Preparedness for when

homesteadchick

Yesterday, as I was walking home from our community veg garden, arms filled with pumpkins, I got stopped by a neighbour for a chat.

He looked at my pumpkins, then at me, then back at the pumpkins (there were 4 little ones and I had them piled up in my arms)

"What on EARTH are you going to do with those!??" he gasped.

I said: "Make pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pancakes for starters."

Him: "you'll be sick of pumpkins by next week!"

me: "Nah.. I can it, and freeze it so we can eat it all winter."

He looked at me with squinted eyes..
thought for a moment and then said:

"ARE YOU A PREPPER?????"

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Well, there you have it..

Might as well carry a sign from now on.
LOL!

pineapple

alfsmum wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Have an image in my mind now of assorted people wandering round with one trouser leg up or skirt tucked in. Could we use this like a Mason's handshake in case we need to recognise each other in SHTF situations?

I've certainly done the latter!
I've also done the 'wandering round all day with a crucial button undone' and going into work with yesterday's knickers peeping out of a trouser leg. :eek:
Back to SHTF moments, I have heard several references to the next war in the media recently, theorising that pressing the nuclear button is old hat. After all - why lay waste to captured territory - and with ultimate risks for your own environment - when you could achieve your goal by simply cutting off crucial water/electricity supplies?
It seems Cyber is the new kid on the block.

elaine373

Been watching this thread for ages and for me TSHTF this week, so I will be examining posts more thoroughly.

I can no longer do my main shop at Tesco's so this week have done that At Aldi.
I have tried ebaying this week but that is slow going, hope it picks up.

I have never been any good at meal planning but will try to organise some nutritious but cheaper meals and maybe pick them out the day before.

Things will get tighter for us as I am about go embark on a nursing degree and husband is out of work ATM, so I will check today that I have applied for everything that I am entitled to with student finance.

I have kids to amuse, but thankfully, the youngest one is keen on going up to the park each day to do scooter stunts at the ramps.

I also need to curb my love of junk from charity shops but that will take time. I am so skint though, so will not be able to buy anything anyway, so maybe browsing and weaning myself off buying is the way forward as I genuinely love looking in charity shops.
My car has gone in for its MOT so I pray that won't have too many problems. It's only an old Almera but Its crucial for school runs etc.

I will enjoy getting to Know people in the same situation better, and will try to post regularly. Bye for now

homesteadchick

pineapple wrote: »

I've certainly done the latter!
I've also done the 'wandering round all day with a crucial button undone' and going into work with yesterday's knickers peeping out of a trouser leg. :eek:
It seems Cyber is the new kid on the block.
Back to SHTF moments, I have heard several references to the next war in the media recently, theorising that pressing the nuclear button is old hat. After all - why lay waste to captured territory - with ultimate risks for your own environment - when you could achieve your goal by simply cutting off crucial water/electricity supplies?

I'm thinking along those lines as well. As well as cutting off communications! We rely SO much on modern communications! My teenagers were totally and completely lost without their WIFI connection while on Holliday in France. We depend on internet, mobile communications, sattelites etc more than we know. Our tv and radio are all internet reliant.

According to my DH it would be relatively simple to scramble or cut those lines of communications. It would have a pretty huge impact on governments and all sorts of public services if internet goes down or is unreachable.

[Deleted User]

pineapple wrote: »

After all - why lay waste to captured territory - and with ultimate risks for your own environment - when you could achieve your goal by simply cutting off crucial water/electricity supplies?

You could do a lot more than cut off water and electricity supplies, with an EMP weapon.

jk0

pineapple wrote: »

Imo it can actually discourage toilet hygiene - unless you are prepared to stand and wait till the hot water gets through.
It can also take longer to run a bath (if one allows oneself that luxury )

I wash my hands with soap & cold water. Surely the soap is to kill the germs isn't it, rather than the hot water?

ALIBOBSY

alfsmum wrote: »

Have an image in my mind now of assorted people wandering round with one trouser leg up or skirt tucked in

Was once at a panto with parents, sister, aunty and cousin.
Cousin was mortified when aunty returned from an interval toilet trip and slid along the whole row of people with her skirt right in her knickers and ev1 coming full face to her big knickers .

Ali x

pineapple

jk0 wrote: »

I wash my hands with soap & cold water. Surely the soap is to kill the germs isn't it, rather than the hot water?

Interesting. Anyhow I dug out this in support of your point.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/health/13real.html?_r=0
That said - some sources say it's neither soap not hot water but vigorous rubbing that's the key!

ALIBOBSY

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

You could do a lot more than cut off water and electricity supplies, with an EMP weapon.

Even easier is a digital weapon. It was recently discovered a computer virus had been developed and released into the systems in Iran where they were developing nuclear enrichment for weapons. The virus targeted the software that ran the centrifuges and speeded them up to cause explosions. It also sent fake date to the control panels so the operators didn't know anything was wrong until it was too late. This has put back the weapons programme in Iran by years-some estimate decades.

It is believed the US and Israel developed it, but no one is admitting anything.

Given how much of our tech and lives is controlled by computers a virus can spread quickly and cause a lot of very targeted damage in a short space of time. Could be used to wipe out an economy from a distance.

Ali x

ALIBOBSY

Been so busy recently with foraging and the garden. Now have lined up homemade jars of :- plum chuntney, plum jam, blackcurrant jelly, blackcurrant cordial and rosehip syrup. Just had my homemade porridge this morning with a swirl of rosehip syrup-yummy!!!

Had a glut of tomatos so made an almost all tomato soup yesterday. I used homegrown onions, celery and carrot as a base and plenty of home grown herbs with the toms-plus some courgette to use it up. Had some for lunch then froze the rest for later. Keep freezing chopped runner beans as we have so many lol, plus been flash freezing alpine strawberries as the bushes are producing so many-think they will be good to throw into muffins or cakes like blueberries later on.

OH has been doing some odd job/gardening work for a couple recently. Lets just say they are "pretty well off", but are a lovely older couple and sadly the gent is in a wheelchair from a car accident. But he makes wonderful garden trugs and baskets by hand-from beech and willow I think. Its all cut and soaked and bent by hand. They are beautiful and he is letting Oh have a middle sized trug at mates rates-he normally charges getting on for £100 because of the time, but we can have it for £40-will be my crimbo pressie (does that make me sad lol).

The couple have a big house and garden, plus some extra land at the back where they have a smallholding. The old gent who also does odd jobs and looks after the animals is brilliant. OH is having a great time chatting to "owd bill" (say it in a broad Lancashire accent). He has his own "bit o land" and was telling OH yesterday he's got 20 free range turkeys he's fattening up for crimbo. So he asks OH if he fancies doing a bit of turkey plucking for him in return for one of the turkeys :T. OH says he would love to as much for the experience of knowing how to "dispatch", "clean" and "pluck" the birds. OH is soaking up his tales of days gone by and advice. He now knows haw to grab and hold a sheep lol. OH says he wouldn't like to guess how old "owd bill" is but he seems to be at least 70, but wiry, and very strong and OH only just keeps up with him sometimes.

Don't you love being old style :T.

Ali x