What have you done this week to prep?

[churchmouse]

Good choice. Buy once, cry once.

Thats my thoughts on this. In the summer we have a pool we put up for the kids (and young adults..) and my daughter keeps it pretty well serviced. If we had a scenario this would be a great water source beyond our preps. The Berkey would allow us to drink from it.

I have also found the "NEBO" big larry lights on special at Wally world. I have several in the mail as stocking stuffers for those who would be here in a crisis. These are amazing lights for the money.

 

[Phase2]

Yup. The emergency drinking water is a major prep. Fortunately, the Berkey provides everyday benefits as well by filtering out routine contaminants that are in our drinking water. Also, you know how (it seems annually), there is algae or other contamination at one of the major reservoirs around Indy and they have a "boil water order"? Whenever that happens, it means that people have already been drinking that water. If you drink and cook almost exclusively from the Berkey, you never have to worry about any such smaller emergencies.

 

[churchmouse]

Looked in the ammo locker yesterday after loading out all the mags we have ran through end of season and there was an obvious dent.
Spent just a bit of time in the ammo section in the classy's and filled it back up today.

 

[rhino]

Had an impromptu fire making practice tonight. I got some good time using my BHK Smokey Mountain Razor to scrape bark and small shavings, make some feather sticks (poorly) and create a lot of thin shavings. Unfortunately the temperature and dampness of my pile of dust and shavings made it difficult for the sparks from my ferro rod to ignite. So, I failed. On the upside, failure is a good teacher and it illustrated that in a more serious situation, going to the sure things (vaseline/cotton balls and a Bic lighter) should be the used on the first attempt.

The knife performed well and a few passes on a very worn diamond rod when I got home had it hair-popping sharp again.

I watched some one stick fire videos today. Some very experienced people sometimes have trouble getting it done, even though they get to pick the stick and conditions. I am impressed by the people who will actually show their challenges on video and not just their successes. I'm less impressed by experts who do a video of a one stick fire using a piece of fatwood. That's fine for illustrating the concepts, but it's not very realistic for someone who is trying to do it with random stick they find.

 

[bwframe]

Bought my sale turkey a few days before Thanksgiving. Drug it out/thawed and slow roasted it (highly recommended) last week.

I'm tired of turkey now, after eating it off and on in every way for a few days. I hacked up the leftover bird and was pretty happy to put 5-1# vac/sealed bags in the freezer.

Also saved the rendered stock that didn't get made into gravy. The fat off the top and carrot, celery, jalapeno infused stock went into silicone portion trays to vac'seal in bags tomorrow:

 

[churchmouse]

More ammo.
Another 1911.

 

[Ballstater98]

The recent water main break has me reevaluating my water supply. I also added more ammo and 5 firearms in the past 30 days...one is a Christmas present from the wife...which isn't 'officially' mine yet...but in a few days

 

[churchmouse]

The recent water main break has me reevaluating my water supply. I also added more ammo and 5 firearms in the past 30 days...one is a Christmas present from the wife...which isn't 'officially' mine yet...but in a few days

Water is the key element in the whole equation.

 

[Thor]

More ammo.
Another 1911.

More Stop Bleeding...

 

[Ballstater98]

Water is the key element in the whole equation.

Our water service wasn't restored until after dinner time. I was making dinner and one of the things with that had to involve the washing of hands before, during, and after prep. I came to the conclusion I need to add a few more gallons just for that sole purpose and the cleaning aspect.

 

[dudley0]

I have a 55 gallon barrel of non-potable water just for flushing. Used it maybe twice since I have had it when power went out and I was too lazy to fire up a genny.

 

[WETSU]

This week: Worked on all around combat effective fitness: Ran about 7 miles (1 day eliminated due to ice), lifted 3 days, lots of core and flexibility work.

One fight night: Heavy bag, boxing/striking drills, 30 minutes of sparring.

One trip to the range. G19 and AR15 rifle ups.

One quick bushcraft outing. Practiced making a fire with stuff in my pockets and one match.

 

[Trigger Time]

I need a new foodsaver vaccume sealer. I always add an O2 absorber too. Mine took a dump.

 

[chezuki]

I need a new foodsaver vaccume sealer. I always add an O2 absorber too. Mine took a dump.

Check their site for refurbs. We got ours for about half price and it’s still running strong 4 years later.

 

[indyjohn]

The OG began the process of sorting through the pantry, looking for food that has exceeded its shelf life by more than we're comfortable to eat. We don't have a scientific formula for when that is, it is more based off of our experience with different types of packaging and types of food. Some things, Ravioli as an example, can be 3+ years past the date on the can, taste just fine, and have no adverse affect on the digestive system.

 

[bwframe]

Mmmm, botulism.

 

[indyjohn]

Mmmm, botulism.

Statistically, it occurs far more often in home canned products than commercial canning. Much of what we have in stores is dry, after a while it loses its flavor and tastes more like dirt. Products with nuts seem to be the most common to lose their flavor shortly after their "fresh by" date.

 

[rhino]

If the contents and container were sterile at the time of packaging and the can is 100% intact, it's impossible to have a viable pathogen inside. The issue arises when 1) the contents and container were not sterile, or the 2) the package is compromised. I wouldn't be concerned about a conventional can that is showing no signs of bulging or excessive rust. I would keep a closer eye on the easy open cans with the pull tab tops. The seal on those is probably not as durable or long-lived as a regular can.

 

[dudley0]

I would keep a closer eye on the easy open cans with the pull tab tops. The seal on those is probably not as durable or long-lived as a regular can.

I wonder about the longevity of the easy open cans as well. I have a few in the stores though.

With the higher sodium content in most store canned foods I am finding myself not cycling thru them as often. (Thanks doc and caring spouse). With that the canned goods are now longer term storage. This is a concern.

Maybe I will find the oldest and set it aside as a test subject. I have eaten canned goods that were years past sell by, but can't remember if any of the older ones were the easy off lids.

 

[churchmouse]

The spouse went through the shelves and pulled out all the out dated stuff. I went through it and about half went back on the shelf