Vitamin C and Pine Trees

Riverwalker, over on his blog, Stealth Survival, brings up an important thought about getting a good dose of vitamin C during an emergency: pine needles. Pine needles, especially the new, light green needles, are full of vitamin C. All you need to do is make a tea, or "soup" as he calls it, by steeping a handful of needles in some hot water. A touch of honey can be added for a little extra flavor. He says that different types of pine trees have slightly different flavors.

Water

Water is necessary for life. We lose water constantly, through physical exertion, certain medications, illness, breathing through our mouths, diarrhea, vomiting, and bleeding.

"Thirst should never be an indicator of when or how much to drink. Being thirsty is a sign that you're already a quart to a quart and a half low. To make matter worse, somewhere down the line in dehydrationville, the thirst mechanism stops working altogether.

The best way to tell if you're maximally hydrated is the color of our urine. It should be as clear as the water you drink, with no color whatsoever."

[From: "When All Hell Breaks Loose"--by Cody Lundin].

Vitamins and Minerals

If you are preparing for an emergency by storing food, you will need to have a year's supply of multi-vitamins, for each person, to supplement your nutrition.

"If you are currently taking any vitamin or mineral supplements you may want to check with the manufacturer to determine the storage life of these items. Once you have determined what you want to store it would be best to store them in a cool, dry and dark place for the longest storage life. Most multi-vitamin and mineral manufacturers we consulted say their product has full potency up to 3 years. At the end of three years it does not mean you need to discard them, it merely means that they are less potent."

[From: "Basic Preparedness" by The Survival Center, Inc., p. 35].

Alternate Power Sources---Treadle Sewing Machines

This is a picture of my treadle sewing machine and it really works. It is not a Singer (there is no name on it at all), but my sewing machine repair guy said it likely was made in New England. It is an old machine, and a really nice one. It is not a family heirloom, my Grandmother bought it many years ago. She gave it to me when I was a teenager, and I sewed all of my clothes on it when I was in high school and junior college. I got married and didn't have room for it, so I gave it to my Mom. My Dad refinished the cabinet, and I got it back, again, several years ago. If there was an extended emergency of some sort, people's clothing would start to wear out from constant use, and there might not be clothing to replace them with. Even without electricity I could sew clothes, for my family and others. This could easily work into something I could barter with. I do have quite a stash of fabrics, although not the sort of fabrics that could be used as work clothes or quilts! I will have to stock up on those types of fabrics as part of my emergency preparation.

Earthquakes

Here in the Central Valley of California, earthquakes are our most likely natural disaster. There are many things we can do to prepare for such an event:

1. Repair defective electrical wiring, leaky gas lines, and inflexible utility connections. Get appropriate professional help. Do not work with gas or electrical lines yourself.

2. Bolt down and secure to the wall studs your water heater, refrigerator, furnace, and gas appliances. If recommended by your gas company, have an automatic gas shut-off valve installed that is triggered by strong vibrations.

3. Place large or heavy objects on lower shelves. Fasten shelves, mirrors and large picture frames to walls. Brace high and top-heavy objects.

4. Store bottled foods, glass, china, and other breakables on low shelves or in cabinets that fasten shut.

5. Anchor overhead lighting fixtures.

6. Be sure the residence is firmly anchored to its foundation.

7. Install flexible pipe fittings to avoid gas or water leaks. Flexible fittings are more resistant to breakage.

8. Locate safe spots in each room under a sturdy table or against an inside wall. Reinforce this information by moving to these places during each drill.

9. Hold earthquake drills with your family members: Drop, cover, and hold on!

[From: "Are You Ready?"--FEMA, p. 95-96].

Money, and Other Problems

As I was driving to the market today, listening to a local call-in radio station, a caller was talking about when the terrorists attacked America on 9/11. He said he worked down the street from the the towers that were hit. When that happened he wanted to take his family and money, and flee to Canada, only four hours away. His thinking was that the towers were hit, the Pentagon was hit, and he was afraid that the nuclear power plant would be hit. He went to his bank and asked that his CDs be cashed in. The teller said that his CDs were traded on the stock market, the market was closed, so he couldn't cash them in. This caller was trying to get across to the listeners that there will be unexpected obstacles when there is a need to bug-out. I am sure that there are many little things, that could actually end up being big things, that will go wrong when times get bad. The caller was urging people to be as prepared as possible, for anything possible. How prepared are you?

Dehydrating Cooked Beans and Rice

This post is from Preparing To Survive in California.

William Lankes says that a friend sent this to him (no name to give credit):

By cooking and dehydrating beans and rice in advance, you can save time and energy when using them for a meal.

First I cook the rice or beans fully! Then I spread it on cookie sheets and dry it at about 200 degrees for about 4 or 5 hours. To test I put some dehydrated rice in cold water. Cold because I figured if it would rehydrate in cold it would do great with hot. It rehydrated great. So now, in soups, or just a dish, all I have to do is soak it in cold water, and add it to a dish I am warming. Also, if we do have more problems and work than we think it sure will be a lot quicker. And one more thing. It is crunchy and not all bad! My 17 year old son grabs a handful every time he passes the cookie sheet I've taken from the oven.

We also presently eat our dehydrated corn (with salt) just as it is. My husband has taken pinches of most everything (spinach, collards, pineapple (I have to hide), etc. and has eaten them dry. He said they are not bad at all and he could tolerate them. So, there you have it.

I bet it's alot cheaper than buying it at Wallyworld.

[I'm going to try this--it sounds like it would work!--Prepped].

What Skills Do You Have?

"Even if some of you have a millionaire's budget, you need to learn how to do things for yourself, and be willing to get your hands dirty. In a societal collapse, the division of labor will be reduced tremendously. Odds are that the only 'skilled craftsmen' available to build a shed, mend a fence, shuck corn, repair an engine, or pitch manure will be you and your family."

[From: "How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It"--James Wesley, Rawles, p. 17]

Being Prepared

Kellene, the Preparedness Pro, has brought up a good point about being prepared. Her articulate article, Tornado Warnings for Us All, is not about tornadoes, but about being prepared for what is happening in the world today.

On the Idaho Preppers Network, there is an article that is meant to inspire people to be preparing to be dependent on themselves and their neighbors when trouble starts in.

Jim Rawles of the Survival Blog is all about survival, of course, and he says: "The purpose of [his] Blog is to inform and motivate readers to take steps that will help prepare themselves and their families. Survival is not just about guns, groceries and gadgets. More importantly, it is about having friends that you can trust when times get hard, such as for:

--A Dollar Crisis/Monetary Collapse (witness the current hyperinflation in Zimbabwe)
--Naturally occurring plague or pandemic
--Nuclear Blackmail (North Korea and China have already made public threats)
--Terrorist LNG fuel sector or power grid attack
--Terrorist nuclear, biological, or chemical attack
--Fuel and/or food shortage crisis
--Major volcanic and/or earthquake events
--Nation-state nuclear, biological, or chemical attack

What I am getting at is that there are a lot of people, from many different viewpoints, all saying that we need to be prepared, and to get it done now, and they show us different ways to prepare. Our LDS church leaders have also warned us for many years to be prepared. How are you doing? Are you ready?

Alternate Power Sources--Solar Jar Cooker

People are so creative! Who would have thought to take a quart (or larger) canning jar, paint it black, put food in a baking bag, put the bag in the jar, and set it in the sun to cook the food! Kellene, The Preparedness Pro, did just that! You don't need any fancy solar oven in an emergency, but you do need a jar, a baking bag, and black paint. To learn more, go here. This picture shows what the jar looks like once it's painted [from solarcooking.org]. To see a variety of homemade solar cookers, go here.

Medical Handbook

Riverwalker has free downloads (in three parts) of the U.S. Army Special Forces Medical Handbook here. All it will cost you is the ink and paper from your printer, and you will have a medical reference to go with your first aid kit.

If you don't want to print it up, you can find the book at online bookstores, like Amazon (cost: $20.00).

Skills for Survival

If the worst happened and we had to do things for ourselves, we would need to have various skills--we would need to know more than first aid and cooking over a fire. M.D. Cheekmore, at thesurvivalistblog, has created a list of links of skills that would be important to learn. We could apply those lessons to keeping our own family alive, and also teach others that are not prepared. To read about these skills, go here.

Salt

Riverwalker has posted a list of ways to use salt in a survival situation. There's more to salt than just adding it to food! Go here to learn more.

Medicines

If there was a sudden emergency, and you had to depend on your personal supply of food and necessities, how long would your medicines last? Especially important are your prescription drugs. Have you stocked up? Consider talking to your doctor to see if you can have a three-months supply on hand.

I think about my Mother, who is on oxygen 24 hours a day. My parents live in snow country, with occasional power outages. My Mother has a machine that makes oxygen from the air, but it runs on electricity. She also has one bottle of oxygen that is used when she is out of the house. If their power is out for several days and the roads are blocked with snow, that one bottle of oxygen won't last long.

Evacuation Kits---Light Weight Food

This is the start of November and I will be posting about a variety of things, some of which would have fit into past post categories. If there is anything you would like me to post about, please let me know!

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If you thought that the food list in a bug-out bag would be too heavy for you to carry, here is another list to consider. It isn't the healthiest, nor does it give the feeling of being full, but it would give you the necessary energy to get to where you need to go with just six pounds of food to carry. To read the article written by Brian Dolge, go here.