Survival plan, prepping and Rose Cottage ... reposted

Good day to all the visitors today, well you might recall towards the end of last year I was taking part in a survival story. But towards the end of it I got turfed off the forum (my Ozzie X South African humour did not go down to well) and I got accused of "You should have run out of flour a long time ago, Throwing undersized fish back and even for not cramming 11 adults and 4 kids into a very small cottage." well if it were for real then I might be in some serious trouble with the Law, a few people would be dangling by their ears, so getting a shed or cottage up if you have the building material and a few cans of paint to do some building work would be a priority. One of my pet hates is people wanting to be the centre of attention even if they don't mean too, it's just the way it came across to me And seeing it was just an exercise to see how our grocery stockpiling would hold up for 60 days in a emergency situation. Actually it was rather fun, an exercise like that, need only be done once, trying to milk it again and again is rather silly.




Just did the grocery cupboard tidy up and it made me think of the survival story, and I got to think, what I have managed to tick of my prepping list.




When I put up a pic of my grocery cupboard after doing the tidy up, tinned dog and cat food looked like that was all there was for dinner ... wrong!! My supply of meat was still running around outside, not canned. My meat chooks were just about ready to slaughter as well as being a good battering tool. Having a growing season still ahead meant we could still plant more.




Actually if we had played that game now, I wonder if those Girls learnt anything from it. I sure did. the economy is worse than last year this time for a lot of people but some people (American Girls) do have the advantage having just harvested and preserved and bottled ready for their winter months. Where we have just planted our crops and are just starting to see the first of the ripening tomatoes and the pumpkins are just starting to swell out. A fair way still to go.

(Please note there can't any pics of bottled preserves, salsas and sauces cause they are still boxed and packed away, cause there is no cupboard space. Oneday I will be blessed with heaps of storage. nor have we taken a look at the freezer)

I made a mental note of where my prepping /survival gear was short, making a point of addressing it where possible. Items I purchased through the year are 2 extra fishing rods, gut, sinkers and hooks. Mud crab/yabbie traps. 2 light fittings and nets to go on top of a small gas bottles. A large 5 ltr kettle for boiling hot water on the stove. Filters and buckets for a homemade water system. updated the first aid box, labelling and boxing, sorting and added heaps more stuff to it. I also had a good look at the seed storage box and replaced a few seeds. Seeds like Mangles & turnip/swedes,(for pig food) sunflower, milo for chicken food and corn for milling to make flour.

Larger items included 2 single mattress and frames $900. A gas smoker, a secondhand bread maker from the Goodwill store, a plastic vacuum pack bag sealer and 5 rolls of bags and a electric meat saw. Electric knife sharpen and a chainsaw blade sharpener, a new axe. New Corrugated roofing for part the cottage and new deck. Treated timber sleeps for 10 veggie boxed. We carted trailer loads of horse poo, chicken poo and mushroom compost to the farm. Serious plans enclosing the kitchen area and hopefully parts of the new kitchen, and to extend the cottage are underway. The septic tank has been installed but not connected. Replaced the shower cubicle after the other one got damaged when a tree came down on it and bought a new toilet for the bathroom. Lots of work needs to be done over Dec/January holidays.

You might wonder about all the electrical stuff and yes we can run a generator when absolutely necessary. The last few times we have been doing a bit of works at the farm, the generator packed up and needed to be brought back to Sydney and now after a major service, carbbie service and a cracked head or something, it should be fixed finally.

I think we have done well for 2011.
It's never to late to start a stockpile, just a few items every week, just remember to rotate and keep a watch for used by dates
See ya
Rina

PS. I have posted the whole survival story in order of days below if anyone is brave enough to read it. Thanks for visiting