Preparations Update

[montanabill]

Yep, that's what we have. We don't really drink apple juice/cider but did a few. I made old fashioned ACV using the juice rather than water. Just bottled it yesterday so haven't used it yet. It's supposed to be better which I have no doubt. We had our cidering about 3-4 weeks ago, have a few families over and we all juice our apples, kids are welcome and have a good time too. This was our second year of doing it - fun times. It's also fun to sample the juice from the different kinds of apples each family brings.

Sounds like a fun time. We used everything from macintosh to winesap apples for juice and the tree ripe golden delicious were delicious. I once boiled some down for a great syrup for pancakes. We used to feed the critters the squeezed out pulp. So what is ACV?

 

[Amish Heart]

apple cider vineger

 

[Cascadian]

My new work schedule is 4-10s Monday thru Thursday. So I have really been trying to take Sunday off with the exception of the critter necessities. The other exception to that is after church we have made this our prep day. One afternoon a week when we shop, package, organize etc. Before it was just kinda here and there with much of it falling to my wife. It has done wonders for our mood. Prepping our soul and pantry.

 

[LadyLocust]

Our hog is ready at the butcher. They are closed Th-Su so won't be able to pick it up until next week. Will be grateful to have it - not sure where I'll put it but will be glad to have it nonetheless.

 

[LadyLocust]

My new work schedule is 4-10s Monday thru Thursday. So I have really been trying to take Sunday off with the exception of the critter necessities. The other exception to that is after church we have made this our prep day. One afternoon a week when we shop, package, organize etc. Before it was just kinda here and there with much of it falling to my wife. It has done wonders for our mood. Prepping our soul and pantry.

I find there is a peace in prepping/being prepared and there is a peace in organizing as well. Knowing what you have and where it is brings a certain kind of calm. Doing both of those things is very healthy. I have been on a bit of an organizing kick myself. I find I have to every so often or I start walking with a twitch

 

[montanabill]

We were in a mad rush to acquire stuff and spend a lot of time outside this summer so now it is time to get things in order. I have another deep freeze to put in our laundry room after I move a large storage shelf unit. I am running out of floor space to put stuff while I rearrange. The plus side is I am discovering things and supplies I forgot about. I plan on having the deep freeze full before the rail strike happens.

 

[Neb]

We...

move a large storage shelf unit. I am running out of floor space to put stuff ...

I can relate.

We have one room (13x14) left to settle and then I am limited.

Happily it is more like chinese checkers than a Rubick cube.

Ben

 

[Amish Heart]

It always feels good to be organized! If I'm in a huge hurry, it does get stacked. Right now, it looks ok, but the freeze dryer has been needing a cleaning for a month now, so I haven't used it. After Thanksgiving I need to get on it.

 

[montanabill]

I let our freeze driers go unused with the doors closed and they turned green.....Now I just unplug the shelf heaters and pull them out and wipe everything down with paper towels.

 

[Amish Heart]

I left the doors open, but I think it needs cleaning because it never has been cleaned. The oil has been changed. Last time I used it, it didn't dry properly. I need to look at the manual. Not fond of manuals, but I really don't know how this machine works yet.

 

[Peanut]

Thanks @Sourdough I got a couple of those sleeping bags you posted recently. They came today, looked good.

I placed a big order last week. Filling in nooks and crannies in my preps. Needed a couple extra sleeping bags, something a little lighter than my heavy bags. They give me more options.

 

[rusty]

My old office now has shelves on the wall loaded with food. Canned goods, boxed dinners, tuna, canned chicken, salmon, Bags of pasta, rice, beans, Peanut butter, condiments, snacks, probably 3 months food. 30 rolls of paper towels, 30 rolls of T paper. Cases of bottled water. Ready for the zombie apocalypse.

 

[rusty]

Also, extra meds, bandages,etc.

 

[Peanut]

More goodies arrived today. I bought another mortar and pestle. This one is made from stainless steel. It has 2 plastic lids that fit the mortar with a hole for the pestle… but! The hole is too small for the pestle to fit through. Oh well, typical bs.

I already have a mortar/pestle made from stone. It’s great for grinding fine, not so great for grinding medium or course. In fact, at least half ends up finely ground even when I don’t want it fine. Like dried peppers, it’s not good for making pepper flakes.

I hope this new mortar, being very smooth, won’t grind fine. Instead, just crush dried plants. Not turn them into powder.

Also bought some cheap headphones. The reason I chose these… the connections. I can plug into a standard 6.35mm audio jack, a 3.5mm computer audio jack and a 1.5mm mini jack used with current game consoles, laptops and tv’s. Basically these can be used with a wide range of audio devices.

For some reason I seem to get in the mood to play music after 10pm. My walls are a little thin. Normally I play a song on my desktop speakers and play my guitar along with it. A lot of sound.

Now I can play recorded music through my headphones and uncover one ear so I can hear myself play along. I cut the sound level in half doing it this way, much quieter.

They are a bit large but very comfortable to wear. (the photo bomber had to get in the pic)

 

[Pearl]

More goodies arrived today. I bought another mortar and pestle. This one is made from stainless steel. It has 2 plastic lids that fit the mortar with a hole for the pestle… but! The hole is too small for the pestle to fit through. Oh well, typical bs.

I already have a mortar/pestle made from stone. It’s great for grinding fine, not so great for grinding medium or course. In fact, at least half ends up finely ground even when I don’t want it fine. Like dried peppers, it’s not good for making pepper flakes.

I hope this new mortar, being very smooth, won’t grind fine. Instead, just crush dried plants. Not turn them into powder.

Also bought some cheap headphones. The reason I chose these… the connections. I can plug into a standard 6.35mm audio jack, a 3.5mm computer audio jack and a 1.5mm mini jack used with current game consoles, laptops and tv’s. Basically these can be used with a wide range of audio devices.

For some reason I seem to get in the mood to play music after 10pm. My walls are a little thin. Normally I play a song on my desktop speakers and play my guitar along with it. A lot of sound.

Now I can play recorded music through my headphones and uncover one ear so I can hear myself play along. I cut the sound level in half doing it this way, much quieter.

They are a bit large but very comfortable to wear. (the photo bomber had to get in the pic)

View attachment 98815View attachment 98816

He's using his feet as a size comparison!

 

[angie_nrs]

I was in WM today and noticed that the frozen section was stocked fairly low, but perhaps they haven't gotten a chance to restock after Thanksgiving.

I bought a jet sled while I was there. I figured a couple extra of those will be handy to bring wood up closer to where we burn it. It's also easier to get wood out of the woods with a jet sled in the winter time. It's a whole lot more quiet than a machine and takes less fuel too. We also flip them over (and use them as a cover when not being used) to keep the wood dry. When kids come over they like to use them for sledding. They are just plain ole' versatile to get things moved around in the winter when we can't use the golf cart.

I ordered another half dozen or so #10 cans of LTS food on sale.
I grabbed a few 1# propane cylinders
I refilled a couple of the 20# propane tanks that got used during hunting season.
I ordered a couple trickle chargers to lengthen the life of some batteries in winter storage
I got a few Christmas gifts early and on sale
Gas prices dipped today, so I filled the car as full as I could.

I noticed a couple of things in WM today, even though they weren't busy. No lines! One lady was packing her cart with cases of bottled water. Another guy had his cart full of cases of Labatt's.....like 10 or so? I wanted to say something to him, but I've been there, so I minded my own business and left him alone b/c I'm sure he got plenty of comments before he was able to escape the store. LOL!

Also, when filling up the car, I noticed a guy next to me filling his truck and several gas cans in the back.....along with about 3 propane tanks. It kinda makes me wonder if people are starting to wake up and get stocked up? I hope so!

 

[Bacpacker]

I was in WM today and noticed that the frozen section was stocked fairly low, but perhaps they haven't gotten a chance to restock after Thanksgiving.

I bought a jet sled while I was there. I figured a couple extra of those will be handy to bring wood up closer to where we burn it. It's also easier to get wood out of the woods with a jet sled in the winter time. It's a whole lot more quiet than a machine and takes less fuel too. We also flip them over (and use them as a cover when not being used) to keep the wood dry. When kids come over they like to use them for sledding. They are just plain ole' versatile to get things moved around in the winter when we can't use the golf cart.

I ordered another half dozen or so #10 cans of LTS food on sale.
I grabbed a few 1# propane cylinders
I refilled a couple of the 20# propane tanks that got used during hunting season.
I ordered a couple trickle chargers to lengthen the life of some batteries in winter storage
I got a few Christmas gifts early and on sale
Gas prices dipped today, so I filled the car as full as I could.

I noticed a couple of things in WM today, even though they weren't busy. No lines! One lady was packing her cart with cases of bottled water. Another guy had his cart full of cases of Labatt's.....like 10 or so? I wanted to say something to him, but I've been there, so I minded my own business and left him alone b/c I'm sure he got plenty of comments before he was able to escape the store. LOL!

Also, when filling up the car, I noticed a guy next to me filling his truck and several gas cans in the back.....along with about 3 propane tanks. It kinda makes me wonder if people are starting to wake up and get stocked up? I hope so!

You can almost bet people are waking up. Some at least

 

[Tommyice]

I think people may be. Dad went to the grocery today to pick up a bag of dried lima beans for some recipe he saw on YouTube. He said the aisle was nearly empty. He said a few bags of split peas, one bag of navy beans, and not much else. This included both the storebrand and Goya.

 

[Peanut]

My wire shelves came today. The wire is heavy/chrome. With a wire guard around the front. They are small but I got 6 of them for small tincture bottles. These little bottles were taking up most of an entire pantry shelf. I cut out cardboard to line the small shelf bottoms.

And... as it's the end of the herb season so it was time to sort tinctures. I made more than 20 quarts this year. And none of them has been processed to remove plant material. Its my winter chore.

For now just getting them arranged was my goal. Somewhat in alphabetical order. I discovered I need to rearrange that entire corner of my herb room. NO more space for anything! I have another group of jars that have to go somewhere.

Anyway, got 4 of my new shelves mounted on the wall just behind where large tinctures will go.

 

[Bacpacker]

Peanut I am impressed. Lots of work went into all that

 

[Magpie]

Had an Amazon delivery today- from the UK- so all my cleaning (vinegar/ ecover liquid etc) and toiletries stuff like toothpaste/ toothbrushes/ shampoo etc) is all topped up- we should be good for a year now.

 

[Tommyice]

@Peanut the wire shelving is the best. So easy to clean. I've got the ones you have attached to the wall for my spices and love them.

 

[Peanut]

@Peanut the wire shelving is the best. So easy to clean. I've got the ones you have attached to the wall for my spices and love them.

They came 6 to a pkg. I got the last pkg at amerzit and it was a return item that had been opened.

After seeing how well made they are I'd buy another set of 6 if I could find them.

 

[Mel]

Ok so I don't have a freeze dryer. They're way out of my budget and if you saw my post on what I did yesterday, you know that probably won't happen for a while. Is there a method that I can use to freeze dry without a freeze dryer?

 

[SheepDog]

I have freeze dried herbs in a no frost freezer by placing the herbs in an open paper bag and put it in the bottom of the freezer. It takes a while but they are freeze dried. You have to freeze the jar you will keep them in and add the herbs to the jar while both are in the freezer. Seal the jar and set them on the counter to bring it back to room temperature.

 

[Mel]

What about freeze drying other stuff?

 

[SheepDog]

Mel,
I have only done herbs. I think if you tried veggies or meat you would be disappointed. The problem is the amount of time it would take. Fabricating a small vacuum chamber wouldn't be too hard but the pump would be the difficult part of that job. It is easy to get to a 30 inch of mercury vacuum but any more than that gets much more difficult with each step. Bearing in mind that you have to collect and/or remove the water during the process it will become more complicated.

 

[Peanut]

Recently my 30yr old spatula broke. I posted a joke about it. Others posted about the difficulty in finding good kitchen utensils. I shopped for a new spatula for a couple weeks and discovered the same prob.

The spatulas at the store were all too thick. I took a chance and ordered a couple. Score! These are perfect, thin but not floppy. Nylon instead of silicone.

Anyway, I recommend these. Perfect for turning eggs or other fragile foods yet strong enough to flip a ribeye steak. Pair for $15...

 

[UrbanHunter]

I have been prepping for a number of events, but my biggest concerns are losing the grid and water supplies... Anyway I have been looking a regular foods that I can "convert" to shelf stable medium term food reserves. Most of the family thinks that dad's a half bubble off plumb anyway so no big deal.

On my son's last visit he stumbled upon my low-wattage emergency electric appliances, you know the stuff that you could power off a small generator or 1500 watt inverter. He was not pleased! Dad, why do you have all this crap, you don't NEED any of it!

Anyway here is my list of low wattage electrical cooking appliances: Am I missing something?

Hot Plate (2 burner)
Pancake Griddle
Waffle Iron
Fry Daddy deep fryer
Small Air Frier
Small electric skillet
Small insulated electric crock pot
Small insta-pot
Small toaster oven
Small Microwave
Small coffee pot (I don't drink coffee but Hot water is good).

So there is my list, what would you add?

Am I off Plumb?

I have my solar panels started, I have a medium sized battery bank operational, I have the inverter running every day (it powers my growing station lights).

 

[Amish Heart]

You're not nuts. I think unprepared people are nuts.