BoB's Weekly Prep Thread 3-30 through 4-05-14

[L.A.B.]

Ain't nothing like a little shaking on the West Coast to recruit reluctant Preppers under my roof.

So after the rock and roll from Friday nights 5.1 to 5.3 rated La Habra EQ I get a call from home.

Caller: "I have a bag with snack food, 6 liters of water, CR123 batteries, headlamp, and hand held flashlight along with audible device."

L.A.B. Wow, your prepping, I think your a prep'er and your pre-stowing a BOB for unfettered egress.

Caller: I'm not a prep'er, I'm just doing what my dad would have done during the big quakes in the past.

L.A.B. OK, but keep in mind, it's a slippery slope, this is how it starts. First a flashlight and a bottle of water in a BOB, then down the road it's a Kevlar catamaran with mirror encapsulated solar water tanks for steam distillation.

Who does she think she's kidding. By this time next week 'it will be' "honey, could you pick me up a couple gamma lids on the way home from work."...

Well... Maybe not.

 

[coloradohermit]

I've got a long overdue eye appointment Wed for new glasses.

 

[moldy]

A tiny bit less time at work (the paying job) this week.... Today, I've got a boatload to get done: Go to the bank, talk to a neighbor about pigs, order bees, order chickens, clean, laundry, and try to pick up stuff that got blown all over by the wind last night (if I can fight the wind today).

 

[Kathy in FL]

Normal Monday so far which is to say ... yuck. That said I've found another "hobby" and that is make pantry meals in mason jars. I don't mean the kind you BWB or pressure can, nor the kind that you cook in the jar. These meals are like convenience mixes that you either seal with a vacuum sealer or throw in an O2 absorber when you put the lid on. I've seen some that say sealed these will last 3 to 5 years but I don't plan on them hanging around that long. The ones that I've tried thus far are going to be really great for the kids or for me when I just don't feel like going to much effort in the kitchen.

The thread is at http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...r-pantry-storage)-not-BWB-or-pressure-canning if anyone is interested in chiming in with recipes, ideas, or comments. It is a good way to rotate LTS food and get used to cooking and eating it before a SHTF situation. It is certainly teaching my daughters how to use those supplies more creatively.

 

[ReneeT]

Darn it, Kathy!! I've got enough 'hobbies' now Maybe I can get my daughter interested in helping me rotate a few items... Thanks for your posts and the links!

L.A.B. ~ Thank you for giving me a reason to laugh this morning

Got off work this morning, zipped by the insurance office and dropped off daughter's house insurance payment, then deked over to CVS, where I purchased:

2 - 1# DAK canned hams @ 2/$5 - We will open one and try it as grilled slices, ham salad, ham chunks in scrambled eggs/omelets in the next couple of days. If we like it, I'll pick up at least 6 more before the sale ends Saturday evening - the sell by date is April of 2018.

Then I deked and dived through town a bit more to the Dollar General that is on the way to the back route home (where if I see more than 3 pickups and a tractor from the time I get on the road until I get home, I think traffic is awful lol!)
Bought:
8 - jars Prego Alfredo sauce @ $2 each = $16
4 - jars Prego Italian sauce @ $2 each = $8
12 -1# boxes assorted Barilla pasta @ $1.40 each = $16.80
2 - 6 oz vac sealed paks Libby's seasoned beef crumbles (Brazil) @ (gulp!) $2.85 each = $5.70
Total: $46.50
Used:
$5/$25 purchase coupon found in the weekly ad; good Mon~Wed
8 - 75 cent/1 Prego Alfredo sauce coupons = $6
2 - 40 cent/2 Prego Italian sauce coupons = 80 cents
There was a Buy One Prego sauce; Get One Barilla Pasta Free deal going on, so that took off the full cost of the pasta = $16.80
Total: $28.60

Paid $17.90 plus tax - Could have gotten by for $13.20 plus tax; the total was $4.70 higher than I'd planned because I'd planned to pick up a $1 box of Kleenex to get to the required $25 purchase, but saw the ground beef and wanted to try it. If it's half decent, I'll be picking up a few more and adding it to the car Bobs and work locker stashes to go with the foil pkgs of tuna, salmon, and Spam for variety - light weight and small size is getting more important when I think about needing extra for the boys and having to push or carry them AND the BOB. I won't buy a lot because the price is pretty high compared to the tuna, salmon and Spam, but the variety will be welcome.

Sky is alternating between sunshine and clouds; wind is ranging between 20 to 30mph; temp is currently 50*F; it's supposed to get up to 68*F today; don't know if it will get there or not. I'm planning to walk with the neighbor lady some time today; and Hubby wants to cut up some trees he downed over the weekend, so I'll help with that. Neither of those two seem to be in any hurry though, so I think I'll go see if I can catch a couple hour nap before they decide to get busy! I'd like to do some garden clean up in the 4x8 raised bed area, and maybe start moving the old, rotted frames from the 4x4 raised bed area so that I can till it as soon as it dries - think that will be the pole bean and table use tomato area this year. Although... since Hubby is home, maybe I ought to have him help me get those skids lashed together for the REALLY raised beds I plan to grow sweet potatoes in this year - ot that there is any hurry; I won't be planting those for over a month...unless I put plastic over the top of the bed, hmmm... Wonder if I'll end up napping or lay there with my head buzzing with garden plans

 

[moldy]

Got the bees ordered and the check mailed. Also talked to the neighbor lady about pigs; we should get 12 and they're only $50 a piece. Hit the hardware store to check prices on canning jars by the pallet and picked up 800 onion sets as well. Now I'm going to take a nap before work, and hopefully get some cleaning done when I get up.

 

[ReneeT]

Hubby and I managed to get the trees cut up and the wood stacked; then cut a lot of brush, branches, and small trees that were growing up in the way of areas we want to clear yesterday afternoon. It was getting late in the afternoon by the time we were done; we'd just walked in the house when the neighbor lady called and said her DIL wanted to walk, so walk we did - only 1.5 miles as we were walking into a very strong south east wind and it was sprinkling rain on us much of the way. Hubby had a simple supper of chili and corn bread put together by the time I got back home. I tossed in a load of laundry after supper, then crawled into a nice hot bath to relax for a bit before falling into bed.

Up this morning and in a mood to get things done (SCARY! ) Called and orderd a 4 yd dumpster for the purpose of shed clean up, then called a gutter company and they will be out to do an estimate for the back of our shed this afternoon. Called my cousin who does our taxes and we set up a meet for lunch and taxes tomorrow afternoon. Tossed in a load of laundry, then pulled on grubbies and headed outside, where I found my loppers and started cutting limbs off some of the trees/branches we'd cut yesterday. Dragged a bunch of them to an area where we'd decided to build a brush pile and started a teepee; then got out tractor and wagon and began hauling smaller branches and piling them under and around the teepee; finished up all but the last area by dragging over the last of the long pieces and leaning them up against the sides.

Neighbor lady stopped by on the way home from her cleaning job to pick up some otc meds I'd gotten for free; we decided to take a quick walk down to the end of my road and back; 1.8 miles. I'm having a bite of lunch now, before heading back out to clean up the last area - all shorter pieces from a dead tree that I will haul to the fire pit. Then I'm going to grab a pair of wire cutters out of the shed and go snip the zip ties holding my tomato cages and bean fences to the fence posts so that I can stack cages and fence and get my t-posts out of the ground while it's easy to do so - and before we get the 4 days of rain the weatherman is calling for.

If I'm not totally dead on my feet by then, I'm going to grab the roll of surveyor's tape out of the tractor and walk around tagging trees that I want Hubby to cut when we've next got a good day to do so. Walgreen's is having Senior Day today ~ 20% off their brand items and 15% off all other items, but there is honestly nothing I need - and nothing I want badly enough to drive in to town to get it lol!

Back to the great outdoors...

 

[Kathy in FL]

Scheduling end of the year testing is traumatic enough but realizing that I now have one that will never need it again ... argh! Middle daughter turned 18 on Friday and will graduate the end of this month after successfully completing all goals we had for her homeschool academic career. She's still working on entrance for college in the fall but I'm not worried. A year in community college isn't going to kill her and may save a good buck or three while giving her time to get her college career planned out.

Darth Molly is going through a hard headed stage. And the sock stealer has learned which drawers the socks are in and how to open them. My word! What a pain in the rump that dog can be when she wants to be.

Taxes still in progress. We'll wait until the last moment to pay. Don't know the exact to the penny yet but its gonna ouch.

Filling up quart jars with pantry meals ... we'll see how long they last 'cause the kids seem to like them plenty. May have to put them in a locking cabinet. Too much temptation to just add water and heat through. They're expensive compared to the way I normally cook and I want to hold them in reserve for when they are really needed or occasional use. Don't get me wrong, they're less expensive than eating out or the Mountain House type meals but I count every penny and there is a cheaper way to cook and still have a good meal than surviving on convenience meals alone.

 

[SAPPHIRE]

MY 2 CENTS: WOW....DAK HAM 2/$5 would be a steal here.........only WalMart stocks this brand and it's $3.85 per ham.........still wanting some so I'd be interested in your tasting results.........

Trying to prep on fruit juices.......we have no garden/fruit trees/bushes/etc.........since in a rental midst the suburbs......We like Santa Cruz and Knudsen but noticed that Knudsen 100% juices are being phased out and the new bottles (glass!!!) have xantham gum in it................YUCK.......and the price will be $4.59 a quart............no go.....

Trying to persuade my DH to buy OVA EASY EGG CRYSTALS......he's not convinced it's needful..........but I think so..........I'd hate to do without eggs for baking, etc.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.........

 

[prudentwatcher]

Went to Winn Dixie and got 6 50 oz jugs of Arm & Hammer laundry detergent. THey were on a special 3 day sale for $1.99 each; I had coupons for $1.50 off 2 and an extra $2 off anything coupon from last week's shopping. Six jugs of laundry detergent for less than $1 a jug. I also found 2 packages of marked down rib eyes, each containing 3 8oz rib eyes, for $4.44 each. I bought both of them for the freezer. I will never find rib eyes for under $4 a lb again.

A trip to Petsmart with coupons in hand netted me another month of wet and dry cat food. They weren't on the great sales like last month, but still better than full price and the coupons were good. Now up to a good 10 months of wet cat food and about 5 months on dry.

Had some work done on the car yesterday. With coupons we saved about $80 on the work and will send in for a $25 rebate for some brake work. It took longer than they told us it would, even with an appointment and us dropping the car off, so I'm glad we saved some money on it.

Added some battery lanterns and a hand cranked flash light to the stash.

Back to work tomorrow for the final tax season push. Except for Sundays, I only have 1 day off work until 4/16. Last chance to get the paychecks.

 

[moldy]

Sigh - worked last night and was napping today when DH came home early with belly pain. Long story short, he is now in the hospital with a badly inflamed gallbladder. They were able to get his pain under control in the ED, but he can't eat or drink till his levels come down. So - over the next couple days, I need to pick up doing some of the chores, water the newly-planted trees, and get this dang house cleaned!

 

[patience]

Newbie Here

I just joined after years of lurking in the fiction section. I'm an old guy, 67, married with 2 grown girls. Been into the homesteading thing for a long time. Wife and I retired at age 62 and I closed my repair shop business at home where I had done machining and welding for local farmers and homeowners.

Now, our oldest daughter is using my shop to teach homeschoolers a basic shop class. She and her hubby spent the past couple days finally getting my old TIG welder repaired (the stick welding part still worked fine) so she can teach some about all the welding processes.

These are very good kids, and really smart. They range in age from 8 to 14. Daughter was delighted to recently sign a girl up for the class, age 12, thinking now I'll get to help them do pretty, girly stuff! Jewelry, and such. She asked the kid what she wanted to make for a project and was told, "A MACHETE!"

We are preparing for class stage 2 this week, rearranging shop furniture (machines and toolboxes) to get all possible floor space and hopefully make things more convenient. This is not like shuffling living room chairs. These things weigh hundreds of pounds, but we do have casters on most things.

The shop needed a good cleaning anyway. I have a long list of projects to do for us out there, when the weather and I are fit for it.

 

[moldy]

Welcome, patience! I'm enjoying your story, also. Well, God took care of watering the trees for me! DH is still in the hospital and chomping at the bit to come home. I didn't get a lot done today, but I did start about 30# of kraut for the CO get-together (to teach folks how to can if they're interested).

 

[anna43]

Will your dh need surgery? If so, sooner rather than later is better. My s-i-l and my dd had several seriously painful attacks before having surgery and wished they'd had surgery first time around! I think getting ahead of the game with medical issues is an important prep.

My big prep for April was sort of an impulse today. I ordered an All-American canner (used) from Amazon. I have two Presto canners but with my bad hands I have a very difficult time locking on and removing the lids. Dh has always helped me but his arthritis is so bad its painfully difficult for him too. I decided $145 for an All-American that I will be able to manage on my own was worth the price. I also like knowing I won't need to buy replacement seals ever again. I think I'll keep one of my Presto canners and sell the other.

 

[ReneeT]

Moldy, prayers going out for your Hubby!

Sapphire, thanks for letting me know the hams were a good deal; I'd forgotten to check the regular price! They were a tiny bit salty, texture was softer than a regular ham but not mushy; and the flavor was good grilled, in ham salad, and chopped in an omelet; I can say that I recommend them.

Great deal on the laundry soap and ribeyes, Prudentwatcher!

Patience; nice to meet you! I, too, am enjoying your story (and Kathy's as well! I usually read on my tablet and would rather take a beating than type on it, so I havne't said "Thanks!" before.)

Anna, you will love your AA!

Well, best laid plans... and all that. I was out busily working in the garden when my phone rang at 2 pm Tuesday afternoon - daughter, asking me "Just how bad do you want MGS to go to that private preschool?"
"Um, why?"
"Today is registration; there are 20 openings, registration doesn't start til 5:30, and there are already 10 people in line. If you want him in it, you're either going to need to watch the boys or come sit in line."
"It'll be the boys; I'm covered in dirt. See you in 20..."

Headed for town, stopped at CVS to pick up a couple gallons of milk that was on sale for $2.79/gallon, picked up the boys, handed daughter a paperback book and lawn chair, whipped by the gas station to fill the car, and headed back for home. Had to play with the boys for a bit until they were content to play by themselves, but did manage to get all the tomato cages and pole bean fences down and stacked before they started howling for supper. Blessed my lazy self for picking up a couple of those frozen chicken, veggies, and pasta bagged meals at the store the other day; settled the boys in front of cartoons with glasses of milk, then tossed one of the bags in a cassarole dish and put it in the nuker. 10 minutes later, I took it out and dumped some cheddar cheese sauce on it, couple minutes after that they were happily chowing down, and I was able to sneak to the downstairs pantry and bring up a couple of pint jars of peaches for dessert. Didn't get the last area of brush cleaned up; Hubby brought the tractor and trailer up to the shed and got them put away after supper. Daughter picked up the boys around 7:30; I was in and out of the tub and tucked in bed asleep well before 9!

Up early yesterday, baked a pan of blueberry muffins (mix from Salvage Store - 90 cents), then did some general cleaning, got my scrubs ready for work, and prepped a few things for my work lunches. Headed out to a bigger city where my cousin works preparing taxes and met up with her - had to pay in over and above our deductions, but got half of what we paid in to the feds back in state taxes, so it didn't hurt as bad as it could. Took her out to lunch at Bob Evan's; had some wonderful blackened fish - first time I've not taken half my entree home for later, it was that yummy! Got home with about 45 minutes to spare before I had to get ready for work - no nap, darn it!

Stopped on the way home from work this morning and picked up 4 dozen eggs at Walgreen's - on sale for $1.29/doz. Then I popped in to CVS and picked up 6 of the DAK 1# canned hams to go with them LOL! I did check the regular price this time - $3.75 each; but they were still on sale 2/$5, so $15. I'd scanned my card at the magic machine and had gotten my quarterly bucks (every 3 months, you get a rebate of 2% of your spending back); used it to take $4.50 off; paid $11.65 w/tax.

Home, found a note from Hubby on the gutter estimate so had to call them and give them the go-ahead.

It's raining cats and dogs right now; chance of severe thunderstorms this afternoon. I'm trying to decide whether to sleep upstairs, or on the main floor - two flights of stairs vs one to run down if we have a tornado warning!!

Off to bed here in a bit; gotta decide if I want to get up early enough to stop by CVS and pick up 4 more of those hams or not - with a 2018 use by date, I could probably stock twice as many as I've bought...

 

[Kathy in FL]

Dak hams ... and the Aldi version as well ... are incredibly convenient. And with no refrigeration required about some of the best "put back for later" value on that kind of thing. Renee ... use some of those canned peaches or cherries you keep talking about and bake them with the Dak ham. Yummy, yummy in my tummy. LOL.

I've mapped out my strategy for tomorrow's hated monthly grocery run. I always feel like I've been trampled by elephants by the time I'm finished. Shudder. Winn Dixie has a really good sale going with a store coupon of $5 off any $40 purchase so you can't beat that with a stick.

Fighting off either incipient allergies or a cold coming on. Either way my throat does not feel in prime condition and I feel like I'm dragging. Of course staying up until after 2 am and getting up at 6 am does not help but it is that time of the month (first of the month rent picks up and bill pay) combined with that time of the year (tax time and oak pollen) combined with hubby and middle daughter leaving on the 14th for 10 days in California for hre 18th birthday and Momma Hen's feathers are getting more than a little droopy. Ah well, such is life and this too shall pass.

 

[patience]

It's raining cats and dogs here today, so it's all inside work. For the past month I have been fixing up old metal toolboxes and the tools that go in them. These are all spares to go to the BOL and be stored in a truck reefer box (8' x 8' x 20'). I bought the reefer box for $800 and it is fiberglass outside and all aluminum inside. Like new condition, and just removed from the truck. A local dealer buys used trucks for resale and sells whatever body was on them. I couldn't build a shed that cheap, and this one is tough, weatherproof, and lockable. Just slide it off a rollback truck and onto some railroad ties for a foundation. (Then piddle around with it for a week with jacks and shims getting it level.)

I have the wrenching stuff in one box, sheet metal hand tools in one, hand carpenter tools in my granddad's old wood box, one full of C-clamps, One for the right angle grinder and other welding related stuff, and one for the acetylene torch stuff. This forms the basis of an off-grid shop to keep things fixed up at the BOL. There is a floor model hand crank drill press and a hand crank grinder also ready to go there, too. Have a 55 lb. anvil and basic blacksmith tools (heat with the torch for forging small things), and a 6" heavy vise to mount on a new bench. I'm looking for a chunk of steel plate to make the bench top. I don't believe in woosy work benches...

That reefer box will also house the garden hand tools, chainsaw and its' accessories, and all the long handled stuff--axe adze, shovels, pitchfork, spade, hoes, rakes, etc. that I resurrected form junk over the years. They got sandblasted, polished, new paint and new handles soaked in linseed oil. I rebuilt an antique burr mill and have collected the parts to power it with a gasoline engine, but still need to build the frame for it. That is coming up soon in the welding shop at home. There will be chicken facilities at the campsite, so I have collected a metal feed barrel, metal nests, a feeder and a waterer for them. The chickens will go in a shed attached to the reefer box.

This is a retirement spot, too, for when we are too old to take care of our present property. Our daughter says that when we get old enough she has to watch over us, she wants us close enough to do that. So, this BOL will be an RV trailer under a shelter house style roof on her property. They live off-grid, so this trailer will also be off-grid. More on that here: http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?447430-RV-Trailer-Renovation

Basically it is a homestead-away-from-the-homestead. Since the site isn't costing us anything, we have less than the price of a decent used car in this whole project.
With some luck and a lot of hard work, we may get that ready to use this year.

A friend came by yesterday and said he thought he'd have a tractor for me (at a righteous price) soon. It's a Yanmar 2 cylinder diesel he is getting in a car trade somehow, and this friend owes me, so... We'll have to wait and see how that all comes out.

 

[moldy]

Guys - I would really appreciate prayers for DH and me. He is getting transferred to a bigger hospital for a procedure (ERCP). They can't take the gallbladder yet due to his pancreas being infected, and that would be a bigger risk surgically. I'm having issues because this is how things started with DBro (who passed from cancer about 18 months ago). And of course, the cows are calving, we are having a shipping container delivered Saturday, I'm supposed to work Thurs-Sun nights, etc, etc

 

[kilagal]

Prayers. My dh had emergancy gb surgery 3 years ago.

 

[ReneeT]

Keeping you both in my prayers, Moldy...

 

[SAPPHIRE]

Prayers said......so sorry.......FYI: IF POSSIBLE RESEARCH OPTIONS........."FIRST DO NO HARM" USED TO BE A PHYSICIANS MOTTO.........I doubt it is nowadays.......... control the pain and clear up infection before they do any mega invasive procedures..........MY 2 Cents............

 

[patience]

Moldy,

I'm praying for the best possible outcome for you and yours. Medical problems may be the worst thing we have to face.