Emergency car kit

I went to a church meeting years ago where a woman was talking about what to put in an emergency car kit. I tend to believe this woman knows more about what is necessary then most, she survived a week trapped in her car in a blizzard. When she was found, her rescuer admitted they were no longer looking for a live person. She talked about what she had that helped her survive and what she wishedshe had that could have made a difference. So here is a list of things she keeps in each and every vehicle she and her family owns:

FIRST AID (very basic)
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BANDAID 25 ct $2.79
SOAP $1.29
ASPRIN 36 ct $3.99

MATCHES (WATERPROOF) $0.65
POCKET KNIFE OR UTILITY $1.65
FLASHLIGHT AND BATTERIES $1.76
SAFETY PIN $0.35
NEEDLE, THREAD AND BUTTON $2.00

TOILET PAPER 4 pack $1.89

SOLAR BLANKET (84x52) $1.99
HANDWARMERS 2 pack $2.31
RAIN PONCHO $1.39


FOOD SEALED
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HARD CANDY $1.79
CRACKERS $2.50
JERKY 8 pack $3.99
GRANOLA BARS 10 pack $2.89
CANS WITH POP TOP 12 pack $2.50
WATER BAGS 2 gallon $3.85

CANDLE 5 pack $2.31

GARBAGE BAGS 30 pack $2.29
DRY SOCKS 5 pack $4.99
FOOD STORAGE BAGS 75 count $2.29


POSSIBLE ADD-INS
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JUMPER CABLES $7.70
DUCT TAPE $1.65
12 HOUR LIGHT STICKS $1.99
ICE PACK $0.80
METAL WHISTLE $0.99
TOW ROPE $ 1.65

MOST OF THESE PRICES WERE FOUND AT IPREPARE.COM
(Gracie in: this was also 7 years ago so prices have most likely changed, but I thought they still gave a rough idea.)

Oh, the bounty of Summer

I've been canning a good amount of fruit lately. Mostly in the form of jams and pie fillings. In the next two weeks, both blueberries and raspberries will be in season. I have several things planned for both those berries, but I'm having a bit of trouble deciding what else I'd like to can. I didn't can aspargus like I wanted to, and frankly I'm a bit scared of my dilly beans (as in eating them without dying).

I get that canning fresh fruit now, you have it (in some form at least) during the winter. Obviously veggies and things are more $$ during the winter, and usually have been shipped in somewhere. But not being a child of canning (aka, my family didn't can anything) I'm really on the fence about how much canning to try for my first year. Is canned corn from home really that different then from the store?

If you can produce, fruits or meat (or meals like soups even) what to you see as the pros? Cons?

What dreams may come!

I tend to dream a lot. Usually just weird non-sense stuff that got put together from all I saw and did during the previous day. Sometimes though they can be very disorienting. I woke this morning having dreamed we had moved to Texas (I spent 8 years of my childhood there) but our things were in other places. It was very weird to wake and be unsure of where I was. I also seem to start and stop the same dream all through the night as I wake to nurse the baby and get Hubs off to work. It is kinda like a psycho movie in my head. Does anyone else dream like this?

Quote of the Day

"God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference."
-unknown

Shelf reliance

I finally gave up on building one and just bought it. I LOVE this shelf! It freed up sooo much space in my pantry. I rearranged my whole laundry room while my kids were with the parents and got everything put back together. It is so easy to look at this thing and see how many cans I need of what so I can keep everything stocked. It was an all day project to set up though. It's not that its hard, its just that I was doing it by myself (wanted to surprise hubby) and I had to rearrange the shelves a few times to make it fit what I needed. Seriously, this thing is GREAT!

Project ADD update

One more down, two to go. I finished this afghan for another nephews wedding and I also finished another lanyard for Hubby's coyote calls. I got an order for a dog sweater that has already been paid for so that is next on the agenda. Whew, someday, I will catch up on my craft obligations.

Cooking, family, and one busy blogger

My family began to descend this week for my sister's wedding. My favorite uncle in the whole world currently resides in Australia and hasn't been home in over two years. He's a blast, and has pampered my sister and I since we were teeny (he never had any kids himself). The last time he saw the Boy he was barely walking so I'm very happy Jack and I get to spend so much time with him. He also has a homemade smoker (and by homemade, I mean rigged from a 50-gallon drum) that has been languishing at my dad's place and he intends to clean up and show me how to use so I can take it to my house.

I haven't done much cooking since the fourth to be honest. I knew I was going to be busy, so I've made several large batches of things that store and re-heat well. Yesterday we had a sort of family pow-wow and I made a large pot of my Taco Soup. All you require is beans (I used canned chili, pinto, black and kidney in equal portions, liquid included) corn, ground beef and taco seasoning. You cook the meat according to the spice directions, throw all the beans (and corn) and juices on top and simmer for a while. I let it stew at least on hour, but it's fine to let it go most the day and people can dip out of it when they want.

I also finally got around to making tortilla chips. I used flour tortillas because I had them around, but boy do they whip up quick and tasty! I did plain salted and cinnamon and sugar, both. I did have an unfortunate incident where I dropped my very very expensive cell phone into the frying oil, but by some fluke accident it seems to be none the worse for wear.

Tomorrow I've roped a couple of cousins into helping me make and can pie filling (muwahahaha) so hopefully I will have some pictures and fun things to update tomorrow.

Soft water come and slime me!!

Okay so here in the desert you need soft water in the house. The water is so hard here that it will ruin your pipes and appliances with out it. So we went and ordered out unit and the installation. I don't notice a huge difference but my husband says soft water makes him feel slimy. Oh well!! We also decided to go with potassium pellets over sodium pellets. Our bodies have a hard time with the sodium but potassium is what we loose when we sweat so we figured this was a much healthier way to go for us. We have little ones who drink the water so we need it as healthy as possible.

Friday Funny (a bit late)

Quote of the Day

"I probably bought too much stuff, but it's all shelf stable so I can just throw it in the food storage"

-Me to Ryan the 3L, and a great example of when you know you've taken prepping into your everyday life without thinking about it.