Busy Weekend...

This was a great busy weekend of prepping and just hanging out with the family. Yesterday the kids and I went to a couple of locale yard sales. I didn't find to much, but I did buy a tamper for $5 bucks. It will come in handy when the I get to the point of building the retreat.

I am waiting for my water bath canning system to get here. It is suppose to be here on Monday. I hope so I have some veggie's wait in the wings to preserve. I had to do some small canning last night with just a couple of pot's I had here. I got 3 nice jars of bread & butter pickles put away now. I will be making some good ol' salsa tomorrow with the new cannier. I have gotten the food prep area cleaned and waiting for storing of the food. Now the question is what do I keep the food in for a bug out time? If anyone has some suggestions please leave them in the comment area. The kind of get out now. Most of my food prepping is going to be from my garden. That is the one area I have been getting my skills honed into. The other prep's are going to be in the form of boxed/canned/beans. I don't' have a grain mill to great whole grains. Plus I still at the beginning stages of my prepping.

I know of people losing jobs around here left and right. They don't know what to do. We as a community of preppers will be ready if that happens to us. At least we won't have to worry about there the food is coming from. Plus the Lord says he will provide. That doesn't make a man feel good when he knows he is suppose to provide for his family and can't at that time. So we are many ways ahead of everyone.

It is a real hot today on the east coast. I don't know what the people before us did in days like today. I don't even want to go outside to water the garden. It is going to take some real getting use to when the grid goes down. I would like to convert a little fan that I have that is rechargeable, with a way to charge up using solar. Has anyone messed with solar power for little things like that?

I have now came up with a budget prepping idea to present to the wife. My thinking is to take one month and devote all the funds for prepping to one area (food,band aids, bullets) type of thing. That might helpt to keep the foraging bear on task. I also think she will respect that better with a system in place. Well enough rambling for one day.

Working on the moat...

Rook

Are you planning...

I am doing my morning routine if coffee and reading the blogs and news this morning. Then I reliezed I have a weekend all to myself (well not really wife & kids) but I don't have any where I need to be. This is the first time this has happen in about 3 weeks.

Well back to topic:

I need to come up with my game plan for this weekend. I dont' want to waste this bounty of beatiful weather by not prepping and enjoying the outdoors. Do you have plans for your weekend or does the wife help make them? I will be laying out my plan today and posting it tonight. Then come Monday we will see how well I kept to the plan. When in SHTF world sometimes we will have to go of course to avoid the po po's and zombies.

I also want to thank the readers who leave comments. I love to reply and read people's thoughts. Thanks Mayberry for point out about the plug system a few days ago.

Working on the moat...

Rook

Wife thinks I am crazy...

I was talking with the wife last night about SHTF happenings, and just like we most have experienced; we get toned out or the crazy look. I am in the process of trying to find a free or next to nothing camper/pop up. I almost had one last night. Well anyhow, I was saying how it will be great when we find one that way we will have a place to live when the SHTF happens. That is when the crazy look came. Everyone knows what I am talking about the look that Jack Nicholson gives in "The Shinning". I put it in very simple and plan terms, "do you want to have something like walls around us or living in a tent? Then she relized what I was talking about.

Then we went for a walk around the block. I live in a city, not a major one but still a city with the criminal minded people that have no regard for life. I made a point to check out different ways people to attemp to make it to my propierty. That way I can sure up different access points. Now when SHTF does happen, this will be vacant but not at first. I just need to make sure that I can have view of the different access points. Now to add that to the list.

We all should take notice of loose ends that can be tied up right away and get that done. I know it is easier said then done. We all have something we would rather do, but yours and mine will be depending on use to protect and provide.

On a side note- I just got my subscription to Backwoods Home. It could not have came at a better time. This should be on everyone's reading list.

Digging a deeper Moat...

Rook

But I can only work so fast....

There comes a time when we wish we had more hands to do more work. I am in that time now. There is so much to be done. I can't lose sight of what is around the corner. Everyone that reads my blogs now, knows what I am reffering to. Those of you don't know better start searching and learning.

Do you have the skills that can be worth something to someone in the coming days? If not you better be working on something so you don't have to keep the beast going.

Our buddy Mayberry has a great post on the barter economy that everyone should check out:
http://mayberry-keepitsimplestupid.blogspot.com/2008/07/barter-economy.html

Do you know what to do with all the banks that are failing? There is also the story of "the beast" buying up the food at Mountain House: http://www.internet-grocer.net/mntnpric.htm. Now you have the "the beast" in the mortage business? Didn't Stalin want to have his hands in everything as well?

If we don't have the funds to prepare - start by buying some beans and storing away. The say it is beans,bullets,band-aids. Well everyone should follow that order and do it as quick as you can. Who knows when "the beast" will start controlling grocery stores.

Working on the moat...

Rook

People are waking...

I was out all weekend with visiting family and friends. The topic of the coming hard times was everywhere I looked. I didn't have to look for the chance to put my blog out there, it just came. I made sure to mention the blog and others that I check daily.

I even was able to help my nephews understand what was going on. To the point where one of them might do something about it. There was a few men from my church talking about the dark days coming. Now onto how I prepped and work on prep's this weekend.

Well I didn't work to much on prep'ing, other then buy a air compressor for the BOV. I did make sure not to get the cheap kind. I stepped it up a notch and got one that can work for inflating beds/balls with different attachments. This is something we should keep in our BOV or with the BOB. I can just see it now, we are running from the sheeple and get a flat with no way to pump up or anything. So make sure to add it to the list and get one if you don't have one.

Now for the castle...

I am still getting the area cleared. I have some shelves I need to build this week. That way when the canner gets in I can put it work right away. Now I am off to work on the cleaning.

Working on the moat...

Rook

This is a great site for people just now starting to wake up and wondering where to start prepping at. Check it out:

http://gsiep.blogspot.com/

The Bumps are getting bigger...

Where is George when you need him?

Check out this article http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-indymac12-2008jul12,0,6071779.story

If you are not getting through to your family and friends, then get this story to them. Remind them that this is what happened to George in the classic "It's a Wonderful Life". I wish I could say what was coming next, but I or no one else truly knows what is going to happen. We just look around and see what is going on and take notice. I consider myself a young buck of 34 yrs, but I have not heard or seen anything like what we are going through now.

This is just a simple quote from the article IndyMac:

"Citing a massive run on deposits, regulators shut its main branch three hours early, leaving customers stunned and upset. One woman leaned on the locked doors, pleading with an employee inside: "Please, please, I want to take out a portion." All she could do was read a two-page notice taped to the door."

Now put yourself in this person shoes. Imagine a few weeks from now wanting to get your paycheck out of the bank and being told not today. Please come back and try again on Monday. I would be foaming at the mouth. This is really making me question if I should start to get a paper check at the job? How is this going to affect direct deposit? Guess it is time to make my own bank in my moat.

Please help spread the word about what is going on. Point your family and friends to my blog or others. There are many of us out here and have great insight and info.

Working on the moat...

Rook

I am away with the family. Will post on my finds from my dad's shop on Sunday.


Working on the moat...


Rook

Food Storage...

I just made my first investment into food storage for my family. I know I am going to love it. It is a nice water bath canner set. Check it out...

http://www.canningpantry.com/21qtwabacapa.html

Now when it comes in I can keep you up to date with the food storage process.

Working on the moat...

Rook

Time slips away...

Sorry for get this posting out so late.

We need to be working everyday to prepare for what ever God has in store for this great nation. If we can only spend a 1/2 hour a day doing something. Then we are way ahead of the sheeple of this once great nation. It will be again...once we get everyone one awake.

The times we are living in remind me of the movie They Live. If you think about it most of the sheeple in this nation are just like that. Now how do we as prepper's balance the time with family and working on preping and just enjoying life? I don't have the answer, I wish I did. It will be different for everyone. I find I do my best prepping at night, once I have spent time with the family. For example tonight, I will be heading to "dugeon" and clearing a area to start store my food.

Everyone may have noticed my little sig... "working on the moat" well that is great defense at a castle. Now everyone doesn't have a "castle per say" but we need to treat our retreat/home like that. We need to do survey's of what we can do to the bounderies and then plan to do it. Not just I want to do this. Plan for it and do it.

I know I have done alot of rambling tonight. Sometimes I just have so many thoughts/ideas I want to get out and just go with them out.

Garden Update...

I wanted to share with the great readers some pic's of what try and try again method will produce if you keep at. These are the tomato plants aboove.

These are the pepper plants. I have birds that love to eat everything in my garden it seems like so I have had to cover them.

And finally the corn I planted. People around here don't seem to have much success with corn. So I am still amazed at how well it is doing. Remember this is a test garden to hone in my skills and to find what grows great around here.

I have very limitted space for a garden, so I make it work. As we should all make it work for where God has us at right now. If we have a retreat that is great. If we are moving to your retreat, like my good buddy James at bison survival blog. If we are stocking and preparing in the city under the radar, then go at. We just can't set back and not do nothing at all.

Working on the moat...

Rook

Try and Try Again...

Now when the day comes when we don't have the great conveniences we have now, we will have to look to time tested ways to get things done.

My wife wondered why in the world I was starting a compost pile this year. Well it is plan and simple, I have never done it and want to make sure I can do it when you can get top soil at Lowes or Home Depot. It is going great I think, but it is better to test and hone in the skills now then when you are in a location with no chance to grow and no idea how to compost. This holds true for many other skill sets we lack today.

This is my first year of a garden with other plants then just tomatos. So far so good. My greatest problem is yard space. My yard might be 25' 20'. So i just have a couple of everything planted; corn, peas, tomatos, cukes, squash, and my daughters outrageos pumkin.

If you want to know what skill sets I am talking about just watch some old Little House... (great show) and see how they did things, then you will know. I will starting a search for hand tools at yardsales, Dad's house, ( he doesn't know it yet), flee markets.

There is one skill I or my wife are going to go learn at a local store and the is the craft of sewing. Sure I can sew a button, but I think the family will need more then just a button. This will also allow me time to teach the family as well.

We all need to take stock of what skills we need to teach ourselves before the time is to late. Then we will be there scratching our heads.

Working on the moat...

Rook

Dad's Shopping

This past weekend I got to see the family, and see all the different stuff my dad has from the many years. It is like a great treasure chest. Not that dad's are just great for material things. They have a lot of wisdom to share. We just need to take the time to listen to them. I do the listening much better now then when I was a teenager.

I look forward to see my dad, and gaining his knowledge. The man as made stuff work when everyone else would say the heck with it. I know it isn't father's day (man made holiday), but take the time to call dad out of the blue.

This is what my dad gave to me this past time.

1) Meat Grinder - Very old kind!!! It has the year of 1894 stamped on it. All it's parts work, but I don't know how to clean it to make it safe for the family. If anyone has a suggestions or can point me in the right direction; just leave me a comment or email me.

2) 12v regulator - This nice little thing works great. I can plug it into the wall and operate a anything that would work in a car. (CB, radio, radar detector, ect, ect.

Working on the moat...

Rook

Inflation is deathnation...

I just found a nice article in Money mag, about inflation and how it is effecting everyone. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/moneymag_archive/2008/07/01/toc.html This is a great article for everyone to read. The one thing I give my wife a hard time about is the beer is had the slowest rate of inflation. Ya Beer!!



The goverment doesn't really have a handle on the inflation of this deathnation. They still just keep printing money. Now I admit I am not money man. I don't know all the figures, but I do know somethings... Like milk, eggs, bread, well darn just about everything is way up.

Digging the moat...

Rook

Space For Prepping

I have this great space in my basement to keep and store most of my prep's I will be gathering. I will post some pic's of the before and after area in a few days. The daunting task is to prepare the space. It needs to be cleaned. Cabinets and shelves need to be erected. My goal here is to have it organized. Having prep's that are not organized will be a disaster when you need to go into survival mode. Here is the list as I see it now....

1) Food storage - First off my food storage will be can goods and what I can harvest from this year's garden. As time and funds permit I will move into grain storage.

2) Gun Storage - This does not have to be large at first. I have a nice 20g shotgun, and a BB/pellet rifle. (Yes, I know a BB gun?) I love to keep a BB gun around as it is great for small game hunting in areas you should not be and is quieter than a .22 The added benfit of the BB gun is I can start to teach my 8yr son how to shoot and rules/respect to have with guns. Now the .22 rifle is on the list to get.

3) Library - This area is going to have all the great reading you will need in the SHTF (Stuff Hits The Fan) problem. Like I said in my intro late start. I just picked up a "must have" for everyone's SHTF library Storey's Basic Country Skills. http://www.storey.com/book_detail.php?isbn=9781580172028 I know everyone has it listed as a must as well, and this is very true.

4) General Storage - This area will be used for maps,walking sticks, B.O.B (bug-out-bag).

5) Tool Storage - There will be nothing worse when SHTF happens and there is no electric so you can't use that circular saw, drill, or sawzaw. I would suggest everyone try to pick up hand tools at yard sales/flee markets when they can. Can you imagine trying to secure your surroundings or house without having any tools for the job? I wouldn't want that scenario!

6) First Aid/Medical Storage - This area doesn't have to be that big, but it can be overlooked sometimes. All of us prepper's should use our local Red Cross for First Aid Training/CPR.

Keep working on the moat!!!


Rook

Late start....

I have finally jumped in the bloggin. It has taken sometime to get use to, but it can and must be done.

First about me - I have family and stuck on the east coast of the Great USA. I started this blog to really help anyone who might be tring to prep, but is on a strick budget of funds.

I will be posting about different news stories, that I see and feel is something us prepper's need to pay attention too. I am not the one that has all the answer's for that you need to look to God. This is blog is to be used by the people that don't want to follow the crowd, and for informational purposes only.

I don't have the castle with the moat, but I am working hard at it.