Month: March 2019

57F and wet. Sounds familiar.

Lots to do today, all family stuff. MY big Saturdays are coming up.

Lots of pollen in the air here, lots of people sick from all the weather changes, lots of sniffling. I’ve been washing my hands constantly. That’s a luxury we won’t have post SHTF, and yet we’ll need it more than ever. I think I’m going to add more soap to the pile. It’s super cheap now, small, doesn’t rot, is individually packaged, literally a lifesaver, and to make it later is very labor and time intensive.

So what else did I pick up prep-wise? I got a cobbler’s last in a small variety of sizes. I’ve been watching shoe repair videos, and the one thing that makes it significantly easier is having a stand to hold the shoe while you work on it. I need to find some bigger lasts, but you do see them from time to time. This set is called the “Family Cobbler”. Lots of people have them as rustic display items. Every family would have wanted one back in the day. I’ll probably just display it too.

I picked up a couple of ham radios, an HT and a mobile. They are by far the most modern and fully featured radios I own. Both will do data, APRS tracking, and have really thick manuals. They are much more for the ‘ham’ than for the ‘prepper’. Overkill at underkill prices though…

I better get moving on breakfast, hungry Girl Scouts will be headed out to run a cookie booth soon, then softball season kicks off with a carnival, and later, a GS dance….

Like I said, busy.

n

47F and wet out. Jeez, I thought we were done with this. Guess not.

Mostly my preps this week were garden and food.

State of the garden- no plantings, but some maintenance. Apple trees are budding. Grape vines are budding and have been pruned. Citrus has been pruned for size and shape (gotta keep them short and flat) and the Meyer Lemon is flowering. Blueberries- some of the plants are flowering. Peach is budding. Rain barrels are full.

BTW, Costco has rain barrels on sale in the stores. They will hold water for drinking too, but you will need a good filter. You’ve already got one of those right?

I replaced a bunch of canned goods, one month worth of veg and fruit, and added some bulk.

Bought a tabletop propane grill yesterday for $10 in almost unused condition. One is none and all that. I’ve got lots of ways to cook. Goodwill had Sterno “Emergency cooking kits” which consisted of one can sterno, a pot holder, and instructions. No a bad idea if you don’t have any other cooking backup.

The new firepit arrived but I haven’t set it up yet. The kids can’t wait to try out the cooking grill on it.

I tried to use my LilBuddy heater and broke off the valve. I’ll find a replacement. I did get parts for the kerosene heater I picked up- still cheaper than new. It needed the battery box and cover. Found an online supplier with parts for pretty much all kerosene heaters and ordered. Prices were good and I got the parts in less than a week.

Also received the new cap for the water tank I bought last week. Need to get that cleaned and sterilized, then placed and filled.

Picked up some wheeled gas cans and some EOTW /rebuilding civ books for the reference library. Long shot but cheap insurance.

IRL I joined a group of hams for a weekly lunch, and I joined the Citizens Police Academy for our city police. The one’s with the issues in the news. I expect to meet at least one interesting person, maybe 2 or 3. It should open up training opportunities and volunteer opportunities too.

I guess it’s been a productive week or two. Certainly went by quickly enough.

So what did you do to make yourselves more comfortable as the world turns, and time slips away like sands through an hourglass?

n