Don't Rely on Your Memory

Pick a room or closet in your house.  Write down from memory every single thing in that space.  Then go look.

You will be astounded how many things you forgot were in there.

Now consider what would happen after a tornado or fire.  The insurance company tells you that it will only cover the items you list on their forms.  You might list everything you can remember, then get the insurance settlement.

The sad truth is that later you will remember many other things, and be mad that you didn't get the reimbursements that should have been yours.

Whats the solution?

One possibility:  Take your digital camera and empty each closet and room in your house and systematically take photos of every item you own.

Second possibility:  Empty each closet and room in your house and systematically write down a list of everything.

Or combine the two.

Then store the digital photos or list somewhere else:  mail them on a thumb drive to your sister or your friend.

(NOTE TO SELF:  I NEED TO DO THIS.)

Highly recommended flashlight

I was reading the website of someone who has been through some very tough circumstances, so he knows what supplies are useful and which are not.

This is the best flashlight to own, according to him.

http://shop.gregmcgeeengineering.com/C3-907-170-Lumen-002.htm

National Geo TV show about preparedness tomorrow

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/doomsday-preppers-6202/Videos/10607_00#tab-Overview%23ixzz1QJKYgoAu/10607_00

"Doomsday Preppers"  airing Monday June 27, 10 pm on the National Geographic channel.

Has the Time for Preparation Passed?

An article written by Carolyn Nicolaysen in Meridian Magazine:

http://www.ldsmag.com/article/8143?ac=1

This was written after Hurricane Ike hit Texas in 2008

(Note from Amy:  I have retyped this because I only had a hard copy.  I do not know who the author is, other than “Jyl”, who appears to live in Tomball, Texas.  This was a forwarded email I received in 2008 after Hurricane Ike hit Texas.

Wikipedia says: Hurricane Ike was the third-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in the United States.Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County, Texas region near Corpus Christi, Texas. In regional Texas towns, electrical power began failing on September 12 before 8 p.m. CDT,^[50]leaving millions without power (estimates range from 2.8 million^[102] to 4.5 million ^[103] customers). Grocery store shelves in the Houston area were left empty for weeks in the aftermath of the storm.)

Forwarded message

From Rozanne

Date: Tues. Sept. 23, 2008

Subject: Preparedness

To: Undisclosed Recipient

Just want to share this email that I received from a friend.  It’s a letter sent to her friend from people in Texas who just experienced “Ike”.   What a testimony for preparedness.

Dear Friends:

We have a 6’x6’ hole in our roof, no electricity or running water, Trees down everywhere.  However, because we listened to the counsel of our Prophet we are prepared.  In fact it seems to me that it’s only the members of the church who seem to be calm, prepared, and helping one another with trees in roofs, flooding, etc.

There is a POD or Point of Distribution in Tomball where we live.  There you get water and ice IF you have enough fuel to wait in the 3-hour lines.  We don’t have to do that because we have 3 full water barrels, 75 juice bottles filled with water, and our pool, which is dirty, but we use it to flush.

It is very difficult to get gas.  Police guard the stations when fuel is delivered and you might wait half a day to get up to the pump just to have them say, “Too bad, we are out.”  I am grateful that we have a generator.  We run it 4 hours a day to keep our fridge and light.  I am grateful that we have had fuel for it.  You can’t even buy gas containers as they are rationed.  We can only buy bread once a week and limited to 2 loaves at a time.  Water is rationed by the case at the grocery store- 3 cases per family.

The ATM machines do not have power.  For the past 6 months I have stashed small bills away because I have had such a feeling of foreboding.  We have cash because of that.  LISTEN TO THE SPIRIT.  Get cash in small bills because the stores can’t make change and credit and debit cards often don’t work.  I had to pay 5 dollars more for an item because they couldn’t make change for me.  And....PHONES ONLY WORK OCCASIONALLY.

Believe it or not....I have not had a bath in 4 days, Today was the first day I got to wash my hair with pool water.  I haven’t fixed my hair in a week!!! It just doesn’t matter anymore.  We cannot do laundry because we don’t have water.  So, we wear our clothes until they are literally disgusting.  When we do finally get water we will have to boil it since it is contaminated.

I am grateful for my parents.  When we got low on generator fuel they drove 45 minutes to help us.  They filled up their cans and brought us 10 gallons of fuel, which kept us going until this morning at 6:00 am when we finally found some gas. 

A prepared family and a loving extended family is the key to survival and making it through right now.  I know that my parents would drive to the end of the earth to help me and it’s nice knowing they are there.  I know that I would do the same for my children.

I want all of you to know that I have such a testimony of following the counsel of our living prophet.  There really is safety and peace in your heart if you are prepared.  Please get your generators, 5 gas cans full of gas, canned goods, baby items, baby wipes to bathe, and all the water you can store...even if you have to trip on it in your home.

Have your lanterns, crank flashlights, tarps, rope, etc. ready to go because you never know when it will be your turn to endure the test.  It’s overwhelming, but its going to be ok eventually.  I have a home, I have food, and I have water, because I listened to the counsel of the prophet.  Please make sure you do the same.  It’s time to have your life it order.  Tomorrow may be too late.

I love you all so much.  I wish you were here.  Take care!

Jyl

Church History teaches lessons Part 10

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, continued

Lesson 7: Be prepared to leave cherished belongings.

Fleeing the fires, many families grabbed belongings and tried to haul them on foot. One trunk “weighed a ton,” as Harold Jenson described it in his diary. 13 One family member pushed a wheeled sewing machine. Harold strapped family belongings to his bicycle. Too burdened, the family eventually left some of their belongings on the roadside.

Lesson 8: Ignore wild rumors that spread in panics and don’t pass them on.

The earthquake severed the city’s communications with the outside world, so rumors spread that Los Angeles was destroyed, New York was no more, and that the Great Salt Lake had inundated Salt Lake City!

One Final Lesson

Along with all of the practical lessons history teaches, one more lesson comes through: maintain good attitudes during troubled times. A sense of humor is like salve on a wound.

On 6 April 1846 about 2,000 Saints with about 400 covered wagons were bogging down in Iowa rains and mud, trying to reach campsites beside Locust Creek. “I was in the rain all day,” President Young noted in his diary, “arranging the wagons, pitching tents, chopping wood until all were comfortable.” That dreary day most members had good excuses to feel miserable. However, Patty Sessions noted in her diary that “[Brother] Brigham came up with his company driving his team in the rain and mud up to his kne[e]s as happy as a king.” 14

We would do well to follow Brother Brigham’s example, as well as that set by other Latter-day Saints who have had to deal with disasters and crises. By learning from the lessons of the past, we better prepare ourselves for the future.

Self-reliance

“The responsibility for each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof. No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else.” President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), Ensign, Nov. 1977, 77.

Be Prepared

“While it is sincerely hoped that members do not get caught up in any hysteria or obsessive preparations for disasters, the Church continues its long-standing practice of encouraging members to be self-reliant and reasonably prepared.” Bishop H. David Burton, Presiding Bishop, “Conversation,” Ensign, Sept. 1999, 78.

Church History teaches lessons Part 9

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, continued

Lesson 4: Have minimal cleaning items, such as moist towelettes, toothpaste, deodorant, face towels, and even small bags of detergent.

“It was a real trial,” said missionary Elder Leo Gardner, bound for the Pacific islands, “to endure our thirst and to go without washing our faces and hands which were getting blacker with the dust and smoke.” 12

Lesson 5: Have emergency food as we have been taught.

San Franciscans rushed to local markets to buy up bread, creating panic buying. By noon, as fires spread through the city, martial law was declared, and anyone trying to enter stores, even store owners, were shot on sight as looters. Within a day or two the city provided bread for people who stood in breadlines that were four people wide and blocks long.

Lesson 6: It is important to have two or three meeting places where family members can find each other in case disaster strikes and the family is scattered.

President Robinson’s toughest task for about a week was reuniting families separated during the disaster. Evacuations had become necessary. With homes damaged and the Church’s mission home dynamited to create a firebreak, members scattered. President Robinson tried to let members know where other members were camped out by posting in the mission home ashes a sign indicating where the main Latter-day Saint camp was located.

Church History teaches lessons Part 8

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire

The U.S. earthquake against which all earthquakes are still measured is the San Francisco earthquake of 18 April 1906. The great quake caused terrible damage to buildings, roads, water systems, law enforcement, communications, and transportation. Fires broke out and caused more damage than the quake. Separations were common. Food, water, and sanitation became terrible problems.

Some 120 Church members—branch members, missionaries, and city visitors—were in the city at the time. Some wrote about how they survived the quake. 11 Their accounts identify several problems we could face if caught in a major earthquake or other catastrophes, such as hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, or fires, and they provide several preparedness ideas.

Lesson 1: Have sturdy shoes and durable clothing nearby in case of a sudden nighttime emergency, whether at home or away from home.

The 1906 quake struck before morning while people were sleeping. Frightened people ran into the streets in nightclothes and barefoot. Mission president Joseph Robinson hiked all over San Francisco trying to locate and help Church members. Broken bricks and glass quickly shredded his shoes.

Lesson 2: Have fire extinguishers in our homes.

Less than four blocks away from the Church’s mission home, a woman cooking breakfast accidentally started a fire. Firemen were too busy to respond to this “ham and eggs” fire. By the early afternoon, in order to keep the fire from spreading, firemen had to dynamite the area where the mission home stood.

Lesson 3: Have emergency water on hand in sturdy, non-glass containers.

Faucets went dry when the water mains broke. Thirsty people broke into stores and bars to find liquid. Thirsty members, who flocked to the mission home, were glad to be offered bottled fruit (fortunately the bottles had not broken).

Solar Oven: Eggs, and cake in cans

Here is a photo of my solar oven when I was baking some cake batter inside clean cans (I think these were originally 26.5 oz. spaghetti sauce cans.)  The reason I used the cans is because I don't have the perfect pans yet that fit inside my solar oven.  I've got to order some.  Until then, I just use whatever I can find.  


Note: I spray painted the outside of the cans with High Heat Black Grill Paint.


The other easy thing to cook in the solar oven is eggs. These turn out just like boiled eggs but they aren't boiled, since you use no water. Just place the raw eggs in the solar oven and let them cook. Since we have so many random clouds passing by all the time, I think I have left the eggs in there about an hour, but for full sun it may take shorter.

The eggs were "boiled" perfectly.

In a microwave, you can't put eggs in the shell and cook them, because they will explode. But for some reason, they don't explode in the solar oven.

The only weird thing is that they get a  spot on the shell where they sit on the oven shelf.  But it doesn't affect the insides.

Church History teaches lessons Part 7

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the Pioneer Famine of 1856, continued

Lesson 2: During times of famine we might choose to fast more often to provide for the needy.

In 1856 fasting made more food available for others. In April, President Brigham Young said that his family saved a considerable amount “by frequent fastings,” which they gave to the poor. One bishop whose ward was “very poor” said he “had nothing to begin with, but he immediately called a fast and the brethren have done pretty liberally.” 9

Lesson 3: When the course of our normal life is disrupted, it helps to fill free time with constructive activities.

A history about circumstances in Spanish Fork, Utah, in 1856 includes this description: “Having no crops to gather, the settlers built bridges, made fences, opened a road up the canyon for the purpose of getting out wood poles and all the men turned out for weeks on these public works, donating their labor.” 10

Church History teaches lessons Part 6

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.


Lessons from the "Saluda" Disaster, continued

Lesson 2: Up-to-date rosters of people are important, and parents need wills that specify who should have their children.

To this day, no one knows for certain how many members were aboard the Saluda, how many were lost, or how many reached Utah. Lexington townspeople, with charitable instincts but who also wanted to save children from Mormonism, took a number of Latter-day Saint orphans into their homes and raised them. Leaders had no list to check off to see how many children they needed to locate and claim.

Lessons from the Pioneer Famine of 1856

Members in Utah suffered through a harsh famine in early 1856 caused by a drought, grasshopper plague, and severe winter. From April to October 1855 no rains fell. Grasshoppers cleaned county after county of grain and fruit. Dry forests burned that fall. Deep winter snows and cold killed thousands of cattle. By January 1856 the pioneers faced starvation. Their efforts to survive suggest lessons about food storage, food shortages, and food rationing.

Lesson 1: In times of dire food shortages, we should be willing to share our personal food storage with others.

By mid-March 1856, wards were taking inventories to determine how much food was left in the community. It became clear that everyone would need to share what they had. Presidents Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball of the First Presidency, as well as many others who had supplies, reduced rations in their own families and helped those who were suffering. “I sell none for money,” President Kimball wrote, “but let it go where people are truly destitute. Dollars and cents do not count now.” 5

By July 1856 the Church’s tithing office and the people were running short of supplies. One city bishop “found 5 lbs of flour on three blocks and no meat.” 6

One sister recalled that during the famine she gave away flour. As her supply dwindled, she gave away a loaf of bread. Finally, with little flour left, she gave away slices of bread. People picked up crumbs when she cut the slices. “Women would offer me their jewelry, fine clothing, anything they had for bread,” she remembered. 7 Some people paid speculators $24 per hundred pounds of flour, when the normal price was $6. Bishop Aaron Johnson of Springville, Utah, sold flour at the going price of $6 and refused to raise his rates, even though people would pay four times that price. 8

Rain barrels for sale at Sam's Club

I saw these for sale at Sam's Club a few days ago for $78.88.  They attach to your downspout on your gutters, and there is a spigot included so you can attach your garden hose at the bottom of the barrel.  It holds 65 gallons of water that you could use to water your garden every day, and in an emergency you could use it to flush toilets.

The top is all enclosed to keep children and animals safe.  And it has mesh so that mosquitos don't breed in the water.  You can add some dirt on top and plant some flowers there.

This seems like a reasonable price for a rain barrel, I have seen them at similar prices elsewhere, and this one looks prettier.

Church History teaches lessons Part 5

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from the Saluda Disaster

On Good Friday morning, 9 April 1852, the Missouri river-boat Saluda blew up near Lexington, Missouri, killing nearly two dozen Latter-day Saints traveling from St. Louis to Council Bluffs on their way west to Utah. Important lessons are learned from this tragedy.

Lesson 1: When the Spirit cautions us against something, we need to obey.

One passenger, William C. Dunbar, later admitted he had ignored warnings from the Holy Spirit to stay off the vessel. When Latter-day Saint agents chartered the old, slow Saluda to move Saints from St. Louis upriver to the wagon train camps, Brother Dunbar and his friend Duncan Campbell looked it over. Both felt strongly impressed that “something awful was going to happen,” such that each saw tears coursing down the other’s cheek. This was a warning that went unheeded. By contrast, Abraham O. Smoot was similarly prompted and refused to board the boat, even when offered free passage.

Despite his bad feelings about the Saluda, Brother Dunbar determined that he and his wife, Helen, and their two small children would go. But on departure morning the Dunbar family missed the boat because supplies they purchased did not show up on time. Brother Dunbar later reflected that “some friendly unseen power was at work in my behalf, trying to prevent me from going on board with my family.” Two days later they boarded another riverboat, but Brother Dunbar insisted that its captain put him aboard the slower Saluda if they caught up with it so they could rejoin the Latter-day Saint company. Before long they caught up with the Saluda, but river ice prevented the Dunbars from transferring. Upriver the passengers on the Dunbars’ boat disembarked, but Brother Dunbar made the captain drift their boat back to a dock where the Saluda was waiting for the ice to clear. There the Dunbars boarded the Saluda the night before it blew up. They joined about 175 passengers, 90 of them Latter-day Saints.

The Dunbars slept that night behind a canvas wall on the deck—directly over the boat’s boilers. Friday morning Brother Dunbar stepped briefly to another part of the deck to watch the crew working. Stokers fired up the boilers so the Saluda could start upriver. When pumps shot cold water into the red-hot boilers, they exploded. The blast was “heard and felt” throughout nearby Lexington. Two-thirds of the Saluda’s superstructure disintegrated in a cloud of smoke, flame, and dust. Passengers were blown ashore and into the river.

Brother Dunbar wrote, “I witnessed just two revolutions of the paddle wheels, when I remember nothing more till I found myself lying on the bank of the river within three yards of the water’s edge, with my clothes drenching wet, and my head all covered with blood.” When conscious, he found the lifeless body of his one-year-old boy. Then, in a temporary hospital, he saw his wife, Helen, breathe her last. Searching among the dead, he found the body of his five-year-old daughter. He lost his entire family. For the rest of his life he regretted that he ignored several voices of warning. 4

Solar Oven: Corn on the cob!

Today I put unshucked corn into the solar oven at 1:00 and got it out at 2:30.  It was sunny most of the time, but a few clouds passed by here and there.

I took it out after an hour and a half, shucked it, and ate it.  IT WAS DELICIOUS!

Now this will be my very favorite thing to cook in the solar oven.  It takes zero preparation, and you don't have to worry about timing it perfectly.  You really can't overcook anything because its more like a crockpot, things just cook slowly in there.

Church History teaches lessons Part 4

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.


Lessons from the Mormon Battalion's March, continued


Lesson 3: Writing materials and a camera are helpful resources.

About 20 soldiers kept diaries during the trek, using a strange assortment of notebooks and papers—whatever they could find to write on. In order to “show” what he was experiencing, one man drew sketches in his diary.

Lesson 4: Bread or other grain products are important.

In January 1847 at Warner’s Ranch in southern California, previously famished battalion men received four pounds of beef a day as their ration. Beef, however, did not satisfy their hunger. The men craved bread, which was unavailable.

Church History teaches lessons Part 3

from "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent"

By William G. Hartley

Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from Crossing the Plains, continued


Lesson 6: Be creative and adaptive in difficult times.

Pioneer women took advantage of the bumpiness of the wagons and filled tubs with soap, water, and dirty clothes. By day’s end the clothes had been agitated clean. Some women also put cream into containers hung underneath the wagon and let the jostling churn the cream into butter.

Lessons from the Mormon Battalion’s March

In 1846–47, the majority of the Mormon Battalion, an infantry unit of nearly 500 men in the U.S. Army of the West during the Mexican War, marched about 2,000 miles from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to San Diego, California. 2 We learn several lessons from their experiences.

Lesson 1: During a crisis we may need to leave our family to meet community needs.

On 3 July 1846, President Brigham Young, Elder Heber C. Kimball, and Elder Willard Richards began recruiting men for the Mormon Battalion. Recruiting continued until 20 July. At noon on Tuesday, 21 July, the battalion began its historic march. All this took place in the midst of the members’ migration across Iowa and left hundreds of women and children to cross the plains without these men to help them.

Lesson 2: Water-purifying pills or filters are essential.

Thirsty people will drink contaminated water, if necessary. Crossing a dry stretch in Kansas, the battalion suffered severely from heat and lack of water. So thirsty were they that they drove a herd of buffalo from an insect-infested pond and gladly drank the discolored and disgusting water. “No luxury was ever more thankfully received,” Sergeant Daniel Tyler wrote. Afterwards, “many were attacked with summer complaint.” 3

Church History teaches lessons Part 2

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

Lessons from Crossing the Plains, continued


Lesson 3: Be accident cautious.

Accidents injured or killed many on the trail. Pioneers lamented their carelessness when they lost hats, binoculars, knives, axes, guns, watches, pans, shovels, and even horses and cattle. A few became so busy and distracted that even their children wandered away and became lost. When emergencies occur, we must be extra careful not to hurt ourselves by falls, burns, knife and axe cuts, or similar accidents. We need to be strict about putting things away.

Lesson 4: We should protect ourselves from uncaring or dishonest individuals.

Pioneers learned to guard against potential theft, assault, and even kidnapping. Some were put in charge of enforcing basic rules of conduct and expelling those who would not cooperate. And, as happens in groups during major crises, pioneers had to tune out complainers, whiners, and even rabble-rousers and doomsayers.

Lesson 5: Protect against discouragement.

Our best protection against discouragement during a crisis is to maintain our health by not becoming overly exhausted, which can lead to sickness and bad judgment. Some unwise pioneers were afraid to ask for help when they needed it, thereby bringing suffering upon themselves and those they cared for. Most wagon train travelers, in order to keep up their spirits, made friends with fellow travelers, held dances, sang together, and helped those whose wagons broke down or who became ill.

Church History teaches lessons Part 1

From "Sturdy Shoes and a Waterproof Tent" by William G. Hartley, Ensign Oct. 2001

Church history teaches many lessons about personal preparedness.

“If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us!” wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1831. 1 While it may sound surprising, a look at Church history can teach us about preparedness for our day.

Lessons from Crossing the Plains

For more than 60,000 Saints who journeyed to Utah during the wagon train period (1846–69), outdoor trail realities tested their preparation and showed what worked and what didn’t.

Lesson 1: When we ignore preparedness counsel, we can expect unhappy consequences.

Before leaving Nauvoo, members had Church-published lists of what to take with them. But when the first companies left in February 1846, several hundred members panicked and crossed the Mississippi River without proper clothes, food, or shelter. As a result, they brought suffering upon themselves, slowed down others, and drained resources from those properly prepared.

Lesson 2: Protect against nature.

Trail death tolls reveal that the highest numbers of deaths were among infants and the elderly. Some pioneers became cold and wet because wagon covers and tents were not waterproof. Others suffered sunburns when they lost their hats. Their lips chapped from the dry air, wind, and sun. Many suffered diarrhea and lacked medicine to stop it. Some travelers, while dressed properly for summer heat, lacked coats and gloves for the cold mountain temperatures experienced before reaching the Salt Lake Valley. In addition, pioneers had to guard against wildlife, particularly snakes and wolves. In many campsites they suffered from swarms of mosquitoes that badly hurt children and angered horses and cattle.

Solar oven videos, Killing the bugs on my Summer Squash plants

I really enjoyed watching the eleven different YouTube videos about solar oven cooking on  http://everydayfoodstorage.net/blog .  I've been cooking with my solar oven this week, and have learned that North Carolina skies are usually clear in the morning, but they start clouding up around noon.  I have had several items that took hours and hours to cook in the solar oven because the clouds kept going over the sun.

I have also watched several videos about common garden bugs.  I learned that the bugs I found all over my summer squash plants are called squash beetles, and I learned to kill them with homemade insecticide.  Just add some liquid dish detergent to a squirt bottle of water, and squirt the bugs with the soapy water.  It really kills them, within about a minute.  It is GREAT!

Low global wheat supply leads to higher food prices

Read the article:

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Low-global-wheat-supply-leads-to-higher-food-prices-123435209.html

NASA head talks about family preparedness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mk5sRmroG8s#at=26

Here is a YouTube video from the head of NASA to NASA employees, asking them to prepare for emergencies.

 2:37 minutes long.

Oven for a propane camping stove

(I know it looks like a safe, but its not.  Its an oven.)

I went to garage sales on Saturday morning, and found this great Coleman oven, which is probably more than twenty years old.

It folds flat for travelling.  It hinges together to make a six-sided metal box, which sets on top of a Coleman propane camp stove.  It even has a thermometer on the door, so you can tell if it is the right temperature to cook your bread.

I can't wait to try it out.

How Long Did the Toothpaste Tube Last?

Wayne and I each like a different brand of toothpaste, so this is my tube.  I wrote "March 1" on it because I wanted to see how long it took to use it.  It was empty around the first week of June.

Therefore, now I know that it takes me about 3 months to use a tube of toothpaste.  So for me, just me, I need 4 tubes for a one year supply of toothpaste.  I assume I need that much for each of the other people in my family, as well.

My challenge for you:  The next time you open any new bottle of shampoo, tube of toothpaste, bottle of Tylenol, bottle of liquid dish soap, etc, WRITE THE DATE ON IT.  That way, you will be able to figure out how many you need to store for a year's worth.

(Thanks for the math correction, Janette!)

Seven Important Tips for Food Storage

1. Include a variety of foods.  We get tired of eating the same things over and over.

2.  Get many types of food: dehydrated, freeze-dried, factory-canned, home-canned, grains, oil, seasonings, leavenings.

3. Store Vitamins.

4. Store some quick and easy foods that can help you when you are too tired or too overwhelmed to cook. 

5. Keep items well-balanced as you attempt to collect your food storage.  Buy some of everything as you go along.  (Don't buy all the wheat, then buy all the legumes.)

6. Always store your bulk foods in food storage containers.

7. Learn to use your food storage.

A List of Necessities

After a San Fernando earthquake, the residents made the following list of items they were caught without:

Flashlights

Consecrated oil

Camp stoves, barbecues, or other alternate sources of cooking

Can openers

Sleeping bags

Portable toilets

Changes of clothing

Money

Gas in the car

Sufficient liquids to drink

Shaving equipment

Toilet tissue

Road maps

A radio, with battery

Do you have these items ready to go, in case of a disaster?

4 Free Books I Hope I Never Have to Use

I have heard great reviews of these four books, and have always wanted to buy them.  These books are ones I hope I never have to use, but I feel that the information inside them is important for everyone to have in their home libraries.

"Where There is No Doctor"
"Where There is No Dentist"
"Where Women Have No Doctor" and
"A Book for Midwives".

For a short time, all of these books are free to download.  Go to http://www.hesperian.org/publications_download.php to download them.

During the last days, we may be in a situation where we have to deal with these situations.  I encourage you to download these books, just in case.

More solar oven videos

I wrote yesterday about the solar oven video that you should watch on FoodStorageMadeEasy.net. (Jodi showed how to cook rice in about a 5 minute video.)

Well, it looks like Juli and Jodi's sister-in-law, Crystal, is also covering solar ovens on HER blog this week.

Go to http://everydayfoodstorage.net/blog for June 6, 2011 and watch the 15 minute video about how to use a solar oven.  It also has great information, especially if you want to see what a solar oven looks like, what it is made of, how to use it, etc.

Crystal said this is just the first of several 15 minute videos she is going to post this week, so go back again to her blog tomorrow to see what is there.

Wheat: Doing poorly all over the world according to Bloomberg.com

Here are excerpts from an article which was published on Bloomberg.com today.  News like this makes me want to go to the cannery and buy more wheat.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-05/wheat-fields-wilt-in-drought-as-parched-earth-spreads-from-china-to-kansas.html

Wheat Fields Wilt in Drought as Parched Earth Spreads From China to Kansas

By Luzi Ann Javier, Madelene Pearson and Whitney McFerron - Jun 6, 2011 7:17 AM ET

The worst droughts in decades are wilting wheat fields from China to the U.S. to the U.K., overwhelming Russia’s return to grain markets and driving prices to the highest levels since 2008.

Parts of China, the biggest grower, had the least rain in a century, some European regions are the driest in 50 years and almost half the winter-wheat crop in the U.S., the largest exporter, is rated poor or worse. Inventory is dropping 8.8 percent, the most in five years, .....

.....“In 32 years, I’ve never seen so many problems in so many places,” said Dan Basse, the president of AgResource Co., a farm researcher in Chicago.....

....France had its driest spring in 50 years, and April in the U.K. was the hottest in 352 years, forecasters in those countries have said.

“I’ve been farming here for 30 years and it’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Robert Law, 53, who cultivates about 5,000 acres of grain in Hertfordshire, England. “The drought has definitely gone on longer than we’ve ever had before.”.....

...About 44 percent of the U.S. winter-wheat crop was in poor or very poor condition by May 29, the USDA said. Rainfall in the previous two months was less than half of normal in much of Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, the biggest producers of winter varieties, the National Weather Service estimates.

“On these windy days, there’s just dirt in the air and the sky is brown,” said David Cleavinger, 53, who farms 3,500 acres in Wildorado, Texas, and already lost about half of his 1,200 acres of wheat....

....Rain is delaying the planting of spring wheat in North Dakota and Montana. Plantings may be more than a million acres below what the USDA estimates,....