Preparedness Update #1

On April 29, I found this year-long plan to prepare 72-hour kits and food storage for a family, broken down by month. I decided to get busy with May's tasks.

I didn't have any money to blow on emergency supplies, but I wanted to strike while the iron was hot. So I started with a black and white floral backpack Bella had discarded, in which I'd placed six pairs of men's long athletic socks - used, but clean, and good for layering if we get cold. As time goes by, I'll make sure each family member has his/her own backpack with supplies.

Just from what I could find around the house, I added:
1) Plastic utensils, cups and bowls
2) Two envelopes of onion soup mix I had in the cupboard - took them out of their box for squishability, and wrote down the expiration date so we'll be sure to rotate them. Obviously, getting food for the 72-hour kit will be a top priority.

3) A gnarly-looking sharp folding knife I found in Neenaw's hutch drawer (I'd love to know where that thing came from)
4) A flashlight (needs batteries)
5) $5 in change for phone calls, in a cute little metal tin
6) Genealogical records & copies of our patriarchal blessings
7) One kid's birth certificate - copy (should I put in the original?)

8) Four bandanas (Heff, recognize some of those?)
9) A change of underwear for everyone
10) My old lawn-mowing shoes
11) Old T-shirts to help us with our change of clothes - 3 adults', 1 child's
12) A pair of pants for Son #1

13) Toothbrushes
14) Travel-size toiletries: shampoo, lotion, mouthwash, toothpaste, soap
15) Feminine supplies, for those days of the month when we're feeling particularly "feminine"

16) First aid supplies - the blue thing has bandages, antibiotic ointment, alcohol wipes, cotton swabs, etc. The clear plastic box has a book of needles, three paper bags (I assume for hyperventilation), and an Ace bandage.
18) A box of latex gloves my mom bought to clean her hubby's office with, but ended up being too small, so she gave me the box! Score!

Later I added these emergency blankets - I found them for $1 each in a Target dollar bin - and shoved them in with everything else. I forgot about them until I unpacked everything today. Yay!

Also to buy:
100 pounds variety of cereal grains-rice, oatmeal, cornmeal, etc. per person
24 rolls toilet paper per person
24 packages flavored gelatin per person (I bought seven last week)
Garden seeds
1 small bottle olive oil (for consecrating)
At least one month prescription ahead for all doctor prescribed medication
Battery powered radio - I actually have one of these in the kitchen. It also has a cord, which is what I use when I listen to it. But I think I'll get another smaller one for the 72-hour kit because if things are going south fast enough, I doubt I'll have the presence of mind to grab my kitchen radio. Just being practical.

The above amounts are staggering, let alone "per person." We definitely don't eat that much Jell-O (bad Mormons! BAD!). But I'll buy some of it - better to buy some than not any at all.

This blog is good for keeping you motivated: Safely Gathered In

Weeding the Mailbox: Before and After

It's been very rainy and stormy here, which kept me from doing much outside, but today I made a little progress. Click on the pictures for more detail.

Here we are, out by the mailbox... quite weedy. The border between our yard and the neighbor's is denoted by the crack in the curb and the bark dust. Sorry about the blur - my camera lens was dirty, I later discovered. This was taken on May 4, so after ten days and a lot of rain, you can imagine how covered over this spot was.

After spending a couple of hours weeding and pruning, we can see some dirt! Hooray for dirt!

While we were outside working, the middle school's marching band came marching down our street, practicing for an upcoming parade in our area. The kids looked embarrassed to have us watch, but Rosalind and I enjoyed it.

This black spot fungus stuff is worrying me. All the rose bushes are affected. I spent some good time pruning the two older bushes, and there's still plenty of vegetation left, but the younger ones are just covered with the stuff. I don't know if they'll make it. From what I've read, all you can do to this fungus is prune it.

This guy has been hanging around our house since Monday. We think he must live close by, because he never seems hungry - just wants to play, climb our trees and hang around on the patio. The bluebird couple who live in our backyard love to taunt him by coming within three feet of him, then jumping away when it looks like he's going to pounce. Quite entertaining.


This is the view from our front window - gorgeous trees in our neighbors' yard.

We feel very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place.

Speaking of Lilacs...

Click on the pictures for more detail.


The lilac shrub is quite mature and doing very well, especially on the sunny side. It's about three feet away from a red-leafed tree, I think an elm, which shades its right side to the point that hardly anything bloomed. Like most of the other trees and plants on our property, it needs some TLC.


The sunny side - look how long those branches are. We need a haircut.


The one bloom on the "tree" side.


I love the color.

What I Found: How to Prune Lilac Shrubs - though my lilac shrub definitely needs it, I can't do any pruning until after the shrub is finished blooming, or I won't have any blooms next year. I'll be posting some "after" pictures later.

ALSO: I swept the patio and front walk. Doesn't sound like such a huge job, but with the wind blowing so much lately, we've had all kinds of interesting little tree- and flower-related paraphenalia blow onto the property, along with lots of dirt and dust. (sneezing heavily)