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All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread]
vanity | 2/26/18 | CottonBall

Posted on 02/26/2018 12:12:20 PM PST by CottonBall

I’ve been missing the vast amount of information on prepping, survival, camping, simple cooking, the old ways of doing just about everything – all the things nw_arizona_granny knew so much about and shared with us, along with numerous other posters with a vast array of skills and knowledge.

We have our various related-threads here, a recipe thread, a gardening thread, and even a prepper thread. They are all great and I don’t mean to take anything away from those and the hard work their owners put in.

But I was missing a place to talk about ALL those things, to get the camaraderie that we used to have on granny’s thread.

I learned how to can on those threads! The pressure canner was not my friend, I thought, but I bought one and stared at it for a month, intimidated. Then I read the directions for another month. But with the help and encouragement of posters on granny’s threads, I jumped in and now have my very own food storage room in the basement with lovely jars of shelf-stable meats, vegetables, and fruit. When we moved, I fashioned my food storage room – and insisted upon having a basement – from what I learned on her threads. Getting started gardening was from her threads. Making my own cleaning products….the list is endless.

So I thought I would take the chance and start another comprehensive prepper thread and see how it goes. I used to have granny’s ping list since I made one of the threads for her, but alas, with numerous computer changes, I cannot find it. So please pass this onto any posters you think might be interested.

We’ll just keep it running until..whenever. Granny created a new thread at 10,000 posts or so. I do like the idea of having ONE thread to go to – because often I cannot find or keep track of the weekly threads. I won’t be posting lots of recipes or tidbits myself – to any mods concerned about the size of this thread. I’d just like a place to chat, post questions, post ideas, make new prepping friends.

Here are granny’s threads, if anyone wants to peruse them:

nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #1

nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #2

nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #3



TOPICS: Food; Gardening; Health/Medicine; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: brb; cooking; food; gardening; granny; prepper; preppers; prepping; simpleliving; stinkbait; survival; vision
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To: Professional Engineer

You bet!


341 posted on 03/15/2018 8:50:59 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: CottonBall

“We can’t resole shoes, for example. Everything is made to be thrown out and bought again.”


I had shoes resoled last fall.

A small,thin soled,woman’s flat. Just leather soles done,no heels.

Cost was $30.00-—which surprised me.

.

.

.


342 posted on 03/15/2018 8:52:43 PM PDT by Mears
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To: Mears

There’s a place in town that does leather work - they resole shoes, fix belts, it’s an lost art, I suspect.

I didn’t mean we literally cannot resole shoes, LOL! But that most shoes are not made well enough that it’s worth it. Like couches aren’t made well enough to recover, unless you buy the top of the line ones.


343 posted on 03/15/2018 9:22:55 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: Mears

Forgot to ask - was that a happy surprise or a bad surprise?


344 posted on 03/15/2018 9:23:56 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: CottonBall

Nothing made to last and we’ve become so dependent certain things. Case in point: The pioneers on a wagon train from east to west. OMG The heat, the heat, the cold! Would be the first to cry uncle and beg for mercy. Need medical treatment? No physicians no medication. The only upside here would be no doctor’s appointments written on a calendar...there is no upside.
We have been “woosified”. Not a bad thing, but should we find the need to adjust, how many might really not give it a second thought and just do it? Too old to readjust? This hand goes up.

Never had a pair of shoes resoled. Closest to that was replacing the tips on pairs of high heels after the original wore down and off. Basically walking on metal shanks is not recommended for wooden floors.

One last thought - do remember those who lived during the depression years would collect flour sacks and make their garments from the cloth. When hearing that story it reminds one of Carol Burnett playing Scarlett O’Hara wearing the green velvet drapes and rod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1JPQh5rBCw

Rurals might find themselves adjusting easier than the Urbans (who have had little to no experience) Believe it depends on your upbringing. Another video: “My Self Reliance”
Man Builds Off Grid Log Cabin Alone in the Canadian Wilderness/Self Reflections:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMXKin1fXXCeq2UJePJEog
Hope to make the Northeast green with envy after their winter blizzard recently.

Down here in Texas we had a perfectly gorgeous day. Temps perfect, sunny, and Spring is in the air. The hummers will be arriving soon. The feeders are cleaned and ready to be hung. LOL Purchased several sacks of sugar today.


345 posted on 03/15/2018 9:49:36 PM PDT by V K Lee (Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken. - Donald J. Trump)
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To: CottonBall

Hello.

Will you please add me to your ping list?

Thank you very much.


346 posted on 03/16/2018 12:13:44 AM PDT by Califreak (Take Me Back To Constantinople)
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To: CottonBall

I was surprised at how much it cost———it had been years since I had shoes soled,but it was worth every penny.

.


347 posted on 03/16/2018 8:13:43 AM PDT by Mears
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To: Califreak

you’re on it! thanks:)


348 posted on 03/16/2018 1:32:13 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: Mears

It’s hard to replace a good pair of comfortable shoes. So fixing them is a good idea. I suppose like everything else, the cost of materials and labor has skyrocketed. i’m glad there are people around willing to learn the trade. Was it an older person?


349 posted on 03/16/2018 1:34:31 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: V K Lee

Thanks for the laugh! That sketch was a classic, lol. I Love the curtain rod across the shoulders, but I had forgotten that she had one of those gaudy sash things on her head. Too funny!

We escaped Mexifornia 3 years ago and moved to a rural area, thinkingnit only would it be better in case we had civil unrest or financial collapse, but we just like this lifestyle no matter what.

But what really surprised me was the neighbors around here. Many of them are preparing for the next Civil War it seems. and all of them are growing gardens and/or livestock. It’s just the way they were raised, and their parents were raised, and their grandparents were raised. The family traditions live on around here. Every house around us has a little plot plowed, ready for next year‘s garden. And everyone I’ve met or that comes to work on the house has some sort of garden going. The guy that just came to put the floors in was talking about what he was gonna grow this year. (On the other hand, they all do things the same way year after year, can you can’t get them to change for anything. That both has pros and cons)


350 posted on 03/16/2018 1:48:17 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: V K Lee
Turmeric, taken in a therapeutic dose, can also cause Afib even if you are not taking anything.

My husband throws an occasional Afib, about once a week. When he was on turmeric he was throwing them several times a day.

He stopped the turmeric and it went back to once a week.

Everything that you take in a therapeutic dose is a drug and should always be checked against any medication you may be taking or any condition you may have.

Probably I am preaching to the choir here but I have seen people end up with problems because they thought natural equaled safe.

When I remind them that arsenic and lead are also natural they tend to get the "deer in the headlights" look.

351 posted on 03/16/2018 1:51:09 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies!! Or maybe midgets....)
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To: CottonBall
Do not use arrowroot in dairy sauces.

The texture will be very weird.

352 posted on 03/16/2018 1:53:01 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies!! Or maybe midgets....)
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To: CottonBall

The cobbler is in his 60s and says he was one of three in town when he started———he’s the only one left.

.


353 posted on 03/16/2018 2:06:57 PM PDT by Mears
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

ok, That’s good to know. I do make a lot of cream sauces for pasta.


354 posted on 03/16/2018 2:26:31 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: V K Lee

Interesting about super wash soda. That stuff is pretty expensive, and I didn’t realize there was a much cheaper alternative. When I was researching making laundry detergent years ago, I had read about somehow heating baking soda to convert it to super wash soda. But this is much much easier!

I might start making laundry detergent again now. I had been using Fells naphtha , Borax, and super wash soda. But grating the soap was pretty labor-intensive. It was easier if I microwaved it first, but then my whole house smelled like soap. so i just quit.


355 posted on 03/16/2018 2:46:22 PM PDT by CottonBall (Thank you, Julian!)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear; CottonBall

Thanks for the advise. Being on warfarin for more than 10 years, one learns the dire need to be certain to explore ANY new item which might be ingested. Only one of the down sides to this med. The other is repeated for-the-remainder-of-life trips to the lab for INR to see your blood is coagulating as it should They do have several more advanced drugs at this time which are taken once a month, but the substitution isn’t always an alternative. IE - those with a heart valve replacement don’t have that option.

Major complaint, when one medication causes irregularities and ANOTHER medication is then prescribed to over turn the first. IE - the statin drugs and their prone disadvantage to increasing Blood Sugar. Those who have history of Sugar Diabetes must be well aware and pro active in their research of whether or not the drug is the only one for them.

Does your DH wear a monitor? Those seen advertised on the tube that relay directly thru a phone to the doctor seem to be the rage at the moment. There are times when phones could be chucked, but that they have found such a function, guess they deserve more acclamation than Bronx cheers.


COTTONBALL,
LOL, thought you might get a kick out of Scarlett. My mother would tell stories about how my aunts would make their dresses from these sacks. The fabric seemed so thin and sheer. I presume the sacks had different patterns, but how many needed and how often was the pattern changed? Guess some were lucky enough to need only a few small sacks while others need large bushel bags, and lots of them.
Shoes - we females have a love of shoes, and to think that such an item when found wanting was a reason NOT to attend school is just so foreign. And they are right, few cobblers are found these days. Ever try to find a watchmaker? Watch repair shop? We’ve lost so much of our history and we seem to be losing more and more at a faster rate.


356 posted on 03/16/2018 4:10:03 PM PDT by V K Lee (Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken. - Donald J. Trump)
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To: V K Lee
He does not wear a monitor as a daily thing just about once a year when they do his heart tests.

It has been something he have lived with since he was a teen although they are getting more frequent as he gets older. They used to be a once a month thing.

The last time, before the turmeric, that he had trouble was when he was in the hospital and it turned into a "all the time" thing. They moved him from the surgical ward to the heart ward and scared me to death when I popped by on my lunch break to find a stripped room. :(

Anyhow, they did a cardioversion and he responded beautifully. His heart beat is proper most of the time and he only has to take a baby aspirin daily. I just have to be very careful about what I give him. Every medication he gets put on has to pass the "wife test" where I look it up using four or five different sources and keep an eye out for any thing off beat, pardon the pun. :)

357 posted on 03/16/2018 4:48:20 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies!! Or maybe midgets....)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

“Off Beat” :-) Happy to hear he is doing better. A fib seems to be very common, especially with us more mature citizens. Arrhythmia is the result of so many things. Sleep dysfunction can even cause it. We’re always learning if for nothing more than just to breathe again tomorrow.

My DH suffered from A fib for a time. He wore a pacemaker/defibrillator going into the office on schedule to have it read. One night we were standing side by side talking when out of the blue he suddenly pushed me aside! Shocking!! It seems his pacemaker gave him a shock to give him some rhythm. He had an aortic valve replacement which did help with the A fib. The PM remained. Several years later he began feeling ill, running a high fever. Back to emergency. His PM wires had corroded causing an infection. BAD NEWS. The good news was he no longer needed the PM. After several weeks of treatment the infection was remedied (how far the medical field has advanced) The method for injection of antibodies is remarkable in itself. Doing so much better now PTL!


358 posted on 03/16/2018 6:18:27 PM PDT by V K Lee (Anyone who thinks my story is anywhere near over is sadly mistaken. - Donald J. Trump)
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To: bgill

Thank you, I’ve read about solar cooking. That’s a couple levels higher as to building heat and cooking time.


359 posted on 03/16/2018 7:14:49 PM PDT by Aliska
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To: CottonBall
Oh, I hardly ever look at home pages unless someone is nasty. So I haven't looked at yours ;-). TN that's cool. Was looking for some mountain property like Alamazan with streams and falls and what I remember about a family vacation there when I was a child. Just more dreams I don't ever be able to do anything about.

CA was beautiful when I was a child, coming through the pass from Reno around the south rim of Tahoe. First glimpse of that beautiful lake couldn't believe it. Then we'd stop at a store and get something to make sandwiches and fruit, etc., and stop at one of the picnic tables there used to be scattered around among the trees. Something about the air I can't even put into words. Had my first two children there late 1963 thru Jan 66. Made lots of friends. Living cheap. Terrified of freeways that I wouldn't live to make it back to Iowa. Now it's almost as bad in the IA/IL area. Not anything close really but scarier.

Tonight I'm fed up with the family. Won't go into it. Horrible being dependent on irresponsible adult kids. Have to make other arrangements and don't really have anybody to appoint. Have a good lawyer. Didn't want it to come to this. I may leave them some crumbs and take measures to protect what I've struggled to manage. Set up a trust. Am scared I won't live long enough to get all the problems worked out.

I chopped the rest off for now. Went overboard again.

360 posted on 03/16/2018 8:07:17 PM PDT by Aliska
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