THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

mardatha

I'm surrounded by sheep. Probly millions of the bl00dy things. And yet a square inch of lamb costs me £3. It's sooo annoying. We have deer but never see them near houses, thank god because they do seem to ruin gardens.
I'm currently reading "The Worst Hard Time" - about the Dust Bowl in the Mid-West in the 1930s. The whole mess was caused directly by the govt and by people's greed. And everything the govt told them to do only made things far worse. Definitely a warning in there.

[Deleted User]

Yet another dismal and wet day, I'm cold and feel a bit like the weather outside, dull and grey! Part of prepping ought to be catering for days like this by having some distraction to keep yourselves occupied be it knitting, reading, jigsaws etc. I'm going to pick us up some jigsaws at the boot fairs this year (if it ever stops raining that is!) It's a very 21st century problem, our forebears would have been busily spinning or weaving or doing one of the multitude of jobs that needed doing in the times before all was provided for us by convenient retailers.....me? I'm busy designing an Ark just in case!

DigForVictory

My esteemed beloved but a mere couple of weeks ago made me a cage distaff (but about 4' long). Into which I could probably load a good two kilos of combed & carded & otherwise prepared fleece. As it happens I have several drop spindles, two spinning wheels (both of which I can't get to work) & (ahem) two fleeces gently turning to fertiliser, so in the event of severe boredom, there is a solution. Just one in which I swear more than in becoming.

As an additional bonus, it has snowed, & is presently snowing, so my good intentions to go take cuttings are on hold til I can reliably trace the branch to the stem to figure just what I'm planning to cut.

DigForVictory

Side thought, prepping to travel, do you catch, box & confine cat first or shift everything else first? (And then play hunt the uncooperative/well-downright-unconvinced cat.)

My parents & sister presently in Wales are delaying boxing cat as he'll yowl & I think any delay is increasing the challenges of getting onto a main road & thence home. But then, I'm in another county & have not got a cat. I just know about moving teenagers.

NewShadow

DigForVictory wrote: »

Side thought, prepping to travel, do you catch, box & confine cat first or shift everything else first? (And then play hunt the uncooperative/well-downright-unconvinced cat.)

My parents & sister presently in Wales are delaying boxing cat as he'll yowl & I think any delay is increasing the challenges of getting onto a main road & thence home. But then, I'm in another county & have not got a cat. I just know about moving teenagers.

I shut the cats in the bathroom while I get everything else ready - then they're not stuck in a little box for any longer than needed and it reduces the chance of any escapes through open doors while loading/shifting.

ivyleaf

DfV What usually happens is that the cat knows full well that "something's going on" and promptly disappears.....

thriftwizard

ivyleaf wrote: »

DfV What usually happens is that the cat knows full well that "something's going on" and promptly disappears.....

One of ours disappeared up the chimney for two days, when she was supposed to be going to be spayed alongside her two sisters; if we’d been going anywhere, we’d have been well-stuck! But those were the days of an open fire & the stove will stop the two (rescue) kittens who will be joining us at the end of this month from any such shenanigans.

More rain here. The “lake of Dorset” is filling up rapidly, and our lawn looks like an extension of the pond. Won’t be able to do anything much at the allotment this afternoon, except maybe buy some more fish from our neighbour!

DigForVictory

Family assure me they are all safe in car, in transit, with boxed cat & about to stop for coffee.
(My firm view that cat should be confined in a small area if not boxed immediately turned out to be prescient - ivyleaf cat indeed Knew something was going on & NewShadow they confined the cat "to one room" (with two doors & a bonus staircase) until I suggested the staircase really was an invitation to mayhem.

Ah well, now to find out if you are allowed to take a boxed cat into a service station...

mardatha

Heavy snow here now and set to go on until night. MrsL I think it always sounds very cosy, reading books of past times where the women were always knitting or sewing or mending at night by the fire . Pity I've got about a ton of wool here and am just too lazy to knit it..

[Deleted User]

If I were to come up with a knitted sail design for the Ark???? maybe one that could be made in 6" squares and sewn together patchwork blanket style???

D for V I think cats and teens might be equally difficult to herd, both being inclined to go their own particular ways don't you?

Seriously though we drove to the farm shop for some fruit and veg this morning and in just a few days there are some truly HUGE and coming up for 12" deep potholes that have formed from some 3" deep smaller ones, there is flooding across some of the roads and the roadside ditches are full to the top and overflowing. The need for repairs is now beyond urgent and is coming up as disastrous if they're NOT fixed. Our country roads will be impassable if not and people who live out of the towns and villages won't be able to get into them nor will deliveries be able to get to rural homes. Part of the problems on the road we drove down are due to very heavy lorries using it as a 'rat run' and a hardcore and rubble collection area about half way between the main road and the nearest village. I won't be surprised to hear of a serious accident on that run in the very near future, specially in the darkness hours as it's not lamp lit and the pot holes will only show as puddles.