The Self Sustaining Kitchen

The Self Sustaining Kitchen is Hitting the Road

2009-10-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Bud and I are making the move back to the land of snow, cold and ice at the end of the month (can you say brrrrrrrr and flannel underwear?).

I am also starting an EXTREMELY difficult semester, sooooooooo.....it may be a while before I check in again. Never fear, my faithful 3 readers. I will be back once I have settled in. I have a great new post in the works. I know you can't wait!

Until then, stay warm, love the one you're with, and happy thoughts!

~D

A Sack of Potatoes

2009-09-27T13:18:00.000-07:00

That is how much weight I have lost this month. 10 pounds. Doesn't sound like much, and I sure don't look any different. But when Bud and I were at the grocery store and I picked up the sack of potatoes, I stopped and said, "huh."

The lightbulb went on. 10 pounds doesn't really look like much. But I imagined myself having to carry that sack of potatoes around with me all day. huh.

I remembered how tired I always was when my son was just a month old and I was carrying him with me everywhere. huh.

I was actually kind of embarrassed to come on here after a month and let you know I had only lost 10 pounds. Heck, I even look bigger in my picture this month (note to self-that top is NOT flattering!). But those capris I am wearing I couldn't begin to button last month. I was surprised, actually. I went to pull them on, thinking that no way was I going to get them buttoned....huh.

Now that I have put 10 pounds into perspective for myself, I feel better. Actually, Bud and I have both lost weight. He has dropped about 15 pounds, and it shows.

I went to the doctor this week, and my triglycerides were down, and my cholesterol was down. My BP was an amazing 110/75! Hasn't been that low in several years.

I guess what I am trying to say is, every little bit counts. That 10 pounds might be a drop in the bucket compared to what I need to lose overall, but dang it, it is something! It's a sack of potatoes!

I'll weigh in again in 30 days....I will surely post something before then, though. I have had a grueling semester in school, so I haven't had the time to visit here. Better days ahead....

Ode to Phlegm

2009-09-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

At first it was a little tickle,
and then it was a cough.
Then sniffles chasing sneezes,
but that was not enough.

My eyes gooped in the morning,
dried snot upon my face.
Rush to the bathroom hacking,
lift the toilet seat, just in case.

Kleenex by the truckloads,
and NyQuil by the keg,
My lungs have just exploded
something gross upon my leg.

Green and yellow carnage,
slimy, icky goo.
Okay, okay you're right dear
I guess I have the flu.

~D

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

2009-08-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

I have high blood pressure, and I have to go see a cardiologist next week. Why? Because I am a Fat Girl. I have been obese for more than 90% of my life, and I have been morbidly obese for the other 10%. For my frame size and height, I should weigh 124 pounds; I weight double that. I am carrying around an extra person! No wonder I have high blood pressure....

What in the world does this have to do with being a self-sustaining kitchen, you might ask? Well......the less I cram into my mouth, the more food there will be to go around (ba-dum-bum). We will have more money in our pockets, and small countries can feed their children, all from the food I don't eat...

Okay, seriously. A big part of being self-sustaining is being healthy. I am not healthy. I watched someone I love lose a leg to diabetes; I watched someone else I love have a heart attack. If I don't stop, I am going to end up going down that same road.

I know what I am supposed to eat. My problem is that I eat way, WAY too much. I love food. The taste, the texture, the smell...I just can't seem to enjoy it in moderation. Portion control has just never been something I could do well. I almost always have seconds. The first helping tastes so good, I want more, and I want it NOW. I have to change that mindset. And it won't be easy.

I don't have a weight or a size in mind. Rather, I want to feel good in the skin I am in. I want to bring my blood pressure down. I want to bring my cholesterol from tottering on the brink to well below 200. I want to bring my good lipoproteins up, and bring down my bad lipoproteins and triglycerides.

I am doing this for me. Today is my start date. Scale says I am (gulp) 248 pounds. That means I have put on 38 pounds in the last year and a half. Good googly moogly! This is what I look like today. I will post a new picture every 30 days. Wish me luck!

Hanging Gardens Revisited

2009-08-16T09:19:00.001-07:00

For those 3 of you who read this blog, you are aware that this spring, ES very ingeniously came up with a design for a hanging garden. Her hope had been that it would make it accessible to her for gardening, eliminate the need for excessive weeding, and put the garden out of reach of our critters.

It was a great design, but unfortunately, our yard has more craters than the moon, and is impossible to get around in in a 4-wheeler, let alone a wheelchair. If we had one of those beautifully manicured lawns that are level and free of 1001 armadillo holes, it would have been perfect for her.

If you are thinking about using the design, here is some feedback. We had never done this before, so it was an experiment. As such, some things worked, some didn't.

1) We made ours too tall. Our frame was 8 foot tall. Try heaving a 40 pound bucket full of dirt up a shaky latter to hang--I dare ya! Seriously, we should have made the top bar only 6 feet high at the most.

2) Drainage. Make sure your bucket has LOTS of drainage holes. We ended up having to add additional holes, because the water wasn't draining and the plants were getting waterlogged. It had a lot to do with the amount of clay in our soil. We mixed potting soil with garden soil. Next time, I would skip the soil from our yard and use 100% potting soil.

2) Bucket size: We used 5 gallon buckets--these are too big. Even with drainage, the wet soil was too heavy, and the handles couldn't support the weight. Most of our buckets came falling down over the course of the season. I would suggest a 2 1/2 gallon bucket. Our smaller buckets that we used for herbs did nicely.

3) Support: Having never done one of these before, we didn't factor in enough supports. You will want to put supports around your 4 upright pieces so that your structure isn't too "wiggly". Ours rocked quite a bit because what we thought was level ground, wasn't. We ended up using metal fence posts on the interior to "prop" the four upright pieces.

ES really did a good job coming up with the concept. We planted a whole lotta garden in an 8 ft square area.

~D

An Ode to Sales

2009-08-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

I love flea markets, but I REALLY love anything with the word 'sale' in it: rummage sale, clearance sale, garage sale, bake sale, sail sale...(not really on the last one. But if I had a boat that needed a sail, I would SO be there!)

Once a year, I feel the need to purge. I have a yard sale to rid the house of the 853,912 items we don't need any more. Okay, maybe not that many, but you get the idea.

I love FreeCycle, and list often. But I just don't have time to list 853,912 items, and if I can get a few pennies out of some of our stuff while I do some much needed yardwork, I will have more money to hit the sales...there is a method to my madness!

We will have the tables set up and ready to go by 5am. Or rather, Bud will have the tables set up, then go back to bed while I fill said tables with treasures. As soon as the sun starts to peak over the horizon, we will have our first customers. I don't know about y'all, but we have some SERIOUS yard salers in these parts. If you aren't set up and ready by 6am, they will start honking the horn. Seriously.

Ad in Shopper's Guide? check. Pricing stickers? check. Cash box? check. Change for said cash box? check. Bags for our shoppers to stuff their new treasures into? check. Our sanity? out the window until the sale is over.

Tag! I'm it...

2009-07-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by mts511 over at http://hopeloveandlife-mts511.blogspot.com/. I was asked to list 10 things about myself that my readers might not know, then tag 10 other people. Here goes...

1. I am afraid of water over my head--makes me have panic attacks

2. I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I grew up (what I told everyone when I was 7)

3. At one time, I had 21 cats (yikes!)

4. I'm allergic to walnuts

5. I'm a karaoke fool (not a great singer, but love to sing and perform)

6. I made the Dean's list this semester in school (I'm a brainy blonde)

7. I can double roll my tongue

8. I was born on Pearl Harbor Day (trivia--I have three younger brothers. My baby brother was born on Mother's Day AND my parent's wedding anniversary (he was two gifts in one); the next oldest was born on Easter Day the year he was born; and the oldest of the three missed being born on the 4th of July by minutes. He is still a firecracker, though)

9. I rolled a car when I was 23. Seatbelt saved my life.

10. I was voted most likely to succeed in my high school graduating class 11. I have never been able to do a chin up in my life. Can't climb a rope, either!

12. I cry when I'm happy; I cry when I'm sad; I cry when I am mad. Did I mention I cry alot?

13. I was a vegan for one year.

14. I have polydactyly--I was born "poly" LOL

15. My favorite movie of all time is "The Princess Bride" ....wub, twue wub

Okay, that was actually 15 (I cheated--I cut and pasted from a post I put on another blog). Now, who should I tag next?????? Ready or not, here I come!

~D

Frugal on the Road

2009-07-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

I was recently sent to San Antonio, Texas for some training, paid for by the USAF. They figure out a per diem amount for your food and incidentals. I was given $52 per day minus travel days. They use a fancy program that calculates how much it will cost in a given area. That gave me $208 for 4 days.

They now charge for every bag you check, with the exception of one bag you can check planeside and one carry-on. I pack light--three days worth of clothing that will mix and match. I limit my toiletries, as they provide shampoo, conditioner, lotion and soap at the hotel. I only packed deoderant, q-tips, toothbrush and toothpaste.

I decided I would be coming home with some greenbacks, because there was no way I was spending $52 per day for food and incidentals, especially when the hotel I stayed in offered a very generous continental breakfast. They had homemade waffles, bacon/egg/cheese biscuits, hard boiled eggs, and of course cereal, fruit, and an assortment of breads and pastries. I put either an apple or a banana in my purse every morning for a snack later.

I arrived on a Sunday afternoon. I found a Chinese restaurant nearby that had free delivery. I ordered a wide variety of items from there MSG-free menu, and asked them to go lite on the salt as well. I paid $38 (that included a $5 tip).

That $38 fed me for 2 meals on Sunday, and supper for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. 5 MEALS! That was about $7 per meal, and it was very large portions. It even included beverages, since they gave me a two liter soda for ordering over $30 worth of food.

During the week, I bought lunch at the center where we were doing our training at $7 per lunch plate. Did that for 4 days, so I spent $28 there.

Thursday night I joined some of my classmates for supper at the Cheesecake Factory. Spent a whopping $22, but I had left overs for lunch Friday (remember, the per Diem was only for Monday through Thursday).

Friday we ate at the Olive Garden for lunch, and that was $28, which included a glass of wine and a tip.

All said, I spent $116 in six day when I had been budgeted for $208 for 4. I came home with $108 in my pocket, and I ate very, very well. Frugal doesn't mean you can't eat great meals!

I had my cell phone, so I didn't incur phone charges while I was at the hotel, and I washed my clothes in the tub so I didn't have to spend money using their laundry facilities. I hung my clothes to dry, and used the iron that was already provided in the room to get out the few wrinkles.

In previous trips, we have packed our meals in a carry on for plane trips. Same goes for a bus trip. The bus ride from Tuscaloosa, AL to Kalamazoo, MI is a 21 hour ride. I take fresh fruit, nuts, juice boxes, and MRE's with me to avoid spending money unnecessarily on the trip.

The more money you can pinch during travel time, the more money you will have when you reach your destination.

~D

When Life Gives You Lemons....Part 3 on Eco Friendly (and Pocketbook Friendly) Cleaning Products

2009-07-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

So far, we have seen the uses for baking soda and vinegar around the home. Let me introduce you to our third eco-friendly contestant: Lemons.

Lemons are a natural disinfectant and odor remover. Who doesn't like the fresh smell of lemons?

Below is a plethora of uses for lemons. Feel free to add your own uses to the list. This comes from Reader's Digest:

AROUND THE HOUSE

Get rid of tough stains on marble You probably think of marble as stone, but it is really petrified calcium (also known as old seashells). That explains why it is so porous and easily stained and damaged. Those stains can be hard to remove. If washing won't remove a stubborn stain, try this: Cut a lemon in half, dip the exposed flesh into some table salt, and rub it vigorously on the stain. But do this only as a last resort; acid can damage marble. Rinse well.

Make a room scent/humidifier Freshen and moisturize the air in your home on dry winter days. Make your own room scent that also doubles as a humidifier. If you have a wood-burning stove, place an enameled cast-iron pot or bowl on top, fill with water, and add lemon (and/or orange) peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and apple skins. No wood-burning stove? Use your stovetop instead and just simmer the water periodically.

Neutralize cat-box odor You don't have to use an aerosol spray to neutralize foul-smelling cat-box odors or freshen the air in your bathroom. Just cut a couple of lemons in half. Then place them, cut side up, in a dish in the room, and the air will soon smell lemon-fresh.

Deodorize a humidifier When your humidifier starts to smell funky, deodorize it with ease: Just pour 3 or 4 teaspoons lemon juice into the water. It will not only remove the off odor but will replace it with a lemon-fresh fragrance. Repeat every couple of weeks to keep the odor from returning.

Clean tarnished brass Say good-bye to tarnish on brass, copper, or stainless steel. Make a paste of lemon juice and salt (or substitute baking soda or cream of tartar for the salt) and coat the affected area. Let it stay on for 5 minutes. Then wash in warm water, rinse, and polish dry. Use the same mixture to clean metal kitchen sinks too. Apply the paste, scrub gently, and rinse.

Polish chrome Get rid of mineral deposits and polish chrome faucets and other tarnished chrome. Simply rub lemon rind over the chrome and watch it shine! Rinse well and dry with a soft cloth.

IN THE KITCHEN

Prevent potatoes from turning brown Potatoes and cauliflower tend to turn brown when boiling, especially when you're having company for dinner. You can make sure the white vegetables stay white by squeezing a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice into the cooking water.

Freshen the fridge Remove refrigerator odors with ease. Dab lemon juice on a cotton ball or sponge and leave it in the fridge for several hours. Make sure to toss out any malodorous items that might be causing the bad smell.

Brighten dull aluminum Make those dull pots and pans sparkle, inside and out. Just rub the cut side of half a lemon all over them and buff with a soft cloth.

Keep rice from sticking To keep your rice from sticking together in a gloppy mass, add a spoonful of lemon juice to the boiling water when cooking. When the rice is done, let it cool for a few minutes, then fluff with a fork before serving.

Refresh cutting boards No wonder your kitchen cutting board smells! After all, you use it to chop onions, crush garlic, cut raw and cooked meat and chicken, and pre-pare fish. To get rid of the smell and help sanitize the cutting board, rub it all over with the cut side of half a lemon or wash it in undiluted juice straight from the bottle.

Keep guacamole green You've been making guacamole all day long for the big party, and you don't want it to turn brown on top before the guests arrive. The solution: Sprinkle a liberal amount of fresh lemon juice over it and it will stay fresh and green. The flavor of the lemon juice is a natural complement to the avocados in the guacamole. Make the fruit salad hours in advance too. Just squeeze some lemon juice onto the apple slices, and they'll stay snowy white.

Make soggy lettuce crisp Don't toss that soggy lettuce into the garbage. With the help of a little lemon juice you can toss it in a salad instead. Add the juice of half a lemon to a bowl of cold water. Then put the soggy lettuce in it and refrigerate for 1 hour. Make sure to dry the leaves completely before putting them into salads or sandwiches.

Keep insects out of the kitchen You don't need insecticides or ant traps to ant-proof your kitchen. Just give it the lemon treatment. First squirt some lemon juice on door thresholds and windowsills. Then squeeze lemon juice into any holes or cracks where the ants are getting in. Finally, scatter small slices of lemon peel around the outdoor entrance. The ants will get the message that they aren't welcome. Lemons are also effective against roaches and fleas: Simply mix the juice of 4 lemons (along with the rinds) with 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water and wash your floors with it; then watch the fleas and roaches flee. They hate the smell.

Clean your microwave Is the inside of your microwave caked with bits of hardened food? You can give it a good cleaning without scratching the surface with harsh cleansers or using a lot of elbow grease. Just mix 3 tablespoons lemon juice into 1 1/2 cups water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on High for 5-10 minutes, allowing the steam to condense on the inside walls and ceiling of the oven. Then just wipe away the softened food with a dishrag.

Deodorize your garbage disposal If your garbage disposal is beginning to make your sink smell yucky, here's an easy way to deodorize it: Save leftover lemon and orange peels and toss them down the drain. To keep it smelling fresh, repeat once every month.

IN THE LAUNDRY

Bleach delicate fabrics Ordinary household chlorine bleach can cause the iron in water to precipitate out into fabrics, leaving additional stains. For a mild, stain-free bleach, soak your delicates in a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda for at least half an hour before washing.

Remove unsightly underarm stains Avoid expensive dry-cleaning bills. You can remove unsightly underarm stains from shirts and blouses simply by scrubbing them with a mixture of equal parts lemon juice (or white vinegar) and water.

Boost laundry detergent To remove rust and mineral discolorations from cotton T-shirts and briefs, pour 1 cup lemon juice into the washer during the wash cycle. The natural bleaching action of the juice will zap the stains and leave the clothes smelling fresh.

Rid clothes of mildew You unpack the clothes you've stored for the season and discover that some of the garments are stained with mildew. To get rid of mildew on clothes, make a paste of lemon juice and salt and rub it on the affected area, then dry the clothes in sunlight. Repeat the process until the stain is gone. This works well for rust stains on clothes too.

Whiten clothes Diluted or straight, lemon juice is a safe and effective fabric whitener when added to your wash water. Your clothes will also come out smelling lemon-fresh.

FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY

Lighten age spots Before buying expensive medicated creams to lighten unsightly liver spots and freckles, try this: Apply lemon juice directly to the area, let sit for 15 minutes, and then rinse your skin clean. Lemon juice is a safe and effective skin-lightening agent.

Create blond highlights For blond highlights worthy of the finest beauty salon, add 1/4 cup lemon juice to 3/4 cup water and rinse your hair with the mixture. Then sit in the sun until your hair dries. Lemon juice is a natural bleach. Don't forget to put on plenty of sunscreen before you sit out in the sun. To maximize the effect, repeat once daily for up to a week.

Clean and whiten nails Pamper your fingernails without the help of a manicurist. Add the juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 cup warm water and soak your fingertips in the mixture for 5 minutes. After pushing back the cuticles, rub some lemon peel back and forth against the nail.

Cleanse your face Clean and exfoliate your face by washing it with lemon juice. You can also dab lemon juice on blackheads to draw them out during the day. Your skin should improve after several days of treatment.

Freshen your breath Make an impromptu mouthwash using lemon juice straight from the bottle. Rinse with the juice and then swallow it for longer-lasting fresh breath. The citric acid in the juice alters the pH level in your mouth, killing the bacteria that cause bad breath. Rinse after a few minutes, because long-term exposure to the acid in the lemon can harm tooth enamel.

Treat flaky dandruff If itchy, scaly dandruff has you scratching your head, relief may be no farther away than your refrigerator. Just massage 2 tablespoons lemon juice into your scalp and rinse with water. Then stir 1 teaspoon lemon juice into 1 cup water and rinse your hair with it. Repeat this daily until your dandruff disappears. No more itchy scalp, and your hair will smell lemon-fresh.

Soften dry, scaly elbows It's bad enough that your elbows are dry and itchy, but they look terrible too. Your elbows will look and feel better after a few treatments with this regimen: Mix baking soda and lemon juice to make an abrasive paste. Then rub the paste into your elbows for a soothing, smoothing, and exfoliating treatment.

Remove berry stains Sure it was fun to pick your own berries, but now your fingers are stained with berry juice that won't come off with soap and water. Try washing your hands with undiluted lemon juice. Wait a few minutes and wash with warm, soapy water. Repeat if necessary until the stain is completely gone.

Disinfect cuts and scrapes Stop bleeding and disinfect minor cuts and scrapes. Pour a few drops of lemon juice directly on the cut or apply the juice with a cotton ball and hold firmly in place for one minute.

Soothe poison ivy rash You won't need an ocean of calamine lotion the next time poison ivy comes a-creeping around. Just apply lemon juice full-strength directly to the affected area to soothe itching and alleviate the rash.

Relieve rough hands and sore feet You don't have to take extreme measures to soothe your extremities. If you have rough hands or sore feet, rinse them in a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water, then massage with olive oil and dab dry with a soft cloth.

Remove warts You've tried countless remedies to get rid of your warts, and nothing seems to work. Next time, try this: Apply a dab of lemon juice directly to the wart, using a cotton swab. Repeat for several days until the acids in the lemon juice dissolve the wart completely.

From Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things

~D

Green Cleaning--How to be Eco-Friendly (and Pocketbook Friendly) Part 2

2009-06-27T05:15:00.000-07:00

In my last post, we discussed the uses of baking soda. Right up there with baking soda is white vinegar. Yes, I know, it can have a very strong odor. But the smell actually dissipates, leaving a fresh, clean smell. Trust me!

Again, I am using an article by Noel-Marie Taylor. She lists sooooo many great uses for vinegar.

Vinegar: (Almost) the Only Cleaner You'll Ever Need
Cleaning with vinegar is powerful, natural--and cheap!by Noel-Marie Taylor

Most cleaning products fall into one of two categories: toxic or expensive. While both types will clean almost anything (or at least, anything within their limited range of capabilities), there's a third option. It's inexpensive and not at all poisonous to humans. It's multi-purpose as well--one container will take care of laundry, kitchen cleaning, even bugs and weeds. This "miracle cleaner" is vinegar.

Vinegar is a weak form of acetic acid that forms through the fermentation of sugars or starches. It is completely edible, and cannot harm your stomach. And luckily for us, many things can be cleaned using it.The uses of vinegar are nearly endless. In addition to cleaning, it is an excellent item for cooking and for home science experiments (remember the vinegar-and-baking soda volcanoes from grade school?). The health benefits are many as well.

In this article, we are focusing on the uses of vinegar as a cleaner. Note: plain white vinegar is the best for the following uses; cider and other vinegars may have unwanted side effects. Vinegar is used in 100% concentration unless otherwise specified.

Your Vinegar Spray Bottles In addition to your regular bottle of vinegar, a really useful item is a spray bottle. Ideally, you want two--one with pure vinegar, the other with a half vinegar, half water combination. Having vinegar in a dispenser of this type makes its use much simpler in many cases.

All Around the House

1. To remove stickers that have been used to "decorate" furniture and other surfaces, moisten with vinegar. Let sit for at least ten minutes, then remove.

2. For persistent room odors, place a bowl of vinegar in the room overnight.

3. For spills on carpet, use a sponge or cloth to soak up as much liquid as possible. Then spray with a mixture of half vinegar, half water. Let stand for about two minutes, then blot with towel or sponge. Repeat as needed.

4. For more persistent stains, use a mixture of 1 teaspoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap, and 1 cup warm water. Proceed as suggested above. When finished cleaning, dry using a hairdryer set on low.

5. To clean windows, spray with half vinegar, half water. Wipe clean with either newspapers or cloth.

6. To clean silver, pewter, copper, or brass, dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in one cup vinegar. Add flour to create a paste (1/4 cup or more). Apply the paste to the metal item, and let stand for at least fifteen minutes. Rinse with warm water and polish with a soft cloth.

7. No-wax floors can be cleaned with a solution of 1 cup vinegar per gallon of water for a shinier surface.

8. To clean wood paneling, use a mixture of 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup vinegar, and 2 cups warm water. Apply to paneling with a soft cloth. Dry with a clean cloth.

In the Bathroom

9. To remove corrosion or chemical build-up from showerheads, soak in vinegar overnight.

10. Remove stains from the toilet bowl by spraying with vinegar and spraying.

11. To remove soap build-up from faucets, clean with a mixture of 1 part salt to four parts vinegar.

12. Spray shower walls and shower curtain with vinegar to help prevent mildew.

In the Kitchen

13. To keep ants away, spray vinegar along doorways, windowsills, countertops - anywhere that ants are likely to appear. If you find an ant trail (path that ants use repeatedly), clean it with vinegar.

14. To remove odors from the sink or garbage disposal, pour in a cup or more vinegar. Do not rinse out again for at least an hour.

15. For a clogged drain, first pour in 1/2 cup baking soda. Then add an equal amount of vinegar. When the mixture finishes bubbling, rinse with warm water. (Note: some garbage disposals do not react well to this cleaning method; check with the manufacturer first.)

16. Wipe your hands with vinegar after chopping. It will remove strong scents like onion and garlic, as well as stains from fruit juices.

17. To clean wooden cutting boards, wipe with vinegar.

18. Remove strong odors. Rinse jars with a half and half mixture of vinegar and water to remove garlic or other strong odors. Boil water with several spoons of vinegar to remove the smell of burnt food from your kitchen.

19. Vinegar is an excellent cleaner for all kitchen surfaces - counters, refrigerators, stovetops.

20. To clean your microwave oven, put a microwave-safe bowl of 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 cup water in the oven, and cook long enough to boil. In addition to removing any lingering odors, this will loosen any baked-on food from the microwave's walls.

21. To remove coffee or tea stains from china, clean with a mixture of vinegar and salt.

In the Laundry

22. To keep colors from running in the wash, soak in vinegar before washing.

23. To decrease lint on clothing, add 1/2 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle.

24. Many persistent stains can be removed with vinegar: coffee, chocolate, ketchup, jam, cola, wine. Gently rub stain with vinegar, then wash.

25. To make your "brights brighter", add 1/2 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle.

26. For fresher cloth diapers, add one cup distilled vinegar to the rinse cycle. This will break down uric acid and remove both lingering stains and scents.

27. To remove scorch marks from an iron, rub with a mixture of vinegar and salt.

28. To remove soap residue from the washing machine, run an empty (no laundry) cycle with one cup vinegar added.

29. To remove the smell of smoke from clothing, add a cup of vinegar to a tub of hot water. Let clothing hang in the same room for several hours.

Pet Care

30. To keep cats off windowsills or other surfaces, spray with vinegar. This will also keep them from scratching upholstery (spray an unnoticeable area of the fabric first to make sure the vinegar doesn't cause a stain).

31. To keep dogs from scratching their ears, clean with a soft cloth dipped in diluted vinegar.

32. If your dog should have a run-in with a skunk, vinegar will take care of the smell better than even tomato juice. Using vinegar diluted 50% with water, rub the dog's fur. Rinse with warm water. Repeat as needed.

_________________________________________________

Noel- Marie Taylor is a freelance writer located in Columbia, Maryland. Her work has appeared in many magazines, including PC Magazine and The Mother Is Me. A stay-at-home mom to two children, she is also the designer of several cross-stitch kits for children.

Green Cleaning--How to Be Eco-Friendly (and pocketbook friendly, too)

2009-06-21T06:04:00.000-07:00

I am going to dedicate the next several posts to cleaning. What does that have to do with being Self-Sustaining, you may ask?

Hygiene. Food Safety. Pest Control. If you can't keep yourself healthy, can't keep your food supply safe from micro-organism and the scurrying-organisms, what is the point of working toward self-sufficiency?

Part of being self-sufficient is reducing the necessity for doctor's visits. We want to keep our visits down to pro-active visits: annual screenings, flu shots, etc.

Building our food supply means protecting our food supply from contamination. Our goal is safe, healthy food.

Pests carry disease, and can undo all your hard work.

Many of you are probably already working at living more green, and already use the Big Three when you clean: Baking Soda, White Vinegar, and Lemon Juice. I am going to take each one individually over the next three posts to lay out the benefits and uses of each one.

I am starting with Baking Soda. Can you say cheap, my friends? I found a great series of articles by a guru named Noel-Marie Taylor. Most of these I already knew, but I did pick up a few new tips. Here is what she has to say about baking soda...

27 Ways to Clean with Baking Soda

There are many non-poisonous products that can be used for basic household cleaning. Next to vinegar, the most useful of these is baking soda. Like vinegar, baking soda has three major things going for it as a cleanser:

It's non-toxic. Sure, eaten in large amounts it might make you feel unpleasant, but it's not poisonous.

It's multi-purpose. The suggestions in this article are only a few of the many ways that baking soda can be used as a household cleanser.

Best of all, it's CHEAP! The cost of baking soda (especially when purchased in several pound large boxes) is far less than that of any other, specialized cleaning agent.

Baking soda (or bicarbonate of soda, as it is also known) is a naturally occurring material, present in most organic life forms. It can be "made" from sodium carbonate, or soda ash. The soda ash is dissolved in a carbon dioxide rich solution, and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) precipitates out.

As its name suggests, baking soda can be used for cooking. It can also be used medicinally, and, as we will discuss in this article, for cleaning.

In the kitchen

The kitchen is the most likely place to find baking soda. Don't stop with using it for baking, though!

1. A box or small bowl of baking soda in the refrigerator, freezer, or any cupboard will keep away unpleasant odors.

2. Similarly, baking soda will keep away garbage odors; sprinkle the bottom of the pail, and then sprinkle again after you put a new bag in.

3. Grease fires can be put out by sprinkling them with baking soda.

4. To clean surfaces, sprinkle baking soda on a damp cloth. Wipe, then rinse with clean water.

5. To remove stale smells from food containers, rinse out with hot water and baking soda. If the smell persists, let the container soak overnight in the baking soda and water mixture.

6. To clean silver, use a paste of 3 parts baking soda to one part water. Rub the paste onto each item, then rinse with warm water and dry with a soft cloth.

7. To remove scuff marks or grease spills from the floor, sprinkle with baking soda and then wipe with a warm, damp cloth. This is even safe for no-wax floors!

8. For burnt-on food in the bottom of pots, sprinkle with baking soda, then add hot water. Let soak overnight; the dried on food will come loose much more easily.

In the Bathroom9.To remove stubborn stains from most surfaces, use a baking soda paste (3 parts baking soda, one part water). Apply, let stand, then scrub or wipe clean.

10. Hairbrushes and combs can be cleaned in a baking soda solution.

11. To avoid clogged drains, pour 1/4 cup baking soda down weekly. Rinse through with hot water.

All Around the House

12. To remove scents from a carpet, sprinkle with baking soda. Let stand for at least fifteen minutes, then vacuum. Repeat as needed.

13. If there is a smoker in the house, put baking soda in the bottom of each ashtray to keep away some of the stale smoke smell.

14. Baking soda in the litterbox will help prevent odors.

15. To quickly clean pets and remove "wet dog" odor, sprinkle with baking soda and brush out their fur.

16. To help remove spills, blot as much as possible. Then clean as you normally would. When finished, sprinkle with baking soda. Vacuum. This will decrease the chance that some of the spilled item will remain in the carpet and cause unpleasant odors later.

17. Children's toys can be cleaned using 1/4 cup baking soda in 1 quart warm water. Submerge in this mixture (or wipe with a cloth dampened in it), then rinse with clear water.

In the Laundry

18. Replace half of each measure of laundry detergent with baking soda to keep clothing fresh.

19. To remove grease stains, either add baking soda to the wash load or pretreat the stains with a baking soda paste.

20. Pretreat diapers in their pail with baking soda. This will keep odors from becoming overpowering between washings.

21. Baking soda increases the effectiveness of chlorine bleach. Add 1/ 2 cup to your laundry, along with the usual amount of bleach.

22. If you keep a laundry hamper, add some baking soda every day to keep the hamper from smelling between emptyings.

Outside the House (Yard and Garage)

23. Baking soda can be used to help clean up grease spills.

24. To remove burnt food from the grill, sprinkle with baking soda, then soak. After several hours, the charred pieces will come loose easily.

25. Lawn furniture can be easily cleaned with a rinse of 1/4 cup baking soda in 1 quart warm water.

26. The children's pool can be cleaned and have mildew removed by washing with baking soda in warm water.

27. Before packing away your camping gear after a trip, sprinkle with baking soda.

If you really get into using baking soda for cleaning, consider buying it in bulk; see if you can join a co-op or if your local natural foods or bulk store can order it for you. After all, it doesn't spoil, and the uses for baking soda are nearly endless!
_______________________________________________________
Noël-Marie Taylor is a freelance writer located in Columbia, Maryland. Her work has appeared in many magazines, including PC Magazine and The Mother Is Me. A stay-at-home mom to two children, she is also the designer of several cross-stitch kits for children.

Green Tomatoes

2009-06-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

It is mid-June, and the vines are loaded with green tomatoes. I am salivating, waiting for the taste of the first ripe red tomato of the season, but I must say, I do have a love affair with green tomatoes.

I will probably cave in to my desires, and make a batch of green tomato salsa. I love it in chicken tacos (can I hear you say YUM?).

Here is a simple recipe:

5 green tomatoes, diced into small pieces

1 small onion, diced into small pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large jalepeno, seeded and finely diced

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Place all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, than reduce heat to a simmer, stirring frequently, for 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Once it reaches room temperature, throw in the cilantro and mix well. This is yummy over scrambled eggs or omlets, on tacos, or as a dip with tortilla chips.

Enjoy! (and try and leave some tomatoes on the vine long enough for the red ones...)

Every Little Bit Counts

2009-06-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here is the "harvest" from the garden today. I hear y'all laughing--don't think I don't.

Some days, we get more than others. Today was one of those days that fell in the "not so much" category: two cukes, two crookneck squash, 3 strawberries, 1 jalepeno, and 1 cherry tomato. Looks pitiful, doesn't it? And yes, that is the one lone egg we harvested today.

Looks can be deceiving, though. I sliced the cukes, sliced the jalepeno into very thin strips, added vinegar, sugar, galic and black pepper. Garnished it with a cute little cherry tomato. Now I have a refreshing, zippy salad!

I sliced the squash, sliced a small onion, and sauteed them in a little olive oil. I then made an omlet using the egg we gathered and some cheese we had in the refrigerator. Even the sprig of fresh basil came from the garden.

And the strawberries? Well, lets just say they made a nice little appetizer while I fixed myself a lunch from the daily harvest.

Like I said, every little bit counts.

What are you doing to Go Green?

2009-06-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

I would like to say we are doing a phenomenal job going green, but the truth is, we aren't doing as much as we could. Some Green Projects take a lot of money up front, and 5+ years to see a return on your investment.

There are still things that "we po' folks" can do to save energy and be kind to Planet Earth. Here are 6 really simple ways to save money and help our planet at the same time:

1) Plant a garden! Lots of work, but well worth it. Nothing beats fresh produce. And those plants are giving off oxygen.

2) Collect rain water in barrels! Mother nature can save you money on your water bill. Use the collected water to water your garden. Use the water you collect to water your animals. Use the water you collect to flush your toilets. Every penny counts! (note: if you are using rainwater from runoff from your roof, be careful. Some shingles could have chemicals in it that are harmful to plants and animals. If you have a tin or slate roof, no problems!)

3) Buy energy efficient compact flourescent bulbs! These babies are worth their weight in gold. They are more expensive to buy initially, but they last a long, long, long time--up to 10 times as long. And they use less energy to give you as much light, so you are saving money on your light bill as well.

4) Low flow shower heads and water-efficient toilets! You do not realize how much water you waste until you install either or both of these. You literally flush money down the toilet. Installing both of these can reduce your monthly water use by 400 gallons! (you read that right--400 gallons!)

5) Use Freecyle! Instead of throwing away items away to clog up the landfills, why not gift it to someone in need? That is what Freecycle is all about. It is a nation-wide program that helps find homes for unwanted items. Check out Freecycle.org and see if there is one in your community. If not, contact the organization and start one today!

6) Ride share to work! How many cars do you see on the road each day with no one but the driver in them? Talk about waste! Why not look into ride sharing? If you can find three other people in your area who are going to the same general area and work the same hours, that is three less cars on the road each morning. Think about it...

Do you have any other simple Green solutions? Please feel free to add to the list!

pictures of hanging garden UPDATES

2009-05-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the first picture of the hanging garden.UPDATES DOUBLE CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE We did a few things different than planned. We didn't cement the post into the ground because we might want to move it to a different spot next year. We also put two raised beds made from things we had around the yard inside the garden. One bed has cabbage and the other has strawberries. Both plants like cooler weather and will be shaded by the tomato plants.
We will post more pictures as the garden grows.
click on picture for larger image.
ES

lets get dirty ...click here

2009-04-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning world (I'm assuming the whole world reads this blog) It's Saturday morning, the sky is a bit gloomie but I'm not. I'm ready to get my hands dirty.

As you know I can't have a regular garden. So I'm planning a different kind of garden. I'll have some raised beds but even that will be hard for me to weed. So I'm doing something different.

I got the idea from watching an infomercial for the tomato tree. I plan to hang 75% of my garden.

In eight 5 gal. Buckets.. Now where to hang them..Not on the porch they won't get enough sun and I just don't have that much porch space. So I'll have to build something of course.. Here are my plans. Which by the way cost less than 2 of those tomato trees.. I'll keep you updated with pictures through out the season.

Here is a page for Companion Planting. I plan to plant in the top of the buckets also.

2009-04-07T18:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary To Us.

April 4th Bud and I (ES) were married two years. Bud nor I are much for making a big tado about such things. (Except don't forget my birthday or I may never talk to you again) Remembering someones Birthday is the same as saying I'm glad you were born into my life.
Bud and I spent the day shopping at Lowes of all places...(Deb and I Love Lowes) I bought Bud a wheelbarrow , he bought me a cordless screwdriver . We bought everything I needed to put up my hanging garden. It was a good day, a slow and loving day. He even snuck a cherry tree that I had been long fully looking at into the basket when I was busy bossing around one of the poor garden guys. (I wanted the cherry tree for him, it's one of the few fruits he eats).
I hope he enjoyed the day....I did.

2009-03-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

First I would like to thank anyone who is still reading this blog.

Secondly I would like to thank Deb for keeping it going while I’ve been recovering.

My recovery has been more emotional than physical. I haven’t been able to make myself be on the inter net. I used to be active in a lot of groups and message boards. After my illness and amputation I was just too depressed to be able to contribute anything positive.

The third reason I couldn’t blog was because it would feel phony to me. I haven’t had a self substaing kitchen for over a year. Between my illnesses and a drought here last year the only thing that has come out of my garden was eggplant and a couple tomatoes.

We had to get rid of our rabbits and goats because it was just too much for Bud to handle. Deb works a full time, very physical job and Bud was taking care of me, which was a full time job for about five months.

I am now able to do more for myself and around the house which really makes me feel better. I feel well enough that Bud ordered 50 baby chick which will arrive about April 20..

The reason I can do more for myself and around the house is that I was given a $10.000 electric wheelchair. I ask for it on a local freecycle ä group. I never expected to get one but I figured it couldn‘t hurt to ask.. The next day I had an email from a woman who‘s mother had passed away. She had a chair and it was brand new, her mother had only used it 4 or 5 times before she passed away. I will always be grateful to her, the chair changed my world. I had a manual wheelchair but I wasn’t strong enough to use it much, so I was pretty much stuck in bed or in a chair that needed both my hands to use.

Freedom of movement is something we all take for granted. I’m still limited in my movements, but I can get around the house and yard. I cook ,I clean, (not very well unless I have my contact in lol) I have a love hate relationship with my chair because I’m sitting all day. I wasn’t a sitter. I have had to learn how to do thing from the chair. My limitations are maddening times. I cuss a lot when I can’t reach some thing or when I drop something on the floor and I don’t have my grabber handy. Bud just come over and picks up what ever I’ve dropped when he hears me cuss...Got to love him..

I don’t know where I would be right now If I wasn’t in a plural marriage. Most likely a nursing home. My care for many months was full time. I feel blessed that I have had Bud and Deb to take care of me.. Bud bathed me and change my bandages twice a day since Sept 08, he’s still doing it and never once has had that OH Now What.. look on his face when I’ve needed him to get me something. Deb had to take over cooking and cleaning on top of her job and never once complained about it.

The house was still stressed out for many months, Bud, from the added work of caring for me. Deb from the added work around the house and my stress came from not being able to help. Just as I started to do more around the house, Bud had a heart attack and had to have stints put in.. I had to step up to the plate, so me and Doctor had a long talk about pain management.(which I plan to write a post about.) With my pain under control I can do so much more around the house. I feel much better now that I’m pulling some of my own weight..

The blues are lifting and I think I might be able to work on my blog more.
Feel free to ask questions or to suggest topic for me to write about..If I don’t know the topic you can bet your butt I will find out.

Thanks for reading…..ES.

Raised Bed Gardening

2009-03-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

I was going to go into detail about raised bed gardening. For us, we are big on recycling, so we use old tires, old kiddie swimming pools, discarded display bins we dug out of a dumpster--you name it. However....

I found this at Texas A & M Extension Services (go check out your local extension services. GREAT source of FREE information!!). It actually does a very good job walking you through from start to finish.

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/raisedbed/index.html

~D

Start Your Garden Inside!

2009-02-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

While many parts of the country are still in the deep freeze, we are already planning our garden--inside. In the south, we start our seedlings in January and February.

Starting plants from seeds is economical--not to mention down right rewarding. Nothing makes me smile bigger than seeing the seeds I've sown pop their heads up out of the soil.

Get a jump-start by planting your seeds indoors. You know those recycled cardboard egg-cartons? They happen to make great seedling containers. Just make sure they are dye-free. Those ugly, dingy grey-colored ones are the best. Know why we like them? You can plant them right in the ground when the time comes, as they tend to compost rather quickly when exposed to moisture and the elements.

Even if you have never gardened before, I want you to try this. You don't have to have a big 'ole garden plot. A clay pot, an old discarded tire, or even an empty ice cream bucket will give you ample space to grow some luscious tomatoes.

Mmmmmmmmm, fresh tomatoes. Sorry, but there is NOTHING that compares to a tomato that is fresh from the garden. And it is even tastier when you grow it yourself!

#1) Buy a pack of seeds. They don't have to be expensive. Heck, we get them from Dollar General, sometimes at as little as 3 for a $1. And here is a tip: if the seeds are "heirloom", that means that you can collect the seeds from your harvest to sow the next year!

There are literally hundreds of varieties of tomatoes: Beefsteak, Roma, Cherry, Early Girl--whatever trips your trigger.

#2) Start the seeds inside NOW. Tomatoes definitely do not like the cold. they like their feet warm, so if the soil is too cold, they will not be happy campers. You want to wait at least three weeks after the last frost in your area before you set them in the ground. Starting them inside give you a head start!

Remember those recycled cardboard egg cartons I was just talking about? Cut the lid off. Punch a hole in the bottom of each egg compartment with an awl (or a ball point pen, or a screwdriver, or whatever works). Set the half with the compartments inside of the top half. This will catch any soil run-off after watering. Cool, huh?

****Something you need to know about tomatoes. They like their own space. Each plant needs to be at least a foot apart, so keep that in mind when you are planning your tomato garden. And also bear in mind that even one tomato plant can bear a LOT of fruit. Unless you plan on canning or sharing your crop with friends and family, think SMALL. 1-2 plants per person is a safe bet.

We start our seeds in seed starter mix. This is readily available (usually get ours at K-Mart), and a little goes a long way. It is usually a very light soil mix, with pearlite, vermiculite or peat moss mixed in. This is so the soil retains good moisture. Seed starter soil also is sterile, so it is free of weed and other seeds.

Fill each compartment with the seed starter mix. Since usually not all of your seeds will germinate, plant twice as many as you anticipate planting. The general rule of thumb is to plant your seeds twice as deep as the width of the seed--so not very deep in the case of a tomato seed.

#3) Light--essential for starting seeds inside. If you are blessed to have a nice, sunny window in your home, this is the place to set your newly planted seeds. If you don't have a nice sunny window, then you will have to provide artificial light for your babies. Fluorescent lights work well as long as you keep the plants fairly close to the light source (about 6 inches is good). The light source is also a heat source.

#4) Moisture--keep the soil moist, but not wet. Seeds will rot if they are too damp.

#5) Rotate--as your seedlings start poking up their darling little heads, start rotating your egg cartons. In the big outdoors, the sun changes position in the sky, and the plants follow the sun. If you don't rotate the plants daily, they will start to make a permanent "bend and stretch" toward your light source.

#6) Touch--brushing your hand over the tops of the seedlings a few times a day will do two things: it will keep the plants shorter, and it will make the stems stronger.

#7) Talk to them--okay, call me a weirdo, but I swear, plants DO respond to voice. I have no scientific proof. I just know that if I neglect a plant by not talking to it for a while, I notice the difference.

#8) Hardening off--this is where you get your babies ready for the great outdoors. When the plants are about 4-6 inches tall, and the threat of a hard frost is behind you, begin setting them outside during the day. The first few days, do it during the warmest hours of the day. The next few days, leave them out during daylight hours. After a week, you can leave them out over night for a few days, then bring them in. What you are doing is acclimating them--that is, getting them used to being outside.

#9) Transplanting--whether you have a garden spot or are planning on using a container, it is important to have the new home for your seedling ready. If you are planting your seedlings into the ground, make sure that the ground has been thoroughly turned. Mixing the soil with composting material will add much needed nutrients to the soil. You also want to make sure the soil is loose for at least a depth of 12 inches. You want the roots to be able to spread.

What's nice about using the egg cartons is that you can use shears to divide the individual compartments and plant the compartment directly into the garden or container. See those two little leaves at the bottom of the stem? Pinch them off, then bury your seedling to just above where you pinched off the leaves. This will help make your main stem even sturdier.

Give your transplants a nice drink of water, and don't panic. The first few days after transplanting, seedling tend to whither a bit. But they will bounce back.

#10) Support--Most tomatoes like support. You can use tomato cages, trellises, or fence rows to support tomato plants. If you don't give them proper support, the weight of the fruit (tomatoes) will pull the plant down.

#11) Weed and feed--be sure and pull weeds, and feed your plants with a good fertilizer. Keep an eye out for pests such as tomato worms, stink bugs and aphids. There are a multitude of pesticides on the market, but a great natural pesticide is marigolds and nasturtiums. These flowers tend to ward off many pests, and they are pretty to boot.

#12) Pinch and Prune--as the plants grow, remove bottom leaves (they are the most susceptible to fungus and disease), and pinch off the "suckers"--the little shoots that grow in the crotch of the branches (the crotch is where a branch forms a "v") Start small. But be warned: the gardening bug will get you! After you have harvested your first tomato, you will want to expand your garden. Happy gardening, and may the bug get ya!

Composting--Recycling At Its Best

2009-02-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

We are already into February which, for those of us in the South, means garden time is just around the corner.

Gardens love compost. Compost adds nutrients to the soil, and is great for areas with compacted soil, clay, sand, or lots of rocks.

A lot of people are afraid of composting because they think it is complicated, or they believe the myth that composts are stinking garbage heaps that attract rodents.

Composting is actually quite simple. If you remember to keep an equal mix of browns and greens, and you maintain good moisture, you will get a nice, earthy compost.

The biggest thing to remember is to think organic--that is, plants. The biggest portion of what goes into your compost is plant material, whether it is brown (like dead leaves, straw, coffee grounds, etc) or green (think fresh: fresh grass clippings, vegetable and fruits waste, etc).

You can also add eggshells, manure, and bone meal.

It is actually easier to list what NOT to put in your compost:

meat
oils or grease
dairy products
plants that may have been treated with herbicides or pesticides
human waste

I am going to borrow from "Gardening by the Inch", a great little pamphlet from Rodale Books. It is filled with lots of great info for gardeners with limited space. I will be sharing more useful hints in the weeks to come.

Ingredients & Benefits
Bone Meal--Very good phosphorus source

Coffee grounds--Good nitrogen source

Corncobs and stalks--High in carbon; best when used as mulch

Eggshells--Supplies calcium and nitrogen

Fruit waste--Banana peels are rich in potassium

Grass clippings--Very high in nitrogen; can smell very bad if not blended in

Hay/straw--High in carbon, adds bulk

Leaves--Gives texture to the soil; shred before adding to the pile*

Manure--Listed from highest to lowest source of nitrogen: chicken, duck, horse, rabbit, pig, cow, sheep, goat; must be completely composted before garden use.

Peanut shells--Gives good texture to soil; slow to break down, however; high in carbon and potassium

Sawdust--High in nitrogen, potassium and carbon; very slow to break down; never add directly to soil, and make sure it is untreated wood source

Seaweed--High in nitrogen and potassium

Vegetable waste--Pea pods are especially high in nitrogen

Weeds--Cut before the weeds go to seed

Wood ash--Potassium and phosphorus; very alkaline; don’t use ashes from fires started with charcoal

*we mow our leaves to mulch them, then rake them up for the compost pile.

Your compost should be moist, but not wet. If it feels like a wrung out sponge, you got it right.

Turn your compost occasionally, especially after adding green items, such as fruit and veggie peels, fresh grass clippings, and manure.

It takes about 8 weeks to get the crumbly, earthy-brown compost you desire. When mixed in with the soil in which you are planting your garden, It gives your plants a leg up: loose, fertile soil in which to grow, and a resilience to disease.

Start your compost today, and by spring, you will have compost that is ready for the garden!

Happy composting!

Update on Bud....

2009-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry to leave you all hanging like that. Bud did indeed have a massive heart attack. They did a heart catheterization on the 9th, and he came home on the 10th. He had some pretty serious blockage, which they opened up with stents. He still has one more procedure to face in February to get another stent put in.

It was a very scary thing for our family. We are changing the way we eat, trying to be more healthy.

Bud is doing pretty good, considering. Heck, we are ALL doing pretty good, considering.

I didn't break down until after we got him home from the hospital--pretty darn good for me, as I am an emotional basketcase who wears her heart on her sleeve.

Thank you all for your e-mails and well wishes. It is very much appreciated.

We will get this blog back on track at some point, I promise!

~D

Here We Go Again.....

2009-01-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

Just when we were settling back into some state of normalcy around here, yet another health crisis rears its ugly head.

Bud had a "heart episode" at 4am this morning, and he is going to need a heart catheter tomorrow. Depending on the outcome, he may need to have angioplasty, too.

I'll update everyone later.

Happy thoughts, please!

~D

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the planet......

2008-12-26T07:08:00.000-08:00

No, indeed, we still have a foothold on terra firma. You will all be happy to hear that I successfully made it through my first semester back at college, and I 4.0-ed both my classes. I'm not gonna tell ya what my previous GPA was--let's just say it was a little lack luster.

I am off for the next three days. 3 DAYS!!!!!!! So I will post something earth-shattering and relevant. Or, more likely, trivial and fluffy. I haven't decided yet.

Hoping everyone had a fantastic Christmas!

Hugs to our peeps!

~D

Taking Orders for PieCakes!

2008-11-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

Now taking pre-orders for holiday PieCakes. Bamagals are once again offering a variety of PieCakes for the holidays: Pumpkin, Apple Raisin, Sweet Potato, and Peach. PieCakes are $10 each, or $12.50 for the addition of pecans. We can ship to any of the contiguous 48 states in a Priority Flat Rate Box for an additional $12.95 (best value: ship two in the same box—same price!). Payment for Thanksgiving will be due no later than Friday, November 21st.; Payment for Christmas will be due no later than Friday, December 19th. Holiday shipments will be sent in a timely fashion to arrive at your loved-ones doors just in time for their celebration. If you have a PayPal account, we can take a debit or charge card payment. We also accept postal money orders. Please contact us at bamagalstuff@gmail.com to pre-order your PieCakes today!

CONTEST TIME!!!!

2008-10-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

I know everyone has just been waiting for the big PieCake give-away, as we have soooooooo many readers. Literally hundreds and hundreds of you....okay, so we only have single-digit faithful readers. But someday, SOMEDAY!!!!!!! Until then, competition will be fast and furious.

Are you ready? The first reader that can answer the following question correctly will receive a PUMPKIN PIECAKE.

E-mail your answer to bamagalstuff@gmail.com

We will announce the lucky winner on Friday, October 17th.

Here is your question: What did Bud name our nanny goat?

Good Luck!!

The contest is over, and the winner is Aisha--aka UmmAbdur-Rahmaan! Congrats! Thank you everyone for your participation. The answer is: J-Lo (May 15, 2008 post, "And then there were goats....")

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You....

2008-10-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

We will be taking pre-orders for holiday PieCakes in the very near future--mmmmmmm, PieCake! Starting November 1st, we will start taking orders for Thanksgiving and the Christmas Season (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or Winter Solstice--we don't discriminate!)

We will offer Pumpkin, Apple, Sweet Potato, and Peach. They will be $10 each, or $12.50 with pecans. We will ship pies to arrive just before the holiday anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. Shipping will be a flat $12.95 (priority flat rate box). Two pies will fit in a box, so buying TWO PieCakes is the best value.

Details regarding payment methods will be forthcoming....and we will be having a PieCake giveaway, so stay tuned, faithful readers!

D

pStyle/ Krista's Cups

2008-10-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

I think I said somewhere here in the blog that from time to time, we would endorse a product that we firmly believed in. Well, I'm going to just let you read a copy of a letter I wrote to to Krista thanking her for the pStyle.
(just click the title of this post to link to her site)

Dear Krista,
I want to thank you for introducing pStyle to the US. Being an avid outdoorswoman, the pStyle made my hunting and camping experiences sooooo much nicer. Not having to half-undress to pee made peeing so easy.

Now, it’s even more important to me. August 14th, 2008 I hade my left leg amputated mid-calf. With me being a very large gal, bed pans were out of the question--but getting up to try to get on a bed side potty was so hard that at times, I thought about just peeing the bed and letting the nurses deal with changing me and the bed. I then discovered that I could get to the edge of the bed and use a man's urinal. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it in the hospital, because I often missed the urinal and spilled some pee on the floor.

The pStyle was one of the first things I thought of when I got home. My goodness what a difference it make to not have to get up out of bed or go to all the work it takes to get on the bedside potty just to pee! I can sit on the edge of the bed, or scoot to the edge of my wheel chair to use the pStyle in a urinal. I use baby wipes to finish wiping myself and to wipe out the pStyle and it’s read for my next use.

Public restrooms are no longer a problem because I can just roll up to the toilet and pee no matter what I’m wearing.

I just wanted you to know that with all of the challenges I now have to face being an amputee, peeing is not on that list.

Thank you so much,
Elijah Sue Weiser

I WANT THIS!!!!!!

2008-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is just tooooooooo cool! I want one! It is called a tankless water heater, or point-of-use heater. Basically, it heats the water on demand, so you don't have to heat a big ole water heater-full of water--you heat it as you need it! Check it out:

http://www.boschhotwater.com/

Maybe Santa will bring us one for Chistmas.....

~D
we thought this should be on the front page .

Love Field Plumbing Co. said...
Just wanted to give you a "heads up"...Tankless water heaters are great, but you are not spending alot of money heating up your tank type water heater. They usually only "cycle" on for a few minutes for a few times a day. The amount of natural gas that the tankless water heaters burn to heat water on demand is alot more than your tank type water heater is burning. They are space saving, and efficient. They are also expensive to install for reasons I have posted to my blog. Just wanted you to know that you will burn as much or more fuel with the tankless. Tankless manufacturers don't tell consumers about that. Both types of water heaters are good. Tankless probably are the wave of the future, but they are still very expensive to install in comparison. That fuel bill might go up with the tankless. FYI :)

The Basics, continued

2008-09-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, you know I love our cast iron—absolutely must have, can’t live without it. I also couldn’t live without my baking stoneware.

I must admit—I was skeptical and intimidated by stoneware at first. But there is no going back now. I am addicted. “Hello, my name is Debra, and I am a stoneware addict.” There. I’ve said it.

I visited my mother this past Christmas, and I almost hyperventilated when I found two stones…UNUSED…..THAT I BOUGHT HER THE PREVIOUS CHRISTMAS….in the back of her cupboard. Unused. Unloved. Pale. I could not imagine having stones and NOT using them. So I un-gifted her and loaded them in my car to take back to my kitchen, where they would be loved and appreciated.

I may need intensive therapy.

Why am I so passionate about stones? Ahhhhh, let me tell you. They make everything from cookies to pizza crust absolutely perfect. Evenly browned, delicately crisp…..perfect.

They take a little extra work to get seasoned than the cast iron, but oh, is it worth the effort! Once seasoned, they are a smooth, non-stick surface. And because stoneware naturally retains heat longer, you can keep a casserole warm for up to an hour! You can cut on a stone without damaging it—can’t do that on Teflon!

I got all my stones from Pampered Chef©--I became a Pampered Chef Consultant, just to get these wonderful stones at a huge discount (and some were FREE!). Granted, I am a fickle person, and only remained a consultant long enough to get all the pieces I coveted….Now, you can get them fairly cheap at Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, etc.

Here is my favorite stone:

Isn’t she beautiful? Okay, so she isn’t that pretty. But as they say, “the uglier it looks, the better it cooks.” The more you use a stone, the darker and smoother it gets. The key to seasoning your stoneware is to start out cooking foods with higher fat content: peanut butter cookies, meatloaf, crescent rolls, etc. Use a cooking spray the first few times as well. And unlike cast iron, I don’t ever use soap on my stones. Stones are porous, and I am not a big fan of the taste of soap. I clean mine in very hot water with a nylon scraper, and only after the stone is back to room temperature. (Stones are sensitive to extreme temperature changes).

Be brave. Get a stone. You will thank me. Start with a simple, flat, rectangular stone. You can get fancy later—after I have you thoroughly addicted. “Hello, my name is………”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PEACHES AND CREAM BRAID (COURTESY OF PAMPERED CHEF©)**

2 PACKAGES REFRIGERATED CRESCENT ROLLS
1 PACKAGE(8OZ) CREAM CHEESE, SOFTENED
¼ CUP POWDERED SUGAR
1 EGG, SEPARATED
1 CAN (15 ¼ OZ)SLICED PEACHES IN HEAVY SYRUP, DRAINED
¼ TSP CINNAMON
¼ TSP NUTMEG
1 TSP WATER
2TBS CHOPPED ALMONDS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll 1 package of crescent roll dough; do not separate. Arrange longest sides of dough across width of a rectangular stone. Repeat with the remaining package of dough. Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough to seal seams. On the longest sides of the baking stone, cut dough into strips 1 ½ inches wide and 3 inches deep using a paring knife. (There will be 6 inches of uncut dough down the center for filling.) In a bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar; whisk until smooth using Stainless Steel Whisk. Separate egg. Add egg white to the cream cheese mixture, whisking until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly down center of the dough. In a small bowl, combine peaches and spices. Spoon peaches evenly over cream cheese mixture. To braid, lift strips of dough across mixture to meet in center, twisting each strip one turn. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends up to seam at end of braid. Combine reserved egg yolk with water. Brush egg mixture over dough using a pastry brush. Chop almonds and sprinkle over the dough. Bake 25-28 minutes, or until deep golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar using a sieve, if desired. Serve warm.

**This was the very first thing I ever cooked using my new stone. I made it (nervously) in front of 16 strangers at my very first Pampered Chef party. It was a hit!

~D

The Basics

2008-09-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Every kitchen needs a few basics—those things you just HAVE to have. In my humble opinion, one of those things is a good cast iron skillet. A cast iron skillet will last forever. You can use it on the stove top, in the oven, over an open fire—you can drop it, and it won’t break or dent. And hefting the dang thing will give you great biceps! And if you aren’t making your cornbread in a cast iron skillet, then well, my friend, you just aren’t making cornbread.

Our cast iron is cast-offs—we got them cheap at yard sales and flea markets. Why anyone would part with them is beyond all reason. Their loss was our gain!

I think cast iron intimidates people. They think they are hard to maintain. NOT! I have been told over and over never to wash mine with soap. I am not a good listener. To season a new skillet, I wash it in soapy water, rinse thoroughly, put it on the burner to dry it out, and give it a good greasing to “seal” it. Put it in the oven on low heat (about 200 degrees) and let her bake for 3-4 hours. Your pan should be cured and ready to use! Don’t use your cast iron to cook acid foods, though—it will strip the seasoning off.

We store our skillets in the oven when not in use, but they also look GREAT hanging from a pot rack.

We have several skillets of varying sizes, and a fabulous griddle, but one standard 9-inch skillet is something every kitchen should have.

Exhibit A:

Isn’t she a beauty? She is a 12-inch with lots of miles on her. She is my favorite (don’t tell the other skillets, or they will be jealous).

Now to show you how much I appreciate our avid readers (last count, 3) I will share my Basic Cornbread Recipe: Are you ready? Are you sure? Okay. It is sooooooooo simple. If you can remember the number “2”, you won’t even have to look at the recipe.

Basic Cornbread
· 2 cups self-rising cornbread
· 2 cups buttermilk (down south, you have buttermilk and “sweet”milk. Use BUTTERMILK)
· 2 eggs
· 2 tablespoons of butter, margarine, oil, or bacon grease (go with the bacon grease, gentle reader. ‘nuff said)

Preheat oven to 425-450 degrees.
I usually fry a 12 ounce package of bacon in my skillet first. Remove the bacon, and pour those yummy drippings (okay okay, FAT) into a bowl. Add cornmeal, eggs, and buttermilk to the bowl with the drippings. Mix thoroughly, and add back to the hot skillet. A hot skillet is a must—it gives the cornbread a nice crispy outside and a moist, yummy inside.

Transfer the skillet to the oven for about 35-40 minutes (cornbread will be nice and golden brown on top, and the sides will pull away from the skillet).

Now if you want Cornbread Deluxe, use the same recipe as above, but do the following:
Ya know that bacon I had you cook? Crumble it up, because it is going in the batter, baby!

Cornbread Deluxe
· Basic Cornbread Recipe
· ½ cup diced onion
· 3 cloves garlic, diced
· 2 tablespoons diced jalapenos

After you have fried the bacon, cook the onions and garlic slightly in the bacon drippings. You will want to cook them just until soft. Add the drippings, onion and garlic to the Basic Cornbread recipe. Throw in some jalapenos—I use about 2 tablespoons, but you can adjust for taste. Place in hot iron skillet.

Bake at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes. YUM! I like to serve this with chili. It also goes well with a nice salad. ENJOY!

~D

I am Home

2008-09-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am whole, even without half my left leg.
I have a million problems and complaints and pains. I have the love and support of family and friends. That makes me Whole.

In many ways I am, and am becoming a different person. I have never been a patient person. This has helped me at times but many times it has cost me. Now I must be patient. I am not patient, so I'm trying to pretend to be patient.I am enduring patience. I try to smile every time some nurse or doctor says.."It Takes Time" What I really want to do is rip their leg off and then sit around and watch them heal..(sorry but Pain can make a person evil)

I normally try to look for the good in everything all the time. It took me until last night to say I am alive and I will make my life worth living. I will learn how to let others help me and I will go back to taking care of my family.

I want thank everyone for their prayers and good vibs.

I'll write more later..right now I have a dishwasher to load and a meatloaf to make...

ES

Hurricane Season Revisited

2008-09-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Boy, ES was sure right about being prepared. We filled the truck with gas and filled gas cans--lucky thing, because today, less than 24 hours after the hurricane Ike hit Galveston, most of the stations in our area are either out of gas or rationing gas. Prices have jumped almost 50 cents in 24 hours....YIKES!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080914/ap_on_bi_ge/ike_energy_30

We are not even in the affected area of the storm, but we are feeling the repercussions 500 miles away....so even if you AREN'T in an area that is PHYSICALLY affected by hurricanes, you still could get hit ECONOMICALLY: gas and food price hikes or shortages, flight cancellations, postal delays, etc, etc, etc.

Before they even had a clear prediction where Ike was going to hit, we planned ahead: Enough fresh water for a week; gas; cash (power goes out, no ATM, folks); and critter food--they gotta eat, too! We already have enough food stores to last a year....

Be prepared. Always. Our hearts are with all of you in harms way. May you be safe from the storm.

Update on ES.....

2008-09-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry we haven't been posting much lately. ES was home for just shy of a week, then developed an infection in the incision site and had to go back to the hospital for antibiotic therapy. On the plus side, she saw the surgeon yesterday, and he said it actually was looking okay, considering.

Bud went with her by ambulance on Tuesday to the hospital, since I needed the car to go to work. After work, I headed for T-town, which is an hour and a 1/2 drive from work. 1 mile from the hospital, the car broke down.....

Car is in the shop, so I have been driving "The Beast" to work: a 1978 Ford truck that gets about 8 miles to the gallon....

And just to prove when it rains, it pours, Bud went to start the lawnmower, and the battery was dead. He tried to jump it, but no luck. He took the battery out and put it in the truck for me to take to Sears to get a new one. He rolled the window down, as the cab of the truck was very hot, and he didn't think that would be a good thing with the battery in there. You guessed it: It is now pouring rain, and the window is down on the truck.

Sigh. Just a bunch of little setbacks. After the rain, we will look for the rainbow. ES should be home in a few days. Not sure exactly how we are getting her home....We'll figure something out--heck we are survivalists, right?

Learnin' to dance in the rain....

~D

My Family is Coming HOME!

2008-08-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

I am being so selfish right now, but dang it, my family is coming HOME! ES will be released from Rehab on Tuesday, and Bud is flying in from Michigan on Wednesday. I cannot tell you how elated I am.

I say I am selfish, because I miss them both so terribly. I know ES has a long road ahead of her; Bud's folks are still in a bad way, but I need him here--ES needs someone here when she comes home, and I have used up every last bit of vacation and sick time I have on the books. If we could afford for me to take Family Medical Leave, I would do it in a heartbeat, but we depend on my paycheck.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Fay is dropping buckets on our head right now, but I don't care. Three of our bunnies are running loose and I can't catch 'em, but I don't care. I'm all bloated and crampy, BUT I DON'T CARE, I tell ya! I am the happiest girl in the world, because my family is coming HOME......

Thank you EVERYONE--from kind words to prayers, from phone calls to cyber-hugs--they were all appreciated more than you know.

The Trouple House is going to be just fine. We are so strong together, but I didn't know HOW strong until we all had to be separated.

Peace to you all,

~D

Update at the Trouple House

2008-08-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I haven't updated y'all sooner, but we have had one thing after another, and very little time for the computer.

ES had surgery on the 12th. They removed her left leg from just below the knee joint. Bud's father had surgery to remove an aneurysm in his stomach. Bud's mother was taken to the ER on Thursday after collapsing at work. They admitted her to the same hospital as Bud's father. She was in renal failure, and she had a small heart attack.

Bud has, until yesterday, been staying with ES 24/7 at the hospital. I have been running back and forth between work and taking care of the critters here at home, and running to the hospital every night.

Bud flew home yesterday evening to Michigan to be with his folks. It was a terrible position to be put in. If he could be in two places at once, he would.

ES was moved from the hospital to an intensive Rehab Center on Friday. She will be there for two weeks to build her strength and learn to care for herself (transfers, etc). Tonight was the first night in two weeks that she has been alone. I was going to go up there tonight, but exhaustion got the better of me, and I knew I couldn't make the drive. I'm fighting to keep my eyes open now, but I really needed to update everyone on ES's progress.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and positive energy. ES is a tough cookie, and determined to be as much of an independent cuss as she ever was. She is THE ultimate survivor. She will probably find 101 uses for her prosthesis once she gets one!

I will try and do better to keep you updated. Heck, I am taking the laptop to her tomorrow, so maybe you will be hearing from her sooner than you think.

~D

We Weren't Prepared for This.....

2008-08-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, it isn't natural disasters, food shortages, or inflation you have to plan for and survive. We like to think of ourselves as ready for anything that comes our way, but we got broadsided a few weeks ago...

ES has been having a lot of health problems for the last 6-8 months. ES did a lot of research and diagnosed her own Lyme's disease. She also self-diagnosed her fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. She thought the pain she was having in her legs was neurological, but it turned out it wasn't--it was circulatory. She suspected she had a sugar problem, but it is more than a problem--it is type II diabetes.

After rushing her to our little podunk ER July 30th with excruciating pain in her left foot, the ER was unable to find a pulse in her foot. They sent her by ambulance to the regional hospital 45 miles away. They determined she had blood clots in her tibial arteries, and her foot was not getting any circulation.

They put her on blood thinners and clot-eating enzymes, and surgically removed several clots from the artery. They found weak pulses in her foot after the surgery, so they kept her on blood thinners and started her on Plavix.

Her pulses seem to get better, than fade, then get better again. Her toes, however, have been tingly, numb, and more often than not, dark purple. The capillaries are just not getting any circulation.

The doctor was very blunt with her--the prognosis was not a good one. He told her she will probably lose her left leg from the mid-calf, and she will have to make some major life-style changes to keep the same thing from happening in her right leg.

The doctor discharged her on Wednesday to give her a few weeks to process the information he gave her. He told her if the pain got intolerable, to come back to the ER; she made it 48 hours.

So our gentle reader may ask, "How on earth can you plan ahead for something like that?" After finding ourselves unprepared, I can say with a little hindsight there are several things we should have done.

1) Living Wills--we have all verbally discussed our wants and desires as far as Advanced Health Care Directives, organ donation, and what to do once we pass. But none of us have it in writing. This is important! Your primary care physician should have a copy, and you should have at least three other copies distributed to family and loved ones. A copy should also be with your important papers (birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc, etc).

2) Proactive Health Care--the three of us are all bad about not going to the doctor unless we are REALLY feeling like crap--usually means that we are in unbearable pain from something before we go. SHAME ON US! For a family that is proactive in so many ways, this is one area we fail in miserably.

Our health should be pro-active as well. What I mean by this is getting yearly physicals. Women should get PAP smears and mammograms at the recommended intervals for our particular age range; men should get prostate checks at the recommended intervals for their age range; and both genders need to have colonoscopies if they are age 50 or older every 5 years, and even earlier if there is a history of colorectal cancer.

3) Family Health History: That touches on another point: family health history. Everyone should know their family health history. This includes parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles siblings and cousins. Many, many diseases are genetically linked, so do your research!

4) Wheelchair Accessibility: Not something we ever really thought much about. Homes are not automatically built with that in mind, unless they are being built for someone who is already in an wheelchair or scooter.

It just makes good sense if you think about it, though. If homes are planned in such a way that they are already wheelchair accessible or easily converted to accommodate a wheelchair, there would be a lot less work and headache down the road.

Granted, we live in a 50 year old home. This house was NOT built for wheelchair accessibility. We have narrow doorways, and our bathroom is oh-so-small. There is no way to get into the house without taking steps. Building a ramp is not going to be a big deal, but it is going to take a lot of work to re-frame doorways and make an accessible bathroom. Take a look at your home. If someone in your family suddenly found themselves wheelchair bound, would they be able to function in your home? Could they get to the tub, sink and toilet comfortably? Could they get a wheelchair through doorways? Now would be a good time to assess the situation and see what you can do NOW.

We were not prepared. Learn from our lack of foresight. Be well, everyone. Please light a candle for ES, and keep her in your thoughts.

Thanks.

~D

OK, We Have to Get Out Of Here.

2008-07-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

When they tell you you have to go, don't be foolish .....go.

Hopefully you have family or friends you can go and stay with. If you don't, then you have a couple of options: A shelter or a State park. I would go to the state park. After you read this do two things: First, Google state parks closest to your zip code. I would look for one at least 100 mile away. Call them and find out if they have camping, how much a night and if they are open all year. If not, find out if they open for disasters. Next, call your local government and find out where the shelters are.

Now, what to put in your BUG OUT BAG aka BOB?

#1 You need back packs for every member of the family. Mom and dad's should be large-- you will need to carry extra things for the family. Why back packs? Well, if you end up on foot or in a shelter you can keep you hands free and keep your stuff with you at all times. People will try to steal your stuff. At night, use them as pillows.
#2 Whistles for every member of the family--Tell the children if they don't see you even for a minute, blow as hard as they can. Have a place to meet if they hear a whistle.
#3 Clothes, but only a couple changes--Cloths take up room and add weight to a back pack..You won't die from wearing dirty cloths. Two pair of shoes and seven pairs of sock. You won't die from wet feet but it will make you very miserable. Tie the extra shoes to the bottom of the back pack or your belt.
#4. Everyone should have a pack of wetwipes and /or hand sanitizer. Tooth paste and brush. Travel shampoo and body wash. 1 towel.
#5 Everyone should have a flash light.
#6 Everyone should have Protein and or energy bars. Try to get some that are low in sugar. 2 -a- day for 7 days. Over-sugared kids will not be a good thing right now.
#7 Everyone should have a way to carry a bottle of water.
#8 Everyone should have ID on their body and in their back pack.
I'm not kidding when I say on their body..Take a permanent marker and write their name and address, your Name and cell phone number on their back. It will scrub off later.
If you still have room in the back packs go ahead and add some more clothes.

Now mom and dad's BOB needs a few extras.

#1 Certified copies of all your important papers. Birth, Marriage, Death, SS cards for everyone. Last years taxes, and insurance polices and contact numbers. One more thing. Photos of the family.
#2 Everyone's meds and a first aid kit. (get a good one, this is not the place to go cheap). List of family Doctors and their numbers.
#3 MONEY: cash in ones and fives. Do not keep it all in one place. Break it up and put it in different pockets and some in the back pack. If you have to pull some out, you don't want to look like you are carrying a lot of money.
#4 bug spray and sun screen; cards and games for the kids.

Your BOBs should be packed, put in each

persons closet and ready to go at a moments

notice.

Now what else do you need should you have to bug out?

A full tank of gas & a five gallon can in the trunk..NO power= NO gas at the pumps.
Water: one gallon per person per day. This takes up a lot of room but you don't want to be with out drinking water. You can't count on the shelters to have much the first few days.

The same with Food..Clean out your freezer. If you are without power, freezer food will go to waste. If you go the camping route then you can cook it all up and keep it on ice. If you go to the shelter give it to them to cook up for everyone, they won't have much food the first couple days. No sense letting it go to waste. Keep food that doesn't need cooking for your family-- canned spaghetti and such. Keep your water and food in the car, covered. Park away from the shelter.

Matches, candles and extra batteries for the flash lights.

I know this sounds hard but you need something to defend your family.
Even if it's just pepper spray. Katrina showed us just how bad people can get.

If you go to the state park you will need a tent and camping gear. If you have it great--Just make sure it's all together and ready to go. If you don't have it..don't spend a lot of money getting it..Cheap tarps and rope will make a tent. blankets are fine--you don't need sleeping bags. Strip the beds if you don't have extras.

Have a canvas bag with your old pots and pans and cooking utensils ready to go. Don't forget a can opener!

A couple extra tarps.

All of these should be packed and ready to go

Pack enough food for at least 7 days. (pack the stuff from the freezer in double garbage bags and then wrap it all in the blankets, they will stay frozen longer)

If you are going to a shelter, take blankets

OK so you don't have a truck or a SUV... How are you going to take all this stuff?

Get a car top carrier..they are pretty cheap. Put all food and water in the trunk..and then anything else that will fit. The rest can go on top of the car and be covered by a tarp.

Try to set yourself up so that you can BUG OUT in under 30 minutes.

Well I hope none of us ever need to use these things, but I feel much better having them ready.

ES

HURRICANE SEASON

2008-07-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yup it's that time of year. I don't want to get all doom and gloom on ya but it's best to be prepared.

If you think you are too far away to be effected, you could be wrong. When I lived in the Ohio Valley, a hurricane that hit North Carolina cause major flooding along the Ohio River and in my basement.

Ivan and Katrina spawned tornado's, minor flooding and power outages in west central Alabama and east central Mississippi. That's pretty far away from the coast.

For those of you living in the north..Think Winter.. I lived in the North for 35 years..Living out in the country I was snowed in with out power a number of times.

This is a list of things you should have on hand no matter WHAT happens.
We will go from big to little.

Generator..cost: $300.00 to ??..

Gas..

something to cook on: gas grill, charcoal grill, fire pit in yard. (fuel)

Water, drinking

Food.. make sure to have comfort food also..reduces stress

Water, cleaning and flushing.

Oil lamps, wicks, 100-hour candles, flash lights. (extra batteries)

Games..it will get boring.

# 1 A generator- If you're like us and have a freezer full of meat, you don't want to lose it. We bought ours at Walmart for about $300.00, and it was well worth the money. We are planning on getting another one this year as a back up. Now if your power goes out , don't run and start the generator. Keep the frig and freezer closed and it will be OK for about 3 hours. If the power hasn't come back on then start up the gen. and plug in the frig and freezer..(that will make the power come back on..lol)

#2 Gas for 7 days of use..I know..big chunk of money here. We used a gallon a day by turning off the gen every 6 hours for 2 hours.

# 3 I no longer have a gas grill..(it kicked the bucket). A new one is on the wish list. I did buy cast iron burners(cheap camping store)..you hook them to a propane tank and you have two burners just like a gas stove.. I also can cook anything on an open fire. This is not as easy as it sounds. It's real work. Plus you need to stock pile wood.

#4 Water. you need to have a gallon per person per day for drinking and cooking. Now this can take up a lot of space..You don't want to be caught short of water. If the power is out, your water pumping station will be down also, unless they have a back up gen and even it they do, it will have very little pressure and should be saved for hospitals and such.

#5 Food..duh..try to have lots of food around that doesnt require cooking.

#6 Water for cleaning and flushing. At the start of the storm fill the bath tub and any thing you can spare that holds water. Don't flush for just peeing--keep the lid down. Also keep a couple big boxes of diaper wipes..and hand sanitizer, they are great for keeping the kids semi-clean.

#7 You get the idea..night time will seem darker than ever.....boo

#8 Now mom might not get bored but you can bet the kids will-- that's scarier than the boogie man.

Now this is just a small list of things I think are a must..you know your family and their needs, feel free to expand.

Tonight I will write about what you need if you have to BUG OUT>

Share A Recipe

2008-07-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is the best darn zucchini bread recipe I've ever come across. I love Paula Dean, she is my kind of cook.

I know us gals who have a garden are over run with zucchini right now..Once they start they just keep coming. While the extras do make great feed for the critters, I like to use as much of them as I can. We even pickle them the way you do cucumbers...tasty.... If you have a good recipe for zucs..come on share it.

Zucchini Bread
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show:
Paula's Home Cooking
Episode:
Weekend House Guest

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes

The bread is very moist and will freeze well. You can also replace any grated fruit for the zucchini..

I tweak the recipe a bit because we like very spicy bread. I doubled the cinnamon, added 2 teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/4 cup of molasses. yummy.....

ES

Went shopping today.

2008-07-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

I know..am I nutz? too many people, too many yelling kids, too few check out people..It has to be done.

I shop the day before any holiday for meat. I rearrange my freezer and check every store ad I can find before I leave the house. Summer really is the best time of the year to get good pricing on things like ground chuck , pork ribs, Boston Butts, hot dogs and chicken. Grilling holidays mean the hard to find briskets are on sale also.

I arrange my shopping budget to have the extra money when the good sales happen. The good sales happen right before a holiday..What ever meat goes with the holiday is the meat you need to stock up with.

When I get home I put half the meat in the freezer and the other half goes to the fridge to get canned over the next few days. I will smoke the ribs and then can them..It's a great treat mid November to open a jar of BBQ boned ribs. Brown the ground chuck..can it. Smoke a Boston butt, pull the meat.. can it. You get the picture. The savings are good and the reward of wonderfully flavorful meals can't be beat.....es

Answer to questions;

You can Can any meat as long as you use a pressure canner. I can at least half of my meats to save on freezer space. Plus you can make fast and easy meals with canned meat. I can put a meal on the table in 20 minutes that taste like it cooked all day. I even can Smoked Ham. When the kids were little I would can Peaches or Apples with some raisins and ham chunks together. It was always a great bedtime snack for them.

good link for canning meat..simple instructions.

http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/foods/he188w.htm

Drying fruits and veggies
If you live in a hot climate you can dry fruit & veggies outside in the sun on any surface, just keep a fan blowing on them to keep the flies off of them and to help lift the moister off . You can also use a dehydrator. Dehydrators can be found online from pretty cheap to very expensive..your pocket book your call..lol

Herbs need to be tied together and hung upside down in a cool dry place. After they are dry you can put them in jars or freeze them to make them last longer. The same with the fruit & veggies.

Link for tips on dried veggies and fruit.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/61254/30_tips_and_facts_about_dehydrating.html?cat=22

WE Have Babies

2008-06-25T07:21:00.001-07:00

We are all beside ourselves with happiness. We have babies. We are Farmers. 3 city folk who wanted the country life. We can feed ourselves, our family and our neighbors if need be.

Ok so it's only chicken..it's meat..it's eggs. It's a start. This time next year we should have goat meat and milk. Come spring we plan on getting a piglet. Add that to rabbit meat and our garden means our 1 little acre can feed us and our critters.

Almost..the garden isn't doing so well again this year..Another drought after a very wet spring. But hey we will do ok..my pantry is stocked to the rafters. The chickens and the goats can pretty much feed themselves free range in the neighbors lot next door if they would need to. We already made a deal with her for eggs. So I feel my bases are covered.

Can't ruin my day.. I have the sound of chirping in my ears.

Back to work ...sorta

2008-06-24T15:07:00.000-07:00

It's all Jada's fault. Too many links for me to get lost in..lol. I did more reading than working today.

Ok it's hot here in Alabama right now and canning is not on the top of my list of things I want to do, but you have to can when things come ripe or you can get them very cheap. Right now it's raw peanuts.

If you've never had boiled peanut, you've never been south, really been south. Boiled Peanuts are food group un to themselves down here. I love them. I eat them a couple times a month. I'd eat them more often but I do have to watch my salt intakes..bummer.

Why am I canning peanuts on a hot June day and why am I telling you about it..because I saved about 20 bucks or more, when you add the gas it takes to get to the store where they sell them. I figured out I spend about 50 t0 60 dollars a year on them. (Dee eats them too).

I canned about 6 months worth for us and have enough to put in the freezer for a party we are planning later this year..cost 10.00. next payday I will buy enough to can another 6 months worth, for a total savings of 40.00...That's a tank of gas.

Just in case you've been living in a cave. The price of everything is going to go through the roof. Right now I'm not in a place to generate the extra income that we will need to live at the same comfort level that we are used to, so I must find ways to save money. Canning is a good way to save money. Growing your own veggies and canning them can save you big bucks. Shopping farmers markets at the end of the day can get you big savings. They don't want to take anything home. I've gotten bushels of veggies for 5.00 each

Be careful shopping farmer's markets. Some not so nice people pose as farmers and overprice free range, cage free eggs and organic veggies and they aren't either one.

If you are just starting out learning to can don't get sucked into buying all new canning jars. Yard sales, estate sales are the best place to get them cheap. You need to buy the lids and rings new but everything else can be bought used.

If you are reading this then you have the Internet. You have everything you need to know about canning at your fingertips. I learn from books.

You can do it.......ES

The Rooster Who Won't Go Away...

2008-06-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, "Groundhog Day" on the Distelfink Farm blog cracked me up. Real farmers don't dally with problems , they just fix them. Well, some of us are not as good at fixing some problems.

Problem: Goose Liver, The Rooster Who Won't Go Away. The problem started out because he was too pretty. I didn't want him to end up in a stew pot, but I didn't want him breeding our hens because I want my Rhode Island Red breeding them . Well, the hens love all that flash, and my RIR roo can't get near them. Poor fellow breeds the ducks!(they don't much care for him, either).

I tried to sell him; I tried to give him away; I've run adds in the locals shopper. No one wants this Rooster except my hens. ( When I was in San Diego someone tried to buy him. Bud and Dee spent two days trying to catch him..no luck).

The second problem with this rooster is that he got mean. At first, he was just attacking Dee, which is bad, but she seldom goes into the compound so it wasn't that big of a problem. He attacked Bud once and Bud gave him a flying lesson. End of Bud's problem.

Then one day he turned on me. I beat him off with a stick and at first, that seemed to work for awhile. About a week before I went on vacation, Goose spent the whole day crowing, every few minutes for hours. It was nerve wracking. I needed to get some work done in the animal compound, and between him crowing and attacking me five times I had enough.

Now I'm considered by my peers as a good shot (with a shotgun). I hunt and never fail to bring down my prey with one shot. I don't own a shotgun right now (sold it when I moved south). I do own a hand gun-- 9mm.

Goose was going down.

I went in the house, got the gun, went back out to the compound and just stood still until Goose came over close to me, eyeing me up for the attack.

When he got about three feet from me, I aimed for the middle of his back, knowing that the shot would take out his heart and lungs. I wasn't planning on eating him, and his head is too small for me to try to hit..I know I'm not so good with a hand gun.

Just a little closer..Bam! Up in the air he goes, feather flying every which way, he lands on the ground with a thud....YOOHOO you little prick....Then he gets up a runs away. I shot right through his feathers, never even grazed his skin.

I think the problem started when I named him Gooseliver. Bud said, " We don't eat gooseliver." I said, "Exactly why the name, he's not meant to be eaten."

We still have him. I can't kill him..(that whole Fate thingy is going now)... and I still can't give him away--I have to tell people he's mean, so no one wants him.

I hope roosters don't live long...

The ramblings of a Grateful Sisterwife

2008-06-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is just a couple minutes of my vacation visiting my daughter and grand daughters in San Diego. It was a wonderful trip. It was a trip that I couldn't have taken if not for the fact that I'm married to Bud and so is Dee.

Bud worked his butt off taking care of the animals while I was gone. It could have overwhelmed him if Dee had not of been there to lend a hand. Dee holds a full-time hard job.The house, dinner and shopping could have overwhelmed Dee, if Bud had not been here to support her.The life we have chosen is not for the faint of heart, it's work. When everything is going well its still work, but has a satisfaction level that can't be compared.

Things haven't gone well the past year. I've been sick, very sick, with until a month ago an unknown illness; most days I was just about useless. Not only did Bud and Dee have to take care of everything around the house, they took care of me. I'm NOT a good sick person, add that to the fact that the Doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong with me... made life around me more than crappy. Pain, fatigue, frustration and depression for over 9 months just about broke us all at one time or another. We think we can see the end of the tunnel. I’m slowly getting better and the trip to San Diego did wonders for my depression.

(Note to my fellow country girls)
I have Lymes disease 3 rd stage. In all fairness to my Doctor there was no reason for her to look for it because here in Alabama, Lymes isn’t an issue yet. I figured it out from my symptoms. I got it 4 years ago in Ohio. I’m a hunter and I would process deer for other hunters. 4 years ago in January I got what I thought was the flu except it lasted about a month. I have not been exposed to deer or been sick since then. If Lymes is caught in the first and second stage it’s easily cured. The 3rd and 4th stages can leave you with life time pain and fatigue. If you live in an area that has reported cases of Lymes make sure to have everyone check everyone else for ticks during tick season.(it can be fun) Even if you don’t mess with deer your dogs and cats can bring them into the house.

Back to my gratitude. I’m a very lucky woman to have two such loving wonderful people in my life. This home, our goals require all of us working together. It needs all of our best efforts. I could give very little help the past few months and Bud and Deb had to go over and above to keep things running. They did it with smiles.
Es.

Shoestring Budget

2008-06-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

Like so many other people, we are on a very tight budget. We hunt down sales for items we need, and combine errands into one trip to maximize the gas we use.

Every little bit helps. Clipping coupons. Yard sales and resale shops. End of season discounts. Buying in bulk.

One of our favorite ways to aquire something we may need is Freecycle. Freecycle is such a great concept. If you need something, you list it on the site as a "wanted" item. If you have something you want to save from the landfill, but are no longer using, you list the item as an "offered" item. And it is FREE! It is recycling at its best. We access three different Freecycle sites, one which we started specifically for our county. Just go to http://www.freecycle.org/ to find a group in your area.

Another great find was the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Check out this link and see if you have one in your area: http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx

We have found many a needed item for deep discounts--brand new screen doors for $6; an above stove microwave/hood for $20; 2 60inch cabinets that we put back-to-back to make an island in our kitchen, $10 each. You never know what you will find here!

We already have a link on our blog to http://www.paperbackswap.com/ They also swap DVD's and CD's. Another similar site is http://www.titletrader.com/ We discovered this site shortly after we started using paperbackswap, and hubby likes this one more. The concept is, you advertise your books, movies, or CDs on the site. If someone wants it, you send it to them at your expense. You receive points for each item you ship. You then use your points to request an item you want, and they ship it to you at their expense. It ends up being a whole lot cheaper than buying the items new, and it is recycling at its best: use it, enjoy it, then pass it on!

I am a nut for online freebies. There are tons and tons of freebie sites out there, just Google "freebies" and have at it. We have got some great stuff online for free. What's nice is you can always send for samples of stuff you want to try first before actually spending money on it. We have found new cereals we like, new detergents, new shampoos, etc, etc, etc. At one point, the poor mailman was delivering several mailcarrier boxes full of samples. The cool thing is, we stockpile and then share when someone is in need. We don't have little kids, but we get free samples of diaper, formula, baby food, baby wipes, diaper rash ointment--you name it. Then if we have a friend in need, we are able to help out with a box of goodies.

Yup, we are a frugal family. You an call us cheap if you want--we won't be insulted. And hey, if anyone out there has some other great free/low cost ideas, let us know! Anyway we can pinch a penny.....

As per reader request: IT'S CANNING TIME

2008-05-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

Do you see the size of the white chicken? She's the same age as the two next to her.
This chic is 7 weeks old at the time of the picture and ready for the dinner table or canning. The breed of chicken is Cornish Rock. They are a crossbreed produced to grow fast and large.
Our husband calls them Raptors because they are aggressive eaters. It's kind of scary when you have 35 of them come running to you at feeding time.
Between 7 and 12 weeks they are called fryers, because their meat is tender enough to go from the coop to the frying pan. After that they get tougher. Which is where canning comes in.

Butchering meat is a fact of life that if you live as we do, you must come to terms with. I hate it but I do it. The most I can kill at one time seems to be five a week. I managed to get 15 in the freezer while they were still fryers. 10 I canned, 5 I plan to sell to a friend and 5 I plan on breeding with my Road Island Red Rooster just to see what we might come up with.

Since I'm writing this for a reader who is raising chickens I'll start with the butchering. I'm not from the school of chop their head of and watch them run around until they drop..too much blood for me..yuck
When I'm ready to cull I take my chair to the middle of the coop sit down and sprinkle feed all around me, the chickens come and peck at the feed which makes it easy for me to just reach down and grab a chicken by the throat, I then break it's neck. Just turn it's head until you hear it snap.(very easy)then I lay the chicken on the ground and step on it's neck until it stops moving.About 2 to 3 minutes. After I culled all the chickens I want I hang them by their feet from the cloths line(tie feet together). Then using a very sharp knife I cut off their heads and let the blood drain out of them for about 30 minutes. This is the most bloodless way of doing it I've found.

Next I skin them..We don't eat the skin and I hate to pluck. If you cut the wing off right at the elbow it makes it much easier to skin. After skinning and gutting them take them in the house and wash them really really well.
Now depending on what you want to use the chicken for you will either throw them in a big pot and cook them or you will debone them and cold pack them into jars to pressure can.

If you want a firmer chicken, say for chicken salad you will want to debone the chicken and pack them raw into sterilized jars. Cook the bones with onion skin and all carrots and celery. Use this stock to fill the jars of raw chicken up to but not into the neck of the jar. Put lids and rings on and pressure can for 20 minutes at 15lbs of pressure. Most recipes say 40 min. to an hour but this is overkill and the chicken will turn out mushy. In my 30 plus years of canning I've never made anyone sick.

If you don't care how firm you chicken is then cook the chicken first with the same type of veggies until it's just ready to fall off the bone. Cool, pick off the bone, pack into jars, use stock to fill to just under the neck of jars put lids and rings on and pressure can for 15mins. at 15 lbs pressure.

Now what do you do with all those bones and veggies? If you have extra jars then pack the jars with the bones, veggies, little scrapes of meat and stock then pressure can the same as above..the bones will turn to mush. If you don't have the jars just pressure cook everything for 15 mins.then cool and freeze it. The dogs, cats or critters will love the extra protein from time to time. You're such a good mommy..lol.. Waste Not Want Not

Survivalists on the increase

2008-05-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

For some reason, pegging yourself a survivalist is a negative thing. People think you are a nut case or a doomsdayer waiting for the sky to fall.

For most survivalists, it is a matter of being as self-sufficient as possible, and being prepared for hard times. With gas prices rising through the roof, it tends to snowball. The price of EVERYTHING goes up--except our paychecks.

As ES said, we are not doomsdayers or TEOTWAWKI--we are just a family who wants to be prepared. I don't think it is a bad thing to know how to grow your own food, provide your own energy, make your own soap, defend you property...when did it become a BAD thing to be independent and not depend on the government to take care of you?

I just read an article on Yahoo! news about the increase of survivalists. No matter what the reasoning, learning to be a survivor is not a bad thing.

http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080524/ap_on_re_us/environmental_survivalists.html

Our family still has a long way to go before we are completely self-sufficient. But we are learning. ES and I consider ourselves the NEW pioneer women. We are learning as much as we can about self-reliance. In a world with laptops with WI-FI capabilities, cell phones that can take picture, connect to the internet, play music, and oh, yeah, make phone calls, we have become a gadget-obsessed world. Kids don't have to play outside anymore, because they have Wii hooked to their HDTV. No one needs to go to the library and crack a book, because they can sit at home on the computer and surf the web.

Do I sound cynical? Yeah, I am cynical. Technology is great--I am not slamming technology one bit. Heck, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't mention that I am sitting here spouting on a blog that anyone in the world with internet access can read. It is just that technology has made a lot of us lazy. I am guilty. But I am trying to change that....

I think the people who slam survivalists are the ones who have never used a fishing pole, and wouldn't have clue how to use it; they have never planted a garden and experienced the satisfaction of eating that first ripe tomato; they have never eaten meat that wasn't bought at a grocery store or restaurant; they don't know cpr or first aid, because that's what EMT's are for....

I'm not ashamed to be called a survivalist. I am actually proud of myself and my family for taking the steps to be more self-reliant and prepared for any disaster that may come our way. And I admire those who are making the choice to do the same.

Just an aside: We subscribe to Backwoods Home Magazine. There is soooooo much info that can be gleaned from these issues! You can visit their website, http://www.backwoodshome.com/ for more info.

~D

And then there were goats....

2008-05-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Part of our philosophy is to be as self-sufficient as possible. One way is to be able to provide our own sources of food.

The garden is a given--we grow a large garden to not only sustain us, but out critters as well. We have one garden that is literally just for the animals. The rest we can, freeze, dehydrate, and of course, eat fresh right out of the garden.

The animals were the next step in spending less at the grocery store (and hence, burning less fuel on trips to the store). We started with chickens and ducks. The ducks started laying mid-February, and the chickens started laying shortly afterward. Between the ducks and chickens, we have been getting between two and four dozen eggs a day--GREAT investment.

Our chickens are free-range, and we supplement their diet with laying mash and scratch. We are selling our surplus eggs at a VERY reasonable price, so we have some faithful customers. And we even have started a recycling program with our customers--they get 10 cents off for every egg carton they bring back. The cartons themselves are made from 100% post consumer recycled material, and they are undyed, and bio-degradable. If one of the cartons becomes too worn or becomes contaminated with egg, we use the carton to start plants in. Once the plants are strong enough to be transplanted, they are transplanted, carton and all, into the garden.

We invested in our second brood of chickens once the first brood were laying. The second brood were mostly Cornish X Rocks, which we bought for the meat. They grow very fast and are very meaty birds. We have canned some, froze some, smoked some, and sold some. We have kept the rest for laying just to see what we get egg-wise. If they are not producers, the rest will find their way into the stew pot.

The second critter investment was rabbits, which you can read about in one of our previous posts. We have sold and given away a lot of our rabbits, as well as canned and froze some of the meat ourselves. What we have sold have mostly been bunnies for pets. There is a lot of 4-H and FFA in this area, so many families are looking for projects for their kids. We have only sold a handful for meat. I am guessing because we are such a rural area, those who eat rabbit hunt their own. Not sure...just a hunch. Most of the older folk in this area grew up on rabbit, squirrel, deer....you name it, they ate it. I have noticed it is the older folks in the area who are stopping regularly. They say it takes them back to when they were kids and had critters. EVERYONE had critters--if nothing else, they had a handful of chickens in the yard.

Our newest addition to the "farm" is goats. We started with a female LaMancha. She has gotten so much attention from the neighbors! Everyone stops by to see the "earless" goat. She really isn't earless--she has tiny little ear folds around her ears, and she hears quite well--no sneaking up on her!

Our purpose for adding goats was two-fold: for milk (NOTHING better than goat cheese!) and to sell the kids. Since goats are natural grazers, they are built-in lawn mowers as well. We can just move her post, and she clears a perfect circle of goat-mown grass. And goat manure is one of the best fertilizers as well. Between the rabbits, chickens and goats, we are manure rich! Bud christened our first goat J-Lo. He had no idea who J-Lo was, but liked the name. (ES and I both laughed at that one--is there anyone on the planet who doesn't know who J-Lo is?)

We just added our billygoat for a steal of a deal: $25! He is a gorgeous Nubian that Bud named Berle--as in Berle Ives. He is still young (18 months old) and a pistol, but J-Lo is smitten with him already. We figure she will come into estrus soon, so we will have a kid by spring. Can't wait to see what they look like.

Gleaned a lot of great info off of the internet about raising goats. We had goats when I was a kid, but that was a LONG time ago, so I figured I had better educate myself. Most people say that billy goats are stinky and aggressive, so it is better to just find a billy to breed with your females. That is probably right on the money, but we are so rural, it is not a viable solution for us. So....we have a set.

Here a few of the sites I visited:

http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/dairy/g03990.htm

http://www.goats4h.com/GoatsHome.html (scroll to the bottom of this site--lots of good info links at the bottom of the page)

~D

..."These are a few of my favorite things...."

2008-02-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

I know we have a links section at the bottom of the page, but I wanted to add some sites I happen to think are very useful tools for those of you who are interested.

I studied Nutritional and Food Science at Michigan State University. I love food. I really, really love food. But you can't take it for granted. Dave's wiki is a good source for basic, easy to understand information about storing canned goods, shelf-life, etc.

http://aiki.pbwiki.com/Canned+Food+Storage+Tips

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We have talked about having a variety of food types available. Our family also has MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) on hand. They are perfect for our grab and go bags, and when stored correctly, they have a fairly long shelf life. Below is some info on MRE's. I lost the original link, but I had the info saved in a folder.

Originally designed for the U.S. government, these compact pouches contain delicious ready to eat foods. MRE's have been used since the 1970's in the U.S. Space Program, Military, Forest Service and FEMA. In more recent years, many foreign governments have started using these versatile foods.

A main concern in the development and testing of rations for the U.S. government has always been shelf life. All MRE foods are packaged in triple-layer plastic/aluminum pouches that have better storage qualities than heavy cans, with no need for a can opener. The food in these pouches is precooked and sealed at a high temperature so that bacteria is neutralized and the food will be shelf stable even when stored at room temperature. Some of the best information available on MRE shelf life is the storage life chart (see below) compiled by the U.S. Army's Natick Research Laboratories. This chart provides a good overview and summary of the findings gathered from their testing of MRE products.

Storage Temperature(°F) Months of Storage
120................................1
110°...............................5
100°...............................22
90°................................55
80.................................76
70°................................100
60°................................130

Note: Below 60° - not enough data yet collected, however, projections are the 130 month storage life will be extended.

Note: Time and temperature have a cumulative effect. For example, storage at 100° for 11 months then removed to storage at 70° would lose one-half of the 70° storage life. Also avoid fluctuating temperatures, in and out of freezing levels. Due to the cumulative effect of time and temperature, a regular rotation of MRE's within 5 to 7 years is recommended.

More About MRE Shelf Life
The shelf life ratings shown in the chart on the front of this paper were determined by taste panels -panels of "average" people, mostly office personnel - at the Natick lab. Their opinions were combined to determine when a particular component, or in this case the entire MRE ration, was no longer acceptable.

The shelf life determinations were made solely on the basis of taste, as it was discovered that acceptable nutritional content and basic product safety would extend way beyond the point where taste degradation would occur. This means the MRE's would be safe and give a high degree of food value long after the timing suggested in the chart.

MRE pouches have been tested and redesigned where necessary according to standards much stricter than for commercial food. They must be able to stand up to abuse tests such as obstacle course traversal in field clothing pockets; storage outdoors anywhere in the world; shipping under extremely rough circumstances (such as by truck over rocky terrain); 100% survival of parachute drops; 75% survival from free failure drops; severe repetitive vibration (1 hour a t G vibration); 7,920 individual pouch drops from 20 inches; and individual pouches being subject to a static load of 200 pounds for three minutes.

Freezing an MRE retort pouch does not destroy the food inside, but repeated freezing increases the chance that the stretching and stressing of the pouch will cause a break on a layer of the laminated pouch. These pouches are made to withstand 1,000 flexes, but repetitive freezing does increase the failure rate by a small fraction of a percent. Also if MRE food is frozen, then thawed out, it must be used the same as if you had thawed commercial food from your own freezer at home.

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Our family utilizes a large supply of dehydrated/freeze-dried foods. The main attraction to us is the shelf-life. I gleaned this info from another site long ago. Don't remember what site I got it from, but again, very practical information.

Dehydrated Food Shelf Life
There are many factors that can affect the storable life of your dry and dehydrated bulk food. Please take the time to read this information page if you are not aware of how foods are packed and how they should be stored.

Dehydration techniques have come a long way in recent years. Old technology left as much as 30% moisture in the dehydrated products. These poorly dehydrated foods didn't store very well. Recent advancements in technology have made significant improvements, with moisture levels now at 2% or 3%. Gone are the pliable dehydrated foods. Now they break with a crisp "snap" when bent.
With moisture levels reduced to 2%-3%, storage life has been increased several years. Cans of 8 year old dehydrated carrots and onions taste as good as freshly dehydrated carrots and onions. These had previously been stored in a warm garage for at least 3 years. 15 year old potato flakes were tested with positive and impressive results.

Don't expect dehydrated vegetables to taste exactly like their fresh or canned counterparts. Generally speaking, dehydrated foods won't have quite as strong a flavor as fresh foods. Almost in every case, however, after adding a little butter and salt and pepper, prepared, dehydrated food is every bit as tasty and sometimes even better tasting than canned vegetables.

Non-vegetable foods (grains, spagehetti, etc.) taste every bit as good as what you've come to expect. In fact, bread mixes, muffins mixes, pancake mixes are excellent, some of the best tasting products available.

Storage Temperature

It is important to keep in mind that not only do colder temperatures affect shelf life of food products, temperature fluctuations affect shelf life too. Keeping your food stored at a constant temperature will help you acheive the maximum shelf life. As you can see from the above chart, it is not that hard to obtain 10+ years on your food storage. Finding a cool, dry location, such as a basement or root cellar is perhaps your best insurance on maximizing the shelf life on your stored foods.

Storage Life & Temperature

Temperature and temperature changes have the most to do with the shelf life of stored food then any other factor. The USDA states, "Each 5.6 C. (10.08F) drop in temperature doubles the storage life of the seeds." Experience has shown that this applies to foods too.
Temperature Years
37.6.........40
48.4.........30
59.2.........20
70.0.........10
80.8..........5
91.6........2.5
102.4......1.25

Foods that will be prepared and consumed rapidly don't need any special storage requirements. Such foods can be stored at room temperatures with no appreciatable loss of quality or nutrition. The above chart demonstrates that bulk food can be stored in warm areas for several years. We don't recommend this for businesses and individuals that are plan to store food for long lengths of time.

Moisture Content

Many products, such as dry beans, grains, and flours contain an average amount of 10% moisture. Although it is not necessary (and very difficult) to remove all moisture from dry food, it is important that any food stored be stored as dry as possible. Excess moisture can ruin your food stored.

Oxygen Content

Oxygen can be removed from the food storage container, resulting in the food lasting much longer then normal. Oxygen, naturally found in air will oxidize many food compounds. There are a couple of techniques used to remove oxygen from food containers:
Displacing the oxygen with nitrogen: Air is purged out by inserting a nitrogen wand into the bucket. Nitrogen is the most inert gas known.
Absorb the oxygen: Oxygen absorber packet absorb the oxygen. Air contains about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, leaving about 1% for the other gasses. The oxygen is absorbed, leaving about 99% pure nitrogen in a partial vacuum.

An air tight seal on the food storage container is a must.

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BYU has done a study on the shelf life of dehydrated food and the nutritional values. It is a good read. Below is the link.

http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/2005/sharing_stations/pdf/52a.pdf

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This is enough to get you started with your food storage plan. Hope you find it helpful.

~D

New critter coop

2008-01-16T08:50:00.000-08:00

Well the chickens and ducks have outgrown their first shelter so we built them a new one. We have found a good supply of pallets so of course I put them to use. We also came across cases(60 to a case) of restaurant checkcard presenters. We've sold some on ebay but we still have alot, so they became shingles for the side of the shelter.. Someday I will make a silk purse out of a sows ear..lol

big wind

2007-12-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

Lots of info about possible pandemic

2007-12-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.newfluwiki2.com/frontPage.do

good info on what to do if you don't or can't get a Doctor.

http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download_wtnd.php

Been a bit busy

2007-12-18T20:35:00.000-08:00

The holidays can be a bit busy even for those of use who don't really get into it.Piecake and critters have been keeping me pretty busy. The chicks and duck are getting big we should be seeing eggs about Feb.

LOVE THIS SITE

2007-12-11T16:40:00.001-08:00

smoker link again

2007-12-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

testing the smoker.. I smoked lot of small stuff with great resulted..thought I give it a real workout.

http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/bamaboystuff/smoker/?action=view&current=f8e14ea9.pbw

Well the smoker worked great.. but the dowels only lasted about 6 hours. The wood softened up from the heat and the weight of the turkey made it sag.

Then I took it out and finished cooking it in my roaster..It tasted great

I wonder where I can get some metal dowels?

here is the link for the smoker

http://cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html

PieCake, anyone?

2007-11-20T21:10:00.000-08:00

ES and I have been baking PieCakes this evening--14 in all. I think I can make them in my sleep at this point. They are just so darn good, ES decided I should sell them at work to fund my trip to Michigan in December.

I was pleased with the number I sold. And ES, ever the marketer, made labels that gave our home phone number for ordering additional Piecakes. Since most of the people who ordered the PieCakes are taking them to family gatherings, I am hoping to drum up some more business for the BamaGals label. Gotta start somewhere, right?

In 45 minutes, it will be midnight--way past this ole gal's bedtime. It will also be the 21st of November, which just so happens to be ES's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEETIE!

I got a PieCake with your name on it ;-)

Love you!
~D

FOR BUD

2007-11-12T16:55:00.000-08:00

This handsome guy is our hubby Bud. He's the back bone for all of my brainstorms. MOTU love him he's always willing to try to help me with any new idea I come up with.

Since this blog is about us gals and what we're up to I decided to make a MYSPACE for him.

Take a look and join him on MYSPACE. click where it says "FOR BUD" above to go to his blog.

http://www.myspace.com/survivallodgehenhouse

RECYCLE

2007-11-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

As we said in our intro, we recycle everything that we can. Our home gets a little cluttered at times because we keep just about everything. We have a 6 bedroom home, and three of them are storage. Deciding that we needed real storage space, we put up a carport this summer with the idea of enclosing it for a shed/workshop. It went up fine, but then we needed a floor.. Buds idea was pallets..hey, works for me. At first we couldn't get any pallets because the stores who use them now get charged $16.00 a piece for the ones they don't return..bummer. Then we hit paydirt. Our local Dollar General revamped the whole store. The site of the big, big dumpster in their parking lot gave me goose bumps.. a dumpster diver's dream.

Pallets and more . We got about $300.00 worth of pallets and about $250.00 in shelving at today's prices. Two truck loads of stuff..I was down right giddy. We now have a floor in the shed, shelves all over the house and I even built a chicken coop out of the left over pallets.

I'm really proud of the coop. It took Bud and I the better part of the day to get it and the new pen up, but it's warm, dry and not too shabby looking..the best part is, it only cost us $9.00 to build.

One bale of straw and two blue tarps--everything else we had around the house. It will be the critter's home until we get the larger coop done; then we'll use it for the endangered chickens we plan to get come spring.

I hope the hatchery sends us a new catalog soon, as Bud has our's about worn out.

check out our coop.

HOW WE DID IT http://pdhomes.net/collections/mosback/coop.html

SLIDESHOW

Getting ready for WINTER.. not yet.

2007-10-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

This time of year I'm pretty busy getting the last bit of outside work done, while the weather is still nice. For me, fall is the nicest time of the year--it's just cool enough and just warm enough to work outside. Ok, here is where I got to when I heard the critters outside calling for breakfast.

My goodness what a wonderful Fall day it is starting out to be! Just cool enough that the sun feels great on your back. The chicks and ducks and rabbits and dogs are all lolling(is that a word?) around in the sun. Yes my head is getting ready for winter. That's who I am, but I'm also trying to become the kind of person who stops and smell the roses.

I almost let the morning get by me. I've got a list of things that need done in my head at all times.

This morning's list.

Feed the critters
Scrub 2 rugs.
Bake Bud's Birthday cake.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY
Clean the kitchen
Mop floors
Work on chicken coop

Now most of the time I have more things on the list than I have time for. I used to like that..It gave me the motivation the next day to get stuff done. I need motivation. In my heart of hearts I wanna grow up to be lazy..My sister Cat and I take after my father's side of the family; all we've ever known is hard work. I can't remember as a kid ever seeing my Father just sitting around doing nothing, He had a job to go to until he was 70. I've always been proud of my father and wanted him to be proud of me, so I've kept my lazy streak in check to the point of extremes at times.

Not today..I baked Bud's cake while writing this(can't move his Birthday to tomorrow), so I think I'll go loll around in the sun with the critters..

Chickens and Rabbits and Ducks--OH MY!

2007-10-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

In a recent conversation, ES called our husband a farmer; the look on his face was priceless. He proclaimed that he was NOT a farmer, end of discussion.

We have two rabbits that Bud and ES aquired on their way back from a weekend trip to Florida. Mind you, they left with two suitcases, and came back with a dog, two rabbits, fruit, and fruit trees. Not to mention bags of stuff ES's sister sent back with them....

ES has been wanting to raise rabbits, and when they saw the sign for rabbits, they had to stop. The fella that they bought the rabbits from said that both the male and female were proven breeders. As it turns out, the one he said was a male was actually a female, and the supposed female was a male. ES, Bud and I built a hutch out of scrap materials we had around the house: the frame to an old dresser, some wood from a piano my husband had dis-assembled, and wire fencing. It isn't the prettiest hutch, but it is functional.

Bud had to immediately treat both of them for ear mites--they were pretty darned infested. They weren't happy campers, but the mites cleared up quickly.

Shortly after the arrival of the rabbits, ES looked up her favorite hatchery Murry McMurray (http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/). She ordered 25 chicks and 10 ducklings. the plan was to have them inside for 4-6 weeks, then transfer them outside. They were due to arrive one week apart.

The post office called when they arrived and asked if we wanted to come pick them up. I jumped in the car and drove to the post office. It didn't take me long to figure out why they wanted us to come and get them! 25 chicks can make one heck of a lot of noise. We actually got 27 chicks, by the way. One of the little fellas didn't make it, but that isn't uncommon. They always throw in a few extras for that reason.

It took me about 20 minutes to determine that there was no way I was going to keep my sanity for 4-6 weeks listening to the peepers. ES saw the look on my face and knew I was about to crack. We scrambled (or rather, ES scrambled) to get a temporary enclosure made for them OUTSIDE. We have a large dog transport crate, and with a little ingenuity, she made a cozy little abode for them. My sanity remained intact.

ES and I then tackled building a pen for them. Again, not pretty, but functional. And the chicks seemed to be happy little campers. We have yellow chicks, brown chicks, red chicks, and black chicks. We have speckled chicks, spotted chicks, and odd chicks. Chicks, chicks, chicks!

The ducklings were soon to follow. We put them in the same enclosure as the chickens. They seem to get along just fine. We put a pan of water in for the ducklings, thinking they would like to jump in and get wet. That was an "oops"--we later read that incubator-raised duckling should not have access to water until they are at least two months old, as they do not get the mother's natural protective oils on their down. Without the oil on their down, they could get chilled. Guess we will know better for the next time....

The little guys are about 4 weeks old now, but they aren't so little anymore. They are looking more like little chickens than chicks, and the ducklings are already starting to quack.

Bud has been feeding the chicks and ducks, and watering the rabbits. He was flipping through the Murray McMurray catalog, checking out the various endangered breeds. We have decided to get a few pairs of the endagered breeds next spring. Hubby just sighed and conceeded that maybe, just maybe, he was a farmer after all....

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

2007-10-23T02:24:00.000-07:00

WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER..

I really dislike DO IT YOURSELF plumbers who don't know what they are doing, myself included. Now most of the time I know how to do the simple plumbing around the house. I 've put all new plumbing in a couple of homes...What I really hate is trying to fix some DIY screw up.

We just spent a really crappy week with little to no water. Dee calls me a Jill of all trades; well I don't feel very Jilly right now.

Everything I touched turned to crap. I really really hope someday the guy who put the plumbing in this house reads this blog.. BUDDY, YOU ARE AN IDIOT. I don't know where he got his plumbing supplies, but they don't match supplies from this area..

All I wanted to do was add a compression valve to a water line for my refrigerator water line. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I spent 4 days on my back on the floor trying to get it done. At one point my hair was glued to the floor...

You know they say that as we get older we have to give up things from our youth to continue to grow and bloom. Cool I should get a few new blooms, cause I give up plumbing..

We planted apple trees

2007-10-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Wow it was hard work. Dee did most of the digging. I did most of the ground soaking.. We had a drought this summer and even though we've had some rain the last couple of weeks, the ground was hard as a rock. Still we managed to have a good time doing it. Our little fugly Susie had us cracking up fighting the water hose. Susie has no idea that she's fugly or little; She'll take on things that scare the big dogs... like water hoses. Yes we did get the trees planted..lol

We're SMOKIN'

2007-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

I found this link the way I do most links, following links from other websites.

http://cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html

Well I hit pay dirt with this one. This smoker works wonderfully well.
It took hubby longer to go to town and get the new trash can than it did to put everything together.

We did make one addition: Bud drilled six holes about four inches from the top. Three on one side of the can and three on the other. Then we stuck dowels thru them so that we could hang meat, such as sausage so that the smoke surrounds the meat better.

There is nothing like smoked meat.

es

2007-09-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

My seasons are

Planting season,

Do inside projects because it's to darn hot outside season,

Canning season

Knitting and sewing cause it's too cold outside season.

Canning really is my favorite time of the year.

Why are you looking at a picture of my canned goods? Because I'm proud of my canning skills, and I have this little blog to show off in a bit..

I've never met a canner who didn't line his/her jars up and step back to admire their work.
If you are a canner then you know what I'm talking about. If you're not a canner, you'll just have to believe me when I say it's a wonderful feeling to know that you are feeding your family the best you can.

I'm just about done with my major canning. I do can throughout the year.If I get a good deal on something I'll buy it up, bring it home and can it. During the holidays when Turkey and Ham are on special, I buy an extra one of each and can them. you can make a dish taste like it cooked all day by adding a jar of home canned meat to it. {don't tell the hubby}
.

http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/Safety_issues.html
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/askext/canning.htm
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/askext/canning.htm

ONE STEP CLOSER

2007-09-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Bud and I went to Fort Walton Beach this weekend to pick up one of our dogs who was staying with my sister. On the way home we passed a sign that said Rabbits for sale. After about 10 seconds we did a U turn and went and bought our first Buck and Doe.

Why the hesitation..We only have one Pen.. Well as we all know necessity is the mother of get off your butt and get it done. Glad I'm done canning cause we're building pens this weekend.

In that same vein, I ordered the day old chickens and ducks. We don't have a hen house either....yet.

Feeding a small army? NOT!--but we could....

2007-09-22T11:46:00.000-07:00

As you know if you have read the "About Us" section, we are a Trouple. We have lots of kids, grandkids and family times three. But for the day-to-day in this household, it's just the three of us (and 7 furry family members) to feed.

Even though our household size is small, we think big. We buy in bulk, and we cook in bulk, too. We just filled our freezer with a side of beef. If you are lucky enough to live in an area that raises beef, and you have someone to process the meat, this is sooooooooo much cheaper than buying your meat at the meat market or grocery store. It is a big up front investment, but it was still a HUGE savings overall. It is hard enough to find hamburger in the store for less than $2.00 per pound. We just filled a freezer with steaks, roasts, fillets, tenderloin, ground beef, liver, etc, etc for less than $1.60 per pound!

Does all this meat stay in the freezer? Heck no! We are canning, smoking, and dehydrating between 1/3 to 1/2 of what we purchased. Within 48 hours of picking up the meat, ES already had canned 8 quarts of meat, made 4 quarts of au jus, made 10 pounds of summer sausage and smoked it in our homemade smoker, and made about 1 pound (dried weight) of beef jerkey.

We have a generator in the event we lose power for an extended amount of time, and you can bet we are going to ensure that we don't lose a freezer-full of meat. And you can also bet we are going to be thankful we have canned and dried meat that is ready to eat so we are not wasting valuable fuel cooking raw meat.

The canned meat is also a time saver. ES and I both love to cook, but with me working long hard hours during the week, and with the myriad of projects ES has going around the house, there are times when neither one of us has the energy to start dinner "from scratch". We can go into the pantry, grab a jar of canned meat, and have a meal ready in 10 minutes.

It goes without saying that we make meals in bulk, too. Spaghetti sauce, chili, soup--you name it--we make enough for a small army. We save out enough for our meal and one night of left-overs, and freeze or can (or both) what is left.

I've also discovered the joy of vacuum sealing. I'll vacuum seal just about anything! It is kinda fun, and items will last longer in the freezer or the pantry once they have been vacuum sealed. We buy items in bulk. Once the package is opened, I am a vacuum sealing fool. That keeps things fresh and in managable quantities.

Bud and ES are gone for the weekend. Am I cooking for one? Heck no! I've got enough on the stove right now to feed a small army. Got a hot date with the vacuum sealer tonight... ;-)

~Dee

Where to get more user friendly information

2007-09-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

In a word "FORUMS"

I've enclosed a couple links to two that I read fairly often. I don't post, I'm a lurker. If I felt they needed my input on something I'd post it.
Both forums have some down right smart people posting in them.
If these two don't catch your fancy follow any links they have to other forums, until you find a home.

HOODLUMS FORUM

MRS. SURVIVAL

ES

Trial and Error

2007-09-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

One thing we have definitely learned is the value of trial and error. In the process, we usually end up having a lot of fun, too. Like finding the perfect recipe for chocolate brownies. Or determining how many people can be on the Alabama Hammock http://picasaweb.google.com/MoFarley/ALABAMAHAMMOCK at one time before it comes crashing down.

Being creative doesn't always translate into getting it right the first time. We have had lots of "oops" moments. And sometimes, we end up with totally different but wonderful results from what we had originally intended.

If we always got it right the first time, we would be efficient but WOW would we be boring! It is the exploring and finding what works for us the best that keeps it fun. We are going to be passing on lots and lots of things we have found that work well for our family, but of course, what works for us might not work well for someone else.

Find what works for your family, and enjoy the trial and error. We'd love to see posts of trial and error stories--maybe something that didn't work so well for you might just be the thing that works perfect for someone else. Ya just never know.....

ES will be doing most of the posts on this blog, as I'm a working gal. (Not to imply ES doesn't work her butt off here at home, but she is a night owl and has more time to devout to the blog). I will from time to time pop in with a line or two--or more. Might be pure drivel, or it might be pure genius--who knows?

I have to give credit where credit is due, though. ES has put 99.9% of the effort into creating this blog. It was her idea, and she ran with it. I feel honored to be a part of it.

~Dee

What's in Your Kitchen?

2007-09-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

Ok ..I admit I'm a spoiled rotten kitchen gadget lover. I got lots of toys. The self sustaining kitchen doesn't mean you have to have a primitive kitchen, but it does mean that you can go primitive in a heart beat.

Now I didn't get my toys overnight. Some I got to buy new, some I found at yard sales and flea markets. All of them help me prepare for a time when I may not be able to use them.

This is my list.

A 9 tray dehydrator....I also learned to use the sun to dehydrate

A Bread machine........I also learned to make it from scratch

A Meat grinder............I also have a hand meat grinder

A Pressure caner......I also learned to smoke, pickle, cure, and dry meat

A Meat slicer...............I also learned to keep my own knives sharp

A wholegrain grinder. Yes I can grind it with a mortar and pestle.

A Vacuum sealer.........No I haven't figured out how to do this on my own yet, but I will..lol.

I use all of these items to prepare my kitchen for a time when I won't be able to use any of them.

The next few posts I will go over each item and how to put them to best use. I'll also give you links to information on how to learn the more primitive skills.

I'm not saying you must have these items but they sure can make things a lot easier when your trying to prepare your kitchen to feed your family when the do do hit the fan.

HUNKER DOWN OR GET THE HELL OUT

2007-09-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

This question never has an easy answer. If you leave you are exposing your home to looters. As we all saw after Katrina even law enforcement looted. What wasn't looted was vandalize.

Staying home could put you family in danger...This is kind of how I tend to make up my mind if we should head for higher ground.

FLOOD..Grab your family and each persons gag{grab and go bag}head for high ground, make sure you have sleeping gear, food for a few days and drinking water. If you don't have a boat don't even think about staying.

Tornado's..We hunker down. tornado's usually come up fast so we never have enough time to go anywhere, anyways. Our house is set up so that if the power goes out..(and it does every storm) we still have electric for the frig and freezer. {{{{Generators}}}} can't say enough good things about them. When you buy meat the way we do 1/2 steer at a time you don't want to let it go bad..Our $300, 2500watt wal mart generator has more than payed for it's self.

Hurricanes..If you hear horns, whistles and someone on a bullhorn telling you to get out.. You might want to get out. Every member of the family should have his/her grab bag. If you have pets they should have a bag also..(the kids have two hands make them carry it.) They probably wanted critter in the first place. .((Later we will discuss what you need in your grab and go bag))

If you are riding it out good luck to ya. You'll need it if you don't have your home ready for your little piece of the world to shut down. No Power, so no stores, no gas stations, no water.

Last but not least Pandemic
http://pdhomes.net/downtown/bamagalstuff/pand.html

Well now that I've added one more worry to your life we will Begin preparing for all of the above......ES

WATER WATER WATER

2007-08-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

OK get the point? Your family need water more than they need food. I've added a link http://www.therangerdigest.com/Tips___Tricks/Filter_and_Purifying_Water/body_filter_and_purifying_water.htm
for those of you who may not have stored enough pure water and need to accuire drinking water. I have tried all of the methods..It's a lot of work, but it will work

Or we could always wait for Nasa http://www.itwire.com/content/view/10706/1066/ to perfect their newest method.

I personally think stocking up is the best way to go, but you can't stock up months and months unless you have a water tower and how many of us have one?..(I'm working on the hubby for that one)..lol

One method is to hit up your locale bakeries for their food grade 5 gal. buckets with lid. Some will give them away but most will chargre a buck or two.
Nursing home and hospitals will also have 5 gal. buckets but DO NOT STORE DRINKING WATER IN THEM. I use them to store flushing and cleaning water

This is the first step. Every adventure has one. Do your best to figure out your best course of action and do it...Just don't think about it DO IT.

ES