As promised, here is my list of recommendations for Temporary Worst-Case Scenario compiled from FEMA and other emergency sites:
Antibacterial Hand Sanitizer
Army knife
Baby wipes for personal bathing (so you don't have to store water for bathing)
Can Opener
Candles
CASH
Duck tape
Dust masks
Emergency food bars or food rations
First-aid kit
Hand Tools
Lightsticks
Matches
Plastic in sheets
Plastic Ziploc bags and trash bags
Silver thermal blankets
Solar, wind-up flashlight, radio and cell phone charger
Tarp
Toilet Paper
Vinyl gloves
Vinyl poncho with hood
Water purification tablets
Water: A gallon of water per day per person for drinking only. You can use the water in the toilet tank or hot water heater also. Learn how.
It’s important to have a bolt bag…meaning if you have to bolt for safety, you have your necessities. A few changes of clothes, meds, toothbrushes, baby wipes…chocolate. And put in a pair of walking shoes, like hiking boots. You can change into them when you get somewhere, just have them handy (with extra socks), in case you are suddenly evacuated.
Bottled water
CASH and/or gold
Phone numbers and addresses
Identification/Proof of citizenship
Spare eyeglasses
Something to read
Note paper and pens
Knitting (the needles might come in handy)
Personal Hygiene Kits - toothbrushes/pastes, combs, bio-hazard bags, wet-wipes, razors, tissue packs, dental floss. Shaving cream, soap, deodorant, body/foot powder,
Sanitary Napkins
Spray Bottle Insect Repellent - With DEET
Sunscreen Lotion Packets - SPF 30+ protects skin
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Adapting in Place
Register to vote: http://www.rockthevote.com/
Adapting in Place
We’ve been living a new lifestyle for six months, so much so that the new lifestyle seems natural. We automatically buy foods on sale, we buy in bulk, we compost, we recycle, we garden, we preserve by canning foods, we learned to make butter, yogurt, candles, soap; we learned to dehydrate foods, how to store foods properly, how to prepare for hard times. And perfect timing, too, to finish storing foods just as the financial crisis hit. There are so many great blogs and sites with guidance for a new lifestyle. Rather than repeat what they are saying, I’m going to give you links to check out.
Sharon Astyk, a writer, started the group course that got us started: http://sharonastyk.com/
Check out this great blog for canning butter!
http://greenappleorchard.blogspot.com/2008/09/bottled-butter.html
Gas shortages and prices. Hurricane Ike brought with its destruction a deficit gas supply in Tennessee and parts of Georgia. Not since the 1970s have I seen regular gas lines and “out of gas” signs. We’ve saved a lot of gas with the new vehicle—better gas mileage and careful driving. Guess I’ll have to learn to Drive 55 again. Gas here in Columbia is 3.89/gal.
I made six pillar candles in different colors. I plan to use the beeswax I purchased to make the next batch. I’m also making glycerine soaps. Great printable instructions here: http://www.cajuncandles.com/containerguideprint.html
For an excellent source on storing foods: http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/foodstoragewhat.htm
From West Wind Farms:
It's said that history repeats itself. Nearly a century after heat pasteurization of milk began, pasteurization by irradiation began for meat. Several years ago, the food safety division of USDA approved the euphemistic "cold pasteurization" of uncooked meat and poultry "to reduce levels of food-borne pathogens, as well as extending shelf-life". Sound familiar?
Attempting to stem the tide of consumer reaction to food-borne illness from contaminated meat and poultry, the meat industry has found in cold pasteurization by radiation a way to continue pushing tons of meat through their systems each hour without changing the procedures that actually cause the contamination. Irradiation provides a perk for the industry too - meat that would normally have to be moved to the quick-sale cooler compartment now stays unnaturally fresh for weeks, just like ultra-pasteurized milk!
Consumers have been concerned about irradiation of meat and have not accepted it. Currently irradiated meat must be labeled with the "radura" symbol so consumers have the information necessary to make their choice at the supermarket. However, on September 18, the American Meat Institute, an industry group representing meat packers and processors, petitioned USDA for approval to irradiate beef carcasses as a "processing aid". Because processing aids are not required to be labeled on products, no label would be required for meat from irradiated beef carcasses.
As usual, big industry lobbies for the regulations that put band-aids on their problems. Once implemented, those regulations apply to all members of the industry, including small meat processors who generally produce safe meat products. It is likely that mandatory irradiation is only a few years away, and clean meat from small, family-owned meat processors will have to be irradiated just as contaminated meat from large mega-packers will. Without any doubt, this will put small butcher houses out of business. Irradiation is not an affordable option. And worst of all, it's not needed.
Consumer outrage at the incidence of contaminated foods from the industry is justified. However, we, as consumers, can unintentionally fuel the passage of irresponsible and unnecessary regulation when we are not specific about the type of solution we want. Do we want the meat industry to continue practices that contaminate meat and then allow them to kill all the bacteria (both healthful and pathogenic bacteria) before it hits our table, or, do we want clean, healthy meat that is not contaminated to start with? Do we want meat irradiation to apply industry-wide, or just to those businesses that have indicated through testing that they have a problem? Should they be allowed to use it indefinitely or only temporarily until they can fix the source of their problem? Do we want a sterile food system, devoid of all the healthful bacteria that we need to thrive?
Adapting in Place
We’ve been living a new lifestyle for six months, so much so that the new lifestyle seems natural. We automatically buy foods on sale, we buy in bulk, we compost, we recycle, we garden, we preserve by canning foods, we learned to make butter, yogurt, candles, soap; we learned to dehydrate foods, how to store foods properly, how to prepare for hard times. And perfect timing, too, to finish storing foods just as the financial crisis hit. There are so many great blogs and sites with guidance for a new lifestyle. Rather than repeat what they are saying, I’m going to give you links to check out.
Sharon Astyk, a writer, started the group course that got us started: http://sharonastyk.com/
Check out this great blog for canning butter!
http://greenappleorchard.blogspot.com/2008/09/bottled-butter.html
Gas shortages and prices. Hurricane Ike brought with its destruction a deficit gas supply in Tennessee and parts of Georgia. Not since the 1970s have I seen regular gas lines and “out of gas” signs. We’ve saved a lot of gas with the new vehicle—better gas mileage and careful driving. Guess I’ll have to learn to Drive 55 again. Gas here in Columbia is 3.89/gal.
I made six pillar candles in different colors. I plan to use the beeswax I purchased to make the next batch. I’m also making glycerine soaps. Great printable instructions here: http://www.cajuncandles.com/containerguideprint.html
For an excellent source on storing foods: http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/foodstoragewhat.htm
From West Wind Farms:
It's said that history repeats itself. Nearly a century after heat pasteurization of milk began, pasteurization by irradiation began for meat. Several years ago, the food safety division of USDA approved the euphemistic "cold pasteurization" of uncooked meat and poultry "to reduce levels of food-borne pathogens, as well as extending shelf-life". Sound familiar?
Attempting to stem the tide of consumer reaction to food-borne illness from contaminated meat and poultry, the meat industry has found in cold pasteurization by radiation a way to continue pushing tons of meat through their systems each hour without changing the procedures that actually cause the contamination. Irradiation provides a perk for the industry too - meat that would normally have to be moved to the quick-sale cooler compartment now stays unnaturally fresh for weeks, just like ultra-pasteurized milk!
Consumers have been concerned about irradiation of meat and have not accepted it. Currently irradiated meat must be labeled with the "radura" symbol so consumers have the information necessary to make their choice at the supermarket. However, on September 18, the American Meat Institute, an industry group representing meat packers and processors, petitioned USDA for approval to irradiate beef carcasses as a "processing aid". Because processing aids are not required to be labeled on products, no label would be required for meat from irradiated beef carcasses.
As usual, big industry lobbies for the regulations that put band-aids on their problems. Once implemented, those regulations apply to all members of the industry, including small meat processors who generally produce safe meat products. It is likely that mandatory irradiation is only a few years away, and clean meat from small, family-owned meat processors will have to be irradiated just as contaminated meat from large mega-packers will. Without any doubt, this will put small butcher houses out of business. Irradiation is not an affordable option. And worst of all, it's not needed.
Consumer outrage at the incidence of contaminated foods from the industry is justified. However, we, as consumers, can unintentionally fuel the passage of irresponsible and unnecessary regulation when we are not specific about the type of solution we want. Do we want the meat industry to continue practices that contaminate meat and then allow them to kill all the bacteria (both healthful and pathogenic bacteria) before it hits our table, or, do we want clean, healthy meat that is not contaminated to start with? Do we want meat irradiation to apply industry-wide, or just to those businesses that have indicated through testing that they have a problem? Should they be allowed to use it indefinitely or only temporarily until they can fix the source of their problem? Do we want a sterile food system, devoid of all the healthful bacteria that we need to thrive?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Golden Acre September
Golden Acre Update
Thanks, Verde, for the label (pictured above). To see all labels, visit Justice Desserts, my all-time fave blog.
Planted: Transplanted Thai and opal basil into big pots for wintering-over indoors.
Harvested: Tomatoes, okra, rainwater, grass cuttings for compost
Prepped: Continued to prep beds for next spring. My son Jacob brought us a frame for composting that I had sketched. I appreciate all he does for us.
Managed: Completely reorganized my kitchen. Cleaned out the garage. Put together a load for Goodwill. Sorted fabrics and craft items. Made bedroom drapes and kitchen curtains.
Stored: Canned tuna and chicken salad, shrimp boil, canned cream soups, Alfredo sauce, tomato paste
Cooked something new: Sicilian meatballs using the recipe of my friend’s grandmother. We fed three family meals off the batch then froze the other six batches.
Local Food Systems: Continue to purchase produce and milk from local suppliers.
Herbs: Purchased 100 empty tea bags to bag herbs for foot soaks. I’m making potpourri from this summer’s fragrant herbs. I decanted the gingko biloba, saw palmetto, ginseng, and lavender oil. My husband was very happy with the Saw Palmetto and its effects. I love the foot soaks. I also started making holiday gifts out of herbs, oils and salves.
Thanks, Verde, for the label (pictured above). To see all labels, visit Justice Desserts, my all-time fave blog.
Planted: Transplanted Thai and opal basil into big pots for wintering-over indoors.
Harvested: Tomatoes, okra, rainwater, grass cuttings for compost
Prepped: Continued to prep beds for next spring. My son Jacob brought us a frame for composting that I had sketched. I appreciate all he does for us.
Managed: Completely reorganized my kitchen. Cleaned out the garage. Put together a load for Goodwill. Sorted fabrics and craft items. Made bedroom drapes and kitchen curtains.
Stored: Canned tuna and chicken salad, shrimp boil, canned cream soups, Alfredo sauce, tomato paste
Cooked something new: Sicilian meatballs using the recipe of my friend’s grandmother. We fed three family meals off the batch then froze the other six batches.
Local Food Systems: Continue to purchase produce and milk from local suppliers.
Herbs: Purchased 100 empty tea bags to bag herbs for foot soaks. I’m making potpourri from this summer’s fragrant herbs. I decanted the gingko biloba, saw palmetto, ginseng, and lavender oil. My husband was very happy with the Saw Palmetto and its effects. I love the foot soaks. I also started making holiday gifts out of herbs, oils and salves.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Photos of Paradise
These gorgeous photos were sent to me by my friend Jan Barker from Birmingham, England, UK. She took the pictures in Devon. 
Golden Acre Update
After checking my blog, I see that I’ve only been at this challenge for eight weeks. Eight weeks that changed our lives. The difference between our early photos and NOW is amazing. Our courtyard garden is a paradise full of colorful birds, busy bees, noisy hummers and lots of flowers, herbs and greenery. We took down the two art-glass hummingbird feeders and hung up the old Big Lots version, and as quick as that we have non-stop hummers in the yard.
Harvested: The garden is producing, there are no weeds, so all there is to do is water, water, water. And harvest tomatoes, squash, cukes, okra, black beans.
Coop orders/ Storing: We picked up our Breadbeckers coop order. The Beckers are an excellent source for some bulk products, especially bread baking supplies. Since we had prepared the pantry ahead of time, putting up our Becker’s booty didn’t take long.
Harvested: The garden is producing, there are no weeds, so all there is to do is water, water, water. And harvest tomatoes, squash, cukes, okra, black beans.
Coop orders/ Storing: We picked up our Breadbeckers coop order. The Beckers are an excellent source for some bulk products, especially bread baking supplies. Since we had prepared the pantry ahead of time, putting up our Becker’s booty didn’t take long.
Local Food Systems: I arranged to meet a local beekeeper at the Columbia Farmer’s Market who sold me a pound of beeswax for $5. I’ll use the wax for many purposes, including salves and balms for the feet.
Managing: We put in some time tying up the tomatoes again. Staking tomatoes can work wonders and yield higher production. Our plants are huge; prolific producers. We’re enjoying lots of fresh blood-red tomatoes. We also put out strings for the peas to grow on, and used my recovered lumber to build a sort of arbor in the courtyard. On Thursday I took all the veggies and broths out of the freezer and made killer soup.
Herba
ls: I’m working on more tinctures, and also foot teas. Since the bottom of the foot is very absorbent, using teas in a foot soak is a way to ingest herbs. One of my favorite simple soaks is dried lavender flowers in warm water, a very relaxing practice. If you don’t know how absorbent your feet are, try soaking your feet in warm water into which you’ve put with a mashed garlic clove. After ten minutes, ask somebody to smell your breath.
Harvested: This week I harvested and dried a bushel of lime mint. My mint tinctures will be a refreshing addition to the foot soaks I’m making. As for the remaining mint in the yard, I’m going to allow it to flower, then I’ll cut the flowers to add to potpourri.
Cook something new: I cooked Carmela’s Eggplant Parm using the recipe from the official Sopranos cookbook. I used heirloom eggplant. Outstanding dish! Recipe available. Also, I made bread using a new recipe from Breadbecker’s cookbook. The recipe calls for flax seed and gluten as added ingredients. Very good bread.
Managing: We put in some time tying up the tomatoes again. Staking tomatoes can work wonders and yield higher production. Our plants are huge; prolific producers. We’re enjoying lots of fresh blood-red tomatoes. We also put out strings for the peas to grow on, and used my recovered lumber to build a sort of arbor in the courtyard. On Thursday I took all the veggies and broths out of the freezer and made killer soup.
Herba
ls: I’m working on more tinctures, and also foot teas. Since the bottom of the foot is very absorbent, using teas in a foot soak is a way to ingest herbs. One of my favorite simple soaks is dried lavender flowers in warm water, a very relaxing practice. If you don’t know how absorbent your feet are, try soaking your feet in warm water into which you’ve put with a mashed garlic clove. After ten minutes, ask somebody to smell your breath.Harvested: This week I harvested and dried a bushel of lime mint. My mint tinctures will be a refreshing addition to the foot soaks I’m making. As for the remaining mint in the yard, I’m going to allow it to flower, then I’ll cut the flowers to add to potpourri.
Cook something new: I cooked Carmela’s Eggplant Parm using the recipe from the official Sopranos cookbook. I used heirloom eggplant. Outstanding dish! Recipe available. Also, I made bread using a new recipe from Breadbecker’s cookbook. The recipe calls for flax seed and gluten as added ingredients. Very good bread.
I also sprouted organic alfalfa seed this past week. The spouts are so fresh, they’re hard to beat. I mentioned before that I’d bought two sprouting jar lids. The lids fit a wide-mouth canning jar. And last, I made jalapeno and garlic jelly with honey. We use this jelly on just about all meat or fish we grill. Recipe available.
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