Preparedness for when

fuddle

Completely agree. There's many a strategy to dealing with money issues but I like to think the people who come to OS are the people who already possess 'a spark' of fighting spirit and/or a little knowledge and they know if they can build on that knowledge and learn new skills that they will have the 'tools' (in their heads not physical items) to deal with difficult situations.

Those new OSers who come onto this thread, who are hanging onto their finances by their fingernails or maybe even falling, well they come to OS to help themselves. The concept of preparing for difficult times is, I feel, the core of OS living and like thriftwizard I would hate for vulnerable people to come on here, agree with the concept, wan't feel the security that prepping gives us but feel, like I did, completely overwhelmed by the scale of the purchases that 'should' be bought in order to have that piece of mind.

I tell you what thou Lyn, I've learned a real valuable lesson here and I wasn't expect that on a Saturday morning. All week I've been feeling like those sticks I gathered have been in vain. Found it hilarious that that stove has been here all that time and didn't for one second think I have 2 cooking sources if the power went out.

What is tallow Lyn? You know we were talking about olive oil candles last week on tougher. Is that the same kind of idea?

mardatha

But there's always been candles MrsL ...how would the end of oil affect them? If you keep bees then you'd have beeswax ones I suppose, and failing that tallow. But would be smelly and smoky compared tow hat we are used to now.
By the by - my old neighbour grew up in a house without electricity in the early 1960s !! She said they got up when it was light and went to bed when it got dark LOL - sounds so simple eh.

[Deleted User]

Hi FUDDLE tallow is rendered animal fat, and it is then boiled in water several times to get out all the impurities which rise to the bottom of the melted fat in the pan above the water. When the fat solidifies you scrape off the debris from the bottom and after several times doing this you are left with pure tallow which you can make dipped candles from if you have a wick for them or rushlights which as in the name are made from peeled rushes.

MAR very true, there have always been beeswax candles and as long as there are bees there will be the facility to harvest the beeswax and make more but, there are problems with bee parasites and diseases in the modern world and I don't see that as something I can rely on forever. I think there will always be animals used for food and the supply of animal fat whilst by no means guaranteed, is probably a more likely prospect than beeswax. I can also make cordage so I can make wicking that may not be as effective as commercially produced wicking is now but, good enough to do the job in a homemade candle, Cheers Lyn xxx.

FairyPrincessk

Lyn and Fuddle, you've just inspired me to look up how to make cordage. I know (in theory) how to make tallow candles, but I've never had a go. Something for the long term list. However, I did look up cordage and found this really wonderful instruction guide:

http://www.primitiveways.com/cordage.html

Thought it might interest some.

p.s. the website has some fascinating things on it!

pineapple

lobbyludd wrote: »

I think also something that can be overlooked in prepping is the value of building up community.

And this is something that would be lost if you set off alone into the wilds. It's about emotional as well as practical support. In fact, in a real TSHTF situation, you might find other communities not exactly welcoming.
We are closer to a city than I would like, but at least where I am we have a small community of diverse ages, experience and skills. We already have no choice but to do some things communally - such as septic tank and lane maintenance. I'd like to think that in extremis the elderly couple with the vast manicured lawn would give it up for the fitter, landless peeps to cultivate. Pineapple will of course stand there and supervise

elaine241

Hello All!
Cake & Greyqueen my cob is excellent in traffic wether ridden or not, before he came to me he lived in central London; just hated being in a riding school and bucked everyone off! :LOL
I had blinkers on him and a chest harness. I have found a neighbour who has lots of experience with driving so I will enlist him for the next steps. I have a really good partnership with my cob, we trust each other and often we get others out of trouble!! I wear a high vis jacket when riding, used to have one with Police on the back, that slows down the cars!
After going through my food prepps I am going to have a sort through my candles and other stock. I have been shoving them in cupboards everywhere and have no idea how much I have!

Keep prepping!

[Deleted User]

FPK DD1 and I did a flint knapping and cordage course at a local museum and processed nettles and flax to get the cordage material, amazing stuff. When you're making cordage you work with a double strand of whatever you are making it with, you roll both strands in the same direction on your thigh and when you stop rolling you let go the end and they twine together to make a strong cord. I've got upstairs in the store a flint drill I made. I knapped the flint to the correct thiness and shape, cut green hazel with another flint tool I'd made and made a split in the top of the wood to take the drill bit. The cordage I made binds the split wood together and the haft of the tool is decorated in a spiral from yet another shard of razor sharp flint. It's amazing stuff to work with, sharper than the sharpest knift you'll ever have. I also did a prehistoric cookery course and there I used a flint shard to bone out a shoulder of lamb for stuffing, wrapping in sweet grass and clay and throwing in to a preheated firepit to cook long and slow, and delicious it was too!!! Do some whacky courses, they're fun and you'll meet like minded idiots who like making out like a caveman!!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

FairyPrincessk

That sounds brilliant, Lyn! I will see what sorts of courses I can find. Might even drag OH along, tell him it is professional development!

nuatha

jk0 wrote: »

The American story, 'The Day the Dollar Died' mentions that the local ham radio guy's house looked the same from outside, but inside he had plywood behind the curtains to keep out stray bullets.

I have been thinking about making some similar boards in case of riots, that would slip in behind battens fixed to the window ledge & top reveal.

Could anyone tell me if I am better off visibly protecting the house, (boards outside), or invisibly (boards inside)?

Apologies for the late reply.
Personally I keep security as discrete as possible - the exception being a couple of security cameras which are there to discourage some local kids throwing stones at our windows (an intermittent, but recurring problem*).
Plywood is unlikely to stop a stray bullet, though it might stop a spent ricochet. A bigger worry than bullets in the UK is thrown objects, which ply would certainly help with, but at the expense of light and possibly being able to observe what was happening. A combination of anti shatter film (basically clear sticky back plastic) and over size net curtains will reduce and contain the damage from flying glass (the net curtains need to be longer than the window and the end of the curtain fastened to the underside of the sill).

I'll admit our drive needs weeding, I've been a bit distracted with other things this summer and am only just getting back on top of the gardens and things. I try to make sure that the external appearance of the house isn't too different from our neighbours, making yourself too visible a target attracts attention you don't want.

*Kids throwing stones is the reason we won't have either a gravel drive or use similar as a garden mulch - basically don't provide weapons that can be used against you.

pineapple

Am considering joining the veg exchange scheme at a local farm shop. They will take my surplus herbs/whatever and give me credit to use in the shop. I think it's a great idea. Today I came away with onions grown by Bradford Youth Offending Team (lets hope they haven't spiked them ) and knobbly pink fir potatoes and blackcurrants grown locally. If you haven't got a scheme locally it may be worth suggesting it to retailers.
You can sign up to the scheme nationally to swap with other growers. Some self sufficiency resources here too.
http://www.vegexchange.com/links.aspx
One of the links leads to Down the Lane which I've mentioned before but forgot about.
There's so much stuff out there I find it hard to keep track!
So here it is again (interesting forum and a ton of info on chickens)
http://www.downthelane.net/index.php