Disaster Recovery Domes

What’s one of the first things people need right after a hurricane? According to Peter Fedele, the answer is cash. That’s why he is building a Monolithic Dome outside of Houston to store ATMs, mobile banks, satellite communication equipment, and back up generators for financial institutions.
“Right after a disaster, communications are down, credit cards can’t be used, checks can’t be cashed, and people need to get their hands on cash to buy groceries and supplies and start getting their lives back to normal,” Fedele, vice president of ABC Domes, said “Banks need to get cash and get their institutions up and running so they can get their communities back up and running.”

Two more Monolithic Domes are planned on the 10-acre site to serve law enforcement agencies, local governments and others. The project is modeled after a concept that the company pioneered in Florida. “ABC Domes specializes in disaster recovery, and the domes are hurricane proof, tornado proof, fire proof and can stand a number of winds without being knocked down,” They’re designed to move in and stay there during a disaster and function like your office.”

Prepare Your Pets For An Emergency

ANIMALS ARE PART OF THE FAMILY
Prepare for your animals in an emergency. They're part of the family and they depend on us. My little dogs keep me warm at night and keep me company when I’m lonely. The last thing I’d want in an emergency is to have to worry about their safety.
I wouldn’t sleep if my animals weren’t safe.
We have 3 dogs and 4 horses, 8 goats, 14 chickens and several cages of rabbits. We really think of the goats, chickens and rabbits as part of our food storage. The chickens give eggs right now, but one day they’ll give meat. Horses may turn out to be our transportation, but my dogs, they’re my emotional security blankets
Everyone says "be prepared" but few offer advice to prepare the animals. If my dogs aren't fed... someone in the family’s going hungry, and it would probably be me.
I’ve found lots of ideas over the years working with preparedness and among them I hope you’ll find a few to make life easier on your pets if you had to evacuate your home temporarily or hunker down for a spell.

HERE ARE A FEW...
Dog need Tags...
With names and emergency numbers
Chip them
Get them a go bag
Let them loose if they're big
Think of others.. don't take them where they don't belong
Don't turn them loose in the wild
Get their shots..
Keep their shot record in your go-bag
Bring a dish for water
If you have 3 days food.. they need 3 days food
Dogs can have an aspirin
Put a neck scarf on them
let them carry something
Always have a leash
Doggie booties.. for the snow
Some animals are FOOD.. Prepare for that
Get some rabbits
Some animals are transportation..
They all need water

Laundry Soap..Making Soap and Saving Money

Homemade Laundry Soap
1 bar Fels Naptha or Ivory Soap
1½ cup washing soda
1½ cup borax powder
1½ cup of Purex Powdered Bleach

Grate the soap, Like cheese, it's soft. Mix the ingredients and WaLa… you have powdered soap.

CAUTION.. 2 TBL is sufficient for a large load of wash and 1 TBL for a small load because this has NO fillers.. ENJOY

The Soap: Fels Naptha. It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle. Another option is Ivory Soap. If you use Ivory use more.

Washing Soda: NOT to be confused with baking soda. It’s a white powder and helps remove dirt and odors.

Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. It is a white powder. It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Tea

Purex Powdered Bleach: was my idea.. I like the whites white. (be sure it's color safe)

How To Sprout Lentils... The Simple Way

I've been sprouting my heart out these days.. practicing to bring you some good information, but thought you'd like this short well done video on sprouting... disclaimer.. this isn't me... but I do love her accent.



let me know what you think.. and if I should do more of these.

Oxygen Absorbers.. All You Wanted To Know

Oxygen Absorbers remove oxygen from sealed containers.  Taking the air out stops oxidation.. and extends shelf life. Eliminating oxygen prevents insects.. that could be in the food when it’s sealed.  The following is what you need to know about Oxygen Absorbers.

• Absorbers are non-toxic and food safe. (ingredients: iron and salt).  

• Two 500cc absorbers are enough for a 5-6 gallon bucket. 

• The less dense the food item.. the more absorbers you need. 

• Altitude affects the air density. If you live on a mountain.. you can use fewer, if you live at sea level don’t skimp.  

• Once you open the bag the absorbers are active, use them as quickly as possible.

• A 500cc pkt. will absorb 500 cc of oxygen from your container. 

• They are single-use, and cannot be reused.

• Oxygen absorbers come airtight sealed bags. When you open the bag they begin absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere. They contain enough active ingredients to be open for 30-45 minutes before sealing in your containers. So it's important to have your containers filled and ready for lids before you open the package. 

• If you’re not using all the absorbers and want to save the rest for later, re-seal them in an airtight bag using a vacuum sealing machine. 

• You can put the absorbers anywhere in the bucket. I put mine on top so I don't lose track of which containers I put them in. 

• When using oxygen absorbers in plastic buckets, use standard hammer-on lids. Gamma Lids are airtight, but not designed to counteract the pressure created when the oxygen in the container is removed. 

• After the standard lid is removed to use the contents, a Gamma Lid can be used to re-seal the bucket against moisture, rodents and insects. A hammer-on lid (with gasket) will provide an oxygen barrier for a couple of years' storage. 

• For longer term storage, you can use Mylar liner bags inside your bucket. When heat-sealed they will block oxygen permeation for years.

•Absorbers in their original sealed bag have a shelf life of 1 year.

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

Fels Naptha.  An old-fashioned type of soap, found in the laundry aisle.  Another option is Ivory Soap. If you use Ivory use more.

Washing Soda: NOT to be confused with baking soda.  It’s a white powder and helps remove dirt and odors.  

Borax: It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. Look for 20 Mule Team.

Purex: Dry Bleach .. not everyone adds the bleach .. I like it

THE RECIPE

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or Ivory Soap

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder 

½ cup of Purex Powdered Bleach

DIRECTIONS:

Grate soap as you would cheese. Mix the ingredients and you have powdered soap.  

ENJOY  This is a low sudsing, but Suds don’t clean.  The ingredients clean.

SAVINGS??? 

The cost of this recipe is about $1. for about 64 loads of laundry.  About 1.5¢ / load.

PS..  Put 2 of each ingredient in long term storage. Long shelf life on soap. 

CAUTION: NO fillers … 2 TBL is sufficient for a large load of wash. 

Sprouting Live Food

Buy a large mouth mason jar. An inexpensive sprouter can be made by removing the ring from the jar and replacing the disc with plastic mesh, stainless steel screen or cheese cloth.

         Wash the seeds and soak overnight in tepid untreated water, at least two parts water to one part seed. 

The smaller the seed, the shorter the soak period.  Alfalfa seed does well with 3 hours, but will not be harmed by 15 hours, soaking.  The large seed (chickpea, mung, etc.) may be soaked for up to 20 hours.

         Drain the water, wash the seed, drain again. Place the container in a dark warm spot at to hasten growth.

         Twice a day rinse with tepid water. Seed that float should be removed.  They can cause the sprouts to spoil prematurely.

WANTED LIVE FOOD ...

 A vegetable that will grow in any climate, rival meat in nutritional value, mature in 3 -5 days, may be planted any day of the year, requires neither soil nor sunshine, rivals tomatoes in Vitamin C, has no waste, and can be eaten raw!”

Considering the uncertainty of our times, it is good to know that you can provide healthy food for your family.  No survival food is better than sprouts.  Sprouts increase many times in weight and can be stored a long time at low cost.  

How to Make Your Own Baking Powder

Baking soda and cream of tartar makes a good baking powder.

Baking powder = 1 part Baking Soda & 2 parts Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar is made from ground grape seed, soaked in water.  The fine white sediment is  cream of tartar, similar to the sediment from corn flour.

Cream of tartar and Baking Soda can be stored indefinitely, but Baking powder deteriorates.  Because you can store the two components (Cream of Tartar & Baking Soda) indefinitely, you can make your own whenever you want. 

The Benefits of a Plain Little 'ole Bottle of 3% Peroxide

Peroxide is (under $1.00 at any drug store) and does so much

1. To eliminate canker sores hold a capful in your mouth 10 minutes a day. It will  make your teeth whiter too. Use it instead of mouthwash.

2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs.

3. Wipe or spray it on counters and table tops to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. 

4. Pour peroxide on your cutting board to kill salmonella and other bacteria.

5. Spray a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on foot fungus until it’s gone.

6. Soak infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My doctor has seen gangrene healed that would not heal with traditional medicine.

7. A 50/50 mixture in a spray bottle will disinfect your bathrooms without harming your septic systems like bleach or disinfectants.

8. Tilt your head back and spray 50/50 mixture into nostrils for a cold or plugged sinus. It will bubble up and help kill bacteria. Hold a few minutes, and then blow your nose into a tissue.

9. If you have a toothache a capful of 3% peroxide held in your mouth for ten minutes will greatly lessen the pain.

10.  You’ll have natural highlights in your hair with a 50/50 solution spritzed on wet hair and combed through. Peroxide lightens gradually and is not a drastic change.

11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help eliminate boils, fungus, or other skin infections.

12. Use a cup of peroxide, instead of bleach, to whiten whites.  For stains pour Perioxide on directly, after a minute, rub and rinse in cold water. Repeat if necessary.

13. Use peroxide to clean mirrors without smearing.

Are You Prepared For Famine?

Rain producing parts of China have seen the least rain they've had in a century and the drought last winter was followed this week (June 2011) by massive flooding (200-year flooding in some places)? China wasn't able to get much of their spring rice planted along the Yangtze river in and the summer crop is "iffy"? and the word is that 40% of US rice won't be planted this year because of flooding.

England is currently in a record breaking drought and Russia was in a drought last summer? European countries are the driest in 50 years?

Almost half of the US wheat crop is rated as poor or worse? Texas (the 2nd largest producer of wheat) will not see 2/3rds of it's crop this year. 

Because of drought or flooding farmers are behind all over the US and Canada. Many have not been able to get their crops in. 

Will there will be famine this year? Yes, certainly for those in 3rd world countries there will be starvation.  In the West we can expect higher prices, perhaps significantly higher. 

Time is running out.. be prepared.

Chicken Diapers

Yes, Bird Diapers.

I was in a class this morning and someone mentioned having a Pet Chicken… I laughed.  Then I asked what you do with a pet chicken?  She said it comes in the house, keeps her company.. and they go for walks.  NO WAY!!

I googled 'Chicken Diapers' and sure enough.. here's just part of the story:  The design allows the bird to preen and access its oil gland and will not interfere with its everyday activities.  The diaper is adjustable, and suitable for growing and adult birds.

Now I've heard everything.. I'm checking horse diapers.. then I won't have to muck stalls, and goat diapers and rabbit diapers.. think of how much cleaner my barn will be.  

What I want to know is… who changes the diapers?  

A deluxe Bug Out Bag .. or How to Be REALLY Prepared

A 72 hour kit is widely considered the fi rst step in becoming prepared. Sitting close to the front door, to be grabbed in a moment’s notice.

A deluxe “96” hour kit should contain all the essential things your family would need to take you through 4

days of being on your own. There’s a reason behind the length of time.  It generally takes the disaster relief 

agencies 3-4 days to move in and set up before offering assistance. 

Generally speaking, for this long. Depending on the situation is, it could be longer.

Whether you start with our kit or put one together yourself from scratch, it’s important for your family’s welfare

to have one. In any type of disaster things will be bad. Not having the necessities to sustain your life and the

lives of your family members could turn an otherwise manageable problem into a personal catastrophe. 

Prepare now for life’s surprises.

What’s a Big Out Bag

  

This is not MY 72 hour kit.. I will post mine in the next few days and you will see that if I have to leave my house… I will be comfortable… and so will my small dogs and any small children near-by.   All of this packs in a large back-pack with water close at hand. 

Each family member has his own pack with personal items suited to their needs and comfort. I have Reader’s Digests, my husband has knives.. Men and their toys. 

Important NOTES:

Identification hangs on the outside. 

Packs ae by the back door. 

I change the clothes in spring and in fall… who wants long-johns in Summer?  

There is a check list on top.. so I can quickly remember what I actually have

an extra gallon of water is near-by

Keep an eye on this site.. I’ll also talk about how to pack and store your packs and alternate containers for the Bug Out pack ..  I always welcome your input.