# DECEMBER 2010 Prep Journal



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Hi all, 
here it is the 2nd and I forgot to start one of these for December.

Angie


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Did a bulk shop of all those cans of veggies that are on sale right now...pantry is full again. :dance:
Butchered a goat, and we now have ground goat in the freezer. Great for meatloaf, shepherds pies and gyro.

Coffee table has seed catalogs galore on it. Am trying to plan my Spring garden and being frugal at the same time. Biggest cost will be landscaping fabric, but its going to happen this year. No cheap worthless stuff! LOL I am going to invest in fabric that will last. 

Also going to invest in a hoop house. So lots of planning going on so that the pantry stays full of fruit and veg this year. (Home canned).

Was given lots of clothes for the kids, so no need to buy. Storing some that is too big now, but will fit this summer and beyond. :dance:

Considering raising shrimp. Looking into it.


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## Sarabeth (Sep 14, 2008)

Our Little Farm said:


> Considering raising shrimp. Looking into it.


Ooh - now that sounds interesting!


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

A few days ago I gave away some of my preps. They went to a guy who needs a job and has no cash. He came out to the farm (on a bicycle, he has no car) and I put him to work. For cash. He worked very hard (said he needed the activity). 

Two or three days went by and he asked if he could use our phone. He only has two or three minutes left on his cell phone, and that was the only phone he had. Seems like he needed to call a food processing plant about a job. He got the job and is now working. He rides with another person who works the same shift.

To me this seems like a very good investment of some of my preps. There is now another like minded person in the network. The network may be very important in the future.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

canning goat milk today...I still have 2 in milk...big bellies on the others, my herd queen is at the end of my fingers when I hug her while she eats breakfast, last year she was a 4 inch gap between fingers when she popped! Her 2yo daughter is a very close second when it comes to big huggable bellies but no udder yet on this first freshener but long teats (can you tell I'm anxious to milk Miss Hanna?)

picking up deer meat tomorrow...

Sold one of the two extra trucks...hopefully the other will get a for sale sign on it soon...but having 2 road worthy trucks has been rather convenient (except for the gas $$)


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## BoldViolet (Feb 5, 2009)

I try to get a food prep item every time I go grocery shopping. Costco and Sams don't seem to sell large items of beans at the store, and I don't want to pay as much in shipping as for a 5-6 gallon bucket of beans online, so I'm going to start getting a bag or two of various beans each week and store them myself.

Husband and I sat down this weekend and did our seed list. I'll probably order seeds right after Christmas. We're doing a much larger garden this spring, and it's going to be a joint effort, rather than just my effort.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Trust me this IS a prep! 

As I type I have 2 young strong neighbor boys doing some muscle work for me. I finally admitted I need to pay to get it done before the weather gets real uncooperative. Once they get done I'll be able to get all my poultry inside a building instead of out in open pens. Thus safegaurding one of my most important preps..my poultry.


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## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

Poultry is definitely a prep..I started with chickens about 3 yrs ago.Today I went to SAL and got 2 flats of canned goods and more coffee.I'd sure miss my coffee if it wasn't available,even though I drink decaf.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Spent 70 bucks on assorted holes in my medical supplies... bandaids of different sorts, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, some anesthetic (need to actually try it and see if it'll halfway work), extra 'box' of reader glasses for me and the GF (3 to a box). Ten bags of sugar, at 1.94/4lb. Ten boxes of tea (10 month supply). Extra bulk bag of socks and underwear (75% off normal price) at Wallies (leftovers from BF.) Shall pick up more on next trip if they still have them.

Bit the 'big one' and ordered a woodmizer bandsaw sawmill. I've got enough dead pine and oak standing right now to build a small house. And I haven't walked the entire property yet... these are just the trees I can see from the house and the road.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

I went into the so called local "Military Surplus" stores today, looking for some mil-surplus ammo cans of any size. Not one to be found anywhere, in either the .30 or .50 caliber sizes.. I was gonna give a couple away filled with prep items, for Christmas presents. So I may have to order some off of the internet in the next day or two, but I gotta check out the prices 1st including shipping.

If I was to buy any more food items, I would have no clue as to where I would store them inside the house. Since all of the cabinets, containers, and the freezers in the house are so full. I even have rubbermade totes filled with dry goods stacked up in my living room at this point. At least I don't have to worry about going hungry for a while..

Got my physician prescribed 'heavy duty' narcotic pain meds refilled today at the pharmacy - I get a years worth of them at a time. So it looks as if I may be set prep wise, as far as all of my medical supples go.


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## the mama (Mar 1, 2006)

I canned 7 qts of venison!! This was my first try with pressure canning and with a new canner. All cans sealed. I did raw pack and all cans have juices to within 1 inch of the top of the meat.


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Get the generator tested for winter, 5 gallons of stablized gas
Can the rest of the cheap turkey in the chest freezer
Can 20 more quarts of potatoes
Can 20 more pints of beans(probably baked beans)
Thinking of getting a kerosene heater and some kerosene.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Don't forget the extra wicks for a kerosene heater!


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

the mama said:


> I canned 7 qts of venison!! This was my first try with pressure canning and with a new canner. All cans sealed. I did raw pack and all cans have juices to within 1 inch of the top of the meat.


Woohoo! This is how I can venison and the finished product is wonderful. Just melt in your mouth meat. 

I use it for stews, pies and bbq.

Congratulations on your first achievement! :dance:


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## bourbonred (Feb 27, 2008)

Just started prepping this month--made lists, planned storage space, analyzed our survival skills/knowledge base, drove hubby mad, bought several books on the topics we need to know, started purchasing food items weekly, planned some basic changes: heirloom seeds, a dairy cow in the beef herd...and began talking to God seriously about all the anxieties that come with preparing for the worst. DH does think I'm obsessed--but I think he likes this obsession better than my poultry one!


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## Pouncer (Oct 28, 2006)

I found sugar on sale at a local Kroger's/Fred Meyer's.....just 57 cents a pound! So far, I have squirreled away 60 pounds and will try to pick up more. I am sure that sounds like a bad price to most of you, but when they are running "sales" at $3.29 to $3.69 for four pounds.....you take advantage of what you can. I did get my big pantry shopping done last month, which included sugar (25 pounds for about $17) but since then the price has risen to $21 for 25 pounds. 

Next up, finding flour on sale, which should be pretty easy coming into the holiday season. I will also pick up cocoa powder and vanilla since that's usually on sale this month too. I about choked when I saw evaporated milk "on sale" at 99 cents. Regular prices was double that.......


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

DH has been playing in the food preps again and has been experimenting with the nasty tasting chicken canned in water. We have a case of the stuff. He's finally found a reasonable way to make this stuff eat worthy or else we were going to give it away. I don't know exact recipe he's used. I seriously doubt that he knows exact quantities he's used, but he can turn it into a decent fried chicken cake, kinda on the same principle as a fried salmon cake. 

There is a young man that DH knows that's fallen on hard times after losing his job. DH and I have hired him to do several outdoor jobs for us and have helped him with a resume. He's still looking for a job, but is working enough odd jobs to keep going for now. We gave him a month of food supplies and some giftcards for gas. As was said above, another person in the network is worth knowing. 

We had a local work crew in this morning installing the kitchen countertops and sinks. We keep saying we're finished with this but we keep going from one critical need to another in this house that hasn't been touched with a fix-it for 30 years. The local work crew we're using is a team of from 2 to 5 men that work at their jobs through the week and do charity work on the weekends. They do jobs for pay, like with us, and use that money to help do free work for the older and disabled in the community that can't afford to have home updates or can't qualify through other resource programs. It works out for everyone. 

We were going to buy a wood stove, and might still do that before the year's end, and use that as our alternative heat, but DH sold a truck and we used the money to buy a like new 2006 FEMA travel trailer. It's 32' long and is under our metal carport, ok, partially under it. We need to get another metal cover to get it completely undercover. The trailer has propane heat, gas stove, full size fridge, sleeps 8, and has a/c and 2 110 outlets. It has a large battery that can be used for lights, etc. We plan to leave it parked here and use it for emergency housing for when the electric goes out. We're in the process of getting a generator with a Honda motor to use for it. It will also give me a place to stay when we have painters working inside the house next spring. 

and whew, that's enough prepping for this year, I hope.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

My prep so far has been trying to save money, and try out "prep" items on the family on a more regular basis.
I made a delicious potato soup from prep items I had squirreled away. No special recipe, but included dehydrated potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, some chicken stock base, powdered milk and some dried herbs. Dh just ate a big bowl and went back for seconds (he has been chopping wood all morning, so the hearty soup was tasty and warm for him). I have some prep items put away for LTS, but am trying to use more prep type items when I dont have fresh from the garden (potatoes and milk are so expensive anymore). Hopefully this will save our budget even more. Id really like to buy some forested acreage in the future for hunting and possibly a bug out location.


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Pouncer said:


> I found sugar on sale at a local Kroger's/Fred Meyer's.....just 57 cents a pound! So far, I have squirreled away 60 pounds and will try to pick up more. I am sure that sounds like a bad price to most of you, but when they are running "sales" at $3.29 to $3.69 for four pounds.....you take advantage of what you can. I did get my big pantry shopping done last month, which included sugar (25 pounds for about $17) but since then the price has risen to $21 for 25 pounds.
> 
> Next up, finding flour on sale, which should be pretty easy coming into the holiday season. I will also pick up cocoa powder and vanilla since that's usually on sale this month too. I about choked when I saw evaporated milk "on sale" at 99 cents. Regular prices was double that.......


Vanilla is super easy to make. I bought some vanilla pods off of ebay for about 12 bucks. Add a few to cheap vodka and in a couple of months you have vanilla. I have made several pints to give away at Christmas. Here is a video about it. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9cSXKIQHQc[/ame]

I hear you about buying sugar. Right now Kroger has it for $2.04 for 4lbs. I have been stocking up and have at least 150lbs squirreled away.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Our Kroger has sugar for $1.98 for 4lbs. Got some.


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## lorian (Sep 4, 2005)

Butchered some turkeys and pieced them out to freeze. Reorganizing my preps. Hit a GREAT sale at the salvage grocery and got a lot of stuff we really needed super cheap.

Thanks for the kerosene reminder, gotta get that thing ready!


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## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

Went to Aldi's today,got 2 cans of coffee,12 cans of evaporated milk,3 12 packs of tp,and 10 lbs flour.The flour was 1.49/5 lbs,10 cents cheaper than SAL.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

our WM had great value dark roast (big can) for $6. this stuff is tolerable (I like high test  ) I bought 5, and plan to get 5 more. I go through a large can a month, so thats not too bad


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

Getting off here to go get the chicken building devided up to house my 5 breeds/crossbreeds. I really do need to downsize breeds;but choosing is hard. They all have their pros and cons. Usually one breed is in lay at any given time. Only recently have I been out of fresh eggs..but my pullets(BLRW) are coming into lay! Yay!!

I have had to stop prep shopping as I have boxes of stuff I am walking around that needs to find a "home" before I get more. It is just so hard with all the pressure I feel to prepare to pass up a "good deal"!! Getting together christmas gifts is both good and bad. I am not concentrating on preps but I am out there shopping and I keep falling over good stuff....


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Just scored a 1 yr old 23000 btu Dynaheat Kerosene heater off Craigslist for 35 bucks. Will tear it down to clean and inspect and change the wick, then test run it. Still need to get the generator winter ready. Canning probably put off until next week.


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## MoonShine (Mar 17, 2003)

I've been so busy lately, I had put prepping on the back burner. I need to go through the BOB and see what I need to trash and what I need to replace. I did manage to go through the pantry and throw out a bunch of old home canned stuff that was way passed it's good date. So, I'll have to replace some of that stuff, too.


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Have't been shopping in quite a spell. Our local grocery had flour 5#/99 cents. Can't beat that. Even Wallyworld was $1.50 for 5#'s. Creme cheese for 69 cents....won't see that price for long so stocked up. We like to make our poor person's version of cheese cake...one pkg. creme cheese softened, l pkg. instant lemon pudding mix and 2 cups cold milk(nonfat dry from storage works great). Beat two minutes and let chill/set up. Yummy with strawberries from the garden fresh from the freezer! Can put it in a graham pie shell if you like fancy. Pudding mix was even on sale 3/$1. 

Honey sold out for the season already. Managed to keep DH from selling it all as use alot in bread thru the winter. Wasn't the best of years and didn't want to short the hives not leaving them enough. Having some really cold weather for so. MO but the apiary is in a cedar grove which really blocks the wind for them. 

Spent yesterday going thru closets...DH actually parted with stuff he's had from high school! (He'll be 66 Monday). Five bags for the church resale shop. Another two bags for the recycle center. DEE


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## Rocktown Gal (Feb 19, 2008)

Did some stocking up yesterday.

Can goods
25lbs oat meal
40lbs sugar

and some other stuff. Prices sure are getting up there. Try to get things on sale when I can. Yesterday though I just brought. My pantry is getting low and I don't like it one bit.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Got some much needed organizing done a couple of days ago while my high schoolers had a "snow day"....still plenty more to do. But, I have to say that I did some serious canning over the last 2 years and it didn't take long to fully stock the new shelving unit...in fact I have 2 more that need to go up and I'm sure that I can fill those too.

Focusing on Christmas for now though...


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

I finally found some mil-surplus .30 caliber ammo cans locally - so I put in a dollar store flashlight and extra batteries, some glow sticks, candles and lighters, a small 1st aid kit, some hard candy/ granola bars/ other shelf stable munchies, and a space blanket in each one. Now to wrap them up and hand them out as Christmas presents for folks to put in their vehicles as 'emergency kits'.

While running errands this afternoon I used my Ace Hardware rewards $5.00 dollars off anything card, and got myself a new case of 12 regular mouth pint sized 'Ball' "Made in the USA" mason jars for $3.40 including tax (regular $7.99) at my local hardware store. Now to find something else to can up in my Presto pressure canner. Maybe one of the turkey's in the freezer? And then to find the space to put the finished product in the shelves, since the pantry is filled to the brim!

Tomorrow I'll pull out the generators and make sure the two Honda EM 650 watts, the 1,500 watts, and the 4,000 watts generators all fire up and are serviced for when the commerical power goes away. I try and wait for at least 24 hours after the electricity goes out before I pull out a generator, since I have my battery bank in the ham radio room to run most of the electronics in the house. Then I try to use them for running the fridge and the chest freezer, for the most part. I'm pretty sure that I have at least 25 gallons of fuel that has the 'sta-bil' treatment, beside what is stored in the vehicles parked along the driveway.

Mutti - I may clean out some of my 'old clothing' and a few items have seemed to have shrank in the closet, for the local "cold weather clothing drive" for the less fortunate on this coming Friday. I still have a lot of cold weather clothing from when I lived in Michigan back in the 1970's, but most of it does still fit. Plus it does occasionally snows here on the hilltop each winter (at least 3-4 times). Besides who needs to be fashionable out in the boonies, when doing chores while trying to stay warm!!


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Called a friend to come over and go through seed catalogs with me next week. I have lots of left over seeds from last years order, so I'm going to share what I have (they are on a very limited budget) and combine our orders from here forward so I have less "left overs". I try not to keep seeds more then 2 years as I don't have a great way to do so. This should drop my seed bill and improve my rotation!

Same friend is going to Cleveland next week with me to hit the LDS storehouse. I showed her a price list and she just about fell on the floor out how good some of the prices are compared to what she's paying. They are like minded people in every way except putting back food.....I'm slowly working on that part and they are catching on, now if they just had a bit more budget to work with.


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## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

radiofish,that's a great idea for a Christmas gift,I may have to make up a couple of those myself.I scored 2 cast iron pots today,they're 19" across,12" deep.One has broken handles,but I'm happy with them..The guy had 6,but he sold some before he answered my email,I'd have bought them all.I remember my grandma rendering lard,washing clothes and making soap in kettles like these,but hers were bigger.I have one bigger than these 2 in storage.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Well as I am at the Northern edge of the current line of storms ('Pineapple Express' as the Weather Channel calls them) hitting the coastline, I was prepared for the latest round of power outages and the loss of the landline phones. With winds last night, from the 50 - 60+ mph out of the South which caused some trees to topple, thus the cause of the power outages. So I went to battery powered items, lit alternative illumination devices - candles and oil lamps. Then I heated water on top of the woodstpve for some hot choclate.

Today the power is back on for the moment, so I am charging all of the batteries for my electronics (deep cycle and multiple Ni-Cad battery packs for my ham radio Handi-Talkies). I am running the laptop computer this evening, just in case it goes dark again - suddenly. When I went for a walk earlier in the wind and rain looking for damages/ fallen trees, etc. - no items were damaged and none of the many ham radio antennas came down in the high winds either.

Now to enjoy the thoughts that I won't be sitting here in the dark while I am cold, wet, or hungry during the "severe storm", as it is being called on the Weather Channel. Watching their weather satellite coverage, there are at least 3 storms lined up out in the Pacific towards Hawaii so several more inches of rain are predicted, with Small Stream Flooding Warning that are tied to the High Tide times. With the rain coming from the South, it is not cold enough to snow here. Yet the weather forecasters are calliing for anywhere from 6 to 10 to 15 feet of snow accumilation above 5,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation from these storms up in the Sierra Nevada's near 'Donner Summit'/ Lake Tahoe areas.

Some of the videos shown of drivers stuck in their vehicles in the snow, mud, flloded areas - makes me glad that I am not traveling this Holiday Season.

Now if I can make one last trip to town on a 'last minute' shopping trip before Christmas, then I would not have to go anywhere off of the hilltop untill the New Year!!!


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

Stopped at Kroger this am to check out the discount rack. I find lots of good things there regularly. Anyway, I saw they had the 5 gallon water bottles that I use in my water cooler. I got the empties that I had been carrying in my vehicle and exchanged them for tickets that would get me discount on the filled bottles. The girl that was checking me out couldn't get them to ring up. Turns out they had just set up their exchange system and it wasn't in their computers yet. They gave me the 3 bottles of water for free.... just insisted I walk out with it. They said Merry Christmas as I walked away!


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

Picked up some shelf-stable soy milk at Dollar Tree along with gum, pickles some flavored syrups and supplements.

Also visited Ollie's Bargain Outlet and picked up some interesting seasonings, canned pineapple juice, cereal and fruit snacks. Also cleaned out the kitchen cabinets and pantry to reorganize a bit to enable the storage of still more stuff!


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## jlrbhjmnc (May 2, 2010)

Bought some instant dry milk powder and a little bit of aseptic packaged milk (grandbabies to think of, ya know). The aseptic boxed milk is definitely a short-term type of prep for us, at least for now - it's very expensive! But nice to have if we were socked in with an ice storm.

Also added some sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.

Continuing to reduce electrical usage. Experimenting with ceramic heaters versus the electric furnace supplemented with a kerosene heater.

ETA: Gathering more information for the 2011 garden. I think I started and then transplanted my tomatoes too early last year.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Now that I'm back from a wonderful vacation, I'm getting back into the prep mode. Had hand surgery on my right hand Thursday and am already feeling quite a bit better (at least while on narcotic pain meds, lol). While we (Abby and I) were in Vancouver for that, we stopped in at a couple Goodwills and made a Costco run. Abby found me a terrific *goose(?) down* comforter, queen size, with a gray satin cover, for 7.99 - I'm pretty sure that whoever priced that one didn't realize it was down, not polyfill. Very light, but really warm. We also stocked up on some jigsaw puzzles for winter entertainment and found some books to add to the library, including a copy of Atlas Shrugged, which I've been wanting to read. At Costco we stocked up on more cat food and litter, dried fruits, instant mashed potatoes and a 25# bag of rice.

Since I got home, I've just been trying to put my house back in order, do a little Christmas decorating, and making sure I didn't miss anyone on my Christmas list. I go back to Vancouver Wed to have the stitch out of my wrist and see how well I'm healing, and will schedule the surgery on the other wrist then. If my surgeon is back in town by the 30th, I hope to be able to have my left wrist fixed then, so that after a little recuperation, I can get back to work and be able to do all the things around the place here that used to make my hands go all numb, tingly, and PAINFUL. I'm looking forward to being able to pound nails, dig dirt, rototill, and run a chain saw without hurting. 

While in Vancouver, I'll use the $10 credit slip I got at Goodwill last time (using a Club card there, you get a $10 store credit every time you spend a certain amount of $$), and will probably make another stockup run to Costco.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Well I made it down the hill today, and took advantage of the after Christmas sales.. If there is Walgreens, Rite-Aid, or CVS pharmacy near you, they have all their Holiday stuff on clearance sale - priced at 50% or more (up to 75%) off.. 

So I stocked up on papergoods (who cares if they get Christams napkins or holiday paper plates in the summertime), christmas candles since I don't have molds to make taper candles, christmas candy for trade or when the sweet tooth needs to be satisfied, and several baking items such as: powdered and brown sugar, 5 lbs. bags of flour, and baking powder plus baking soda, all purchased at least 50% off the list price.

Now that everything is put away, the winds are howling outside with it raining sideways, and this next storm is supposed to have snow levels down to 1,500 feet in elevation. The commerical power has been blinking on and off several times today/ this evening. Then there are several wind toppled medium to large sized trees crashed down on the County Road, up the hill from here. My neighbor tried to take the back way home this evening, and wound up having to drive his diesel 4X4 truck the long way back around from just a couple of miles up the road.. He was at a downed tree across the road, and his wife and myself with a couple of chainsaws in my small GMC 4X4 SUV, encountered several different downed trees about a mile downhill from where he was stopped at..

The Weather Channel is showing this storm coming through the area tonight, with the cold air following the frontal passage. There is once again a 'winter storm warning' and a 'urban small stream advisory' for the coastal streams along with the high tides and heavy rains runoff tonight.

Well I am as prepared as I possibly can be, plus I don't have to go to town for about a week - due to the holidays/ New Year's Eve. I can still get on the internet with my battery powered from 12 VDC laptop computer if I loose the commerical power, but not if the landline phones go out also (I am on dial-up)..


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Stay safe, RF. I haven't checked the latest forecast, but I heard we were in for low elevation snow, too. Glad I'm not working right now, and other than a trip to town today (Wed) and tomorrow to pickup and take home my older dd and her kids (they are coming to spend the night at Gramma's ), I don't have anywhere I need to go and nothing I need from town. The snow wasn't forecast to hit until New Year's when I last checked.

When I went for my follow up MD appt, I went to Goodwill - picked up a mattress cover for the futon, big roaster, auto waterer for the cats (holds a gallon) or for starting chicks, a couple mason jar drinking mugs with handles (I'll use these to take my coffee to work, but I can can in them in a pinch), and another jigsaw puzzle for non-electric entertainment. With the credit slip, I got out of the store for $5.62. After looking over my pantry and home stores, I decided to skip Costco for this trip.

Got the okay for my left hand surgery and the date is set for Jan 13th. I'm getting more strength in my right hand every day - today I was able to bring in wood for the stove and haul a bucket of water a short distance. By the time I have the next surgery, my right hand should be pretty much fully healed. I'm still taking the occasional narcotic pain med, so am not back to work yet, but have stepped down to Vicodin, saving the rest of the oxycodone for a rainy day. I will get another prescription for the oxy with the next surgery, so I will be able to put even more in backup.

Got to thinking - even when I was in Hawaii, I was still in prep mode. We shopped at all the most exclusive Hawaiian stores (Costco, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Ross), lol. At Costco I found LED candles, a whole kit of them (12 tealights, 12 short votives and 6 tall votives, plus 30 extra 100 hr button batteries besides the ones in the candles already). Bought one of the kits for back up lighting figuring one of them in a room will give enough light to prevent walking into walls. I also needed AAA rechargeable batteries for the underwater camera I bought, and found that the battery charger, AA and AAA battery combo at Costco was LESS than a package of just AAA's at Wal-Mart, so I ended up buying the combo, giving me 8 more AA and 4 AAA rechargeables for the collection. An extra battery charger is handy, too, at least while grid power is on.

I guess once a prepper, always a prepper, lol.

eta: just checked the weather channel site and it looks like we are going to get rain turning to snow today rather than later in the week - doesn't sound like it's going to do much up our way compared to your place, RF. And it actually looks like there is supposed to be drier, partly sunny weather for 3-4 days after that. :happy: I can sure use a dose of sunshine!


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Refilling Propane tanks today.
Ordered Seeds, yesterday. Some cell packs already started and under lights.
Time to go thru Pantry and inspect - freshen Bay leaves etc,and organize......again.
Make a feed store run today.
Think about a LDS stock- up trip.
Need to pick up some new flashlights......they are cheaper than buying the batteries!!
Going on a cardboard run for the garden.
Local Nursery has a 40-60% off sale this weekend......always one of my heavy purchase sales. Great stuff , best prices.
Also, cash in ACE rewards for canning jars.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

I hit the Walgreen's 75% off Christmas sale and bought LOTS of candles. I also bought a breeding trio of Californian rabbits. I found a guy who is closing down his rabbitry and is selling many of his cages for a great price. (My daughter has the buns in the bathtub for the night...they will be outside in a cage tomorrow- tears or no tears!!!)


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

I'm sitting in the basement inventorying our "pantry". After 2 hours I have 2 sections done (the hardest ones). Most of what's left is already inventoried as it's store bought, but there are some "stray" items over there, too. I was amazed at how much of my home caned stuff wasn't inventoried, I thought I was doing better!

Once done we can plug our numbers into a spread sheet and see how close we are to our current food goal. DH just walked into this room a few weeks back with "open eyes" and realized how much we have "put up". He's sure it's over a years worth....I think the poor man has no clue how much food he eats! I'm hoping for 6 mos worth, once the numbers are crunched.


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## MoGrrrl (Jan 19, 2007)

I got a cavity filled today - got to keep up on my health! Hopefully that will be the last one for another 15 years or more.

My thrift store is having a 50% off sale on EVERYTHING. I will have to go back tomorrow. I was in a rush after my dentist's appointment, but I did manage to pick up 11 quart canning jars and 1 pint jar for $1.75. 

Last night I worked 2 hours of rare overtime. I decided to start a 'land fund' with the overtime from yesterday and this coming weekend.


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Well, today is the last day of 2010! Happy New Year!!

Today, my main prep is to freshen all bulk stored water.
Pump barrels into holding tanks for garden time.... and refill with fresh water. We try to do this every 6 months, without fail. 
I hope to shop for Apple Trees to plant soon.


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