Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: February 22 - 28 2026

[patriotgal]

It is skunk time in Arkansas and the house reeks. I will sleep in the rig in the garage tonight if their mating frenzy continues. Going to try to see what is wrong with motion lights today. I usually do all the ladder stuff but my injured leg still doesn't bend well and needs a lot more healing time. Nothing broken but enough soft tissue damage that it could take as long as 12 weeks to heal.

Motion lights would at least send the critters further out. Nearest Grand, bless his heart, doesn't know how to work on anything. He was an Army medic and can patch you up in a heartbeat. And he is very willing to try to help. Will probably ask him to do the work on the lights. DH can instruct. All I wanted last night was some sleep and got none so I am a cranky witch today. If they don't get the motion lights fixed I will take something tonight to help me sleep through the stink party.

Invested in a couple more knee braces of different types. Insurance covered them. DH has been taking care of dishes and laundry but there is so much more needing to be done. Mopping, vacuuming, dusting, toilets, all that stuff. Gonna tackle it a little at a time this week. I have 2 weeks before I am back to long work hours that will probably last until mid April. Grand loves to clean so may enlist her help while guys work on lights.

 

[Wildwood]

We owned 45 acres ..about 2 miles back in woods..on a dirt road..
We tent camped there for years in the summer..just to get away and hide from the stress of work ..all...but used the truck with insulated top..for camping during hunting season...deer season went until early January often with friends hunting
We moved here to eleven acres...about 25 years ago...in the same county....about 5 miles down the road from the turn off to the land..we are so country here at the house that we just stopped camping....

That is part of the reason we we all but quit camping except for the rare summer vacations. When you live on a place that seems like a vacation spot, you just aren't as motivated to pack up and go to the lake. We did that a little while the boys were growing up and my parents were still alive.

Way back in the day, there was a country store on this spot and a small park. By the mid fifties the land had been sold and our house was built here. That was around 70 years ago and we still have the occasional person who think they can just come on our land and swim and have a picnic. We've been here almost forty years and it has gotten much better but I still had to get ugly with a young man a year or two ago who insisted he and his young son were going to fish here rather we liked it or not. It was never a state park and was always privately owned. It had a name and was on some maps when I was a kid. It is so tiny, I don't know how it made it to the maps lol.

 

[Meemur]

I hear you! I have a hard time sleeping on the ground. I either sleep in the car or bring along a double (tall) air mattress. Some places are still safe to camp, and with the safer hotels running $79 and up, I camp when I can. Lately, I've been taking more day trips, so I'm home by evening.

Unfortunately, the increase of the homeless and illegals has made it dangerous for solo women campers to stay overnight in many of the free (and formerly free) camping areas. I've seen that first-hand around Iowa. It wasn't that long ago that I could park overnight for free on utility easements. Now, most of those have gates and no trespassing signs, which means a huge fine if caught.

But there's still some places around, and I've gotten permission for some of the private areas. Ha! My networking is starting to pay off.

 

[WanderLore]

Oh boy I wish my sciatica would go away I am jealous of you. I plan to go back to my chiropractor but not until winter is over because then I won't be under the heavy workload I have now.
I used to take off once a year for a couple weeks when my ex had the kids, I slept everywhere rest area side of the road wherever it didn't matter never had problem. Today I don't think I would do that.
Finished bread took two loaves to my neighbor and the new neighbor next to her. And then a large thing of rolls to my son and his partner at work. They are huge and I put egg and everything bagel seasoning on them.
Several loads of dishes several loads of laundry. Burnt the trash. Fed horses three times that's it for today. Went to town to drop the rolls off and did my shopping and got that home and I'll put away good Lord. I don't know a bunch more stuff you know it's always something to do. But I think I'm going to take a nap. My son will come home tonight and then go back in the morning for a 24-hour shift. I know he is so burned out he's just trying to make extra money to save for our trip in the fall and also he wants to get a different vehicle.

 

[Meemur]

WanderLore, the tall air mattresses aren't bad. The firmness can be adjusted. Just toss your winter sleeping bag on top if it's cold. I also put a sturdy chair and my cane next to the bed so I can get up, if I'm not sleeping in the car. That's also why it's important to continue with upper body strength training.

 

[anna43]

We used camp cots which are low but off the ground. In cooler weather I'd put a folded wool blanket under the mattress for warmth, sleeping bag plus another wool blanket for the top. Summer sleeping bag under and sheet on top. Not sure how my back would do these days. We had a double air mattress and it was miserable. Dh was much heavier than me ...

Friend is doing treats for church tomorrow and was worrying if she'd have enough. I volunteered to bake a batch of cookies to take, and they are done, packed up and everything washed up.

Yesterday I vacuumed the living room and hallway carpets then had to quit. I left the vac in my bedroom and need to do that carpet today. Also, need to put sheets back on the bed. The dryer just shut off so I need to check if they are dry. The dryer tends to roll the sheets together and the middle of the "roll" is often not dry. I will check, untie the roll and put them back to finish drying. I have a bunch of small stuff in with the sheets that can probably be folded and put away.

Supper tonight is going to be a frozen pizza. I picked up one on sale at Fareway the day I renewed my driver's license using my gift certificate so no out of pocket cost for me.

Wars and rumors of wars seem to be never ending. The Bible says they will not end until Christ returns so guess it will continue. I'm praying we will NOT get involved in another war overseas. Actually, I'm more concerned about the division amongst the citizens of this country. Also, I've been concerned about the Biden years of open borders and who might have come across and what it is going to mean for our future. I don't lose sleep over it because I'm well aware there is absolutely nothing I can do to solve the problem beyond praying. I prep for myself and my home and that's all I'm able to do and really that's all I've been led by the Lord to do.

 

[moldy]

Taxes are finally done! So excited. This is the first year that I have ever done my own taxes - even when I was a teen, I paid someone to do them for me. We used Turbotax - the on-call representatives were just great. Although.... it approximated it would take us 2 hours and 9 minutes to do them - it took 17 hours and 48 minutes! Next year will be easier though.

I've managed to clean and wax all the bedroom furniture and do 4 loads of laundry. Off to make a peanut butter pie for DH (he deserves it since he had to do a LOT on the taxes).

 

[patriotgal]

2 full truck loads of limbs now out of the yard. I loaded and DH unloaded. Only 5 to go. Had 2 trees lose a bunch of limbs in storms. The rest is from my cleaning on fence row. Chainsaw is toast. Guessing the Grands ran it hot without oil. Still have my ryobi battery chain saw but it isn't quite big enough for some of the limbs and the trees shedding them. Will see if there is anyone around that still rebuilds chainsaws. If not, will have to go looking for a new one.

Opened all the windows and ran attic fan to clear the skunk smell. Love the fresh air even if it means an extra dose of allergy meds.

Took the vacuum cleaner apart and cleaned all the bits. Enough hair in it to make a wig. It should be dry enough to put back together tomorrow.

DH and I cut each other's hair this afternoon out on front porch. Took about 8 inches off mine and it is still past my shoulders. We have a nice kit for cutting hair. I also have hair scissors. Will color my hair this week. Will do taxes sometime in the next couple weeks.

 

[Wildwood]

2 full truck loads of limbs now out of the yard. I loaded and DH unloaded. Only 5 to go. Had 2 trees lose a bunch of limbs in storms. The rest is from my cleaning on fence row. Chainsaw is toast. Guessing the Grands ran it hot without oil. Still have my ryobi battery chain saw but it isn't quite big enough for some of the limbs and the trees shedding them. Will see if there is anyone around that still rebuilds chainsaws. If not, will have to go looking for a new one.

Opened all the windows and ran attic fan to clear the skunk smell. Love the fresh air even if it means an extra dose of allergy meds.

Took the vacuum cleaner apart and cleaned all the bits. Enough hair in it to make a wig. It should be dry enough to put back together tomorrow.

DH and I cut each other's hair this afternoon out on front porch. Took about 8 inches off mine and it is still past my shoulders. We have a nice kit for cutting hair. I also have hair scissors. Will color my hair this week. Will do taxes sometime in the next couple weeks.

I've cut my own hair for decades and I did a follow up trim today. I decided to cut some long layers in it a while back and it's taken some tweaks but I'm finally happy with it. I just look younger with shoulder length hair and the long layers help too.

I'd been thinking about coloring it but I still haven't forgotten how long it took to grow the color off plus my hair doesn't hold color well. With curly hair, you have to grow two inches of hair to equal one inch of length. I look hideous with short hair...really, I do.

After I got through today, I was so much happier with it that I decided to hold off on the color. It's a strange color. Where most people have white and gray mixed, mine is more white and beige because of the red highlights I guess but the bang area is snow white. My natural color was dark brown with a fair bit if auburn highlights. I miss it so bad.

I was a hairdresser in my younger days and my grandmother had my identical hair and color. Dyes were so different then that I had no problem keeping hers looking great all the time with very little damage. I just knew when I was her age, I'd be able to keep my color...nope!

 

[Meemur]

I've had lots of problems with the new dyes, so no more coloring for me, unless it's the spray-on stuff, which I'll wash out in several hours. I may wear neon blue on my last day at work, just to be weird.

Honestly, unless one's hair is neon green or something, I don't think people really notice.

 

[Wildwood]

We used camp cots which are low but off the ground. In cooler weather I'd put a folded wool blanket under the mattress for warmth, sleeping bag plus another wool blanket for the top. Summer sleeping bag under and sheet on top. Not sure how my back would do these days. We had a double air mattress and it was miserable. Dh was much heavier than me ...

Friend is doing treats for church tomorrow and was worrying if she'd have enough. I volunteered to bake a batch of cookies to take, and they are done, packed up and everything washed up.

Yesterday I vacuumed the living room and hallway carpets then had to quit. I left the vac in my bedroom and need to do that carpet today. Also, need to put sheets back on the bed. The dryer just shut off so I need to check if they are dry. The dryer tends to roll the sheets together and the middle of the "roll" is often not dry. I will check, untie the roll and put them back to finish drying. I have a bunch of small stuff in with the sheets that can probably be folded and put away.

Supper tonight is going to be a frozen pizza. I picked up one on sale at Fareway the day I renewed my driver's license using my gift certificate so no out of pocket cost for me.

Wars and rumors of wars seem to be never ending. The Bible says they will not end until Christ returns so guess it will continue. I'm praying we will NOT get involved in another war overseas. Actually, I'm more concerned about the division amongst the citizens of this country. Also, I've been concerned about the Biden years of open borders and who might have come across and what it is going to mean for our future. I don't lose sleep over it because I'm well aware there is absolutely nothing I can do to solve the problem beyond praying. I prep for myself and my home and that's all I'm able to do and really that's all I've been led by the Lord to do.

I feel the same and am also worried about who and what is hidden and waiting for the perfect opportunity.

 

[Wildwood]

I've had lots of problems with the new dyes, so no more coloring for me, unless it's the spray-on stuff, which I'll wash out in several hours. I may wear neon blue on my last day at work, just to be weird.

Honestly, unless one's hair is neon green or something, I don't think people really notice.

Not at our age. We had our years of being young. There's something to be said for growing old gracefully but I'm not succeeding all that well lol and neither is DH...more like kicking and screaming lol.

That 70 number will be here for both of us this year. We both still feel much younger but the numbers don't lie lol. DH's mother is 92 and still working, he looks and is built just like her so maybe he inherited her longevity gene. His father had a long slow ride into dementia but there were circumstances that brought much of it on, I think. He still made it to mid eighties. My father made it to 90 but would have probably made it much older had it not been for medical mistakes that damaged his health in a bad way. On the other hand, my mother passed at 70 from lung cancer. She was a very heavy smoker though, starting in her early teens but still, it creeps into my thoughts.

Strangely, all of my great grandparents, on average, lived long lives except for one that was struck by lightning in her twenties and passed in her fifties. My grandparents, on the other hand, all smoked and passed in their seventies. The greats averaged 80's with one making it over one hundred...there is a debate because she may have lied about her age by two years...her husband was a little younger so some think she shaved off a few years lol.

On ancestry I've done some research averaging ages of all my generations of grandparents and medical advancement has not helped my family's life spans a bit. My grandparents were beat, on average, by all the generations that came before them. Of course, they all ate organic and dipped snuff instead of smoking. They worked like dogs and most raised larger families.

I hope some of y'all find this as interesting as I do. If any of you have access to the numbers, I'd love to know how your generations compare.

 

[anna43]

My family generally does not go gray early. Exceptions a cousin or two and my sister. I'll be 83 next month (which I guess is a couple hours away) and am now 70% gray but the back of my hair is much darker. I've never colored it because I think as our faces age harsh color actually make us look older. My cousin who went gray early once asked me how I got my hair to look so natural and when I replied because it is, she had to think a minute to get it. I figure I started blonde, turned light brown and am now going light again ... just not blonde.

My mother made 100, her mother 92 and her mother 77 years, 7 months, 7 days. When considering the average life span of ancestors, my dd and I were amazed at how long they lived. Many lived into their 80's when the average life span was 50 to 60. My dd said good grief, these people lived forever, I can't afford to live that long.

I keep telling myself age is just a number, but that number is coming with a lot of slowing down energy wise.

 

[Meemur]

Yes, we all went gray early, on both sides. My parents didn't live all that long, but earlier generations of men lived to well into their 80s and sometimes 90s. They were mostly farmers. Their wives didn't live as long, but they also gave birth to 8+ children. I think they just wore out. Multiple marriages were common.

My parents both smoked and drank quite a bit. Earlier generations didn't smoke. I'm not sure how much alcohol they drank, but I'm guessing that it wasn't much.

 

[hd5574]

I've cut my own hair for decades and I did a follow up trim today. I decided to cut some long layers in it a while back and it's taken some tweaks but I'm finally happy with it. I just look younger with shoulder length hair and the long layers help too.

I'd been thinking about coloring it but I still haven't forgotten how long it took to grow the color off plus my hair doesn't hold color well. With curly hair, you have to grow two inches of hair to equal one inch of length. I look hideous with short hair...really, I do.

After I got through today, I was so much happier with it that I decided to hold off on the color. It's a strange color. Where most people have white and gray mixed, mine is more white and beige because of the red highlights I guess but the bang area is snow white. My natural color was dark brown with a fair bit if auburn highlights. I miss it so bad.

I was a hairdresser in my younger days and my grandmother had my identical hair and color. Dyes were so different then that I had no problem keeping hers looking great all the time with very little damage. I just knew when I was her age, I'd be able to keep my color...nope!

Has anyone tried the variety of hair dye that washes out....gradually after several shampoos...the old one was discontinued....and now there is a new one...at least it wouldn't need to grow out...esp if you didn't like it..

 

[Wildwood]

Has anyone tried the variety of hair dye that washes out....gradually after several shampoos...the old one was discontinued....and now there is a new one...at least it wouldn't need to grow out...esp if you didn't like it..

I haven't tried them but I considered it. My hair seems to be somewhat porous and I'm afraid it will leave some lingering color but I still haven't totally ruled it out, especially using a much lighter color first in case there was a certain amount of color left. You could make what we use to call a soap cap in the old days of being a beautician where you mixed a small amount of peroxide into your shampoo and did a quick lathering and washed it right out but anything like that still does a slight amount of damage. You could do the same with a little semi permanent hair color to boost your color...I was never a fan of the soap cap though.

Even some of the strong clarifying shampoos are harsh like that. If my hair gets too much build up on it, I mix some white vinegar in a cheap bottle of shampoo, at least 25% vinegar and wash my hair with it, leaving it in for a minute or two after I scrub. I do it for two or three shampooing sessions. I always lather it with just a little regular shampoo afterwards to get rid of the vinegar smell. Any kind of product can build up.

I'm a bit anal about washing my hair. Since I use product in it to condition and tame it, I lather my hair three times every time I wash it. I can't do that if I have color on it. I condition it well too every time I wash it or I look like a brillo pad.

 

[WanderLore]

Hope someone will start the new thread. I'm not touching it!

 

[WanderLore]

Ok I did it, hopefully correct.

 

[WanderLore]

Prep Genrl - Weekly Prep Thread: March 1 to March 7, 2026

Hope I did this right.

www.timebomb2000.com

 

[WanderLore]

My sis and her son in a wheelchair are camped out in Cedar Point campground in NC. They are loving it and I am jealous!!