker slaughter a few years ago). Anyone here thinking about planting trees now for fresh fruit later? The canker ban has been lifted — the nurseries in SE FL are filled with trees.
I’ve been a lurker since the old site. I live west of Lakeland. I just wanted to get my name out there before the movie tonight. I also wanted to say that I appreciate all the efforts that have gone into this site. I started prepping before Christmas and the information here has been incredible. I must say that my wife wonders what type of hurricane I am preparing.
Welcome Lars! Yep, we too use the guise of prepping for hurricanes. :)
Hi Lars. Glad you decided to join the gang. You know what? We don’t bite. Ok, I have been known to nibble. Only in a polite way of course. Now tell me/us more about you. gina
Hi Lars,
How far west of Lakeland? I live in Brandon.
Found out a couple of friends are preppers last week. I took the initiative to bring up the subject casually and found out they and their families are serious preppers. Now I have buddies I can talk to about it without them rolling their eyes!
I also had an interesting conversation with a farmer in GA who grows organic heirloom corn to make flour products for sale. He is prepping too. I mentioned that I wanted to stockpile some of his flour to freeze for later use. We had a great conversation about that. He says either most of the people around him have never heard of the bird flu or think they will still be able to go to the store during the crisis.
I’m a newbie, here, but not a newbie to preparedness, having lived in Florida since 1977. We are out in the country, north of Tampa, west of Orlando, and south of Ocala. So far, we’ve just done extra-heavy-duty Hurricane Prep, and we didn’t even see the movie. My dear husband and I are both “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it” types. Luckily we have a little property so there’s room to squirrel stuff away. I worry, though, about what may happen with our little flock of (gasp, shudder) chickens. There’s a Giant Chicken/Egg Factory with 2 million hens about a mile away, and then there’s my little flock of about 2 dozen. I suspect resentful mobs with torches and pitch-forks will get to me first. . . >sigh< Glad I found this place, and I’ll be back but right now there’s more I want to read!
Welcome g’ma — it’s always nice to know more people are prepping in Florida. A friend just started prepping and last night’s movie reaffirmed her convictions. Now she’s prepping for hurricanes and the bf! :)
Scooba – at 22:48- Lived in Brandon for most of life. Now in Plant City.
Hurricane Alley RN – at 19:28- I’m 41 with a daughter.
I did not hear a word about this movie at my work today. My wife watched the first 10–15 minutes and said that it was going to be “too graphic”. I did find it interesting in the scene from the factory in China about not shipping orders earlier than scheduled due to things being “just in time” delivery. Distributors not wanting things in a warehouse just “straight onto the shelf”.
There was no one prepping at the Wally World near me this morning. I also have a feeling that this is the way it will continue.
Lars— We have lived in Brandon since 1969 coming from Tampa. My husband is fifth generation Tampan and my folks moved to Tampa when I was nine months old so my dad could go to the University of Tampa. My husband and I were in Plant City last week and it sure isn’t the tiny little town it use to be but then neither is Brandon. We went to Plant City to buy some water barrels. Don’t know anyone else who is prepping around here. All the Wal-Marts and Sam’s around here are pretty well stocked. Didn’t watch the movie because NCIS was on. Would rather get my info from the nice and well informed folks at the wiki.
All quiet at the Publixs around us. Haven’t noticed any prepping following the movie.
Ahh, I have my citranella torches but I need to stock up on the pitchforks! Thanks for the tip :)
Dusty ~
It’s interesting that you brought up planting trees…
I never lost any of my citrus but I have lost a few trees to hurricanes. I lost a 30′ avacado tree last October with Wilma, 2 orange trees, a coconute, lemon and a macadamia nut tree. I’ve been thinking about exactly what I want to get to replace those and augment what I still have. A trip to the nursery is in order.
The drought down here is adversely effecting all my banana trees…they need lots of water to bloom ‘naners and it’s been a while since I’ve had any stalks. Maybe I’ll just pump some well water and keep them moist.
Shad.
hay you guys and gals, Remember the kid who died from diabetes in the movie? Someone needed to shoot the govenor. One would think if he went to the trouble to build a bunker, he would have stocked up on diabetic supplies. I have been a diabetic for 38 years and I always prep meds first. As far as insulin, my fridge looks like the one in a pharmacy. Around here, two things are selling well. Guns and baseball bats. I’ve been told that the bats are being bought for self defense not because it’s baseball season. gina
Let us hope that a well armed society remains a polite society.
This should probably be mentioned on another thread, but I just saw on CBS that the show NUMBERS on Friday will have a show about a murder victim who has bird flu!
Well Dusty, I guess ‘hollywood’ is gonna sensationalize this illness until the reality of this illness smacks everyone in the face.
Tackytackytacky.
Shad.
Yes, I’m afraid by sensationalizing the issue, people will be tired of hearing about it and will be desensitized to the real issue. A friend just yesterday said “I’m tired of hearing about bird flu … I’m over it”
Just started prepping two weeks ago….ordered two 55 water drums online, had company call this week and said they could only send one due to high volume!…Did order seeds online in case food runs low……ordered mre’s and picked up can goods from BJ’s……noticied Lowes carrying 5 gal water containers in front of store!…..went to Walmart today to get backup fishing supplies in case I need to fish for food later on!…..shopping for a kayak next week!…tried to order Tamiflu online but companies blocked orders to florida….will visit local doc next week! I read that Sauerkraut in a can may have beneficial help with bird flu?!Some thing about the bacteria ? Finally got my exterior metal hurricane shutters today….these may have more than intended use….also ordered a hand pump for my sprinkler well. Thanks to all for info on site.
Just started prepping two weeks ago….ordered two 55 water drums online, had company call this week and said they could only send one due to high volume!…Did order seeds online in case food runs low……ordered mre’s and picked up can goods from BJ’s……noticied Lowes carrying 5 gal water containers in front of store!…..went to Walmart today to get backup fishing supplies in case I need to fish for food later on!…..shopping for a kayak next week!…tried to order Tamiflu online but companies blocked orders to florida….will visit local doc next week! I read that Sauerkraut in a can may have beneficial help with bird flu?!Some thing about the bacteria ? Finally got my exterior metal hurricane shutters today….these may have more than intended use….also ordered a hand pump for my sprinkler well. Thanks to all for info on site.
Well done jt. Try not to burn out though. Prepping can take quite a while. The wikie has helped us prep too. It’s great to have many minds to tap into when you have an idea. Sometimes things still sound good after the discussion and other times they do not.
We love this site!
Count me in as another prepper in Hillsborough county.
I’m glad we apparently got some rain on Thursday … wasn’t in town but came through it as I was travelling back home late.
I’m just wondering how people who are counting on rainwater to supplement their drinking water supply are going to do if the lack of rain continues for any length of time.
jt brought up a good point about hurricane shutters — good against storms and if placed strategically so we still get sun, we’re thinking also good for pandemic isolation. Just got my “Making the Best of Basics” by Stevens and am finding it quite helpful, especially the recipes.
Just wanted to introduce myself. I live in Oldsmar, Pinellas county (just across the Hillsborough county line).
I am pleasanty surpised to see so many “locals” are prepping. I haven’t see any real evidence of that on my shopping trips.
I know that we are not supposed to post anything to support any particular commerical entinty, but I was wondering if it would be okay to keep each other informed of good sales, stores with good prepping supplies, ect? I thought this might be particularly useful in light of the tax free time at the end of the month.
Welcome to the Florida extensin KMin!
I made a post about the tax free hurricane stock up supplies about a week ago…isn’t it from May 21-June 1?
Perhaps someone in a position of authority can correct me, but I see no reason not to share deals that are available for us here in Florida that other fellow preppers could benefit from.
Shad.
KMinFL
I like your idea. It would be nice if we could blanket the area with preppers and let the others in the area know where something was located. I live in Brandon and Lars further up this list is in Plant City. My son is keeping an eye on St. Petersburg where he lives and my sister who finally started to prep yesterday is in Town & Country area of Tampa. At least we might get a better idea of what is going on in our little area of the country. It also might save gas and keep someone from driving around looking for something if someone else knew where it was located.
Have we heard whether this is alright with the powers that be?
Happy Mother’s Day everyone!
There used to be a thread for Prep Deals nationwide, I think it didn’t really work because a deal at a local store in the PNW does no good for the rest of the country. I don’t think listing local sale prices of prep items would be a problem as long as someone isn’t trying to advertise their own website of prep supplies.
And yes, I believe the Tax free hurricane stock is May 21 - June 1st. Do a search on the main forum page and follow the link to the official state pdf. There are price limits on the items so you have to keep that in mind. For instance, coolers have a $30 max and Walmart has a Coleman 5 day cooler for $25. I was in BJ’s and they had the 6 or 7 day version but I don’t remember the price, it may have been under $30.
Any predictions on how soon we will have our first named hurricane?? :)
Publix (I have no affiliation) has a flyer in today’s paper with lots of sales on canned foods, parmalot etc. I love the idea of sharing state sales — will help with both hurricane and bf prepping. thanks all!
I’ve been taking a break from prepping the last two weeks but all this talk of Indonesia has got me back on track. I’m going to go pickup a Sunday paper hit some stores.
Works for me. I’m in Land O Lakes and will advise of anything of interest along the southern stretch of Pasco County.
The sharing is great because it makes you not feel so isolated. Besides who else would get excited by a buy one get one free offer but a fellow prepper.
Sunday paper ads (stuff that seems to appropriate):
Publix
Walgreens
nopower
I have a stack of those canned hams from Walgreen’s. I buy some every time they are on sale. Baked they can be sliced for sandwiches or chop them up and mix in a box of your favorite Betty Crocker potatoes or some kind of flavored noodles and you have a meal.
Just back from my trip to Publix. They were kinda low on some of the sale items mentioned above but I didn’t strike out on anything except the Dinty Moore (not top on my list anyway).
They also had Campbell’s Chunky soups on sale for 3 for $4. These and the Progresso that I normally buy are around $2.20-$2.30 regular price so this is a good price. Looking at my spreadsheet, the Progresso 8pks at Sam’s (only two varieties per pack) were $1.31. So these are about the same price, no membership needed and much more variety of flavors.
If memory serves Publix specials actually change every Thursday so you should be able to find these deals up to Wednesday night, but don’t quote me on that.
Now I just have to find a creative place to store all these canned goods I just bought :)
I stopped at Winn Dixie and Big Lots on my way home this morning.
Winn-Dixie has some good 10 for $10 sales. I picked up 10 cans of Hunt’s Spaghetti sauce and 10 bottles of Pepsi. Saw Chef Boyardee was also 10/10. Also picked up on sale, Kraft Pasta Salad 2/$3, Oreos 2/$5. Eggs and tp free with $25 purchase and coupon (sent to those who have their card).
Big Lots has name brands, often gourmet brands, and their prices are so cheap I usually buy a case - but watch the expiration dates and ingredients list. I saw Hormel Microwave meals for $1.49 (supermarket prices are usually $2.50–2.99). They had a lot of canned hams and canned meats, good supply of canned veggies. Check out their dried soups - the onion soup can be used to spice up gravies, meatloaf, burgers, etc, and much much cheaper than the Lipton brand. Comes in a large reusable zip top bag. I grabbed some humongous plastic tumblers - 6 for $2.99. Perfect size for thirsty husbands and teenage sons. :)
I want to mention a couple of places that have good food at good prices. GFS on 60th in Clearwater doesn’t have much in the way of bargains, but they do have some large size and hard to find items at fair prices. I buy their 25 lb bags of semolina flour, 20 lb bags of risotto rice, and large bags of a variety of dried beans.
I also like the fruit and vegetable stand just off of Rt 19 (on the street that goes to Tarpon’s sponge docks). This week they have 6″ pots of LUSH live herbs, fresh corn, sweet onions, and really nice roma tomatoes, shallots, and WHITE eggplant (guess what we’re having for lunch… eggplant parm. mmm). Oh, one more place to stop. Continue on south, down that same road, through Tarpon, and just as you’re about to come into a more rural area there’s a little veggie stand on the east side of the road. They have lots of greek items - including the most heavenly bags of freshly dried greek oregano.
Good place to check is Dollar Store. A couple of weeks ago they had 2 cans of FancyHeat (think sterno) for $1. Needless to say I cleaned out the store in Oldsmar. It is not the best method of cooking (takes 40 minutes to boil soup), but it will do in a pinch.
Scooba – at 09:23
Flourbug is in Land O Lakes which is just north of me. I’m just outside of Tampa proper in the town of Lutz (off US41, not the Carrollwood or Pasco county areas of Lutz).
I also track back and forth through Carrollwood and New Tampa area frequently.
And I spend a lot of time south of the Apes where US41 breaks apart into Nebraska and Florida Avenues. I’ll keep an eye out in my neck of the woods.
Kathy in Fl
That is great. I think we could have the area blanketed pretty soon. We could use a prepper in south Tampa. Would like to see a lot more preppers in our area. If anyone needs the 55 gallon water barrels I found them in Plant City just by looking in the yellow pages. Bought ours a few weeks ago for $15 each. Be glad to give the name and phone number to anyone who needs it. Don’t know or have an interest in this business. Come on you Tampa Bay area lurkers step out into the sunshine. We don’t bite!
The crystal ball guys are at it again. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three major hurricanes will strike the United States this year, with the storm-battered Gulf Coast most at risk in June and July, forecaster AccuWeather predicted Monday.
Scooba,
I would like to know the name and number for the drums. I have been looking for one, but can’t seem to find any in Pinellas. My email kmaureenc at yahoo dot com.
KMinFL
Hi
The name of the place is TR Drum Company and it is located at 3910 US Highway 92 East. The phone number is(813)754–5722. It is just on the east side of Plant City. Make sure you tell them you want to store water in the drum. Depending on what you want to store they might charge you more. Hope that helps.
I have been looking for a method to store decent quantities of gasoline, but cant find anything that would seem to do the job (100 gals). I’m on the nature coast (west central, north of Tampa). If anyone has any ideas or sources, I would be grateful. I would really like to get all those 5 gal jugs out of the garage.
twoolf
You might try the drum company in my previous post. I know they had metal ones because a man came in to buy one while we were there. Don’t remember how much he paid.
Hi All! Pretty obvious where I am from! I am in a big condo, and suprisingly, many of the old folks in the building are prepping this year. -and more for the flu than for hurricanes! My gf and I have been spreading the word for months and many ask what the current status is. It is another form of entertainment for the retirees I guess to keep up with it around the globe. The cool thing though is that as family members visited from up north, we often overheard chats where the grandfolks were telling the kids to prep for the flu, or anything that may come along!
I have also seen other preppers in SAM’s. Super Wallyworld in St. Pete and the one in west St. Pete have been out of collapsable water jugs for some time. I haven’t checked the one down in South Side yet. They may actually still have a lot of prepping stuff. Who knows.
KathyinFL, I didn’t realize you are so close to me! For some reason I thought you were south of Sarasota, or at least closer to the Gulf. Nice to know I have preppy neighbors :)
TIG, in Sam’s several couples walked by with flat carts loaded with canned food, drinks, tp, paper plates, baby wipes and pool shock. I felt like yelling YES!!! Thank you, thank you!
As for today’s bargains… CVS has 12 packs of Coke for $2.22 Albertson’s has 10 for $10 on ketchup, mustard, applesauce, pasta, salad dressing, snack pak pudding, ro-tel tomatoes and chilis, and baked beans.
Just got the new Winn-Dixie sale flyer — lots of good deals, 10 for $10 and a whole page on hurricane preps! Says it’s good May 17 - 23rd.
Just got back from the Wal-Mart in Valrico, Fl and they are very well stocked. From the moment you hit the front doors there are stacks of radios, coolers, gas cans and anything else you might need for hurricane or bird blu preps. They had Coleman Ilumisticks, two in a package for $1. Just make sure to check the color wrapper on the Illumisticks because the green, yellow and orange last for 12 hours and the blue only last for 8 hours. They also had battery operated fans for $12. Both the sticks and the fans were back in the aisle in front of the camping department. Looks like they are ready for the sales tax holiday starting on sunday but now would be a good time to stock up before they get cleaned out.
Just a reminder that this Sunday starts hurricane tax breaks — stores should be catering to prepping items. Something to think about — if more people buy generators, more people will be in lines waiting for gas to supply those generators. Think about gas storage.
Dusty – at 09:38
I’ve been considering a generator, but I don’t really see it doing our family enough good to warrant the expense.
I really can’t stockpile more than a few days to a week’s worth of fuel to run a generator as big as I would need to save the freezer/frig and well. Even the well would require a hefty size generator that would suck fuel.
I’d rather take that money (cost of generator and fuel) and put it into other prep items like food and water/water system.
For the power to go out due to pandemic, things are going to have to get bad. For them to be that bad, I’m more worried about long term food and potable water. A generator just isn’t going to give me long term under those circumstances becuase of fuel issues..
Kathy in FL – at 10:04, I totally understand. We were very grateful and happy to have had our generator when Wilma knocked our power off for two weeks — I work at home so I could check my email and send info to clients, our food was safe, we were able to run a window ac in one room so we all piled in and had a comfortable sleep …it basically helped my family feel a bit more “normal” in a very stressful situation (the whole back patio was blown away, a tree hit the house etc.)
I think you’re right when it comes to bf, it may not have the same benefits. Since everyone in our neighborhood has a generator, we’ll all be using it the first month if power goes off, but then when gas is gone, we’ll all be in the same boat again.
Dusty, during the storms, my generator allowed us enough time to eat the food out of our freezer. We have one of the chest types and probably have a month’s supply of food under refrigeration. It is not a long term solution.
Cloud9 – at 11:23 — I agree, not for long term. It’s great for after a hurricane though. And, for bf, we plan to start with the generator (it can run our toaster oven, microwave, refrig), then charcoal, then propane, then butane, then solar for our food prep/cooking. Generators are only good if you’ve got the gas to run them.
I have a question about using pool water for drinking. The pool is in an enclosed, screened lanai.
I have purchase a Berkly light water filter and am in the process of stocking up on chlorine. I think I should be able to keep the water stablized for a while with chlorine.
I am concerned about keeping the water circulating if/when there is a power failure. I am thinking about getting a solar fountains. Any idea if this would provide enought water circulation to keep the pool water from becoming stagnant?
KMinFL – at 11:47
Not for sure, perhaps check with a pool repair man … but if it is just a matter of oxygenating the water then you can pour it back and forth between two contains a few times to get O2 back into the water.
I’m more concerned about tannin. Our pool isn’t under screen and oak leaves are a problem during certain times of the year. I’ve yet to find a good filter for getting tannin out of water.
We had a big tree cut down a few weeks ago because it came very close to falling toward the house last year. Luckily the thing has roots the size of my leg that reach out 15ft in all directions. When they dropped one of the top branches they busted two of my pool return lines. This drained 80% of the water out of the pool, we had it patched but we figured since it was drained we might as well get a couple quotes on having some of the patch work redone and having it refinished. Well it has been sitting for about two weeks without circulation and without chlorine (since we were going to drain it all the way) and it has turned into a nice green, frog breeding ground. I had planned on using my pool water to flush toliets if I couldn’t run the well but I don’t think the water will stay usuable very long.
They make 12v pumps for running sprinklers from lakes/canals and I was thinking about maybe getting one of those since I have a canal in my backyard (I don’t know what I would use the water for), but maybe I should consider one to recirculate the water in my pool. I have an attached spa that overflows into the pool so if I fed the pump from the pool and put the water into the spa, it would overflow back into the pool. Combine that with some chlorine or shock tablets and I might be set. They also sell solar powered devices that are supposed to reduce the amount of chlorine you use in your pool but I haven’t done alot of research on them.
Just hit Home Depot and Lowes and they are gearing up for Sales Tax holiday. I exchanged two old rusty propane tanks I found when cleaning out my shed (I already had exchanged 3 I knew about) so now I have a total of 6 propane tanks. Should keep me cooking for a little while.
I just went to Sams for rice (bought enough for 407 cooked cups of rice) and noticed that they sell brand new “fillable” propane tanks for $15 without the gas. I don’t get my tanks refilled so I don’t know what a fillup cost but I would guess it is probably cheaper than buying a new tank with gas at Home Depot or Lowes for $50. My understanding is that the tanks that HD and Lowes exchange can’t be refilled and can only be exchanged but I have never tried it. It might be a good idea to have tanks that can be refilled in a panflu or after a hurricane incase you can’t find a place to exchange your tanks. I might pickup a few fillable tanks just in case.
And incase anyone is worrying, I’m storing them in the backyard, far away from the house as possible in a 3 sided cement enclosure with a wooden roof. No ignition source within 20 feet or more.
I’m happy to say that my food prepping is complete except for the use and resupply. I calculate a years worth of food for the two of us. Now all that left is boost the water on hand from 6 months to a year, add some new handy gadgets and sit back and watch the news.
nopower, it only costs $14 to get a propane tank filled and each time you get it refilled. We just bought another tank (new/empty)from Costco and had it filled at the city’s propane station. We have 3 full ones now.
The State of Florida website has a PDF file that lists everything that is included in the Hurricane Prep Sales Tax Holiday. Also, the Bay Life section of the Tampa Trib has a list.
I also found a great website, BargainSupplyWholesale (no affiliation). They have rechargable flashlights for under $4, candles, tools, and many other useful prep items. You do have to have a minimum $50 order. I had no problem reaching the minimum order :) I will let you all know about quality when I receive my order.
Walgreens had a transister shortwave radio on sale for $14.99 — got it and it’s crystal clear. Might be good to have for bf to listen to what’s happening outside the U.S.
Hello all,
I’ve enjoyed reading everyones posts. I too have been preparing for bf/hurricane for several months. I’ve purchased every over-the counter meds you can think of, and was fortunate enough to have a family friend who is a doctor write a perscription for Tamiflu a while back (which I filled while you could still get). I have also purchased on-line the #10 cans of freeze dried foods; should have around a 2 plus month supply. I also ordered about 80 or so of the 3M N95 masks.
I cleaned out a linen closet in my house, and made it into an emergency closet with water, canned foods, rice, beans, meds, hand sanitizer, batteries, radio, paper goods, etc. My boyfriend calls it my ‘crazy closet’! :) We went on a shopping supply trip to Wal-Mart (requiring 2 carts). When we were checking out a lady behind us asked why we were buying all the stuff. We told her we were getting prepared for hurricane season!
I’ve done a lot of reading about how the church of LDS (I’m not a member) approaches storing food. Their approach makes a lot of sense to me. They only store what they will use, and rotate out their food supply. If you haven’t read their methodology, I would suggest reading. I think it’s called provident living and they have a website dedicated to the subject.
I am looking for something I haven’t seen in a long time. Not sure if they even make it anymore. We use to buy little bricks of charcoal that were sealed up in an eggcrate kind of container. We use to use them in our hibachi. They were easy to store and convenient to use. Has anyone seen these lately? I have looked everywhere for them.
Wow, I remember those! Haven’t seen them in years. I think they’ve given way to the matchlight charcoal.
Dusty-
I think you are right but they sure were nice and convenient.
FEMA has put us on notice again.
Paulison: “It is a civic responsibility for Americans to prepare for themselves and take care of their families for at least that first 72 hours.”
Now if only Floridians will heed that notice. I’m keeping a good thought.
Scooba – at 11:07
A couple of months ago Walmart was having a clearance of the ones like that that were round and large enough to fit your standard, cheap round grill. <grin> Like the ones my parents used to have before gas grills were common. They were three legged and woe to the kid who got close enough to almost knock it over. LOL!
I bought 10 of those things at a buck each and looking back I wish I would have cleaned out there supply when I was getting them in the first place. They were gone in two days though. <sigh> Hind sight is 20/20.
Just made a quick run to Publix to make something for dinner tonight (something not from the pantry anyway) and didn’t see a whole lot of good bargains. They did have multi-packs of Tuna on the endcap B1G1F and I picked up a small thing of Dinty Moore beef stew to try because I had the Campbell’s Chunky Beef and Vegtables last night and didn’t really care for it. Both the small Dinty Moore and the larger cans were on sale and my store actually had a large supply on the shelf.
I picked up some different Campbell’s Chunky soups to try since they were 4 for $5.00 (regular price is $2.19).
Oh, and I don’t buy Mueller’s pasta (I buy a brand in a bag) but they were B1G1F which is a good deal for stocking up on pasta. Didn’t see any deals on sauce this week buy my ragus were B1G1F last week.
Everyone have a nice, safe weekend!
Don’t forget that the tax free for hurricane preps runs out on June 1. Take advantage of Memorial Day weekend and sneak in some extra preps.
nopower, did you happen to see the new display up at Publix on ConAgra foods (Slim Jim, Reddi Whip, Peter Pan Penut Butter, vienna sausages, etc.)? It’s a hurricane prep display. It is a pretty good deal. Spend $10 on purchasing their items, and get a $10 Home Depot gift card. I could use that to make some battery purchases at Home Depot.
anon - I probably saw it and went right past it. I was trying to make a quick trip of it and avoid buying alot of extra stuff. I’ll check it out though, sounds like a good deal.
I’ve found Home Depot battery prices to be pretty high, just like most retail stores. I picked up 200 AA batteries for $35 a while back online. Luckily there is always something to buy at Home Depot :)
any preppers from volusia county? looking to communicate with preppers from this location with emphasis on health care workers to compare notes.
Welcome xoxorn! Care to share any HCW insight with us in regards to prepping in your area?
Dusty @1931
We’re pretty underground here. A few rns I work with are in the know and are prepping, as are a few MD’s and other allied health care workers. We “come out” slowly and cautiously ( having endured more than my share of “You’re off your medication” stares!), but I seem to find a receptive audience when I do speak of BF preps, PPE awareness, surge capacity, etc. Hospital administration is CLUELESS!!!!. We can’t even handle Bike Week surge, what makes anyone think we can handle a sudden influx of sick respiratory cases?
My personal philosophy is if I manage to get my message across to ONE person a day, my circle expands. Then we direct them to Fluwikie, and the rest falls into place……
Hoping to be able to start a community awareness meeting, even if only at the neighborhood level. We have to prep for hurricanes anyway, no? After the triple hit of “04, its foolish not to.
Personally, I’m ready. My family is ready. My home is ready. Now since the internal aspects have been taken care of, its time to focus on the externals.
xoxorn,
I hope all Floridians took advantage of hurricane prep week to bulk up their supplies.
Melanie 21:28
I hope so too. Was just offsite for a second checking the Provident living website. Interesting to say the least, very practical and common sense applications for dire times.
Hi All! I’m another prepper from Pensacola! It’s so exciting to know that I’m not the only person in this town who is urgently preparing for bird flu. Seem’s anyone I ever try to talk to about it around work laughs it off and thinks I am crazy. My husband is on board with me, although he let’s me do all the hunting and gathering of goods. Some of my family members here have also just begun to take this seriously and it seems a handful of them have determined they’re going to move in with us! YIKES!! I really don’t think they have near enough supplies for themselves yet. I’ll be making some phone calls on Monday to them to encourage more prepping and give them updates on current outbreaks and developments, to try to get them to kick it into high gear.
Hello florida preppers:
FYI- CHECK THIS LINK OUT! appeared in Daytona News Journal Sunday edition:
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD03052806.htm
Re: Prepping, provident living tips.
The word is getting out!!!
I’m from Pensacola too! I need to get out ang get some tax free items this weekend. I’ll be going into hurricane season well prepared this year - which has been my goal for the past 2 years. Not to be depressing, but has anyone thought of what we would do if a major hurricane hit during a pandemic? I have planned for either event but not for both simultaneously. I don’t know how evacuations would work etc. If anyone has given this any thought, I’d love to hear it. I feel I should begin planning for bad weather and pandemic also since the past 2 years have brought so much of the bad weather. I’m okay with preps for general items but need to get more specialty items and flesh out my supplies. Good to see you all here!
Well we rode out most of them but decided to leave for Wilma when it was a Cat5 and heading for us (and John Matthews, channel 12, was saying “It is going to be a tropical storm or cat1 when it strikes”). We flew out to Denver and visited my aunt for several days. No serious damage when we got back but everyone agreed it was a much worse storm that Jeanne or Francis the year before.
I think that if a pandemic were to hit in the next couple months, we would have no choice but to SIP. The other option would be to go to a county hurricane shelter but you have to decide which is more of a risk for you. I suppose you could get in a vehicle and head north with all your gas cans and see how far you get (I have could probably get about 1200 miles). My preps are all ready packed in Rubbermaid containers so loading them in the car wouldn’t be tough. I guess what I’m most worried about is knowing that their is going to be a hurricane if we are in the middle of a pandemic.
xoxorn – at 09:18 Thanks for the article — very helpful. Today’s Sun-Sentinel had a hurricane article (their guide came out today) that finally told people to forget about prepping for 3 days for a hurricane, but rather prep for seven days worth of food. At least it’s a start.
Just came from Home Depot in South Miami…place was packed. Picked up portable charcoal grill for twenty bucks. Most of the emergency preparation shelves were EMPTY and it was only 10am Sunday morning. Forget trying to find 5 gallon gas cans and charcoal was gone. Still have some big charcoal bags from last year, but I was looking to supplement my stash for long term storage.
Drove by Walmart early, early this morning but the parking lot was too packed, so I’ll go later in the week when most people are working. Same story with Publix supermarket…couldn’t even find a parking place. Appears that Floridians in this neck of the woods are taking their disaster preparations seriously.
Anyone else in the Keys or deep, deep South Miami area?
BTW…a lot of people have hightailed it outa here in the past month, even more of an exodus than usual for this time of the year.
I saw something in Pensacola yesterday that made me feel good. The Navy Commissary was having a 3 day “case lot” sale (buy stuff by the case at a cheaper price). While not everything was available, a lot was. I was pleased to see lots of folks buying items such as cases of drinks, pet food, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning wipes, and various food items. I didn’t ask, but it sure looked like lots of people prepping.
Just filled one of my gas drums. $145.08 I think I will leave the second one dry until the storms get closser. Gas is too expensive.
What kills me is why did they have to have the tax free week the same weekend as Memorial Day? Charcoal and grills usually get sold out this weekend as do other “prepping” kind of items.
Considering how far behind in our rain we are, my yard and trees … even the big oaks … wouldn’t mind some rains off of a cat 1 or 2 hurricane.
Kathy in FL – at 10:59,
Isn’t it the truth? I just came in from watering the plants… uh, pouring water on dry sand… in the yard. Our lake is down about 2 - 3′ from where it was this time last year. Definitely need LOTS of rain… hold the wind and lightning, please.
Hi There!! I’m a VERY new prepper from right outside of Pensacola. I do work in Pensacola. I started collecting information mere days ago after having a conversation with a Dr from Virginia last Thursday. My husband is with me although not quite as convinced as I would like him to be. I will say though that while he was looking thru the sale circulars yesterday that he picked out some shelves for the spare (now supply) room to start the gathering. I am actually going to hit Sams tomorrow and get a membership.
Im such a newbie compared to some of you!!
Here’s hoping that I learn fast!!
LizzieNWF
LizzieNWF - Want something to light a fire under your husband? Here it is. Send him or get him to take you to Harbour Freight on Nine Mile. It’s mostly a guy store, but I like it too. Now you are asking yourself (self) why is she sending me there? I’m sending you there because they have the vented N95 masks. If you are into the comfort thing, this is yhe way to go. They also have vented safety glasses. Not the ones with the little holes in the side. The mask vent looks like funny piece of hard white plastic in the middle of the mask. The vent in the safety glasses looks the same but is clear and is located on the bottom. You can also order this stuff online. I ordered 60 masks and a face shield this morning. www.harbourfreight.com The masks online are $1.99 each. Hope this helps. … And… Welcome to the FL group and the wiki forum. gina
Welcome Lizzie!!
Don’t feel like a newbie……you’ll catch up fast! Welcome to our community. Just keep yourself tuned to the Wiki and you’ll stay informed. No need to stress alone….our knowledge is your power!
And don’t worry about your spouse being completely “onboard”. I had a spouse like yours…they come around.
My sister is in Miami, I talked to her about bird flu and her attitude was “I will prep, hurracaines, bird flu, dont care, this family is ready!”
Thanks for the welcomes!! :)
We spent this afternoon and evening putting together shelving and getting the “storage” room into shape for the loading up of supplies.
Thanks again for the warm welcomes. I will be hanging around and reading like a crazy woman….dang, this place if full of prolific writers! :P
Hurrican Season 2006: The good news is that sea surface temperatures are a little lower this year than they were this time last year. This may make for a milder hurricane season this year.
http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060601_hurricane_forecasts.html
The bad news is that our efforts to clean up the environment may in fact be increasing the intensity of storms. The theory argues that aerosols that had been being pumped into the atmosphere in North America and Europe had reflected sun light having a cooling capacity on the planet. Now that we have passed and enforced various clean air acts, these aerosols are disappearing removing their cooling capacity from the environment. The irony may very well be cleaner air makes for hotter seas and stronger storms.
http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/060531_cyclone_intensity.html
Cloud9, obviously, you are not privy to the Chemtrail theory of global temperature modulation. ;) Jets out of Tampa and Miami are working hard to keep Florida from melting off the map.
Flourbug: Golly, I had forgotten that. Wasn’t that the argument that contrails were going to blot out the night sky and make it impossible to see the stars.
Makes you wonder who to believe.
Then of course, don’t forget the Gulf Stream theory that when all the ice melts, convection will stop and we will jump into another ice age. One group will have us sweltering while another group has us in the fridge.
Between you and me, I think this is going to be a long, hot, windy summer. I just hope we both have roofs to sit under when it is over.
I did go out and makes some prep purchases yesterday while the tax free holiday was going on. The one thing that I swore I would not do without during hurricane season this year was battery operated fans! I bought two at Wal-Mart and the 16 batteries required to run them. I too have a bad feeling about this year’s hurricane season; I hope I’m wrong.
Hi gang I’m in NE Florida just south of Jax. I started looking for this type of site over 5 months ago I was in College taking a microbiology course and I took the BF as a project. It scares me to death. With all the research the Medical profession still cannot kill a virus (AIDS or H5N1). That is what we are all talking about a virus, something that is not even alive.
Any way I can give some opinions as I was raised on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, I served for 20 years in the Marine Corps, and 8 years in law enforcement. I haven’t found any one who even considers that BF is going to be a problem. Except my microbiology teacher.
Welcome, Richard FL. Fluwikians know how skeptical friends, relatives, and even our doctors can be when it comes to Bird Flu. Most just don’t take it seriously. But, fortunately, every day we’re seeing more people open their eyes.
How could anyone NOT be terrified of something that transmits as easily as a headcold and kills more than half the people who get it? You won’t find one person here who wants a pandemic to happen… but we’re not burying our heads in the sand in hopes it won’t see us when it gets here. We’re loading up everything we need to give it the best fight we can.
Fluwikie has a wealth of GOOD information from informed sources, as well as plain ordinary people trying to come up with workable solutions to the problems ahead. If you have any questions, or anything to contribute, don’t be shy. :)
I have read most of the forum over the last week.
You need to get something straight in your heads now. Each wave will be 6 to 8 WEEKS long; in between the local services (I.E. Police, food, Water) will get worst!
By the end of the first 6 month period you could be the only one left in your local area (Neighborhood) and still be forced to move. I have seen how people survive day to day overseas in Africa, Asia and Central America. (A cup of rice that people kill for.) That is how bad it is going to get.
Forget the nice idea of civilization surviving. Because after the first set of waves finish the next set will hit, 12–18 months after and finish off what it started. Can you sit in a house for 18 months?
Do you have enought food, water, medical, etc etc etc to last you that long?? So your buying MRE’s or boxes of uncle bens rice good for you and the 3 days you will last. You need to be thinking of buying 50 lbs bags of rice. Just to start with
You need to think this situation over (WHAT IF) and get organized (discussions) with neighbors, your local community, and get state assistance. before it’s to late.
Sorry but my local county commissioner got under my skin. When I asked him today about BF. His answer is “we’ll let the state and Federals worry about it since we don’t have any money …” !!!!
Hi all - especially to
kminfl, kathyinfl (we chatted about life insurance), lars, scooba, and flourbug and anyone else I may have missed on the west coast…I am in South Pinellas County.
I have been lurking since I accidentally found the site when I was looking for masks and did a search on bird flu. I’m so glad to know there are so many around me prepping. They call me chicken little at work (hence the name) - I keep talking about it but they all laugh and send me joke emails. Doesn’t get me down - at least some of my family is listening. Surprisingly my parents are more into it than my siblings.
My problem is space. These FL homes just aren’t big enough to store anything. I have 2- 30 gallon water drums (actually 1 and another on the way) and I am starting to run out of space. I don’t want to store it outside and don’t have a garage…god knows you can’t put anything in the attic. What is everyone else doing or is space not an issue.
Also - since we are so populated in this State is anyone considering leaving to a remote area? Another family member that lives up north wants get a “remote” place that is away from major cities. He is worried about civil unrest and I have to admit it has crossed my mind (visions of that Dome in New Orleans flash through my brain).
to Richard FL - you are so right about local government. Keep in mind you have to start somewhere. So if you can get a good deal on b1g1 that is one more day that you can last. If we all had the money we could easily go to those dissaster supply stores and buy a years worth of food - I don’t know about the rest of you but unfortuneatly I don’t have a couple extra thousand + hanging around.
Hey maybe we should plan a BF/Hurricane Party before it happens - it always kills me the people that hang out on the beach when the cat 3 is coming - celebrate that is missed you not that it is coming!
chicken little in FL
Welcome! Glad to have another prepper in the area. If you are in south Pinellas are you in a hurricane evacuation area? Makes it hard to prep for BF if you might have to evacuate for a hurricane. If you are pressed for space why don’t you get a lacy tablecloth and put it over the drum and make a plant stand out of it. It is hard to store stuff when you are pressed for space. Would give anything for a basement or a big walk in attic.
We have talked about a remote place if things get bad but we will have to wait and see what happens. We have a place to go to but things would have to be pretty bad for us to relocate.
Again welcome and glad to have you here.
Hi Scooba - thanks for the welcome. Fortuneatly we are not in an Evac zone - but we are mear inches from it. I was talking with our Security Officer at work (he goes to all the emergency management meetings for the County because we work for a very large employer in the area) about evacuating even though we are not in an Evac zone. He said the evac zones are really geared towards the storm surge so I should be okay - but that doesn’t help me with the wind. I also got him talking about BF - his response was there is nothing you can do about it. Masks and isolating won’t save you - well I don’t know about that but I’m certainly going to try. Maybe that is why my company has no BF plan.
I too long for a basement…but in FL if I have that I actually have an endless supply of ground water since we are at sea level.
Hi gang. I got some info today that might interest you.
(1) The N95 MASK once open can only be used for 8 hours. It also will loose it’s ability to protect the longer it is exposed to the virus. The size of the virus is about .16-.26 nm the mask stops things from going through it down to .3 (nanometer or billionth part of a meter) very small… So either get alot of N-95 masks or find something else.
(2) FEMA and Homeland security have classes on disaster prepareness on their sites. They are on-line classes {so you can get a leg up on filling out forms for grant money after the next disaster}, they have alot of CERT classes also. It’s a good idea to look them over.
(3) The BBC News site has a very good overlay map of the progression of BF. They also do not pull punches about what is happening. No political BS there like we get here in the states!
Hello fellow Floridians! Another Pinellas County person here. Not planning on relocating. I live in an evacuation A zone, but I’m not worried about storm surge. Like chicken little, I have no space, but I’m still trying to prep as much as I can.
My company is really big and has addressed BF a littel bit, but mainly just aimed at when folks travel to Asia. “-stay away from any live poultry and wet markets.”
Anyone in Pensacola know where I can find a wood burning stove? Would like to check one out for heating and cooking purposes if need be. Saw a couple on e-bay but they were very expensive. Would appreciate any info. PS, very proud there are so many preppers on here from little ol’ P’Cola!!
PColaPrepper – at 13:02
Not from up in that area; however, you might want to look into AL and GA suppliers. Also, check out Tallahassee to see if they have any vendors and/or showrooms out your way.
HI----Do a search on Wood Burning Stoves on Google----Many Listed
HI----Do a search on Google for wood burning stove----many listed
For a good buy look at Tractor Supply. Ooo I made a ryme! Their stock is seasonal so look at their catalog. They wouldn’t be likely to have any in stock this time of year. I saw one last year in their store in St. Cloud for $139.99 and another one for around $200.
I second Tractor Suppy Co. … they may have an online catalog that you can look at.
I like tractor supply’s prices. Wish there was one closer to me. Thanks everybody. Now if I could just tear myself away from this computer and get some actual work and more preps done … :)
Helo everyone, I want to find if there are any preppers from N.E. Florida area “Go Jags” To get in contact with local people, who are on the same wave length we are!
I believe that only those who prepare; if doing nothing more then, playing the “what if” game in their minds, are way ahead of the rest of the population (pack).
We will only overcome this problem with large number like minded individuals.
As Floridians we have a double-edged sword regarding preps…
Since we can get hurricanes, many of us prep now anyway or have “short lists” that we can use to dash to the store and get our subsisitence items within that Hurricane Watch period. Over the last few years, many have had to practice that routine. -too many times! haha On th eplus side, we can prep better than most of the counrty in a shorter time period once we know something is really coming.
The down side, is that just liek when a storm hits, EVERYONE will try to run out at once to get the same items. Plus, if a hurricane hits, there go all the supplies we have prepped for the flu with. Then what? If the flu hits before we can restock, we’re screwed.
PcolaPrepper
I’m from P’cola too. Before looking out of town try this place.Farm and Nursery Mart on Pine Forest Rd. It’s in the Yellow Pages under Fireplaces. Until Ivan we had a free standing fireplace. Tis was the only place in town that had stuff for wood burning stoves. Give them a call. gina
For my work, I visit a lot of community, business and gov sites, a lot of times things are buried deep within, but occasionally I find it fast…
Manatee chamber has this http://tinyurl.com/h74ke Basically its just link to pandamicflu.gov but it’s still nice to see on a chamber page.
Richard FL – at 19:51 - You need to get something straight in your heads now. Each wave will be 6 to 8 WEEKS long; in between the local services (I.E. Police, food, Water) will get worst!
Richard, we don’t know this for sure. We know pandemic influenza behaves differently than seasonal influenza. In 1918, the Spanish Flu came in three distinct waves of approximately 8 weeks each. But we don’t know that this is typical of pandemic flus, or not, and we don’t know what effect voluntary isolation and other social distancing measures will have. If you are warning us to stock up more than the 2 weeks suggested by the government, we already know that. Sec. Levitt is much more on target when he says to expect the flu to last 12 to 18 months, and I would add, AT LEAST 12 to 18 months, because it may well flare up again once fresh new hosts enter the population.
Richard FL – at 19:51 - By the end of the first 6 month period you could be the only one left in your local area (Neighborhood) and still be forced to move. I have seen how people survive day to day overseas in Africa, Asia and Central America. (A cup of rice that people kill for.) That is how bad it is going to get.
My husband spent much of his childhood in the Middle East, his teen years in Thailand and Singapore, was educated in America, and now lives and works here in Florida. He has travelled extensively - all of Europe, Asia, Africa, and every state in the US. If you want him to laugh, start talking about how much better Americans have it than the poor starving Africans and Asians. He has magazines from overseas that show our old, physically disabled, and mentally ill Americans living in cardboard boxes under bridges in our big cities. Much of the world thinks Americans have a serious problem with poverty and racism, and New Orleans was an example of how WE behave (all that selfish individualism) that could never, ever, happen in their countries (where the people are far more concerned with the health of the community than any individual within it).
Richard FL – at 19:51 - Forget the nice idea of civilization surviving. Because after the first set of waves finish the next set will hit, 12–18 months after and finish off what it started. Can you sit in a house for 18 months?
Yes, actually, I can — and I don’t think civilization will crumble while I am making peanut butter sandwiches. In fact, I think people will work together, just as we have in other disasters, to help each other survive. But I’m prepared to be wrong about that, too.
Richard FL – at 19:51 - Do you have enought food, water, medical, etc etc etc to last you that long?? So your buying MRE’s or boxes of uncle bens rice good for you and the 3 days you will last. You need to be thinking of buying 50 lbs bags of rice. Just to start with.
Don’t panic. I HAD enough, but just gave my oldest daughter half my preps (she is feeding four adults). Give me a couple of months and I’ll be back up there. You need a lot more than rice, Richard, even if it is in 50 lb bags.
Richard FL – at 19:51 - You need to think this situation over (WHAT IF) and get organized with neighbors, your local community, and get state assistance. before it’s to late.
I agree with you 100%. Unfortunately, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, the majority of people do not think bird flu is a serious threat. There is going to be a sharp learning curve as the population of the WORLD comes to accept this as a possibility, then a probablility, then prepare as best they can.
We’re ahead of that curve, but I have a lot of faith in my fellow man to catch up. Human beings circle the earth and cover it from pole to pole for a REASON. No other animal can adapt as well as we can. We dominate and cultivate our environment to provide us with the things we need to survive. Pandemics happen. Perhaps this will be the worst pandemic humanity has ever faced - but at no time in history has humankind been better prepared to take the hit and KEEP GOING.
Richard FL – at 19:51 - Sorry but my local county commissioner got under my skin. When I asked him today about BF. His answer is “we’ll let the state and Federals worry about it since we don’t have any money …” !!!!
I sympathize. I don’t have money for this either! I give up other things - nice things. Things that make life worth living. So I can prep. I am sure there are a lot of people who just hit sensory overload when they think about the enormity of preparing for a pandemic, and people who don’t want to give up vacations and new toys to buy 50 lb bags of rice, when bird flu is just a light over the far horizon.
We have to accept one thing. This is evolution at work.
Just saw something on the local news that was interesting. They were interviewing a local man (city of Haverhill, Palm Beach County) and he was discussing his “safe room” he built for hurricanes. Basically he built his garage with solid concrete walls, THICK rebar every 16″ inches running from the slab to the poured concrete roof. The roof had rebar for not only horizontal but vertical protection. 2 small storm windows rated to 175mph and then he put 1″ Lexan over them. His garage door was shuttered from the outside and re-inforced from the inside. Really a nice setup.
So then he goes outside to a storage area with an outside door, opens it and there are rows of red 6 gallon gas cans. The reporter said something like “He has the capacity to store 70 gallons”.
Now this was all nice and good. But there are alot of people who know that this guy, they said his full name over and over, has all this stuff. It would take me 5 minutes to find his address and less than 20 minutes to get to his house. Luckily I’m a honest guy, but there are alot of bad people out there.
Hopefully I won’t see any of you on the news showing off your preps at your houses :)
Florida preppers… aren’t ya glad you have soem preps for bird flu? Looks like we might be going through a tropical storm or more Monday night /tuesday morning. Glad I won’t have to be running to the store liek the gazillion others around here!
Amen! I’ll be watching the weather.
Ok another day and another bag of rice saved. No I don’t just have rice saved. About 25 years ago I met my first morman. I did not believe everything he said but he did show me his 2 years supplies of food for him and his 6 other members his family. I took the hint nad now I have the same amount available to me!
As to human behaivor look at what has happened in LA, NYC, New Orleans, After the disasters struck , earthquack, power outage, and storm, the bad boys came out of the wood work. The police could not stop them; all they do is try containing them. I have seen the same thing overseas in Asia, Africa, Middleast it’s always the same. People who have the guns take and abuse the power…… And otherwise normal acting people die becasue of it.
Enough see, if my words are wrong.
Otherwise we start playing the “What IF” game.
Anyone think about a retreat site at a higher evaluation?
RICHARD FL – at 18:55 - As to human behaivor look at what has happened in LA, NYC, New Orleans,
Yes, I know. But I have also been in disaster myself - blackouts, ice storms, hurricanes, chemical plant explosion - and in every case I was impressed by how people came out to help each other. The attack on the WTC was not an excuse to rob or riot. People rushed to the aid of strangers even if doing so cost them their own lives.
RICHARD FL – at 18:55 - Anyone think about a retreat site at a higher evaluation?
I have a farm in upstate NY which is very isolated. There is unlimited firewood, food, fresh water, and it is well fortified. But I’m staying right here. Depressed rural areas have their own set of problems. You will not avoid civil unrest by getting away from the cities. Country boys have no hesitation grouping together and breaking into your summer home and stealing whatever they can to support their drug habits NOW. Want to guess how they will behave if the sheriff isn’t going to come when you call? Plus, you aren’t the only one thinking the countryside will be safer. People in the cities have the same idea. Unfortunately those rural areas and scenic vacation spots can’t handle the influx of people. They will be straining to support those already there. The only exception to this is if you move NOW, and prepare your bug out location as your primary, long term, fully self sufficient residence.
I know what you mean I have 1/3 ownership of a small farm in MN. Don’t want to go back due to the very cold winters (I hate SNOW) This farm is 15 miles by dirt road in a auto and over 75 miles from the nearest city; so any one walking will give up many miles from our small complex. I hope!!!
Also I spent 20 years in Marine Corps and have the weapons (small arms, traps, etc.) to take care of any problems!
Hi fellow Floridians! Went through 3 hurricanes as a kid growing up down here and heard stories from my parents and grandparents about the ones they went through. Have always been weather and catastrophe “engaged”. Our friends thought we were nuts when we prepped for hurricanes every year before they actually hit Florida… After that, no more snide remarks from them! Have been prepping with gusto for the scary possibility of BF although already had a head start due to the “‘cane season”! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas… big help!
Here’s hoping that everyone’s preps stay high and dry while TS Alberto does his thang. Little early for the first storm of the year … but whatcha gonna do. Might be a good “dry run” opportunity to check for SIP issues that are particularly related to Florida weather.
good luck with hurrican season this year. Let us know. for emergency information, get a small radio shack cb hand held and wind up radio. good luck.
FlaKeys ~
I’m down around your area here in South Florida. Contact me if you’d like at babeshades@yahoo.com .
Kathy, I’ll be leaving here in about 2 hours to drive up to the NW coast of Florida today (Chiefland area). I’ve been looking at the weather reports and it doesn’t appear (at least right now) to be scheduled to hit up there till Tuesday afternoon. Hopefully by then, I’ll be high tailing it back down here to South Florida and will miss the bulk of whatever that develops into.
Not that it matters, but I am in NO mood for this hurricane season. I JUST got my domed screen pool enclosure rescreened this weekend from damage it sustained in Hurricane Wilma.
>:|
Shad.
shadddup – at 08:25
Scheduled to rain … maybe as much as 10+ inches over the next couple of days. We had to cancel my daughter’s 16th birthday plans to head over to Orlando due to weather.
I’m in Tampa and we’ve already been dumped on, with no let up, since before 3:30 this morning. Its expected to get harder … kind of squally.
Orlando was expecting squally weather all day today as well.
Chiefland is about 30 minutes … the back way … from where my parents live. They are expecting to see some rain later in the day and through tomorrow.
I’ve heard that TS Alberto is expected to strengthen to about 65 mph before hitting land somewhere north of Tampa through to the east end of the panhandle … so no one is out of it yet.
Honestly, compared to some storms we’ve had this is just going to be a type tropical weather pattern type storm … but I don’t envy you out driving in it.
Be safe!
Hello from storm center or will be by tonight from the way the track is going. I pulled out all my prepps for hurricanes yesterday. I really need to review this stuff more often. I needed to replace some items like flashlite bulbs, batteries, etc. Other wise went well. Alot of wind and rain since last nite just have to hope the electrical stays up this time. Last years it was out for 7 days in the middle of July (Living in Florida you know what I mean).
Lots of luck got to pick up some trash blowing around the area including tree branches.
Well just like I said yesterday we lost our electrical power for 5 hours yesterday due to branches hitting power lines. Maybe the powser company will get it’s act together now!!!
RICHARD FL – at 12:08
Are you in Cedar Key? Sorry to hear about the power outage. Just think of it as an experiment. <grin> I know that really doesn’t help much, but I’ve been there too many times. I try really hard not to let it drive me crazy anymore … but the humidity must have been a killer.
Nope for a change the wind was cool and not too strong. Best you can hope for,
Hey Kathy,
I’m just south of you in Sarasota County. We just came back this weekend from visiting CEDAR KEY! and just missed all the excitement.
It sounds like you really have it all together, considering your large household. Nice to know you are so close to my area. I always enjoy reading your posts. Maybe one motivated/prepared person per county can change the outcome of any situation.
I don’t know about you, but being prepared for any eventuality sure made it a breeze (no pun intended) to be ready for this hurricane season. All I needed was to top off the car with gas and go to the ATM…which I really didn’t have to do…
Hope you and yours are feeling better. Your family GI cluster post was most helpful.
Most of the people I work with (medical) took the possible panflu situation as a lark until the last few months. Now they are starting to pay attention and some are even prepping. The facilities I work at are posting information for their employees. I now feel as tho others are educating themselves. And I keep lending out my influenza books/articles.
I am surprised at those who are getting informed. Often it is done quietly and then one day someone shares data that is not common knowledge and I realize someone else is paying attention. We might survive as a species after all…even here in FL!
Hi all - not sure if anyone heard on the radio on Saturday - WUSF had on it’s Florida Matters show a discussion of BF. Only caught the tail end of it. I think you can go to their website and hear it - unfortuneatly my speakers are shot. I was at least happy to know that it is still being talked about. One thing they said was even if H5N1 doesn’t turn to pandemic - their will something else to take it’s place (along the line of SARS) so everyone should be permanently prepared not just during Hurricane season. Good Advice!
nsthesia – at 21:20
There are quite a few of us that are clustered her in the Tampa Bay area. Flourbug, FLMedic, TreasureIslandGal, me, you …. and several others.
The only two of us left with lingering effects from our recent bought of stomach bug are the two youngest. They are just having a hard time getting their energy back to full strength and eating regular food.
Finally found a tarp big enough to cover our pool, but realize that I need more heavy bricks/blocks to hold it down in a windy situation. We are planning on using the pool water for cleaning and bathing. It has been a mess to get all the leaves out of the pool from TS Alberto. We don’t have a pool cage because its just too price prohibitive at this time. So, its several times a day out to the poll to rake off the leaves.
Hello everyone,
Today i noticed that the discovery and science channels are haveing alot of disaster “What If” type of shows. They seem to be well researched and give detailed time lines as to who, what, where, when, why and how it will happen. This includes a pandemic of Bird flu carried to the USA via a business man in SE Asia.
It might be a great idea to see these films then contact the makers and get background information on their show. It had one short-fall it did not mention US and how we will affect the outcome. Is the US Government trying to prepare us for the coming of BF in the next year by showing documentaries?
I have been looking at this site for a few weeks and just stumbled upon the Florida forum. I am so glad as I’ve felt a bit alone. I was raised to always prepare for an emergency with at last two back-up plans but will confess that after the hurricane season of 04 (I’m in Orlando and got nailed three times) and Katrina concern last year, that I had a major case of emergency overload. I endured the Y2K ridicule for preparing and didn’t want to deal with it again. I am ashamed to admit that I consciously decided to blow of the pandemic threat in January. I just couldn’t cope with anymore. Now for the scary thing, I’m a teacher. I spent two weeks on a Hurrican Katrina recovery plan with my Social Studies classes that got down to the nitty gritty. But I didn’t prepare my own household for a possible flu outbreak. I teach my students that there are two types of people in the world. Those that have a backpack with food and water in it, and those that stand on the bridge waiting for rescue. Yet I had only enough food to survive a month.
Now I’m behind…and am struggling to find the money and pray for the time to catch up. I am lucky that my husband is a rational, very intelligent, man. He read the information I came across and totally supports OUR efforts. I am not alone in that regard. I am alone in that he just lost his job and I’m a new teacher who earns very little. In the past two weeks I wiped out my savings of a whopping $600 but have enough normal food to go for two months for both us and our four dogs, four cats, and three parrots. I’ll keep prepping until we have at least six months of food and water.
My father and his wife are preparing because of the information, as is my sister (from her own initiative). Sadly, we are not on good terms since she bolted to Disney after we prepped her house for Hurricane Francis and she didn’t do anything to help our mother or me prepare. My mother and her husband are not prepping for BF. Tried to coordinate with my sister to keep from repeating purchases, but ended up in an email fight. Spoke to two neighbors, one may prep and the other is too cheap. Talk about just in time inventory! If he got an intestinal bug he’d have to stop by the store for a roll of toilet paper!
Anyway, I look forward to speaking to other Floridians about this. I haven’t been able to find any substantial information on Orange County or Seminole County preparations. Does anybody know anything about that? I sincerely hope more people are preparing. Sometimes I think so when I go to SAMS on Goldenrod and see them sold out of Parmalat and other basics.
Greetings Orlandopreppie,
Welcome to the wikie! I live real close to LA (lower AL). Don’t feel like the one who got left behind, for I think many are still in the prepping mode. All you have to do is join in. If you haven’t read the whole thread, you might want to give it a go. Some of the posts have some great information on preps. Keep your head up and think positive thoughts. Your situation will improve. As for FL being prepared for BF, I think that is a big NOT. The state is to focused on hurricane season right now. gina
bump
bump
Another big welcome to Orlandopreppie – at 00:46 Glad to hear from you in the FL thread. More and more preppers appearing in our state, and prepping for hurricanes is a nice big step in the right direction. In South Florida am hearing a bit more prep rumbling from the local cities so that’s positive.
Orlandopreppie – at 00:46
Just like you see across the board prepping for hurricanes you will see the same thing for any type of emergency. Just do what you can as you can.
I homeschool our crew and that works for us. So I don’t have to worry about the kids in crowded classrooms picking up who knows what … whether that is regular stuff on a pandemic flu bug. But the continuity issues are still there. I got lucky and was able to acquire all of their educational materials for the next year. My oldest will be a junior and we’ve kept most of the materials we’ve used so the other four will have lots to chose from. I’m seriously considering though getting her senior curriculum and some college material as well though. It will get used eventually one way or another and I’d hate to come to a point where she is ready to move to the next academic level but not have the resources for it.
If you can prep the water, in my mind that is half the battle … and you can get water for free by using 2 liter soda bottles and your own tap.
Just keep plugging and keep a good attitude … that will help more than anything, including money.
Hello Orlandopreppie – at 00:46; always glad to see more people getting involved.
Spent last two days working in MySpace.com on their forum to get some initial information out. Boy did I hit a storm or what I was questionsed about everything I said including if I was sane or just sick in the head. Some people just don’t get it.
These are the people who will be knocking on your door asking for help, or just start shooting at your house because you have food and water and they don’t.
Any one see what happened in New Orleans today? 5 Teens dead in a new SUV. Sounds like another drug war has started.
Thank you for the warm welcome. I’m working on the water issue now and am looking to purchase my first 55 gallon water drum. With only two people in the house I don’t need as much as many of you. I think I’ll go for four, one a pay period. Does anybody have an idea how to purchase one locally to avoid shipping charges? They seem higher than the cost of the barrels. I have a couple of new tarps (thanks tax free holiday) that I planned on using, if needed, for rainwater collection. Unfortunately I’m on city water and sewer. From reading info I’m worried about sewage problems. Does anybody have any idea if I can close off my house’s pipes to keep sewage from backing up in the event of an emergency? Seems like that would be a HUGE infection risk.
Orlandopreppie – at 16:54
Check other threads. One of the posters mentioned a place in Lakeland or Plant City where he was able to purchase water barrels much less than $55. Also, the sewer issue has been discussed in depth with advice on what to buy and how to shut off the sewer line coming into your house. I’d do the research and get the url for you but I’m on my way out. :)
Orlandopreppie – at 16:54
I’m not familiar with the Orlando/Kissimmee area but you might want to check with any feed stores in your area. Ask them if anyone there knows where you can pick up some 50 gallon drums. I got mine in rural north Florida. It used to be the home of Greek peppers <grin> and I’ve had to clean it … which took some doing to get that pepper smell out, finally used bleach … but it only cost $15.
I’m hoping to pick up 3 or 4 more over the summer if I can get back up there. Someone mentioned Plant City which is east Hillsborough county. I may just take a drive out there to see if I can locate something similar.
But a feed store would be the place to start asking that kind of question.
Hi, just a heads up. I was just in Publix grocery store the other day … not where I normally shop … and a couple of good prep items caught my eye.
1. They had some Campbell Soups that I hadn’t seen before, one of them being Pepper Jack Cheese soup that I will be getting some more cans of.
2. Shelf-steable cheese in small packages. Real cheese. They had it on an end cap along with several gourmet/specialty items.
3. Their chorizo sausage was roughly the same price as at local wallyworlds. Plus they had some that were bigger as well. I’ll be picking up several packages.
Also, if you are in the Tampa area, don’t forget Cacciatore Brothers and Alessi for finding some “gourmet” type things for your preps. I was disappointed to see that Publix was only carrying garbanzo bean soup (aka Spanish bean soup) seasonally now. I’m going to have to track across town and pick up several cans … if not cases … as I would hate for my husband not to have a taste of his past. And Spanish bean soup is one of the things that I have a hard time making … my potatoes just never come out right.
I’ve also put aside some guava and papaya to make turnovers with. It will be a nice little non-traditional addition.
Wish I could find a good recipe for Cuban bread that you could make in a bread maker. Any one know of one? Bet that goes back to a cottage industry if we have a worst-case CFR.
I have a good recipe for ciabatta bread for a bread maker, but not Cuban. I’m going to try to bake it in a solar oven sometime in July. Sounds odd, “sometime in July” but I’m finishing a weekend class for my teachers cert and should be working on my final project for tomorrow. If she would just let me turn in a comprehensive Bird Flu Plan instead of a hypothetical lesson plan I’d be set, and much more interested.
This week I take my last class, 40 hours, then hop in a car to drive overnight to D.C. for a teachers Holocaust conference that starts next Sunday. I was going to take a train to visit my brother in Montreal. He’s there for the summer shooting a “remake” of Journey to the Center of the Earth and has a place I can stay for free. I’m worried about crossing the border though, with all that’s happening. Prince Edward Island is testing to see if they have their first bird flu case in a gosling. I may just save the money, come home, and buy more stuff. Hate to miss the chance of a lifetime, but I’d also like to ensure I have a “lifetime”. Let me know if you want Ciabatta bread recipe.
Can a girl buy a decent bread maker at Walmart, if not then where? I’ve never made bread before but think I need to get ready to start. Do you buy packages of bread mix to make it, or do yopu just follow recipes and use ingredients you have at home?
Kathy, I haven’t been to either Cacciatore Brothers or Alessi. I thought Alessi was just a bakery? What types of stuff do they carry? I’m on the NW side of Tampa and I think these might be on my side of town.
PColaPrepper, I just purchased one at Wal-Mart a few months back (Sunbeam Model 5891) works great and wasn’t too expensive. The only thing that I found with mine, is you really need the specific yeast for bread machnines. I tried just using the normal yeast in a package, and my bread didn’t rise. It’s really easy to make and your home will smell wonderful while the bread is baking!
birdie74 – at 19:55
Cacciatore Brothers has all sorts of stuff … fresh to canned. Very-small-grocery-store-in-the-Spanish-neighborhood kind of thing. I go to the one that looks like a little hole in the wall off of MLK Jr. Blvd, not too farm from St. Joe’s and Women’s hospitals. Its on the north side of the road. I couldn’t afford to do all my shopping there, but I get alot of my special/traditional items there. Their meat is out of this world and they have a lot of canned items that I can’t find anywhere else. They also have a lot of the traditional Spanish candies that you usually only find seasonally in other stores around town.
Alessi is primarily a bakery but they used to have a grocery as well. I’ll have to ask my husband if they still do. Maybe not. I know they have a couple of Alessi restaurants now … one is on Dale Mabry on the north end and sits back in the corner of a strip mall.
PColaPrepper, breadmakers area cheap now. You can use them just for a dough setting and then bake the bread in your own oven (electric or solar). That’s what I use it for the most since my favorite bread is flat. I don’t use the mixes, they taste weird to me…must be the preservatives. Flour, salt, yeast (cheap at Sams), baking soda, tiny bit of warm water and you’re set. Baking bread is easy, but time consuming. A loaf from ingredients to the table is about 3 hours in a regular oven. Add time for a solar. I have a bunch of ingredients because I figure I’ll be fine if I have a Coke and some bread. The world can be going to hell, but if I have those two comfort items I’m much happier. I know many others who feel the same and thought I might be able to sell or trade bread for some things I don’t have if it really gets bad.
Forgot, yes, you can get them at Walmart.
Hey everyone,
The 55 gallon drums were from T & R Drum Company at 3910 US Highway 92 in Plant City. The phone number is (813) 754–5722. This is where I got my drums from a couple of months ago and they were only $15 each and they are brand new.
Hope this helps anyone who might be looking for some.
Orlandopreppie – at 20:09
“I know many others who feel the same and thought I might be able to sell or trade bread for some things I don’t have if it really gets bad.”
I’m thinking the same thing that learning to bake bread would be a good way to make a living if we couldn’t work on computers or from telephones. I saw a documentary on New Zealand and their are a couple islands at the very top of the North Island and they were interviewing a man who moved their from Germany. He made his living by baking bread and selling it at the Saturday market on this island. Not a bad way to live and atleast you wouldn’t starve.
Welding is also on my list of things to learn if I can talk my neighbor into teaching me.
“I know many others who feel the same and thought I might be able to sell or trade bread for some things I don’t have if it really gets bad.”
In early 1918, my grandfather enlisted in the Army. He left his business in the hands of his partner, who promised to send grandpa’s share of the earnings to his new bride. Soon after grandpa was shipped out, grandma discovered she was pregnant, and informed her husband by letter. He, in turn, called on his 16 year old brother to move into their home and look after his wife. Then the pandemic broke out. Grandpa was a medic in the Argonne, where he treated men with the flu, gas victims, and the war wounded (for the USMC’s amongst us, he also patched up his cousin, a gunny by the name of Dan Daly, after the battle of Blanc Mont). Back home, his business partner sold off the business and disappeared with all the money. Grandpa’s brother was drafted to drive a cart through the streets of NYC, pick up bodies, and deliver them to mass grave sites - where he became gravely ill with Typhus.
Grandma had no income, she had to look after the brother in law who was supposed to be looking after her, and she was at very high risk because of her pregnancy - but she was resourceful. She came from a family of bakers. Every night she would stay up baking bread, pastry, and pies, and deliver them around the same time the milkman was making his rounds in the morning. She did not catch the flu. Grandpa was shipped out when the war ended in November and he delivered his son at home, the day after Christmas, 1918. They all lived long and happy lives.
So, definitely… stock up on flour and baking essentials. It worked once, it could work again. :)
KATHY,
Don’t even bother making cuban bread in a bread maker. It just isn’t edible. I’ve tried all the box mixes and even the from scratch recipes (making the dough rise in the breadmaker), its a waste of ingredients.
I’ve come across a basic bread recipe that is super simple to make. The loaf bread is yummy with minimal fuss. I am now in search of a pyrex container in the shape of a baguette loaf so I can use it to make cuban bread.
my recipe is at: http://tinyurl.com/ltgvx
happy baking!!
Another great place to find a breadmaker is at a Thrift store; Salvation Army or Goodwill. Many peopel receive these appliances as gifts and they quickly find that they are time consuming and a bit large for the countertop. I checked the Salvation Army on 66th St. in St. Petersburg and they had 3 of them. 1 was pretty big too!
flourbug, I LOVED that story. Did I mention I teach history? If you don’t mind I’m going to print it and use it in my classes. It was wonderful. Have any more?
Orlandopreppie – at 23:34,
Have at it. I have generations more… my ancestors all kissed the blarney stone on the way out of ireland. ;) Btw, the 16 yr old uncle turned bald as Lex Luthor from typhus.
KathyinFL - I meant to tell you, real Pan Cubano is made from a special starter. There are lots of recipes around using a do-it-yourself starter, but the taste won’t be the same. You need to beg, borrow, or steal the real thing from a bakery.
As for breadmakers - zojirushi makes the best but ouchy wayyyy more expensive than other brands. All of them do an acceptable job. Try garage sales… breadmakers are like exercise bikes - very easy to use but for some reason they gather dust and the owner sells them off in perfect condition.
Use the special breadmaker yeast. Its regular fast acting yeast coated with a thin film to help it work better in machines.
Definitely learn how to make your own bread from scratch. Breadmakers do an excellent job of kneading dough. Many home cooks make their bread from scratch and use the machine just for the muscle work, then use the dough for all sorts of things - like focaccia, pretzels, rolls, cinnamon buns, breadsticks, artisanal loaves, etc.
Happy fathers day Guys:
flourbug – at 22:00 I’m retired USMC as a Gunny and I would love to here more of this bit of your families history. I believe the Marine Corps would also like to here this too. I will forward it to the Historian of the Marine Corps if you give permission.
Some one wanted info about sewers - You need a back stop valve installed by a plumber. It is a basic one way valve. If sewage backs up due to lack of down stream distribution then you will have it coming back up; even if you did not flush. So think about getting a back flush valve installed if you are on city water and sewage.
I found a food item that you may find interesting it has a 18 month self life, in resuable packages, dehydraded precooked beef or buffello Jerky; it comes from Idaho. If you are like me and need meat in your meals it is something to think about. I can get single package or cases loads, shipping is free they tell me. Let me know if you are interested. This will be a long term item.
hi everyone:
i’m from fort myers beach and have been prep’ing for quite awhile
Welcome kathie-fla-fmb! I’m on the NW side of Tampa.
Hi kathie-fla-fmb and welcome
I am in Brandon east of Tampa.
RICHARD FL, buffalo is very good. I had it in South Dakota. Its much leaner than beef and has a slightly different flavor. I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to tell buffalo jerky from beef jerky.
The meeting of the Dalys is not a big story and I am sure your Marine Historian knows FAR more than I do. My grandfather was a medic, Dan Daly was injured, and somehow their paths crossed. Dan Daly was much older than my grandfather and that was the first time they met. My father says, after he retired they saw him occasionally at family functions, but dad doesn’t have any real memories of the man. He died when my dad was 10 years old. Back then Irish American families had a lot of children, and it was “one for God, one for Country, one for Family”. Someone once joked that our family reunions look like a military invasion of the Vatican.
Good morning to everyone and to flourbug – at 21:55 Please don’t ever say that knowledge of past events is not needed. There is alot of things that have been forgotten that happened in Vietnam and that ended only 35 years ago.
Your info may be second hand but it’s still information. Dan Daly is the real “John Wayne” of the Marine Corps serving in the Corps for most of his life. He earned more medals for being a hero then most veterans in a local 4th of July parade have total. He is only the second man to have been presented with (2) CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR; for two events in two different wars.
PS: The other was the Younger brother of LtCol Custer and he died at the little big horn with the 7th Calvery 2 July 1876.
Last week I read in a trade magazine called -nations restaurants, where Ted Koppel (of Nightline show)spoke to the national restaurant association and informed them to not worry about problems with chickens, but to expect that “your restaurants will be closed”(in pandemic) and he asked “How many here have at least one to two months of food and supplies at home?” Also I spoke with a local policman here in south east Florida over the weekend and asked what his department was doing for bird flu planning…….he stated that they have stocked masks for everyone and have one person doing plans, but otherwise nothing else!
RCHARD FL – at 11:56 Good morning to everyone and to flourbug – at 21:55 Please don’t ever say that knowledge of past events is not needed.
Richard, I wasn’t implying that at all! :) It’s just that the Daly family is very large, and the chance meeting of two distant cousins is not unusual. I bump into relatives all the time. A few years ago my brother saw a man fall into the Sea of Galilee and he ran over to help him up. It turned out to be our father. Both of them were just hacking around Europe over the summer, and ended up in the same place.
Btw, if anyone near Tampa needs a good veterinary surgeon I heartily recommend Dr. Michael Reems of Florida Veterinary Specialists. My regular vet sent me there when our dog broke his toes. He thought we’d need pins in each bone - something that costs $2000–2500 for the operation. Dr. Reems said the surgery wasn’t necessary, in fact it would be better to treat the breaks with a cast. Saved our beloved Casey needless surgery and saved our family thousands of dollars. Not only is Dr Reems a really nice guy, FVS gives their patients 5 star treatment all the way.
Hi everyone; Today the Nationsl Institute of Medicine in Wash DC came out and gave test results about masks: These were the questions thye were acked to look in to:
“If it does (BF) strick, millions undoubtedly will turn to masks, raising a dilemma for the prestigious scientific organization: There’s little evidence about whether masks truly block the influenza virus — and if they can, just how much protection they offer….The masks are supposed to be used once and discarded. Anticipating a staggering demand if the bird flu or some other super-strain of influenza sparks a pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services asked if such masks could be reused, to conserve supplies…. The bigger question is one the government didn’t ask: If different masks really block influenza, the IOM panel noted, calling for urgent study of that issue.
Ok so what does it mean to us the public
a> Flu can spread three ways:
1) By hand. Someone sneezes into his hand and then grabs a doorknob that you touch, or shakes your hand.
2) By large droplets of virus, if someone is in the direct path of a sneeze or cough. Those heavy droplets fall quickly to the ground.
3) By tiny particles, which can stay suspended in the air for far longer periods. No one knows which of those methods is most important.
Now for the punch line
“But, the IOM said, “surgical masks aren’t designed to block tiny airborne particles, just larger ones. Thus, they probably would be of most use when worn by infected patients, to help cover coughs and sneezes.”
So the masks including N95/100 can be used and may stop large drops but can only be used ONCE! It will NOT STOP small particles at all so beware!!! and may not stop BF at all!!
The WHO has come out with it’s Draft plan to handle BF.. It’s a bunch of BS if we follow these rules-no one can go any where after the first cases hits Florida. So if you have a hide away outside Florida you had better be there before the BF hits the USA.
Thats it for todays news.
Time to start buying the Over the Counter Meds that have a short life span.
Just finished reviewing C___ County emergency plan for BF pandemic: That is all they have a plan. They expect the state to handle everything. But here is some hi-lights for us all to consider:
Florida state can expect to receive approximately 120,000 doses of Tamiflu, Florida must prepare to treat 3.4 to 6.8 million cases.
(LETS SEE 120.000/6,000,000 = 0.02 percent will get Tamiflu.)
Prioritization includes the medically high risk including HIV, the elderly and high risk children. (OF course the ones who already have access to medical treatment.)
Self-isolation may be one of the few disease control strategies available. This will include Hospital isolation. (NO NEW CASES)
Citizens can expect travel restrictions, but these recommendation are of limited value. (NO MOVEMENT OVER THE STATE LINE)
Cancellation of public gatherings to be considered. (GOODBY DISNEYWORLD)
Extensive public education, social marketing and work with social institutions to reinforce prevention messages and gain public cooperation. Information management systems are in place to manage public information, communications logistics support and risk communication. (PROPRAGANDA MACHINE ALIVE AND WELL)
SO ONCE AGAIN YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN (BELIEVE AND BEWARE)
Can someone maybey close this thread and start a new Florida one because of the length of this one? So glad to see so many Florida preppers on board and check this thread most every day.
bump
Closed for length. The conversation continues here.