What have you done to prep today?

[Nemo]

Could not have been me to learn that.  I don't know what sheep turds taste like.  But really, I don't know what any turds taste like.  I guess I ain't very smart.

Nemo

[pkveazey]

I don't do prepping everyday but today I bought a few more ounces of Silver. The Price Manipulators don't realize that by holding the price down, it allows poor folks like me to actually buy some. When they can't hold the price down any longer, its going to go up like a rocket. I'm sympathetic to other preppers and not so much to non-preppers, because while they may be smart, they are aren't very wise. Several of my relatives are prepping, so I gave them a couple of ounces to put in their Bug Out bag, just in case.

[JoJo]

 PK what premium per ounce do they charge you and do you buy locally? When you say silver is it coins or bars?
 I don't have any silver preferring other essentials first but might start to look at silver.   

[JohnyMac]

JoJo, I will just state what I do.

I buy coins .999 pure silver Liberty 1 oz rounds. Cost is about 3% over spot price.
I also buy pre 1964 silver USA coins. Depending on the coin the content varies again I pay ~3% over spot because when I buy I buy A LOT!

Example: A USA Quarter is 90% silver and the weight is a tad under 1/5th of an oz. so the melt value is about $2.94. Add the 3% and it comes out to be about $3.03 BUT to get that 3% over spot price you have to buy a lot. If you just buy a couple like $100- face value, you are looking at about a 6% fee or that quarter will cost you $3.12 a piece.

I hope that helps.

Now just a side note: You buy silver for day to day purchases post a TEOTWAWKI event. Gold is for large purchases, e.g. land, house, horse, cow, etc.

[JoJo]

 I have the cow covered just need bread and milk.

[pkveazey]

PK what premium per ounce do they charge you and do you buy locally? When you say silver is it coins or bars?
 I don't have any silver preferring other essentials first but might start to look at silver.

You should definitely get into some Silver. The reason I chose it is because no matter what happens, Silver will never be worth zero. I pay a stiff premium of $2 per ounce but I only buy from one local Coin/Precious Metals shop because I have checked every Round and Bar that I have bought from him and haven't found a fake one yet. He also has a policy of me holding the receipt and if I sell any of it back to him, there is no premium on the back end. If I don't keep the receipt, he charges a premium to buy it back. My thought is that the high premium will become moot if the price of what I already have goes to $40 or $50 or higher in the future. I only buy one ounce pieces because they will be easier to spend and making change will be less of a problem. I have found a few pieces of pre-1965 coins and put them aside also. I keep telling myself that I have stacked enough and that I'm not going to buy any more but I still keep stacking if I have any extra spending money. I bought some Neodimium magnets and a very accurate scale for checking my silver.

[JoJo]

 Thanks PK. You answered everyone of the questions I had.

[Kbop]

got tired of hauling water for the stock last winter - put in a hand pump in the same well as my solar pump.

[Deathstyle]

*Got an MSR XGK USMC stove for my BOB.

*Upgraded my plate carrier to a Warrior Assault Systems DCS plate carrier I found on clearance.

* Just received a copy of "6 Ways In, 12 Ways Out" to practice out in the field.

[gadget99]

Hey Gadget, I am looking for a 5 piece military sleeping bag system at a reasonable price. Would you have one in your inventory willing to send state-wide?

Oops.....

I cannot believe I missed this JM.

Are you still looking for a sleeping solution?

Best they have over here that can fill a need like this. Is something like the following.

1. A Goretex Bivi Bag to keep the weather out.
2. A tropical sleeping bag. This is like the poncho liner yet in a sleeping bag form.
3. A three season sleeping bag or arctic sleeping bag.

In warmer weather you can use the bivi alone or with the tropical bag inside.

As things get colder you use the three season or arctic bag in the bivi.

For when it is colder that a witches you know what. You use all three.

Hope this helps.

I did happen to get my hands on some Soviet bloc soldiers bed rolls that while a bit heavy. Are the bees knees for sleeping in during cold weather. They are composed of a impregnated ripstop outer cover. Then a wool blanket and for the inside a massively thick cotton sheet. It is all set up to fold over and button together into a rectangle shaped sleeping bag like affair.

We have these in the home as backup and in the vehicles for when out and about.

Here is a supplier over there that carries them. (To show you what they look like)

https://www.majorsurplus.com/czech-bed-roll.html

[JohnyMac]

LOL gadget. I finally found one in my price range. Good sleeping bag system.

[Rogue-Metalsmith]

I am looking into using something like oats bars? adding some nuts and dried fruits and so on, need to go get ingredients for that however.

RM
 

Cool beans update time.

I have been rather productive.
I put together two oats bar recipes and made a fantastic oats bar that is filling and easy to store.
No mess no fuss, you do need to bake the mess and then your set.
Sharing is caring. i still have the link for the original recipe.
i have two other links i will; be adding aswell that i am itching to try.

You can swap out ingredients to your liking.
i use the following:
2 cups of oats (normal/rolled/mixed)
*1 cup of mixed ingredient (nuts, dried berries, raisins, chopped toasted walnuts, almonds &
pecans, dried cherries & chocolate chips (mini or regular) pretty much anything you want in an oats bar goes here-i found dates do not work well in this part of the recipe)
*2 Tablespoons sugar (brown/white)
*i also added syrup- 4tablespoons-helps bind everything (honey can also be used-i made both variants turned out the same)
*1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut (optional-i replaced this with peanut butter-way more filling bars!)
*1 cup of “extras” - I like chopped toasted walnuts, almonds &
pecans, dried cherries & chocolate chips (mini or regular)

*1/3 cup vegetable oil
*1/3 cup honey *i also tried this with syrup-helps bind everything (i made both variants turned out the syrup binds better- you can go half and half here)
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The rest of the instructions are on the site aswell i will just paste them here for easy reference.
I stopped using  parchment paper i put them straight in my pan, they turned out even better.

1.Preheat oven to 325° F.
2.Line a 9” x 9” square pan with 2 criss-cross sheets of parchment paper (not foil) leaving extra overhang on all sides. Click to see how.
3.Combine oats, brown sugar, coconut and extras in a large bowl.
4.Combine honey, oil, and vanilla in a measuring cup.
5.Add honey mixture to oat mixture and combine well.
6.Spread in baking pan, pressing down very firmly, taking about a minute. Try pressing down with the back of a spatula.
7.Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan. (mine takes an hour to cool on a cooling rack)
8.Remove from pan (using parchment handles) to cutting board. Remove paper and cut into bars.

http://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/granola-bars/ also on youtube

https://youtu.be/DadiLIIWtSA

https://youtu.be/BXSgTQiAjq0

- 3 ingredient peanut butter brownies!!

https://youtu.be/XaSSpCy3OAE

- 3 ingredient energy bars.

Well for now that is it.
Will post other stuff later.

Regards
RM
 

[JohnyMac]

Awesome R-M. Thx for sharing your recipe. 

[Jackalope]

    Received more ammo today     And I received a new battery for the Ural motorcycle.  I went to start it last weekend, so I could take the dog for a ride, but the battery was completely dead.  I had left a battery maintainer on the battery, but it was dead just the same.  So, that teaches me to check my batteries more often.

[JoJo]

 Scope came lose on my rifle so a trip to the range to zero it, also bought a box of nitrile gloves for my medical kit plus another 200 rounds of 5.56.
 I was looking at a 1,000 watt power inverter at Walmart yesterday and when I went back it was gone. It was miss-priced at $29.95. I didn't know that was the wrong price but I thought at that price I'll get it.

[Nemo]

Visited a gun show down the road a bit.  Came home with a 420 round can of Federal .56 ($160)and a 1000 round box ($190) of 9s. 

The 5.56 is in cardboard sleeves of 3 stripper clips of 10 rounds each.  Easy to stuff a mag quick.

Nemo

[Erick]

Visited a gun show down the road a bit.  Came home with a 420 round can of Federal .56 ($160)and a 1000 round box ($190) of 9s. 

The 5.56 is in cardboard sleeves of 3 stripper clips of 10 rounds each.  Easy to stuff a mag quick.

Nemo

Sounds like a nice score

[Rogue-Metalsmith]

My list is huge...
added it is not just from today but the last two weeks.

I have added to my list of learned skills-Sproutlings
Great nutritious value easy seedlings that sprout in a glass bottle and then you can eat them.
CLean and easy on the move system.

I have been stocking up on seeds.
Sunflower
wild rice(still not found)
pumpkin seeds
sesame seeds
quinoa,hemp and flack seeds aswell.
https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/seeds_nutrition_benefits

most important part of this process is rinsing! remember to rinse them!
https://snapguide.com/guides/make-edible-sprouts/

Then i also have been working hard on my vegetable garden expanding and modifyng where needed.
All of this whilst busy with a Hydro-ponics setup.

Next on my list is fish breeding-learning how to hands on.

Mapping has been an important part of my last few weeks-planning out different bug out routes, keeping track of roads being closed and where riots are happening all over the country.

Vehicle modifications are also next on my list/defencive and offencive.
Yes it sounds and looks MAD-MAX-ish.

The single most important items are the bug out bags- carry on and in home ready to go.
I have started putting them together but the bags i have laying around the house seem to be inefficient and not enough to handle the tasks at hand- so yet another item added to need to get list.

I feel like evry day i am prepping in some way or manner by now.
It has become part of my routine.

List seems endless.

RM out
 

[JohnyMac]

Some great stuff RM! 

I am not up on wild rice as it has to be grown in a rather watery soil. Much of the wild rice grown here is grown up along lakes around the Great Lakes region.

NOT A PRIORITY, however if you get the nod from the owners of the "Mad-Max-ish" vehicles shoot us a pic or two. We could all learn something from those pics.

Praying for you and your family...

[Erick]

RM:

yes sending the very best wishes and prayers your way!

[JohnyMac]

My wife sold her Mini CooperS last year as it wasn't a good car to have up here at the redoubt. This past fall she bought a used Subaru Forester which did a very good job this past winter up here.

I am not a big fan of long trips in it as it isn't as comfortable as our F150. With that written I have taken it down to my Mom's about 3-hours south when she needed to go to the doctor or what ever. It is a lot easier to get in and out of than the truck.

When using the Forester, I usually bring a 5 watt BaoFeng handheld along to stay connected with the local and repeaters along the route to Philly. Adequate yes, perfect no. So after much deliberation and procrastination, I installed a 65 watt VHF/UHF radio in the Subaru this week.

The radio was an old Icom 208H with a removable face plate. The actual radio body lives under the passenger seat and the remote head plate lives on the dash board. I did hook up a remote speaker too as the broadcast is rather muted being under the seat.

I mounted the antenna on the rear hatch after buying a Laser antenna mount. Also bought a Laser 5/8 wave antenna to top off the mount. After going to YouTube and searching for "Subaru panel removal"  to find out how I could fish the coax I carefully removed the panels along the starboard side of the car and ran the wire to the passenger seat where the radio is. The coax is completely hidden and out of the way.

Last I did something I never do when setting up a radio in a vehicle. Right next to the passenger seat is an additional cigarette lighter port. Rather than running the power line through the fire wall to the battery I went to the lighter port. I read somewhere that there was no generator noise if you do this in a Subaru vs. some other car makers. So far signal reports have come back "full quiteing" so we will see what the future holds.

I am happy with the job and now just have to keep MrsMac from screwing with the face plate on the dash. 

[pkveazey]

My wife sold her Mini CooperS last year as it wasn't a good car to have up here at the redoubt. This past fall she bought a used Subaru Forester which did a very good job this past winter up here.

I am not a big fan of long trips in it as it isn't as comfortable as our F150. With that written I have taken it down to my Mom's about 3-hours south when she needed to go to the doctor or what ever. It is a lot easier to get in and out of than the truck.

When using the Forester, I usually bring a 5 watt BaoFeng handheld along to stay connected with the local and repeaters along the route to Philly. Adequate yes, perfect no. So after much deliberation and procrastination, I installed a 65 watt VHF/UHF radio in the Subaru this week.

The radio was an old Icom 208H with a removable face plate. The actual radio body lives under the passenger seat and the remote head plate lives on the dash board. I did hook up a remote speaker too as the broadcast is rather muted being under the seat.

I mounted the antenna on the rear hatch after buying a Laser antenna mount. Also bought a Laser 5/8 wave antenna to top off the mount. After going to YouTube and searching for "Subaru panel removal"  to find out how I could fish the coax I carefully removed the panels along the starboard side of the car and ran the wire to the passenger seat where the radio is. The coax is completely hidden and out of the way.

Last I did something I never do when setting up a radio in a vehicle. Right next to the passenger seat is an additional cigarette lighter port. Rather than running the power line through the fire wall to the battery I went to the lighter port. I read somewhere that there was no generator noise if you do this in a Subaru vs. some other car makers. So far signal reports have come back "full quiteing" so we will see what the future holds.

I am happy with the job and now just have to keep MrsMac from screwing with the face plate on the dash. 

It sounds like you did quite well on you radio installation. The Cigarette lighter thing could bite you in the butt. Most of those in the past have used a 5 amp fuse but the newer vehicles are starting to use a 10 amp fuse because of all the crap that people are plugging into them these days. If yours has a 10 amp fuse, and and you get long winded on transmit you might pop a fuse. If you are really lucky, they will have put a 15 amp fuse in it and you'll be good to go. Most 65 watt radios draw 9 to 11 amps on transmit and that would put you right in the margin of fuse popping.

[JohnyMac]

Thx PK. The radio calls for a 15 amp fuse which is what I put into the cigarette lighter attachment. I tend to broadcast on medium power which on the 208 is 35 watts. However, you are correct, if the radio fails it will probably be the power connection.

73 folks...

[Deathstyle]

Trying to save money but came across a deal I couldn't pass up.

Got a brand new North American Rescue WALK Kit. S&H pushed the price just over $200.


Plan to keep it in a vehicle when I go camping and will definitely be a much appreciated tool when I finally ditch the city to live in the country.

[Jackalope]

   Yesterday, I participated in a practical shotgun class, which was essentially a defensive shotgun class for a home owner.  I'm learning how to efficiently operate a Keltec KSG, and shot over 200 rounds.  I definitely feel more confident using the KSG for defensive purposes.  I also realized that I cannot efficiently use a Mossberg 500 due to physical limitations.  Now I need to purchase some more ammo!