My Computer is Back!

I have had some rather miserable computer problems for awhile now and finally it's fixed! 
We took our annual camping trip with our ten year old granddaughter, which was very pleasant. The weather was great and we had a fun time with her as always. We have a 5th wheel RV and take all of the dogs too.  It's a wonderful get-away.  Next year we will start the tradition with our grandson who will be six by then. 

We are getting about 6 eggs a day now from "the Girls".  I have enjoyed these little gals so much.  They are quite friendly and they seem to enjoy my company too.  When I get home from work they all rush to the fence to say hello.  Actually I think they are saying "Let us out!"  We only let them out on the weekends.  The rest of the time they have to stay in their yard.

We have been concentrating on our food storage the past couple of weeks.  The "pantry" is in need of more shelving so that is next on the list of things to do.  We have the shelving unit, we just don't have the time to get it set up.  Elk season is just around the corner and I'm hoping Tim gets one this year.  It would be very comforting to fill the freezer up with meat.

I found a vintage stove on Craig's List that I would love to have for canning.  We are going to look at it on Saturday.  Do any of you have experience with vintage stoves?  This one is a 1954 RCA Estate electric range and oven.  Actually it has three ovens.  The range top has two large burners and two small ones, and in the center it has a griddle with a super large burner beneath it.  It's 40" wide so there is much more room for canners and pots.  And I have plenty of room for it in my canning kitchen.  I'll let you know if we buy it.
Regardless, I will be canning plums on Saturday.  One of our neighbors has two golden plum trees that are loaded with fruit and she said "come and get 'em"!  Wow.  You don't have to tell me twice, I'm on it!
After that I'll be harvesting apples in our little orchard and putting up some pie filling and applesauce.  (Man I could sure use that stove!)

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll get around to visit as soon as I can.

Blessings,

Red

First Trip To The LDS Cannery

For months we have wanted to go to the LDS Cannery in Portland.  They are open to non-members on Tuesday and Thursday every week.  I have been furloughed one week per month since last June, so I am able to go to the cannery during my "off" week.  Tim, however, had to schedule a day off work to go with me.  Yesterday was the big day. 

I printed off the order form and we filled it out before we went.  We thought we knew what to expect since we watched the You-Tube video on using the equipment.  But when we went inside they took our order form and we could see the canning room was full of people.  We thought we would just have to wait our turn.  Then a man asked Tim to help box orders around the other side of the room.  He said sure, and off he went.  Another man asked me if I would wash and sterilize the big tubs they use in the canning room.  I agreed and he showed me where the big sink was.

Every time I finished a load of tubs they brought me another one.  Finally I asked the man how much longer he thought it would be before we got to go in the canning room.  He smiled and began explaining how things work there.  He told me that all of the orders had been sent into the canning room and the folks in there were canning everyone's orders.  He said that all the people that have orders are either inside the room canning, or outside filling orders and helping out in other ways. 

That made total sense when I thought about it.  It was much easier for them to can all of the orders for one product (like dry milk) at one time, then move on to the next item.

All in all we had a very good time. It was a rewarding experience to be able to give help where needed, especially since others were doing the canning of our order for us.  I am looking forward to going back.  I don't know when that will be because it is not easy for Tim to get a Tuesday or Thursday off work.

So, our home storage pantry is looking much better these days!  We still have a long ways to go, but I am feeling much better now that the shelves are filling up.

Thanks for stopping by!

Storage Pantry Progress

We are making progress and we're enjoying the effort.  This is something Tim and I are both concerned about so we are working together on it.  We are already beginning to create new habits when it comes to shopping and cooking.  I am cooking more - and liking it!  Who knew? 


Anyway, in the picture below you see we have begun to fill the shelves.  The 4 Rubbermaid containers under the bottom shelf are full of things in boxes and bags.  The thought being that we can keep out the rodents that way.  Hanging on the left is a clipboard listing the contents of each of the 4 containers.  So far it's working out pretty good.  When we use something we cross it off the list, or change the quantity that's listed. Then we add it to our shopping list for next time.

We are increasing our water supply also.  The two liter bottles are drinking water, and in another area we have lot's and lot's of gallon jugs full of water that can be used for things other than drinking and cooking.  Without power we can't even flush a toilet, so in a short term emergency we can use a gallon of water to flush with.

Today, unbelievably, a tornado touched down in Oregon.  It did a lot of damage in the town of Aumsville.  After leaving Aumsville it came up through our town.  Fortunately by the time it got to us it was just very strong winds.  I still can't believe it.  BUT you never know and that is why we are doing this.



The Big Snow of 2008

We don’t get snow very often where I live. Every few years we get to see the white stuff and it’s pretty exciting. If we’re lucky we’ll get a few inches that lingers for a day or two. But since we are not accustomed to snow, few people know how to drive in it. Consequently everything shuts down. Seriously. All of the schools close, and many businesses. Even though I have a 4x4 vehicle, my employer lets me stay home when it snows. It’s great fun actually. I get to bundle up and go outside with the dogs. They love to play in the snow and I love to watch them (or play with them)!

But in December 2008 this happened.

It was the biggest snow storm Oregon had seen in 40 years. I think I was off work over a week. It was amazing and spectacularly beautiful. However, I live in a tiny town with one small grocery store. When it began to snow the shelves were wiped clean. No bread, milk, eggs, chips, butter, meat, pop, etc. In 2008 the last thing on my mind was being prepared for an emergency. What was I thinking? I wasn’t. Lucky for me, but not so lucky for him, my husband knows how to drive in the snow and never misses work because of it. (Thank goodness he doesn’t work anywhere near where I work!) Anyway, he was able to find what we needed. We were fortunate in the sense that there was just the two of us and the dogs. We had meat in the freezer and a little food in the fridge and pantry. If we had lost power for any length of time during that storm we could have been in a real pickle.  Without power we have no water.

Then a month or two ago I ran across an article on EMP’s and preparedness. When confronted with the question of being able to survive for any amount of time I was dumbfounded.  Why had I never considered this before?  I thought I was always "ready" for anything.  Not so.  Needless to say, it really got my attention.

Since then we have done our research, cleared a storage space and begun the process of actually storing food and supplies.  At this point I'm ready for the next snow or ice storm. I'm even ready for a loss of power, but not for too long.  We have quite a ways to go but at least we are on the right track.

I hope and pray we never have to rely on our storage for anything other than a snow storm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanksgiving 2010

We had the meal at our house this year.  We usually do.  Turkey in a bag, as usual.  But this year Tim and I made the Pumpkin Pies!  Neither of us have ever made a real pie before and this is as close to real as we could get for a first try.  We bought the crust, so I guess we cheated a little, but still - we did it!  It turned out okay.  We did a deep dish and a regular dish.  The deep dish is the only one I have tasted and even though it was okay, I've tasted better.  Next pie we make will be with our own crust.

I am slowly making friends with my kitchen. Now that I have reorganized the cupboards it is much easier to work in.  I have caught myself actually enjoying it!  Tomorrow or Sunday we are doing our second big "shopping for storage" trip.  I got some money for my birthday and have decided to buy a food dehydrator.  Dried foods keep longer and better, and in less space.  I also want to buy a water bath canner but I really need a winter coat so what's a girl to do????  Oh well, the canner can wait.

First Steps to Preparedness

Yesterday we decided to tackle the room in the basement that we are going to use for storing our supplies.  Our house is called a "daylight basement" house because it is built on a hill.  We live in the top floor and the "basement" contains 2 single car garages and a one bedroom apartment.  The smallest garage is the one we call the greenware room.  Right now we use this space to store our canned pickles, our canning supplies and all of our Christmas decorations.  There are floor to ceiling shelves on 3 walls.  We don't use it as a garage so the garage door is blocked with shelving and junk.   The bad part of this is the mice. We fight them all the time.  So the room is not very sanitary and that bugs me.  We are working on ways to keep things clean, such as using trunks, covered plastic tubs, and even an old cedar chest.  Anything we can put food in and keep the critters out.  Today we made huge progress. 

This is what we started with.  Lot's of shelves but a huge mess.

Hubs began to reassemble some old shelving we had taken down and saved years ago.

 By the end of the day we had this. 

 The cedar chest on the floor next to the chair is filled with water, flour, sugar, and 2 cases of Top Ramen.

 The finished shelving had bars nailed to the front and sides in case of an earthquake.

Now the jars will stay put - hopefully.

We have a long way to go, but at least we have a space now.

I don't think we will be able to store a years worth of food, but we will do what we can.