2019 - JANUARY Prepping Updates

Happy New Year!

Started the new thread.

Because of the weather, we've been sticking close to home but we did venture out yesterday. Had to do some Christmas returns/exchanges and bought some stuff my foster brother needs (he is disabled and lives on a fixed income).

The wood stove is lit, we've made soups and comfort foods through the holidays, and the family is well.

We've started the new year with God's blessing and I pray it will continue that way.

I also pray all of you have a great year and that the forum grows as we learn from each other.

Happy New Year! For those recognizing my handle, and maybe wondering if I fell off the edge of the Earth, I just stepped away from a few of the preparedness forums this Fall. Mostly a time management issue with real life and the holidays.

Lately I've been expanding my first aid and dental care supplies, doing rearranging and inventory of incremental purchases, and collecting more books.

Still looking to move out of NJ. Began looking at options in PA, but a move won't be happening until the 2nd half of this year.

Welcome back, Mike! Spread the word about our new EHP discussion forum. We're new & still small, but BIG in resources! Looking forward to more posts from you!

Great to see you back, Mike!

Husband's tasking today was to take all the contractors' and our own scribbles on the circuit breaker box out, and neatly type up what each switch controls. Whenever the lights went out, we had to decipher whoever's sloppy writing was there (several contractors, Husband and myself, mostly). Now it's all neatly typed up and we know exactly what controls what. This will also be good if we ever have to break out the generator, as we can throw switches on what we don't need, to lessen the load.

I've been organizing our photos, which will probably take the rest of the year. Since we traveled so much, we have thousands of pictures and our kids want a more organized history. My plan is to divide them into date/trips, and make copies on several jump drives so we can use them in our digital photo frame, too.

Hi NJMike, glad to see ya

I didn't have too, but I rotated out 30 gallon of gas, I have $1.40/gallon fuel perks from Giant Eagle, so I got the gas for .89 cents/gallon.

I ran the generators for about 15 minutes today, I try to run them once a month, topped them off with gas and wiped them down.

I have a 15% off coupon from Honeyville, it's good until the end of January, don't know what to order yet. I'll have to check with the wife and see if she wants something different other than vegetables, meat or TVP.

Got a few things with my Christmas Amazon money to add to my preps, a stethoscope and two books:

Alton's Antibiotics and Infectious Disease: The Layman's Guide to Available Antibacterials in Austere Setting

and

The Ultimate Dandelion Cookbook: 148 recipes for dandelion leaves, flowers, buds, stems, & roots

Since I don't treat my lawn, I get plenty of dandelions throughout the season. Although if I needed them for us I'd have to thin out the varmints as the bunnies and groundhogs can clear the yard in practically no time at all... Of course in these good times, I let them enjoy as it keeps them around as meat on the hoof, so to speak.

Alton's new Antibiotic book is amazing. It goes over all the common animal antibiotics that are human equivalent and a few other tips for keep infections down. I had never heard of Dakin's solution before reading it in this book and it's great, since I already stock the ingredients! Bleach, baking soda and water mixed in the right proportions and it's effective against MRSA, fungi and most other nasties. The info on Dakin's solution alone was worth the price of the book. But the detailed dosing recommendations for various antibiotics against various illnesses will be extremely helpful if I need to be dealing with infections without medical support. Anyone who has fish or bird antibiotics stored away for emergencies definitely should get this book!

Thanks for the heads up on the book, DMWalsh.

I've added it to my wish list.

i have enough veggies to do me at least 3 or 4 months.so i went off and bought 9-1 gallon jugs of water on my last shopping trip.probably should bought more.but oh well.at least i have those 9.stocked up on turkey and chicken soup since thanksgiving. 9 pints of sliced jalapeños. My frezzer is almost full.got more reading and sunglasses at dollar tree.been stocking up on diff spices. Can't have to many of them.lol..

Newest books I've been reading- "Where There Is No Dentist", "Holistic Dental Care: The Complete Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums", and "Dental Herbalism: Natural Therapies for the Mouth".

Picked up some heirloom seeds earlier today at a KMart that's closing and beginning to offer some discounts. I'll probably be starting some seeds (tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, herbs) in the next few weeks including some representative samples of the older seeds in my collection to see how viable they still are.

Ordered some freeze dried items from Honeyville, had a 15% off coupon. Getting ready for the big snow storm 12" to 18" expected in my area of PA, along with freezing rain and then below zero temperatures for lows Mon/Tues with high winds. Wind chills expected to be 10 to 20 below zero.

So, I filled up the tractor with diesel for plowing, filled up the back porch with more firewood. Put a shovel and ax by the pond so I can break the ice so the cows and get water. Also put some more firewood in the garage for that wood burner.

Grocery shopping today.

Stocked up on what we used.
New surge protector for my computer
12 pack of hand soap
Cow liver (to try...read article on organ meats health benefits)

For the LTS:

4 gallons water
2 crates to hold gallon water jugs
Small flashlight
Sardines
Beans

Ordered some supplements and iodine for current use.

Husband has been making the homemade dog food with some venison someone gave us. The dog is delighted.

Not doing much prepping due to cold weather. We're snugged in with the wood stove and enjoying leisurely pursuits. Husband is keeping the wood rack stocked on the porch and watching videos on prepping, politics, and sci-fi.

I made 2 loaves of sandwich bread for the next week.

Also finished a commissioned quilt.

Went to the consignment shop, didn't make any money over Christmas at all. Brought home the Christmas things, which won't go to waste, my sister has asked for them.

Due to our neighbor getting surgery, we did our routine shopping trip yesterday, and picked up the rest today.

Grocery shopping:

Re-stocked what we used
Work gloves (husband wore out a pair)

LTS:

Tomato products
3 gallons water
Dog food
Fly traps

Store had a bunch of clothing on sale, got a shirt and a jacket, both marked down about 50%.

Got an unpleasant reminder about how to prep for rain in the middle of winter....forgot to undo the sump pump hose from the side of the house. (I think folks might see where this is going.) Sump discharge hose went through a snowbank on the way to the front of the property and despite the temperature being near 50F, the water froze in the hose.

The back pressure forced the back flow preventer off the PVC riser pipe and I had a DIY fountain in my basement for an undetermined amount of time. Had to hit the circuit breaker to stop the pump as I couldn't safely unplug the sump pump (standing in 2 inches of water while being rained on and trying to grab an electrical cord? I'm not that stupid...)  

Didn't lose too much stuff to the water since I bag up almost everything in plastic to keep moisture out and it worked even with the 1.5 gallon per second fountain I had going...

 I just *know* that if I tell my husband this ... he'll be LIVING in the basement, next to our sump pump! He's got OCD, and is ALWAYS checking this stuff, on a good day! He'll NEVER see daylight, now

YIKES! We're having record breaking chill weather, but thankfully no snow or ice. All our pipes and electrical are buried 18 inches underground, and the rest is within the crawl space, which never goes below about 45 degrees, due to the heat from our wood stove in winter (our floor is not insulated for this purpose). I quietly thank the excellent contractor every time I think of it, who recommended this to us when we were building.