Preparations Update

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That was good thinking, LL. I've done very little canning the past few years but planning to do a lot this summer. I still have enough lids to get me through this season and a little beyond. I'll stock up where and when I can because it's next year that could be a problem for me. I'm going to do a lot more drying, too. Ah, yes. The great TP debacle. I confess I had a higher opinion of people in my area until that happened and it was just as nutty here as anywhere else.
 
The sick feeling in my guts won't go away and so I'm rushing through my list of Needful Things to get before things go from bad to worse.

I NEED a solid farm kitchen table with a lot of overhang so I can screw down my grain grister, tomato mill, flour mill, and meat grinder to the edge and operating them with gusto without the table moving.
I have to keep searching the second hand furniture stores for one because the new ones I like cost over a thousand dollars. I wish I was kidding there.

A giant strainer and stainless steel bowl, plastic food grade tub with dispenser valve <--these are really neat. You put your reduced sauce into the tub and you fill your jars by pushing the rim of the jar against a inbuilt lever and it pours the sauce into the jars so long as the jar is against it.
https://homemakeit.com.au/collectio...t-with-tomato-sauce-filling-nozzle-only-1-1-4It really is a no fuss way of filling a lot of jars quickly.

I need a smaller kayak to tow behind the tandem kayak to pack extra stuff to build a base camp and then to use as a everyday while I beach the tandem.

I want more broad heads, another 2 dozen carbon arrows but these fletched with feathers.
A very good take down recurve bow or at least a IFL TBow. Those are damned sweet.
At least another 6 stings - individually wrapped in waterproof packaging is a must.

Snare making supplies for larger animals like deer.

More canning jars and lids.

Finally I am still searching for the right roma tomato for my climate and needs. I had a failed harvest last season and I CAN NOT allow that to happen this coming season. The disease pressure here has to be seen to be believed and so heirlooms - as much as I would LOVE to be a heirloom snob, just fall over dead without a whimper. I'm going to have to contact a number of commercial seed suppliers and get their thoughts on varieties that tick all the boxes for me.
Hardiness, production, flavor, vigor and hopefully in a determinate.
Let's see it it's a too big of an ask.
 
Ask your local extension office about heirloom varieties that work in your area. There are heirloom plants that are blight resistant and plants you can put close by to stop bugs. Good soil with the right nutrients go a long way to making hardy plants.
 
This is wimpy compared to what Tank is doing, but I picked up another 5 cans of coffee. Also, my cobbler machine is something that's been on my list for some time. Being able to stitch leather (shoes in particular). I have a few other things on my watch for it list. AlsoThanks Tank, I told Hubby he might pick up some extra broadheads etc. He likes to hunt with bow and arrow.
 
lilmissy said:
@Tank-Girl i never seen a plastic tub like that. I had to look it up. But cant figure out how you use it. The metal piece that sticks out the bottom, is this what goes into the jar to fill it? If so, only like juice would work not anything thicker, right?
Click to expand...
No. But we'll see when it turns up how well the sauce flows through it.
 
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This is the T Bow Hunting IFL Hunting recurve I'm getting.


It can be used as a take down which I prefer because as much as I adore my Bear compound if the cables or string break out in the field they're staying broke.
Fitting a new string on a recurve is the work of mere moments.

When it comes to broad heads I prefer Ozcut or Extract. Solid no frills design that stay sharp and "true" after multiple uses with no roll over. I've found the tanto tip very durable when passing through bone or accidently bouncing off rock or hard ground.
 
I’ve used oil lanterns my whole life, got to have one. The one I use most I got at a flea market 30yrs ago. A no name brand piece of junk but I’ve had no issues until I had to replace the wick a couple years ago. I bought a new wick and still use it.

I bought two new ones (cheap pieces of junk) about 10yrs ago. The other night when the power was out I went to put fuel in one. The refill cap twisted off in my hand leaving the threads behind, grrrr.

I’ve been checking prices off/on for years, never see them on sale anywhere. The other night I checked Lehman’s in Ohio. Their items are usually waaay over priced but these lanterns were reasonable, comparatively speaking. They are made by Feuerhand in Germany. These were $40ea and Feuerhand makes a decent quality lantern according to the many reviews I’ve read over the years.

They arrived today and I checked them thoroughly for function of all moving parts, wick feed, the globes come out easily for cleaning yet are secure in operating position, tank caps operate well. I’m happy with them. Over all they are very well made.

I have several LED lanterns and they have their uses but so do oil lanterns. Oil lanterns provide low level light. Led lanterns tend to blind everyone in the room. They ruin your night vision when there is need to check clouds during a storm at night. During a big storm I literally stand in the door continually checking the winds, clouds and listening for sounds of a tornado.

On average I lose power once a month for 4 to 6 hrs. Because of the recent tornado outbreaks and spring storms I been without power 20+ hours in 3 weeks, all at night. The burn time for these lanterns per full tank of fuel is 19hrs. Exactly what I’m looking for to provide low level light during power outages.

Hopefully these will last for decades, at least my lifetime.

lantern sm.JPG
 
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Tank-Girl said:
With my mind on tooling up for this year's growing/canning season I thought I had better stock up on jar lids.
I'll leave this screen grab right here which I think says it all about whether or not inflation is here or not.

View attachment 63415
Click to expand...
Same here. If you check out Walmart online, prices have been in the $16-18 range, 12.75 at the moment. BUT, if you can catch them when they are in the store, they’re about 2.50. Hard to find, and people grab them fast. I suspect demand will greatly exceed supply.
Yikes! A 10 lb box mailed to you would cost $70-120. Never mind the next thought.....
 
I live within a nice afternoon drive of Leymon
Peanut said:
I’ve used oil lanterns my whole life, got to have one. The one I use most I got at a flea market 30yrs ago. A no name brand piece of junk but I’ve had no issues until I had to replace the wick a couple years ago. I bought a new wick and still use it.

I bought two new ones (cheap pieces of junk) about 10yrs ago. The other night when the power was out I went to put fuel in one. The refill cap twisted off in my hand leaving the threads behind, grrrr.

I’ve been checking prices off/on for years, never see them on sale anywhere. The other night I checked Lehman’s in Ohio. Their items are usually waaay over priced but these lanterns were reasonable, comparatively speaking. They are made by Feuerhand in Germany. These were $40ea and Feuerhand makes a decent quality lantern according to the many reviews I’ve read over the years.

They arrived today and I checked them thoroughly for function of all moving parts, wick feed, the globes come out easily for cleaning yet are secure in operating position, tank caps operate well. I’m happy with them. Over all they are very well made.

I have several LED lanterns and they have their uses but so do oil lanterns. Oil lanterns provide low level light. Led lanterns tend to blind everyone in the room. They ruin your night vision when there is need to check clouds during a storm at night. During a big storm I literally stand in the door continually checking the winds, clouds and listening for sounds of a tornado.

On average I lose power once a month for 4 to 6 hrs. Because of the recent tornado outbreaks and spring storms I been without power 20+ hours in 3 weeks, all at night. The burn time for these lanterns per full tank of fuel is 19hrs. Exactly what I’m looking for to provide low level light during power outages.

Hopefully these will last for decades, at least my lifetime.

View attachment 62692
Click to expand...
I live within a nice afternoon drive of Leymons.

Nice drive.

The store is part museum with wonderful artifacts.

There is a lamp department that covers everything .

Ben
 
DW came home from the store with food & Shabbos Candles 72 paraffin wax for reduced $1.49. $1.49 : 72 =0.020 or 2 cents each.
They last about 2.5 hours X 72 =180 hours per box.
We get a box every year, when they go on sale.
 
Tank-Girl said:
With my mind on tooling up for this year's growing/canning season I thought I had better stock up on jar lids.
I'll leave this screen grab right here which I think says it all about whether or not inflation is here or not.

View attachment 63415
Click to expand...
I have been lucky, I asked my friends to keep an eye out for the canning lids, ACE hardware and Walmart both carry ball products. Got a call on Sunday afternoon, "Hey, I'm at W-Mart and they have those lids you want at $2.19@ how many do you want?"

Our canning closet is now fully stocked, a flat of wide mouth lids and a flat of regular, last count I was approaching 50 flats of jars... no I don't think I will need to worry for a while.
 
Tank, I’m sorry. I know it was late night for me and my eyesight isn’t so hot, but the excise tax hit me later. The lids are made in America...... does that mean all import stuff is that much more expensive for you? I am so sorry if that is true. That makes things really difficult.
 
Tank-Girl said:
With my mind on tooling up for this year's growing/canning season I thought I had better stock up on jar lids.
I'll leave this screen grab right here which I think says it all about whether or not inflation is here or not.

View attachment 63415
Click to expand...
Wow, so do I read it right, $37.80 for 12 lids? I looked and a flat rate box from the US to down-under would cost about $100US and if they could get the lids in the US for $3.15 it would cost about $170 for 24 boxes of lids, or $7.12 per box delivered, there could be profit with a $30/box savings, depends on the exchange rate. Are there any domestic companies that make knockoff lids at a reasonable price?
 
Thanks everyone. The same company I got my screen grab from has pint jars with lids and rings included. I need more jars and I need more lids and so it seems sensible to buy these in bulk. I have a small store of regular mouth lids so these will have to get me through the second use of these jars. I am even willing to entertain using lids a second time.
I may...MAY have found a source of regular mouth lids at a reasonable price.
If it proves out I'll be filling my boots for sure.

I deeply appreciate all the offers of help.
Times are bad but they ARE going to get worse.
If you can find canning supplies BUY THEM NOW.
If you think they are too expensive they aren't.
 
This is a good time to invest in a dehydrator if you don't have one. Maybe pick up a big one and a smaller one so you if you have a smaller amount of something (like a couple of bags of frozen vegetables) you're not wasting the energy and space of a larger dryer. I've gotten the big #10 cans of pineapple rings and dried them for the kids for their Christmas baskets. You can then use the juice to make jelly if you're ambitious. Way cheaper than buying the dried fruits and veggies.
 
I was looking for a replacement because I couldn't get a part for my excalibur. For some reason they don't seem to sell bits and pieces any more.

I found one available on line but didn't get it ordered. Two days later it wasn't available. Three weeks later wally world had one on line but it had increased in price by $12.00. Turns out it was sold before I ordered. Three weeks ago they were available with another price jump of $26.00. I couldn't find one any where else.

Its gotten to the point that we are all going to be fighting tooth and nail to find ways and means to store our pittance. I sure hope things keep to a dull roar at least until fall.
 
Thanks. I checked but they don't do dehydrator parts. I need a thermostat and was going to buy a spare heating element as well. They also have a message stating no parts for any small appliances.

I tried to order them back in March /19 but we went into the first lock down and Excalibur.ca seems to have closed down.

Its clear we need to be stocking repair parts for anything that is important to us. Some DYI hard copies for anything you own is becoming a must. Youtube is no longer a safe bet.

I just bought 20 bolts/washers/nuts and same for lag screws for every size in the specialty store. Next its basic plumbing fittings. Its hard tp prepare for crap you don't even know about yet. I do think that fiat money is about to become worthless.

A tough debate I am having right now is whether or not to buy some high end electric mountain bikes. They are good for 140 km per charge. Our gas is sitting around $6.00/gal and with additional carbon taxes it will go even higher.

I may need to save the gas for a once a month or two or six months trip to town if they shove vaccine mandates or 'summer camps for educational purposes' down our throats.

Good thing about being post middle age is not having to stock for more than 10 -15 years of furtive independence.
 
ClemKadiddlehopper said:
Thanks. I checked but they don't do dehydrator parts. I need a thermostat and was going to buy a spare heating element as well. They also have a message stating no parts for any small appliances.

....

Good thing about being post middle age is not having to stock for more than 10 -15 years of furtive independence.
Click to expand...
The Princess invests in freeze dried food every month. I have claimed

We have food rated to out live me.

Ben
 
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