a reminder of why we prep

The South Carolina flooding is again a good reminder as to why we prep. The middle of the state that we have adopted has been devastated. Some people have lost barely anything, while others have lost everything.  My Aunt lives a block off the ocean in Folly Beach, her entire bottom floor was flooded, when I talked to her, she was in tears, one of the things that was destroyed was an antique doll house that my uncle bought her before he passed, it is irreplaceable. But while in tears,  her spirit still was not diminished, she knew others were worse off and had lost much more. ....she told me that even Hurricane Hugo wasn't this bad.

My faith in the human spirit has been a bit renewed as neighbor has been helping neighbor The donations are pouring in from everywhere. and I am happy to know that in a time of need, people can put differences aside and help others.

in 2004, while still living in Florida, in a two week period we were hit with several tropical systems. the local big orange store, announced that evening on the news, they were getting a shipment of generators. Senior, immediately rushed there to get us one. The next day, our area was hit, Power was out for a week. Fortunately we were one of the few who had a generator and was able to keep our fridge going, make coffee, and run some fans when needed.
That Thursday, the Red Cross announced they would be giving out ice, and sandwiches to those people in our neighborhood who were still without power. So, I went. and I stood in the long line that you so often see on the TV.  And what I witnessed made my stomach turn. People there only to get something "free" the items were not truly going to those in need. I left.
 Like Scarlett O'Hara eating a raw potato...I swore that day I would never be one of those people standing in line waiting for others to help me. That entire ordeal was a turning point for Senior and I. Buying that generator was the first step we took towards prepping.

Do you remember what triggered your concerns? Can you recall what it was that made you realize that you needed to be prepared?

Our prayers go out to all those people across the midlands of our adopted state that have lost so much with this disaster.

Pet Preps and Other Pics

Some times we get laxed when thinking about our four legged family members If a natural or man made disaster should occur. Ideally if we needed to bug out I would love to take the dogs with us for extra security, or God Forbid we needed them for a food source. So, Senior and I decided to start being a little more diligent in prepping for them as well. We purchased some 5 gallon buckets and gamma lids. Then stocked up on 55# bags of food :

 

              We tried to get a pic of the doggies facing the camera, but no one wanted to cooperate...

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Now on to other stuff. Last Thursday NASA launched the ATLAS communications rocket, We use to go outside and watch the Space Shuttle launches all the time, and have missed the activity since ole "you know who" had the program shut down...

So we take what we can get.  We are approx. 100 + miles from the Cape, so the initial pic looked like a little red dot , then I did some photo editing and this is the end result...thought it came out pretty cool:

 

Last evening high clouds rolled in to make for some nice sunset shots:

 

 

Almost looks like the woods are on fire:

 

Why We Prep

The other day, I read comments on another blog. The post was originally on Veterans Day, but some how  and for some reason the comments went negative and preppers was brought in to the subject. One person commenting referred to us as "cockroaches" the blogger who admins. the site went on to call us "DumbA--, and too cocky to survive"  Really?
I actually take being mentioned in the same circle as a cockroach a compliment. They have figured out how to survive for millions of years, so they must be doing some thing right.

About that time the Philippines were hit with a major typhoon. Massive destruction, and thousands dead and or missing. In the aftermath, people are doing desperate things to survive, especially in hard to reach areas. Supplies and aid is slowly flowing in. But more is needed. An entire country as been devastated, towns and villages completely wiped off the map. 

And people ask why I prep?  I, and others like me prep because we don't want to rely on our government for aid in case of the same disaster that hit the Philippines. I prep because I refuse to be a victim. I did stand in line ONCE  after the 2004 Tropical Storm outbreak in Florida for a bag of ice and  peanut butter jelly sandwiches...I didn't get those items because I was the wrong color. I will never do that again. It woke me and Senior up to a lot of things and we will never depend on government ever again for help.
Has this country gotten so complacent that we have forgotten the effects of Katrina and Super Storm Sandy, numerous earthquakes, floods, and wildfires?

So, for people like these bloggers, and others like them who think it is comical to be prepared-
This is still a quasi free country and you are currently free to express your opinions.
But, when the lights go out, you lose power and your oxygen cuts off- remember your jokes and comments... Karma sucks !

-JUGM

Beginning Prepping 101 Pt. 3 : Toiletries

I really don't mean to over whelm you all with all these items to stockpile. And in no way am I saying go out today and spend all your money on everything. Buy small quantities at a time, keep them in a closet or on a shelf...pretty soon you will have a months worth, and so on and so on.

Toiletries is a bit of a must have, but something folks don't think a lot of. I am guilty of this myself.
Finally I started buying "girlie" items for the time of the month when my dear Aunt Rosie shows up for her visit. If and When SHTF the earth will still turn, the moon will still have its phases, and the sun will still rise and set..so why should mother nature and her monthly cycles be any different..
and besides, a good stock pile of feminine pads, is also handy in a emergency medical situation. Someone comes to you with a gun shot wound, or deep laceration,  Just plug it with a tampon !

Also, when we women have our monthlys, some of us tend to PMS..  Not saying ME of course-every one knows I am a PEACH    : )
but keeping a side of Pamperin or Midol might be helpful to the men folk in your group. I feel for the poor UN Soldier who has been sent in to our country, and faces a PMS'n woman behind the trigger of her AR-15.

If you have one near you, the Dollar Tree Stores are an amazing invention. everything is a dollar! On a funny note wanna joke with the cashier of a dollar tree? Tell her something is not marked and ask how much it is- LOL !

In Dollar Trees, you can buy tubes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, shampoo, deodorant,  and all kinds of things to aid in daily hygiene. Your cleanliness is important, because you don't want to open yourself up to infections. You still plan to eat, and that food will cycle through you and create waste.. Therefore toilet paper is a definite must have on your stockpile list. Again--warehouse clubs. Buy up a few cases at a time and pretty soon you have enough TP to last a year.

What I DON'T recommend buying at Dollar Tree are canned foods.. You can walk across to the local Grocery store and find the generics for less then a dollar.

So again...I hope some of you find this helpful...   : )

50s Friday

My day started off by helping Senior, and trimming palm trees for two of our clients. We had to rent a long pole saw, and he had to climb a ladder, I got to do the clean up job.  : )  . I was okay until I suffered an on the job injury and got a scrape on my ankle. I wonder if my boss carries workers comp?

But, as luck would have it, I had to break off ( DARN IT ! )  because today was the 50th day of school. The 1st graders celebrated by dressing like the fifties, and having a root beer float social.ND wore rolled up blue jeans, and white T-shirt. I spiked up his hair and tucked the shirt in. That lasted about 20 minutes. So yours truly got to help. I wore rolled up jeans, bobbi socks, a flipped up collared shirt, and scarf tied round my pony tail. Also for kicks, I donned a pair 50s era reading glasses, that are from my antique eye wear collection. The kids got a big kick out of the glasses, and had fun trying them on.

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After school it was off to the Navy Commissary. Good Lord I love that place..deals every where!. Today they had a special of Zaterains Rice Mixes. The Beef and the Cheddar Broccoli for .75 a box. I stocked up and adding them to our food supply. They are both super yummy and make for a great meal all by themselves.
Some people are hoarders, of different things. Some people though go to the extreme and you can't walk through their house. I guess you could say I am becoming a food hoarder. When I buy things, now I buy in a big quantity, It use to be 1 or 2 of something, now I find that when something is a good deal, I really stock up. I think we all should do that, if you do it frequently and start setting the extra items away, You will realize that you have a stored food supply. When and If that emergency happens, at least you will have something to eat, instead of being like those poor souls who are running out and finding empty grocery store shelves. Remember: GROCERY STORES ONLY KEEP ABOUT A 3 DAY SUPPLY ON HAND...and if there are no delivers being made, guess what?  Yep that's right! Your out of luck.

Okay so there you have my advice for the day.  : )  Now go out and start prepping !

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 It is suppose to get down in the upper 40s here, Senior is making us a fire in the pit tonight. I love just to sit out there at night and look at all the stars, and find space junk with binoculars.
Tomorrow is Saturday, can't wait as it is going to be a fun adventure. But I can't tell you about it now, wait until I post about it. Okay so have a good Friday night, relax and enjoy it!