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[slidemansailor]

I've been looking and looking for a thread I thought I remembered by this name.  I felt it was due for a resurrection.  But no joy.  So I'm starting it over... in honor of a bang-up day in the SlidemanSailor household.

I picked up 25-pound bags of red beans and rice and ordered 25 pounds of oat germ due in Sunday.  I also bought another 2,000 large rifle primers.  There you have pieces of the three essentials beans-bullets-bullion.  So much to do with so little time and money.

I was inspired by a friend who needed help learning to point the .357 he bought on my recommendation in the right direction.  I met him at the gun club's indoor range this evening for a long-overdue fling with my grandpa's .22 High Standard match pistol and some refamiliarization with full-power .357 auto outta my Glock 32.  A whole buncha good stuff from that trip... not the least of which is I ended up coaching two novices into hitting paper at 50 feet with their respective snubbies.  We need lots and lots of them.

[Phssthpok]

I went to the gun show .

Augmented my .308 CETME box magazine count by 8 units (@ a mere $5 each!)
Bought 500 Rds of 7.62x54R for my M44 'Belfchfire'.
Picked up an 'intro to reloading' type book
Purchased a field surgical kit...something I've been wanting for a while.

The .357 Marlin I was hoping to get is apparently made of unobtainium...at least as far the show was concerned.

[Lightning]

Great idea to resurrect this topic, SMS. 

I ordered a Kelly Kettle. 

And Thunder brought home an upright freezer he got just for the towing.  We're going to clean it out, then start filling it up...any suggestions?   

[Claire]

I finally filled one notable gap in my emergency preps: I picked up a hand-crank radio at the local hardware store.

I had one in the past, but I didn't get custody of it when my SO and I split. I was very overdue for getting a new one.

Funny, you used to have to order them from survival stores. Now, for $9.99, you can find them blister-packed among the camping supplies, even in an obscure berg like this one.

Claire

P.S. The Kelly Kettle looks very cool, Lightning. I wish they made a stainless steel version. But what a clever device.

[Claire]

I picked up 25-pound bags of red beans and rice and ordered 25 pounds of oat germ due in Sunday.  I also bought another 2,000 large rifle primers.  There you have pieces of the three essentials beans-bullets-bullion.  So much to do with so little time and money.

Very, very good, slideman!

Will you satisfy my curiosity about one thing? That oat germ; what are you going to do with it?

Twenty-five pounds seems like a lot to consume in a short time, but I can't imagine that it will keep more than a few months uless you freeze it.

Claire

[Lisa Aenne]

I've been learning how to grow sprouts in a glass jar.

[Nomads2]

Good topic.

We picked up a couple of ammo cans, survival saws for the small kits, and a book on knots. 

The Kelly Kettle looks like a nice one.  We picked up a copper Thermette a few months ago, and your post reminded me we've yet to try it out.

Sprouting is good to know.  I think having a good supply of sprout seeds is key - it's a source of fresh veggies and sooooo much nutrition, and when the SHTF, it may be awhile before you can get a productive garden going.

[Lightning]

Ooh, Nomads, thanks!  I didn't know there was a copper version of such a kettle!  Like you, Claire, I would have preferred something other than aluminum...hmm...

[dogsledder54]

Nothing today, but
This week I bought a water purifier, and an extra ceramic filter at the camping outfitter's shop. Good to .2 microns. 
I was trying to find a place to get a money order denominated in Pounds Sterling, so that I could order a Kelly Kettle, but this will do in the mean time. Then, I looked on Ebay, and found Kelly Kettles there, for sale in FRNs.
I try to do something every week  for prepping. Last week it was new camo raincoats. In alpenflage,*  to match my swiss army coat, hat, and jacket. The week before, a military surplus entrenching tool, far sturdier than the cheap, NEW, Wally World one that it replaces. And EVERY week, a little more canned or other storage food. Or perhaps baby powder, peroxide, wet wipes, aluminum foil, plastic sheeting, or some other handy item at the dollar store. Next week ?  So far I have decided on some LARGE plastic wire ties. The kind the cops use when they run out of cuffs. What else ?  Who knows ? 

* (edited for anti-data-mining purposes)

[amagi]

That oat germ; what are you going to do with it?

Twenty-five pounds seems like a lot to consume in a short time, but I can't imagine that it will keep more than a few months unless you freeze it.

I don't know about the germ in particular but all things oat keep much better than other grains.  It is full of vitamin E, a preservative.  I always add a cup to a batch of bread to prevent mold and help it stay soft.  It easily doubles the counter life of a loaf.  I also put it in quick breads for the same reason in smaller amounts.

Today I made Crabapple Jelly with my meet-up group.  Next month, Bread!
Last month, we made a debris hut.  Before that, sauerkraut.
Last week I obtained a log to make into a fleshing beam so I can get started tanning the deer hide that is sitting on my porch.  Today I was given another book and a tool for that project.

Can I bunch them up like this?  I am not much of a daily chronicler.

[Nomads2]

Ooh, Nomads, thanks!  I didn't know there was a copper version of such a kettle!  Like you, Claire, I would have preferred something other than aluminum...hmm...

Here's the link:    http://www.thermette.com/

[slidemansailor]

I picked up 25-pound bags of red beans and rice and ordered 25 pounds of oat germ due in Sunday.  I also bought another 2,000 large rifle primers.  There you have pieces of the three essentials beans-bullets-bullion.  So much to do with so little time and money.

Very, very good, slideman!

Will you satisfy my curiosity about one thing? That oat germ; what are you going to do with it?

Twenty-five pounds seems like a lot to consume in a short time, but I can't imagine that it will keep more than a few months uless you freeze it.

Claire

Uh oh.  My ignorance is not only showing a little bit, it is in big, blazing lights for all to see.  I am, of course, trying to maximize the volume of foodstuffs my modest inflow of depreciating FRNs can deliver.  Mrs Sailor does a whole lot of cooking with bran.  I educated myself just enough to decide oat was better than wheat and immediately made a bulk purchase. 

I guess I'll now be tying up expensive freezer space with it rather than discovering its shelf life is too dang short for our consumption rate.

Frankly, I'm a bit flustered in my head right now.  The feds, the Rothschilds, the Marxists, the Bohemians and all of those other guys who I would turn to manure as an upgrade if I were offered the lever that could do such a thing, have so won the minds of the overwhelming majority that I am struggling to make sense out of anything.  Even those in my family who respect me in every other way have requested I quit sending "political" messages via voice and e-mail. They want to believe all is well so badly that the messenger is unwelcome.

With that happening in places where I have been honored, I really know the Mogambo Guru is right when he writes, "We are all freaking doomed!!!"  (the number of exclamation points varies).

So now my brain is very much cluttered with "PREPARE THYSELF"
... and my gosh, how many of us are there?
... can their trick weapons overwhelm us?
... where do you get tar and feathers?

[Radio Flyer]

How about this week.

Ordered 3000 bullets a new 8 lbs. keg of rifle powder, and 5000 primers from an online reloading supply.

Started buying extra cans of food, dry rice, dry beans, and salt... (just throw in about 10 extra bucks each trip).

Showed the kids how to use the pressure cooker.

Sat the family down and Mom and Dad talked about the current problems and how the kids think about it, reviewed plans and talked about not building a panic, I was surprised at what the kids are talking about with the other kids at school. We re-stressed the need for "privacy" and "discretion".

Showed the oldest more about reloading.

Talked about plans for a loss of clients and work with Mom and the Kids.

Visit the range every two days to pick up brass and shoot .22 guns with alternating kids.

Take stock of current food items and check for infestation.

Added a box of .22 every trip to Wally World (adds about 15 bucks).


Try not to worry too much... (I don't think its working).

[securitysix]

Loaded 20 rounds of .308 Winchester with the following:

Hornady brass (Frontier headstamp)
Remington #9 1/2 Large Rifle Primers
44.1 grains Ramshot TAC
165 gr. Hornady SST

Why only 20 rounds?  Because I don't know if either of my bolt guns will shoot this load well, so it's an experiment.  I have 2 other boxes of .308 brass to load as well (already sized and deprimed).  Not going to do it right now because A) It's 3 AM and 2) my hands are still a little sore from getting firewood today (not long term prep, just normal winter work for us) and using that Lee hand press didn't help.  Now if I could only get to the range in the mood to sit down at the bench with the goal of trying to shoot tiny groups...  We may go next Friday, weather permitting, but that will probably be a plinking with .22s trip... ("plinking" and "plink" are evidently not recognized by the site's spell checker...).

Why use the hand press and not my compound leverage bench mounted press?  Because it would have been even more work to clean off my workbench (it has a partially disassembled 2-stroke motorcycle engine sitting on it, along with other things that have collected) and remount the press to it.

[Hammer]

Well, actually yesterday as it is 6:30 AM here. Continued work on building a reloading bench (I am a cabinet maker). I have been half-a$$ing my reloading process for years, working on cobbled up places... but in a few days I will have a 6 foot bench with two cabinets of 8 drawers for all the stuff.

I also went out to the field to work with my bees. getting the girls settled down for a cold winter (real... not political). I was kinda hoping that "global warming" would kick in soon, as it is cold as hell here and it is WAY too early.

I have a HUGE larder and Mrs. Hammer and I can very often. We probably have some 500 jars either filled on the shelf or waiting to be filled. On second thought, that number may be closer to 1,000. (Thanks Jackie Clay). Two full size freezers with food waiting to be processed into jars. Chickens and pork, fruits, squash, pumpkin.....

Way too much to do. I worry about the freezers, which is why we continually work to put into jars, and why I installed a 12KW generator on the house that automatically kicks in when the power drops off.

More than I can remember. It took lots of work. Read... read... read. Learn. Go do. Prep is something like this... if some is good... more is better.... and too much is just about right!