Debra Medina

I have to say I am pretty impressed what this lady has to say.  Could we possibly have a REAL candidate for the Texas Governor's office? Take just a few minutes to listen and see what you think...You might be surprised!

I Give Up

There are alot of predictions about things spiraling out of control in our not to distant future. I happen to believe that S will HTF.  None of us know exactly when or exactly how it will happen.  Too many variables to be able to do so.  But I DO believe it will happen.


It used to frustrated me to no end that there were so many sheeple surrounding me.

They think I'm nuts of course.  And you know what... I have come to be ok with that....
I once felt compelled to try and make them see what was going on right in front of them.  

I don't feel compelled anymore. 

That might sound mean or selfish to some.  Maybe it is.  The truth is,  I just don't feel I have the time or patience anymore to try to open the eyes of those who refuse to see what is going on around them.  If they cant see it by now, they probably never will.

And even if they do, will it be to late?  On the other hand, when IS to late?   Was I to late?  I worry about that sometimes. That I didn't start early enough.  That it took me too long to see what was going on in our country and around the world.

So rather than wasting my time beating my head against a brick wall, I've come to realize that my time is better spent in other ways. Why should I expend anymore energy trying?  
My energy has had to become more focused. To be better spent making up for the lost time that it took me to open my eyes.  

 I tell people all the time....I don't want to be "right" as to our future and the future of this country. I want to be wrong.  I think all of us would like to be wrong about this.  I'm just not silly enough to believe that. 

As for knowing when the S will HTF.... who knows!  All I can say is that every day  that we are granted to work with is one more day to prepare ourselves and our loved ones for our futures.   Each and every day as a blessing.

Let's all remember that ok... 

Things I Can Learn From A Dog

Things I Can Learn From A Dog...
Author unknown

---

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.

Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

Take naps and stretch before rising.

Run, romp and play daily.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lay under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

No matter how often you're scolded,
don't buy into the guilt thing and pout... run right back and make friends.

Bond with your pack.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Global Warming?

I found this pretty interesting and thought some of you might as well.  I was especially interested in the information on Agenda 21.  HR 146 of 2009 was passed on March 30, 2009.  

Niggles

Saving...

I picked what looks like the last of the blackeyed peas this morning.  I'm just guessing, but I think we have put up around 4 gallon baggies this year. (one of those things I need to get around to is get the freezer inventoried)  We also put up 2 quarts of dried peas and about 2 pints of seed peas for next year.  Not a bad season for them at all!


I got another dozen  eggs dehydrated and put them up this morning. 
I also have the dehydrator going with a tray of okra, a couple of bell peppers, two trays of yellow squash, and two trays of carrots.   I'm pretty sure that's the last of the summer squash.   Forty quarts canned, tons dehydrated, and untold amounts eaten all summer. 

Its been a great run I tell ya! 


I have some of my "bakery buckets" cleaned out and will be putting up some of the things that need to be transferred from their original packages. Another thing I have been putting off. 

I was thinking about a comment a friend left yesterday.  Actually, I've been thinking about it since they first started cutting back hours at work.  I think I will use the time off to get some much needed work done around the house. I have all sorts of things that could use my attention. Things I just haven't seemed to quite get to.  




Not that we couldn't use the money lost, but I am feeling a real need lately to get our "house" in order.  So much so that I wake up thinking about things still left undone.

  Ernie calls those feelings niggles.  I like that word!  So I am going to follow my niggle this time!  

Make lemonade outta lemons so to speak.

This and That

Well the last few days have been interesting.  And not all in a good way.  My computer crashed and crashed hard. Many thanks to DH for all the time he spent working on it.  Things that should have been backed up weren't.  I've lost over a years worth of my pictures.  Oh well, live and learn. I guarantee that I will be much more careful in doing my backups from here forward.   At least it is up and running again, as there is no way we could afford to replace it at this time. 

There are some serious cutbacks going on at work.  One thing that bothers me is that the General Manager will not lay anyone off. He doesn't want to have to pay the unemployment.

  Everyone's hours are being cut.  The people that are pretty much just warm bodies he has cut from maybe 30 hours a week down to 20 then the next week down to 12. He's trying to get them to quit.


At least I am not in that little group!


I am hoping once some of the "dead" weight is gone my hours will go back up.  I AM down to 32 hours a week now.  Heck it was hard enough to get by on 40.  Another victim of the "economic recovery".

I've been looking for another part time job to take up the slack but I've not been seriously looking ya know?  Two applications doesn't constitute a real job search! 

Dodge Diesel On the Road!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! 


Several months ago, we were able to obtain a 91 Dodge 3/4 ton diesel with a Cummins motor.  The owner bought the truck with 17k miles on it.  From that point until he parked the truck in 2002 he kept detailed records.  Every thing that he ever did to the truck is in the paperwork,  even down to fuses replaced!  There is also a notebook for his fuel usage (even how much the fuel was per gallon)  A really sweet deal! 
I did a post awhile back about it.


He lived  here in the RV Park for years and the DH worked with him.  Well, Glen decided it was time to move back to his homestate of Montana and he put the truck up for sale.  DH worked out a deal with him to purchase the truck.  Trust me when I tell you that there was some serious bartering involved!

He made a super sweet deal on a great truck.DH has always worried that we had no vehicle to tow our trailer with.  No more worries now!
It has a fifth wheel hitch, electric brakes, and air suspension!  There were some minor things that had to be done to the truck to get it legal.  I think we have put another 500 hundred bucks in it.  All money well spent to be sure.  Sure there are some little things that need to be done but they are just that.  Little things. 


But we are now legally on the road and I'm doing a Happy Dance!

Experiments In Progress

I started out with good intentions today. I was all set to dehydrate potato's.   I peeled potato's, sliced them up, and started to blanch them. Then the phone rang.  I guess we  are having mashed potato's for dinner tonight!  LOL  Stuff happens, right?  


I'm trying my hand at making apple butter today as well.  Apples are on sale at our local grocery for $.99 lb.  I don't have much fruit or sweet stuff in our food storage and I am trying to focus on building that up.  That and the fact that it sounds so simple to do is another plus.
  If it works out I am going to be doing some more this week.  I hardly ever do "projects" unless the ingredients are on sale. I did the same with the strawberry jam a few weeks back.  They were $1.78 a lb so I picked up several pounds over the course of two weeks and put up 28 jars of jam.

Another great deal this week is in the meat department.  $1.00 a pound whole pork loin and $1.00 lb chicken breasts.  I picked up a nice looking 9.5 lb pork loin and cut it into pork loin chops. They now reside in our freezer!  I'm going to pick up another one in the next couple of days and try my hand at canning it.  We shall see!  I picked up 10 lbs of  chicken breasts as well.  Meat is another area of food storage I don't feel I have covered in the least little bit.  I mean, there is only so much you can do with tuna!  I would just feel better knowing that I had some meats we are used to eating on a regular basis in the pantry.


I also have some more eggs in the dehydrator today.  I only have two fruit roll up trays so I can only do a dozen at a time.  I wish I had some more trays but I'm not going to buy them if I don't have to. (And I don't have to!!)  This time around I am raising the heat on the eggs.  It took over 24 hours last time to dry them.  

So the experiments  continues!




UPDATE!!


The apple butter turned out awesome! 

CraigsList

My buddy Kronic posted this one!  All I can say is...... PRICELESS!!


CRAIGSLIST

To the Guy Who Tried to Mug Me in Downtown Savannah night before last.

Date: 2009-05-27, 1:43 a.m. E.S.T.

I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on me and my girlfriend, threatening our lives. You also asked for my girlfriend’s purse and earrings. I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.

First, I’d like to apologize for your embarrassment; I didn’t expect you to actually crap in your pants when I drew my pistol after you took my jacket. The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason. My girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening. Obviously you agree that it is a very intimidating weapon when pointed at your head … isn’t it?!

I know it probably wasn’t fun walking back to wherever you’d come from with that brown sludge in your pants. I’m sure it was even worse walking bare-footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again].

After I called your mother or “Momma” as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you’d done. Then I went and filled up my gas tank as well as those of four other people in the gas station, — on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 150 gallons and was extremely grateful!

I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go’s, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That made his day!]

I then threw your wallet into the big pink “pimp mobile” that was parked at the curb … after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver’s side of the car.

Later, I called a bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell phone. Ma Bell just now shut down the line, although I only used the phone for a little over a day now, so what ’s going on with that? Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA’s office and one to the FBI, while mentioning President Obama as my possible target.
The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number etc.).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you … but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider, the career path you’ve chosen to pursue in life. Remember, next time you might not be so lucky.Have a good day!
Thoughtfully yours,
Alex

P.S. Remember this motto … An armed society makes for a more civil society!

Lighter Things

After reading through some of the blogs in the last couple of days I found myself a bit depressed and quite disillusioned.  So I am opting for  just a little bit of humor today.  And so I present to you...  Saturday Funnies!

Microwave Chocolate Cake

DH found this recipe over at AllRecipes.com 
Easy Easy Easy..... just what you need for a fast chocolate fix!  He likes to drizzle chocolate syrup over it while its hot!  I have to admit...It is really good!

Microwave Chocolate Cake

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Spray a medium microwave-safe bowl with non-stick spray and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, and milk; blend together. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; blend into the mixture until smooth. Pour into greased bowl.
2. Cover and cook in the microwave on high for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until cake springs back when touched. Since all microwaves cook differently, adjust the cooking time to accommodate your machine. To serve, let the cake cool five minutes, then cover the bowl with a plate and turn both bowl and plate upside down so the cake falls onto the plate.

Lodi

There's music and then there's music....  Blast from the past!!!!

Then and Now

I waited tables for years off and on, with a few breaks for other job adventures.  In the end it seems I always end up back in food service.  Some of you may recall that I started a new job about three months ago.  Still food service, but not waiting tables. 


Waiting tables gives you a daily paycheck.  You work for tips and the $2.13 an hour wage JUST covers the taxes.  There is a daily cash flow from waiting tables.  You never know "exactly" how much you are going to make but you can pretty much "depend" on a certain amount of cash everyday.  Sometimes a little more...sometimes a little less.  The job I have now is hourly and the paychecks only come twice a month.


I know, I know!  Most everyone lives like this. You will  have to take my word for it when I tell you the transition into the bi-monthly money from the cash daily money has been difficult.   Some might think its not that big a deal. But after having cash available every day for so many years and then to go back to getting paid twice a month, I've had to rethink alot of things.  I've had to remind myself over and over that what I have right now is all that I will have until the next check. 




The reason I bring all this up is because of the effect it has had on my storage preps.  I have had to rethink the way I prep.  I used to put back X amount of dollars every day for the bills. But if there was a great sale at the grocery store, I could fudge the budget and know that I would be able to put back that amount the next day.  No longer!  Now my lists are not vague they are concrete.  I had forgotten this aspect of life to be honest.


I should be ashamed of myself. 

 

The Flu

With all the talk around about the flu, it amazes me that people are still pretty much ignorant in my neck of the woods.  I have the perfect example.
I work with a lady who took her 4 year old for a flu shot.  4 years old!  Why in the world would you do that?  Well about 3 days later the school calls her at work.  Her boy is sick.  She needs to go get him. 

She took him to the doctor, and you guessed it, the kids got the flu.  She found a friend to watch the boy so she could go to work.   Well, a couple of days later the babysitter comes into the restaurant with the boy in tow.  You could tell by looking at the kid that he was really really sick. And coughing, I might add. 

What in the world was she thinking?  I wish I knew.  I asked her why she had brought the kid in.  She said they wanted to get something to eat.  My blood level raised just a little. Hey I'm getting older and more prone to pick up "stuff".  Not to mention the fact that they are exposing the general population to the flu.  And what about that poor little boy?  I KNOW he wasn't feeling like being dragged around town.


I told her she shouldn't have him out in public and that he was going to make others sick.  She just kinda of shrugged. She honestly didn't see what the problem was. 
The next day she called in sick.  Yep!  She has the flu.  People seem to have little regard for the well-being of others. 

That makes me nervous because I come into direct contact with at least a hundred people a day.  I feel like a sitting duck.  
And the nasal flu spray is now in town. Not that I am going to be taking any flu vaccine anyway.  Did you know that a person who takes the nasal spray sheds the virus for 21 days!


Now that is scarey. 

Squash Casserole

I had the pleasure of talking with my grandmother yesterday. She turned 95 on the first of October!  I call her several times a month.  They are usually short chats as her hearing is getting bad and it frustrates her to no end!  So I will call here while I am on break at work.  Or like yesterday I called while waiting to have the inspection sticker renewed.  

My granddad used to have a really large garden every year and they did lots and lots of canning.  I always thought she was the one to do the canning.  Until yesterday.  
Come to find out she was deathly afraid of the canner and the canning process.  Imagine my shock to find out that my granddad did the canning.  Funny, I remembered her in the kitchen all those years and didn't know that.  Her job while canning was to sterilize the jars, prep the veggies and fruits, fill the jars and hand them off to granddad to be processed!  

She is so proud of the fact that we are gardening and canning. Like she said, its become almost a lost art.  She also said that she was so glad that we were preparing for harder times. Did I mention she went through the Great Depression?  Even though she only watches MSM she knows things are bad and bound to get worse.  

Then she asked "The Question".  Have you made squash casserole this year?  I turned red when I realized I had not.  Her squash casserole was always one of my favorite dishes and she taught me to make it.  I am putting it on my list of things to do with the last little bit of  summer squash this week.  
So I thought I would share her recipe with you guys.   It's really easy and has very few ingredients.

         Grans Squash Casserole

3-4 lbs yellow squash
aprox 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 sleeve of crackers (saltines or ritz work) crushed

1 can cream of mushroom soup
aprox 1-1/2 cups milk
salt and pepper



Mix the cream of mushroom soup with the milk and set aside.  Butter a casserole dish and start layering the squash, crackers and cheese and continue until you get to the top.  Pour the milk mixture onto the casserole and do a final layer of cheese and sprinkle of crackers on top.
Pop it in the oven at 350 and let it cook about a half an hour.

Grab a plate and dig in!!

Black Eyed Peas

I picked a huge mess of blackeyed peas today and will be shelling them on the patio this afternoon.  I can't believe we are still getting peas this late in the season.  Hey, I'm not going to fuss about that though!  We both LOVE them.  

I also love the fact that if I don't get them picked soon enough to shell "fresh" I can just let them dry and we have.... yep.... dried blackeyed peas!


I don't know if you recall, but I have been having some problems with the seed I planted in September. 
Out of a bed aprox. 4x16 I planted turnips.  From those seeds I got 9 turnips started.  Very disappointing.  I have replanted in two other beds with no luck.  At the same time I planted some lettuce, spinach and cabbage.  All that resulted from that was one lonely lettuce plant.
  
Today I was out picking peas and noticed that there were 10 little lettuce plants poking out of the dirt!  I guess it wasn't a total wash after all. 

Out in the Garden

I love my dehydrator!  I have some potato's that are going to go bad if I don't do something with them.  The two of us just don't go through potato's before they start to get "old". 
So, you guessed it.  I will be drying them today.  


I was out in the garden picking okra again today.  I also picked some more yellow squash.  Amazing that they are still producing but I can't fuss.  The only thing is that the production has slowed down to where there aren't enough to break out the  canner for a  load.  So these too will be headed for the dehydrator.  


The winter squash is comming right along.  There are several babies out there right now and from the looks of things there will be plently more to come.  My tomato's aren't doing well this fall.  I suppose I will have to actually stock up on store canned tomato's for the fall.  

I guess you can't win them all!

How to Dehydrate Eggs

Kymbers from the Canadian Preppers Network asked me to post the How-to  For Dehydrate Eggs. And so this post is dedicated to her!


Dean from Az gave me the instructions for drying eggs. Thanks again Dean!


Just scramble the eggs like you would normally. Pull out your fruit roll up trays and pour the eggs onto the tray's.  I found mine hold 6 eggs per tray.
Then let them go till they are dry. I wasn't thinking and didn't turn up the temperature from the last time I had used it.  I didn't even think about it at the time. It might account for the almost orange tint to them.  They looked a little weird.

I remember hearing they should be dry in about 16 hours.  It took over 24 hours for them to get done.  Like I said, I think I just had the heat a little low.  These came out with a tiny bit of "oily" feel but I figured that was probably normal. 
I powdered mine in a blender and then placed them in a ziplock baggie. Then I put them in a canning jar and vaccum sealed them.(did I mention I love my FoodSaver... hehe)

One thing I am sure of is that I will be doing more eggs!  When SHTF I can see them being  very good thing to have in my food storage. They are an excellent source of protein too.  I love scrambled eggs.  A personal comfort food.  Omelets also come to mind.  Not to mention the fact that you can used them for baking and such.  They will also work for other things that you would like to dredge in egg before cooking.
I am keeping an eye on the ones I have put up now as an experiment.  Hey, after no refrigeration, they are still good about two weeks later.  

I now see that I have no excuse to have my dehydrator idle.   Eggs are cheap here now.  I might as well take advantage of that while I still can.  I need to find some more trays so I can do more than 1 dozen at a time. 

  I'm moving into 24/7 mode now!!

Another Round of Okra

I posted this picture for a reason.  I saw a picture over at Hoof and Barrel of Hoss's cats.  They looked so much like mine that at first I was wondering how she had pictures of my cats!!!   
 Ok now back to what I was originally going to write about!


We have a "routine" in the afternoons.  We both get home about the same time of day. We usually both end up catching up on emails, blogs, favorite sites etc...  Then we head out to the patio and enjoy the outdoors.  Piddle in the garden, play with the cats, catch up on the days doings. Shell peas, which is again on the agenda for today.   Just stuff!

Lately,we are picking okra everyday.
  Okra will get away from you if your not diligent about picking it. I have enough in the fridge with what I picked this morning to do another round of dehydrating.  I think this time I will uses some cajun seasoning on them before drying. 
This serves a dual purpose.  First, I have found they make great snack treats and are great for just munching dry.  My thinking is also that if for some reason we don't have seasonings when I rehydrate them, they will already be seasoned!  They rehydrate great and will fry up just like fresh.

Its a Great Day

Kronic from over at the preppers chat shared this with us ... I just thought I should pass it on!
Made me laugh like a 6th grader.

Dehydrated Eggs

Today I decided to try the eggs I dehydrated a week or two ago.  Once they came out of the dryer they looked a bit weird.  Darkish yellow.

  I put them in the blender and powdered them then put them in a baggie.  I took the baggie and vaccum sealed it in a jar, then put it up in the cupboard.  

Today I decided to try a taste test.  I placed one teaspoon of powdered egg in a bowl and added two teaspoons of water to it.  I let it sit for about 15 minutes.
  It really didn't look all that appealing.  There were still little "chunks" of  dehydrated eggs in it.  

Not to be put off, I put a little oil in a pan and poured the egg in and scrambled it.  I was a bit leary to try it at first, but I did the taste test.

They came out GREAT!  We have another winner!  Now I just need to get some more eggs. 
I will be keeping an eye on this first batch to see how long they will remain good. 

Smoked Meat

It's been raining for the past couple of days.  We need it to be sure.
The DH fired up the pit yesterday and smoked a chicken (the neighbor put one on too.... heck why waste fire!) He also did a rack of baby backs.  Needless to say, it came out wonderful.  And was joined by some blackeyed peas with bacon and onion for seasoning, as well as some fried squash and homemade chili bread.
 
I wonder what the rich people ate?

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The DH has made a decision which I wholeheartedly agree with.  We will, from this day forward, not be saving money.  We are going to put every nickle and every dime into preps. 
The dollar is tanking as we speak.  I think its wiser to use it before all it is good for is toilet paper.  I wish we had done this a whole lot sooner. 

 

I also wish I hadn't been so hardheaded and listened to the DH more closely.   He has been trying to warn me for years.  He  never pushed  it hard because he knew that  one day I would "get" it.  I had my head planted firmly in the sand and wasted precious time and money for years.  
That I didn't wake up soon enough is glaringly obvious.  But I did wake up, finally. 
I just wish I hadn't slept in so late!


All those years he was buying camping gear and the like, I  just figured it was because we love to camp.  The tools I wrote off as "its a guy thing".  The gardening he always did was just a cool hobby, right?  The fact that he is an excellent horse and cattleman I chalked up to his living on ranches all his young life.   That he can handle just about any problem that needs solving I chalked up to his life skills. I never gave a second thought about how he fixed all our cars, or how we have NEVER called a plumber or an electrician. 

Until last year. 


He shared something with me something that he had never discussed with anyone before. He told me that when he was a little kid he can remember he wanted to learn "everything".  And that he knew, instinctively, that there was a purpose for this mindset. He has been on a lifequest to be ready for "something" even while not knowing what that something was.

The man has essentially been prepping all his life. 


For that , I am grateful.

Because I believe , in my heart of hearts, that we are running out of time.  Something wicked this way comes and I am not prepared.