Monthly Archives: April 2014

Guiltless TV watching

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Don’t Feel Guilty About Watching That TV Show or Movie

Have you ever felt guilty about watching that TV show or movie and not using the time wisely and working on your prepping.  Well, no more. This does take some planning though. When you sit down and make your list of things you need to do, also plan what you can do during the 30 minute or 1 hour TV show or the 1 ½ to 2 hour movie while you are sitting down. If you have all of the supplies in front of you and have 2 hours to work on it what kind of a first aid kit could you put together? And yes, you probably would not concentrate as well on it as you would if you were not watching a TV show too, but you would be putting it together instead of it sitting and waiting for a time that you would be able to spend the time just on this.  So, let’s think about what we could do when sitting down for a certain time frame and do.

  • First Aid Kit
  • Add to or remove a number of items in your backpack
  • Air out your sleeping bag.
  • Work on your family evac plan
  • Write down important telephone numbers for each family member to carry with them–and then organize them on your computer to print as needed [PRN]
  • Put dry food [rice, beans or powders] in 2 liter bottles and mark the date
  • Put trail mix in smaller zip locking bags [unit dose or per serving]
  • Put food bars or mixes into zip locking bags [unit dose]
  • Try on the clothes you have in your backpack to make sure they still fit
  • Change out the clothes in your children’s packs to something that will fit
  • Go through catalogs
  • Write up recipe cards or organize in notebook
  • Fill up clean 2 liter Coke bottles with water
  • Go through magazines
  • Check your rope and rewrap
  • Sharpen your knives
  • Clean your gun

Do you get the idea? As long as you plan about 30 minutes before the show and gather all of the supplies, you have a good 1-2 hours to get these things done and then you don’t feel like you have wasted that time.

Education reboot P3

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Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America .
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver ,
Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and
Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the
republics of Europe   and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same
latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the
sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the
earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.
Gives the saying ‘he only had an 8th grade education’ a whole new
meaning, doesn’t it? No wonder they dropped out after 8th grade.  They already knew more than
they needed to know!
No, I don’t have the answers!  And I don’t think I ever did!

Have fun with this…pass it on so we’re not the only ones who feel
stupid!

The more that I learn, the more that I know that I DON’T know!

I think that if we were to either primarily use this for OUR common Core of education when we home school OR use it to supplement public education along with whatever we have to do to DE-program our kids and our selves.

I would of course add computer stuff to be able to research topics more.

What are YOUR thoughts on this? Please and thank you.

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/education-reboot-p1/

 

Education reboot P2

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U.S. History (Time, 45
minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America
by Columbus
.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States .

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton
, Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800,

1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

[Do we even know what this is?]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography,

etymology, syllabication.

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph,

subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals.

4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u.’ (HUH?)

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e.’ Name two exceptions

under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi,

dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name

the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell,

rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane,

fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation

by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/education-reboot-p1/

Education reboot P1

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Could this be an incentive to homeschool?

Education 1895

 

1895 8th grade final exam]

“Only an 8th grade education?”

This is why we grew to be the greatest Nation in the World.

1895 8th grade final exam

Take this test and pass it on to your more literate friends..  THERE ARE
NO GIVEN ANSWERS!
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895…

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only
had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have
passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA.

It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley
Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina
Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, Kansas   – 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of
‘lie,”play,’ and ‘run.’
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 – 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you
understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many
bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at
50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary
levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104
for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. Long at $20
per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of
which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

 

Easter is over

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Easter is over.

 

By the time you read this, Easter will be over for this year. NOW is the time to go to the store and stock up on Easter CANDY as it will be on clearance, normally half price or cheaper. Especially the jelly-beans and other such candy that will be relatively shelf stable and most not affected by heat- in this case room temperature so that when you open the container that you are storing it in that it has not melted into a solid mass.

 

If you store this candy in airtight containers in a reasonably cool area it will be just as good for next year as it is now. Come next year you will have cheaper candy for the season and can repeat the process year after year. The price of the candy and most likely everything else is only going to climb. So you will be SAVING money in this process too. Let us say that next year about this time a family member has lost their job, well the candy is already on hand for the kids and you don’t have to expend anything extra. And here is the biggest plus to this action, if something bad happens and you need to get into the candy sooner it is once again already on hand.

 

OK that is the why of it, now for the nuts and bolts of HOW to store the candy for medium to long term storage. The 2 main choices of storing dry food rigid or soft sided. The rigid containers come in 2 flavors which are glass or metal. The soft sided are basically plastic or Mylar. I like the metal cans the best in general as they are stackable and mice can not chew into them. Of the 2 main metal cans, I like new paint cans as they can be opened and resealed without damaging the cans.

 

What I do is take a 1 gallon slide or zip lockable plastic bag and put it inside the 1 gallon paint can. Then I put the bags of candy still the original packages into the bag in the can. As I get ready to close the big bag [and then the can itself] I put an oxygen package inside, you can also use those chemical hot hands packages in too.  They are the same thing except for the size. Either way they absorb both the oxygen and the moisture which in turn extends the storage life of the product.

 

Even if you do not add the packets the candy should be good for MANY years as is. As an example look at the fallout shelter candy that is still good after 50 years in storage.

Are You Prepared?

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Are You Prepared?

 

How do you answer these questions?

 

  1. Do you have a first aid kit in your home? And car?
  2. Do you have enough food, etc. in your home to be able to not go out to the grocery store for 3 days?
  3. Do you believe if there is a disaster in your town that the government will be there to help you within 3 days?
  4. Do you have a meeting place away from home planned and every member of the family knows about it.
  5. Do you have a list of the drugs you are taking and know what they are for?
  6. Do you  know where a copy of your mortgage or lease agreement is and can you get to it within 5 minutes?
  7. Do you have copies of every family member’s birth certificates and can get to it within 5 minutes?
  8. Do you know the phone numbers of family members if your smart phone goes dead?
  9. Do you have a place planned to go inside your home (or outside if a mobile home) if a tornado were to strike your home?
  10. Do you have change on you when you go out to use a payphone if your smart phone goes dead?
  11. Do you have enough money saved up for 6 months if you were to loose your job?
  12. Do you have enough medication to last for a month if you could not get a refill  before then?
  13. Do you have entertainment in your home if the power was off and you could not leave your home for 2 weeks?
  14. Do you have enough food for your pets for a month if you could not get to the store?
  15. Do you have enough water in your home if you could not get water from the faucet for a couple of weeks?
  16. Do you know the emergency preparedness plan for your workplace?
  17. Do you have extra food and water at work if you have to shelter in place there?
  18. Do you have comfortable shoes at work and home if you should have to walk a distance?
  19. Are you mentally prepared if there were a disaster to strike your town?
  20. Have you mentally prepared you children if there were a disaster to strike your town?
  21. Do you have copies of your mortgage and birth certificates and titles of vehicles at a place not in your home?
  22. Do you have a living will?
  23. Does  your family know your wishes to be or not put on life support?
  24. Do you have all credit card name, numbers and phone numbers written down in case your wallet gets stolen?
  25. Do you have all of your financial information in one place so your family knows what is due, etc. if you were in the hospital and could not pay them?

Dollar Tree Bargains for Prepping

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Dollar Tree Bargains for Prepping

 

I went over about things from Dollar Tree to put into your First Aid Kit, now I want to talk about other things from Dollar Tree that you can put into your Preparedness items.

Yes, you can get these items elsewhere, but at how much more. Maybe you should compare purchasing at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree. Even if Wal-Mart has an item that you really want, but that would limit the amount of items that you can purchase at this time, it may be more beneficial to purchase more items at Dollar Tree so that you at least have the items and then after you get enough, then go back and purchase better quality items and replace what you had purchased and put into your backpack.  For example you would really rather have a $10 flashlight from another store, but you don’t have many items at all in your backpack for emergencies.  It may be wise to purchase 10 items at Dollar Tree, one of which is a flashlight.  Then after you have most of what you need in your backpack go back and purchase better quality items, but in the meantime if something happens you at least have something. Go to www.DollarTree.com some of those items that need to be placed in your backpack are:

 

Flashlight

Batteries

Duck tape

Large black trash bags

Different sizes of ziplock bags

Rope

Screwdrivers- Phillips and flat head

Hammer

Fork

Spoon

Knife

Aluminum pie pan (to use as a plate)

Plastic coffee travel mug (you can use for hot drinks, soups as well as water)

Large tongs (for moving fire wood around when hot)

Kitchen knife

Cutting board

Set of Funnels (use to put water or food into coke bottles)

Hot pads

Washcloth for washing dishes and dishtowel for drying

Tablecloth large size

Clothes pins

Seasonings

Pencils

Pencil sharpeners

Colors

Coloring books

Tape

Glue

Writing paper

Scissors

Play dough

Puzzles

Bath soap

Shampoo

Razor

Washcloth

Hand towel

Tooth brush

Dental Floss

Paste

Lotion

Chap stick

Food – Ramen Noodles, tuna or chicken salad with crackers, peanut butter, cheese crackers and peanut butter crackers, soups, granola bars, some hard candy, etc

Deodorant

Comb

Assorted rubber bands

Assorted safety pins

Sewing Kit

Bobby Pins

Candles

Matches

Dishwashing liquid

Aluminum foil

 

With being able to get all of these products for only $1 then you can spend more on your higher ticket items such as the backpack you want to use, knives, hatchets, etc. If you want to go back and spend more on one of the items above then you can do that after you get all the items that you want into the backpack first.  And each member of your family should have a backpack.  If you have a baby, put their items in a separate backpack, so that you can take turns carrying it or the baby, but this keeps their items separate and easier to get to than if they are among your items. Having these items together and ready will ease the stress level when the day comes that you have to evacuate your home.

If you have trouble finding some of the things, ask to talk with Lorane the manager [if you are in her store] and she will help you. ALSO wish her a Happy Birthday if you are in there next week. ;]

Gun shows

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gun shows

This weekend some of us went to a gun show. There were a large contingent of venders and the event seemed to be well attended. In addition to the expected tables of guns / accessories and a few cutlery venders there were a few with art type stuff. The art stuff included scenes cut into shovels, saws and fry pans.

 

One guy had concealed carry vests which did not have that ‘tactical look’ to them that shouts ‘GUN’. The vests that I looked at could easily fit in, in a business setting, wedding guest or even church meeting.

 

There was only one vendor dealing with food storage and books.  He also had cast iron cookware along with the hot pads to handle them. Among the books were ones by Vicky Tate about cooking with food storage and pamphlets on survival by Dave Canterbury. One of the things that I like about Dave Canterbury is that he is down to earth and practical. You may know him from his TV series called ‘dual survivors’ with Cody Lundin.

 

Most of the prices were reasonable.

 

All in all it was a fun 2 hours.

Stock Your First Aid Kit

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How to Stock Your First Aid Kit for Less

 

With Dollar Tree you can easily stock your First Aid Kit for less. When Dollar Tree first came into town they were an answer to prayer on budgeting for prepping supplies.  With everything costing only $1 it sure helps the bottom line in getting all types of survival supplies on hand. First of all I don’t like the pre-manufactured First Aid Kits. They mainly have bandage supplies and not much else.  When you put together your First Aid Kit for your family you need to take into consideration what types of health conditions your individuals have.  For example if you have a child that is always getting splinters in their hands and then it getting infected you will want to make sure you have tweezers and antibiotic ointment in your kit.  Also, if someone in your family has constipation often then make sure you have stool softeners & laxatives in the First Aid Kit.  The basic items that you can get at Dollar Tree are:

 

 

Assorted sizes of bandaids

Gauze and telfa pads assorted sizes

Disposable masks

Super Glue

Bandage tape

Rolled Gauze

Elastic Bandage

Triple Antibiotic Ointment

Hydrocortisone Ointment

A & D Ointment

Hydrogen Peroxide

Wet Wipes

Cold Packs

Anti-diarrheal

Laxatives

Pepto Bismal

Tums

Zantac

Thermometer

Cough Drops

Chest Rub

Dental Floss

Cotton Swabs

Cotton Balls

Chap Stick

Petroleum Jelly

Sunscreen

Aspirin tablets

Tylenol liquid if you have younger children and tablets for older children and adults

Athlete Foot Powder

Advil or Ibuprofen-liquid if you have young children & tablets for older children &

adults

Benadryl liquid if you have young children and tablets for older children and adults

Some type of cold medicine whatever works on your family

Nasal Spray like Afrin if it works for your family [it is also good for bloody noses]

Nail Clippers and file or if you can get a kit that also has tweezers in it

Some type of mild bar soap or even baby soap

Some type of skin lotion

Small garbage bags

Plastic or rubber gloves

Package of feminine pads works great for stopping large amounts of blood

Baking soda you make a paste by adding water and it helps on insect stings or sunburn

Super Glue this is exactly what the ER uses to close cuts

Small flashlight

Duct tape

Aluminum foil-take about 2 feet and fold up and put in kit

Scissors

Disposable filter masks

Something to put all of this in

If you have a diabetic you can use tube frosting for quick sugar

 

Whew, what a lot of supplies. But imagine all this you can get at the Dollar Tree for just a dollar. Much better than paying even Wal-Mart prices for these items. If you can get at least this much then the rest will be easier to afford.

 

intel gathering-radio

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Intel gathering-radio

The vary first tool for gathering intel [information or intelligence] is a good AM/FM portable radio, what we used to call a transistor radio. Most people will aim first at something that runs off of 2 to 4 AA [double A] batteries. Ideally they would be rechargeable batteries. It would be good to have an external power source such as 110 plug in that would both run the radio while you were stationary and charge your batteries at the same time.

 

I have several of the small portable radios. One is called Xventure. I do not recall now where I picked it up from nor how much I paid for it. It is both AM & FM and the weather band. It will run off of the wall plug in, it has an internal set of batteries which will charge when the unit is plugged in. You can also insert 2 double A disposable or rechargeable batteries to run the radio. And you can charge those batteries via a hand crank dynamo which I really like as I can charge and run it for an extended period without the grid.  Lastly you can listen via ear buds or headphones which will save on power and keep others from hearing what you are listening to.

 

Another small radio that I have is from ‘safety cross’ it automatically scans for the next available station and locks onto it. It has an on off & volume control and it does NOT have an earphone plug which means that it will use more power and others will hear it. There is a plug in to charge your cell phone with the hand crank as you charge the radio itself. It does make noise with a siren which will attract attention. It also has a compass on the crank handle. Something that I really like about this unit is that it has a flashlight feature. The settings are LOW – 1 led, HIGH – 4 led and high blinking to signal for help.

 

The radio that I normally like the best is an energizer weather ready. This radio has a hand crank to power it. It has both AM & FM with a real tuner and a volume control. There is a plug for ear buds or headphones to conserve power and be quieter. It has a siren to attract attention. Lastly in has a flashlight with 2 basic settings, a single red led and 4 bright led bulbs. It is also the smallest of the 3.

 

In addition to being able to hear the news reports entertainment a battery operated radio is hard to beat. If you have a tin can to work with you will be able to tell direction with it. ;]  How is that? You may well ask. The tin can blocks the signal from behind and the sides and collect more signal from directly in front of it. How to do that? First tune in the radio to a good strong station and then put the radio inside. Now slowly turn around in a circle with the open end of the can level and pointing away from you. Most of the time, you will not hear anything. As you turn around at some point you will start to hear the station. When you have found the strongest signal, you can follow that signal until you find other people. Aircraft would consider this to be a ‘homing’ signal.

http://www.preparesurvivethrive.us/cb-radio/