Where Were You....

I was in my new home on my day off, when I plugged in the TV and turned it to the news to see the second plane hit the twin towers. Surreal...walked around most of the day in a kind of hazy awareness and wondering how people could do this? A lot of the world hates America...

I'm sure a terrorist organization would love to pop off a few EMPs over the continental US.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

On the way to school, I tried to explain the importance of 9-11. Both my boys can't understand why someone would fly a plane of full of people into a building. Not one, but three planes as weapons. I can't explain it, and happy that they can't phantom it.  - K

Exploration Preparations

During the Little Rock Razorback game, we took a trip down to Little Rock and visited the replicas of the Nina & Pinta that had docked downtown. The crew complement for each was 24 and 26, respectively. The crew slept on the deck, as the area below was for food and supplies. Today, the crew complement is 9 and 7, and the sleeping conditions are much much better. We were only allowed to tour the topside, but I would have loved to stomp around the ships and get a better feel of the lifestyle of the old-time sailors.

The Pinta is on the left, and the Nina on the right.

The ships were actually covered in pine tar, hence the painted black look of the ships. The first voyage lasted for 7 months, with the actual crossing of the Bahamas being 33 days. During the Q&A session, I asked about how they stored their water for the crew. It was stored below, and/or purified with wine. The alcohol from the wine killed any bacteria. This could make for another very good way to purify water...a very watery wine, which was typically used in the ancient Mesopotamia region for safe drinking water. One of my college professors stated that it was very common for a person to go from the cradle to the grave without having drank any water.

You can read the food storage that the ships brought along for their trip. Pioneer Preppy will be glad to see lentils on the list. I was a bit surprised to see rice, lentils, and almonds on the list. I would be very interested to see the manifest describing the amounts carried though. Maybe it will be a research project of mine....

So, what are your thoughts?

Keep Right On Prepping - K

USS Alabama

On our most recent trip to the beach, we stopped at the USS Alabama in Mobile, Alabama for a sack lunch. We usually bring sandwiches to eat somewhere along the route. They taste better and we can eat a little healthier.

The parking costs $2.00 and is well worth the price for a few picnic tables and a nice gulf breeze. The park area is loaded with a lot of military vehicles, but you can't climb on them. I would have really liked for the boys to be able to climb into and on some of them to get an idea of what our Grandfathers rode in WWII.

You can get the idea of size by the people on the bow and the ramp. 

Lots of equipment around.

An interesting bit of info, the ship also serves as a Hurricane Shelter.

The boys had a great time feeding the seagulls too.

Navajo Fry Bread Recipe

I was first introduced to Navajo Fry Bread during a mission trip to their reservation. We had stopped at a gas station to get some gas and an older Navajo woman was selling the fry bread with honey. Once we got to the reservation, I was told a brief history of the bread. The Navajo tribe was sent to a reservation an given only lard, flour, sugar, salt, and a few other minor ingredients. Many Indians died because they ate the flour without cooking it and many others refused to eat.



RECIPE:
3 cups flour
1 TB salt
1.5 cups water
shortening/lard for cast iron skillet

1. Heat about a cup of lard/shortening in a cast iron skillet on medium heat.
2. Mix the salt in with the flour then slowly add the water.
3. Have some extra flour available to coat hands and bring the dough to a Play-do like consistency. The dough should not be tacky when you're flattening it out.
4. Pinch off a ball of dough and work into a flat bread - a rolling pen came in handy.
5. Place the dough into the skillet. (TIP: Make sure to start with the end closest and lay it away from you to keep from splashing grease on yourself.) Especially when drinking Tequila.

6. Fry until golden brown and turn it over.
7. Remove from grease and let it cool on a paper towel.


This bread is the foundation for the Navajo Taco. Garnish with your favorite taco items, fold over, and enjoy. A Navajo taco is shown below.

I have tried a few different versions of this...Garlic powder is great in this recipe ( 1 tsp ).

The basic recipe with added butter and dipped in honey is great!

History Lesson 1850's

In history class, we talked about traveling salesmen. The most notable in the United States is Aaron Montgomery Ward. He would travel from town to town and hand out catalogs. People would then scan through the catalog and place an order through the mail. Thus,the first mail-order company was born. But Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuk would perfect this new niche market and make a huge impact on how people shop. The catalogs were quite thick ( for the time ) and people would grab their Sears and Roebuk catalog and head to the outhouse. While taking care of their business, they would read the catalog and see what they might like to order. When business was concluded, a page was ripped from the catalog ( presumably from something they didn't want ). This got me to thinking that a phone book catalog could easily be substituted for toilet paper in a pinch. I'll have to set aside my recyclable phone book next time and store it for hard times. Better than leaves!