My Trip To Walmart

Walmart Chinamart really needs to have their own EBT/SNAP Welfare using check out lanes. I got stuck behind 3 welfare queens today. I'm not happy.

Enjoy the new logo and Keep Right On Prepping - K

It Will Only Get Worse

I was at the electric coop, for the third time, trying to get them to correct the address so that the bill actually gets to me. I'm not paying a late fee. The computer system was down, so I told the clerk that I'd have a seat and wait a few minutes and see if it comes back up.

I wait about 10 minutes, and he calls me over to tell me that it is back up. While I'm sorting out the problem, and getting both bills sent to the same address. A young black woman saddles right up to me at the desk, reeking of marijuana. Not the swag, but the kind bud. The clerk looks at her and tells her that she can wait at the back of the line that is clearly marked.

I get the information corrected, and as I'm leaving I hear the "lady" (term used loosely) asking about utility bill assistance. Are you kidding me? Drug test any person receiving federal assistance.

I go to get my oil changed in the car, and the Jiffy Lube guy asks me if I want to top off the coolant, and that the driver's side windshield wiper needs replacing. I look at him, "I changed the blades last week, and I'll top it off myself."

The freeloaders and scam artists will become bolder. The slow slide will increased the pressure to separate the producers from their money: this includes the government.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

He Is Risen

Matthew 28:6

LINK    http://lagniappeslair.blogspot.com/2014/04/he-is-risen.html (it's worth your time).

Keep Right On Preparing - K

School & A Secret

The boys have been champs and have kept the little brother or little sister a secret. I've got to hand it to Wolfman, he just might be the only one to have correctly guessed the correct outcome.

I haven't written about school in a while, and it has been a little easier this semester since I'm not taking an additional course. That being said, I have been extremely busy with life. The new house, and rent house have been a constant source of projects.

I finally finished all of my comp requirements for graduation today. I got my trauma cervical spine and trauma upper extremity today. I still have to do a final comp on a spine, and I'll be happy to leave clinicals with a B. I'll explain a little but more. I don't get to pick put what my final comps are, that is the job of the adviser. Happy,happy,joy,joy, and I got a knee. The front to back x-ray is easy, but the lateral x-ray is akin to cleaning for an OCD schizophrenic. The slightest rotation and it doesn't pass.

FAIL!

I did two x-rays and both failed, and I was put into remedial classes. That means that I have to do two good x-rays, then I can proceed to try again. Well, it took me about 6 weight bearing knees to get the two good laterals. Finally, I was ready, and I get an overweight lady with absolutely no bony landmarks in the knee area. So, I progress to skills class that means I have to get 3 signatures from the rad techs, and then 3 signatures from the advisers (when they show up for final comps). If I blow the next two images, I can get washed out of the entire program.

So, I will happily graduate with a B in clinicals, and still graduate with high honors (GPA < 3.625).

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Pass!

Just An Observation

If you get a coupon for a free buffet from a national buffet chain, and you over hear the Pentecostal couple next to you praying that they don't get Cedif, you might want to think about eating there again. This actually happened today....

Are you stocked on anti-diarrhea medications?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Problem/Solution: Current Project: Pantry Part 1

One of the niceties that we were looking for in a new house was room to store our deep pantry. We like to buy in bulk at the cyclical low prices, ergo we need a lot of storage. The house that we bought didn't have a lot of food storage. This is our solution:

This is the laundry room as you enter from the garage with a small closet to the right.

 
This is a better picture of the closet and limited shelving.

This is a current picture with a good portion of our short term food stuff on a folding table for easy access.

I had a friend install a door on the back of the little closet that opens up into the garage storage area. My Dad did a similar conversion to a house that I grew up in.

The little anteroom will hold cookbooks, chemicals, and assorted items.

The view from the garage gives you an idea of the old access to the storage area. Eventually, I'll remove the door, maybe even a little pass through for groceries.

Indy, the local security, is making the rounds to check on my progress for the day.

This is another before today picture. We moved a lot of the food items into the room for Row and Red Ant's birthday party. It's been hard trying to carve out chunks of time for this project with school, family, and life.

The wall on the right is eleven and a half feet, and the widest part of the pantry is seven and a half feet. With the built in shelving and two additional wire racks, that should give us ample room to properly store our foods. The far wall will eventually house a wine chiller with custom wine racks built around it.

The shelves got a proper cleaning a few days ago.

Yes, the paint is still wet.

This morning I wanted to get the area around the built-ins painted so that the food could be moved from the laundry area. The paint was left over from the living room, so we haven't had to spend any more cash to get this project going. I've also got a little over five cases of tile leftover from the rental house. It might take another $30-$40 to finish this room.I also decided to paint the shelves a bright white. This will help contrast any little clues that mice have invaded the store room. A few traps, and glue traps will be placed in a couple of safe places.

I got all the area around the shelves painted, and some of the cut-ins done.

I'll move the table into the pantry, and use the folding table to sort through the canned goods. I'm hoping to finish this project by next Monday.

On another note, the boys have keep the secret about the baby's sex. Looks like everyone that voted less than a week is out of the running.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Old Time Businesses

Sweetheart and I have been having an off and on again discussion about old time stores. Especially those that require little technology, but were in heavy demand back in the day. The discussion came about when we were watching "Lonesome Dove" on Netflix. It seemed like every western town had a blacksmith, general mercantile store, saloon, barber shop, church, and hardware store.

I guess the only real essential three would be the general store, hardware store, and blacksmith. Places to buy things that the general population couldn't forge or make themselves. Most everyone was self-sufficient to some degree, and produced just what they needed, with a little extra to barter and trade for those items they couldn't produce themselves.

I guess the remaining three could be lumped into the socialization business. For those that played D&D, the Lawful alignment would be at church, the Chaos alignment at the saloon, and the neutral alignments at the barber shop just watching and gossiping about the other two. You can take the alignment test here, if you are so inclined. (FYI: my alignment was neutral.) A place to have your laundry washed is also a nice low tech store to own, but it would need to be more of a transportation hub to be profitable.

A lot of my thoughts towards good SHTF business models have evolved from my backpacking experiences. A good hot bath and a good meal are always on the top of my list when I return to civilization. The meal is usually a pizza that gets delivered. A good bottle of wine or an ice cold Coca-cola are always welcomed as well. I won't even get started on the concept of electricity after a week in the woods.

With the exception of family, my biggest treats when returning from the wilderness are being clean, well fed, and sleeping in a comfortable bed. Of course, I have to mention heat. It's usually the coldest part of the winter when we go camping.

I guess if I had to open the ultimate store, post-SHTF, it would be a traveler's rest stop where one could have their laundry down while you take a hot bath, get a good solid meal, a drink, and a good night's sleep. Of course, I'd get the scoop [intel] on what's going on in the surrounding area while providing a service. I'd also like to be able to resupply a traveler's food bag with local foods and gear. This would also help out the greater community with a source to trade their goods.

So, what would you do post-SHTF as an entrepreneur?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Secret Update

Well, we have officially passed the two day mark, and Red Ant and Row have been holding strong with keeping their secret. I thought Red Ant was about to let it slip last night when he was giving the baby a hug during prayer time. He kept saying "the baby", but never a pronoun to give away if it was a little brother or sister.

I'm beginning to think that if we can get past Saturday evening, when we visit Aunt NICU Nurse and the Grandparents, that Row and Red Ant have a solid chance of making it until the baby decides to arrive. I can visualize the boys jumping up and down when I walk into the waiting room to reveal the sex to everyone, and that they were the only ones that knew the whole time.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Make Your Guess

Today, Sweetheart and baby had their 20 week ultrasound. For those that know this magic number, it means that traditionally people find out the sex of the baby. Well, we've always been a bit contrarian in our views and decided not to find out the sex of our newest family member.

Here's the twist. Row, our 8 year old, had his heart set on wanting to know the sex of the baby. He even went as far as telling Mommy that Daddy could stay at home while he went with Mommy to the Doctor's office. Sweetheart really doesn't care on way or another, because she has her mind set that it is a boy just like the rest. We talked about it, and decided to let the ultrasound tech write the sex of the baby onto a piece of paper, then seal it in an envelope.

We sat Row and Red Ant [we couldn't leave him out] down at the dinner table, and told them that we had the sex of the baby in the envelope. They were allowed to go into their room, and open the envelope and Row could tell Red Ant, whether it was a little girl or a little boy since he can't read yet. They both had to agree to keep it a secret from everyone except themselves. They agreed, and went to their room.

Now, the make a guess comes into play for the readers. Do you think the boys will keep the secret from Sweetheart and myself, or spill the beans? I've opened a poll into the right hand corner, where you can vote.


Comments are also welcome and you can post your guess as well.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

PS - We've also warned them about Aunt NICU Nurse trying to trick them into telling her the answer! Sorry Rae Rae! I'll post if the beans are spilled.