Flea Market Finds....

Its chilly, wet, and windy here today. Been windy for most of the weekend, and pretty much cloudy for the past week.  In our efforts to start stock piling clothes for the boys, we all took off today to the friendly neighborhood flea market. Quickly our youngest wanted to pick out his own pet fleas....  : )

Lots of folks were coming out of the weather to browse the different vendors, there are lots of colorful folks there. The smell of freshly popped kettle corn hung in the air. samples were being given out, and the youngest wanted a bag.

One of my reasons for going, is I am kicking around starting a "Survival Store. or Military Surplus Store" So Senior said, lets go and see if there is anyone selling these items, if not...then we can buy some stock and rent a booth. 
Upon pulling up we saw the Camoflauged Jeep out front..didn't take long to find someone beat me to the punch....  Oh well!

The fun thing about flea markets, is you can find pretty much ANYTHING...  LIKE :



Cool Biker Stuff

1970s Incense...ick!

This Great Wooden Ammo Box from the Military Surplus Guy



A Pet Tarantula! I think we will name him HARRY!

Wooden Barrels...I really want one!

And its only at a Flea Market, that at the restaurant you can find: Deep Fried Candy Bars, Twinkies, and Oreos...  sorry no pic though...But I swear it was on the menu.

and yes upon leaving our boys did manage to each get a bag of gummy worms, and Kettle Corn....Mom got 2 new back scratchers, and her favortie Sesame Sticks...   :  )

Prepping Conversation With A Friend

A good friend that I will call “Kay” and I, walk most every morning after we drop our kids off at school.  Her husband works for law enforcement, and is very much like minded when it comes to the second amendment. Kay and I have had many conversations during our walks in reference to the future. She knows that I carry concealed; her husband has been encouraging her to take the class and apply for her permit as well. I like the fact a person in law enforcement feels that way.

She and I have had many a good conversation on the future, but none as eye opening as Thursdays “Walk and Talk”.  We were joking abut the “Doomsday Prepper” show on NATGEO, her husband watches out of amusement, she said: “Something is coming not sure what though, and that the American people are about to have a real gut check”.  Like most of us, she has a school aged child and a one year old, she and her husband are very concerned about them and the future they may or may not have.

 Her brother is a over the road truck driver, he has told her that on average, most stores only keep 1.5-3 days worth of food stocked. And in the event of a collapse or like we are seeing now: higher gas prices, those supplies are going to dwindle down to nothing.

 I agreed, and said that is why we have begun to store up foods, and have found the LDS cannery to be very useful.
Kay then told me that she has recently taken it upon herself to start a food storage area in her home, and so far only has about 2 months saved. Her husband has also started an ammo stock pile, as he knows that once you have food stored and SHTF, you need to protect it. I was very excited to hear this. She also inquired about the cannery, such as items you can purchase, and cost.

And then I instructed her on where to purchase and what to look for. I explained that the 10/10.00 at a chain store really isn’t a deal at all. And that you can go to Wal-Mart and, get the Great Value brand cheaper.

I also told her that there are many other items to consider in your stock pile, like water, toiletries, and baby items. If you really think of how much the average person goes through in one day, its mind boggling!

So I am happy to say our “Walk and Talk” ended with her wanting to come with us to the cannery, and meet the good folks and  start making purchases.

This led me and Senior to start thinking, about what we need to add to our stockpile…one thing is larger sized clothes for our kids, especially shoes. How many of us have thought of that? The good sister at the cannery told us to buy up for at least 1-2 years ahead.

 So, I am slowly starting to do so. It helps to have some big named stores going out of business around here and everything is on clearance.   Also we are going to check garage sales more, and second hand children stores. I am going to get our boys their own foot locker of sorts, and keep them a nice supply of larger sizes, incase SHTF and we are bugged out for more then a year ( which I hope doesnt happen)...but HEY, ya never know!

Obamas New Tshirt...

My Choice For Pic Of The Day....

Now this just puts it all in to prospective doesn't it?    

Obamas Fuel Alternative...ALGAE!

Who knew that all of our energy problems would be solved with the simple and abundant Algae plant life..  if that is the case, let me quickly run and get my algae scrapper out and clean the bottom of my fish tank.

Little did I know our governement spends billions on algae bloom research, and Obama has just committed another 14 million to it. He told this today to a crowd at the University of Miami..and they just went wild over it. Isnt this like the time he told us all in order to save on gas mileage, that we should check our tire inflation? Is he forgetting about the poor track record the federal government has with bio-fuels. How much did we spend on ethanol development? And please don't let me bring up Solyndra or for God Sakes, the Chevy Volt.

He did openly admit that the development is still years away, but what about now Mr. President?  We are approaching $6.00 a gallon gas in this country,  we are aiding Mexico to drill off their shores for oil, but yet we can't do it in the same body of water? The American people are going to have to figure out which bill not to pay this month, in order to put gas in their cars.But yet your answer for that family that can't take a vacation, or the soccer mom who can no longer afford to drive her kids to practice is a damn plant!

The IPAB and what it means for you....

Despite popular belief the IPAB is not a new Apple Gadget, it is something far worse. I first heard of this yesterday while listening to BOORTZ, he suggested everyone do an internet search to learn more, I did just that, and credit KAISER HEALTH NEWS for the information.

The IPAB is the Independent Payment Advisory Board. What is it? It’s a board of 15 non-elected officials. With only a minority of them being health care professionals, Congress will nominate and vote on 12, and the President will have the power to nominate 3, all 15 will have to be voted on by the Senate.

Starting in 2015 what this panel will do is make binding recommendations to reduce Medicare spending. Those recommendations will be sent to Capitol Hill at the beginning of the year, and if Congress doesn't like them, it must pass alternative cuts -- of the same size -- by August. A supermajority of the Senate can also vote to amend the IPAB recommendations. If Congress fails to act, the secretary of health and human services is required to implement the cuts by default…  That is a scary thought!

The IPAB is so controversial because Hospitals, doctors, drug companies and some patients' groups are worried IPAB will recommend reductions in Medicare payments -- which they say already are too low -- and that they won't have the time or ability to counter the cuts during accelerated congressional action. Doctors and drug companies are particularly worried that they'll bear a lot of the burden because hospitals and nursing homes aren't subject to IPAB's cost-cutting recommendations until fiscal 2020. Lawmakers -- mostly Republicans but some Democrats as well -- say that IPAB will have too much power and are pressing for repeal of the provision.
Some critics, including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., charge that IPAB will ration needed care for seniors. This meaning it could in reality become a death panel of sorts.

Defenders counter that the law bars it from rationing care, restricting benefits or changing eligibility criteria. And, in response to complaints from the health care industry, Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who was one of IPAB's architects, said that the board was specifically designed to reduce the influence of "special interests" on Medicare payment policy. Those interests, he and others say, have kept Congress from making the tough decisions needed to hold down spending and reduce the deficit.
 

Between the years 2015-2019, Medicare is projected to reach specific targets based off the inflation gauge. Beginning in 2020, the target is based on the growth of the gross domestic product plus one percentage point. Proponents note that IPAB won't impose a "hard cap" on spending, but rather will recommend ways to reduce spending. "IPAB is meant to be a fallback if the health law doesn't control spending as well as we think it will," said Robert Kocher, head of McKinsey & Co.'s Center for U.S. Health System Reform and a former special assistant to Obama on health care.

So, what if Medicare doesn’t reach these projected targets? Then the board will make no new recommendations. The CBO is expecting Medicare to remain below its projected target, but expectations could prove to be wrong. For one thing, CBO could change its outlook. Also, Obama wants to tighten IPAB's target in later years to GDP plus 0.5 percentage points. He has also talked about giving IPAB some additional clout to enforce its recommendations, but hasn't provided details.

Even if IPAB doesn't issue binding recommendations in any particular year because of slow Medicare growth, it must produce annual reports on national health care costs, access, use and quality, which will be more comprehensive than government reports now available. It also may issue nonbinding recommendations on a range of health care issues. And beginning in 2015, it must offer biannual guidance on ways to slow the nation's total health care spending, including nonfederal spending.

Hot Date at the Farmers Market...

Senior and I took a day to ourselves, we started the morning off at the LDS Cannery and made a nice sizable purchase. It was also a rare occasion that we got to actually do some "canning"..which is always a treat. We are a bit sad that the nice "sister" and her husband that we have become so familiar with are leaving the area and in April new replacements will arrive.

We then headed off to our local Farmers Market.. I LOVE that place. I remember going as a child, it had become very run down, but our city stepped in and re-modeled it in to something very nice. I always enjoy seeing all the "colorful" people out selling their produce, its so much like being in another country... Today the air was rich with the aroma of boiling peanuts and fresh strawberries.The weather was awesome and it was very enjoyable for me to just stroll around and smell all the good things.

 For 20.00 we hauled in 1/2 flat of strawberries, a head of cabbage, a head of broccoli, 6 pounds of dry goods like Lima beans, black eyed peas and popcorn. and about 4 pounds of red potatoes. and just for our tomato eating little one, 2 baskets of cherry tomatoes..He will be so happy when he comes in from school and See's his "treat".

So tonight--its gonna be a real "Throw Down" for supper:..Pork Chops, Cabbage and Red Potatoes...mmmmm. And afterwards, strawberries for dessert.
Senior and I then ended our little outing at the markets sandwich shop, and cool glass of cherry limeade...