Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: August 9-15

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Your attitude is like mine, Judy. I told Cary that when we go for our next shopping trip into town, I was going to treat it like it would be our last trip for a long time. I plan to spend money out of our emergency fund to add more food, water, and try and get as many of the household items on my list as I can find. I may have to order a few of those items. I'm not putting it off any longer. My pantry room is full, and now, our bedroom has become a secondary pantry room. I'm storing things wherever I can find a place. I'm not too worried about what my house looks like anymore. At least, we will have food to eat and water to drink.

I was talking to my best friend, yesterday. She is doing the same thing. She believes that the window to buy food and such is fast closing. She is of the mind that we may only have another two weeks or so. I don't know about her timing, but I'm not waiting any longer. Monday is our shopping day, or sooner if it is warranted.
We are doing the same thing. The wife has put together a list to push us to about a year's supply of food not including the furry kids. We will have about 6 months for them.
 

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
DH could not find freon at walmart yesterday but I was able to order a case from amazon. His truck seems to have a slow leak and its a bitch if your are going somewhere and the ac stops cooling, its way hot here in Louisiana.

God is good all the time,

Judy
 

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
We are doing the same thing. The wife has put together a list to push us to about a year's supply of food not including the furry kids. We will have about 6 months for them.
Because fedx is often times slow to deliver we ended up with 200 pounds of dog food. I'd ordered two 50 pound bags and after what seemed like forever walmart replaced them and low and behold the first two bags showed up. Not sure how long this will last, but its twice the time I was planning on.

God is good all the time,

Judy
 

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Because fedx is often times slow to deliver we ended up with 200 pounds of dog food. I'd ordered two 50 pound bags and after what seemed like forever walmart replaced them and low and behold the first two bags showed up. Not sure how long this will last, but its twice the time I was planning on.

God is good all the time,

Judy
Much better result than having no dog food for sure.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Because fedx is often times slow to deliver we ended up with 200 pounds of dog food. I'd ordered two 50 pound bags and after what seemed like forever walmart replaced them and low and behold the first two bags showed up. Not sure how long this will last, but its twice the time I was planning on.

God is good all the time,

Judy

What do you store your dog food in? I'm afraid to have that much, because of bugs/mice getting into it. I have a plastic tote from Walmart that holds about a months worth for our dog, but would like a better way to store even more. I'm thinking about buying up some canned food for him, too. 200 lbs. would last our dog a year!
 

hummer

Veteran Member
What do you store your dog food in? I'm afraid to have that much, because of bugs/mice getting into it. I have a plastic tote from Walmart that holds about a months worth for our dog, but would like a better way to store even more. I'm thinking about buying up some canned food for him, too. 200 lbs. would last our dog a year!
. When I had dogs I stored my dog food in galvanized trash cans. Never had a problem with little critters getting into it.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
. When I had dogs I stored my dog food in galvanized trash cans. Never had a problem with little critters getting into it.

That sounds like a great idea. Will have to look into getting a couple of those. We have cats, too. One for each.
 

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
What do you store your dog food in? I'm afraid to have that much, because of bugs/mice getting into it. I have a plastic tote from Walmart that holds about a months worth for our dog, but would like a better way to store even more. I'm thinking about buying up some canned food for him, too. 200 lbs. would last our dog a year!

I bought a couple of these:


They each hold 60 pounds. When I order from walmart.com they are delivered in an outer bag with the bag of dog food inside. What doesn't fit in the container stays in the double bags. I store all of it in my "she shed" that is somewhat climate controlled. So far nothing has gotten rancid. Back in March I also bought two cases of canned food to supplement when the dry gets low. In addition the the rice I have stored for the dog. We only have one dog.

I also save any food liquids or grease or left over stuff we don't eat to mix in with the daily dog food. I think my peeps that lived around here gave their yard dogs food scraps.

God is good all the time

Judy
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I bought a couple of these:


They each hold 60 pounds. When I order from walmart.com they are delivered in an outer bag with the bag of dog food inside. What doesn't fit in the container stays in the double bags. I store all of it in my "she shed" that is somewhat climate controlled. So far nothing has gotten rancid. Back in March I also bought two cases of canned food to supplement when the dry gets low. In addition the the rice I have stored for the dog. We only have one dog.

I also save any food liquids or grease or left over stuff we don't eat to mix in with the daily dog food. I think my peeps that lived around here gave their yard dogs food scraps.

God is good all the time

Judy

Thanks for your suggestion, too. I'll figure something out. I'm looking at the cost angle, too, here. Our dog is our baby. We want to prepare for him as much as we do for ourselves. We keep a 3 month supply of dry food on hand for him all the time, but more is needed. He does get table scraps from time to time, and canned dog food when it's time for his monthly pills. I mix his pills in with his wet food. I also have enough rice stored for us and him. He loves rice.
 

aviax2

Veteran Member
I’ve managed to do a little canning this week in between doing daycare for the grandkids. They’re going to the other grandparents tomorrow so I need to decide before getting more chicken out of the freezer if I’ll have enough energy to do it! I have some health issues and I tire out very easily but I’m really wanting to keep plugging away at it even if can’t hold up to do things like I once could.

I did manage to can some more ground beef, chicken and chicken broth this week, not too much of each but it’s a start.
 

ReneeT

Veteran Member
Stopped by the local grocery store yesterday for 'boy food'; picked up 6# of ground beef while I was there. Made 8 slider size hamburgers for home and work lunches, then vac sealed the rest and put it in the freezer. I looked for frozen mixed veggies to use to can more soup, but the store only had one small bag and it was expensive for the size (small local store); I will hit the Evil Empire to look for larger bags of veggies when I take the boys home this evening.

I thought the rest of the last batch of peaches would be ready to can, but I've still got 30 peaches on the counter that aren't quite ready yet; I put an apple under the newspapers that are covering them, so hopefully they will be ready to work up tomorrow morning. I may just slice them up (or have Hubby do so on Sunday while I am at work), then vac seal them and put them in the freezer for pies and crisps. The peaches that I had put in the freezer over the past few weeks had thawed a bit when the freezer door was open last week, so I turned them in to jam; I do need to replace them. I want to can at least another 40 jars (for a total of 100) plus have at least a dozen bags in the freezer by the time the season is finished, so I loaded the boys in the van this morning and we and headed up to the orchard for another half bushel that I will start working up after I get done with my upcoming 5 day stretch at work and wake up enough to do so.

On the way back from the orchard, I stopped at the local grocery store for another 6# of ground beef; I thought about making it in to meatloaf mix, but went ahead and vac sealed it in 1# bags. I only had a few bags of ground beef that I didn't have to can, turn in to soup, or cook and refreeze after the freezer deal; and all of the meatloaf mix had to be cooked - we ate some, turned some in to sloppy Joes; then put what was left in vac seal bags in the freezer. The frozen cooked meat will probably be reserved for sloppy Joes, so it would be good to have some frozen meatloaf mix on hand if I wanted to cook it as a meatloaf or make it in to meatballs. And while I'm babbling on about vaccum sealing, I want to throw out a plug for my favorite vacuum sealer bag connection - www.thevakshack.com - since I just placed another order last evening. Their bags work great with my Foodsaver brand vaccum sealer, and the prices are great compared to the Food Saver Brand.

I need to make a small batch of chicken alfredo to use up some leftover roast chicken in the fridge; I'll carry some of it in my work lunch to trade off with the hamburgers so I don't get too bored. I could toss some of the chicken in a batch of fried rice, but I think I've finally ran out of the little packets of soy sauce that come in take out meals, and I don't want to try to carry a bottle of it in my lunch bag. Maybe I'll just ask Hubby to make a small batch of chicken salad instead...

Well, it's getting close to time to take the boys home; they were having a water balloon battle a little while ago and when they ran through the kitchen to get a drink they were just in sopping wet undershorts - guess I'd better go track 'em down and find 'em some decent - and dry - clothing :lol:

You folks take care out there - stay safe!
 

paxsim2

Senior Member
Placing another large order for pickup from Walmart, so far they have everything I want. But, as I looked further the canned green beans and other canned vegetables of varying sizes were out. Getting more dog food and filling some other holes. Need to get some more otc for the medical cabinet.
 

Digger

Veteran Member
We went to hubbys pain dr in a larger town. I called a couple of stores and went in 2 looking for canning lids. None to be found. I did buy a bathroom rug for our main bathroom. I also got a Christmas present for the littlest grandboy.

On our way home we stopped and bought vodka to make elderberry medicine. We live in a dry county even though some restaurants serve liquor, there is no liquor stores. I have the juice in the frig ready to make it. I may need just a few more berries to have a full recipe, but there are a couple more heads I can pick.
 

prudentwatcher

Veteran Member
I ended up ordering Christmas presents for my grandchildren (honorary) online last night. I got the 5 year old twin girls jackets with hoods. It doesn't get too cold here in Florida, but they need jackets for winter. My 2 1/2 year old grandson got a hoodie with trucks and cars on it, then I found it came with matching sweatpants, so he got those too. I picked those up today, so I was on the other side of town, someplace I rarely go because the traffic sucks. Made a couple of other stops.

First to Michaels where I got some more yarn. I think everyone is going to get those loom knitted hats for Christmas.

Then to a different Dollar Tree. Boy it was busy in there (college kids are back in town), but they weren't buying food. I managed to get more cold meds, more headache meds, and 5 boxes of those dehydrated hashbrowns. The Dollar Tree near me hasn't had those in ages, so I was quite pleased.

I am checking things online to try and decide what to get for the grandkids as far as toys go for Christmas. I want educational type toys and have started a list of what might work for Christmas and birthdays. I will probably buy for both very early just to make sure I have everything covered. Birthdays are not until March and April, but if I find what I am looking for, I will get it anyway.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I finally got around to making some of those dehydrated hash browns in a carton from Sam's for the first time. We really liked them. I've added a few cartons to my next shopping list. I'll divide them up into glass canning jars and vacuum seal. Waiting on my order of O2 absorbers to arrive. We love potatoes!
 

aviax2

Veteran Member
I’ve got chicken chunks in the pressure canner and I’ll have a few jars of broth to can when the chicken comes out.

I made a start on Christmas shopping, ordered undies and socks for the grands and socks for the adults (Christmas tradition for us). I’m hoping to get some ideas on what the kids would like and get it bought early. I’ve been using the 4-gift rule for several years now and it makes things much easier. Doesn’t mean of course that they only get 4 gifts (we only have 3 grands and we do spoil them a bit) but I try to concentrate on these and fill in with little things.
Something they want,
something they need,
something to wear,
something to read.
 

hiwall

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I finally got around to making some of those dehydrated hash browns in a carton from Sam's for the first time. We really liked them. I've added a few cartons to my next shopping list. I'll divide them up into glass canning jars and vacuum seal. Waiting on my order of O2 absorbers to arrive. We love potatoes!
I eat those often. And they keep a very long time just in the carton(though we live in a very low humidity area).
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I eat those often. And they keep a very long time just in the carton(though we live in a very low humidity area).

We'll be eating them more often, too. I've had this one carton on my shelf for quite awhile ( about 3-4 months ), and thought I might better use them to see what they taste like, before they get too old. I was surprised that they were actually good. I have this thing about bugs getting into my stuff, so I plan to vacuum seal a few cartons of them in jars.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
Been working on my cabin and cabin yard since I'm done with the inside of the house. More insulation is up. Make shift fences for different areas around the cabin. My son is bringing me more pallets.
I got oldest grandson a cheap large tent he wanted. Hard to find and expensive. Friend of mine does a sort of flea mart in her barn and I got a big tent for $20,
Sold the tiny camper. Stocked more food, both freezers are packed to the gills and all the shelves and cupboards.
Propane tank getting filled this week while its cheap.
My oldest daughter and her ex are having a rough time, so I was designated to supervise visits for next 10 days. Its an hour drive each way so can't do it too often. He is due to start school Sept 7th, if it isn't cancelled. He is with his dad now for awhile which he needs.
Other grandkids will back Tuesday I think and I'll get the low down on if my other daughter and her family are going to sell city house and move out here.
Just different things to get ready for winter, though its still hot as blazes. Garden is doing good. Let the chickens out in the yard just now, first time. They are loving it. We only got 2 chicks from the momma hens. Not broody now so plenty of eggs.
I store all the feed in big trash cans I get from Walmart for $10, Never had any problem. Use them for rain barrels too.
We are wiped out and need a mini vacation.
 

WanderLore

Veteran Member
My back is still pretty painful most of the time but I'm coping. Hubby tore his rotator cuff. I have a peptic ulcer now due to the Nsaids I was taking. Between the 2 of us, we get it all done.
 

ReneeT

Veteran Member
I was feeling tired and draggy today - I don't know what is blooming or where it's at, but I'm allergic to something that's out there! After I popped a Clariten, the tired part got worse, so I didn't get much of anything done other than my hour workout in the pool, followed by lunch at the VFW with my friend and her Mama. I did take the time to hit the store on the way home, so now have 6 roasts to cut up and can tomorrow - 8 if I decide to hit the store on my way home from picking up the grandsons tomorrow morning.

I worked up a few more peaches today; only put 2 half gallon bags in the freezer and a big jar for fresh eating in the fridge, but that's more than I had in there to begin with. I still have a 1/4 bushel of peaches on the counter that I'll need to finish up sometime this weekend. I will have the boys underfoot, but that is okay; they amuse themselves fairly well. And since Papaw (Hubby) came home with a small dirt bike in the back of the truck this evening, he can amuse them too - after he gets home from his shooting match tomorrow :lol: I don't plan to let them near the shed until after he gets home!

I'm trying to get enthusiastic enough to start digging out the boy's winter clothes, but 90+degree temps in the forecast don't have me very excited over that. I will at least have to dig out some jeans for them to wear on the dirt bike. They are supposed to start back to school on the 31st - we'll see how that goes. The school nearest my town went one day - then someone either tested positive for Covid or was around someone who did, so it shut down right away, for at least two weeks. I've got homeschool books ready to order if the grandson's schools get shut down - found some cool grade school physics, biology, and chemistry programs, literature I've got covered by my own library, language arts is covered, geography is easy (sent for info from various state's visitors guides, plus have world maps) and I've got a math assessment program coming to figure out where the boys need to start. Oh, better not forget PE - I'm gonna hire a teenager to teach them boy type sports (basketball, football, etc...; they've already done baseball, soccer, and gymnastics).

I've talked to the neighbor who does the farmer's market, so she is going to give me a holler when she has extra green beans and/or tomatoes so I can buy enough to can at least a few cases - I've got plenty left downstairs, but want a few more, just in case. I'm also planning to add a few more store bought canned items to the pantry as they come available; it's odd how some stores in the area are fairly well stocked and others aren't.

Well, guess I'd better head for bed - it's only 7:30 but my eyes are trying to shut on me.

You folks take care out there; stay safe!
 

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
My back is still pretty painful most of the time but I'm coping. Hubby tore his rotator cuff. I have a peptic ulcer now due to the Nsaids I was taking. Between the 2 of us, we get it all done.
Try taking whole licorice root for a couple weeks. Not the "deglyccerinated" version... it lacks the important healing component. 2 capsules, 2-3x a day generally helps the pain quickly, and heals the ulcer within a few weeks. BTDT, for the same reason. Now, if I can't avoid taking NSAIDS, I take a couple licorice capsules with it.

Licorice can raise blood pressure and/or cause you to retain water, but it generally takes a much larger dose over a long period of time. Just be aware, and discontinue if you develop symptons.

Summerthyme
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
Its something you have to come to terms with if you want farm raised meat.

Interesting and timely sidebar discussion here.

My thoughts went to the Lord speaking to Peter in Acts 10:10-16 with the sentence: "Rise, Peter, kill and eat."

Ain't no eatin' without some killin'; it's the way things are. I don't know if you've ever watched that video of the baboon eating a live baby gazelle (it was posted as an object lesson on Max Velocity's site years ago), but it was gruesome even for me to watch. And what made it worse was the sounds.

Anyway.

Nobody wants to torture animals which have been raised for food. I don't go for that stuff about not naming your critters you plan to eat - they just don't seem to respond well to Hey, you fat steer over there, c'mere, I got something for you! Names are fine and the kids have never had a problem eating such-and-such ... Hey Dad (or PawPaw nowadays) Curly is GOOD! (one of my wife's fondest memories of her childhood is when her aunt killed and fed them the mean rooster that would trap the girls in the outhouse while they were in there)

My opinion is that it's beneficial to get this behind ourselves if at all possible. My youngest granddaughter is a trooper; when she was 11ish she skinned and cleaned her first rabbit, helped Grammy with the stew and enjoyed the meal. She couldn't bring herself to kill it, so I did that for her but she did everything else. I was really proud of her and told her lots of times, and I'd have crawled all over her brother or anyone else for getting on her case for not killing the rabbit, too. She'll do it when the time comes without a fuss.

Now her brother and male cousins? They had to kill them as well as clean them, but being boys, they thought that was all good. I had to hide a smile at the dinner table when the oldest grandson (12 or 13 at the time, IIRC) got a bit green around the gills at supper, when he said "This was alive just a couple hours ago." Again, gotta give kids who haven't been on the farm all their lives some slack when it's necessary. He did fine.

But anyway, if you can help kids along the path, I believe it'll be worth the effort to help them adjust to things being REAL bad out there when that happens.

And it will happen.

Thank you for making this important topic part of a timely discussion.
 
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