It's been a very self-reliant, preparedness couple of days!

(Prepping has been updated; gardening has been updated)

We assembled our bug out bags on Christmas day. Originally, I was going to purchase the FoodInsurance two-week backpacks, but after further research, decided to go another route. At $199 they were a great deal, but they could only handle the food & a few other items, no room for sleeping bags, other emergency items, etc., and I was unhappy with the serving size packaging (yes, I'm aware that it's industry standard to put several servings in one mylar server, but that doesn't make me happier.)

So I opted for real, heavy duty backpacks from REI. On sale, they were just a tad over $100 each. My youngest son and daughter got medium sized 65L ones, DH, oldest boy and I each got large sized 88L ones. All of them have a separate location for a sleeping bag, which we feel is important. I'm sure the FI ones are nice, but I know these REI backpacks will hold up over the long haul.

We originally purchased the 72 hour kits from FI. They were on sale for $85 when I got them (regularly $125). Previously, I posted the quandary as to whether they were worth buying at full retail ($125): in my opinion, the answer is a resounding no. At $85, sure (ish.) We love the solar radio/lantern/siren tool, and the multi-tool is also pretty good. The first aid kit is fine. We are ambivalent about the water filter/bottle, stove, fuel pellets, and aluminum cup. But as I said before, it gets me way further along the one-and-done trail that we have ever been.

On a different note, our dryer broke a few days before Christmas, so we have been hanging clothes on the stairs all over the house (it's been raining outside daily for the past week.) Yesterday my 17yo and I found a great YouTube channel for repairing appliances: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/AppliancePartsPros

Thanks to them, we saved about $100 in repair service, have knowledge which we completely lacked, and feel much more confident that we can learn to repair things rather than depending on someone else, etc. And we have a working dryer (and made some improvements to the venting process while we were at it.) Next: the washer <grin.>

Wishing you all a blessed end of the year~~!

Merry Christmas !

The following was so well said, I borrowed it from Roy Lessin's blog, Meet Me in the Meadow. Scripture citations mine.

When Our Hearts Were In Need

To those in sin, God sent us the Savior; (NT Luke 2:11)

To those in darkness, God sent us the Light; (OT Psalms 27:1)

To those in bondage, God sent us the Victor; (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 16:9)

To those in want, God sent us the Shepherd; (NT John 10:11)

To those in hunger, God sent us the Bread ; (NT John 6:35)

To those in pain, God sent us the Physician; (NT Matt. 9:12)

To those in doubt, God sent us the Truth; (NT John 14:6)

To those in turmoil, God sent the Prince of Peace (OT Isaiah 9:6)

To those in need, God sent His only begotten Son (NT John 3:16)

For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name called be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God; The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to establish from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9: 6-7)

http://youtu.be/tAW7kcEb6LE

AGENDA 21 HAS INFILTRATED THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA !!!!!

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE NEW EAGLE REQUIRED merit badge: SUSTAINABILITY?

READ ABOUT IT ON THE AGENDA 21 page. Then COMPARE THE REQUIREMENTS against the stated goals of Agenda 21. 

THEN GET ACTIVE. Then go to http://www.scouting.org (contact us link) and write a nice letter voicing your concerns. I don't know if this MB has already been cast in concrete or not, but your voice in opposition may make a difference. Here's my letter to BSA:


I am very concerned about the new EAGLE REQUIRED merit badge: Sustainability.

In my opinion, it is a mirror of the stated goals and objectives of the United Nations' AGENDA 21.

If this merit badge is still in the proposed stage, I would appreciate a more formal review with an eye to removing it altogether unless it is revamped significantly. The amount of indoctrination which my son will receive  in this merit badge is unacceptable. At the very least, it should not be EAGLE REQUIRED.

What We Learned From Being Home-Displaced:

I was going to publish this under Prepping, but (a) it was too long and (b) it deserves a front and center place in the archives.

Hopefully by the end of today we will be moving back into our house. I will be glad to get home. I have appreciated our friend letting us stay at her house in exchange for dog sitting while she was out of town. My friend is single, and runs a non-cooking household, which means the kitchen is devoid of such items as pots, cooking utensils, measuring utensils, (sharp) knives, etc. By contrast, I cook nearly everything from scratch.

It’s been quite the learning adventure. With the holidays on us, our budget was too tight to eat out at restaurants. I had planned on cooking one turkey and using it over three days, but no cutting board and no carving-type knife here made that nearly impossible. It turned out my daughter accidentally packed my carving knife set with us, but by the time I discovered it, I had altered our eating plans. It made me realize that although I prepared somewhat (we brought all of my cooking pantry with us) living “displaced” even for a short time requires adjustment.

Granted, I assumed that everyone keeps the same basic kitchen so I did not bring the same items I would have if we had been truly displaced in a disaster or emergency. This adventure made me keenly aware how important some basic elements are. My whole spirits were uplifted yesterday morning just by the discovery of the carving set! Here are some of the things I am rethinking:

1. 1.    Cooking/heating water & food. The BOBs I wrote about in previous posts have poor cooking stoves. I knew I had to replace them, now I really know it. In the short term, I will add sterno cans. In the long term, I really want a BioLite camp stove in each BOB. They are AWESOME! I like them because not only are they small and compact, and built on rocket stove type technology, but you could also charge reusable batteries for a flashlight (or something similar…see Issue #3 below.) View at http://biolitestove.com/campstove/camp-overview/features/ or a demo at http://youtu.be/-anFZdKDrBk

I’ve realized in a carry-what-you-can BOB situation, cooking is going to be difficult. Either I need to have nothing but no-heat-required foods (and a can opener) or freeze dried foods and a way to efficiently heat water. In any event, assuming that I will be hanging out with my large chef camp stove needs to be reworked. I purchased our BOBs this Christmas with the idea that my kids would take theirs with them to college et cetera so they would be protected in the event of an emergency.

Cooking utensils. You know, you throw a mess kit in a BOB and you think you’re handled. And, if you’re working with freeze dried or no-heat food, maybe that’s true. But it sure would have been nice these past few days (and in a BOB) to have a wooden spoon, a spatula, a cutting board (even a small one) and a decent sharp cutting knife (not a pocket knife) along with a standard knife, fork and spoon.

1. 2.    Shelter. I discovered over a year ago that one of our 15 year old 3-man tents had a leak in it (yeah that was fun for me)…the plastic had just thinned out at the seam due to age. We brought what turned out to be that same tent with us as a back up plan if my oldest son couldn’t stay in the house due to his animal allergies. My youngest son broke the tent zipper during his last campout, but didn’t mention it. In the summer time, a door flap which doesn’t close isn’t such a big deal. In the winter time (now) it’s a big deal, so basically this shelter became unusable. 

If we were in a true emergency would we have just dealt with it and used it? Sure. But how much better would it be to review your tenting and sleeping equipment on a regular basis so you are not caught out? Only two of my family have -0 degree sleeping bags, so a shoddy tent is a very big deal.

1. 3.    Stuff to Do. My friend has cable (we don’t) and we brought our small TV to hook up the kids’ Xbox and we homeschool, so you’d think that filling the hours wouldn’t be such a big deal. OK, it wasn’t, but it made me think: what if we had bugged out, and we didn’t have TV, or Xbox or all of my homeschool stuff? I have an awesome wilderness camping manual that I and my oldest son have been “meaning to read someday.” Yeah, it’s going in the BOB as soon as I get home. My 16yo daughter likewise is going to put a decent book in, ditto my youngest son. Being able to recharge batteries or a device like an iPod means I have access to eBooks and games. I know the standard line has been to throw a deck of cards in a BOB, but after three days? How long do you think it will take for that novelty to wear off?

1. 4.    Communication. We have FRS radios that my kids treat like toys instead of tools, so basically I have to replace them. They’re going in the BOBs as soon as I do. What I’d really like to do in the long term is get a small ham radio with rechargeable batteries (that BioLite camp stove is looking better all the time, isn’t it?) Not only would it enhance our safety, communication and allow us to assist others, it would provide an outlet for socializing. 

1. 5.    Lighting. I learned this when we were without power for 4 days, but it bears repeating. You need LIGHT at night, and I’m not talking a camp fire. It’s amazing how much our moods are light dependent. I have two solar LED lamps which really throw off a lot of light and have a very small footprint. Sure, they cost me $25 a piece, but you know what? I think I’m going to put them on my list so everyone has at least one of them in their BOB. Combined longer term with a BioLite stove, flashlight with reusable batteries and a battery charger, and a BOB will be sitting pretty. My friend’s house has no lighting in her garage-- guess where all our stuff was stored? By Day 2 I had adapted and pulled out what I needed, but that first day was fun in the dark with phone lights!

It’s been a fun learning adventure! I don’t envy those who have been displaced from natural disasters, but I sure see the value of their learning experiences. I’m glad our family has these little “mini” learning experiences which in the long run, will make us better prepared, come what may.

on December 4th:

Prepping has been updated. Come commiserate with me (or laugh at me, that works too) as I prepare for termite tenting.


A BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who called, emailed, or wrote your State's Senators in opposition to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities treaty. WE DID IT ! 38 brave Senators shut down the anti-sovereignty machine in the Senate. I'll write more on this treaty and why it was so important to shut the door on it, but you can jump ahead of me by reading about it here:

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/13823-senate-gop-kills-controversial-un-disability-treaty

and here:

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/2012/201205250.asp

Have you read your US Constitution lately? Try Article II Section 2 for why this was such a big deal: "The President shall have power, by and with the Advise and Consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur..."

The short version is: the United Nations' CRPD would have become the law in the United States if two-thirds of U.S. Senators had ignored their obligations to the citizens of the United States. 61 of them did, by the way. I'll write more about this in Homeschooling in a few days after I get back from "the Move."

on Dec 1st:

Agenda 21 page has been updated. And it's important.



As I wondered what to make for dinner the other night, the UPS guy dropped off our freeze dried meals from Food Insurance. I had purchased two 1 week supplies: 1 to keep, 1 to taste test. Decision easy! We're taste testing.

We tried the Chicken Rotini, the Chicken Teriyaki, the Chicken A La King. 

Everyone thought the Chicken A La King tasted like homemade, in other words, not freeze dried. A little salty, but in an emergency that would probably be welcomed. The kids felt the Chicken Teriyaki needed a bit more water added to it (vs. by directions), my DH and I thought it was fine as is. Chicken Rotini had mixed reviews: DS 13yo L-O-V-E-D it and had three helpings, DH and my other 2 kids thought it was OK, and I hated it. I'd fast for 3 days just to be hungry enough to force it down <grin>. To be fair, this was the only item which could not be self-rejuvenated in its pouch, so that might have had a lot to do with it. 

My last experience with freeze dried food was 30+ years ago. I've been leery of it since then; it's come a long way. Would a want a whole year's supply of FD food as my sole food storage? Probably not. But for one and done, it's a good alternative.