Challenge Day 20

Yesterday, Russian markets stopped trading for a second day after emergency funding measures by the government failed to halt the biggest stock rout since the country’s debt default and currency devaluation a decade ago. They are opened today but not for stocks.

This image is taken from MSNBC from the US Stock Exchange yesterday.



This day 20 of a 21 day count down to basic disaster preparedness. We are looking at how to prepare for an event lasting at least 6 months with a finite time to prepare. (Figure most disasters don't give 21 days advance notice). I have no particular expertise but together I bet we have a lot of creative ideas.


We're starting with water because it is a non-negotiable. I took my LE biology credits in a course called 'survival biology' where the instructor said that no food for 30 days was an involuntary fast(there are plenty of exceptions) but you don't survive 3 days without water (or even one day exerting yourself in a hot, dry climate). So, fill containers, and in a pinch remember the hot water heater contains potable water as does the tank on the toilet. Right now, you have time to mail order barrels suited for water storage of tap water and rain barrels. We'll come back to water after the household evaluation.

I'm assuming anyone reading has been doing some preparations all along. So now take the time to evaluate your household according to categories. Look at what you have so far. In doing so, put on an analytical mind and check emotions at the door. This is no time to get overwhelmed or depressed. Be an evaluator with a check sheet and a critical (does not mean judgmental) eye. You are looking not so much to inventory (time issue) but to see what you need to do next. Write down where the basics that need covering.

Evaluate your Household:

Water - Do you have stored water, the means to access more water, the means to purify water that has been wild caught. As crucial as water is, water born illness will take you out fast.

Food - I'm assuming that readers here have been working on food storage. Mostly we work on storing what you eat and eating what you store. We aim for balance. But right now, focus not so much on perfection but on six months supply to fill your bellies with energy giving food. Think of things like beans, rice, the means to make bread, cooking oil and salt. Put up what you and livestock can't live without. If you have that, then begin to evaluate your nutritional balance, comfort foods, pet food, protein, fruits and veggies. Begin to fill in the holes. Store water specifically for preparation of dry foods - it takes a lot. Remember dogs evolved with humans because of similar nutritional needs and commercial dog food is an institution of the 20th century. They need more fat and calcium for an optimal diet.

Shelter Again, most who are reading this have a place to live and are in the U.S. Do you have winter blankets, an alternative heat source such as wood stove and wood, electric heat and solar power, kerosene heater and kerosene, room to take in others, extra towels and linens, window covers? Coats and boots and clothes for those who are still growing? What practical tools do you need? What can you share with those nearby?

Fuel This is alternative means of cooking, propane, kerosene,solar (if you can afford it), lighting for the darkest days of the year, extra gas for emergency transportation or for generator.

Sanitation A friend who worked as an ER nurse in the Appalachian region told me one time that most of what they saw could have been prevented by good hygiene. Have enough water that you can wash cuts and take sponge baths. Take care of little cuts, don't let your skin crack, take care of your teeth. Have the means to remove toilet waste, to wash clothes, to brush your teeth, stock up on soap homemade versions. If the worst comes, don't get complacent.

First Aid and Medication Stock the first aid, learn alternative remedies, get your medication filled and squirrel away what you can. Some Drs. are very sympathetic to third world travel (and we're traveling there).

Cash and barter goods Be frugal starting this instant - stash cash in small bills, don't run the bank but begin easing some cash out. However if money were to be too devaluated, turn your money into goods and consider in bad times what others may crave may have high value to them. Figure ways to find money, now.

Diversions and celebratory There is no point in being fed and secure if you lose your mind. All societies celebrate, so don't forget to. Have books, puzzles, games, cards, the means to listen to or to create music (solar ipod charger or crank Victrola), sewing and handiwork. I bought baking supplies because if the holidays are bleak in America, home made treats will be very welcomed.

Evacuation If things are bad all over, generally folks will be safest staying put. However if a disaster is happening where you live, have a bug out bag, the camping supplies in one spot, and know what food to grab.

So, how did it go? Did you look in the closets and the garage and the cupboard? Do you know what you have? Were there any surprises? What have you remedied since yesterday?

We bought gas cans and gas, filled a 50 gal water barrel, bought all the fire bricks in two towns and need 28 more for our adobe oven, and then canned peaches. Canning is time intensive but picking up a case of peaches at the store doesn't take much time at all.

Mr. Greenjeans noted that there were no red gas cans in town. He had to get a kerosene can and write on it.

The 21 Day Challenge Starts Now!

There were great comments yesterday.
Beginning today I am hosting a 21 day challenge. Frau has dubbed the idea behind it as "the ticking time bomb" scenario.

The idea is this: You have received an insider's tip that there is 21 days until TSHTF and all will be in turmoil for 6 months. Now you do not know the exact nature of the urgency but assume the source of the tip has a history of accurate predictions and isn't a total crackpot. As to the nature of the event to prepare for, assume that it is a combination of financial collapse, weather, and military (or science gone wrong).

If you are in, you want to plan for a convergence of worst case scenarios. Remember, it may be several things coming together and your goal is to be ready to take it as it comes. Plan on a disruption of transportation, communication and infrastructure and the resulting chaos (including large amounts of dead).

Please note: only God knows the future, no human can say what will happen. Therefore you do not be concerned with whether this is real or an exercise in preparadness. If something were to happen you would be better prepared, if the only thing that happens in three weeks is that the leaves change color in VT, then you will be on target for an emergency another time. I assume anyone reading this blog is a preparer anyway. Sorry, no cute little banner - there's no time for that!

Remember, we are all operating in an imperfect world - I planned on taking time off work to preserve the harvest and order my house. But by Monday evening I learned of a large funeral I had to do on Friday, my assistant is in the hospital, and and my cat came home injured and needing a vet this morning. We all have to go to work, add financial constraints and family issues and you have the real world. But that doesn't change the deadline. Tick Tock

If you are still with me, inventory your preparations and begin to prioritize what is the most critical. To get you started, I would say that the most critical element is water - you should have some stored no matter where you live - more if you don't have access to a natural source and a filter. Think it through: If you have a well, does it require electricity and do you have a back-up? You can get 'gerry' cans at any camping supply store and larger tanks at feed stores or industrial supply stores.

Since the comments yesterday, what are your priorities? Are you equally prepared along all fronts or are there gaps in your preparations?

Is this a joke or what?

There is a joke where various ministers of different denominations get asked what passage they'd preach on if they knew it was the last time they'd preach. The joke predates the Last Lecture.

What is happening in the economy and the world is no joke. I'm no fortune teller, but there are those who have a pretty good knack for looking ahead and they see much worse times to come - this fall. Personally, I'm looking around at my homestead and trying to evaluate what I can do RIGHT NOW to shore things up. My biggest worry is heating as there are no wood stoves for sale and it get seriously cold without relief for months straight.

Yesterday I took Nee back to school. Her ride back flaked on us and so we got up at 4:00 a.m. and tried (unsuccessfully) to make the first bell. I went on to a quilt store (hey, it's nippy out there) and splurged on enough flannel for a quilt top and then went on to costco. I had looked at my pantry the evening before and tried to pick up missing items. I couldn't bring myself to buy their bread flour, so I'll have to run around and find some good white flour at the store. I buy white flour to give the homeground grain a little lightness. I bought only basics, loaded the cart, checked out, loaded the car, and went back for dog and cat fod and TP.

Today or tomorrow I'm buying gas cans and enough gas to get me to the city and get Nee if TSHTF.

So the question is this: if you had only a month (or less) to get your household as secure as possible, what would you do? What's keeping you from doing it? What can you do to get over that hurtle?

Independence Days #16

Independence Days - the overwhelmed edition.

1. Plant - no

2. Harvest: Corn, Green beans, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, basil, Tomatoes, Chilies.

3. Preserved: I dried however many dozen ears of cut sweet corn to fill a 1/2 gal jar. This was after the canned corn experiment. Froze. 8 quart baggies of fresh blanched corr.
Froze 5 packages of 5 cups each of sliced peaches for pies or other winter treats.
Canned a couple more Qts. of slowly ripening pears.
Froze 3 Qt. baggies with mixed peppers roasted on the grill
Canned 5 Quts. of Tomato sauce
Canned 2 Qts of "Adobe Souse" (grilled tomatoes, grilled peppers, grilled onions with fresh tomatoes, a few apricots) It is muddy colored and made with what seemed right at the time - and boy is it good!

4. Prepped - I don't this so the week is a blur.
5. Managed Reserves - Mr. Greenjeans took apart our industrial and computerized water heater at the parish house only to find some joker had turned off the gas at the main. Grrr.

We're having the year's big fundraising event at the church - the annual Oktoberfest with beer, brats, sauerkraut, life music, and raffles. There is a real nip in the air.

The good news is NEE IS HOME. The bad news: Nee is home by way of the ER (3 in 3 months). She was stung by a very aggressive bee at school, had an allergic reaction (we didn't know she was allergic to bees but this may have been a different kind). I ran into the city - a 3 1/2 hour drive each way - gathered her, filled her RX for prednasone, and drove home in the dark encountering a spot of 4" of snow on the road and cars off the road in the canyons.

This week I've fallnd down on management because we aren't getting these given away, managed quite fast enough and the chickens are eating things people should eat.

6. Cook something new - the dehydrating was new to me. I also combined the left overs of the green beans and ham, with the corn that didn't all fit into a package with the left over tomato sauce, cooked some rice and put it together and it was like magic! Ummmm good.

7. I haven't really worked on local food systems - just the Oktoberfest for tomorrow. And helped with community by being there for the neighbor to watch the toddler in the night as they went to the hospital.

A lawn mower as tselem* for community

When we went to graduate school, we closed down a small farm and sold most things off and fit our family of four + dogs and cats into a one way self-move. We traveled over a thousand miles to where we would live on a University campus for three years. (Note part of my decision to go to school where I did was that there were no pet restrictions - and I was fortunate to get into such a good school. Now that's what I call a good fit.)

At first we had asked for the smallest 3 bedroom place available but later realized that we had limits on how small a place we could live in very close proxmity to neighbors (under 900 sq ft). So after a few months we got a small cottage on campus where we would have our own yard. The university of course expected us to mow the lawns of the yard - as they did other families.

Very few people had fit a mower in with the self-move to university housing and none of us had money to go and buy one but after a while we learned about the community mower. This mower was housed with one family in one place and returned there when done. There was an informal word of mouth system to accessing it which included Jr. professors and such. As our first year ended, we were asked to house the mower becaue we had a shed with no doors. We found someone to take it when we left. The thing was an old beater and anyone who used it was also expected to work on it, as able.


I had always had an interest in community and I have thought of this mower while reading Sharon's Adapting in Place posts. This mower came to represent for me the way of life that is possible in intentional community. When you have community in this way the gross comsumption of everyone owning one of everything is short circuted.

Forming community is always intentional. If you are doing this with carpooling with co-workers or setting limits on the inlaw on the couch (a Sharon thing) you deliberately are working things out. Do you have things you share with other people? How far are people willing to take this concept?


*tselem is Hebrew for likeness or image where one thing comes to represent another.

"It's Time"

I got a phone call last night at 12:30 from Mrs. Neighbor who said, "It's time". Me sound asleep said, "time for what?" She: "The baby's coming." THAT got me fully awake. Remind me next time I'm on baby watch to wear cute PJs and not some old T-shirt that I'd have to scoot home in in the daylight.

The drill was this: if it were daytime, I would drive her to the hospital and take toddlergirl with me. At night I was to go and sleep on their couch and be there when toddlergirl woke up. I have toddlergirl at the house right now. We've eaten pancakes and watching some "Incredibles". 45 minutes ago I heard from Mr. Neighbor that they were breaking Mrs's water. I'm thinking she may be delivering right about now.

Welcome to earth Babyneighbor.

Edit - I posted this first at 9:51 and Babyneighbor's birth time was 9:57.

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Independence Days #15

I think this will be an abreviated Independence Days update because of all the produce that is coming in at the same time. My hands and arms are sore for all the picking, processing and canning and the house is a disaster area due to all free time devoted to produce.

The garden is giving its all in watermellons, squash, tomatoes, peppers, corn, cucumbers,dill, basil, cantelope, brocholli, celary, and the everyready green bean (I swear I can pick a row and when I get to the bottom the top has grown out again).

I havn't planted a fall garden. I'm so overwhelmed with the current garden. Besides,the weeds would have to be taken care of to plant - ugg.

We are harvesting as fast as we can get it preserved.

Preserving this week includes: Canning 6 more Qts of those pears that ripen on their own sweet time. They drive me nuts because out of an entire bussel I can't get enough to fill a canner load at a time.

Mrs. Neighbor and I canned 32 1/2 pints and pints of hot pepper jelly. It is a beautiful translucent green with flecks of red habinero suspended in it. We got going on making jam with a little of this recipe and a little of that and ran out of jars. Mr. Greenjeans made a late night jar run for us but the town was sold out of 1/2 pints (he went to the only 3 stores open) and he came home with 3doz. pints - gotta love that man. Mrs. Neighbor sent me some apricot jam...er syrup made with less sugar.

Mrs. Nieghbor also wanted pickled peppers by the quart. So, we canned 12 Quarts of pickled peppers - I kept two, and sent the others along with the pregnant lady.

Canned 7 pints of creamed corn - what a dissapointing thing that is: take beautiful corn fresh from the garden (that color of yellow is the most beautiful color in the world) shuck, cut, scrape and parboil it. Put it into little jars and pressure can it silly, take it out and it looks and smells like its been sitting in a cafeteria line since morning. Yuck!

We picked the last of Mr & Mrs. Garden's peach tree. They just took a few pieces of fruit to eat fresh. Chibi made 5 peach pies, one for the Mrs. neighbor's family, one for the Garden's, one for us, one for the church pot luck, and one for a family who is out of work due to disabilitiy and illness. I made peach jam with the left over peaches, canned some peaches and took 4 jars to the Garden's with some jars of dilly beans. They sent me home with current jelly...er syrup from bushes they picked "up on the mount'en".

Likely I did something with beans - pressure canned? I've lost track. Edit I made ham hocks and beans into a doz. quart jars in the freezer.

We picked some of everything in the garden to go to that family who is out of work and laid up. Some of everything turned into a giant box of fresh produce (Mr. Greenjeans had to carry it). They insisted we take their first and only squash their garden had produced. I know that it is just as important to recieve what others have to offer and took that precious fruit to my heart.

The only organized clean spot in my house is the pantry. I keep rearranging the shelves shifting things to and fro. Actually swept the floor where I'd spilled rice and where the dog hair didn't need to be stored.

Well, it doesn't sound like much but I'm off to do more of it. I'm also keeping the car filled on fuel as I am the ride of choice to the delivery room when Mr. Neighbor is at work.