Just wanted to post a few links in case anybody's interested, some great sites with tons of great information and ideas to help you get started.
prepperbroadcasting.com - Schedule of programs you can listen to about every night of the week, chat room to discuss and you can call in if you have a question you'd like to discuss.
www.americanpreppersnetwork.net - Helps you network with people who share the same goal, prepping, or just a vast wealth of information. You could spend days going through this site. It's been up a few years, so...take notes or make sure your printer is working.
www.preparemag.com - This is starting up on the 16th of April, you can sign up now to have this E-zine sent to your email. Can't wait to see what it's all about.
And let's not forget everyone at youtube. SouthernPrepper1, katzcadul, TheMrsVolfie,
mmlrc6atgmailcom, just to name a few. Subscribe to their channels.
Update on the cable situation. We've cut the bill in half, yay! I'm fine with that, could cut it even more but would probably have a rebellion. It's bad enough my daughter is mourning the loss of her shows, but she'll get over it. Now she's begging for video games. Keep dreaming, little girl. My husband is mourning the loss of his wrestling shows. All three channels that we watched them on have gone. Awww, poor baby, lol. I am content with my computer.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
What to PREPARE for.
You or someone close to you might think what do we need to prepare for? We have stores, we have insurance, everything will be taken care of, no problems, right? WRONG!
In case of a natural disaster (Texas Tornado 4-3-2012 to name a recent one) what things might you need if there was no power or access to food for a week or more? If you live in an area where tornadoes are common it's best to have an underground area to store food, blankets, water, radios, camping supplies and of course, family and friends. Someplaces are not suited for underground structures, flooding is an issue, but there are tornado proof buildings that can be built. This might be a community project, someplace that everyone knows to go to in case of an emergency. Would not reccomend staying in a home or building that would be squished like a bug in a strong wind.
This past year has shown us the aftermath of disasters of immense power. There is the shock of climbing out of your safety hole and finding everything you own is swept away. Friends and neighbors dead because they didn't heed warnings or weren't even aware that there was something dangerous in the area.
What will you do now?
Do you have a place to go, will you have to depend on people who's resources are already stretched to the max.
Or would you have taken precautions for just such an event.
Oh, Walmart would be open, so why worry? Unless your local Walmart had it's roof ripped off and contents spread out over the county.
During the aftermath of the April 27th tornado we had no power for about 5 days. No power means no way to have lights to shop by, no way to run the registers. The KMart, for about one day, would let about 3 people in at a time, after they'd waited in line for about 2 hours. You were escorted around by an employee with a flashlight and believe me, you were encouraged to be as quick about it as you could. Then you were checked out at the front where they used calculators. It worked, but wasn't something they wanted to repeat the next day.
Walmart was in danger of being looted. The Piggly Wiggly had to have all their meat thrown out, a Health Dept. employee threw bleach on it to make sure that no one scavenged it.
Unless you had a grill, or knew someone nearby who did, then you had to rely on other sources for food. The churches were pretty good about that, if you knew to go there. Anouncements were made over the radio, but what if you didn't have a radio? Or the batteries decided to die.
So does a little prepping not seem like a prudent idea?
FEMA advices to have about three days of supplies per person but what if you have another situation on your hands? What if you've lost your job or mode of transportation? Wouldn't canning food from your garden take a bit of stress off the bottom line you have to pay out every month?
We are a society of "I want, I want." I could live without all the little extras we end of buying every month. Seriously, I could live without cable. But my husband would have cow without his entertainment. Hmmm....cow = fresh milk. Nah, that's another thing he wouldn't go for at this moment in time. He grew up on a farm in India, it was his job to milk the water buffalo every day. Not something he fondly remembers, but then he was a kid who wanted to get out and see the world. He does speak fondly of how unbelievably good that milk tasted compared to what we get from the stores. But that's another issue, lol.
It's never a bad idea to plan ahead for whatever might be around the corner. What's so crazy about that?
In case of a natural disaster (Texas Tornado 4-3-2012 to name a recent one) what things might you need if there was no power or access to food for a week or more? If you live in an area where tornadoes are common it's best to have an underground area to store food, blankets, water, radios, camping supplies and of course, family and friends. Someplaces are not suited for underground structures, flooding is an issue, but there are tornado proof buildings that can be built. This might be a community project, someplace that everyone knows to go to in case of an emergency. Would not reccomend staying in a home or building that would be squished like a bug in a strong wind.
This past year has shown us the aftermath of disasters of immense power. There is the shock of climbing out of your safety hole and finding everything you own is swept away. Friends and neighbors dead because they didn't heed warnings or weren't even aware that there was something dangerous in the area.
What will you do now?
Do you have a place to go, will you have to depend on people who's resources are already stretched to the max.
Or would you have taken precautions for just such an event.
Oh, Walmart would be open, so why worry? Unless your local Walmart had it's roof ripped off and contents spread out over the county.
During the aftermath of the April 27th tornado we had no power for about 5 days. No power means no way to have lights to shop by, no way to run the registers. The KMart, for about one day, would let about 3 people in at a time, after they'd waited in line for about 2 hours. You were escorted around by an employee with a flashlight and believe me, you were encouraged to be as quick about it as you could. Then you were checked out at the front where they used calculators. It worked, but wasn't something they wanted to repeat the next day.
Walmart was in danger of being looted. The Piggly Wiggly had to have all their meat thrown out, a Health Dept. employee threw bleach on it to make sure that no one scavenged it.
Unless you had a grill, or knew someone nearby who did, then you had to rely on other sources for food. The churches were pretty good about that, if you knew to go there. Anouncements were made over the radio, but what if you didn't have a radio? Or the batteries decided to die.
So does a little prepping not seem like a prudent idea?
FEMA advices to have about three days of supplies per person but what if you have another situation on your hands? What if you've lost your job or mode of transportation? Wouldn't canning food from your garden take a bit of stress off the bottom line you have to pay out every month?
We are a society of "I want, I want." I could live without all the little extras we end of buying every month. Seriously, I could live without cable. But my husband would have cow without his entertainment. Hmmm....cow = fresh milk. Nah, that's another thing he wouldn't go for at this moment in time. He grew up on a farm in India, it was his job to milk the water buffalo every day. Not something he fondly remembers, but then he was a kid who wanted to get out and see the world. He does speak fondly of how unbelievably good that milk tasted compared to what we get from the stores. But that's another issue, lol.
It's never a bad idea to plan ahead for whatever might be around the corner. What's so crazy about that?
Saturday, March 31, 2012
How to explain prepping to friends....
Hmmm...when you find the answer to this drop me a line.
No, I've attempted to bring up the subject with friends and for the most part they can agree with me on the need to have supplies on hand in case of an emergency. What kind of situation? Too many to count! I think the best way to describe it is preparing for Life. Real living, not what we've made of it. You think if there was no internet people would go a bit whacko because they couldn't update their Facebook status? You know who I'm talking about, friends that have every detail of their day online for people to see and comment on. "John Smith is with Jane Doe at Jones City Farmer's Market."
I've brought up an article I read recently about how when you live in the city a persons wants are just as important and a persons needs, whereas someone living in the country learns to get by with what they have and make do with the things you need because things that fall under the "wants" might not be readily available. That went over like a ton of bricks. Nowadays we want what we want, when we want it.
Well, baby steps. Still trying to convince my husband of the need to set aside some food. He's a tough nut to crack.
No, I've attempted to bring up the subject with friends and for the most part they can agree with me on the need to have supplies on hand in case of an emergency. What kind of situation? Too many to count! I think the best way to describe it is preparing for Life. Real living, not what we've made of it. You think if there was no internet people would go a bit whacko because they couldn't update their Facebook status? You know who I'm talking about, friends that have every detail of their day online for people to see and comment on. "John Smith is with Jane Doe at Jones City Farmer's Market."
I've brought up an article I read recently about how when you live in the city a persons wants are just as important and a persons needs, whereas someone living in the country learns to get by with what they have and make do with the things you need because things that fall under the "wants" might not be readily available. That went over like a ton of bricks. Nowadays we want what we want, when we want it.
Well, baby steps. Still trying to convince my husband of the need to set aside some food. He's a tough nut to crack.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Well I feel sheepish...
I'm guilty of not blogging, I admit it. I started this to keep myself motivated and 5 blogs in I drop it. To be honest it was mostly just settling into our new life. We have a house sitting on a couple of acres, plenty of room for chickens and my garden.
What kicked me in gear was watching the new show in The National Geographic Channel, Doomsday Preppers. I really don't like the spin they put on the people that do this, almost dumming them down. As to the particular reasons given at the beginning of each segmant, they varied from the volcano at Yellowstone, econimic meltdown, solar flares disrupting electronics and on and on. Should we really be worried about any one thing? What if you prepare for a short term flu epidemic when the poles shift and your inland home becomes beachfront property?
Really too many things to factor in. After going through the tornado on April 27th what I want to focus on is just being self sufficiant. Can food, stock up on food and supplies to last for awhile, raise chickens, store water and have an alternate source available. The house we've moved into is pretty large, has plenty of room for storage, two fire places-one gas, one wood. I like that we have so much space for gardening but there are drainage issues. We are near the bottom of a hill and the ground doesn't drain easily, it stays squishy. This has prompted me to look into container gardening, quite a bit of food can be produced in very little space, so problem solved!
What harm can there be to rely more on yourself then whether something can be delivered to the local Piggly Wiggly. We've grown so spoiled! Fat. Lazy. All of the above.
What kicked me in gear was watching the new show in The National Geographic Channel, Doomsday Preppers. I really don't like the spin they put on the people that do this, almost dumming them down. As to the particular reasons given at the beginning of each segmant, they varied from the volcano at Yellowstone, econimic meltdown, solar flares disrupting electronics and on and on. Should we really be worried about any one thing? What if you prepare for a short term flu epidemic when the poles shift and your inland home becomes beachfront property?
Really too many things to factor in. After going through the tornado on April 27th what I want to focus on is just being self sufficiant. Can food, stock up on food and supplies to last for awhile, raise chickens, store water and have an alternate source available. The house we've moved into is pretty large, has plenty of room for storage, two fire places-one gas, one wood. I like that we have so much space for gardening but there are drainage issues. We are near the bottom of a hill and the ground doesn't drain easily, it stays squishy. This has prompted me to look into container gardening, quite a bit of food can be produced in very little space, so problem solved!
What harm can there be to rely more on yourself then whether something can be delivered to the local Piggly Wiggly. We've grown so spoiled! Fat. Lazy. All of the above.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A place to rest...
As of this morning we are looking for a place, just temporary, at this point anything is better then where we are, but I'll make sure not to be too hasty. It doesn't have to have the space for a garden but something away from the public sounds so nice and relaxing.
I bet my blood pressure was just through the roof yesterday, after being blamed for why the utility bills were so high. I've done everything we can do to keep things down even had an energy audit done! And did she follow any of the suggestions made to get energy efficient bulbs even? No. So I wash my hands of it. She wants us to go back to the other motel they have that's gone to H@!! in a handbasket the past 3 years she has another think coming.
I'm just so excited about the new possibilities. Guess I'm looking forward to Greener Pastures....you have no idea!
I bet my blood pressure was just through the roof yesterday, after being blamed for why the utility bills were so high. I've done everything we can do to keep things down even had an energy audit done! And did she follow any of the suggestions made to get energy efficient bulbs even? No. So I wash my hands of it. She wants us to go back to the other motel they have that's gone to H@!! in a handbasket the past 3 years she has another think coming.
I'm just so excited about the new possibilities. Guess I'm looking forward to Greener Pastures....you have no idea!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
New location....
Where we are living now it not suitable for our future plans, that's for sure. In fact, it's the complete opposite of where I want to be. Granted, we live and work at the same location but we have no freedom, nothing belongs to us. We have no rent and utilities to pay, who could think anything is wrong with that, but when you are constantly chained to your job for 3 1/2 YEARS you get a bit cranky, at least I have been lately. No freedom to have a family outing, to take a simple weekend off, to take a week to visit my sister out of state. Nothing. 2 years ago when I was in the hospital having emergancy surgury I had to go alone because the boss wouldn't come until the next day to relieve my husband, even though they live only 30 miles away. Just tired of it all. It shouldn't have to be this way. Isn't it a good thing I have a blog to vent on?
Best thing about this is we have been saving up. We can afford something simple, out in the country. Away from ringing phones and door knockers. I could stand a LOT of privacy for a good long time. Someplace we can make our own. We have work lined up that would allow us so much more freedom.
The future looks bright.
Best thing about this is we have been saving up. We can afford something simple, out in the country. Away from ringing phones and door knockers. I could stand a LOT of privacy for a good long time. Someplace we can make our own. We have work lined up that would allow us so much more freedom.
The future looks bright.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Amid economic unease, demand climbs at U.S. food banks
Wow, and this just proves the point of why I'm wanting to do this. An article that I just saw at CNN http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/13/economy.food.banks/index.html?hpt=us_c2 and it ends with this qoute: "We really need both government and charity to make sure people in this country have enough to eat,"
Really? We do? On a local level I think they need to learn to take care of their own, take that stress off of the national government. I've heard of people who grow an abundance of food in their gardens and donate to local food banks and that's great. Maybe they could work with the people that use the food banks on how to grow their own at home. Donate seeds from extra produce and share.
Really? We do? On a local level I think they need to learn to take care of their own, take that stress off of the national government. I've heard of people who grow an abundance of food in their gardens and donate to local food banks and that's great. Maybe they could work with the people that use the food banks on how to grow their own at home. Donate seeds from extra produce and share.
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