All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread]

vanity | 2/26/18 | CottonBall

[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

[CottonBall]

ok, It wouldn’t be as easy at first glance as I thought.

Hope your heart procedure goes well.

And thanks so much for offering to be a point of reference. I’m sure you will be asked many questions, I will be sure to ping you. If that’s OK?

Do you have a link to the water well discussion? I would love to read it. We are having problems with our well here.

[JockoManning]

Qx has problems with his well, too. All the water wells in this area have a problem with very very very fine sand settling in and clogging things up. Hard to clean it out.

[Ellendra]

I’ve made a couple of wines, and really liked the flavor. But they are both very sweet wines, which is exactly what I wanted. What kind of flavor are you aiming for?

[V K Lee]

This is for hubby, a sugar enthusiast. His taste in wine at the moment is Cabernet Sauvignon. He normally chooses red wine but has been known to drink white on occasion. My taste goes toward the fruity, a sweet but not too sweet, but seldom a dry wine. Not that I drink that often. ;-) LOL neither one of us is a member of any coveted ‘Wine Club’ and wearing a cup around our neck!

[Ellendra]

Here’s my process. Feel free to adapt it as you see fit:

Step 1: Dice/chop/squish/shred your fruit, and simmer gently until cooked. Pour the mix (chunks and all) into a primary fermenter. When it’s cool enough, add yeast. Cover and let ferment until the bubbling slows down.

Step 2: Strain the liquid. Taste, and add sugar, concentrated fruit juice, or other sweeteners as desired. Pour into a carboy and let ferment until the bubbling slows down.

Step 3: Taste the wine. If you want it sweeter, repeat step 2 as many times as you like until it’s either sweet enough, or is so strong it can no longer support the yeast. Otherwise siphon out the liquid, trying not to disturb the sediment. It may ferment again, so put it in a clean carboy with airlock until you’re sure the yeast has stopped, then bottle.

My dad likes using special wine yeasts and then using additives to stop the fermentation. He has yet to come up with something actually drinkable, all you can taste are the additives. I use bread yeast, and keep sweetening it until it can’t ferment any more. Mine come out both very sweet and very strong. The advantage to my method is, you can stop once it reaches the sweetness you want.

Enjoy!

[V K Lee]

Which type of bread yeast do you use? In the small envelope, or is it a yeast packaged and marked ‘bread yeast’. Some recipes call for bread machine use yeast, instant yeast, etc. Does the type of yeast really make a difference? And if not, which do you prefer and use?
Waiting for this year’s fruit harvest!

[Bob Ireland]

Sure, ping me on these threads. I did not even know that they existed.

Since the water question arose on the 'Q' thread I took the discussion to FReepmail. I will FReepmail you with the text [I save a text file on all e-mails, FReepmails, good mails, femails, etc.]

[Ellendra]

If you’re a wine connoisseur, the type of yeast might make a difference. But it’s a slight difference, not enough for most people to notice.

The kind I use comes in a jar marked “Active Dry Yeast”. It’s the same kind I use for baking.

[V K Lee]

Thanks much.

[CottonBall]

i’m now scissor shopping and ran across this question and answer

Q: Has anybody tried running with these? I’m hoping there pretty lightweight so I can run up the stair with less work. Thanks for your time! see less

Answer this question
A: These are some of the best for running or light jogging. You can hold away from the body with no muscle ache or chance of building arm muscles.

[Jane Long]

Hi, CB! Can you please add me to this ping list?

Thank you and Easter blessings.

(What type of problems are you having with well? We have a well and I’ve started to notice that rotten egg smell, a few times, lately :( )

[Jamestown1630]

That’s funny. What kind of scissors? I need new sewing scissors, and I’ve never had really good ones.

[CottonBall]

i was looking for hair scissors, particularly for the pets.

The ones i have are dull and are probably a bit dangerous now because of it. Every time i go to Walmart, half of their inventory is out so i end up back on Amazon!

[CottonBall]

Sure thing, Jane. Glad to have you here!

We bought the house with an existing well that wasn’t used any more. i’d like to get it productive again but would probably need to dig it deeper. We get about a half hour of water at a time - ok for watering the garden but not much more.

[CottonBall]

Ping to the All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics Thread

This is an ONGOING thread, meaning drop in when you want and chat. There is no one topic or story, but ongoing sharing with prepper friends.

If you want off/on this list, just let me know.

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Belated Easter Greetings from Corduroy the Easter Cat!



It’s really hard for Corduroy to deny that he’s the one that got the large Hershey’s kiss off the counter! Note the wrapper with ‘kisses’ on it in his mouth. (I caught him just in time, don’t worry he didn’t get any chocolate. After this I made sure to hide all the chocolate out of his reach)

here’s my topic for the week. Easter prepping! I just happened to be out shopping yesterday and found lovely Reese‘s peanut butter eggs half price. Now, what’s the best way for me to store them? Is it possible to store chocolate for long-term storage – meaning up to a year or two ? I imagine it wouldn’t last much after that.

[CottonBall]

FYI

10 Essential Life Skills to Pass on to Your Kids (And You Should Have these Skills Yourself)
https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3644546/posts

[V K Lee]

LAWN MOWERS AND MOTORS

Time to bring out your mowers, weed eaters and such. They’ll do little good sitting in storage. Don’t run at the moment? Good excuse but still not valid.

Taryl is at times a bit weird looking and strange However he is an apt, knowledgeable instructor and has helped this household to make necessary repairs. His video library:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Cd9kKYXFakV7ChvU_rjKw

[metmom]

Not here in CNY.

Winter is not giving up without a fight.

[V K Lee]

The snowflakes must be revolting! :-)
Down here in the south, we’ve temps of 70-80, sunshine and blooms. PLUS the hummingbirds have arrived and feeding. Glorious.

The Iris bed is pushing up the most vivid of reds and purples. The fragrance is outstanding.
Asparagus patch has given a few spears, enough for a meal- we anticipate more.

No place like Texas :-O

[CottonBall]

You’re getting this ping from the NEW All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread] Thread!!!

You’re getting this because you were on granny’s old ping list, from way back when.

IF you are already on the new list, please disregard this. I was going to compare the lists and get rid of the redundant entries, then decided that was WAAYYY too much trouble, LOL!
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So, if you want on the NEW ping list, please let me know!

Just like granny’s thread, it’s an ONGOING thread where you can chat, ask questions, or answer questions any time.