# JANUARY 2011 Prep Journal



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I am still keeping this going, the goals is in addition to this.

We will see what effects each thread has on each other. But I hope that this keeps going, on what you've done.


Angie


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Thanks for the stickies, Angie. It will make finding the threads much easier. 

Today was spent packing all the dehydrated vegies from yesterday into jars to store - will need to vacuum pack them still, but at least they are into jars. Abby tried the dried corn, and said she really liked it as is. Liked the green beans pretty well, too, but said the corn was better! Abby and I also cut up the chicken from the birds I cooked in the slow cooker, made chicken and dumplings for dinner tonight, put 3 trays of chicken in the dehydrator and filled 4 pint jars with meat to can. The rest of the scraps and bones are cooking up for broth right now, and then I will can up meat, broth, and "pet food". Now that I'm on a roll, I'll ready to start picking through another freezer looking for more meat and vegies to can and dehydrate. 

We also worked on the back room today. After pulling most of the stuff out, Abby and I moved the buckets of wheat and doors that I set up as huge shelving units a few months ago and added more buckets and doors to make shelves all down one side of the room. With 5 doors and 20 buckets of wheat berries, I was able to make room to store a ton of totes, large and small. I got all the Christmas decorations, fall decor and grandkid toys stored under the first set of shelves, short totes and foot lockers on the next level, taller totes on top. I still have quite a few totes to put up, but I can see that I'm going to be able to access things much more easily and consolidate my storage there. It will be lovely to have more room!


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

As I type the pressure canner is "singing". 5 Pints of boneless pork loin to add to my preps and another whole loin to do tomorrow. That will make a total of 12 pints canned from this sale. Got them for 1.89 lb. Would have been 14 pints but I needed pork for the sauerkraut for tonights dinner and some to take mom and 2 additional meals for me..plus dog scraps. I do like my canned pork! Ummm, actually my favorite cut to can is the sirloin roast or butt roast. Loins tend to be drier than I like.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

I dehydrated a couple bunches of bananas yesterday that I had accidentally left in a cold unheated space. I do enjoy banana chips at least. 
I started my first ever real inventory of my beans, bullets and band aids today. It has already been an eye opener and once it is done, I'll be able to see where the holes are that need filling.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Good job, both of you! Good price on the meat, *bee*. *Trish*, it's a big job the first time you make the inventory, but if you are able to keep up with it as you take things out and add them in, it's pretty easy then.

I worked until midnight to do it, but all the totes are on the shelves, and the house is looking pretty good - much more organized. I updated my pantry inventory while I was at it. I still need to update the HBA inventory, cleaning supplies, etc, but at least I got it off to a good start. The chicken in the dehydrator is done, and the rest of the chicken and broth is chilling so I can defat it before canning. I wanted to get the vent tubes changed out on the canners, but couldn't find the right wrench. At that point, I was too tired to hunt it down...I'm calling it a night, kicked back with the laptop, and I'll get back on it in the morning.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Ended 2010 by Pumping "stale" stored water in to barrels for garden use and replenished supply for holding.
Today, shopping "Tax man cometh" sale at nursery, today. Try to grab row covers, grow lights, etc. at deep discount.
Canned 5lbs baby carrots, yesterday.... another 5 in the canner right now.
Been planting seed trays and getting growing area set up for market garden......finding it hard to think about anything else, right now.
Ordered onions, leeks,potato, many seeds. Looking at Apple trees for orchard.
Will put a LDS order together and try to go get it by next week and packaged.
This is the year, I will try to make myself.....can meat. I know.....(gasp):bash:...... Still can't believe it myself. After, a life long of canning...never canned meat. :shrug:
After I get my stores inventoried and replenished...... going thru the freezers....I WILL DO IT!!! I whined about it last year......Did not do it:nono:
I now am the proud owner of 8 freaking frozen Turkeys.......They are taking up too much room.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

DH decided today (as the water line to the house threatened to be frozen...it didn't run right away, but started after a minute or 2) that we were going to bring one of our storage barrels (the 55 gallon plastic ones) into the house and fill it with water. 
I must say, I'm not too keen on the idea, but at least we'll have water if our lines freeze up. I told him, I would like it much better if he cut a circle (or square) of plywood for the top so I could drape a cloth over it. It won't look so bizarre sitting next to the kitchen that way at least LOL I do admit, I like that he is thinking a lot more outside the box lately. So, I'll not squelch his idea especially since I can "fluff" it a little so people coming to visit don't automatically look at the big orange barrel


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Trish, are you leaving the water running a trickle in the sinks at all times when it's below freezing? Where did you get orange water barrels? I have only found blue and white ones so far.

I worked on wax yesterday. I took a hatchet to a bunch of 3 wick candles (partially burned) to break them into pieces that would fit into Folger's cans, and melted them down, along with lots of odds and ends of wax, then poured the clean wax off into clean Folger's cans. Next time I want to make candles the clean wax will be ready to melt and pour. The dirty dregs at the bottom were added to another can that will be used to make fire starters. I still have a bunch more to do today, but I need a nap first. My days and nights are mixed up again - too long on the night shift, I guess.

I think my dog has gone walkabout. He's been missing for several days and he's not at the pound. As much as I hate his chewing everything in sight, I hope he's alright and shows up soon. A farm needs a dog.


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## HTWannabee (Jan 19, 2007)

Based on good advice form this forum , I ordered mylar bags, Oxygen absorbers and 2 cases of wheat rom the LDS store. Now I need a grain mill. Still in the research phases there. I also need to convice DH that we need a hand pump for our well. For some reason he does not share my sense of urgency here. I lost a lot of food preps that I had purchased at Aldi's, there were bugs INSIIDE the unopened bags. That led to a pantry moth issue that we finally have under control. The bags and O2 absorders should help.

On the wheat, do I need to repackage it or can I leave it in the #10 cans?


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Scurge of the earth....Pantry Moths. Good luck with your re-packaging. I use mylar and FG 5 gal buckets with absorbers.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

manygoatsnmore said:


> Trish, are you leaving the water running a trickle in the sinks at all times when it's below freezing? Where did you get orange water barrels? I have only found blue and white ones so far.


I have heard of peoples drain freezing up and waking to an overflowing sink when they left the water trickling. Not worth the risk and sleepless night worrying about it. 
DH did put a heat lamp under the house for now. There is a valve that needs replacing, but we won't be going in to town until Wed. It is a tiny drip that would have gone unnoticed except for the ice below it. This place has a very poorly insulated crawlspace (it's a mobile). We will likely rebuild the skirting for better insulation next year to help prevent this kind of thing.
The barrels are pepper barrels that I got at Del's. We have several and they were about $20 each I think. We have bought them one or 2 at a time over the years. If you don't find them there, try Yelm Farm and Pet in Yelm. I know it's a bit of a drive for you, but they had them there last time I was in town (over the summer).


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## barefootflowers (Jun 3, 2010)

I finally ordered honey bees! I ordered three packs from rhul bees in Oregon. I will be able to drive down & pick them up in April and avoid shipping. Also finalized the last of my seed orders (or so my husband hopes) and received my onion sets. Getting ready to butcher 2 hogs this weekend, and 2 more at the end of the month. Whew- that was a mouthful. I love January for all of the planning. The hard work will be next month when the prepping gets physical.


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

I ordered my seeds over the weekend. Hubby and I are really expanding the garden this year, I can't wait! A friend is going to give us a bunch of compost, since I haven't started a compost pile yet.

I've been in touch with a rabbit breeder who's not local, but isn't horribly too far away. I'm hoping to get a breeding pair in the next month or two.

In getting rabbits, I'm going to sell a few more of my chinchillas. I used to breed and show them, but I'm still downsizing. They're too small and slow-reproducing to keep on my budding homestead. I'll still keep three, and that's half of what I currently have.

I'm STILL trying to sell our big saltwater fishtank. Since hubby and I are both working full time AND working on our own business AND have just started a project with a friend of hubby's to add to the income, we just don't have the time for it. And the money from selling it could be used for more ammo.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Today was a lean day on the prepping front. I started marking my seed catalog while DD was at Brownies.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

bee said:


> As I type the pressure canner is "singing". 5 Pints of boneless pork loin to add to my preps and another whole loin to do tomorrow. That will make a total of 12 pints canned from this sale. Got them for 1.89 lb. Would have been 14 pints but I needed pork for the sauerkraut for tonights dinner and some to take mom and 2 additional meals for me..plus dog scraps. I do like my canned pork! Ummm, actually my favorite cut to can is the sirloin roast or butt roast. Loins tend to be drier than I like.


Bee, next time you buy some meat, ask your butcher what they do with the fat... if the meat you buy is trimmed, their doing 'something' with that fat... probably throwing it away. Agree, meat canned with a little fat on it is a lot juicier, and not so dry.

We got home late today, after dark, (had to carry a dog in for a checkup on his wounds stitches), and stopped by the butcher on the way home. Got 7 boxes of meat scraps, and enough pork fat to cook out 10 gallons of lard, if we needed it.
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Manygoatsnmore... if you have neighbor dogs, maybe he's out sowing some wild oats. Hope so, and he comes home with a smile on his face.


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

Rearranged my storage pantry a bit, shifted cornmeal into a plastic bucket from some big jars, packed wheat into the big jars from qt canning jars, freeing up the canning jars for CANNING, lol. Gonna can some potatoes and pickled beets soon, and make some kraut. I got out of the canning habit for a couple of years but am enjoying it again now. Just can NOT do it in hot weather.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Texican, it can't be that - he's neutered, poor boy. He just walked away a few days ago, didn't come back when I called, and headed for the neighbors across the way. They have a mutt that is Russell's best friend. Haven't seen him since. His food hasn't been touched, so he isn'[t coming and going when I'm not looking. I sure hope he's okay. We lost his mother last fall (I think I know how, but can't prove it), and I don't want to go through this again. 

I've been canning, dehydrating, and cleaning wax today, along with regular housework, animal chores and bringing in extra firewood as ther forecast calls for a good chance of rain. I'm nearly done melting and cleaning wax, pouring the clean wax into Folger's cans for later candle making sessions, and saving the dirty dregs for making firestarters. I have a couple more cans of wax to finish in the morning. I canned the rest of the chicken and have 13 jars of broth in the fridge to de-fat again before I can them tomorrow. I got a quart jar of dried chicken, plus a 1/2 pint jar that I will set aside to enter in the fairs this year, 4 pints of chicken in broth, 4 quarts of "pet food" canned with water (hopefully it will make at least a weak broth), plus the broth and a big pot of chicken and dumplings from those 4 chickens. I just heard another jar ping - I think that's the last one from the canner load of meat. I love that sound! I have leek greens, green peas, and lo mein stir fry vegies in the dehydrators - the stir fry stuff will probably just go into soup when I rehydrate it. Now that I'm done with the little freezer, I'm working on the big one. I have a lot of meat to can up over the next week or so. I'd like to have it all done before I go for hand surgery again.

I did have one mishap today. I had one of my canners sitting on the stove waiting for me to work on changing out the vent tube, and I was making lunch on the burner behind it. I turned on the wrong burner. That canner happened to be on the burner I turned on, and it had all my spare parts in it!  I manged to rescue most everything, but I think one of my gaskets might be ruined. There is a spot that melted a bit and it doesn't look quite right - I'm pretty sure it won't seal properly.

Other than that, I just cooked with freezer leftovers, and did a lot of cleaning..a clean, organized house is a prep!


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## melco (May 7, 2006)

Being new I am just getting started so I havent done near the amount that you guys have and I love reading this because it gives me many ideas.
I picked up 8 jar candles at CVS and spent about $4.
I added 4 packs of tuna to my preps. Still in the process of making an inventory and "grocery" list.

Starting to organize and inventory our "place", trying to make things more useful and practical.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Well since I have been home for a week, I did some of my New Year's Cleaning and resorting of many of my prep items.

The dry cell batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V) have been rotated as to their expiration dates and sizes. Found my extra flashlight bulbs hidden in with some batteries. Seen that I need to get a couple more of the 6 VDC square lantern batteries, at the Dollar Store/ Harbor Freight when I go to town on Wednesday. I have a couple of lights that use those particular batteries.

I also pulled out most of the firearms over the Holiday, and did my usual field stripping, cleaning and maintenance of them.. 
Ahhhh, the smell of Hoppe's #9 Bore Cleaner, and gun oil in the morning..

My next project is to go thru all of the metal airtight mil-surplus containers and 5 gallon buckets, and rotate the canned goods inside them.. I try to have a bit of everything inside of each container (individually packed inside seperate heavy-duty freezer ziploc bags to protect from high humidity/ leakage), so I won't have to do without an item - if I can only grab one of two containers in an emergency. I do need to set up a mil-surplus metal ammunition container in an outbuilding, for secure storage of a set of heavy winter/ hunting clothing and footwear.

I looked at my candle making supplies today, and I need to scrounge some additional paraffin wax. I have a huge amount of wicks, molds, coloring, and scents - I just need to acquire additional wax. The price of new slabs of wax has risen sky-high in the last few years. I also use the coffee can storage method for recycled melted wax, that I find on Freecycle/ Craigslist. 

To make firestarters for those stubborn days: I use the fiberboard egg crates, and fill the egg compartments with chainsaw wood chips, then coated with the not so good wax containing the black carbonized wick material in it and/ or with mixed colors.

Later this week, I have to shape a store bought wooden handle to fit one of my 'pulaski' fire axes. The closest replacement that I could find in several hardware stores was a handle for a double bit axe, and I have to shave it down to fit into the tool head - I have the wide wooden and the small metal wedges to secure it onto the tool, once it fits... I also need to put a rubber 'handle saver' on it, to keep from breaking the handle off again in the future.

Now to find myself a few dozen more wide mouth canning jars in pints and quarts.. I also have the 'too many turkeys in the freezer syndrome'.. I used way too many of my other wide mouth canning jars for storage of dry bulk goods - such as beans, sugar, and rice this last fall..


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## margo (May 29, 2002)

Rotating and organizing the home-canned foods in the storage room. I have a number of jars of off color(spoiled) foods and just too darn old stuff to keep, so will dispose and clean the jars.

Added 25 more pounds of red whole wheat to storage. 

Priced out fencing and posts for the pasture we are planning come spring. There will be dozer work involved, then liming, seeding, etc. So, the budget will have to flex enough to accommodate this.

As always, reading the forums for ideas. Thanks for the inspiration.
Margo


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## hillbillygal (Jan 16, 2008)

Eventhough I'm gone I'm still looking for deals to stock up on back home. Amazon had a deal on Duracell Procell AA batteries and I bought 3 boxes of 24. The procell is what the hospital uses and I've been impressed with the 9 volts so I think these will serve our purposes well. I'm a little concerned about what the expiration dates will be but I figure I can share with family if I think they will degrade before we use all of them.


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## edjewcollins (Jun 20, 2003)

Went to Meijer, bought 11 large cans of Campbells "Select Harvest" soup. They we're 10 for $10 and get the 11th free. At check out I got a coupon for $2 of 10 cans of the same soup---guess were I'm going back too tomorrow ;.)

Ed


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## Nancy (May 14, 2002)

Canned 7 quarts of dry beans today. Like to have them ready for soups and stews.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Ah, the lovely sound of sealing jars. I have 7 jars of pork and 2 of cubed beef roast that just came out of the canner, and I'm hearing pings.  I have more pork and beef in the slow cookers, and will can them up tomorrow. I finally got my canners to work properly and got to use the weighted canner lid instead of the dial gauge. Sure made canning meat a breeze. I was able to clean my whole house while it processed. I've been taking the best looking jars of canned and dehydrated food and setting them aside for fair entries this summer. I have canned chicken, pork, beef, chicken broth, and green beans, and dehydrated green beans, leek powder, peas, and corn so far. I figure I'll add a lot more by fair time. The premium money will come in handy, and they don't open the jars, so after I finish entering them, then I get to eat the food, a win-win. 

I called the well guy today and he is supposed to be here in the morning to service the filter system. I sure hope I end up with clear water and good water pressure after he's done.

I also placed my order for a couple of the solar d.lights, one of the smaller ones and one of the larger ones that is supposed to light a room. I'm looking forward to trying them out. If they really work, it will be an awesome addition to my preps.

Got a break in the rain today and moved a good supply of wood into the house, since it's supposed to be cold and rainy over the next few days. Looking at the wood supply, it looks like I'll be fine for the rest of the winter, but I'm sure looking forward to being able to use the chainsaw again.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

I got the weights for my canner ordered today. I am SOOOO excited to have these.
I also got a great deal on .22 ammo 16.90 for a brick! If we have any extra cash at the end of the month, I'll go back and get more. 
DH and I have decided to just buy a box every payday. Each variety we need is about the same $$ so, we'll stock up on what we are particularly low on first.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

manygoatsnmore--I get tired just reading your posts! You go!


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

Been working on rearranging my storage too, because I am going into plant starting mode here in a couple of weeks. Realized I need more starting racks too (they hold sixteen flats each) if I ever figure out how to get my website reworked.

Sure wish there was an LDS pantry up here, I could really use it.


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

Bought a big jug of EVOO, a big bag of powdered milk, and some cider vinegar for the pantry. Still need a big bag of brown rice and one of all purpose flour. Oh, and honey, but I want local for that, so farmer's market next Sunday AM.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

finished the woodshed this week...after snow and ice had me delayed over a month ago..










it will hold 4 cords


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

We are only doing very small things right now. We've been running around like chickens with out heads cut off with family members in and out of the hospital. In all of this my DS mentioned that he has grown out of his new shoes bought in Sept (tis his age-12 last week). Found K-Mart has shoes on sale for $10 this week. So we ran over and bought him 8 1/2's (to replace 7's!) and a pair on 9 1/2 so we are "ready" for the next growth spurt that hits his feet. DH says if he's anything like he was at his age he'll be in those shoes long before summer.

93% lean ground meat sale at the store, so I bought 12# to can tomorrow (No one better need to go to the hospital!!).


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

Prepped 7 lb of beets for pickling. Can't finish the canning tonight - definitely tomorrow. I just need to slice, stuff, pour, seal, and process.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Leister Square said:


> manygoatsnmore--I get tired just reading your posts! You go!


Well, thank you, but I feel like a slacker next to a lot of the folks here - RadioFish is a good example of that. Loved the line about the smell of #9 Hopps and gun oil in the morning, lol.

Great news here! My mutt showed up Friday, sick, seriously dehydrated, very weak and thin. I paid the well guy, called the vet, and Abby scooped Russell up and put him in the back of the SUV. We made a flying trip, got him there before closing. Turns out he has pancreatitis, probably got into garbage and fat somewhere, plus his sodium and chloride were low, he was bolused with a liter of fluids as soon as he got there, and more after that. I'm hoping that I can bring him home tomorrow. If his electrolytes are back to normal and he's eating and drinking, he can come home. This is where having some financial preps in place is going to pay off. It's going to cost me a small fortune to get him healthy again, and I'm thankful that I have it on hand.

I have running water - clear, cold running water with pressure! Unfortunately, the hot water is still running orange. I'll have to flush the hot water tank and see if it helps...if not, I'll be looking at replacing the tank. I sure hope I don't need to go that route. 

Took my girls and grands to Goodwill this afternoon and found some good buys on coats and clothes, sheets, including some for using on the raised beds in the garden - any time I can get a king sized nearly sheer white sheet for .99, it's a good deal - cheaper than row cover.  I also found a nice sleeping bag, like new, probably not rated below freezing, but adequate for summer camping, or winter with a liner and/or a bigger bag over it. It was marked 10.99, but it was a pink tag, which was 50% off, so I got it for 5.49. Not too shabby.

Found some goodies at the transfer station, too - an end to a bunk bed set that has a desk in it, and it's all metal with posts, a couple sections of metal grid, etc. Right now it's in use in the living room as a drying rack, and after that, I'll take it apart and use the various parts in the garden or barn. There was also a large plastic tote there, the lid was missing, but the tote was in good shape - it's under the drip line on the barn. And lastly, there was a wheeled cart, the kind you see little old ladies using to do their shopping. Abby took one look at it and said, "That would work great to haul a bucket of water!" Apple didn't fall too far from the tree - I was thinking the same thing. 

I'm working on getting my older dd to understand why I stock a pantry. I jokingly talk about "the end of the world" - figure I can work up to teaching her that I'm actually serious about thinking that something's going to happen. I have mentioned that with the price of food going up so much, it pays to stock up more now. I really would like to see her starting to set up her own pantry, but she shares a house with her SO, his mom and his brother. The brother weighs about 300# or more and eats everything they bring in. It just kills me that they get food stamps - over $600 a month, and they have NOTHING stored up to eat. They actually run out of food every month. Back in my poor days when I qualified for food stamps, I had leftover stamps every month, and actually built a cushion of over $1000 in food stamps before I finished school and got a good job. That was back when you actually got paper stamps, and I fed us for over 6 months more, plus stocking a pantry! 

This is my dd that ran away from home at 15, went through meth and other drug addiction, and cleaned up to have her children, so has been clean for 7 years. She's lived with her SO and his family through much of the last 10 years and the things she learned from mom have been lost along the way. She thinks it's normal to have to pawn things for gas money, to be 3 months behind on the rent and eventually get evicted, etc. Drives me crazy. But, she is still my daughter, the mother of 2 of my grands, I love her dearly, and I want better for her...I just have to take it slowly and not overwhelm her. I have her and the grands come to spend the night every week or 2 right now, while I'm off work and my schedule works with the kids' school schedule. I hope we'll be able to continue it when I'm back to work. I really enjoy having them here AND I want to make her more aware of the need to be prepped for whatever.

Been using up odds and ends of cereal, bread, etc. We made a couple batches of "Chex" mix while K and the grands were here, and one more batch should use up the rest of the opened cereals. I have enough corn flakes and Rice Krispies to make a batch of peanut butter no bake cookies, so that's on the agenda for tomorrow.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Lean ground beef is on sale this week (93% lean!) So I'm filing jars. Taco meat is in the caner right now. Now the pots full of browning meat for sloppy joes. It's amazing how a few hours of caning can make for many low stress nights in the future.

Going to take DH to the mall to walk this afternoon (this is a mall with almost no stores! I have no idea how they stay open, everyone just goes there to walk in the winter, LOL). He had surprise surgery on Friday so we want to work up his stamina so he can get back to work. Took him to K-mart yesterday.....he took a 30 min nap when we got back.


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## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

The biggest prep in our family is I got a job. After 25 years of home keeping I am getting a pay check. Empty nest syndrome hit me hard last September so this is a win win. This is a temporary job. I manage a store for some people until they can find a buyer for it. It's easier to sell a profit making establishment rather than just an empty building.
Funny thing, since working I have not found the time to search for prep stuff. Probably the best thing I can do is keep my money until I either lose the job or happen upon a great deal. Hot diggity dog!


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## Pink1 (Jan 3, 2011)

radiofish, you said "To make firestarters for those stubborn days: I use the fiberboard egg crates, and fill the egg compartments with chainsaw wood chips, then coated with the not so good wax containing the black carbonized wick material in it and/ or with mixed colors." Would you please expand on the process for a newbie? I have the fiberboard crates, wood chips and dirty wax but need to know how to put it together. This is my first post - hope I am doing it right. 

So glad I found this site! Thanks


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Pink1, you put the wood chips (or dryer lint) into the eggs cups. Then melt your wax by method of your choosing. I like to use a pot of water on the stove and have my wax in a coffee can in the water. Then when it's melted pour it over the wood filled cups. You don't have to put in a ton of wax either (at least not with the dryer lint, I haven't made it with wood chips yet). Once it is cooled you break the egg cups apart and you can use just one to light your fire. Just light the cardboard. We use them often here as we have a fire everyday during the winter.
Hope that helps.
Trisha


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## Pink1 (Jan 3, 2011)

Thanks for the info Trisha......

I have other questions at this point of my prepping also. Does freezing for a day or two extend the life of dry goods by much or any at all? This would be for dry milk, flour, sugar, rice, pasta and oats, etc. Someone told me that it would kill any "bugs" but I am wondering about extending shelf life too. My freezer space is very limited so I cannot store them indefinitely.

I have lots of plastic 1 gallon jars that previously held food but cannot make them air tight. I tried putting water in them and turning them upside down but they leak. Is there any way to make them air tight or should I just use them to store water in? Am I correct in thinking that an oxygen absorber would not work in them either because they leak water?

As you can tell, I am new at this and need all the help I can get.  My case of canned cheese and butter just arrived - had to taste the cheese which I can say is pretty good! It is ice cold now so we shall see what it tasts like when it gets room temperature. Thanks for any suggestions or words of wisdom.


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

I put up 8 pints of pickled beets this evening. Now on to a batch of kraut before the weather warms up.

Oh, and I picked up 6 cans of tuna at the 99c store (yes, 99c each). I need to get a bunch more because I don't think I will ever see it that cheap again. They normally go for $1.75-$2.00 and are rarely on sale anymore. These are the regular 5 oz cans that we used to get for 59c for years and years.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Pink1 - I see you are from Michigan, that is where I grew up at - in Detroit and it's suburbs out near Detroit Metro Airport.

As Trisha in Wa posted, for firestarters I fill each individual egg cup with wood chips from running the chainsaw (loosly piled), and use a moderate amount of wax to coat them.. If you have it, a bit of candle wick sticking out helps to facilitate lighting them.. I cut up the fiberboard with a pair of dollar store shears, or one could tear them.. But I found that if it is covered with wax, the fiberboard doesn't tear as easily..

I also make 'buddy burners' from cat food cans, rolled up cardboard showing the corregated edge, add a wick in the center, fill with wax and viola, a heat source for a home made hobo stove made from a larger can..

To seal 1 gallon plastic jars: are these going to be used on a daily basis? If so, try sliding a one gallon heavy duty (thick) ziploc bag over the open mouth, hold in place with a rubberband (placed below the threads), and screw down the lid. That may create an air tight seal. If for long term storage, without my seeing the jars, maybe wrap the lid joint with some duct tape, try using a thin coating of wax or petroleum jelly along the lid edge/ threads, or some other method of creating an airtight seal could be improvised. I tend to use the the 1 gallon glass jars, with the metal lids. and they seem to seal well with no failures..

One does not have to continously 'freeze' dry goods to extend their shelf life. Freezing is used for a few days to kill off any unwanted pests, before you put the dry goods items into long term storage. I have found that the 2 and 1/2 gallon heavy duty ziploc bags will hold 2 seperate 5 pound bags of flour/ sugar/ cornmeal/ etc., and will fit into a 5 gallon bucket. Actually 4 of the five pound bags will fit into a five gallon bucket, with room to stash other items (canned goods, flashlights, ammunition, utensils, whatever you want) alongside them to fill in the gaps

Manygoatsnmore - well I have been at prepping for a few decades. So I have many of the the essentials in place, and now I can think of expanding some of my options.. 

At our CVS drugstore, they do sell firearms cleaning kits for around $10.00 dollars each. I gifted a .22 caliber, and a 7mm/ .30 caliber firearms cleaning kits to my neighbor. Then I showed him how to 'field strip' his weapons and correctly clean and lubricate them, before reassembly. When I hear from some folks on how seldom they clean and oil their firearms, I cringe!!! Must be the Marine Corps policy of a dirty weapon, is a bad weapon - that was drilled into me. I spent lots of time in the Armory doing grunt work as part of my 'administrative punishment', from my wild days as an alcohol intoxicated young Marine. So I have the experience of the disassembly, cleaning, and reassembling thousands of weapons. 

The smell of Hoppes #9 bore cleaner and gun oil, always brings back a flood of memories for me. From my hunting as a teenager, to my recent target shooting - then my religiously cleaning my weapons afterwards.. Even my dad would not tolerate a 'dirty shotgun' after going hunting, back in the day.

So I went by one of the Walgreens and it seems that all of the Christmas candles and candies are no longer on clearance/ or have all been sold - at least at the store I was at today.. At another local store I did find some knit caps on sale. Suprisingly, that was one of the items, that I did not have here, so I bought 4 of them in green, brown, orange, and blue at $1.99 each. I have plenty of other types of hats/ caps, thermals, gloves, scarves, boot socks, lots of winter clothing, but I had no knit caps.. Something tells me (maybe the metal pins in my leg??), that it is going to snow soon - and we haven't had a large snowfall here yet this winter on the hilltop.. I have my square pointed shovel ready to clear a trail over to the woodshed, so I can keep the front porch loaded with firewood.

Now to modify my medium sized bright red BOB/ travel bag in preperation for another trip to the VA Hospital (Ft. Miley) in San Francisco soon. I have to remove any ammunition or weapons - even any small folding pocket/ swiss army knives, before I can take my travel bag onto a Federal Installation. That and a name tag must be promanently displayed.. I can leave my MRE's and munchies food, bag of medictions, clothing, books, bag of assorted change, and other comfort items in there though. I don't quite need to haul a huge internal frame backpack and all of it's contents, on a 600+ mile round trip and an overnight stay. But if I do get stuck in San Francisco, I will not go hungry or lack anything until I can get back home to the main supply depot here.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

I finally put together a metal shelving unit that has been "resting" in a box in the basement for years. I put the first one together when purchased; putting this one together reminded me why I did not do it at that time! Moved all the boxes setting in my way of recent purchases of "goodies" to the shelves..I can now walk around much better! Everytime I go by it I pause to admire....


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## Pink1 (Jan 3, 2011)

Radiofish - Thanks for the info. You have been a big help in getting me started with my dry storage. I wish you luck on your trip to the VA Hospital! Sounds like you are smarter than the average bear, sitting on your hilltop 80 acres in the fog above the ocean.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Received a $5 off coupon from Ace. So I picked up another case of 1/2 gallon jars. Today was pay day so I went shopping...haven't been in 4 or 5 weeks. With the holidays my can rotator got a bit empty.....fixed that:happy:. Doubled up on some nice sales with double coupons. I spent allot (about $200) on groceries...but it will last this family a while barring the need for "fresh" items and meat that comes up in loss leader (had to can the last meat sale as the freezer is full).


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Just got back home earlier today after having my left hand carpal tunnel release done yesterday. Things seem to have gone okay - I have some swelling and bruising, but not as much noticeable color to it as yesterday. I'm impatient to finish healing so I can get to work on the garden, sawing wood, etc. I'm very happy to have taken care of this now, while everything is "normal".

While dd and I were in Vancouver, we shopped Goodwill and found some pretty good bargains on prep items. Amongst the goodies? Books - Storey's Guide to Raising Poultry, Park's Success With Seeds, and Organizing From the Inside Out. A Wagner Ware 6 1/2" cast iron skillet for 3.99 and a Lodge 10" cast iron dutch oven for 9.99. I wish the dutch oven had come with a lid, but I did find a black and white speckled graniteware tray for 2.99 that fits onto the top perfectly, and can be used to hold coals if I want to bake in it. I also found a graniteware collander (blue and white this time). an ulu, a huge pizza cutter (very sharp rotary wheel style, will also work great to cut pasta until I find a pasta maker), and a blow up queen size Coleman air mattress, still in the box.

I also filled the prescription for pain meds after surgery, even though I'll probably use mostly ibuprofen and maybe some Vicodin, and save the heavy duty stuff for "real" pain. While I was at the pharmacy, I also picked up an extra 96 count pack of generic Sudafed. You practically have to sign your life away to buy that stuff.

My dog is continuing to recover, and ended up going with us to the hotel. For a dog never officially housebroken and not really used to riding in cars, obeying basic commands, etc, he was fantastic. Not one accident, figured out all the leash commands, and rode like an old pro in the car. He was still wobbly when we got him out of the hospital Tues and SO thin. He's much stronger, and you can almost SEE him gaining weight back. Smart mutt and a good boy.  

eta: Also, when I picked him up, I popped into the large animal practice to make an appointment to have our horse's teeth floated along with a general checkup and shots. I also bought another vial of BoSe for the goats. They are due in a couple months, so it's time for their boosters. We are in a very selenium deficient area.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Finally talked DH into butchering some of the slothful chickens who aren't laying and were never decent layers before now anyhow. Never buy that breed again.(Barred Rocks) from Cackle hatchery here in MO). So much for experiments. Five hens and not an egg to be found in them. Must have scared the other 5 as got three eggs today already !!! These are RIR's that have been pretty faithful layers; son moved and gave them to me. No reason not to lay with heated water,light, large coop and it being their first fall/winter laying(or not!). I even sprout greens for them! 50# of laying pellets has gone up over $2 this year. Thinking chicken enchilatas tonight....DEE


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I just picked up a bunch of celebrity canned hams from walgreens, on sale this week for 1.99...they dont expire until 2015!! yeah!! also added a few more cans of sale albacore tuna and some almost free after coupons progresso soup. I do can my own soup, but for the price (a quarter or less a can) its worth it..
Thanks Ladycat for the ham idea and the coupon knowledge.


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

Finally made a trip to WalMart. There, I found two notable bargains. Toothpaste for $1.08 a regular size tube (normally in the $3 range) and some Sauve brand shampoo and conditioner for $1.54 for the large bottles, one third over sized. So I have ten or twelve bottles of hair products and extra toothpaste. I bought all the toothpaste remaining on the shelf-8 tubes, lol When I checked out, the gal said she had seen a lot of that Sauve going through the check out. A comparative cost on any "name brand" shampoo that size is about $7, or more, so a very good deal for here.

The big thing is that I have my seed orders in. Now I am second guessing myself and if I can scrabble together some $$, I am going to order as much as possible of squashes, beans and tomatoes-varieties which will do well here in our short season. 

And over the past week, I have been working on the new website. Sorta. I have the basic text all done, and photos. Just need to find someone handier than I am for uploading using the webhost software. 

And, I ran across someone who (well several people, actually) who are really struggling to keep groceries on the table. I promised each of them a flat of veggie starts when the time comes. One gal was nearly in tears.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Did another canner load of meat (beef, lamb, chicken) tonight and every jar sealed. Very happy to see the jars didn't lose liquid either. The first load I ran through this particular canner had 3 quarts that didn't seal and a lot of siphoning of liquid. This time, no problem. Have more meat thawing to be ground into hamburger - I'll make hamburger rocks, most likely - and to can. I'm making a good dent in the older meats in the freezer, working a bit at a time.

Waiting for my dryer and oven elements to arrive so I can fix both, and after flushing the hot water heater, I can see that I will need to replace it. Spent the day cleaning, cooking and canning. Raining outside, so a good day's work inside was just the ticket.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Spent a gloriously sunny day in the car today. Had to go to Vancouver to see the hand surgeon for my postop on my left hand. Told him I was concerned about my right hand and he looked at it. Agreed with me that it looked like the incision on the wrist looked like it was infected or inflamed and started me on Keflex and higher dose, scheduled ibuprofen. Gave me another script for oxycodone, too, JIC, as he put it. I can't fill the prescriptions until tomorrow, but I have Keflex at home so I've started the course of antibiotics and upped the ibuprofen. I will, of course, fill the oxy for future needs. 

While I was down there, I hit Goodwill - canning jars are .29 each at this Goodwill, and I got 26 of them - all quarts, mix of wide and narrow mouths. I also found what looks to be a handmade, but machine quilted, quilt (if it's a store-bought one, they did a good job of removing any evidence of tags) in perfect condition, a sifter for my fresh ground flour, another meat grinder (hopefully, I have enough pieces now to have one that works to make hamburger tonight), another airbed (queen sized and double height), and some magazine holders for all the misc magazines I keep (Countryside, Backwoods Home, etc).

Treated myself to taking the SUV through the car wash for Sport's annual bath - should wash it a lot more often so it lasts, and noted that it is time for an oil change - need to do that tomorrow while I'm in town to fill prescriptions.

Stopped at Costco to pick up frozen vegies - 2 5# bags each of white corn and baby peas, one of broccoli. I like that they are organic and taste good, and they are cheaper than the local grocery non-organics. Since my corn crop was a bust this last year, I'm eating Costco corn. I also picked up 2 25# bags of salt - at 3.95 each, I try to pick some up on each trip there. Treated myself to dried mangos and frozen blueberries, too. My best find, though, was that the bareroot fruit trees were in. I bought 6 different sweet cherries! Last year I bought 11 fruit trees there, and other than the one my buck goat managed to get to (snapped the Braeburn right off at the graft - I could have sworn he was too far away to reach it, but I was so wrong :Bawling: ), they've done really well. Costco didn't have any cherry trees last year, though. Hopefully, in a few years, I'll have cherries to eat and in a few more, cherries to sell. At 10.99 each (71.35 with tax for all 6), I got carried away with cherries. :happy:

So, the quilt is a perfect fit on my bed, the airbed has a hole in a seam that I'm trying to patch and if it won't patch, I'll return it or go to the store it came from originally and exchange it (it was new and shouldn't have had a flaw), and I have to go figure out if my meat grinder is going to work, wash the jars, and can up another load of meat tonight. Another good day on the prep front. 


eta: Almost forgot to add that I picked up my solar lights at the post office. Turned off all the lights in my bedroom and tried out the lights - *wow*! You can easily read by either one, and the larger one fairly well lights up the whole room (roughly 14'x14'). Not as bright as electric CFLs, but much brighter than kerosene lamps, at least as bright or brighter than my Aladdins, without the kerosene odor or having to babysit the Aladdin mantle. Safer, too, with animals around. I can't remember who posted about these d.lights, but I thank them. Very reasonable price and lots of light for the $$. Also got a copy of How to Survive TEOTWAWKI by JW Rawles in the same order and am looking forward to reading it.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Spent yesterday afternoon babysitting a batch of baked beans in the turkey roaster. Today it's in 7 qt jars in the caner. Should make some quick grab lunches for the kiddos and me when time slips away from us (which it does much too often).


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Have the dehydrator going right - 5 stalks of celery, a couple pounds carrots and Bell Peppers. Will vaccum pak and mylar when done.
Rained again yesterday, but, temp dropped below freezing..... will pump all catch barrels into holding tanks.... as soon as,it thaws later today.
Still planting seedlings for Market Garden.
DH bought 2 more 375 gal holding tanks yesterday.... He will pick them up this weekend.
Water reclaimation and conservation is waaaaaaay high on our priorities.
He also picked up some additional ammo while he was out and ordered some more straw. 
Received confirmation, Potato, onion and leeks will arrive soon.....Weather has been too cold to ship...... fingers crossed. Local feed store has them in the mean time.
With the Arctic weather prep, market garden prep, animal/ family emergency....I have not put much, from the outside world, in my stores, this month. I have freshened all our drinking water stores. 
It is nice to know, you really can rely on yourself!!
I am going to make a big push for next month, to make up for lost time.


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## Ok Bowhunter (Feb 1, 2010)

Defrosting some vension for the deyhdrator, I really like my new Excaliber! Put 50 pounds of hard red wheat into the freezer to frezze for a few weeks hope to kill off any unwanted passangers in the buckets.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Orderd a couple herbal books from Amazon, as recommended by naturelover in the alternative to morphine pain relief thread. Need to run down to the mailbox and see if my seeds are here from Martin. Signed up for the next seed train on the gardening forum (I'll send you some tomato seeds, texasdirtdigger  ). Got my dryer element and oven element today, so I can start fixing things around here. Thawed out more meat for hamburger grinding and canning. Moved the desk/shelf thingie I got at the transfer station into the pantry and rearranged things in there to make everything more accessible/neater. Moved the home canned meat into the pantry and updated the inventory. That's about it for the last 24hrs.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Thank YOU MGM!! Thank you!! Wow!!
You are on FIRE! And, you are doing it.... basically one handed!!
Words of wisdom..... stay out of the dirt, until that surgery heals!! I know how anxious you are, and I know you are a nurse... stay out of the dirt!! 
As for me.....
Just finished packing away dehydrated veggies dried yesterday! 
Pumped rain catch barrels into holding tanks, as soon as they thawed enough to flow. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
I have a big catering event, tonight. I always try to scavange all veggie scraps/ egg shells for compost, meat scraps for doggies, and cardboard for garden, from the prep. They are convinced... I am some sorta stange garbage lady!! Oh, well, let them laugh and shake their heads.:runforhills:
Still tending and planting seedlings daily for Market Garden. 
Gonna go out and pick greens for tonights dinner event, when it gets daylight. (After I feed the stocks and flocks). Still nursing my pet Macaw from her injury...Gotta spend good bit of time helping her eat and administering meds. Also,added to prep list is making my own parrot mix.... using scrap dehydrated fruits, greens and vegs.....adding my own pasta and a few beans and peas. Sorta a dried soup prep mix.... for parrots. Her injury was an eyeopening experience.....showed me some holes in my preps and spent a whole bunch of my cash..not to mention freaking me out!
Weather will be more moderate next week, but, because of my schedule, I only have a couple of full days to dedicate to soil prep. Go figure.....ONWARD!!:viking:


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Update.. Went to work at event center. Someone had left a 50 lb box of foil wrapped Potatoes, in the kitchen, for the last number of weeks. They were just barely starting to send sprouts thru the foil. Everyone ( except me) was grossed out........Guess where they are now.....Yep, that's right, I merrily put them in my car and brought them home! I'll be processing them quickly... took the foil off... so they would stop thinking, they had been planted!!
DH picked up water storage tanks and we set them this morn. Worked in garden area until I pooped out.
Tending and planting seeds and seedlings every day!! You know.....I really find this rewarding!
I keep telling my DH...... "I'll sell all I can.....And, I will can the rest!!"


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

We got our Excalibur yesterday. Wife is thinking of trying some sweet potatoes in it sometime tomorrow.
Stopped by CVS to check the ad, not much worth buying there. But they did have White Rain shampoo on clearance for 25Â¢ each, I got the last 2.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Let's see, I finished the freezer inventory, hauled water in 4 gallon buckets to water the animals and clean out/fill the wringer washer (first time I've done that since carpal tunnel surgery), hauled 2 wheelbarrow loads of wood to the house, and even split a stubborn round with the maul and wedge. Learned that I can do it if I use lots of little taps on the wedge, but not a big swing - ouch, that one stung! I even shoveled 2 buckets of compost to screen for seed starting - I can shovel again. :happy: Now I can go back to gardening. :sing: It was really nice to be able to get outside and WORK a bit. I'm really out of shape from sitting around while my hands heal - need to get back to being more active.

Tried to change out the oven element - need to let the drill/nut driver re-charge first. I'm still not quite able to use the hand tools to twist. Later tonight, I should be able to get it done - it's just a matter of removing 2 screws.

Congrats on the Excaliber, GCM - I love mine. It's been getting a lot of use lately.

Good work, TDD - you've been busy. And don't worry, my incisions are healed - it's just the insides now.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Got 50 lbs. free Potato's processed. Canned 10 Quarts and shredded and dehydrated the rest.
Vac Pac'd and mylar'd them..... packed away!
Will bring big load of cardboard and grain sacks home today.
Worked in garden area, amending soil yesterday...... plan to do that again, this afternoon. I love the smell of fresh broken soil!!
On the lookout for a big pump, to bring water from our lake to the garden, which is uphill.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Went ahead and ordered my baby chicks for the end of Feb. Pa says he'll run the generator if we get any power outages while they are still in the brooder. Have never been pleased with the Barred Rocks we got last year. They have been poor layers of strange eggs--some big,some small, some wrinkled. Going back to the Sil-Go-Links and Aracunas. Culled 5 of the old hens and nary an egg to be found but they sure were eating like they were working hard!! Been making wheat sprouts every 3 days for them; the others are laying better. Think the "hogs" were eating all the feed.

Yesterday neighbor called and had a calf he was trying to save..this is the second year the cow had twins and she rejected the weaker heifer again. We have last years' heifer so now we have her sis. They tubed her for three days and she did get colostrum and some antibiotics. Wouldn't eat last night but boy, she was hungry this am and more than willing to take a bottle. Named her Lily...now I'm doomed. Didn't name the sis as intend for her future to be the freezer.(Angus). We had raised a calf for him before and I was kinda ----ed when he up and sold her after all. So told him I'd buy her if she does well the next two weeks. Note, her sis is coming into heat regularly so don't know if she would actually be able to have calves or not. Not looking to start a beef herd and already have a Jersey heifer due in May. 


We're having some nice weather right now so got out and cleaned in the garden,pruned some fruit trees and finally had a bonfire to clean up alot of downed limbs. Guess this is our January thaw. Worked cleaning up the greenhouse. Hopefully, will open the 1st of Feb. The snow is welcome as we had such a droughty late summer/fall. When we shovel the walk we throw the snow on the yard shrubs and trees. Kinda muddy today. DEE


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

With our unusual weather of clear skies and 60 degrees, I am afraid that the fruit trees will soon start to bud, and then get hit with a heavy snow storm later this season.. I am very suprised that there has not been a heavy 'snow fall' yet this winter. It is probally gonna come all at one time this year. In fact, I am looking forward to having to take a few 'snow days' and staying at home looking at it from inside the house while standing next to the woodstove. I do not have to shovel any sidewalk, or worry about going out and driving in the snow anymore..

Stopped and chatted with my one neighbor that keep hogs, turkeys, and geese out in his pastures along the road today, and then with my other neighbor that has the huge 'Fresian' draft horses was working in her pastures on either side of the road during the drive home this afternoon. Being close to the 'road', they are concerned with folks messing with their livestock, or even cutting their fences - as it has happened to them in the past.

Today while in town I found several varieties of meat on sale (loss leaders), including 5 pound canned hams for $8.99 each. They have a 'best by' date of Nov 2013, so I had the meat department open one up and slice it for me - I have wrapped and put in the freezer around 1/2 of that one seperated into 3 packages. I put another sealed and intact 5 pound canned ham in the fridge, and I need to figure out what to do with them. Where are my cookbooks at?? But at $1.80 per pound, it is a very good deal!! I will add this ham to pots of beans, add some to scrambled eggs, make my own ham salad, besides making the typical ham sandwiches. 

Also found family packs of bone in split chicken breasts at $0.97 per pound, and pork shoulder roasts at buy one/ get one free (@ the cost per pound, it was a very good deal) - for pulled pork recipes. Needless to say, there went my extra space in the chest freezer. I wonder what food items will be on sale as loss leaders, leading up to the big Super Dooper Bowl Sunday festivities? Watch your sales papers for your local market's deals.

Otherwise I spent some time this afternoon moving firewood from high up in the corners of the woodshed, out towards the doorway. I am not burning as much wood this winter, since it has been rather warm (high 30's to low 40's) here at night.

I haven't even started to think about starting any seeds, or even digging in the dirt yet.. But I have moved some gravel, and been looking for water damage along the private road though..

Dee - I need to go down to the lower landing and light off my brush/ slash burn pile, once it starts to raining again..It is just too dry right now, to have a fire here amongst the trees...


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

RF, why aren't you putting the sealed one on the shelf and using the one you had opened and sliced? Dang, now you have me in the mood for ham, lol. I have 3 in the freezer so I guess I need to pull one out and put it in a slow cooker. Scrambled eggs and ham, yum. 

Today's prep was getting my paperwork pile under control and locating all the receipts I needed to file taxes, health care flex spend reimbursement, and worker's comp reimbursement. I've been lax in taking care of that kind of stuff, and have about $800 coming to me.  What a waste to let others have the use of my money when I could do quite a bit with it myself!

Yesterday (Monday), I made a trip to town, talked to my boss about when they are going to post the position for designated charge - sounds like it's going to be soon, and that they are also opening up the 8th floor as another med/surg floor, so they'll be hiring for that floor as well. If I get the position, which I should, I'll be full time, and will be able to put all the money onto the mortgage, so I can pay it off much faster. Also, while I was in town, I picked up more insulation for the pumphouse, so I can get back on track with that. Since the cold snap before Thanksgiving (snowed before Thanksgiving), we've had very little snow, and one week of really cold temps (for us), so I've been lucky so far. I need to finish it all up before my luck runs out!

I finally managed to get the old vent tubes out of the last 2 canners, and put the new one in one. Have to order the last vent tube and weight set and then all the canners will be set up to can without dial gauges to babysit. :happy:

Still having periods of heavy iron water coming through the filter system, even in the cold water pipes. I guess I need to make another phone call. < sigh > I did talk to the guys at the plumbing supply shop and I may be able to do a couple things to avoid having to replace the hot water heater. Need to get the filter straightened out first, though.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

My preps for yesterday were ....... Scored another 5 gal FG Honey Bucket!!! Brought home BIGGG load of cardboard and paper grain sacks for garden. 
Went to feed store got a trailer FULL..... Owner brought in different brand...... was $2 a bag cheaper!! Woot! With this cold weather... everything is eating like crazy....just trying to keep warm!!
Spent my $5 Ace reward card on a box of canning jars.....They should be having a sale soon, I will do the big stock up on them when that happens. I usually buy all they have on the shelves and order, as many as, they will let me, from the warehouse at the reduced price. If I pay for them up-front... they don't seem to mind.
Ordered a case of Fels Naptha Soap, picked up 6 boxes of matches,grabbed a gal of lamp fuel......man that stuff is pricey.. and I need to find metal cans to transfer it in for long term storage. Oh, got wicks, too!
Moved a few arm loads of firewood closer to house.....Saturday will be almost 70F.....and I gotta work  THEN.... Winter mix comin Sunday and Monday.... yuk! I am hateing this winter weather.
Worked out in garden until almost dark... we had a brisk north wind blowin.....I was glad to come into a warm house.
Still planting for Market Garden daily.
Going to try to shop loss leaders today and go back to feed store for dog food and refill Propane bottles.
Filled up all three vehicles yesterday, gas was down to a mere $3.11 from $3.35 grrrrrr!
I plan to go by Costco and check on fruit trees today, also.
Onions, Leeks and potatoes are about to go into the ground..... got my shipment!!!!


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Lots of progress this month so far. Finally did a freezer inventory on all 3 freezers. Now if I just remember to check off things as I use them.  I also dehydrated a lot of frozen vegetables we had in there to save space and enable them to become long-term. Goal is to get down to 1 freezer and that to be for regular daily use rather than longer term. Our thinking is that if the electric goes out, it will be easier to deal with trying to process a reasonable amount rather than battling time over mega amounts of food to can.

Did a lot of shopping for bulk items at Emergency Essentials and Honeyville. Just have a bunch of items I want to get from Sams Club and we will officially have a year + at least 4 months worth of food and supplies. For a long time now we've wanted to aim for 1 1/2 years. We just really believe the big SHTF is going to go long term. We figure that, even if we have to ration our supplies, we could turn all of this into 3 years at least.

Picked up more buckets, mylar bags, oxygen absorbers, and food saver vacuum bags to repackage all the bags of bulk items. I haven't had to get any in a while and forget how much it costs to purchase a bunch of that stuff is! :shocked:

Also trying harder to get away from canning and rather dehydrate instead. What a space, time, money and energy saver! Wish I had gotten into the habit of this years ago. 

Chickens are laying better the last few weeks so am aiming to accomplish dehydrating and storing a years worth of scrambled eggs over the next several weeks.


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

About all I have managed to get done, is scrounge up some soap buckets. Empty, of course. But washed and dried, they are now filled with flour, sugar and so forth. (No, not direct into the buckets, lol, in plastic first!) 

Tonight I start planting seeds, yay!


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## bourbonred (Feb 27, 2008)

I nearly finished the teens and DH's BOBs. In finishing them, I realized that while I was making emergency phone lists for their BOB, they needed the same lists for everyday in their wallets and purses. DUHHH! My DD and I made a 7 day plan of menus for our beginnings of food storage--7 days worth of food that can be easily fixed without electricity. I've also began storing whole grain: corn kernels, flax seed; and using my ground grains in cooking. I'm collecting canning supplies along with recipes and beginning to learn to can. I planned out my garden so as to maintain my heirloom seeds so I can harvest my seeds this fall.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

TDD, where do you get the honey buckets? Did this one have honey in it, too? I still haven't even remembered to ask for frosting buckets.

Ordered two more vent pipes and 3 way weight sets for my canners. One will be put to use immediately and I bought a spare in case I find another canner at a garage sale this summer. 

Ground up more extra lean beef, cooked it up and have it in the dehydrator to make hamburger rocks. Thawing the last 3 packages now, and then all the older beef is done. I'm nearly done in with the freezer. It's not empty, by any means, but it has a whole lot fresher food in it now. 

Filled out my paperwork to get reimbursed for my out of pocket health care expenses. That will free up a lot more $$ for preps/savings.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

MGM - One of my many talents... is.....I make Gourmet Granola commercially. Honey is not always purchased in 5 gal buckets, but I call Dibs, when we have them. Yes, it did have just about a pint left in it. They are so wasteful in that kitchen. Yes,it is in my pantry. Yes, they think I am strange.
Check around... they clean up really well, with hot water..... and smell good, too. That is also where I get a lot of cardboard and grain bags. The boxes are triple strength -thick - ultra sturdy. Nuts and Berries come in them........GREAT for storage.... or, really good weed suppression in the garden. You can almost stand on them, they are so sturdy.
** Warning... If you don't watch out... you will have as many canners, as I do! You know people laugh at me!

Totally stumbled across can good sale that was ending yesterday.... name brand 26 cents a can...... added 600 cans to stores. Added 2 cases of pasta and Alfredo sauce, lots of mixed pasta.... 60 boxes. Still gotta vac pack those.
At another store... due to pending closure, I bought 40 mixed cases of canning jars at 40% off.
Also, Certo, sure jell, lids and rings.
Emptied the shelves.
Even bought discounted Vaseline, for my AA Canners!!

Bought 50 lbs of Chicken Breasts .87, about 15 lbs of cube steak for .52 cents lb.
Really, really good prep day. All unexpected. You just never know. 

I did notice.... Cream is now $5.89 a Quart.... up from $5.00..... wonder how much they are selling of that??? :umno:

Next month....... LDS order......Paper, meds and first aid people and animal!


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## Shrarvrs88 (May 8, 2010)

Well, this month I made probably my best desision in my life. I decided to get to know my grampa and his wife again, and I found an awesome prep resource! My grampa (unknown to me) has been a survivalist/prepper for a LONG time! He has even got a bug out location...that is a gold mining claim! He got to know us, and then invited us to come along! He is showing us where it is this year, and Hubby will learn how to pan for gold. We are being taught the old indian ways for making things, and really getting a community family going. Oh, and I got a pair of real good hiking boots THAT FIT!!! and am working on a family bug out bag.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Awsome Shara!! What an exciting new avenue for you and your family Congrats!
You will have to share the old Indian way with us.....And ifin ya'll stike it rich..... don't forget your friends here at HT!!


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## Shrarvrs88 (May 8, 2010)

lol, I won't forget you guys. 

AND I will make sure to share everything I learn.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Made a shopping trip to Sam's yesterday. Picked up some #10 cans of diced tomatoes to go with the ground beef the store has on sale starting today. Now I just need to soak the kidney beans I got for $.25 a pound a few months back and lug out the big roaster. I'll make up a BUNCH of chili and can it up.

Cleaned out the fridge (I know doesn't seem like a prep). It had not had any attention since before Christmas. Glad to say I didn't find any science projects lurking in there. Now that it's clean I can thaw a turkey in it. In turn that frees up some freezer space to fit in the stuff form Sam's and take better advantage of the meat sale at the local store. 

I'm amazed at some of the stuff I ha forgotten about in the freezer....I really need to get busy and can up some of the "old" meat in there. Found many bags of whole almonds and walnuts I bought around Christmas '09 at a great price, as well as the Jan '10 cranberries I got 10 for $1. I didn't realize I had any of either still in there!


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Finally used the last of my '08 tomatoes! Now onto '09--weren't any '10 d/t drought so glad I always can everything in sight in the good years.

Ordered a pie cherry,sweet cherry and red pear tree...now to figure out where to put them! We have a very large orchard already but the pear we have is just so grainy and not worth canning. We were hoping to prune today but chilly and windy even though it got to 54...wind chill. 

The state forester came out with his crew to mark the trees we will have harvested from our 80 acres of wood. Already have someone taking the marketable black walnut. Logged about 15 years ago but we work with them so the forest is sustainable. Plenty of younger trees there to take the place of the ones we sell. Guess every logger around heard we were logging as they all want to do the job but we're pretty aware of the ones that do it right and don't destroy the land. Last time done with mules.

This fall's beef out in the pasture fattening up and got her full sister this week...on the bottle. Mama had twins last year and this and mama doesn't like girls, I guess as she wouldn't take them. She is doing well considering her rough start laying out in a pasture in the cold and mud. Neighbors got colostrum in her, tubed her several times and had some antibiotics so missed out on pneumonia and scours. Slight snotty nose but no longer green and she is bouncy around and running to the gate for her bottle so think she'll make it. Nibbling on some grain and her alfalfa...milk replacer is really high these days. 

Wish I could find 6 hams I forgot in my freezer! My inventory didn't find anything that good but still have plenty of fruit/veggies.

Interested in how you dehydrate the frozen vegetables, Karen. Been some excellent sales on them lately at our store. Need to get to the Mennonite store and pick up sugar as before we know it will be time to feed the bees. A quick check showed them with plenty of stores still. Supposed to get a storm next week...no doubt will kill my plants to go see son on my birthday. DEE


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## michelleIL (Aug 29, 2004)

hey, here's a prep...ha! I get to contribute!!!
I've been accepted to the Master's Program for Englsih at my local uni!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

*TDD*, oh, what a great perk from work (I'm such a poet, lol) - I'd love to be able to get honey buckets with a pint of honey still in the bottom! Yum, yum. Great score on the prep goods today. Too bad it comes at the expense of your local store closing, but at least you got great canning supplies, etc as a silver lining. What do you do with the Vaseline on the AA canners? I've heard of putting mineral oil on the gaskets of the Presto canners, but not anything to do with the AAs. Yeah, I don't tell people that I have 4 canners, lol. I have 5-6 pressure COOKERS, too, including a couple of them that are frypan style. Probably more gadgets than I need... 

*Michelle*, good job! Education is a good thing. Even better if it comes with a teaching stipend to help pay the bills. 

*Bee*, I'm not Karen, obviously, but I can tell you that dehydrating frozen store vegies is about the easiest of preps possible. Just pour from the bag to the dehydrator tray, and turn the dehydrator on. Few hours later, you have perfectly dehydrated vegies.  I buy a lot of my corn and peas from Costco in the huge bags, and they dehydrate very well. When rehydrated, you can't even tell they were ever dried.

*Shav*, wonderful to hear you have been getting to know your g-pa. Even better to know he's a prepper! You'll be able to learn a lot from him, I'm sure. I'd love to learn to pan for gold - it's on my bucket list. My dad's family were shopkeepers - they followed the gold strikes, set up shop there and did very well without ever panning for gold themselves. I've been back to some of the little towns they lived in, and I'd like to go back to some of them again and do a little panning in the streams to see if I can find myself a bit of dust. 

Finished the first batch of hamburger rocks and have 3 more family packs of boneless beef ribs to grind and cook for drying tonight. This is incredibly lean meat, and it was much cheaper than buying even the cheapest, fatty hamburger. I ran it through the food processor and made it into ground beef in minutes. We seldom have meatloaf, usually use the hamburger in skillet dishes of some kind or other, so dehydrating the ground beef works well for storage and use.

Called for hay to be delivered on Saturday - 100 bales should get us through to May, but I think I'll pay for 200 bales this time, just to make sure the hay is there when we need it. Also called and left a message for the well filter guy to call me back again - the cold water is still occasionally coming through the line orange, and it never totally gets crystal clear. I think there is more work that needs done.

I spent some time looking at the website for The Artistic Garden/Le Jardin du Gourmet and placed an order tonight. They have sample size seed packets for 35Â¢ and larger packets for $1, and a 50 sample packet herb collection for 17.50 postpaid. Shipping on all seed orders is 3.50, regardless of how much you buy. They have Blue Hopi corn, which I've been wanting to try. I got a couple lg pkts of that, so a full oz for $2. I want to really expand my herb garden this year, so the 50 pack offer sounded like a good deal to me. If there are only a few seeds in the packet, that's okay, as I don't need tons of any one herb. Also, once I have the herbs, I can usually propagate them.

Did some wash, cleaned house and reorganized in the den and storage room, kept the fire going, and did some clean up outside around the barn and yard today. All the daily stuff that keeps things organized and caught up so that I'm not caught with a mess on my hands in an emergency situation. Cooked dinner last night and tonight out of storage - will go to the store for milk and a few fresh items tomorrow, but looking at what I have on hand, I could go for months without setting foot in a store. That is such a great feeling!


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

MGM - AA Canners do not have a gasket. You run a film of Vaseline around the top edge..ever-so-often. About 3 loads, or so... you can tell when it needs more. You will NEVER get the lid back off, otherwise. Other than that... no muss- no fuss. So, Vaseline is very much a prep item.
Went back to same store yesterday afternoon, hit the health and beauty aide aisle. Loaded up on alcohol, bandages, gauze pads, more toothpaste. Hubby's Vitamins, antiacids, arthritis rubs.....need this more and more these days . Tooth brushes, a hairbrush, Diaper( safety) pins and some Mineal Oil. A few protein drinks and bars and 6 bottles of Clorox. Overall not a tremendously big haul.... but I'm glad to have it ... all marked down.
Yesterday, I planted onions and leeks for about 6 hours (until dark). Potato's are next. Felt good at the time, but I am stiff and sore today. Ha!
Todays preps....Dehydrator is running right now....DH has promised to work the maket garden, while I am off the farm. Will be in the 70's for the next two days here, and I gotta go to work... It is killing me, that I can't be here to scramble in the garden while it is warm. Snow predicted on Tues. ( which is also killing me) He also has a "honey-do" list... he is not aware of..


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Ah, I didn't know that - I still haven't used my AA canner. Now that I figured out that it has the weight on it as well as a gauge, I can try it out. Thanks for the heads up to put Vaseline on the rim - I'd be mighty upset if I had a load in it and couldn't get the canner open!


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## d37fan (Dec 22, 2004)

Here is what I did prep wise today:










149 lbs of pork from the processor.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Was gifted yesterday with 25 lbs of onions. I'll be working on getting them dehydrated over the next couple of days or so.


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## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

this evening wm in a small town near here had pint jars- regular and wide mouth, jelly jars- half pint and 4 oz, for $3 a box. woohoo, got 11 boxes. don't know what i was thinking, may run back thru there tonite and grab a few more! i've never been lucky enough to score on them before. funny thing is, on the way in to town to get feed i stopped at an estate sale and they wanted $2 for 10 jars w/o rings or lids and I actually thought about buying them. i know this summer they wanted $2.12 at wm for just the wide mouth flat lids. 
bought 1200 lbs of feed which won't last long and of course the price has gone up again.
this week i placed a large order w emergency essentials as they had free shipping this month if u used their storage analyzer. bought some of the buckets of grain. last week i got an order in from bulkfoods. so trying to get my house in order asap.
d37fan that's a dang nice pic there!


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Wish that was my freezer full of Piggy!!!!

DKM - Great job on those jars. Go back and buy all you can afford.... That is a DEAL!!
I'd even grab those at the Estate Sale - dickker with them...they will sale them cheaper.. They WANT the cash... not the jars!

Vac packed and mylar'd, yesterday's Dehydrated vegs.

Guy I know, from the Commercial Kitchen I use, showed up yesterday, with an entire pick up load of cardboard. Surprize!! He said he had been saving it for months to give it to me! Then he said he had "tons" of leaves bagged. Did I want them??? Hubby had to take one of the trailers, there were so many! Thank you!! Thank you!!!!
Those will go thru the shredder tomorrow!!

I gave him a big bag of lettuce and greens outta the garden,a jar of jelly and a fresh loaf of banana bread.....He acted thrilled!...... I was more than thrilled!! Hubby, not so much.... hahaha!!

Best part..... I got prep stuff and I wasn't even trying!


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## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

texasdirtdigger, i Did go back today and got 17 more boxes. then i went back to the estate sale and got a glass kerosene lamp(?that's all i can think of what its called right now) for $5 and and another minus just the globe for $4. last summer i got a whole bucket of the globes for a buck! oh, and some bottles of lamp oil too. then i got a big hard plastic type trough this morning for $5 that they had inverted and cut out a hole to use for a doghouse ??. i can use that to brood chickies soon. struck it rich as far as i'm concerned-lol. my buddy at work is now perusing the emergency essentials catalog i left w her this morning. i think i will be placing another small order w hers today. my first order from them should be here tuesday-can't wait to see.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Great buy on jars, DKM!!

I got 13 qts of chili put up and 2 pts of beef chunks (needed to fill the 2nd caner)

A friend sent me a simple design of a seed starting rig made from PVC. We have lots of PVC, so DH and I just need to run out and get lights and a clear shower curtain and then he and DS can sit in the living room and "play Lincoln Logs" and put it together, lol. I have heating pads to use underneath for warmth (she uses rope lights, but I don't have any - maybe I can find a Clearance section at Lowes) I've been wondering how I was going to start seeds in this cold nasty weather, with no useful south facing window, etc. Now, my pantry room in the basement will double as a grow room!!


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## insocal (May 15, 2005)

Canned 4 quarts of pickled eggs. And lest you think that wasn't much work at all.......the 48, count 'em, 48 eggs were TOO FRESH and each took about 5 minutes to peel. 

I am NOT happy.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I'd love to see pics of the PVC seed starting setup, Jen. 

I started onions and wildflower seeds today, and got my hay delivery. Paid for another 100 bales for next time, too. Replaced my oven element, and got the back off my dryer, only to find that there is a screw in an awkward spot I can't get to with the drill. I'll have to find a driver to get it off, and then figure out if I know what I'm doing to change it out. I hope the element is the problem and not something else.

I have both my dd's and one of my dgd's here for the night, and am having fun - I think tomorrow I'll see if Trina would like to help Gramma start more seeds.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

OHHHHH Jen!! I gotta see it ....! Please.
I'm off the farm, working a food festival, but DH spent a 76F day on the tractor...BIG SMILE!! He was sunburned!! Snow comin on Tuesday.
I have been out sanitizing seed pots , I got from a nursery, to reuse. I will hit the seeding hard tomorrow. Potato's and onions going in. Despite everything that has happened this month to us...somehow, we are still on track to make our goal. Has not been easy!!
DKM - Way to go!! Canning jars(supplies in general), really got to a premium price last year.....I am buying all I can find.. IF they are discounted!! Bet ya did feel like you had stuck it rich!!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

MGM & TD-Guys will work on it after church today, I'll take pictures and post.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

insocal said:


> Canned 4 quarts of pickled eggs. And lest you think that wasn't much work at all.......the 48, count 'em, 48 eggs were TOO FRESH and each took about 5 minutes to peel.
> 
> I am NOT happy.


I'm sorry, I find the "curse of fresh eggs" funny. I know they take a long time to peel....a nd the entire time you would be standing there thinking of all the things you should be doing, but it still makes me snicker to think of fresh eggs as a curse.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Alright, Jen! I'll be looking forward to seeing it. 

Good grief, TDD, from sunburns and 70's to snow in 2 days.  Aargh!!!!!!!!

Great deal on the canning jars, DKM. I love finding sales like that. 

Didn't do much on the prep front today. I'd hoped to start seeds with Trina today, but ended up playing Rummy with my dd's while Trina drew pictures and watched a movie. By the time we did that, it was time to take K and Trina to my ex's for their family dinner there. I joke that even with the kids grown, we are still sharing custody, lol.

Did stop at the feed store to get more alfalfa pellets and grain, as well as a couple bales of shavings and a bag of Dry Den pellets. The pellets and some of the shavings will be set aside for a sawdust toilet. The rest of the shavings will be used in the chicken house and gardens. I might get around to working on a few more projects tonight, but most likely not - I'll probably go to bed early, as I didn't sleep well last night. 

Tomorrow I need to call the well guy again to have him come back and work on the water filter system AGAIN. Trina took a bath last night and I let the water drain out slowly - the whole bottom of the tub was covered with rust. It's just nasty, and it's coming from the cold water tap, not just the hot water, where the tank probably still has a bunch of build up in the bottom. I just had it all worked on 2 weeks ago, and it was better for maybe a week? :grumble: I HATE the well water here!!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Seed rack: 
Still waiting for DH to upload pictures to flickr. The "rack" seems a bit flimsy, racks easy...we may add a brace, yet. We built it 36" tall so the plants can get nice and tall....that may be why it may rack.

Storm Prep:
Tomorrow is payday, so it's shopping day. Ran around and took battery inventory and changed out some in some flashlights that are getting dim. Will re-supply the battery drawer tomorrow. Have a few other "nice to have in a storm" items on the list, but we'd be fine without them.

The weather guys aren't sure if we are going to get heavy snow or ice or a combination of both in the upcoming storm. We are too close to the line to be able to tell this far out. In reality we prep the same way for either option. 

Have a game plan for DH. Tuesday night we will put a sleeping bag and his heavy snow pants and boots in his truck. We'll add some more food and candles to his BOB. That way he'll have more options if the weather does get nasty. That reminds me he's out of/ low on washer fluid....think I'll just sneak out and stick a bottle in his back seat.....too late to fill it tonight in the dark.

Kids and I will fill up the wood pile on the back porch so we have as much under cover as possible. We have gas boiler heat, but if we loose power the pumps won't work - so no heat other then wood burner, which is enough. I have been thawing a turkey the past few day in the fridge (talk about good timing) so I'll roast that up tomorrow. Stove is gas so cooking will be no problem without power.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Here's a picture. 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimisod/5402812011/" title="Seed starter Tent by dougjimison, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5099/5402812011_dabf9469ac.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Seed starter Tent" /></a>

Lights raise and lower on the chains (we need to get a bit more chain-as you can see they don't lower enough, yet). Each light has a 3500 (color length) and 4100 bulb. We wanted 6500 bulbs, but they didn't have any. So we picked up the 4100's for now since the shop needs bulbs, too. Once I find the 6500's I'll move the 4100's to the shop.

There are a few more at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimisod/


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## cnichols (Jan 5, 2010)

Well, on the prep front we DID get something accomplished this month, although not as much as I would have liked (as usual lol).

75 #'s of flour
50 #'s of rice
20 #'s of Pinto's
20 #'s of Navy's
16 #'s of Salt

Re-arranged the pantry shelves while the canner was going (all stuff to take on the road with us so we can eat less fast food).

Went to the flea market on Saturday and scored a few things .. a small cast-iron dutch oven (camping style), sweet taters (mainly for propogation), honey, sorghum and a little bit more ammo.

Ugh, just remembered I have 6#'s of chicken breasts and a pork loin that I've got to get cooked & canned too! Seems like that's all I've done all weekend. Know I know why people talk about having more than one canner!!! LOL Definately going to have to add a second canner to my "Kitchen Appliances" section on the "To Do/Get" list.


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## debbiekatiesmom (Feb 24, 2009)

i figured i'd can up a bit of meat since we're going to be stuck inside w this snowstorm. bought a turkey at the local store, so that's part of what will get done. then just misc what's in the freezer. may as well make the most of being inside. sure glad i got a bunch of tilling done last thursday. maybe this will help to kill some of the grass on the newly broken ground-wishful thinking probably. ya'll stay warm!


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Went back and got another 300 cans of vegs .26. 12 more cases of jars ( mostly jelly jars).not put up..... Got second Big truck and trailer load of feed.. all put up.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

This last Saturday 1-29-2011, we had a power outage for several hours (5pm till almost 12 midnite). When the latest storm front came through, it caused a tree to come down on the power lines. I was listeneing to the power company (PG&E) on my scanner radios when they were sending up a bucket truck - flagging crew for road traffic - and the crews were switching in and testing the repaired power lines.. Unlike a coule of my neighbors - I did not fire up a generator, but instead I used 12 VDC operated electronics off of my battery bank. I had several candles and a couple of oil lamps illuminating the place, so when I went outside it looked like the house was all lit up..

We also lost our landline phones, so using a dial-up ISP - I could not have been on the internet even with my laptop computer.

Today was spent in town searching for bargains, before everyone gets their Govt. checks and goes shopping tomorrow on the 1st.. I found a few cuts of meats in the clearence bin at one supermarket. I was there to get the loss leaders of this week's sales ads.

On Sunday I did do some putzing around on my next project vehicle. It is a 1977 Chevy C-20 one ton van/ camper conversion with a extended fiberglass roof. I need to see if the propane system is functional for the stove and fridge. It has a 12 VDC water pump, fresh and grey water holding tanks for the small sink, and it is also set up for 110 V AC hookups, for the fridge and such. More will be done on the van, as my budget and time allows me to put towards this project..


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Bump up


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