Guest Post--Ladies ONLY: The Keeper, Diva Cup

Today I was going to post about dehydrating onions, but instead I'm going the easy route and posting an email I received from my sister who lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (hurricane land). Men, if you are still reading, this letter is women specific, so unless you want to read on for the women in your lives, TURN BACK NOW. Okay, you have been warned, here's her email:

So I was thinking about your blog the other day, and I was feeling very lame because I did not do much stuff for myself. And I thought – man, we have two hurricanes a year here, and if anyone should be prepared for that crap, it’s probably me. But before I could feel too lame, I remembered that I DO have useful, frugal knowledge about some stuff, I just forgot about it. So I thought I would share it with you!

Last September when Hurricane Gustav came, I was without power for three whole weeks. The stores were closed for two weeks solid, and the city services - like garbage removal – didn’t come for two weeks either. So, something that I learned: periods are not fun in a disaster. You never think about tampons until you need them. And can’t get them. ANYWHERE.

So, you’d think it would make sense to stock up on tampons just like you do toilet paper, etc. But here’s the thing – when the garbage isn’t getting picked up for weeks, and it’s 100 degrees in your house because you have no air conditioner, having a bunch of used tampons laying around in the garbage gets really really gross. Plus you run out of tampons very quickly if you are me.

So after the hurricane mess was over, my girlfriends and I were talking and I found out that a lot of them had the same problem. So we all got what’s called “The Keeper” (cheesy, I know) www.thekeeper.com. It is VERY awesome. It’s a little rubber cup that catches all the mess. You buy it once and it lasts ten years, so it’s WAY cheaper than tampons. And you just empty it, rinse it, and use it again. (Of course – this assumes you have running water.) Anyway, you never run out of tampons and you don’t have gross tampon trash filling up your house and eventually filling up the landfills. And they’re way comfortable. They don’t look like it, but I promise they are. There’s also the Diva Cup www.divacup.com, but it’s made in Canada and the Keeper is made in the U.S.

But it gets better! We all thought – what about the last couple days of your period when the flow is really light and you don’t want a rubber cup up there for barely anything. Normally you’d just use little Carefree panty-liners or something like that. But those get gross in the trash too, and are cheaper than tampons but still pretty pricey over your lifetime. So you go back to the old times and MAKE YOUR OWN! Wahoo! There are patterns everywhere online for homemade pads, and you can make them as thick or thin as you want them, and you can make them to fit your own underwear. AND they stay put with little Velcro wings or snaps. Way cheaper and way more handy in a disaster than the disposable ones. (This also assumes you have water to wash them with.) My friends hand-sewed theirs, but I refuse to do that, so I just told mom to make me some. She thought it was gross, but I think it’s useful.

Anyway, that is my one preparedness tidbit that I learned the hard way.

Love,
Mariah

Note from Angela: I have been stocking feminine hygiene supplies in my storage, but they'll only last so long, and then what? Hmmmm. Might be worth checking out. Here is a site with patterns and instructions for making your own pads (I'm not sure I'm quite there yet, but interesting nonetheless).

Obligatory Swine Flu Post and Quarantine Thoughts

JUST IN CASE you haven't found or heard any information on this Swine Flu deal yet or want more, here's a quick list of a few places with good information (and if you're sick of links about the Swine Flu, just cruise on past this first part--there's more):

Utah Preppers has a 3 part (so far) series:
Pandemic Preparedness
More Swine Flu Info
Pandemic Go-Kits

Pandemic Preparedness Planning information from the LDS Church

What's new on the Swine Flu Site from the CDC

More from the government: (you know this government information took a gazillion tax dollars to write and put online for all of us, so we might as well use it) pandemicflu.gov

Utah State's Swine Flu/Pandemic page

Current Swine Flu Map

I'm sure there are a ton more resources out there also and more will be coming as this develops.

Pick up some hand sanitizer, N95 masks, and latex gloves if you don't already have them in your stockpile, and have some extra food on hand in case you need to self-quarantine/reverse quarantine! ;-)

Ahhh, quarantine. I know it's not heard of much anymore, but my family actually had to be quarantined when I was a kid because my baby sister came down with whooping cough and more than one of the rest of us were carriers. We were escorted home from school in the middle of the day by our principal and I can't remember how long it lasted, but we couldn't have friends over or go to school (I'm sure my son would find this a welcome tragedy) or anywhere really. What did my mom do with us all???

Well, besides health and food supplies, you might think of "preparing" things you can do at home with your family if you all are stuck there with each other and nobody else for two or three weeks. If nobody is sick in your house and you've quarantined yourselves to keep it that way, you might as well enjoy your time together (which to me means NOT sitting around watching the news). You know who you'll be there with--brainstorm some age appropriate activities. That way if you'll need some supplies for your fun, you'll be able to pick them up ahead of time. And if you don't end up needing them right away, you'll have them for some lazy Saturday instead. ;-)

Of course if the power's on you can resort to video games, computer, TV, but why? Remember board games? (but not Monopoly, mom, I know that game made you crazy with us kids) And card games? Go Fish, Speed, Canasta, Scum, Spoons, what are your favorites? Here's a huge resource for card game rules. Just make sure you have a couple of decks on hand.

Play charades, make music, draw, paint, or write something. Build a puzzle or two or ten. Read books. Build a city out of legos. Sew, crochet, knit. Set up your tent and "camp" in your living room. Build a model. You get the idea. Make yourself a list and make sure you've got the supplies for a variety of activities. It is especially important for kids to have a sense of normalcy or even that it is a special time rather than the stressful time quarantine could easily be.

Here's hoping this thing gets under control and things get better instead of worse--you know that saying: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. :)

Happy News!

Well, I said Thursday that I had some exciting news I'd share with you all "tomorrow". Well, what "tomorrow" actually means is sometime in the future, just like "lasterday" means sometime in the past. So since I missed the real tomorrow, and don't have a ton of time today (like none), I'll just keep this short and sweet.

I was invited to be an author on Utah Preppers blog! How exciting and nerve racking is that? So I've put up an intro post over there with a rare photo of me and am looking forward to contributing what I can to their site. I have really enjoyed the information they have shared in the past and maybe a few posts from an un-tech-savvy-non-geek-girl like myself can add to their repretoire some ;-)

So now you can check for my posts on their site as well--how fun is that??? :-)

Chickies!

Our local farm/ranch store was supposed to get a boatload of little chicks yesterday, so I was going to pick me up a few, but when I called them in the morning, they said the shipment wasn't coming until next week--bummer! But it just so happened I had to go "over the mountain" yesterday to the big city for a doctor appointment, so I thought I'd stop by their farm/ranch store and what do you know! They had a bunch of cute little cheepers, so I picked me up a baker's dozen and brought them home--over two long hours in the bumpy Suburban with a box of chicks that did NOT stop cheeping the whole way home!Boy, were they glad to get out of the little box and into the big box that my sweet husband is graciously loaning them until they grow up and he can put his tools back in it. We made the lid from some scrap lumber that was super warpy and some cheap chinese hardware cloth that he bought for something else, but the welds on it were super weak, so now it's a chick house lid. Warpy lumber always reminds him how much better he likes to work with steel . . .Are they not the cutest things ever? They are all supposed to be black sex-link hens except for this little guy/gal with a bunch of white markings that is a straight run and was the only one left of its kind, and I thought it was cute, so he/she got to come home with us also. I just won't know for a while if he's a he or a she.

Sorry so sparse on posting lately--we've had a bunch of sickos here and I'm just now feeling it also, plus the usual house/yard work and that doctor appointment that took all day driving for a 20 minute appointment with a back specialist--I've been seriously wiped out this last week!

Also I have some really fun news for tomorrow! But it will have to wait until tomorrow . . . :)

Basic Firearms Part 2: Ammunition

Sorry for the trouble, but this post has moved to our new blog location.  Click here to go straight to the Ammunition basics post.  Thanks!

Wheat Practically Grinding Itself . . .

A little update: I have in the past ground my wheat and then taken the grinder down and put it away, but when I did the Country Living Grain Mill post, I thought I'd leave it up since I wanted to grind a few more things. Well, I keep having to stock it up with wheat because the kids keep turning the wheel when they're in the kitchen. Every time I walk by there's more flour in the bin! Even caught them letting their friends have a turn at it (yep Sharla, your boys ground my wheat also!). This is working out well . . . they're grinding all the wheat and I haven't had to make it a chore! :) You know you want one of these!

And coming soon to a blog near you: Firearms education installment 2--ammunition basics, seed starting, and my new chick house!

Knitted Swiffer Cover

Well, look at what my crafty mom has been up to! I cannot crochet more than a chain stitch which gets me nothing but a long fat piece of yarn, and knitting needles would be more useful to me as chopsticks, but my mom is so talented (and frugal), she knitted herself a swiffer broom cover that can be washed instead of buying the refills which earns her an A+ on frugality! I personally have never bought into the swiffers because I think they are a scam to get you to keep purchasing their refill do-hickeys. Maybe I'd change my tune if my crafty mom made me a couple of covers. This is for the dry swiffer, not the wet one. She got her pattern from this book:
Mason-Dixon knitting outside the lines : patterns, stories, pictures, true confessions, tricky bits, whole new worlds, and familiar ones, too / Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne ; photography by Gale Zucker.

Then she found this website that has 15 different patterns for the same thing! Amazing! Who would have thought?

We were on the phone together when she swept up with it (after sweeping and mopping that morning) and she said, "you would not believe how much dirt this just picked up!" and sends me this picture of the dirt pile and the bottom of the swiffer:

And I say, That's it??? That's all the dirt you had on your floor 5 hours after mopping???? Oh yeah, she has no kids or dogs at home . . .

Basic Firearms Part 1: Safety and Parts of a Gun

Sorry for the trouble, but this post has moved to our new blog address: Click here to go straight to the Safety and Parts of a Gun post.  Thanks!

Honeyville Grain and Life Caps Coupon Codes

Just want to pass on a couple of coupon codes going right now for food storage/prep items.

First is an online coupon for Honeyville Grain. I have purchased here before and they are fantastic. Quality product with a flat shipping rate to the continental US of $4.49. Their prices are a little higher than some other suppliers, but that shipping rate usually makes up for it. And from Thursday, April 9, 2009 thru Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 6:00PM PST you can get 15% off your entire order by entering the word BUNNY in the coupon code spot at checkout. While you're there, sign up for their newsletter for more specials.

Second one was passed to me by one of my readers--Thanks Huffies! This code is for Life Caps--the life sustaining pill in case you can't get to food. I don't know much about the product, but right now the coupon code GOOD LIFE can be used at www.lifecaps.net to receive $10 off per bottle of Life Caps.

Catch Up (not Ketchup)

A post with a bunch of randomness thrown together (aka "what's been going on around here").

I've been using the soap I made with my church girls. It's pretty nice, but could have used more essential oil. When I put it in I didn't measure how much I added, and the whole church kitchen smelled like lavender so strongly some of the girls had to leave the room (that, or they were just looking for an excuse to go play in the gym). Seems the scent dissipates over the curing time, so next time I'll try to add more. Wish I'd measured how much I put in . . .

The polls I put up forever ago were really interesting. I'm not too good at analyzing results scientifically, but some of us need more food storage and a bunch of us are amazingly talented! I think any of you who said you could not do anything else useful were a bit too hard on yourselves! And I'm planning to learn to knit something or maybe crochet at some point . . . (my amazing mom can do both, so I guess I better learn).

I got some non-hybrid seeds from can't remember the place in a "survival seed bank" which gave a nice variety of heirloom seeds to try out. It said it would plant a full acre garden and since I didn't need a full acre, I split the cost and the seeds with a friend in town. However, whoever put the pack together must plant in rows and not beds, because there really aren't THAT many seeds in the pack, even though there are the hundreds of seeds they say they have, 50 tomato seeds look like nothing in a packet. SO, I have ordered more seeds a la carte from another can't remember the place to supplement some of the seeds I got in the seed bank. The seed bank did come with a very nice PDF file of instructions on planting, growing, and harvesting heirloom seeds that hopefully will answer all my questions. Should be fun. I got the peas planted finally, and am planning on starting my other plants this weekend or maybe the next in the little Jiffy seed starter kit my sweet husband picked up for me while HE was in town last week. I didn't want to start them too early--I've heard to start them 8 weeks in advance, then 4 weeks, and also 2 weeks, and I'm still a good 5-6 weeks before safe transplanting time around here, so no hurry. I also got my baby gurney's replacements in the ground so hopefully they'll live this time.

We have a place to put chicks! My husband very graciously volunteered one of his big wooden boxes that is almost empty after I put "build a chick box" on his list. I just need to clean it out and put another board in the bottom of it since it had oily stuff in it like the chainsaw. So it should be a fine place for housing some chicks in the next week or so. (here's me doing the happy chicken dance--too bad you all can't see it!)

Went to the grocery store today (by myself--amazing, I know), and they have started carrying food storage stuff! Wahoo! They had a whole variety of #10 cans of freeze dried and dry goods plus buckets, lids, buckets of wheat, water barrels, etc. Very nice. I think I'll talk to the manager and make sure he keeps stocking some of that stuff. Almost bought some, but wasn't in the budget this week.

I spent a good part of this last weekend watching LDS General Conference. Some amazing messages were given--very timely. The video and audio archives are available on the LDS Church's website. Church President Thomas S. Monson, after discussing the difficult times we live in, said, "The future is as bright as your faith." Love his simple yet profound messages.

And one last note, I just this week opened a jar of pre-salmonella scare peanut butter marked "best by Jan 28 '05" (in case you can't do math in your head, that's more than 4 years ago) and it was still fine. Amazing. (And in case you're wondering, there's only one of us that likes peanut butter, so no, we do not go through it very quickly.)

And one last, last note, because I like pictures in my posts, here's one of the snow dog (kind of a puggish dog, kind of looked like the sphinx) we made when it snowed (again) last weekend. Good thing the sun came out and melted it all before that evening.

Whew. I feel better now I've updated. :) Have you bought your wheat grinder yet? If you're local or feel like a trip to the sticks, you can come try mine out--I'm sure you'll love it!

Country Living Grain Mill Review and Sale

I am so excited to let you all know that I am now a dealer for Country Living Grain Mills! If you have not heard of this particular grain grinder, you are gonna hear all about them by the end of this post! What? You already know about them and have just been waiting for me to become a dealer for you to purchase one? (How sweet of you!) Well, you can click the button on my sidebar, or head right over here and get busy. The rest of you that need convincing, read on.We'll cover technical details first. Country Living Grain Mills are manufactured in Stanwood, Washington--yes, that's right here in the good ol' USA. Tough to find much made around here these days. These industrial quality mills are made of high quality, long lasting materials--no plastic--and are designed to last many lifetimes. The grinding plates are steel, so there's no bits of stone in your flour, but they grind flour from a variety of grains as fine as any stone wheel can and with 30% LESS effort than other hand grain mills. You can set the coarseness from fine flour to cracked grains (can't do that with an electric impact grinder). AND it will work when the electricity doesn't. Here's flour coming out of my mill last night (I wasn't the one cranking the handle--can you guess who was?)The body is hand cast solid aluminum. The large flywheel is designed to attach easily to a motor or exercise bike--the designer of the mill hooks his mill to his exercise bike and calls it his "well-being machine." (I would love to do that with mine . . . I just need an exercise bike and my little room in the shop finished.) The shaft runs on sealed bearings for easy turning, and with a steady crank, the mill can put out more than 7 cups of flour in 19 minutes. And did I mention how easy to crank this mill is?

AND, the hopper holds 2 lbs of wheat so you won't be getting off your exercise bike and refilling the grain every half block!

I'm sure I left something out--check out Country Living's site if I didn't discuss something you want to know--they probably have the answer there!

And Click here for testimonials on the Country Living Grain Mill. Ready to purchase one yet?

Now, here's my story. I own this grain mill and have had mine for 7 or so years and it works as well now as the day I bought it. It is fantastic. I will admit that I have not used it as much as I could have. I have primarily ground beans and wheat in it. It has never been hard to grind, but it is more workout than pushing a button on an electric mill for sure!

In planning our food storage, we plan for the worst case scenario, which for us includes no electricity. So when we went looking for a grain mill, we did not want an electric grinder that wouldn't work when we needed it to. We did A LOT of research into different hand grinders, and found that many of the lower priced mills were unreliable (some didn't work right out of the box) or didn't last very long under regular use--again, not what we wanted to have around when our lives depended on it. After much research and deliberation, we decided on the Country Living Mill. We purchased the nut/bean auger and the power bar with it (I'll cover all the options in a little bit), and have never regretted the purchase.

This is NOT a cheap grain mill--they retail for between $395 and $409, but the comfort of knowing you have a quality mill that will last and serve your family when it will matter most is worth that to me.

Last night, we ground some wheat and made cookies with it. In the videos, I have the power bar on my mill (which makes turning even easier) and do not have it set on the finest setting (but pretty close). We ran the wheat/flour through twice to get the fineness I wanted and make it easy enough for my 4 and 7 year old to turn without any trouble. I DID NOT GRIND ANY OF THE FLOUR LAST NIGHT. Hey, if my 4 year old can do it, I bet you could crank this mill. (Oh yeah, they did their own hair.)

And here's our amazing cookies: Dad's favorite oatmeal cookies--yummy!

Ready to buy one yet? Head on over!

Did I mention I can take Visa and Mastercard securely when you purchase through my link?

And your mill will ship to your door absolutely free!

Here is a fine comparison to a few of the other hand crank grain mills on the market done by Walton Feed.

Now, a bit about the accessories that are available for the mill in no particular order and with descriptions copied from Country Living's website (my comments in parentheses).

1. The Power Bar. Reduce the effort of grinding grain by 40%! This steel extension attaches quickly and easily to the flywheel of your Country Living Grain Mill, creating more torque and making for an easier grind. (This is what makes it so easy for your kids to help!)2. Wall Mount Kit. (If you're real crafty, you can probably just make this yourself.) If you don't have any available counter space the Country Living Wall Mount Kit offers an easy and effective solution to your dilemma. Comes with pre-drilled holes and equipped with the necessary hardware to mount your mill and shelf to the wall. It is designed to be mounted to a single stud, or into two studs spaced at standard 16" centers. natural wood.3. Corn and Bean Auger. Now your Country Living Grain Mill can be even more versatile! Use the large auger to mill corn, beans, and coffee. To use, simply replace the standard spring auger with this larger auger. The large auger is cast from stainless steel. (You'll want this if you're planning on grinding cornmeal or bean flour.)4. Grinding Plates. With normal, one-family use, your plates should last 3-4 years. Is it time for you to order a replacement set? Your Country Living Grain Mill will be an essential, life-sustaining product during times of emergency. Having a spare set of grinding plates on hand will give you peace of mind. Be prepared and order a set today!5. High Impact Polymer Bin with Lid. This beautiful, clear bin with etched wheat pattern is designed to fit snugly underneath your Country Living Grain Mill hopper. After grinding, simply place the protective lid on the Country Living Bin for perfect storage of your freshly ground flour. This attractive bin has an 8-cup capacity! (I use a bread pan to catch my flour, but it doesn't hold as much as this bin does.)6. Motorization Kit. While there is still power, motorize! The motorization kit includes 1" wooden baseboard, motor with pulley, belt and belt guard, and miscellaneous hardware (washers, screws, Allen wrench).7. Country Living Case. This handsome hand-stained hardwood case is perfect for storing your Country Living Mill accessories. It will hold an extra set of Grinding Plates, the Corn & Bean Auger, the Power Bar Extension Handle, and the Just-in-Case Repair Kit. This case comes empty, and does not include any accessory parts.

or Complete Country Living Case (with all the stuff). Get the Country Living Grinding Plates, Corn & Bean Auger, the Just-in-Case Repair Kit, and Power Bar Extension Handle together in a handsome, hand-stained hardwood case at no additional charge.8. Just In Case Repair Kit. Includes 2 replacement bearings, proper size bolt, nut, 2 custom-cut washers to match bearings while pressing, 12 standard washers, stainless steel spring auger, snap ring, 2 long keys, and 2 short keys. (and instructions).9. Hopper Lid. Keep the hopper of your Country Living grain mill clear of dust and hungry rodents with this handsome lid constructed from natural wood. Designed to fit snugly inside the lip of the hopper. (Again, if you're crafty, you could probably make yourself one of these.)

There you have it. See why I'm so excited about being a dealer for these fantastic grain mills? Now, head over and get something to grind with!

Is This Some Kind of a Joke??

Went to bed last night planning on getting my little Gurney's baby replacement trees/berries/grapes put in the ground this morning and this is what I woke up to:What kind of April Fool's joke is this??? Maybe it will get better when the sun comes up and it could melt the snow I thought, but by the time the sun was up, so was the wind and now we have this:Nothing like blowing snow to get you in the mood to plant something. Guess the tree planting will have to wait at least until the wind slows down a little. Maybe I'll go to the store and try to find seed starter trays instead. At least that will mostly be inside out of the wind. ;-)