Posted on 02/09/2009 12:36:11 AM PST by nw_arizona_granny
Yahoo ran an interesting article this morning indicating a rise in the number of survivalist communities cropping up around the country. I have been wondering myself how much of the recent energy crisis is causing people to do things like stockpile food and water, grow their own vegetables, etc. Could it be that there are many people out there stockpiling and their increased buying has caused food prices to increase? It’s an interesting theory, but I believe increased food prices have more to do with rising fuel prices as cost-to-market costs have increased and grocers are simply passing those increases along to the consumer. A recent stroll through the camping section of Wal-Mart did give me pause - what kinds of things are prudent to have on hand in the event of a worldwide shortage of food and/or fuel? Survivalist in Training
I’ve been interested in survival stories since I was a kid, which is funny considering I grew up in a city. Maybe that’s why the idea of living off the land appealed to me. My grandfather and I frequently took camping trips along the Blue Ridge Parkway and around the Smoky Mountains. Looking back, some of the best times we had were when we stayed at campgrounds without electricity hookups, because it forced us to use what we had to get by. My grandfather was well-prepared with a camp stove and lanterns (which ran off propane), and when the sun went to bed we usually did along with it. We played cards for entertainment, and in the absence of televisions, games, etc. we shared many great conversations. Survivalist in the Neighborhood
HaHa! Peach cobbler sound great! Give us a call when it’s ready.
That’s what I would do. You should be able to find an old-fashioned one that is new. A previous poster showed one. Somewhere like Cabelas might have them.
I also add vinegar and a little olive oil. The vinegar not only helps the yeast but it helps the bread resist getting moldy. To much oil in the dough will make the crumb - from a lack of knowing the correct term - course and crumbly. I use no more than a Tbsp of oil in 6 cups of flour dough.
I use to have problems forming the final loaf (after the first rise). I always ended up with creases and cracks in the final baked bread. I was using to much oil when coating the dough for the first rise. I was handeling the dough to much at this point, folding it over and kneading slightly and the oil on the surface of the risen dough acts as a barrier and does not let the dough come together in the final rise - causing the creases. I now use a cooking spray very sparingly on the bowl and then use a paper towel to wipe it into a very thin coating on the bowl and just a spritz on the top of the dough.
After the first rise I just take the bowl turn it upside down, and thump it down on the counter top and let the dough fall to the counter - this is my punch down. I gently turn the mass of dough over so the smooth side is on top and let it sit for a min. or two. At this point I handle the dough as little as possible. If I am going to bake it in a bread pan I just put my open hands on each side of the dough and slowly bring my hands together to get the dough to the width of the pan - same for the length. Gently place the dough in the pan and let it rise.
If I am making a French bread I put my hands on the side and while bringing them together gently stretch the dough to the length I want. Cover and let rise for the second time.
Place in a 425 F oven 15-20 min.
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When I built my house, circa 1996, the Paloma was the only "on demand" water heater I could find at the time. By chance, it is sold by a local Ace hardware near where I live. It's made in Japan, is of excellent quality and has performed flawlessly for nigh onto 14 years. There have been several others that have come on the market since then. Rush advertises the "Renai" water heater. I don't have any familiarity with it, other than his advertisements, but it might be worth a look.
I am also checking out wind, solar and hydro generators.
I've got a close friend who is building an off grid home right now. He intends to use solar and wind to charge batteries. In fact, he's got the solar part working now with enough power through an inverter to run saws, lights, etc. He also has a small wind generator that uses a permanent magnet alternator of automotive origin. Not sure of the brand, but I think he paid around $500 for it, minus the mounting pole.
Wouldn’t that be grand?
Yes. I've toyed with the idea of changing my farm house to an off grid home. We're in the process of moving there and will be for the next six months or so. The house I built where I live now is a passive solar design that I engineered. It works beautifully. I supplement the solar heat with radiant floor heat through an LP fired boiler. I intend to install a similar system in my farm house, only with a solar loop and an outdoor wood fired boiler loop that will also heat my pool and shop. My shop also has radiant floor heat installed. Here's a website that gives the details of radiant floor heat: www.radiantmax.com
Radiant floor heat is the nicest heat there is. It's very easy to adapt to solar and it feels as if the Sun is shining out of the floor. I love it!
True about the survival blanket and we get enough sun here usually to cook most things.
Off to work for me, ya’ll have a good day.
LOL both Freecycle groups denied me because I don’t live in their city. Not very hospitable of them for being Texans! We have a puny one here where I live [small town] where the only ads [a total of 4] are people looking FOR stuff.
Note for that link, it’s old but has some good info on seeds and growing etc.
Granny, I will be glad to take those pictures to show y’all.
The owner and his family are part of my ‘Extended Neighbor Family’ - (I hope our readers are developing ENF’s - They can be crucial to survival in really hard times.) I have know Joel’s family very well starting with his grandfather. His father is now 84, has parkinson’s really bad, but still gets out in the field driving equipment and runs their 3,000 acre farming operation along with his brother and their 5 kids and grandkids. They are all just about the nicest people you could ever meet. To give you an example of a ENF, I offer and on occasion do help them if they are really short handed for a driver - or whatever, then in the spring when they are harvesting peas - which they grow several hundred of acres of - and the viners are huge over a million $ each (they have 4) Anyway, I buy about 100 pounds from them. They always tell me that they won’t charge me for them and I always insist on giving them $25 for them. They get about $450 a ton from processor/canning company, so I insist on paying just above that.
I have some 3 X 6 wire grates that I put a piece of 6 foot screen on, put it on a very slight incline across a pair of sawhorses and pour some on the top end and using garden hose, spray them really well. This way, any sand goes through, and the bits and pieces of leaves are plastered on the screen and clean peas make it to the bucket on the bottom end. I then divide them up - Daughters, Wife’s Aunt, etc. and while my wife delivers them, I start canning.
We do the same process with lima beans (except they are a little higher in price and I use a 1/4” hardware cloth in place of the screen) I always take my $4.98 WalMart fish scale along and weigh them in my 5 gal. storage buckets - that way there is never any feeling of anyone getting the short end of the stick. I feel better about it and so do they.
For any readers who want to consider getting products in this way from farmers, please note - while they may really want to talk to you, they are in a push to get their crop harvested at it’s peak - it means more money to them - also please, please leave attitudes somewhere else - don’t just drive across their field and blow your horn at them expecting them to come running - won’t happen and you will probably be ignored or run off. Always go into the field the same path that their hauling trucks take - first you stand less of a chance of getting stuck and while they are unloading is the best time to talk for a few seconds. Be polite and be a good neighbor!
Granny, don’t worry about picture size - I’ll keep them small. Earlier this year I fired Comcast - They raised the rates and I revolted over $96 a month for cable and internet. I have no use for MTV, BET, or their All 0bama channel and I have gone back to dial-up too - hey, I had dial-up long before they had always on high speed. I can adjust! Maybe think of $96 a month in terms of peas..... Yep, that’s 2 1/4+ tons (4,608 pounds) of peas a year! Don’t think so...
Sorry for rambling - your post was so concise and I gave you the long version answer.
Great job on the new thread, Granny!
Good morning, granny! Can’t stay but for a moment. Running late already. Sun is out here today but chilly...only a high of 59 for today. Was reading some of the recipes on this thread yesterday. (or maybe it was the other thread?) Some were so yummy sounding that I printed them to try. Aren’t FReepers the greatest?
Stay safe and warm!
Grammy here ——can you pick me up some stuff at the gun store on your way home from semb-eleben?
I’ be waitin’..........
roflmao
Any info on what works when it comes to commercial solar ovens. Looking for the least expensive that won't fall apart. Thanks.
Yep. I am so glad you are on F.R.
I’m glad to be part of your Yahoo Group, too.
Have a blessed Tuesday.
I’ve been skipping around the thread, so I apologize if you aren’t the person, but if you are the keeper of the Dave Ramsey ping list, please add me.
The people with the big gardens will be the first to be overrun by the have nots.
And the neighbors will know from all the years of having the big garden that there will most certainly be big stores of canned goods inside.
Hungry people will kill. So be prepared to kill unless you want to share your stuff with the have nots.
Wow! People skills needed!
Well, I for one consider cultivating neighbors just as important as cultivating my garden. Very few hermits will survive - but a cooperative neighborhood of focused people can. My 1/4 mile radius neighborhood went from 3 houses to now 26 - I have a pretty close relationship with 7 of them - and they in turn have a wider circle of relationships. We each have different resources and talents - alone we have very limited resources - jointly we have a whole plethora of possibilities and talents.
Please add radiohead to the Dave Ramsey ping list, and thanks!
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