Well my first month here did not turn out quite like I hoped. The house we rented was not ready when we got here like it was supposed to be. It was a filthy mess but I have to give the owner credit. When he found out that the guys he hired to clean it didn't do it he gave us our first month's rent free plus knocked off a $100 a month on our rent there after. Thanks to hubby's family I got plenty of help the clean the house before any of our stuff was moved in.
The second week I came down with a bad cold. I have not had one that bad since last winter. By the middle of the third week I was finally getting over my cold only to step into a fire ant hill and received about 40 bites from the ants. With in two days my legs were covered in little pus filled blisters and my cold was back with a vengeance. I was sicker this time then the week before. For 3 days straight I spent more time in bed then out of bed. My family was lucky if they got one cooked meal out of me a day and that I did the dishes.
It seems my cold must have finally broke some time during the night because this morning I woke up with a little bit of energy and got the boys up and made them work outside with me most of the day. Of course they wish I was still sick because I worked them hard. LOL
The people who lived here before us left 3 big junk piles and we have been slowly clearing them out. Today we tackled the worst one. It was piled high with rotted wood, broken glass, rusted tools, bits and pieces of metal and bricks. Bricks on top of bricks. We pulled out all the rotted wood and burned it. The broken glass and metal went into the trash, the tools were set aside to see if they can be cleaned up and used and the bricks were sorted out whole bricks from bits and pieces of bricks. After we got the pile all cleaned out and every thing sorted we found that we had enough bricks to make a second rocket stove so we did that.
It was a beautiful day out, not too hot and not to chilly so I decided to cook outside on the two rocket stoves. Hubby and son did not believe I could get fires going in them hot enough to deep fry chicken and home made french fries but Eric, my son's friend was game to give it a try and after we got the fires burning good he cooked the chicken while I did the french fries. Hubby and son marveled at the fact that we actually deep fried on the rocket stoves and they dug in with gusto and enjoyed the food. Those silly men when are they ever going to learn to tell me that I can't do something? They should know by now when I set my mind to something I do it come hell or high water. LOL
Oh and I almost forgot to tell you. Even though I was sick yesterday hubby and his cousin decided I needed to get my first shooting lesson. First lesson was how to load and unload a 22 handgun. Then they had me shoot at a tree that was as big around as a normal size man. I did pretty good on that. I made 5 out of 6 shots with the one about dead center of a person's head, two were and inch apart in the heart area and the other two were about an inch apart on the arm area. Then they had me shoot at a pop can.on a stick. I missed 9 out of 10 shots. Pete decided then to have me try his 45. I was worried about the kick back but there was very little, as for the bullet who knows where it went. LOL After that they tried me with the 22 rifle. Sorry to say that is not going to work. I could not see through the scope so I could not hit a thing.
Oh well at least I now know how to load and unload the handgun and I know I can hit something the size of a normal size man so I could defend myself it I have to. In the mean time I will keep practicing until I can hit that dang can every time. :) I want to make Annie Okaley proud of me. :)
Prepping Granny
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It's time to make good first aid kits; a large one for the house and smaller ones in each bug out bag and car.
When SHTF doctors, nurses, and other medical personal may be hard to find unless you have one in your family. A good first aid kit and first aid classes will help you handle most medical problems. The Red Cross has a very good first aid book that everyone should have on hand. I have four copies of it myself. There's one in the house, one in my bug out bag, and one in each car. There are a lot of good lists on the net that provide detailed lists of what you should have in your first aid kit. Since I'm not an expert I won't try to give you a list but will tell you that fanny packs work great for a small first aid kit and the big lure boxes that fishermen use are wonderful for a large first aid kit. Some injuries like cuts and scratches will require basic first aid but what about sprains, broken legs and more severe injuries? It doesn't hurt to have medical equipment on hand that can be used when someone can't get around on their own. Crutches, adult potty chairs, wheel chairs, and other medical equipment that can be bought fairly cheap at yard sales and thrift stores are a good investment in prepping for your families needs in the future. I have two pairs of crutches stored, one set for adults and one set for children. I also have an adult bedside potty chair, an adult walker, adult diapers, bed mats, urinals, and braces for arms, hands, and feet. It may sound like overkill to have all this stored but when SHTF and someone gets hurt bad enough to need any of this I'll be glad I have it. Prepping Granny This week my brother got stung on his back while working outside. When I was over there he showed it to me and my first reaction was to tell him he needed a doctor which he promptly nixed. Do you think we may be related?
I obviously didn't have an herb garden in my back pocket so I went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled out the baking soda. I made a paste with water and the baking soda and applied it to his back then covered it to keep it from getting on everything. I gave him some extra paste and told him to reapply it as needed. When I got home I went to the garden and cut some fresh comfrey leaves and parsley. I washed them and while they were wet I put them in the food processor. I ground them fine until the juices started to come out of the leaves. I added a little water just to make them grind easier. Comfrey is pretty sticky. I use a dedicated food processor for medicinal herbs and another for culinary herbs. Comfrey should not be taken internally and never when pregnant. I'm fairly sure my brother isn't pregnant but I now realize I neglected to ask him. The mixture then went in a small sauce pot on the stove and heated a bit but not enough to start cooking it. It doesn't need to boil. It can be used warm right out of the pot. I packed the herbs and juice in two half pint jars and let them cool. Today I took the herbs to him and applied them to the bites in a poultice. I covered with gauze and taped it over to hold it in place. Then I left him the rest of the jar In the refrigerator and told him as the poultice dries to replace it with a fresh one a couple times a day. Its been since this morning and he says the heat has already left the bites and the swelling seems to be going down. I will go by after work and check since he can't reach the place on his back. Now the second jar is for my husband. He hurt his finger this week and has some swelling in it. I made a much smaller version of the poultice and applied it with gauze and bandages. He says the swelling around the nail bed of his finger is going down. So why did I use comfrey? Well, it's a good herb for healing wounds and helps speed the repair of injured tissue. The parsley is to prevent infection, disburse the poisons and reduce swelling and pain. Both comfrey and parsley are easy to grow in a home garden. Here in the south they grow as perennials. I don't know about other areas but I have heard that once you plant comfrey you can't get rid of it. Mine grows in a place of honor right smack in the middle of the garden. I believe that no proper garden should be without it. It has many, many healing properties, including hastening the healing of broken bones. Aside from that it also draws bees to the garden and makes a wonderful fertilizer "tea". I have read that it is hard to grow from seed but I had no problem. That little packet of seeds that I was gifted with had exactly 8 little seeds in it and was one of the best gifts I have ever received. (Thank you again you big galoot!) Every seed I planted grew and flourished. My comfrey plants were at least four and a half feet tall this year. I have harvested seeds and many leaves which I dried for later use in soaps, salves and other ways. I consider it one of the top 10 plants that should be grown in a survival medicinal herb garden. Southern Wood Elf You can have all the food, guns and ammo in the world but if you don't have water you're not going to make it. Water is more important to a body than food.
If you're one of the lucky ones that has a well, stream or pond on your land then you should be all right but will need a hand pump to get water out of the well. If you'll be depending on a stream or pond then you need a good water filtration system. Something like the Berkey water filtration system; a Brita isn't the right tool for the job. If you have city water and no access to nearby fresh water then you need to store water. The best vessel for long term water storage is 2 liter soda bottles. Make sure to wash them well first with soap and water then rinse, fill with water, and add a couple of drops of bleach. Let sit a couple of minutes, empty, rinse and refill. Cap and store in a cool dark place. Don't use plastic milk jug type containers because they degrade over time and will leak. You can buy bottled water to stock but I would stick to two liter soda bottles as they're less expensive. You should store at least one gallon of water for each person in your household per day. I prefer to store two gallons per person. You should have enough to last at least 3 months but if you want to play it on the safe side have 6 months of water stored. Another good way to have water is to rain barrels set up to catch rainfall. There are several systems that you can buy or you can check out all the videos on You Tube that show how people make their own rain catching system. A pool is another good source for water. Remember that any water from a pool or rain collecting system should be run through a quality filtration system before use for cooking or drinking. A nice way to get liquid for cooking is to use what's in canned fruits and vegetables. The liquid can be used to make quick breads, biscuits, pancakes, soups, a pot of beans and more. The water from canned fruits makes good quick breads and cakes. Storing water is one of the cheapest preps any one can do. There is little to no cost in it and you should gain a bit of peace of mind. Prepping Granny Sometimes when people first start to prep they go hog wild and buy a bunch of freeze dried or dehydrated foods in 10 pound cans not knowing if they will even like the food. Or they will just start stocking up on any food items that are cheap. But what happens if those foods aren't well received by the family? What do you do then? Sure the old adage "when a person is hungry enough they will eat anything" holds true but do you want to listen to all the moaning and groaning when that happens? I sure don't.
The best way to stock up is to buy what your family will eat rather than foods they might not like. Once you get a three month supply stored, start rotating it. Use some of it in your regular meals and replace that week when you buy groceries again. Now to start stocking up. Whatever your food budget is, try to set aside $2 to $10 a week for buying extra items. Buy a case of canned meat, vegetables or fruit, sugar, flour, rice, dried beans, noodles, oats and so on. Try to stick to wholesome foods. The snacks can wait until you're well stocked on staples. Once you have a good supply that will last for three, six, nine months or more, you can add the snacks but go for things that will last like old fashioned popcorn, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, nuts, hard candies, and granola. Stay away from potato chips and store bought snack cakes as they offer little to no nutrition and will most likely be out of date when you need them unless you regularly rotate them. Also, soda has no nutrition and goes flat quickly so choose things like coffee, tea, and packaged mixes for drinks. Don't forget seeds as they can be sprouted and used as greens in salad. You can also use them to plant a garden after SHTF and have another source of food when there are no more grocery stores around. Learn the types of weeds and plants in your yard, local parks, and woods. Many wild and cultured plants are edible and will be another food source. If you don'r know how to fish and hunt now is the time to learn. You want to know all the ways you can still find food after SHTF or you'll be in a world of hurt when your stockpile runs out. Remember, a true prepper not only stockpiles what they like now but also for a completely new way of life. They prep for a way of life much like the pioneers did when they crossed this great country in search of a new life. There were no corner stores, no electricity, gas, or city water. They lived off the land and what God provided for them in nature. Prepping Granny I'm a list maker and a journal keeper. It helps me to stay focused on my goals to write them down and make a plan about how I want to reach those goals. Whenever beginning any project, even prepping, it helps to know why you are doing it, what the goals are, how you plan to accomplish those goals and also to keep a record of what you actually did as you worked towards your goals. Even failures along the way are helpful if you learn from them.
If you're a beginning prepper, now is the time to sit down and decide what you want to do. Start a fresh notebook or computer spreadsheet and write out your goals and what you want to accomplish. Don't make all your goals long term or too cut and dry. It won't benefit you NOW to only write down that you want to have a years or two years supply of food. Be more specific and set short term goals as well that you can check off as you attain them. So, you may write down that you want two years worth of supplies but you also need to write down that you want to start with a weeks worth of food, then a months worth and so on. You might want to make lists of what that years supply includes. You can list just the basics for a few months and then add some other things to make the basics into a more rounded diet. Don't stop with just the list of what you want to buy. Make goals and lists of skills you need to learn and practice, changes in your home you need to make (like water barrels or a garden or black out curtains) and also changes in lifestyle that you may need to plan for such as a complete power outage. What will you do if that happens and how prepared for that are you now? How prepared do you need to be? Those are all things to plan for and aim for as you begin to prep. For those who are old time Preppers, goals and plans never really stop. There is always something else to plan for or learn. A long term goal may be to increase the supplies that you already have. A short term goal might be to work on this years garden to improve it for next year or ready it for fall. The long time Prepper also needs to stop occasionally and take stock of what has been accomplished and where the holes are in his or her preps. Its surprising sometimes to realize that a few months have gone by and nothing has been accomplished due to life getting in the way or prepper fatigue. Having goals and evaluating them helps with that stagnation as well and keeps a prepper prepping. Southern Wood Elf Are you prepared for when the lights go out? How many hours or days can you go with out lights? What if the electric is out for a week, a month, 3 months even. Do you have enough resources on hand to have light to see by, work by or even read by?
Are you well stocked with candles, oil lamps, flashights and batteries? What about matches to light the candles and oil lamps with? What about lamp oil? How many batteries do you have for each flashlight? And if your supplies run out before the power comes back on what are you going to do? Chances are good that you are not going to able to run to the local store and get more because they will either be closed or if by any luck they are still open but their supplies will be limited if they do have any at all. I would recommend that you learn all you can about the candles you buy. Light one and see how many hours of burn time you get out of it. The same goes for oil lamps. Fill one up with lamp oil then light it and let it burn it self out of oil to see just how long a full lamp will burn. Then take the number of hours you will need to have light and figure out how much oil or candles you will need to last at least 3 months without power. Then take the number of rooms you will need to have lights for and figure out how many candles and or oil lamps and lamp oil you will need to store to get you through at least 3 months of no lights. Learn to make your own candles too. No candle burns all of its wax, Save the bits and pieces to melt down in a metal can, take a mold (it can be anything that will hold hot wax such as a canning jar, clean tuna fish can or other clean can), put a new wick in and then pour in the hot wax. Set cool completely and then leave it in the mold or take it out and set it in a candle holder. Learn how to make rush lights. They can be made cheaply from gathering rush in Mother Nature and dipping them into grease. One of the biggest lessons to learn from Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy was that it took quite some time for FEMA to get in and help every one that needed help. We are not talking a couple of days. For some it took weeks and even longer before all the power to those areas was fully restored. Don't get caught like the people who went through Katrina and Sandy waiting for FEMA to show up. Look at all the chaos that went on, all the looting, the sickness because people had to hunker down in one area where there was no sanitation. Don't get caught with your pants down. Prep for you and your loved ones. Prep so you all have a way to survive as long as possible. Prepping will give you an edge that most people will not have. You and your loved ones will be able to survive and thrive while others suffer because they were not prepared. Prepping Granny What do you think when you hear the word Prepper? Do you go "Oh thats just some nut case who is worried about the end of the world"? Well if that is so you could not be further from the truth. A true prepper preps for many reasons not just for the end of the world.
They prep for many reasons. Sure we prep because we fear another world war or complete economic collapse of the financial world. But we also prep for whatever life and Mother Nature decide to throw at us. Take a look at what happened to the people who were not prepared when Hurricane Katrina hit. Look at what happened when Sandy hit. Look at what is happening now with the all the wildfires, droughts and floods that have been going on. What about long term job losses? What do you do when you suddenely lose your job and the job market is really bad like it is now or Heaven forbid like it was during the Great Depression? How will you pay your bills, feed your family and pay for medical care? Yes you will be able to get unemployment for awhile but that will eventually run out. Oh and yes there is welfare but even that will run out sooner or later as less and less people are working to pay the taxes to support the welfare system. What good will it do to depend on the government when even they will run out of money once they can no longer borrow from China and other places. And when there is no longer enough people in America working to pay taxes that keep the governemnt and all its programs running. We are already at that point. Truthfully we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop on that. What about severe health problems that suddenly take you out of the workforce. How will you survive then? It will take at least 6 months to get Social Security Disablity going if not longer. Some people have had to wait 3 years to get their disability. Preppers are prepared to survive most of what I mentioned above. We keep a decent supply of food on hand to last us a few months. We keep a little cash on hand in case the banks shut down. We learn to live simply and with out most of all the high tec gizmos the rest of the world has. We have learned to make do. use it up, wear it out and recycle it into something else. In other words, we have learned to go back to the ways of our pioneer ancestors and practice the way of life they and our family members lived durning the Great Depression and through both World Wars. So next time you hear the word prepper before thinking "Oh another nut case" think instead of all the reasons I listed of why people prep. It just might open your eyes to the true nature of most preppers. Prepping Granny |