Vehicle Preparedness

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      As you know, we have our G.O.O.D. bags. They are packed and ready just in case we need to get out of our home quickly and efficiently. But what if we are not at home? If I am not at home, I am at my work or I at least am near my Tahoe. Disasters strike when you least expect them. I always try to be prepared for those unexpected times. 
     What if my car breaks down when we are far from home? It has happened before... Late one night my husband and I were traveling home from out of town. My truck started to overheat. We ended up stranded on the side of the road. It was so late and we were still so far out, we did not want to call anyone. AND we are way to frugal to call a tow truck. We used the extra blankets in the back to snuggle up with and called someone in the morning. 
     Since I live in Texas, there have been a few times we have been at the school, hunkered down in the hall ways, on our knees, praying a tornado does not come. But what if one did? Although the school has preparations in place, I will still have to travel home at some point. 
     Ever been at the ball field or park and suddenly find yourself in need of a medical kit for a scrape or cut? A couple of weeks ago, Zoey was playing with her little cousin and stepped onto a metal spike (OUCH!) and it went through her shoe. Quick trip to the truck for some disinfecting and a bandage.. and she was off and running again! (Okay, so she was hobbling, but she did not let it stop her.)
     When I got the call about my husband being in the hospital after the accident, I went to my truck and grabbed out what I knew I would need at the hospital. Ibuprofen and my allergy medicine, Chap stick, lotion, snack bars, and my 'rainy day' money. But, those are a just a few items I keep in my truck. 

So what else do I keep in my truck? 

     This is the back of my truck. Is it always this clean? Not necessarily.. I haul feed and hay in this thing. I did spend some time last week getting all the nasty out and vacuuming it. I also went though my prep bags and made sure everything was put back in order. We actually use all of these things quite often. The booster seats are for when I get my nephews. (Got to be prepared for that!) Zoey's soft ball backpack and bat are in the back as well. If we have to try to get home on foot, her bag can be easily emptied and items from the back of the truck put into it. The bat can be used for self defense. I have a little black tool kit and jumper cables.  

    
Did you notice the red and white bags? They are insulated bags I got a while back for FREE! One has blankets and a tarp in it. The other is my emergency food bag. There is a gallon baggie with plates, napkins, and a few of those take out fork, spoon, and knife sets. I keep a jar of peanut butter, a couple packages of crackers, some snack bars, dried cranberries and pretzels. I added a plastic jar of instant rice with a left over packet of chicken seasoning stored at the top. The seasoning was left over from a ramen noodles packet. I also put some take out condiments in it. Soy sauce, honey, and ketchup! Cause you never know when you will catch a squirrel when you are stranded. 

     My tool box is not a tool box. It is my medical kit. It's okay, still working on it. But it has most of the essentials. Today I reorganized it and even added some feminine pads. Along with the normal stuff, there is also juice boxes, snack bars, a book, CPR mask, 2 sunburn relief gels (one with lidocaine), and toilet paper. I like my tool box, but I think if I get another one, it will be like THIS. How much cooler would that be? Do you have a mini med kit in your vehicle? What is it stored in? What's in it?

     That is pretty much a mini run down on what I keep in my truck. I use all of my kits often for a variety of reasons and they are there when ever I need them. 

     

What are some reasons you need to pack a few "Get Home" items? We <3 your comments! 


Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online.

Life Gets In The Way

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     So now you know about my husband's accident, however, you would not believe how much it has altered our lives. Not only has life taken a turn for us, but, it is also getting in the way. (Mostly, it is my blogging that is suffering.) This is why. 
    The first week we were home from the hospital, my husband needed constant supervision. He was barely walking with a cane. I had to help him to the restroom, taking a shower, and putting on his clothes. The kids and I were his hands and feet for everything. If he was hungry, we got him food. If he was thirsty, we got him a drink. We set up the garage with a bed borrowed from my mother's spare bedroom. I was the only one sleeping in it, because, laying flat was not an option for him. He slept in his comfy recliner. He would fall asleep at 8 p.m. but of course I would be up till nearly midnight. Bathroom breaks were sporadic through out the night; he was awake by 4 a.m. and I would be up to make coffee. 
     Chores needed to be done every day. My own plus his was getting to be a job within itself. Every day, I would make a list of what he needed done around the house plus what I did. And every day, the kids and I would tackle the list together. I have always known how much my husband does around our house and mini farm, but until then, I never realized how much. I'm not sure that makes much sense to you, but it sure makes sense to me. Adding in his chores, even with the help of the kids, was exhausting. Small naps and tons of coffee kept me going. 
    Before the accident, we signed Zoey up for softball. My mom took her to the first few practices for me. Alex had gone with my brother to help him remodel a house his family bought recently. I couldn't leave Mike alone. He is a strong willed and stubborn man that does not like the fact he can not do much on his own. One early morning, I was awoke by a crashing sound. He had woke up and decided to get his own coffee and let me sleep. He was getting around just fine, until he decided to move the recliner closer to the T.V. and became off balance. He fell into the wood burning stove. My sleepy brain did not register that he had fallen. Sitting straight up in bed, the garage dimly lit, and still asleep, I thought he was just stoking the fire. It was not until my son come running in asking what happened, that I realized he had fallen. Luckily, nothing was hurt but his pride. We moved the reclining love seat into the garage instead of the recliner so we could sleep side by side. No need to move any furniture around anymore. ;)  
     The next week, Mike was getting around a little better, but the kids and I were still doing everything around the house. Alex was back home. Zoey and I did not make it to co-op because she came down with the stomach flu. I only got a few work hours in the first few weeks. 
     We started getting our garden ready for planting. Growing our own food has never been more important or as needed. Alex tilled the garden for me. His first time was pretty dang good! Zoey and I started our seedlings. My new potato bucket is growing beautifully. I am excited it is working this time. The sun has made all the difference. (Okay, so maybe winter gardening in the garage didn't work so well. But, do you blame a girl for trying?) My tomato plant I have babied all winter is HUGE and has little tomatoes already forming. We also ended up with a few new chicks. Two of them were not claimed from the daycare's annual chick hatch. The other was bought at our local feed store. I keep saying no more chickens.. but they keep finding their way into our hearts and home. The chick we got before the accident turned out to be a rooster. 

     

The day before Easter, my cousin called me with 3 free rabbits. We hosted Easter dinner at my house since getting out of the house takes a lot out of Mike. It was a great day. Both sides of our families attended. At one point my sister laughed and said, "Only my sister would have LIVE bunnies hopping around her garage for Easter!" 
     We went back to the hospital in Dallas for Mike's follow up appointments. Even though he is recovering far better than what the doctor's thought he would, he still has a long way to go. The doctors predict he will be out of work still for another 3-6 months. 
     Although we have had support from some family and friends, we are still struggling with the loss of his paycheck every week. I only work a few days a week at my job normally. Luckily, my boss has allowed me to take up as many hours as I can. This helps to pay the bills, but it seemed like every time I tried to work, something happened that kept me from working long. Thank goodness I prepare for emergency situations. My preps, plus donations from friends and family, and a visit to a local food bank, help to keep food on the table. Every little bit helps. 
     So now it has a little over a month since the accident. My husband is no longer using a cane. We are sleeping upstairs in our own bed. (Thank goodness! I'm not sure how much longer my hips could take sleeping on the love seat.) He still can not lift much, bend well, stoop over, or do much like he did before his accident. What he can do, takes much longer and wears him out. Alex has started a new job, but until we can get the old truck on the road and insurance on him, I will be taking him back and forth to work. When our homeschool co-op classes end, I will be returning to work full time myself. I will have to balance work, the garden, sewing, farm and house chores, homeschool, and softball. I just hope I can balance blogging in somewhere. 

     Life is still getting in the way and will continue to do so. But, honestly, I truly feel blessed to be just 'getting by.' 


Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Setting Up A Preparedness Group In Your Area

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    I really want to set up a preparedness group my area. Especially one that offers kid friendly get togethers and classes! Setting up a preparedness group can be a valuable resource for you.  Having a community means having back up when you need it. In case of emergency, you can't do everything on your own. You will need help. I am not good on hunting, but I can cook large meals, forage, garden, and preserve food. I may not be great on the medical side, but, I can teach, sew and Crochet. Think about all of the skills you are great with and can share with others. Now think about all of the skills others can share with you! My grandparents and their siblings had a community in the mountains. Each all chose their professions based on what would benefit the community. I love this idea. (No, I'm not talking about running for the hills and making a commune, but, knowing a bunch of like minded folks with different skill sets sounds nice to me.)
    I have been kicking around a few ideas on what kind of group classes that can be offered. Not all of them are 'kid friendly' but all of them would be good skills to learn. Not sure when I will be able to set up my own prepareness group any time soon. But, I have found a lot of people in my area that have the same interests as we do. I'm making friends. 

1. CPR/ First Aid
2. Join or start a Neighborhood Watch
3. Check to see if your Local Ag Extension offers classes.
4. Also try your local parks and wildlife centers
5. Foraging classes 
6. Master Gardener's like to put on presentations
7. Thrive Life Freeze Dried Foods have in house demonstration parties. 
8. You can do a group buy in to save money by buying bulk
9. Prepping on a Budget would be a good class
10. Couponing class put on by a local expert
11. Herbal/medicinal speaker
12. Bug Out Bag demo to see what others are packing
13. Primitive skills/camping trip
14. Self Defense Class- Most instructors will come to you
15. Paint ball special ops team challenges (How fun would that be!)
16. Sewing Basics- Fun for the whole family
17. Creating fire in different situations- Everyone needs to know and practice this!
18. Hiking with BOBs- Trust me... You need the practice!
19. Dutch Oven cookout
20. Old fashioned barn raising- or help someone build something else. Good practice or teaching experience. 
21. Making homemade DIY items; Soap, laundry detergent, cleaners
22. Essential Oil classes
23. Local Nurse presentation
24. Craft classes
25. Hunting/Tracking lessons
26. Water filtration/expert 
27. Bow practice day
28. Basics of distillation
29. Agua ponics, hydroponics expert presentation and maybe even a field trip
30. How Tos and Expert Demos: rocket stoves, waste oil demos,
31. Butchering Techniques 
32. Communications
33. Trapping
34. Emergency Shelter Build
35. Brewing Homemade beer
36. Various classes on food preservation- huge learning list here!
37. Preserving with a food saver
38. Pressure canning 
39. Water bath canning
40. Oven dehydrating
41. Medication alternatives (Herbal and Medicinal/Pet)
42. Prepping for pets
43. Building a root cellar
44. Cast iron cooking
45. Home made bread baking
46. Making apple cider vinegar and its uses
47. DIY candles
48. Knot basics
49. First aid preps and buy in
50. Meat preservation
51. Greenhouse build
52. Raised garden beds
53. Composting
54. Solar energy (I wonder if Home Depot or Lowes has an expert) 

     These are just a few of the classes or discussions I am interested in learning about. Do you have anything you would add to this list? 

Thank you to Alyssa over at The Bow Legged Cowboy for letting me pick her brain! 

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Take A Hike

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     Along with our new motto for the year, 'Do More,' we are also following our old motto of 'If you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.' And that is just what we did, We took a walk! Full G.O.O.D. bag, gear and all! It was a bit chilly, 42 degrees. Maybe that is not chilly for where you live, but it is for Texas. Definitely, a lot chillier than I want to go for a walk in. However, the girl has been begging me to go out since BEFORE we got her New G.O.O.D. Bag. (It was my idea... That is what I get for thinking out loud!) So today, we messaged our Super Awesome Neighbor, Bree, and asked if she wanted to go with us to test out our bags. She messaged back, "I'm in!!" However, when she showed up, she didn't bring a back pack. She got a little lecture, agreed she needed to make up her own bag, and will come prepared next time.

Here are a few pictures of our first hike in full G.O.O.D. Bag gear!

Getting ready to head out.

 And away we go! 

Hiking across the bridge to the road. 

I swear she tries to give me a heart attack! 

 Are you going to wait on us? I guess NOT!

Zoey and the Awesome Neighbor Bree! 

(She will probably kill me for this! BAHAHAAA!)

Zoey stayed in front of us for most of our hike. 

  

     We didn't walk far. We started out late and needed to get back to make the hubby dinner. It was a good walk though. The road we took has a slight uphill angle the whole way up. We found out a lot about our bags. Lightening them up a bit, of course, is on the list of 'Hiking To Dos' but it is not at the top. Zoey had some issues with the back pack pulling her pants down. (I know you can hear me giggling from here! bahahahaaa!) She was constantly having to hike them back up. She saved some of her birthday money to buy her some camo clothes. We are thinking she might need some overalls. The back pack is a full adult size. It hits her on the hips differently than me. She also said the pack made her itch under her clothes. I'm not sure why, but maybe a good rub down with lotion might help in the cold winter wind.  (She claims she just needs a back scratcher.) However, she never complained about a thing when we were walking. I knew of the pant situation from seeing her struggle, but never a complaint. I found my bag to be a bit heavier than what I would like, but I can't think of anything to take out. (My pants did not fall down, I remembered to wear a belt.) Zoey also claims that we need to be quicker when walking. She walked in front of our Awesome Neighbor, Bree and I for most of the way. 

     What did she like about the hike? She found a 'Cool Rock.' No, baby, about the hiking with your back pack... "OH! It was AWESOME!!!!! I like my new back pack. It was not so bad walking in it. I liked that we all walked together." 

     We have plans to walk again soon. (Weather permitting) Hopefully, this time the SUPER AMAZING AWESOME NEIGHBOR, BREE will pack and bring her own G.O.O.D. Bag! 

(Yes, my friend, You have been challenged!) 

Want to see what we pack in our 'Get Out Of Dodge' bags? 

Click the pic! 

Disclosure: I am Amazon Affiliate and may receive a small compensation for including links on my blog. Buying through my links is not necessary, just appreciated. Amazon does not charge extra for linked items recommended by their affiliates.  I only recommend products that I use and trust OR plan on using in the future. Please buy responsibly and do your own product research before buying anything online. 

Save The Seeds- Tomatoes

 

     Tomatoes are the most versatile plants to grow for my family. We eat them on salads, in soups and stews, in salsa (we eat a lot of salsa) or just sliced up in a bowl. I long to be able to can them. Stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomatoes and green chilies, salsa, spaghetti sauce... Not only do homegrown tomatoes taste amazing, adding tomatoes to anything adds a higher nutritional content. Tomatoes even have medicinal benefits as well. 

       Although it was not OUR garden that blessed us with tomatoes, my awesome neighbor did! She had more than she could handle; while we had zip, zero, nada out of 3 tomato plants. What happened? I'm not sure. I suspect the soil we planted them in was not so great. I tried bunny poo, Epsom Salts, and other stuff. The cherry tomatoes did great, but they were in another section of the garden. Next year, tomato plants will be planted in our front yard, where the soil is best. We are hoping the new ones we planted late summer will produce something... But odds are, we are out of luck! Needless to say, we are making sure our next years crops will be high yield! 
     Previous attempts at saving tomato seeds consisted of saving stray seeds left on the cutting board. We placed them on napkins and let them air dry. They stuck to each other and the napkin. It was a huge nasty mess and I was not even sure how to store them. We wanted to try again, but were not sure what to do.  
     While the kids and I were making salsa one night, our tomatoes were extremely juicy and they made the salsa too runny. We squeezed the tomatoes out into a bowl before chopping them. So there was this bowl with all of these seeds. Seeds from the biggest, juiciest, yummiest tomatoes ever! They were begging to be saved! How, when they were covered in tomato goo? My first thought was tulle from my sewing shop. It is durable, has plenty of tiny holes, and would allow water to drain easily! My daughter ran to the sewing shop and cut us a big piece to use. She spent nearly 15 minutes trying to get the goo off from around the seeds. It worked but it was not as easy as we had hoped. We left them to dry inside of the tulle resting on a wash cloth. Within a couple of days, they were dry, and beautiful. The looked exactly like the seeds that come from the store. Success!
     It was the very next night that I saw a post on how to save tomato seeds using fermentation. It said the seeds separate from the goo after being allowed to sit in a little water for a day or 2. Of course we had to try it out! You can never have too many tomato seeds, right?
     My daughter worked on the tomatoes, while I worked the camera. She started by cutting the tomatoes in half and squeezing the pulp into an old plastic container. 

  Naturally, she had to sample some of the leftovers!

     We added water to the bowl and diced up the tomato remains for our salad at dinner. Waste not, want not! The tomato goo sat on the counter for 2 days. It was a little stinky already, and a little "GROSS!" to my girl, but she managed to get over it. She got out the strainer, laid the tulle inside and got to work rinsing the seeds. Took less than a minute! Amazing! 

Yes, that is a very old strainer. It was my mother's when I was a child. It's close to 40 years old!
We actually call it a colander, but people look at me funny when I call it that.  

     Next we laid the tulle pouch on a plate covered by a wash cloth. As it slowly dried, I played with the pouch, separating the seeds from each other. Finally, they were dry enough to take out of the tulle and be placed on a plate to finish drying. 
     The turned out quite pretty, don't you think? 

     The last step was to see if they would germinate. We placed one seed from our first attempt and one from our second attempt in a cup of soil in the bathroom window. Within a week, we had tiny little sprouts growing. They BOTH germinated. We will be using these plants as part of our 'Winter Garden' this year.
     I do have to say, fermenting the seeds made it a lot easier to get the goo off from around the seed. Both processes worked, however, I would highly recommend fermenting them if you are trying to save your own seed. I know it takes longer because it needs to sit in the water for a day or two, but it sure was less frustration trying to get them clean! 

Do you have any tips for seed preservation? Let us know. 
We love your comments! 

Why We Prep As A Family: Part 2

   

  

Knowing is not enough: we must apply.

Willing is not enough: we must do.

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

     If I had to feed my family from what I grew in my garden this year, we would have starved. It just was not a good year for us. I have read thousands of articles and web pages about gardening. We researched, prepped, learned, asked questions... and still it was not enough. 

     We tilled, weeded, watered and hoed. Still could not keep up with the grass and weeds in my garden. My daughter and I fertilized, hand pollinated, and pruned. Still our plants would not flourish. It wasn't all bad... sort of. 
     Although my best producer this year was cucumbers, I was only able to put back about 20 jars of pickles. We ended up eating half of them already. (Well, the hubby and kids did at least!)
      I dehydrated some zucchini and was able to put up one jar. Sadly, our zucchini did not grow anymore after that. 
          Water Melons and yellow squash grew to be mini fruits. (I'm including photos just in case you think I am exaggerating..) Oh ya, the corn only produced about 6 ears and they too were pretty small.

     Out of 3 tomato plants, I got a total of one tomato. It was strangely shaped and looked as if it had worms in it. Cherry tomatoes did okay. However, they only ripened a few at a time and were pretty much eaten off of the vine. 

      Onions were fabulous, but I stored the other half of the bulbs I did not plant in the freezer and they were mush when I pulled them out to plant a second round of them. 
      My lettuce was too bitter for the family to enjoy. It became treats for the livestock. Spinach and carrots were eaten by the moles. Okra is growing slowly but surely... but only enough to have as a side dish once a week. 
     We also lost one of our fruit trees we planted last year. It was growing great, had fruit developing, and then suddenly, it was dead. I can only suspect that maybe the moles ate the roots? 
     
What did go good? Jalapenos. (Insert WTHeck face here)

     The animals on our farm are about the same as our garden. We added rabbits. Too small to even try to have as a meal. They will be our 'mommys'  instead. We added a buck just last week. It will be a month or so before we know if he figured out what to do. Now honestly, I am not really even sure I can butcher a rabbit. So we will be selling the kits instead. At least for now. 

       Chickens... What can I say about our chickens... Out of 2 FFA chickens, 3 store bought, 4 hatchlings from the school, and 2 bartered Jersey Giants, we have 5 hens. Maybe 2 of them are laying and not on a daily basis. I have 5 roosters to send to freezer camp. It has been so hot, I have not even wanted to attempt it. I have found chicken butchering to be a very stinky job in the summer. If I had to do it, I could. Right now, I do not have to.

     We actually managed to NOT get attached to our feeder pig. He will be heading off to the butcher in about a month. Hopefully. I have still not made an appointment. I need to get on that asap. 

     What have we learned this year? Being a farmer is not as easy as it seems. We believe our soil needs a lot of amendments before we try to plant again next spring. We also need to build an area for a compost pile. We have a bin right now and it is full to the gills. We also need to do some more research on the fruits and vegetables we want to grow.  
     Understand though, it does not matter how much research or book learning you cram into head. You have to put your knowledge into practice. There are so many things that can go wrong; even if you are knowledgeable. Things happen. If we had an emergency this year and had to rely on my preps and gardening to feed us, we would have starved. At least right now, I have time to fix things. Practice more. Try new things. I am grateful for these learning times. 

What are you doing this year to 'walk the walk?'