Homestead mailing list

["Gloria Morris" <gloriamorris59 AT gmail.com>]

Hey, Bev, greetings from a fellow heathen! *grin*

Having just moved, in many ways I am starting over, and preparedness
has moved to front burner status.

First and foremost, I want to build my pantry and freezer up, with
homegrown food and also with purchased. I cannot recall a time in my
adult life when my pantry has been as poorly stocked as it is now,
although in truth I could go awhile on what I have, but not nearly so
long as I'm accustomed to, nor with the usual variety. That means I
want to get a garden started this year, and I want to can a
significant amount of what I grow. I'll be building a chicken house.
I'm hoping that my dairy goat will produce lots of milk and that I
manage to make a lot of cheese. And heaven forbid I EVER run out of
coffee! Perish the thought!

I want to get a wood burning stove installed in my house. Since I have
moved next to a forest, and there is abundant wood available, wood
heat is the cheapest available to me. In case of a blackout in winter,
wood heat would mean a great deal to me, and it would also give me a
way to cook.

Of course, I want to stock up on wood. I want to get a chain saw -
something even I can start. 2-cycle engines and I generally don't get
along, but I have discovered that I can start Stihls. Sadly, Stihls
are pretty pricey. So, we'll see, but I'm hoping I can get one this
year. Someday, I want to get a wood splitter. For this year I expect
I'll just rent one and have one extremely exhausting weekend of
splitting.

A double-pole/double-throw transfer switch is something I really want
to get installed, so I can run off my generator. That will allow water
pumping.

And, I need to build my supplies back up - extra batteries, matches,
all those miscellaneous things that one needs - I'm low on all of it.
About the only thing I have in abundance right now is candles.

I doubt it will happen this year, but I'd like to get a storm cellar
built. I live in a tornado alley (there is an area in the woods behind
my house that was flattened about 10 years ago by a twister), and I'm
on a crawl space with no basement. Right now, if there were tornadoes
in the area, I'd have to crawl into the crawl space and hope for the
best. I've not had the time to really research storm cellar options,
so I'm not sure how I will build it (or how much of the project I will
try to contract out). Since its construction is a complete unknown to
me at present, so is its cost, and I've no idea when it will be in the
budget. ***hint to list members: if you have some great ideas on storm
cellars, I'd love to hear them!!!!***

Well, that's the highlights. We'll see how much I manage to get done!

Best wishes on your own preps this year!

Gloria


On 2/1/07, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Gloria Morris wrote:
> > (((Bev)))
> >
> > Sorry to hear about your fun-with-in-laws. I know something of that, and the
> > calling in of priests. *sigh* It is hard sometimes when families blend
> > religions. But glad to hear that Ron is sticking by you.
>
> Yeah...I am the heathen who has stolen their son away from the
> church.<sigh>  What makes it worse is that they are so hypocritical.
>
> >
> > I can also empathise with your feeling of being unprepared. I am too, this
> > winter, for the first time in a very long time. It leaves one feeling rather
> > vulnerable, and that is a very unaccustomed feeling, isn't it? I've got a
> > long list of things I want to do this year to prepare for next winter, and
> > disasters in general. At least you have good survival skills, which may come
> > in handy if the storm hits you too hard.
>
> Like I said before, unprepared for me is a helluva lot more prepared
> than most, and I have been and always will be a survivor, in more ways
> than one.
> What's on your list of things to do to prepare for next winter?
>
> Bev