We love our StoveTec outdoor stove

http://www.stovetec.net/us/index.php

This really cooks well, using charcoal or wood.  I really like ours.

It is quite heavy, you wouldn't want to carry it very far.

Here is a picture of ours, you feed the wood in through the little door at the bottom.  As the wood is being burned, it rests on the metal rack, and you push it in a little at a time.  All the heat is concentrated right up the hole.  You can see the open door flap with the very thick ceramic lining.  The whole stove is lined with that ceramic.

"Power Loss" challenge

 In case you want to follow along with the FoodStorageMadeEasy.net Seven Day challenge, today they have a good one. 

They give the rules and the goals for pretending like there is no electricity at your house for one day (today).  Then you can go on their blog and website to see what all the comments are from the people who participated.

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2012/09/16/the-7-day-challenge-day-5-sunday/

Wanna do the FoodStorageMadeEasy Seven Day Challenge?

 My apologies for not blogging much lately, some major events are taking place in our lives and I will tell you all about it in a few weeks.

I love the FoodStorageMadeEasy.net website, and have done their Seven Day Challenge for each of the last two Septembers.  If you want to join in, it started today.

The mock disaster for today is "Global Food Shortage".  Read the rules and how to participate here:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2012/09/12/the-7-day-challenge-day-1-wednesday/

Evaporated Milk went bad

This week, I opened some evaporated milk I had purchased in 2011.  Evaporated milk is usually a pale beige color, but this looked very yellow.  After pouring it all out, there was about a 1/4" - 1/2" inch layer of stuff in the bottom of the can that was of a consistency like pudding.  I said, "That can't be good," and I threw it away.

Then I opened another can, also purchased in 2011, and the same thing happened.  I was very disappointed that I had wasted two cans of evaporated milk.  They were stored inside my house at room temperature, so I expected them to last about two years at least.  I wonder what happened to make them go bad.  I will have to investigate this further.

Its Emergency Preparedness Month in North Carolina

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/11496012/

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Bev Perdue has proclaimed September as Emergency Preparedness Month to encourage North Carolinians to prepare themselves for a variety of emergencies.

In a statement, Perdue urged all levels of the community to be prepared. She said individuals and families should have emergency plans and supplies in place, and she added that cities, counties and state agencies should routinely test their response plans.

MORE INFO    Preparing for disasters

The governor said it doesn't take a major hurricane or tornado to cause extensive damage to a home or to disrupt a business. Heavy rains and severe thunderstorms in Halifax and Northampton counties last month produced extensive flooding in only a few short hours.

In 2011, North Carolina experienced 63 tornadoes, nearly half of which during the statewide outbreak on April 16. Hurricane Irene followed four months later.