Baby Step #1 was all about being ready for a one-week emergency at home. Most emergencies are short-term, and getting ready for just one week is being more prepared than most of your neighbors. If all emergencies occurred while we were safe and snug in our cozy homes, then we would always be prepared. It’s just as likely, though, that an emergency or crisis will occur when we’re out running errands, at work, or traveling. It’s important to have your …
“It’s an emergency!” How many times have I heard one of my kids yell during any given week? Sometimes it really is an emergency, but just as often, they only want me to see a new toy advertised on TV or listen to a newly discovered knock-knock joke. Knock-knock! Who’s there? Don’t you recognize me? (groan) In real life, emergencies and emergency planning are no joke, but too often we get caught up in the day to day busyness of our …
The Baby Steps, #1: Plan for a short-term emergency Read More »
Whenever one of the kids is sick, I prepare the blandest possible food for them — something like unflavored oatmeal. They eat it because they’re hungry but they certainly don’t enjoy it! What would it be like to eat bland food every day? It wouldn’t be fun, and it sure wouldn’t be enjoyable! But eating bland food for a while could happen to those ill-prepared for a disaster, especially if supplies were difficult to find. And, because naturally bland foods …
28 Survival Spices & Oils, or How to Avoid Tastebud Fatigue Read More »
I have discovered a recipe that takes simple black beans and rice so far beyond boring that you might actually look forward to the day when it’s all you have left in the pantry!
I’m not sure how the early settlers along the Oregon Trail or the western frontier got along without duct tape, WD-40 or trash bags, but life surely would have been easier with them! Trash bags, in particular, are included in all my survival kits. They have a multitude of uses, including being containers for picking up trash! But in an emergency, when correctly used, trash bags can prove a quick, temporary shelter from the elements. I first noticed this trash bag shelter …
Make a Garbage Bag Shelter Part of Your Survival Kit Read More »
If you’re one of those folks without power, heat, or warmth because of the recent snowstorms, you probably know that you need a cooking tool that can bake, boil, fry, and saute. And it should be able to function with a variety of heat sources since you don’t know when the electricity might come back on. My nomination for this wonder implement has been around for hundreds of years. It’s easy to find, cheap, and effective. Go get a cast …
We took the kids to the shooting range again yesterday, along with a reporter and photographer from the Arizona Republic, and once more I felt so grateful that my kids are confident, yet cautious, around guns. From the beginning, my husband and I wanted our kids to know two very important things about guns. #1 A gun is no big deal. Remember the scene in, “The Sixth Sense”, when a boy says to the main character, “Wanna see my dad’s gun?” …
I adore potatoes. Grew up with baked potatoes served at every Sunday-after-church lunch and mashed potatoes in the school cafeteria (back in the days when cafeteria food was awesome!) To celebrate cooler weather, but, heck!, potatoes can be enjoyed year-round, I tracked down 45 different potato recipes for you. Food-Storage Friendly Potato Recipes When you purchased dehydrated and freeze-dried food, you can count on it to last for many years and be available when you need that ingredient. These 2 …
I went to a gun show this morning with the Paranoid Dad. It’s the fourth one I’ve attended in the past eight months or so. In case you’re wondering why a perfectly sane, suburban SurvivalMom might show her face at one of these events, I really do have some perfectly rational reasons. First, personal protection, and no, I don’t mean maxi-pads. As people lose jobs and, coming soon, benefit checks from bankrupt government agencies, there will be an increase in crime. As Gerald Celente says, …