The Time To Be Happy Is Now... Right!?

Author | Hugh Vail

       

Sunday, according to most religions is a day to contemplate, meditate and dedicate your time and efforts the God, which usually means reading, praying, taking cookies to the neighbors, hanging out with the family. In our home it always means "Sunday Dinner", usually at grandma's house as she goes to war with the kitchen; every Sunday she turns her General Electric, Kitchen Aid and Pampered Chef tools into weapons of mass destruction. Recipes past down generation upon generation have little been altered, remaining true to taste and satisfaction testified by family & friends as we moan our approvals when dinner ends.

Blocks on My Desk

Sunday morning is quiet, and family members are found reading, studying and pondering various topics of personal interest.
I was intrigued this morning by three little blocks of wood on my desk, each block inscribed with a few words, and when stacked together they read:

              "The Time To Be Happy Is Now"

 The saying is cliche, yet true. After rearranging the blocks into a different order, which changed the intended statement into a question. I think often about about

Blocks Still on My Desk

the rearranged blocks' question and internally we know the answer is 'yes', but many battle with a remembrance and resolve to a quotidian happiness.
Now do not misinterpret this, because there is much we are all grateful about, just look at the book behind the blocks, a book about positioning yourself in an economically advantageous manner despite what the future will be like, a book about education, and a book about history. The very essence of preparedness positions ourselves emotionally, physically, financially, socially, spiritually and mentally to be without fear, worry and anxiety.

Author David McCullough

Author, narrator, historian, lecturer, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, David McCullough was my choice of study a few months ago. Having read his books "1776" and "John Adams" I thought it was time for a refresher on McCullough's works and see what else may peak curiosity & inspiration.
Google led me to a recorded devotional, where McCullough spoke at Brigham Young University on "The Glorious Cause of America"
Impressed with this speech, and contemplating back to the wooden blocks on my desk McCullough talks about the challenging times that our Founding Fathers battled.

"They were living in the present, just as we do. The great difference is that it was their present, not ours. And just as we don’t know how things are going to turn out, they didn’t either."

David Walker, former Comptroller of the United States, teaches that "We have four deficits: a budget deficit, a savings deficit, a value-of-the-dollar deficit and a leadership deficit".


There is a leadership deficit in our country today, likewise there were many deficits in the our country during the times of Adams, Jefferson and Washington. By virtue of reason 'deficits' themselves are not the corroding powers that threaten to destroy.

Describing Gen. Washington McCullough says "He made dreadful mistakes, particularly in the year 1776. They were almost inexcusable, inexplicable mistakes, but he always learned from them. And he never forgot what the fight was about—“the glorious cause of America,” as they called it. Washington would not give up; he would not quit."

Great leaders exist today, as they always have. Great leaders are required today to rise forth, just as they have always been required to do in the country's past. Uniting under that same 'glorious cause of America' that the hearts, minds and support of the people may better hedge a path for such leaders to sustain the glorious cause of America is of the highest import.

The anxiety of 2012 should not be the great cause of preparedness. The values, principles and precepts of american preparedness should be lived accordingly and regardless of economic prosperity or collapse. Preparedness is easily prioritized during times like these and while the American Prepper's Network strongly advises every American to invest in the security of preparedness with a year's supply of water, food and supplies. We also remind you that 'today is the time to be happy'.

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When You're The Doctor: Over The Counter Medicines

Author:  Dr. Bones
Website: DoomAndBloom.net

Hey Preppers,

We spend a lot of time talking about natural and alternative remedies, and have made recommendations of what herbal medicines to have in your storage. We’ve also discussed antibiotics and a number of other prescription medications you should stockpile and how to obtain them. We haven’t spent much time, however, on which over-the-counter medications are important to stockpile now.

Over the counter (OTC) medications deal with a wide variety of problems; many of them were once prescription medications. These medications are widely available, and easy to accumulate in quantity. As such, they are ideal for the survival medic’s cache of medical supplies. Given the complexity of manufacturing pharmaceuticals, these drugs will be nearly impossible to produce after a collapse. Even aspirin, the oldest manufactured drug, won’t be available (at least not in a form you’ll recognize).

The Physician’s Desk Reference puts out a guide to OTC medications with descriptions, images, risks, benefits, dosages, and side effects. Consider this book for your survival medical library.
Let’s put together a list of what you absolutely must have in quantity as part of your medical supplies. The medications will be listed by their generic names, with U.S. brand names in parenthesis where applicable. Adult doses are also listed. Here’s our list, in no particular order:

Ibuprofen 200mg (Motrin, Advil): A popular pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, and fever reducer. This medication is useful for many different problems, which makes it especially useful as a stockpile item. It can alleviate pain from strains, sprains, arthritis, and traumatic injury. As well, it can help reduce inflammation in the injured area. Ibuprofen is also useful in reducing fevers from infections. The downside to Ibuprofen is that it can cause stomach upset. Ibuprofen can be used 1 or 2 every 4 hours, 3 every 6 hours, or 4 every 8 hours.

Acetaminophen 325mg (Tylenol): Another popular pain reliever and fever reducer, this medication is known as Tylenol in the United States. It can be used for all of the problems that you can take Ibuprofen for, with the added benefit of not causing stomach irritation or thinning the blood. Unfortunately, it has no significant anti-inflammatory effect. This drug is excellent for treatment of pain and fevers in children at lower doses. Tylenol comes in regular and extra strength (650mg); adults take 1-2 every 4 hours.

An Aside: Patients with heat stroke receive no benefit from efforts to reduce their body core temperature with Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen; these drugs work best when the fever is caused by an infection, and don’t work as well when infection is not involved (e.g., heat stroke).

Asprin, 325mg: If you have Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen in your medical storage, why consider Aspirin? Aspirin has been around since the late 19th century as a pain-reliever, fever reducer, and anti-inflammatory, but it has blood thinning properties as well, as may be all we have to help those with medical issues that require the use of anti-coagulants It also useful to treat older folks with coronary artery disease. If you suspect someone of having a heart attack, have them chew an adult aspirin immediately. The ingredient in Aspirin can also be obtained by chewing on a cut strip of the underbark of a willow, aspen or poplar tree. Take 2 adult aspirin for pain, fever, and inflammation, 1 baby aspirin (81mg) daily to help with coronary artery disease and as an anticoagulant. In a collapse situation, higher doses may be appropriate to replace drugs like Coumadin, but have not been fully researched. Watch for stomach upset.

Loperamide, 2mg (Imodium): There’s a high likelihood of food and water contamination issues in a collapse situation, so this medication is essential as an anti-diarrheal. By slowing intestinal motility, less water loss and, thus, dehydration, will occur; dehydration due to diarrheal disease killed more soldiers in the Civil War than bullets did. With diarrheal disease, you often have nausea and vomiting, so you will want to have:

Meclizine 12.5, 25, 50mg(Dramamine, Antivert): Mecilizine is a medication that helps prevent nausea and vomiting. Often used to prevent motion sickness, Meclizine also helps with dizziness, and tends to act as a sedative as well. As such, it may have uses as a sleep aid or anti-anxiety medication. Take 1 25mg tablet 1 hour before boarding , or 50-100mg daily in divided doses for dizziness, anxiety or sleep.

Triple Antibiotic Ointment (Neosporin, Bacitracin, Bactroban): In situations where we are left to fend for ourselves, we’ll be chopping wood and performing all sorts of tasks that will expose us to risk of injury. When those injuries break the skin, it puts us in danger of infections which could lead to a life threatening condition. Triple antibiotic ointment is applied at the site of injury to prevent this from happening. It should be noted that triple antibiotic ointment won’t cure a deep infection; you would need oral or IV antibiotics for that, but using the ointment immediately after an injury will give you a good chance at preventing it. Apply 3-4 times a day.

Diphenhydramine 25mg, 50mg(Benadryl): An antihistamine that helps alleviate the itching, rashes, nasal congestion and other symptoms of allergic reactions. It also helps drain the nasal passages in some respiratory infections. At the higher 50 mg dose, it makes an effective sleep aid. Use 25mg every 6 hours for mild reactions, 50mg every 6 hours for severe reactions, anxiety or sleep.

Hydrocortisone cream (1%): Speaking of rashes, this cream is used for various types of dermatitis that causes redness, flakiness, itching, and thickening of the skin. It’s a mild steroid which reduces inflammation and, as such, the various symptoms of allergic dermatitis, eczema, diaper rash, etc. Apply 3-4 times a day to affected area.

Omeprazole 20-40mg, Cimetidine 200-800mg, Ranitidine 75-150mg, (Prilosec, Tagamet, Zantac, respectively): In a situation where we may be eating things we’re not accustomed to, we may have issues with stomach acid. These antacids will calm heartburn, queasiness, and stomach upset. Calcium Carbonate (Tums) or Magnesium sulfate (Maalox) are also fine in solid form. These medications are also useful for acid reflux and ulcer disease. Look for my article on these issues and medications in the near future.

Clotrimazole, Miconazole cream/powder(Lotrimin, Monistat): Infections can be bacterial, but they can also be caused by fungus. Common examples of this would be Athlete’s feet (tinea pedis), vaginal infections (monilia), ringworm , and jock itch (tinea cruris). Clotrimazole and Miconazole are examples of anti-fungal medications that would be useful to treat these conditions, which will be just as common in times of trouble as they are now, if not more. Apply twice a day externally, or once daily intra-vaginally. Some vaginal creams come in different strengths. In some, the whole treatment course is over in one day; in others, 3 days or a week.

Multivitamins: In a societal collapse, the unavailability of a good variety of food may lead to dietary deficiencies, not just in calories but in vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C deficiency, for example, leads to Scurvy. To prevent these issues, you should have plenty of multivitamins, commercial or natural, in your medical storage. You won’t have to take these on a daily basis; many multivitamins give you MORE than you need if taken daily, and you’ll just excrete what your body can’t absorb. In a collapse, once a week would be sufficient to prevent most problems.

The good news is that you can probably obtain a significant amount of all of the above drugs for a reasonable amount of money. To retain full potency, these medications should be obtained in pill or capsule form; avoid the liquid versions of any of these medicines if at all possible. When storing, remember that medications should be stored in cool, dry, dark places. A medicine stored at 90 degrees will lose potency much faster than one stored at 50 degrees.

Over the counter drugs are just another tool in the medical woodshed; accumulate them as well as prescription drugs such as antibiotics. Essential oils, herbal supplements, and medical equipment are also important. With a good stockpile, you’ll have everything you need to keep it together health-wise, even if everything else falls apart.
Dr. Bones

What would you do in a survival situation when help is NOT on the way? The Doom and Bloom™ Survival Medicine Handbook is a must-have addition to your survival library! If you're responsible for the health of your loved ones, you'll want this medical guide to keeping it together, even if everything else falls apart. See the trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb3vdQecUPM

Please remember to support the APN by getting prepared with all your food, gear, supplies and products. Visit our store

The 10 Rules For Your Emergency Food Pantry

By Tess Pennington 

Those of you who plan to take the first steps toward preparing for emergencies may feel a bit overwhelmed at where to begin. After all, there is a lot of food to choose from at the grocery stores. Many websites, including this one encourage families to start buying small amounts of food related preparedness items each time they go shopping. This way, your budget is not dramatically affected.

Food storage calculators are a great tool to incorporate in your preparedness planning, and can help you understand how much food your family will need for a given emergency. The food storage calculations can also be printed out and used as an inventory list to keep you on track in terms of what preparedness supplies you have and will need.

To make the most of your emergency food supply, keep these essential food pantry rules in mind before purchasing:

1. Caloric intake is an important factor in survival. In any disaster situation, you want to avoid malnutrition. Having foods stored to prevent this health issue will keep you at your optimum health. Stock up on foods that provide you with essential nutrients to maintain body functions, proteins and carbohydrates, fats for energy, as well as foods that are not high in salt (the more salty your food is, the more water you will drink). To calculate how many calories you will need in your diet, click here.
2. Consider buying multifunctional food items. Items that can serve more than one purpose will help your finances, as well as save precious space in the food storage pantry. Items such as oats, pasta, rice, wheat and beans are some great low-cost foods will serve a variety of uses.
3. Store high energy snacks to help boost energy levels. Eating snacks that are high in complex carbohydrates and protein will provide you with a guaranteed energy boost. High energy snacks such as nuts, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars and trail mix can be stored for up to 1 year and will help keep energy levels and spirits high in an emergency scenario.
4. Bring on the protein! Protein is an essential ingredient in our daily diets and cannot be omitted out of a survival diet. Canned meat is a good source of protein and can also help you maintain your energy level. Meats such as tuna, ham, chicken and spam are great additions to the food pantry and are multifunctional. (Remember, the oil in canned meat can be used as an emergency candle.) Beans are another great source of protein, and when beans are accompanied with rice, it makes a complete protein which provides all the amino acids needed to survive. One serving of beans and rice provides 19.9 g, or 40 percent of your daily vitamins.
5. Don't forget the basics. Essential staples such as cooking oil, flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, spices, baking soda, baking powder and vinegar should not be overlooked.  If they are present in your kitchen, they should likewise be present in the emergency food supply.
6. Convenience helps in stressful situations. Many moms know that boxed dinners can be a lifesaver when you are in a time crunch. Having some pre-packaged dinners and meals-to-grab during emergency scenarios will help you being acclimating yourself to cooking in a grid down scenario as well as can help provide some comfort at the same time. Personally speaking, my family has the "just add water" pancake mixes, corn breads and drink mixes that are a great convenience.
7. Variety's the very spice of life, that gives it all it's pleasure. Variety in your food pantry is important and can prevent the monotony of the same type of food. Having a well rounded food storage will cut down on culinary boredom, as well as balance your diet. Further, stocking up on a variety of spices will also enhance your food pantry.
8. Find comfort in the little things. Have some comfort food items that provide enjoyment to the family. Items such as popcorn, sweet cereals, hard candy, juice boxes, pickles, applesauce, pudding, cookies could be a great way to provide a bit of normalcy to the emergency situation you may face.
9. Have backs up for your backs ups. Compressed food bars are lightweight, taste good and are nutritious. Having food bars as a back up to your existing food supply can provide you with piece of mind knowing you have an alternative to turn to if you run out of food. Further, these are great additions to your 72-hour bag or bug out vehicle. A review of the different types of bars can be read here or you can practice your survival skills and make your own with this recipe. MRE's are another alternative food choice to turn to if you happen to run out of food in your pantry. Although many have turned their nose up at MRE's (due to their high amounts of preservatives), it will provide you with sufficient calories and nutrition when it counts. Note: These should not be the only items in your food supply. Overtime, you could become nutrient and vitamin deficient. Need a Kit? click here
10. Rotate and resupply when needed. Any items bought to the food storage closet should be used, rotated and resupplied. This is the best way to have the freshest foods available in the event that a disaster occurs. When organizing food reserves place the item that has the earliest expiration date in the front so that it is used first. FIFO is a well known acronym used in the restaurant business that stands for, “First In, First Out,” and can be incorporated in your food storage endeavors. Do an inventory check every 6 months to make sure that canned goods, preserves and other storage items are within their expiration dates.

Keeping the above considerations in mind when purchasing your food supply will provide your family with a well rounded food pantry stocked with an array of foods that will assist in promoting a healthy diet. Not listed in the suggestions is water. You must have water to survive. To learn more about potable water, click here. It would be prudent to have a 2-week supply of water on hand, as well as a water filtration device to rely on for extended disasters.

Prepping is a passion for some. For others it is the most efficient way to keep their family as safe as possible. For further resources and a list of essential items for your emergency supply, click here.


Remember to support the APN by shopping and preparing via our American Preparedness Store
Related Article Items in our Store: Protein, 72hr Kit, Water, Family Food Storage Supplies, Fruits & Vegetables

Where Preppers Prep

The American Prepper's Network (APN) is exactly that - a network of preppers across america sharing their tips and ideas, as well as philosophies and paradigms with the central purpose of how Americans can best support our great nation, and best support each other during events or crisis' often referred to as "teotwawki".

 "It's never too late to prepare for The End Of The World As We Know It." - Glenn Beck

On Jan 21, 2012 Reuters published an article that began trending and was picked up on Drudge Report the article quoted such great writers/bloggers as Michael T. Snider author of "The Economic Collapse" blog.
Reuters wrote a follow up article two days later, which was found quoting much of James W. Rawles, author of the ever popular Survival Blog , and his book "How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It" (thought of as the prepper's bible)

Popular Mechanics wrote an article almost exactly 1-year ago, featuring the values and paradigms of Preppers as a community effort. 

"So called preppers, unlike survivalist treat self-reliance and disaster preparation as a communal responsibility"

Glenn Beck's newsletter- The Blaze sent out an article yesterday purposing this question

"Wondering how [to] secured these items? There’s an entire market that caters to these individuals (most vendors operate on the internet). These companies sell many of the items that Tegeler has in her own home, as they teach skills or sell the products needed to ensure individual and family survival pending disaster."

The APN is working diligently to continue to provide america with forums, blogs and other platforms to support the prepper community. We are currently in process of developing a new platform that will allow the amateur & expert preppers and survivalist to contribute official articles and posts out to the entire network; additionally we have announce on our forum and Facebook wall and tweets that we are now helping americans, preppers and survivalist with their preparedness items.

Everything from 1 year family supplies to individual cans of your favorite freeze dried meals from Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry and freeze dried and dehydrated fruits and vegetables from Tomorrow's Harvest.

There is water storage, and Wondermills, Sunovens and even Bear Grylls Ultimate Survival Series manufactured by Gerber Gear.

The new APN store is enabled for three reasons:

1) Help families understand what products will best fit their needs

2) Eliminate confusion from companies that are more about marketing than they are about prepping

3) Support APN members & network through the proceeds, by developing more efficient forums, blogs and communities

The APN is also offering our store to be a platform for products made by preppers for preppers to be able to sell online through the APN, so if you have a product and would like to participate in our affiliate program or wish to see a particular product on our store please let us know by contacting hugh@preppersnetwork.com

Analyzing Risks

By Westfalia

Sibitotique.blogspot.com

Two of the most popular acronyms within the Prepper and Survivalist Community are SHTF (Shit Hit The Fan) and TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). What these acronyms truly represent is a matter that varies heavily depending on how that does the classification. Some people can use SHTF as way to describe that they lost their job while other use it to describe a full scale breakdown of modern society. In this article I will take an alternative look at this subject and try to give some alternative suggestions concerning how one can approach and think about different type of Disasters and Risks. This article is also intended to be a complement to the article about Risk Assessments intended to provide a more comprehensive framework for assessing the potential impacts of various threats.

1.) The Scale
Disasters comes in all forms and sizes; from large scale natural disasters like Earthquakes that may affect tens thousands of people to smaller disasters like automobile accidents that may just involve a few people. A disaster may just involve a few persons a personal level, it may affect a local community, a region, an entire nation or it may affect the world on a global level.

2.) Consequences
Disasters may affect people in many kinds of ways; one of the obvious results is Casualties in the form of dead and wounded. Disasters can also affect the physical and mental health of those affected; and in many cases like the nuclear power plant meltdowns in Chernobyl and Fukushima it can be very difficult to establish exactly what the long term effects for the affected will be.

Infrastructure is something that can often be affected resulting in a situation when roads, the electrical grid, gas pipes, electronic communications, water pipes and sewage maybe interrupted. This can be the case during wars and natural disasters but there are also other types of disasters like pandemics that may not affect infrastructure.

Property and Economical Loses is often a major problem when people can lose their homes, savings, businesses and jobs. People can get injured or disabled resulting in additional long term economical los.

Disasters often have Other direct consequences for politics especially in the form of blame games and assigning guilt. This can result in everything from political resignations, or new institutions like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

This is just a few examples of what type of consequences a disaster can have; all disasters are unique and have their own specific effects. The result of these effects is not only the disaster itself, it is also an effect by the of buildings in case of earthquakes, topography, what economical resources that is available, the resources and training of first responders and the population density of an affected area just to name a few possible factors.

3.) The Perspective of Time
Fast or Slow Onset
Disasters are often viewed as fast dramatic events like the Haiti Earthquake or The Nuclear attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is however not the case in all types of disasters, some disasters slowly gain momentum like Famine and Starvation. Two examples of other potential slow onset threats are Peak Oil and Global Warming. Other type of threats like Hurricanes can be detected days before they strike and thereby allowing an Early Warning.

The Duration
Some disasters like Earthquakes and Tsunamis can cause an enormous amount of damage during a very short period of time and then be over. Other type of disasters like Famine or an Economical Depression may last for months, years or even decades.

For individuals this aspect can indicate how much food or water storage that may appropriate for different disasters, for organizations that work with Crisis Management this can provide an insight into to what type of endurance the organization must be able to poses in order to manage emergencies with an extended duration including aspects like the rotation of man-power and how much supplies that must be available.

4.) The Origin of the Disasters: Man-Made or Natural Disasters
One very popular way to describe disasters is to split them into two categories; Man-Made and Natural Disasters. Natural Disasters involve all type of natural phenomena like Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Wild Fires, Hurricanes and Tornadoes. Man-Made disasters refer to events like Human Conflict, War, Terrorism and large scale accidents and failure of technical systems. This distinction between the origins is not perfect; many researchers emphasize that the Impact of Natural Disasters is a direct consequence of building standards, population density, access to Early Warning Systems to name a few factors. This is especially clear when it comes to number of dead in high-income countries and low income countries in various disasters. Natural Disasters can also trigger the failure of Man-Made systems like case of the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant Disaster.

Conclusion
This article is intended to provide some support for people how want to get a better understanding of Risks and Threats they may face. In this article I have discussed some of aspects of disasters but it’s important to understand that every disaster and risks presents its own specific challenges. One Size Does Not Fit All.

After you finished your Risk Assessment and Analyzed the specific Risks it’s also important to think about what Risks that you have not included into you assessments. A Risk Assessment can be of great help but it can also mask threats; especially those that does not correspond well to current trends and knowledge. What potential danger do you not view as Risks and Why? What information supports your assumptions and what information challenge them?

Oh, the Possibilities

By CCCooper

While many folks believe in the Boy Scout Motto "Always Be Prepared", very few actually are. Even the smallest minor inconvenience can cause havoc in the average person's life. A flat tire, fender bender, or major freeway pile-up can lead to unexpected expenses, loss of work, or even loss of life or limb.

Some of the folks in the US are old hands at dealing with natural disasters. There are the people in Florida and the Guld Coast that have hurricanes to think about. The people in the mid-west and west deal with tornadoes and blizzard with the occasional dust storm thrown in. Out in California and the Pacific Coast, earthquakes are a definite concern. Still, with the almost absolute possibility that one or more of these natural events will occur, people are still unprepared when they do happen.

What would happen if there was a really huge natural disaster? An event that was not local but of a Regional impact? A Massive eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera would affect many sstates with ash and fallout. Water sources would be affected as well as crops and growing seasons. Many aspects of the trucking and shipping industry would benegatively impacted as well.

What about the New Madrid Fault in Missourri? Many believe that if it does go, it could possibly cause the Gulf of Maxico to encroach as far as Arkansa and Southern Mississippi. Landscapes could be changed drastically and 3-4 East-West Interstate Highways will be destroyed. The loss of life would be immense.

If there are earthquakes, there may be Tsunami. Giant waves caused by huge shifts in the earths crust. If the Las Palma Volcano does blow, the resulting Tsunami would be 300-400 meters high and impact the earstern coast of the United States and parts of Central and South America.

Heat and cold extremes have been minor inconveniences to most people, but if the weather were to change in some unforseen manner, it would catch a large number of people off guard. The weather can be affected by the Sun (increased solar activity) or by volcanic ash thrown high into the atmosphere.

There are many more events that could happen with no interference from man. There are, however, almost, if not more, as many man-made or man caused events that can and will affect you in a very serious way.

Man-made disasters come in many forms. The most obvious would be spills and contamination caused by deteriorating materials, poor driving, train derailments, pipeline maintenance (or lack thereof), infrastructure collapse, policies that lead to coastal erosion, policies that contribute to widespread forest fires, sub-standard building codes, etc. There are other potential disasters that can be even more far-reaching. These include, but not limited to, monetary policies, tax codes, currency issues, stock market crashes, credit down grades, recession/depression, inflation/hyper-inflation (ala Weimar republic) and devaluation of a currency. Venezuela, Japan and others have experienced these events.

The list of possibilities is long and growing, but again, the prudent man attempts to prepare. For his family and his continued well-being.

Chickens and Cows and a Llama, Oh My!!!

by AbeeNormal


I can remember having cows around as early as my Junior High years. Even before my parents had land and bought cows, my grandparents had a small ranch in Cleburne, TX. Growing up with home-grown beef was terrific, but I realize now that I missed a great opportunity to learn about farming and ranching. Twenty some-odd years later I’m grown, have three kids and a husband, and I’m learning about livestock as if I were in Junior High all over again. I really wish I had spent less time pursuing cheerleading and more time hanging out with the kids in 4H. If I had, maybe I’d possess some of the knowledge I need to turn our small acreage into a self-sustaining farm.

We were introduced to prepping by another family in my son’s Boy Scout Troop in late 2009. We listened to podcasts on a road trip from North Texas to Connecticut and back. Storing food like my grandparents used to do, having enough gas on hand to avoid long lines at the pump, cultivating land for food production rather than energy consuming ornamental lawns – all of it made perfect sense. My husband and I had already recognized the vulnerability of our defenses after the bank and a string of houses were robbed in our small town. We went to an NRA safety course, learned how to shoot, and had been concealed handgun carriers for years. We were on-board with Dave Ramsey’s plan of having 6 months of living expenses in an emergency fund. Storing food and being self-reliant was a natural next step . . . in theory.

Somehow when the rubber meets the road, theoretical preparedness goes out the window and reality rears its ugly head. While we are more prepared now than we were just a few years ago, it hasn’t been without some losses due to lack of knowledge. For instance, did you know that a cow can jump clear out of an open-top trailer going 50 miles an hour down the highway? And chickens only lay eggs really well for about two years. Tomatoes won’t pollinate when the weather gets over 85 degrees and llamas can die of heat stroke if you don’t have them sheared every spring. Additionally, it doesn't matter how tough you dress them, some llamas do not make very good guards and coyotes will still eat your chickens.

I know these are all minor inconveniences. But I can’t help but wonder: if I had spent my childhood growing things and learning how to care for animals rather than playing French-horn, beating Super Mario Brothers, and being a cheerleader, would there be one less cow wandering aimlessly down Interstate 20? I am resolved to encourage my own children to learn while they’re young and pursue things that will have lasting value, not the high score on the latest video game.

Next time: Holy Cow !!!
Visit my blog: TheGoodStoreshouse.blogspot.com

ARE YOU CRAZY!!

by talon2012

Are you Crazy!!!!!

Hey man, what are you doing?
I’m planting my garden.
Well your garden can wait I got tickets to the big game today.
I can’t man I got to get this planted...
Man. You’re crazy you’re going to miss the biggest game of the season.

Storms happen when you least expect them, sometimes from your neighbor or your family. You try to explain why you do the things you do over and over again. Still they think you’ve lost your mind. How do you explain that there is a need to prepare for the unexpected emergency? Let’s step back and take a look at what you do.

You stock pile food, you have all these storage building in your yard, you build fires with no matches maybe even practice building traps too. These are all violable survival traits, and good things to know. Just imagine you are in someone else’s shoes and don’t know about prepping for an emergency. You would think it was crazy too. Trying to tell some people to prep for an emergency is like talking to a brick wall.

Can you remember why you started to prep? Was it because you were involved in an emergency before, or did someone you know tell you to get a survival kit.

Most of us know that we are supposed to have at least three days of non perishable food on hand. Do your friends or family know that, or do they even care. The scenario above actually happened. He got mad because I wanted to plant my garden said I was crazy for missing a game, but when harvest time came around asked me for some of my tomatoes, I always have more than I can use so spread the wealth so to speak. I asked him why he doesn’t plant a small garden in his yard; his answer was he didn’t want to mess up his lawn. I think to myself can you eat that lawn. But should I think he’s crazy for not prepping for some unknown emergency? Likewise should he think I’m crazy for doing what I do, of course not? It’s obvious that he doesn’t truly know or understand why I prep.


Sometimes having to explain our prepping priorities makes us feel make uncomfortable or ashamed or just plan foolish, answering questions about prepping cuts in to our time. That is something that preppers and survivalist don’t have time for do we. We are like ants always working for what might happen, This past spring during the great flood of 2011, We lost our home, so did my friends, we had a camper to live in, so No shelter for us, my friend did not. We had food clothes, my friend only had what they could carry. I saw him in town the other day and he told me he had bought a camper with the money he received from fema, but he said he goes through two bottles of propane every four days. I told him one bottle will last me a month maybe longer.

Because I cook out and use solar heat oil lamps so I don’t use much propane. Guess what now he’s interested. All the years before he called me crazy.

Now he wants to know about this stuff, funny how it took a disaster to wake him up.
All of a sudden I’m Mr. Amazing. Question is do I have time to help him. The answer to that is a big NO. Will I let him and his family go broke on propane electric bills and such the answer again is No. So what will I do? Give him something that will last a lifetime…….. KNOWLEDGE…… tell him where to go for help. Take him hunting and fishing when I go. Show him my solar heater and cooker Make prepping understandable and he will be able to help himself.

I’ve made it a priority to tell someone about being prepared everyday. That’s what Noah did in the bible, he told them the flood was coming. But they didn’t listen until the water was up to there necks. The point is tell someone, whether or not they care. You should see some of the peoples faces when I ask standing in line at the grocery store, I’ll say hello, I was wonding if you had at least three days of food stored for an emergency, or I’ll ask do you know where your flashlight is or extra batteries. They really do look at you like your crazy, but it gets them thinking. They may think I’m crazy for asking but I’ve done the exact thing Noah did I’ve planted a seed in there mind that will make them think about being prepared in an emergency. Who’s crazy now huh, Try it the next time you have a chance. Have a few cards or flyers with some links and maybe some survival advise too help them, because

What you say and do just might have saved that persons life in the future.

Talon2012
http://www.a1tunicafishingsite.com

Prepping VS. Hoarding

by marshwillow

Sometimes we have been called pack-rats,hoarders and dumpster divers.  This is were we differ.  We do prepping for a purpose. We don't have a desire to load our homes with trash but with items that we will need in a SHTF situation.
So it goes to say. We are hoarding as preppers but NOT prepping to be hoarders.

So clean out all trash debris and decide just how many survival magazines and books do we need.  We can use that space to work in more paper products.  Remember if you have to bugout, you will be forced to leave lots behind in favor of food.  You will be forced to figure out your priorities.

Basics is all you need.  How many meat grinders do you actually need?  You can pick up items at yard sales but will they be used.  A bargain is not a stained sleeping bag with large holes and ripped out zipper.  Unless you are going to repair your finds then look for perfect shape.

Set goals and look for specific items that are needed and pass by the ones you have several of.  It is a good thing to make mental note that at such and such yard sale you saw a sleeping bag.  You can pass this on to those that need it or call them at the sale and see if they would like you to purchase this for them.

When you stack your foods make sure the area around it is kept free of debris and filth.  Filth just calls the rats, mice and other vermin and says "Come and get it".  All you good efforts would go to waste.  It is a good idea to camaflogue your cache of food and bug out items.  If you havent an extra closet or basement then get creative.  Install a shower rod across a corner of your bedroom and put up floor to ceiling curtains.  Stack your 5 gal containers there or your #10 cans.  Making endtables and coffee tables would be a good way to utilize the containers.  Put 6 containers on the floor, top with plywood sheet to fit top, the cover with brite fabric that covers all the containers.  Also you can stash your rifles between the 5 gal containers.

Remember were things are at so if power is lost you can use your memory to find items you need to take with you.  If you find you have more of one item than you need then sell it or give it to a fellow prepper.  Please don't get confused and forget the importance of what you are doing.  Have a day of cleansing.  Cleanse the storage area and throw away anything that is broken and beyond repair.  When the SHTF there wont be time to repair them.  Happy prepping.

SOPA & PIPA Strike

The APN will support the Strike against SOPA and PIPA today. As soon as the URL redirect is complete, both the APN blog as well as the APN forum will be redirected to the following URL for the rest of today 1/18/12: http://sopastrike.com/strike/

We will have the sites back to normal by tomorrow 1/19/12