Well, first of all, I finally got around to redoing my 72 hour kits. I have them packed in milk jugs that I cut (an idea from Foodstoragemadeeasey.com). On the outside is a list of what to eat each day. Here's my menu for three days:
Day one: Breakfast: Oatmeal (in a zip lock, one serving, rolled up)
Tang (one serving in a zip lock)
Lunch: Vienna Sausage
1/3 of a survival bar which is about 1/12 of a batch
Dinner: Survival Bread (1 square) with beef bouillon cube
Sunflower seeds
Snack: 3 pieces of gum & candy
Day two: Breakfast: Hot Cocoa
Survival Bread (1 square) with bouillon cube
Lunch: Thai noodles
Raisins
Dinner: Chili
1/3 of a survival bar
Snacks: 3 pieces of gum and Candy
Day three: Breakfast: Tang
Oatmeal
Lunch: Thai noodles
Survival Bread (1 square) with bouillon cube
Dinner: Hot cocoa
1/3 of a survival bar
survival bread (1 square) with bouillon cube
Snack: 4 pieces of gum & candy
As noted, I broke up what I could into single serving sizes and put them in zip closure bags. Shake it down, evenly, then roll tightly. I suppose I probably (hindsight being 20/20) also taped them so they stayed rolled tightly. So, the Tang, oatmeal are done that way. The Thai noodles is a bag, but I also put that in a zip bag just in case. I put all the Jolly Ranchers into one bag, so I have 7 bags to use if I need to, like for collecting rain water, getting water to filter and drink, etc. And as I write this, I'm regretting not throwing a tampon in each kit. A tampon can be used to drink water through, if you get the kind with a plastic applicator and not a cardboard one. They're also good for gun shot wounds. I think we'd have to be desperate for my 13 year old son to drink through a tampon, but oh well.
I also moved 2 cases of water into our bathroom, which is basically the safest place in our house.
I seem to have a strange sense of peace....sort of a feeling that I've done all I can do. Now I feel the big in draw of breath before the explosion. Either that, or I feel things will get better after the election. I don't think I can ever go back to not preparing. If nothing else, it helps with a job loss.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Tips for making your home a shelter
I've been thinking about this for a while. I did a web search, and didn't really come up with anything, so I thought I'd just think through it on paper and see what I come up with.
The first thing, I suppose is to think of scenarios where you would shelter in, or perhaps SHTF faster than you expected and there's no time to bug out.
If we had to bug out, and had time, we know what to do. We have individual bug out bags for each member of the family, and a family one that holds cooking supplies, pet supplies, etc. We also have a plan on where to meet if the house is not safe. Time allowing, we also have camping supplies all in the same place in case we have time to grab it. I have our bug out bags in just back packs, but we have frame packs for each member of the family, too. We have a cat and a dog, so I know where the leash is, and a carrier for the cat. They're family members, too, and I won't leave them behind.
But what if it comes on so suddenly that we don't have time to leave? What can I do to make my home safer?
The first scenario I could think of in my neighborhood is rioting because EBT cards crashed. I live in a fairly bad neighborhood. I just got new windows that are double paned. They're supposed to handle a thrown brick. Also, supposedly, the first one would break and the second would remain intact. We do need a new door, I don't know just how sturdy it is. We have a chain on the screen door, which would slow someone down long enough for me to get armed. We don't have a lot of contact with our neighbors, so no one knows we're prepping. It won't be a case of no one can get food, let's go to that house because we know they have lots. We have extra doors (mostly in the attic space above the garage for storage floors) that we can put over the windows in case they do get broken. We have lots of brackets and hardware that we could improvise a barred door for the front. We have an old fashioned lock on the garage door, that would mean they would actually have to break in the door.
Which brings me to my store of food. If we can't get out to get to a store, or the stores run out of food, we have about 3 months worth of planned meals, and then it's whatever is left. I mean, I can survive on a number 10 can of green beans for lunch if I had to. If it's just rioting, there may still be power, so cooking wouldn't be a problem.
And having a store of food leads into the next scenario. Economic collapse or hyper inflation. If prices just sky rocketed, and we had to make a choice between buying groceries or paying our bills, we could eat. If it's a case of a slow rise, banks will be foreclosing on non-payment of loans, vehicles will be repossessed for non-payment, etc. So we need to make sure those payments are made. If we lose things like EBT, SSI, Social Security, etc., there will be a lot of people affected. I've got a budget page in my budget book on just that scenario. Right now we have my husband's income, my oldest son's SSI (due to be permanently disabled) and my husband's military retirement. I've worked up a budget relying solely on a 40 hour check. If it's a sudden and total collapse, I don't think they can come for every one's stuff. I know in my head that the closer you are to being debt free, the better. But I'm not going to lie, I have debt. We are underwater on our mortgage and are making 2 car payments, and have about $3,000 on a credit card that' been riding from leaner times. That's my first goal, pay off the credit card.
If I were preparing for a natural disaster, I guess I'm as ready as possible. In Texas, the most likely natural disaster would be a tornado. We don't have basements in this part of Texas, so they safest room in our house is the main bathroom. Luckily it has a storage cabinet as well as the cabinet under the sink. I put a small chest of drawers in there (it's a large bathroom) for towels and sheets, so the storage now holds our 72 hour kits. I need to go through them and replace everything as some items just went past the expiration date. I used a milk jug as the holder for everything. So I have the 4 milk jugs, a couple survival books and the cooking gear in there plus pet food. I suppose I need to keep a couple cases of water in there as well. Something to do today.
More on the milk jugs: I cut through the middle of the opening, then down below the handle on both sides, leaving it attached. So you pull it apart by the handle to have access to the inside. Then you pack your food, drink mix, etc into it and tape it back shut. It's partly held shut by putting the cap back on, but the tape seals it. I also taped an inventory and sample menu on the outside. Me and my sons are celiac disease, so we have a special diet. I put the names on the outside only for that reason. My husband has different food in his.
Another scenario would be an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse). This could be naturally occurring, from the sun, or from a nuclear explosion. I live in a metro area, heavily populated. We'd be screwed. My older son stays home with me, but my younger son goes to school and my husband goes to work. Getting back together would be difficult, but doable. We have a plan that says my husband swings by and gets my son out of school and heads home. If it's a naturally occurring EMP, I hear it's not strong enough to knock everything out for a long period of time. BUT, if it's strong enough to knock out a power station, we supposedly don't have the big transformers on stock to replace everything in the country. There would be parts out for a long time. This would put us back to before the industrial revolution. No phones, no running water, no electricity or natural gas. That means no communication, and no utilities. Of course it would mean I would stop paying my utility bills, because if they're off, why pay for them? But it also means people can't use their debit/credit/EBT cards to buy food. I would LOVE to have a treadle sewing machine that worked for this scenario, but the cheapest I've seen was out of my price range. I would have to mend by hand.
An EMP would be a drastic change in lifestyle. Think primitive camping for an extended period. I found this article on EMPs. It states that most things that have electronics will be damaged. I suppose if you had replacement parts, it would be fixable, but that doesn't help the power grid. I have a couple dutch ovens, and could dig a fire pit outside. I have a fire place, but it's gas and we were told if we wanted to convert it back to wood burning, the chimney needs work. The last thing I need is to burn my house down trying to cook in the fireplace. I made a rocket stove, but I'm not good at getting the thing started. Might just be my fire making skills. We have a privacy fence around part of our back yard, with chain link around the other part. Ideally, I would like it all to be privacy fence, but my budget won't allow it right now. In Texas, we don't worry about the cold so much as the heat. I don't know how I'd cool my house besides opening the windows.
The problem with the EMT is that all businesses would stop. My husband is a metal fabricator, which uses a lot of electrical equipment. I suppose he would be out of a job. But, it would be on a massive scale, so everyone would be out of a job. In this case, learning primitive skills would be a must. My husband has worked on power plants, and knows engines. We have 2 small generators as well as a moderate sized one. I can sew (even by hand) so I can make quilts. My first quilt was made totally by hand. We have started saving old clothes, either salvaging everything we can off of it before throwing it away, or keeping it for patches, etc. This would be worse than going back to the great depression. I can also knit and crochet. I will have socks even when Walmart runs out of them. Of course, when I raid the Walmart, I'll be looking for yarn.
As a funny aside, we had a tornado threat a while back. I put my son in the bathroom with the pets and my knitting needles. I have a complete set of regular, double points and circular in bamboo. I wasn't going to let a tornado get those.
I also have a binder with emergency patterns, like gloves, socks, hats, basic sweaters and even underwear. I have another one with recipes that are completely shelf stable, using only what I can store without refrigeration.
So, I've covered a crash of the EBT system (which I think is entirely possible if Obama wins the election because he doesn't REALLY care about his base) which would cause riots, an economic collapse, either fast or slow, and an EMT. I left out an outbreak of flu because I think that's a slim chance. Biological warfare maybe, but not bird flu. In my last case, martial law, I wouldn't shelter in, but bug out. If martial law were instituted, they would go house to house and arrest people they considered terrorists, which with this administration is everyone who preps. We'd be on the run with a tent.
The first thing, I suppose is to think of scenarios where you would shelter in, or perhaps SHTF faster than you expected and there's no time to bug out.
If we had to bug out, and had time, we know what to do. We have individual bug out bags for each member of the family, and a family one that holds cooking supplies, pet supplies, etc. We also have a plan on where to meet if the house is not safe. Time allowing, we also have camping supplies all in the same place in case we have time to grab it. I have our bug out bags in just back packs, but we have frame packs for each member of the family, too. We have a cat and a dog, so I know where the leash is, and a carrier for the cat. They're family members, too, and I won't leave them behind.
But what if it comes on so suddenly that we don't have time to leave? What can I do to make my home safer?
The first scenario I could think of in my neighborhood is rioting because EBT cards crashed. I live in a fairly bad neighborhood. I just got new windows that are double paned. They're supposed to handle a thrown brick. Also, supposedly, the first one would break and the second would remain intact. We do need a new door, I don't know just how sturdy it is. We have a chain on the screen door, which would slow someone down long enough for me to get armed. We don't have a lot of contact with our neighbors, so no one knows we're prepping. It won't be a case of no one can get food, let's go to that house because we know they have lots. We have extra doors (mostly in the attic space above the garage for storage floors) that we can put over the windows in case they do get broken. We have lots of brackets and hardware that we could improvise a barred door for the front. We have an old fashioned lock on the garage door, that would mean they would actually have to break in the door.
Which brings me to my store of food. If we can't get out to get to a store, or the stores run out of food, we have about 3 months worth of planned meals, and then it's whatever is left. I mean, I can survive on a number 10 can of green beans for lunch if I had to. If it's just rioting, there may still be power, so cooking wouldn't be a problem.
And having a store of food leads into the next scenario. Economic collapse or hyper inflation. If prices just sky rocketed, and we had to make a choice between buying groceries or paying our bills, we could eat. If it's a case of a slow rise, banks will be foreclosing on non-payment of loans, vehicles will be repossessed for non-payment, etc. So we need to make sure those payments are made. If we lose things like EBT, SSI, Social Security, etc., there will be a lot of people affected. I've got a budget page in my budget book on just that scenario. Right now we have my husband's income, my oldest son's SSI (due to be permanently disabled) and my husband's military retirement. I've worked up a budget relying solely on a 40 hour check. If it's a sudden and total collapse, I don't think they can come for every one's stuff. I know in my head that the closer you are to being debt free, the better. But I'm not going to lie, I have debt. We are underwater on our mortgage and are making 2 car payments, and have about $3,000 on a credit card that' been riding from leaner times. That's my first goal, pay off the credit card.
If I were preparing for a natural disaster, I guess I'm as ready as possible. In Texas, the most likely natural disaster would be a tornado. We don't have basements in this part of Texas, so they safest room in our house is the main bathroom. Luckily it has a storage cabinet as well as the cabinet under the sink. I put a small chest of drawers in there (it's a large bathroom) for towels and sheets, so the storage now holds our 72 hour kits. I need to go through them and replace everything as some items just went past the expiration date. I used a milk jug as the holder for everything. So I have the 4 milk jugs, a couple survival books and the cooking gear in there plus pet food. I suppose I need to keep a couple cases of water in there as well. Something to do today.
More on the milk jugs: I cut through the middle of the opening, then down below the handle on both sides, leaving it attached. So you pull it apart by the handle to have access to the inside. Then you pack your food, drink mix, etc into it and tape it back shut. It's partly held shut by putting the cap back on, but the tape seals it. I also taped an inventory and sample menu on the outside. Me and my sons are celiac disease, so we have a special diet. I put the names on the outside only for that reason. My husband has different food in his.
Another scenario would be an EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse). This could be naturally occurring, from the sun, or from a nuclear explosion. I live in a metro area, heavily populated. We'd be screwed. My older son stays home with me, but my younger son goes to school and my husband goes to work. Getting back together would be difficult, but doable. We have a plan that says my husband swings by and gets my son out of school and heads home. If it's a naturally occurring EMP, I hear it's not strong enough to knock everything out for a long period of time. BUT, if it's strong enough to knock out a power station, we supposedly don't have the big transformers on stock to replace everything in the country. There would be parts out for a long time. This would put us back to before the industrial revolution. No phones, no running water, no electricity or natural gas. That means no communication, and no utilities. Of course it would mean I would stop paying my utility bills, because if they're off, why pay for them? But it also means people can't use their debit/credit/EBT cards to buy food. I would LOVE to have a treadle sewing machine that worked for this scenario, but the cheapest I've seen was out of my price range. I would have to mend by hand.
An EMP would be a drastic change in lifestyle. Think primitive camping for an extended period. I found this article on EMPs. It states that most things that have electronics will be damaged. I suppose if you had replacement parts, it would be fixable, but that doesn't help the power grid. I have a couple dutch ovens, and could dig a fire pit outside. I have a fire place, but it's gas and we were told if we wanted to convert it back to wood burning, the chimney needs work. The last thing I need is to burn my house down trying to cook in the fireplace. I made a rocket stove, but I'm not good at getting the thing started. Might just be my fire making skills. We have a privacy fence around part of our back yard, with chain link around the other part. Ideally, I would like it all to be privacy fence, but my budget won't allow it right now. In Texas, we don't worry about the cold so much as the heat. I don't know how I'd cool my house besides opening the windows.
The problem with the EMT is that all businesses would stop. My husband is a metal fabricator, which uses a lot of electrical equipment. I suppose he would be out of a job. But, it would be on a massive scale, so everyone would be out of a job. In this case, learning primitive skills would be a must. My husband has worked on power plants, and knows engines. We have 2 small generators as well as a moderate sized one. I can sew (even by hand) so I can make quilts. My first quilt was made totally by hand. We have started saving old clothes, either salvaging everything we can off of it before throwing it away, or keeping it for patches, etc. This would be worse than going back to the great depression. I can also knit and crochet. I will have socks even when Walmart runs out of them. Of course, when I raid the Walmart, I'll be looking for yarn.
As a funny aside, we had a tornado threat a while back. I put my son in the bathroom with the pets and my knitting needles. I have a complete set of regular, double points and circular in bamboo. I wasn't going to let a tornado get those.
I also have a binder with emergency patterns, like gloves, socks, hats, basic sweaters and even underwear. I have another one with recipes that are completely shelf stable, using only what I can store without refrigeration.
So, I've covered a crash of the EBT system (which I think is entirely possible if Obama wins the election because he doesn't REALLY care about his base) which would cause riots, an economic collapse, either fast or slow, and an EMT. I left out an outbreak of flu because I think that's a slim chance. Biological warfare maybe, but not bird flu. In my last case, martial law, I wouldn't shelter in, but bug out. If martial law were instituted, they would go house to house and arrest people they considered terrorists, which with this administration is everyone who preps. We'd be on the run with a tent.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Sunday Review Week Four
My heritage/non-GMO seeds came in. I ordered 8 different seeds, and 4 are winter crops. My son and I planted beets, parsnips, radishes and spinach. I put the rest in the fridge with my other seeds.
I went to Half Price Books and bought a book on alternative therapies. It has a section on essential oils as well as things to eat to treat different things.
I used essential oils in an attempt to treat my lymphedema in my arms. It seemed to relieve it a bit. I used a base oil of rose oil, with one drop of cinnamon leaf oil for inflammation and two drops of grapefruit oil for water retention. The next night I added lemon which supposedly helps concentration, but I'm dead dog tired, and turning in a bit early (writing this Saturday night). I don't know if the combination was just too relaxing, or running around and going to the book store and Big Lots was a bit too much. It could be that my body just wants to heal, so I'll listen to it. As an update, I think adding lemon was a bit too much. Tonight I'll just do cinnamon leaf and grapefruit.
My son's lettuce is doing well, though I told him he should thin it out some. He thinks it's wasteful and doesn't want to lose any. He says the radishes are coming up.
I went to Half Price Books and bought a book on alternative therapies. It has a section on essential oils as well as things to eat to treat different things.
I used essential oils in an attempt to treat my lymphedema in my arms. It seemed to relieve it a bit. I used a base oil of rose oil, with one drop of cinnamon leaf oil for inflammation and two drops of grapefruit oil for water retention. The next night I added lemon which supposedly helps concentration, but I'm dead dog tired, and turning in a bit early (writing this Saturday night). I don't know if the combination was just too relaxing, or running around and going to the book store and Big Lots was a bit too much. It could be that my body just wants to heal, so I'll listen to it. As an update, I think adding lemon was a bit too much. Tonight I'll just do cinnamon leaf and grapefruit.
My son's lettuce is doing well, though I told him he should thin it out some. He thinks it's wasteful and doesn't want to lose any. He says the radishes are coming up.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Sunday Review Week Three
I'm starting this early and saving it as a draft. My days are running together, and I want to make sure I put down everything I've done during the week.
First, I made a decision on my family, and whether to save extra food for them or not. I decided that God doesn't prepare us all in the same way. My in-laws have the ability and resources to have a large garden. They have the ability to compost, can, etc. They will survive. My brother in law is doing small things (he has an apartment in a major city) like collecting extra smoothie stuff, so he's taken care of. My family lives a 10 hour drive away, so there's not much I can do for them. If it got really rough, I don't think I'd be able to make it home in time to help.
So, I transferred all the food that I had on a bookcase that I had into the cabinet I moved. Originally I had just a few things in it in an attempt to start putting stuff away for my in-laws. I moved just a few things (like beans and rice) to the book shelf and put it in my entryway. That way, if someone comes to my door begging for food or wanting to work for food, I can give them a small amount and not let them know I have a larger amount in the house. I can also store my weapons there (I have a couple machetes) so they can see I'm armed. If things get bad, as in the food stamp system crashes, there will be "refugees." Saturday night we had a storm that woke me up. Once I'm awake, my husband's snoring won't allow me to go back to sleep, so I moved to my chair in the living room. I had dream where I was sitting with a few of my friends and was explaining to one woman just that concept. So I know it's what God wants me to do.
Right now I'm trying to decide whether to pay off my Discover card (it's only about $3,000) or keep prepping. I'm leaning towards paying off the debt. I have to think of the various scenarios, and it's a possibility that it could just be economic trouble as opposed to a total collapse. If the economy totally collapsed, it really wouldn't matter if you had debt. But if things just got tight, it would. If the economy totally collapsed, everyone would default on their bills, and I don't think they'd come take your house and vehicles, as they would have too many to round up. If it's a creeping up in prices, they would, because people would drop off slowly. As a prepper, I never feel I have enough. I also want to be able to have a full shelf to "share."
As another thing, I ordered from Amazon.com a set of essential oils. They were having a sale, where a set of 14 oils (normally $89.95) was on sale for $39.90. Not only that but when I went to check out, they allowed me to use the $40.65 I had in bonus dollars on my Discover card. So I basically only paid the shipping out of my pocket. The kit comes with: Bergamot, Clary Sage, Cinnamon Leaf, Eucalyptus, Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Lime, Patchouli, Peppermint, Rosemary, Spearmint, Sweet Orange & Tea Tree. I don't know a whole lot about essential oils, only what a friend has told me, so my goal is to learn more. I went on line with a list of ailments that my family already has, and I'll check to make sure the ones they suggest for those are on this list. I can't wait until they come in. Update, since I started this in the middle of the week: The essential oils came in. I used some lavender on my extremely ADHD son (a drop on the palms, rub together and breathe in). He's really focused, more on that later.
I made a rocket stove, which I've already blogged about. I plan on trying it sometime this week.
I ordered more heritage/non-GMO seeds. I have some, but they don't all do well in Texas. My son planted lettuce for a fall crop to see how it does. It only produces in the spring, and then wilts in the Texas heat. I didn't plant as big of a garden this year due to my health problems. I plan on being better (mostly due to natural remedies) next summer so I'm planning on a bigger garden.
I started a homeopathic on line course. I can only do 3 chapters a day, have 45 days to complete it and when done I take a test. Supposedly they will send me a certificate, for a "nominal fee." I don't need it since I'm not going to "practice," only doing it for personal growth.
I also researched the plants/trees in my yard to see if they would make good essential oils. I started the process to make rose oil. rose hips oil, Rosemary Oil and my son started mint oil.
My son wants to raise a couple chickens. Our city allows hens, just not roosters. He has a friend who has a chicken, so he wants one, too. I told him if he could build a coop out of scrap lumber, we'd do it. The lavender I put on his hands has him totally focused on doing just that. he got a couple sheets of plywood from a neighbor's son's father, and used scraps we had. It's short, but covered and he's working on the screen door now. All from found lumber, so no cost to us. I guess now I'll have to buy either chicks or hens. We'll see how it weathered the storm we had last night. At least it's still standing.
First, I made a decision on my family, and whether to save extra food for them or not. I decided that God doesn't prepare us all in the same way. My in-laws have the ability and resources to have a large garden. They have the ability to compost, can, etc. They will survive. My brother in law is doing small things (he has an apartment in a major city) like collecting extra smoothie stuff, so he's taken care of. My family lives a 10 hour drive away, so there's not much I can do for them. If it got really rough, I don't think I'd be able to make it home in time to help.
So, I transferred all the food that I had on a bookcase that I had into the cabinet I moved. Originally I had just a few things in it in an attempt to start putting stuff away for my in-laws. I moved just a few things (like beans and rice) to the book shelf and put it in my entryway. That way, if someone comes to my door begging for food or wanting to work for food, I can give them a small amount and not let them know I have a larger amount in the house. I can also store my weapons there (I have a couple machetes) so they can see I'm armed. If things get bad, as in the food stamp system crashes, there will be "refugees." Saturday night we had a storm that woke me up. Once I'm awake, my husband's snoring won't allow me to go back to sleep, so I moved to my chair in the living room. I had dream where I was sitting with a few of my friends and was explaining to one woman just that concept. So I know it's what God wants me to do.
Right now I'm trying to decide whether to pay off my Discover card (it's only about $3,000) or keep prepping. I'm leaning towards paying off the debt. I have to think of the various scenarios, and it's a possibility that it could just be economic trouble as opposed to a total collapse. If the economy totally collapsed, it really wouldn't matter if you had debt. But if things just got tight, it would. If the economy totally collapsed, everyone would default on their bills, and I don't think they'd come take your house and vehicles, as they would have too many to round up. If it's a creeping up in prices, they would, because people would drop off slowly. As a prepper, I never feel I have enough. I also want to be able to have a full shelf to "share."
As another thing, I ordered from Amazon.com a set of essential oils. They were having a sale, where a set of 14 oils (normally $89.95) was on sale for $39.90. Not only that but when I went to check out, they allowed me to use the $40.65 I had in bonus dollars on my Discover card. So I basically only paid the shipping out of my pocket. The kit comes with: Bergamot, Clary Sage, Cinnamon Leaf, Eucalyptus, Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemon, Lime, Patchouli, Peppermint, Rosemary, Spearmint, Sweet Orange & Tea Tree. I don't know a whole lot about essential oils, only what a friend has told me, so my goal is to learn more. I went on line with a list of ailments that my family already has, and I'll check to make sure the ones they suggest for those are on this list. I can't wait until they come in. Update, since I started this in the middle of the week: The essential oils came in. I used some lavender on my extremely ADHD son (a drop on the palms, rub together and breathe in). He's really focused, more on that later.
I made a rocket stove, which I've already blogged about. I plan on trying it sometime this week.
I ordered more heritage/non-GMO seeds. I have some, but they don't all do well in Texas. My son planted lettuce for a fall crop to see how it does. It only produces in the spring, and then wilts in the Texas heat. I didn't plant as big of a garden this year due to my health problems. I plan on being better (mostly due to natural remedies) next summer so I'm planning on a bigger garden.
I started a homeopathic on line course. I can only do 3 chapters a day, have 45 days to complete it and when done I take a test. Supposedly they will send me a certificate, for a "nominal fee." I don't need it since I'm not going to "practice," only doing it for personal growth.
I also researched the plants/trees in my yard to see if they would make good essential oils. I started the process to make rose oil. rose hips oil, Rosemary Oil and my son started mint oil.
My son wants to raise a couple chickens. Our city allows hens, just not roosters. He has a friend who has a chicken, so he wants one, too. I told him if he could build a coop out of scrap lumber, we'd do it. The lavender I put on his hands has him totally focused on doing just that. he got a couple sheets of plywood from a neighbor's son's father, and used scraps we had. It's short, but covered and he's working on the screen door now. All from found lumber, so no cost to us. I guess now I'll have to buy either chicks or hens. We'll see how it weathered the storm we had last night. At least it's still standing.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
My First Rocket Stove
We have a BBQ grill that runs on Propane gas and a camping stove that runs on the little canisters of gas. But what if I can't get gas? Right now, we just run down to Walmart and exchange our tank for a full one, or buy one of the little green ones and we're good to go. But what happens if we can't do that any more? I have dutch ovens, if we can build a fire, but a fire smokes and people will know that I'm cooking.
So, I started researching on wood burning home made stoves. I found this article on line on how to build a rocket stove. It's easy to follow, but a little difficult to make for a novice.
So this is my first attempt. You can go to the article above and get detailed directions, but the concept is real simple. It's the cutting that was hard.
I used a metal coffee can (not the foil lined or plastic, as this will get hot), a green bean can, a canned potato can and 2 mandarin orange cans as well as the bottom of a sweet potato can (40 oz).
Here's what I did:
The top of the coffee can is the thin aluminum sealed stuff. The seal had already been removed when I opened it to use the coffee. I happened to have an empty green bean can and a potato can, but any 14 oz can will do. It called for another "soup" can but I used 2 mandarin orange cans because that's what I had. You leave one soup can with just the top off, but you cut the top and bottom off of the second soup can. With the mandarin orange cans, you cut the top and bottom off of one, but the second one you cut the top and bottom off and split it all the way up one side.
So, you begin by holding the 14 oz can against the coffee can and drawing where to cut. It has to be a tight fit. I used a can opener, the pointy part, to get a triangle started and then cut around the sharpie line with tin snips. I had to do some adjusting to get the can in, and by that time, I could see light through it. So I used the heat resistant aluminum tape to cover the spaces. Then you take another 14 oz can and put it inside, and figure out how high to make the cut. You want it up a bit so air gets below it. Then you do the same thing, cut a hole so it goes in the side. Now you have the coffee can, with a hole in the side, one soup can horizontal and sticking out about half way, with the other end sticking into the second soup can. Line up the vertical soup can so it's in the middle of the bottom of the coffee can.
Now, you take the mandarin can that you split, and close it down tighter than it was originally and stuff it into the vertical can inside the coffee can. Then you put the second mandarin can that has had both ends cut off on top of the split one. This makes a chimney that will stick up above the coffee can. I suppose if you could find a tall can about the same diameter as a soup can, that stuck up above the coffee can, you could skip this part.
Next, you fill the space between the coffee can and the soup with either kitty litter, sand or vermiculite. I used kitty litter because it's what I had. The article says to use kitty litter, but a video I watched said vermiculite, and all he had was sand and it worked fine. The point is to put in something that will hold heat.
Last thing you do is to take the cut off bottom of the 40 oz can and bend it on the sides to fit snugly into the horizontal can (the feeding shoot) so that it sits about 1/3 of the way up. You want air to go underneath it. You can also bend up the front edge so you can take it out and put it in easily.
I have yet to try it, but I texted a picture to my husband and he can't wait to try it. It says in the article that you put tender (like leaves or really small twigs) down through the top of the chimney, then light it with a small twig through the feeding tube (horizontal can). The point of this design is that it gets hotter and will burn the wood gases as well as the wood. The article says you can boil a quart of water in 15 minutes. I can't wait to try it out. I'll let you know how it goes.
As a side note, the plastic lid is only to keep the kitty litter inside the stove for storage. If you want a more permanent lid, you can take the bottom off of another coffee can and cut a hole for the chimney and set it on top. I plan on just having it open while it's burning. The article (in case you didn't read it) says the first time you light it, to do so outside on a fire proof setting (rock or paving stones) and to not get your face close to any fumes that may come off of it. Cans come with a coating that will need to be burned off. After about 5-10 minutes, it's supposed to start burning the gases as well as the wood and not smoke.
So, I started researching on wood burning home made stoves. I found this article on line on how to build a rocket stove. It's easy to follow, but a little difficult to make for a novice.
So this is my first attempt. You can go to the article above and get detailed directions, but the concept is real simple. It's the cutting that was hard.
I used a metal coffee can (not the foil lined or plastic, as this will get hot), a green bean can, a canned potato can and 2 mandarin orange cans as well as the bottom of a sweet potato can (40 oz).
Here's what I did:
The top of the coffee can is the thin aluminum sealed stuff. The seal had already been removed when I opened it to use the coffee. I happened to have an empty green bean can and a potato can, but any 14 oz can will do. It called for another "soup" can but I used 2 mandarin orange cans because that's what I had. You leave one soup can with just the top off, but you cut the top and bottom off of the second soup can. With the mandarin orange cans, you cut the top and bottom off of one, but the second one you cut the top and bottom off and split it all the way up one side.
So, you begin by holding the 14 oz can against the coffee can and drawing where to cut. It has to be a tight fit. I used a can opener, the pointy part, to get a triangle started and then cut around the sharpie line with tin snips. I had to do some adjusting to get the can in, and by that time, I could see light through it. So I used the heat resistant aluminum tape to cover the spaces. Then you take another 14 oz can and put it inside, and figure out how high to make the cut. You want it up a bit so air gets below it. Then you do the same thing, cut a hole so it goes in the side. Now you have the coffee can, with a hole in the side, one soup can horizontal and sticking out about half way, with the other end sticking into the second soup can. Line up the vertical soup can so it's in the middle of the bottom of the coffee can.
Now, you take the mandarin can that you split, and close it down tighter than it was originally and stuff it into the vertical can inside the coffee can. Then you put the second mandarin can that has had both ends cut off on top of the split one. This makes a chimney that will stick up above the coffee can. I suppose if you could find a tall can about the same diameter as a soup can, that stuck up above the coffee can, you could skip this part.
Next, you fill the space between the coffee can and the soup with either kitty litter, sand or vermiculite. I used kitty litter because it's what I had. The article says to use kitty litter, but a video I watched said vermiculite, and all he had was sand and it worked fine. The point is to put in something that will hold heat.
Last thing you do is to take the cut off bottom of the 40 oz can and bend it on the sides to fit snugly into the horizontal can (the feeding shoot) so that it sits about 1/3 of the way up. You want air to go underneath it. You can also bend up the front edge so you can take it out and put it in easily.
I have yet to try it, but I texted a picture to my husband and he can't wait to try it. It says in the article that you put tender (like leaves or really small twigs) down through the top of the chimney, then light it with a small twig through the feeding tube (horizontal can). The point of this design is that it gets hotter and will burn the wood gases as well as the wood. The article says you can boil a quart of water in 15 minutes. I can't wait to try it out. I'll let you know how it goes.
As a side note, the plastic lid is only to keep the kitty litter inside the stove for storage. If you want a more permanent lid, you can take the bottom off of another coffee can and cut a hole for the chimney and set it on top. I plan on just having it open while it's burning. The article (in case you didn't read it) says the first time you light it, to do so outside on a fire proof setting (rock or paving stones) and to not get your face close to any fumes that may come off of it. Cans come with a coating that will need to be burned off. After about 5-10 minutes, it's supposed to start burning the gases as well as the wood and not smoke.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Sunday Review Week Two
Well, here it is the second week of this blog. Time for my "what did you do this week?"
Last week I mentioned that I felt I was being asked by God to prepare for my in-laws. I've still been battling with this. I keep having two Bible stories run through my head. First is Noah, who tried to tell everyone disaster was coming and no one listened, and they died. But then the other story of Joseph comes to mind, where he was mistreated by his family, sold into slavery only so that he could be in a position to help his family when the famine hit. So, I played Gideon and threw out a fleece. The first time, just like Gideon, I asked if this is what you want me to do, I need a sign. I didn't get it. So the answer was apparently don't put away for her. I didn't believe it, so I did it again. I thought this would be an easy one. I was admitted into the hospital after a trip to the Emergency Room for high blood pressure, a headache, nausea and having some problems remembering things. After about 5 hours in the ER, having an EKG, 2 blood tests for cardiac enzymes, a head/chest CT and them consulting with a cardiologist, they admitted me for 23 hour observation. The next morning they did an MRI of my brain and neck, another blood test for enzymes, another EKG and an echo-cardiogram of my heart. My second fleece was (due to the seriousness of the situation) that if God wanted me to save for my in-laws this would be serious. It seemed serious at the time.
I was released and told they had no idea why my blood pressure went up or for the other symptoms. I was told all my test results were normal. So, I guess I'm filling that cabinet I moved in with stuff for us. But, now I have to decide whether I want to pay off Discover or assume it won't matter when SHTF.
Because of my trip to the ER, I didn't get a whole lot done. I did shop for more food for the extra cabinet. I had came up with 3 recipes, and got all the ingredients for one time through plus fruit, peanut butter, dried milk and all the spices (which is actually more than 1 time through).
We bought a generator and some other various tools that we might need.
I tried another recipe that's shelf stable. We rate on a military scale, 1-4. I have a couple that rate 4 but most are in the 3-3.5 range. My husband put this at 2.8, but I put it at 3.5. The recipe is really easy, but I got it from a book, so I don't know if copy right laws allow me to post it. It's from the 100 shelf stable pantry, sorry can't find it right now. I figure it's a good idea to actually see if the recipes I put away ingredients for are edible.
And now, I need to go rest, per my doctor's orders. What will we ever do when the SHTF and we don't have doctors anymore? I do have a cousin in a different state who is a nurse, and he's the one who told me to go to the ER. He's also like minded.
Last week I mentioned that I felt I was being asked by God to prepare for my in-laws. I've still been battling with this. I keep having two Bible stories run through my head. First is Noah, who tried to tell everyone disaster was coming and no one listened, and they died. But then the other story of Joseph comes to mind, where he was mistreated by his family, sold into slavery only so that he could be in a position to help his family when the famine hit. So, I played Gideon and threw out a fleece. The first time, just like Gideon, I asked if this is what you want me to do, I need a sign. I didn't get it. So the answer was apparently don't put away for her. I didn't believe it, so I did it again. I thought this would be an easy one. I was admitted into the hospital after a trip to the Emergency Room for high blood pressure, a headache, nausea and having some problems remembering things. After about 5 hours in the ER, having an EKG, 2 blood tests for cardiac enzymes, a head/chest CT and them consulting with a cardiologist, they admitted me for 23 hour observation. The next morning they did an MRI of my brain and neck, another blood test for enzymes, another EKG and an echo-cardiogram of my heart. My second fleece was (due to the seriousness of the situation) that if God wanted me to save for my in-laws this would be serious. It seemed serious at the time.
I was released and told they had no idea why my blood pressure went up or for the other symptoms. I was told all my test results were normal. So, I guess I'm filling that cabinet I moved in with stuff for us. But, now I have to decide whether I want to pay off Discover or assume it won't matter when SHTF.
Because of my trip to the ER, I didn't get a whole lot done. I did shop for more food for the extra cabinet. I had came up with 3 recipes, and got all the ingredients for one time through plus fruit, peanut butter, dried milk and all the spices (which is actually more than 1 time through).
We bought a generator and some other various tools that we might need.
I tried another recipe that's shelf stable. We rate on a military scale, 1-4. I have a couple that rate 4 but most are in the 3-3.5 range. My husband put this at 2.8, but I put it at 3.5. The recipe is really easy, but I got it from a book, so I don't know if copy right laws allow me to post it. It's from the 100 shelf stable pantry, sorry can't find it right now. I figure it's a good idea to actually see if the recipes I put away ingredients for are edible.
And now, I need to go rest, per my doctor's orders. What will we ever do when the SHTF and we don't have doctors anymore? I do have a cousin in a different state who is a nurse, and he's the one who told me to go to the ER. He's also like minded.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Prepping and Christianity
I've been considering how to approach this thought. I started yesterday, but the experience that prompted the thought was still too much on my mind. It's a good thing I waited because it allowed the Holy Spirit to work on me a bit.
First some background, and then I want to share a personal experience that caused so much trouble in my family.
I became a Christian about 1994. My Mother-in-law claims to be one since my husband was a teenager. I say claims, because the fruit just ain't there. We moved from Illinois to Texas about 7 years ago, 2 weeks out of radiation therapy for stage IV breast cancer (it was later lowered to stage III). I had been through the surgery, chemo and radiation. We didn't trust God, even though we knew He wanted us in Texas, to find a job right away and then a house. So we decided to buy a house with my in laws. They sold the house they had, and that paid for their half of the new house. We took out a mortgage on our half. After about 5 months of perfect living, she turned into her real self. I became Cinderella. The stress caused me to have PTSD symptoms, which caused epilepsy. I had been abused as a child. I remembered the baby sitter's son's actions, but I had buried the baby sitter's verbal abuse. My MIL was exactly like the baby sitter in personality.
Of course she denied every comment to my husband, and for the longest time he thought I was making it all up. But then she accused my mother of having an affair with her own brother because my brother looks like his uncle.....she did this at the dinner table where my two children were. My husband's jaw hit the table in shock.
As soon as my handicapped son turned 18 and was eligible for SSI, we moved out. Of course we moved out right as the housing market crashed. Now we had 2 mortgages. Then we had a car die on us, and had to borrow one of her vehicles. Then my husband broke his leg and we were out of work for 2 months. About a year before he broke his leg, we felt led to start stock piling food. This fact saved not only us, but his parents as well.
Because my husband is retired Navy, and collecting a military retirement check, and my son had his SSI coming in, we were able to make our bills. If we had not stored up food, we would have had to not pay one of the mortgages. My monthly food bill runs about $700 for the four of us, mostly because three of us can't have wheat, oats, barley or rye. We're Celiac. We were paying just about that for the mortgage on the house his parents still lived in. She didn't try very hard to sell it, because it's a big house and she's a social climber/name dropper. You know the type. In preparation for downsizing, she quit having parties in her house so it wouldn't seem odd that she stopped because she had a smaller house.
That brings us to the little incident that happened at the beginning of this week. She needed help putting stuff away in her new house. She likes to use age as an excuse, but it's her obesity that is the main problem. But, I try to give help where I can. I'm battling cancer (going on two years now) and my husband has been dealing with a broken leg for a year. We couldn't help and she knows it. So she asked if my younger son (13) wanted to come over to help and spend the night. I said he could. He normally didn't like to in the other house, because there were always bugs in the house. I figured a new house, she didn't have time to let bugs accumulate. She's not a good housekeeper.
My son got a lecture on how we aren't depending on God to provide for us. She said the next time we're at the grocery store and my husband buys something for our "stock pile" my son should remind me that God will provide. I really wish she would say stuff like that to me, instead of going behind my back to brainwash my children.
So, I had a fight with the Holy Spirit. I KNOW I was called to stock up. I don't believe the end of the world is coming. If I believed that, I wouldn't stock up because I believe in the Rapture. If Jesus comes back for us, we won't need food. But I also believe the parts of the Bible where He told people to prepare for things. Noah comes to mind. He worked for 120 years to build an ark when there had never been water falling from the sky...ever. You think he got ridiculed? I also remember Joseph. After he got his coat of many colors because he was his dad's favorite, his other brothers sold him into slavery. The Pharaoh had a dream, and came to Joseph for the meaning. Joseph told he there would be 7 years of plenty, and then 7 years of famine. So, during the 7 years of plenty, the people didn't just roll in the success, they scrimped and saved and stored the food away, just a little. But over 7 years it added up. So, when the famine came, they were prepared. Joseph's family had to come to Egypt begging for food. That's where the fight with the Holy Spirit came in for me.
In my human-ness, I wanted to tell her, "Don't come to me for food when the economy collapses and your two weeks worth of food you keep on your shelves is gone. I'll make you buy it from me." Then God reminded me that Joseph returned the money in the sack of food.
Darn it, I hate it when the Holy Spirit reminds me of these things. We have shelves built along one wall for the stuff we put away. I have a white king size duvet cover hanging in front so it kind of hides it. Out in my garage, I have an old computer hutch, the kind that closes up, with shelves inside. I'm going to dig that out and move it inside and start putting a little away just for them. I know I'm going to argue with God with every can I put in there. I am so angry at God for asking me to do this, but I'll do it. He knows she will never come around, but He loves her too, and wants to provide for her. I just hate that he's using me, the one who she abused for so many years, to do the providing.
So that's what I'm doing to prep today. I have to clean all of my old clown stuff out of the hutch (yes, I used to be a professional clown before epilepsy), move stuff out of the way so I can get it in the house. Then I have to sit down with her recipes (she sent me a file so I could make the stuff my husband grew up on) and convert it to shelf stable and then go grocery shopping for those ingredients. And I know she won't even appreciate it. She has no care for anything I write, and I haven't given her my blog addresses, so I know she will never see this. In order to keep peace in the family, I'm not telling her. She would just make more fun of me and tell me I'm not trusting in God. Funny thing is, if I didn't trust in God, she wouldn't be able to eat when the grocery shelves go bare.
First some background, and then I want to share a personal experience that caused so much trouble in my family.
I became a Christian about 1994. My Mother-in-law claims to be one since my husband was a teenager. I say claims, because the fruit just ain't there. We moved from Illinois to Texas about 7 years ago, 2 weeks out of radiation therapy for stage IV breast cancer (it was later lowered to stage III). I had been through the surgery, chemo and radiation. We didn't trust God, even though we knew He wanted us in Texas, to find a job right away and then a house. So we decided to buy a house with my in laws. They sold the house they had, and that paid for their half of the new house. We took out a mortgage on our half. After about 5 months of perfect living, she turned into her real self. I became Cinderella. The stress caused me to have PTSD symptoms, which caused epilepsy. I had been abused as a child. I remembered the baby sitter's son's actions, but I had buried the baby sitter's verbal abuse. My MIL was exactly like the baby sitter in personality.
Of course she denied every comment to my husband, and for the longest time he thought I was making it all up. But then she accused my mother of having an affair with her own brother because my brother looks like his uncle.....she did this at the dinner table where my two children were. My husband's jaw hit the table in shock.
As soon as my handicapped son turned 18 and was eligible for SSI, we moved out. Of course we moved out right as the housing market crashed. Now we had 2 mortgages. Then we had a car die on us, and had to borrow one of her vehicles. Then my husband broke his leg and we were out of work for 2 months. About a year before he broke his leg, we felt led to start stock piling food. This fact saved not only us, but his parents as well.
Because my husband is retired Navy, and collecting a military retirement check, and my son had his SSI coming in, we were able to make our bills. If we had not stored up food, we would have had to not pay one of the mortgages. My monthly food bill runs about $700 for the four of us, mostly because three of us can't have wheat, oats, barley or rye. We're Celiac. We were paying just about that for the mortgage on the house his parents still lived in. She didn't try very hard to sell it, because it's a big house and she's a social climber/name dropper. You know the type. In preparation for downsizing, she quit having parties in her house so it wouldn't seem odd that she stopped because she had a smaller house.
That brings us to the little incident that happened at the beginning of this week. She needed help putting stuff away in her new house. She likes to use age as an excuse, but it's her obesity that is the main problem. But, I try to give help where I can. I'm battling cancer (going on two years now) and my husband has been dealing with a broken leg for a year. We couldn't help and she knows it. So she asked if my younger son (13) wanted to come over to help and spend the night. I said he could. He normally didn't like to in the other house, because there were always bugs in the house. I figured a new house, she didn't have time to let bugs accumulate. She's not a good housekeeper.
My son got a lecture on how we aren't depending on God to provide for us. She said the next time we're at the grocery store and my husband buys something for our "stock pile" my son should remind me that God will provide. I really wish she would say stuff like that to me, instead of going behind my back to brainwash my children.
So, I had a fight with the Holy Spirit. I KNOW I was called to stock up. I don't believe the end of the world is coming. If I believed that, I wouldn't stock up because I believe in the Rapture. If Jesus comes back for us, we won't need food. But I also believe the parts of the Bible where He told people to prepare for things. Noah comes to mind. He worked for 120 years to build an ark when there had never been water falling from the sky...ever. You think he got ridiculed? I also remember Joseph. After he got his coat of many colors because he was his dad's favorite, his other brothers sold him into slavery. The Pharaoh had a dream, and came to Joseph for the meaning. Joseph told he there would be 7 years of plenty, and then 7 years of famine. So, during the 7 years of plenty, the people didn't just roll in the success, they scrimped and saved and stored the food away, just a little. But over 7 years it added up. So, when the famine came, they were prepared. Joseph's family had to come to Egypt begging for food. That's where the fight with the Holy Spirit came in for me.
In my human-ness, I wanted to tell her, "Don't come to me for food when the economy collapses and your two weeks worth of food you keep on your shelves is gone. I'll make you buy it from me." Then God reminded me that Joseph returned the money in the sack of food.
Darn it, I hate it when the Holy Spirit reminds me of these things. We have shelves built along one wall for the stuff we put away. I have a white king size duvet cover hanging in front so it kind of hides it. Out in my garage, I have an old computer hutch, the kind that closes up, with shelves inside. I'm going to dig that out and move it inside and start putting a little away just for them. I know I'm going to argue with God with every can I put in there. I am so angry at God for asking me to do this, but I'll do it. He knows she will never come around, but He loves her too, and wants to provide for her. I just hate that he's using me, the one who she abused for so many years, to do the providing.
So that's what I'm doing to prep today. I have to clean all of my old clown stuff out of the hutch (yes, I used to be a professional clown before epilepsy), move stuff out of the way so I can get it in the house. Then I have to sit down with her recipes (she sent me a file so I could make the stuff my husband grew up on) and convert it to shelf stable and then go grocery shopping for those ingredients. And I know she won't even appreciate it. She has no care for anything I write, and I haven't given her my blog addresses, so I know she will never see this. In order to keep peace in the family, I'm not telling her. She would just make more fun of me and tell me I'm not trusting in God. Funny thing is, if I didn't trust in God, she wouldn't be able to eat when the grocery shelves go bare.
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