Why do I do all this crazy stuff? There’s a few reasons I spend time and money on preparedness and self reliance. Here’s my first 3 reasons:I never want to have to look my kids in the eye and tell them I have nothing for them to eat or can’t do anything to keep them […]
Glossary of Preparedness Terms and Acronyms
This is a work in progress glossary to define a few preparedness/food storage terms and acronyms that are commonly used among those who know what they mean, but are rarely used and even more rarely understood by those who don’t know what they mean :). Feel free to leave comments with any other terms you […]
HEAT!
When preparing for emergencies, some of the first considerations are clean water, food, shelter, and in cold climates like ours–heat. My main concern in this house has been heat. We have gas heat so if the gas flow is interrupted OR the electricity goes out, we have no heat and the place cools off in […]
New Year’s Resolutions
Don’t forget to add to your goals for the New Year to practice emergency preparation skills! I have it on my list to practice or try something new relating to self reliance at least once a month (hopefully more). Some skills include growing a garden, canning, lighting a fire, build a temporary shelter, pack lunch […]
Finished the Elk and Other Stuff
I know you all are laughing, but it seriously took me until the 27th to be totally finished with that crazy elk! We kept it cold in a cooler outside (well, mostly frozen actually) for a while, then moved a leg or sack of meat in at a time and worked on it. It usually […]
Emergency or Camping Shower
Here’s a great way to clean up in the woods–the Camp Shower. If you’re like me, a couple of days without a shower starts affecting my mood and there’s only so many ways to wash up in the woods most of which are a pain in the neck and use lots of water. One year […]
The Perfect Grandparent Gift
Here’s my favorite gift for grandparents and great grandparents. Family videos! I’m posting this now so you can start for next year. It’s cheap (about $1.50 plus shipping) and it’s different every year, but you don’t have to think of anything new. It does take some time–count on about a day or so for editing […]
Still Going
Okay, it’s been over a week and I’m still not done with the elk–as much as I love the meat I really just want to snuggle up in a blanket, watch a Christmas movie and drink hot cocoa. Yeah, with mini marshmallows in it . . . the real ones, not the crispy little dried […]
More Meat
Well, just found out we got another elk, so just go read the cuttin’ up elk, jerky and bottled meat posts again and I’ll be back on in a few days. Anybody with a sharp knife and nothing to do is welcome to come by. Probably start sometime tomorrow . . . Happy Meat! Keep […]
Homemade Noodles and Chicken Noodle Soup
Had a turkey carcass from Thanksgiving that we ate most of the meat off of and it was just taking up space in the fridge, so into the soup it goes! First I got all the meat off the turkey by putting what was left of the bird into my pressure canner pot with about […]