Bad Last Couple Days

The beginning of the week end wasn’t to bad Friday evening we went to a gun auction then Saturday we went to the gun show lots of people at both. Found a couple good buys at both.

Then came Sunday, had one of the worst days ever. We branded cows which is usually a great day for everyone. Well I was giving the mama cows one shot and Andy was giving the other. Before we stated I was going to give the one that goes under the skin then I traded Andy for the one that goes in the muscle because it is a little easier to give. I had asked him how much several times and he told me 5 ml. Well we are half way done with the mama cows and Andy sees my needle and asked me If I was giving 2 I said no I was giving 5 like he had told me well the 5 was for the one he was giving the 2 was for the one I was giving I just gave over half the cows a double dose of vaccine, I was sick Andy was not happy to say the least. Never mine this vaccine is 130 dollars a bottle. ( A very bad case of miscommunication).

So I had to run to town while they ate lunch and get more vaccine. The only store that was open didn’t carry what we use so I had to get a vaccine that isn’t as good. So now I am just praying and hoping the cows will all be all right.

Then Monday about mid morning one of my brothers called and said one of my other brothers was braking a colt and got bucked. Broke his collar bone and wrist they were flying him two hundred miles away to a hospital so they could try and save his hand. They did surgery to relieve the pressure on his tendons and get some blood flow back into his hand and will do another one on Wednesday.

So as of now the cows all seem to be doing ok. I would really rather not have another weekend like the last though.
I didn't get any pics of the  branding which is sad because I always get pictures for the branding album.Although I would really rather not remember this years branding lol.

Week 16 Food Storage Challenge

12 boxes Mac & cheese / Tomato products Sauce, paste, crushed ect.

12 boxes of mac & cheese or cheese powder and macaroni to make your own.

Tomato products get what you use sauce, paste crushed or whole . If you plan on canning your own you might go ahead and get a few just in case you don’t get to can as much as you would like.

Keep putting back water.

Add some more to your money stash.

We are at the end of 4 months if you have been following the first list Today included)you will have

6 lbs salt
5 cream soups
50 lbs sugar
100 lbs wheat or flour
8 soups
6 lbs yeast
10 lbs pasta
8 cans tuna
10 lbs powder milk
6 lbs shortening or oil
1000 multi - vitamins
500 Aspirin or equivalent
5 lbs peanut butter
12 boxes Mac & Cheese

The 2^nd list I haven’t been putting an amount on all of these, just get what you feel you will use and can afford to get. As I said before this just helps to have a variety.

10 lbs beans
Detergents
10 lbs pasta
Canned meat
1^st aid supplies
Garden seeds
25 lbs oats
Spices and herbs
Dry soaps and crackers
Condiments, mustard ketchup ect
Baking soda, baking powder, cream of tarter
Gelatins and pudding mixes
Canned vegetables
Toiletries, razors blades floss toothbrushes ect.
Cheese
Tomatoes products sauce, paste crushed ect.

Don’t forget to rotate.

The miscellaneous things you would have
Wheat grinder
Manual can opener
Bug out bags
Car kits
Alterative cooking sources
Alternative lighting sources

If you don’t have everything on the list don’t worry as I have said before every little bit helps. Get as much of it as you can when you can.

　

　

　



　

　

　

A Very Busy Weekend

This past weekend was pretty busy. I spent most of the day Friday in the tractor dragging the hay fields.

Then Saturday the girls both had eye Doctor appointments Joleens eyes haven’t changed but poor Katie hers have gotten worst, we had to up her prescription quite a bit.

After that we came home and Joleen got ready for prom. Her date brought her a real pretty wrist corsage (Her first so she was pretty excited ) Then they went out to eat. We met them at the school for the grand march . The theme was peter pan and never land. The gym was decorated so pretty, I tried to get some pictures but it was pretty dark so they didn’t turn out very good. She got home a little before midnight ( her curfew was midnight ) Then we sat and talked to almost one.

Sunday we had to got to the point and build fence. There is a pretty good pasture that we could put some cows on it just needed a new fence. Got the long one done and ran out of time to start the other side.

This is what it looked like when we started there was some old fence there. Week before last we had to rip out the old fence , clear out all the brush and set two new corner post. This weekend we put up the fence. The wheat grew quite a bit in the last couple weeks.

This is what it looked like when we were done. One down and one more to go.

By Sunday night I was pretty tired. Can't wait to go do it again next weekend lol.

Week 15 Food Storage Challenge

5 pounds Peanut butter / Cheese

Peanut butter or any nut butter ( Almond, Hazelnut ) If you or someone in your family is allergic to peanuts there are some peanut butter substitutes that are good.

Cheese we eat a lot of cheese I try to buy on sale and keep in the freezer I get the shredded, because when you freeze block cheese it will fall apart when you thaw it out. You may want to get some cheese powder I have two different kinds and really don’t care for either one of them so I don’t know if I am just picky or if I just haven’t found a good one the kids like them so maybe it is just me.

Keep putting up water.

Add some more to your money stash.










 

Learn From the Older Generation

Yesterday we laid my uncle to rest he passed away 2 days before his 89^th birthday. He was a wonderful man he served in the marines during WWII he was shot at Okinawa and received the purple heart, one among many medals he earned. He lived thru the depression and the stories he told of the depression and of the war, the things they had to do just to survive. How they made do with what they had and was grateful for every little thing they could get. There is a reason so many of them will not waste anything.

After the services I got to thinking about how we are losing our older generation and how we need to learn from the ones still here. We are approaching some very difficult times and the older ones that have the knowledge and have lived in hard time are not always going to be here to teach us how to do some of the things that will be helpful to us.

So if you know some one from that generation talk to them and learn all you can from them they have so much knowledge. They will not always be here to learn from.

Week 14 Food Storage Challenge

500 Aspirin or other pain reliever / Toiletries, Razor blades, Shave cream, floss, tooth brushes ect.

500 Aspirin or other pain reliever what ever you and your family use if you have small children get some children’s pain reliever.

Toiletries, Razor blades If you can find a double edge razor and blades that would be good because they take up less room and you can sharpen the blades where you can’t sharpen the new disposable blades, The dollar store also has packs of five disposable razors for a dollar, And you can make your own wax to wax with if you don’t have blades ( Although pretty sure the guys are not going to wax lol so you will need blades for them )

Shave cream you can make this but you will have to have a shaving cream brush to use it.

Floss and toothbrushes you can get these at the dollar store.

Nail clippers and files are something else that would be good to have extras of.

Make your own Sugar Wax

 

 

I love this stuff, I don’t use it as often as I should.  It is so good to know how to make so if you don’t have a razor you won’t have to be hairy ape. Plus it is so much cheaper then buying the wax or for that matter razors.

This works best on hair that is 1/8” to ¼” inch long. Your skin must be dry to do this you can use a thin layer of baby powder or cornstarch if it isn't real dry like if  just got out of the shower.

Here is how to make it.

 

 

 

 

In a pan mix

2 cups of sugar

 

 

 

¼ cup water

¼ cup lemon juice

 

 

 

 

Put over a med heat Stirring occasionally till you bring it to a slow boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer until you get to 250 degrees about 25 minutes.

 

It will change to a honey color

 

 

Pour into a glass container let cool for about 30 minutes.

Have several strips of cloth about 2 to 3 inches wide and about 6 to 7 inches long. I just use a old sheet cut into strips.



 

I use a large popsicle stick to spread.

Spread a thin layer

 

 

then use a strip of fabric and pat it down on top of the layer ( I used my arm to show, it was easier to show then my leg ).

 

After you have the strip on quickly pull it off.

 

It is kind of hard to see but it does pull the hair off.

 

 

Clean up is easy just use soap and water.

you can wash your strips to reuse.

　

It is a lot easier if you have some one who can help with the back of your legs

Farm Auction

 

 

We went to the farm auction that they have every year here. There were lots of people there. I think a lot just go to visit. The weather wasn’t to bad in the mornings but by the afternoons the wind picked up ever day, and it is so dry that it just blew the dirt , by the time we got done every day I was so full of dirt.

We did a few good bargains Andy got a hay rake that he has been wanting for several years. We picked up some good cedar corner post for very cheap.
I got four good gas cans for five dollars A whole stack of lariat ropes for 65 dollars, I sold one there for 10 dollars, so I only spent 55 on them. I will trade out some of our older ropes for some of these, then the rest of them I am going to make some vases and bowls for gifts .

I wish I would have remembered to take my camera so I could show you our next buy. We got a fifth wheel camper trailer for 100 dollars it needs some work, and the outside is kind of ugly, but on the inside some one put tongue and grove wood on all the walls and ceiling and did a lot of remodeling in it. So a little work and some cleaning I think it will be real nice. The bathroom isn’t in to good of shape so we are going to rip it out and put in a small bedroom and put a set of bunk beds in it for the girls. e will just have an out house. The upper part holds a king size bed we have an extra queen size so we are going to put that in there and that will leave some room for a small dresser. Will put a small wood stove in it for heat.  Where we are wanting to put it there is no electric or running water. I am excited to get it home and get to work on it.

Joleen wants us to fix it so she can live in it lol. Don’t know why she is in such a big hurry to move out once she sees what it is all about being on your own she will just want to move back lol.

And I got a good sunburn seems like I always get my first burn/tan at the auction every year.

So a very busy week-end hope you all had a great week-end.

Week 14 and 15 self sustaining pantry

Still working on the kitchen so not able to get a whole lot done.

Did cook a Turkey I had in the freezer. I got on sale at thanksgiving. Canned the meat and made two gallons of broth.

We butchered a small steer made all of it into hamburger.

Worked in the yard to get a few areas ready to plant.

Bought some Easter Candy on clearance to put into storage and some solid chocolate bunnies on clearance to use for chocolate in recipes.

Mixed up some E.O. oils for the girls cramps.

Got our hunting licenses bought hopefully we will all draw this year.

I have some old cheap cake mixes that we don’t like so I made some cookies out a couple of them not to bad so will use the rest of them this way to get them used up.

Still need to get soap made hopefully I can get that done this week.

Need to get plants started we can’t set out until the first of June so I have to start a little later then most people.

I have some friends coming in June that I haven’t seen in about ten years so I am trying to get my yard closer to being done. I have been working on it for 7 years a little at a time, don’t know if I will ever be done I keep thinking of more things that I want to do. But if I can get these few things finished it will look a little better. So don’t know how much time I will have inside for a while.

Hope you all have a great week.

　

Week 13 Food Storage Challenge

Week 13 Food Storage Challenge

1000 Mlti -Vitamins / Canned Vegetables

Get a good multi- vitamin I get my at Puritans Pride they always have some good sales. This will help to ensure you are getting all the vitamins that you need if you are not eating right or all the correct foods.

Canned Vegetables Can your own or buy them get the ones that your family likes. Don’t get things that they will not eat just because they have certain vitamins, if they won’t eat them they won’t do any good. Try to buy these by the case for a cheaper price.

This months thing to try and get is some alterative light sources.
Sitting around in the dark would be no fun.

Obviously, lots of candles would be extremely useful. You can often find used ones for almost free at yard sales and second hand stores also look for end of season clearence sales. If you have bees you can make your own, Save the wax from old candles and broken crayons to make new candles from.


Oil lamps are great to have too. I’ve been picking these up at yard sales for really cheap as well. The larger, outdoor style oil lanterns would be handy as well as the more decorative indoor lamps.  Lamp oil is expensive; kerosene is cheaper and works just as well, although it may produce a little smoke. I’ve also read that you can burn olive oil in lamps… something I want to experiment with.

Solar lights that you can get in the garden dept for fairly cheap, Solar flashlights, and solar lanterns

Kerosene lamps make sure you have extra kerosene on hand.

Propane lamps again make sure you have lots of propane for them they make an attachment that you can hook your lamp up to a larger propane tank so you do not have to have so many small bottles.
Propane and oil lamps do put out a little heat so they would be nice in the winter.

On top of these other things use your daylight wisely. Go to bed soon after the sun goes down, and rise with the dawn. This way you won’t use up your resources “burning the midnight oil”.

And don’t forget matches and lighters won’t do any good to have some of these things and no way to light them lol

　

Your action item this month is to make hard copies of all your information on the computer. If you are any thing like I am, I have all my stuff on the computer, if we lost power or something happened to the computer I would lose a lot of information and recipes.

Keep up on the water.

Don’t forget to add some more money to your stash.

Check out the yard sales.

Have a great week.

　

Make your own Laundry Soap

 

This is so easy and so cheap to make, especially if you use your own homemade soap and make your own washing soda.

I am out of home made soap ( on my to do list with so many other things lol)

So I used fals nepta I just made a small batch because I like to use my home made soap so hopefully this will last until I can get some made.

 

 

 

Grate the soap you will need 1 cup grated soap.

 

1 cup Baking Soda

1 cup washing soda you can go Here to see how to make your own

1 cup Borax

 

 

These two things are optional

1/3 cup Purex crystals this makes it smell so good, I don’t use this all the time but I figure that I am saving n the washing soda so I can use a little of this, plus you don’t use a whole lot per batch.

 

 

 

 

1 cup of oxy clean I use the dollar store one or the store brand. I like to use this in the summer when our clothes get so dirty.

 

 

 

Put all this in to a food processor if you do not have a food processor just put into a large bowl.

 

 

Mix all together, then pour into a container use 2 to 3 Tablespoons per load.

I have a front load washer ( which I do not like ) so I add the soap to the drum after I put in the clothes

 

 

 

When I make soap I make a batch plain lye soap that I use for laundry soap.

 

You can double or triple this to make a larger batch.