Armchair Preppers and Random Thoughts

Because of the rise of the internet, we all run into the *wanna-be's* out there.

People that *talk* a good game, but when push comes to shove, they have no idea how to prep, survive, etc.
I have been fooled by a few, I am sure most of us have...
The guy that talks about all his *tacticool* equipment...but actually only has airsoft guns and a back-pack left over from high school.
The woman that talks about prepping and sounds good, but actually lives in a condo and has less than a weeks worth of food on hand--all her money goes for cruises, vacations and *shiny things* that her husband buys her.
The guy that discusses in depth his expertise at survival, yet would actually get lost in his suburban back yard.
My personal favorite was the "prepper" I visited a few years back that had a few forums enthralled with her talk of gardening, canning, training her dogs and her constant sewing projects. Turned out she had NO garden, all the food she had on hand was pre-packaged and canned and boxed straight from the grocery store, her dogs pooped and peed all over the house (including her bed!) and her *sewing room* was a collection of dry rotted fabrics that the dogs had befouled.
The guy that has a first aid kit that would equip a small medical clinic, but no idea how to use anything in it.

Why do they do this? What motivates them?
My best guess is a need for *crowd approval* and wanting to "hear their own head roar" as an old musician friend of mine used to say about people like this.
I figure they must be very lonely in their day-to-day lives. Maybe they are detached from their families, maybe they have burned way too many bridges with family and friends.
Some of them have more money than sense, some of them have little or no money and want to conceal that.
Whatever the reason, they are sad examples of *preppers*, *survivalists*, etc.
I have met around 10 people in real life through forums and chat rooms.I have probably talked on the phone with about 30 people I met in forums and chat rooms.
Of the 10 people I met in person, only 3 were of the *arm chair* type. So, I figure 70% of the folks out there are being up-front about their skills and prepping.
That's encouraging!
As for the 30% out there that are just talking to "hear their head roar"...I just dismiss them as sad and lonely people with nothing better to do with their lives.

The blogs I link to are, as best as I can determine "The Real Deal". Because of their tone, attitude, pictures, etc, there is a *ring of authenticity* to them. I learn a lot from them!
My own skills are, as best as I can tell, minimal in a lot of areas...I know a wee bit about a whole lot of stuff, but not a lot about any one subject! Almost everything I learned, was learned the hard way...out of necessity or desperation!
I write this blog in the hope that it may motivate at least one or two people out there to prepare. Each person that *preps*, is one less person *preppers* will have to worry about if times get as rough as some of us think they will. I enjoy writing it, because it gives me a chance to sit and think, really think about my own preparations and the direction I should be heading in.
I read other blogs to learn, to be entertained (c'mon, you funny folk know who you are!) and to get motivated to do more.
My thanks to all the *for real* folks out there!
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Someone tried to poison my dog a couple of days ago.
My dog is fine, due to my Darlin' Man having the immediate reaction of grinding up some charcoal so we could shove it down her throat to absorb her stomach contents (I freaked a bit and panicked and forgot that little first aid tip). The vet called a prescription in for her to *move things along* and to negate the effects of what she ingested.
We found out who the culprit was and steps were taken to insure it would not happen again. The neighbor is moving in the next 9 days.

                                                                Siona

People that would poison a dog should be horse-whipped!
Siona is feeling fine today and running around being her old self, but it was quite a scare!
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The snow is mostly melted and (I think) my landlord has repaired all of the neighbors pipes. Poor guy was run ragged for several days. I had an ice rink in the back yard and another in the front yard from my neighbors pipes bursting!
You should have seen me skating across the back yard to feed the goats...in bedroom slippers! Not one fall, but some major Olympic quality twists and turns so I didn't fall. Try that Michelle Kwan!!!
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I ended up a little short in the budget dept. and was unable to order my seeds for this years garden last month. However, I will be ordering them next week.
I have picked out the majority of them from Bakers Creek, all heirloom, open pollinated, non-hybrid, non-gmo seeds.
I have some extra wiggle room in my budget to buy about ten dollars more worth of seeds.
Got any suggestions?
They have to be non-hybrid and non-gmo.
I live in a desert climate and am as frugal with water as possible. I do have some shady spots.
I have very long fence lines, so if it is somethng that needs to grow up a trellis, the fence will have to do.
I mainly use raised beds, but I have a couple of places that have good soil and no raised bed.
Let me know what would be some good choices!

Tools of the Trade For Prepping

Prepping can lead you into expensive investments in tools that will help you prep. Not all of them are absolute necessities, you can make do with what you have now. What you have now may be less efficient or be more work, but it can work.
You can dehydrate in your oven overnight, or you can buy a dehydrator.
You can buy a spice grinder or use a mortar and pestle.
Grinding wheat into flour can be done in a gee-whiz electric grinder, an old fashioned manual grinder, or heck---you can just grab a couple of rocks and grind it down like like they used to many years ago---or still do in some undeveloped countries.
I am posting some good basic tools of the trade today, some I own, some I have owned in the past, and some I have friends that own them and are very pleased with their performance.
We'll do the electrical division first...
Spice grinders:
A coffee grinder can work as a spice grinder. Regardless, I use mine to grind dehydrated odds and ends into powders.  (read this post for info on that)
This coffee grinder works well as a spice grinder and is fairly inexpensive. It is good for small amounts and occasionally you have lumps or you have to re-grind, but all in all, a fairly good deal. The last one I had lasted me about a year...gotta replace it! I seriously used it A LOT.
My dream spice grinder is considerably more, but I really, really hope to save the bucks to get this one!

Dehydrators
There's this fairly inexpensive dehydrator from Nesco that does the job and makes jerky fairly inexpensively. It is what we have now.
Dehydrator of my dreams is the Excalibur. Drooooool.

Flour Mill
Reasonable priced electric flour mill  that a lot of folks out there have and that I have used myself. It works well, is a bit noisy, but does get the job done.
The creme-de-la-creme of electric flour mills  and the one I desperately hope to get some day! A friend has this and I always ask her if I can grind some wheat for her when I visit, lol! You can also grind many other grains in it, adjust for fineness of grind, etc. Me want!

Now, onto the manual division...where the tools require much more effort, but the reward is just as satisfying!
 Manual Spice Grinders:
Okay, no foolin'... this coffee/spice grinder is probably the best of the batch. Yes, there are cheaper ones, but most will not give you the fine grinds you want for spices and powders. I do not drink coffee, but those that do and have this model are very happy with it.
There will be no second place awarded in this category!

Dehydrators:
Okay, look at this picture. Look at that price. Laugh. Realize you could make the same thing, more or less for about 5 to 20 bucks.
I have made my own dehydrators as easily as putting the food to be dehydrated on window screens (cleaned very well) and then covering the food with cheesecloth to keep fly's off. It works and works well.

Manual Flour Mills:
I have one of these. It is heavy, clunky and hard to use.You can make cracked wheat or cracked corn with it. Flour or corn meal? KEEP CRANKING! You have to grind and re-grind several times to get acceptable flour---remember to sift! It is a *back-up to my back-up* Good to have in case of emergency. And hope that emergency never happens!
A MUCH better one   has a MUCH higher price, but can be used daily without making you feel you just pulled the plow on the lower forty! No need to grind and then re-grind...repeatedly--like the first one!

For those looking for these tools, I hope this helps!

Did YOU Prepare For Winter Storms?

The whole country is in the grip of Ol' Man Winter and I see news story after news story about folks getting stranded in their cars, leaving freezing homes to shelter at centers set up by their city, etc.

 Pictures of grocery store cleaned out by people desperately trying to buy supplies at the last minute are all over the 'Net.

What did your local grocery store look like?

I didn't go to the store...had plenty of food and water here and had plenty of things to do before the storm hit.
I am in El Paso and we have had black-outs, water mains bursting and natural gas shortages here, along with pipes freezing, fires, etc. to keep the city busy.
None of the above has affected my household yet and I am holding onto hope that we won't be affected.
BUT...before the storm hit, I prepared.
First and foremost, actually listen to your local weather report or look it up online. Forewarned is fore-armed for whatever comes your way!
Two days before the cold front hit, I washed and dried all the extra blankets we had in storage and placed them in the various bedrooms for easy access.
I put a flashlight beside everyones bed on the night stands.
I placed candles around the house in locations I thought would be appropriate.I put a pack of matches in each location as well!
I put extra straw in the goat pens and chicken coop so the livestock could stay warm.
I did buy a couple of extra bags of charcoal for the grill and positioned the grill on the back patio just in case we ended up having to cook on it.
Although we have plenty of stored water, I bottled up more---just in case.
In case the power went out, I put a cooler on the back patio near the door so I could put frozen foods or refrigerated food in it if need be.
Baked some bread and cookies in case we lost our gas.
Made sure all household members had ample sweaters, sweatshirts and long sleeved shirts clean and ready. Ditto for gloves and hats and socks.

By the time the snow started to fall here, I felt that I had done everything I could with my resources to prepare. We have stayed warm and well fed, as has our livestock.

Look at the word PREPARE.
PRE means "in advance of"....
We should all PREpare for situations we are forewarned about.
The economy is bad, so we should all PREpare for the possibility of losing employment by paying off debt and saving a *safety cushion* of funds "just in case".
A storm is coming so we should all PREpare for the possibility that we may lose electricity, gas and water.
If you have minimal resources, prepare as best you can...even some preparation is better than none!
Stay warm!