House - Boy's Play Room

The boys had two choices: Bunk together and have a play room or individual rooms. They decided that wanted a play room. Today's project was getting their play room ready. All the toys have been culled and sorted. Either trash, garage sale, or pressed into service.

Phase one was getting all the furniture and items into the play room. Quite a task.

The bookcase will house the Wii and the TV will get onto to the wall sometime this weekend (school and time permitting). The boys lucked out because the old projection TV was going into their play room, but the narrower doors wouldn't allow it. So, the projection TV is once again being used for the living room. We have been talking about getting a new flat panel TV for the living room, but we can't justify spending money to replace the 65" while it is still performing like a champ. Maybe next tax refund...

The closet is lined with 2 plastic bins and the orange container for misc. toys. Sweetheart wants to put a wire rack in the closet, so that the room doesn't seem so small.

The bookcase in the corner will get more books once we find the rest of them.

 

The couch was a donation from brother-in-law. It has seen much love over the years, but fine for the boys to jump on doing gaming sessions.

The milk crates in the corner contain homemade wooden blocks and homemade cars that their Granddad made for them. The blocks have been used for Thomas the Tank engine all the way to Angry Bird Jenga. Who knows what other purposes the boy's imagination can use them for.

The internet finally got hooked up today...after Sweetheart missed a day of work. They were supposed to leave the old house internet connected until the new house was connected. Figures. Sweetheart will have to work on Saturday now.

Anyways, I have to spend some time on school since I have 3 tests next week that I haven't even started. I'll be posting the progress, and renovations as time permits.

Keep Right On Prepping- K and family

The Big Move

This weekend we have been moving truck load after truck load to the new house. We have 3 men and a truck hired for today @ $136/hour so of course I have been doing as much as possible before they get here. They can move the couch, boxes of books that are downstairs and other heavy items.

I have thrown caution to the wind and done some wild packing. It will take days/weeks at the new house to find certain items. I haven't really had the planning time to properly label and box each room. I'll save some money, but pay in my own time at a later date.

All of the rooms have been packed and are pretty bare. This is Red Ant's room as an example. It'll be exciting to be spending our first night at our new home. I'll post as school and time allows!!!

Keep Right On Prepping - K and family

Our New House

As most of you can guess by my lack of postings, we are very busy. The weather has been absolutely the worst for moving. School has been going good, but it has turned into a juggling match between school, moving, chores, and family. Our old house is dirty and unorganized, I have a brown paper bag to place over my head when I get out of the car to go inside.

Here are the pictures:

Upgrading from a carport to a garage

Looking in from front door

The other side

A fireplace so that Santa can make a proper entrance

The breakfast area with photo taken from kitchen

The back of the house

Our first walk-in closet (aka the gun room)

Keep Right On Prepping - K

I've got a paintbrush calling my name...

New Image for Harry Flashman

This was the other picture that I talked about in the comments section. Alan, a friend of mine, had this as a T-shirt...

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Billboard Truth

“Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it.”  - Edmund Burke


Keep Right On Prepping - K

Deep Pantry Savings

Today at Kroger, I ran across yet another example for keeping a deep pantry: Sale items. One of my first post dealt with keeping a log book of prices and this is the lowest price on Kleenex of the year. We've bought 16 so far this week, and plan on another trip. The tissue usually hits a yearly low at flu season.

A 57% savings and it won't spoil!!!

 Keep Right On Prepping - K

Reasons to Prep

The first time I saw this I was rolling on the floor. This is one of the reasons that I prepare for my family...so I don't have to deal with this at the stores! Enjoy.

Keep Right On Prepping - K

Theory Based Scenario #3 - Flu Pandemic

Caution: While the likelihood of this event is statistically improbable, it might create a pause in thought.

As preppers, we try to image all kinds of things that can go wrong, and how to plan for them. Most people would consider this a negative mental exercise, but it doesn't affect my mental outlook or attitude, so I continue to make relationships and links between seemingly uncommon things or situations. Some of these scenarios can produce humorous outcomes, or provoke serious thought. While it is a never ending list, at least it's a way to pass the time while trying to keep the mind occupied.

Nature has a way of asserting power over her domain. Most population curves are exponential until it hits a correction. Starvation, disease, and/or predation are the three big players in the population decline of a species. While all three of these are viable candidates for the human correction, I'll primarily focus on the disease part of the equation.

The above graph gives a good example of the bubonic plague doing such a correction. Well, we have medicine, antibiotics, and advanced medical procedures. True, but remember that more and more strains of bacteria are becoming immune or resistant to antibiotics, and viruses are usually only treatable for their symptoms.  Antivirals? This type of viral vaccine is very specific a particular type of virus such as Hep C.

The yearly flu vaccine is a mathematical calculation of the most likely types of flu that will be widespread, thus an antiviral vaccine. The 2007-2008 flu vaccine was a flu cocktail miscalculation and only 44% effective. The yearly flu vaccine, typically a trivalent influenza vaccine, is generally a good preventative measure to get, but still struggles to get 40% of the US population vaccinated. Vaccine manufacturers now estimate 138-145 million doses of influenza vaccine will be produced for the U.S. market this season

A new mutation like the swine flu [H1N1], which is included in this year's flu shot by the way, caused the WHO to issue a worldwide pandemic alert in 2009. A mutation of flu virus that jumps species can quickly causes a lot of problems. The Spanish flu of 1918 killed between 20 to 40 million people. More people died from the Spanish flu in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death from 1347 to 1351.

There is already a National Strategy for Pandemic Flu which is a 233 page PDF.  Education and public service announcements will be the front line of defense against the spread of the flu. It warns of possible threats to critical infrastructure such as the movement of goods and containment or travel restrictions. 

How do you prepare? If in a pandemic event, you'll be seeing this poster. It recommends a two week supply of food and water for your family. I have learned during clinical experiences, that even a bus crash can easily overwhelm a hospital due to staffing policies. A major event would leave all of the area hospitals over-crowded and under-staffed.

Here is my sick list for my family, and we are still working on this list as well: Updated from comments, special thanks to 3 boxes of BS.

1. A sick room.
2. Kleenex (1 box per person/per day)  Aloe Vera or lotioned.
3. Humidifier per room (lessens mucus viscosity)
4. Masks and latex gloves
5. Cough medicine (adult and children)
6. Fever reducers (adult and children)
7. Ability to wash hands
8. Bottled water (hydration makes mucus less viscous) 
9. Easy to prepare foods in case caregiver is sick (soups, broths, hot jello, clear liquids, easily another post)
10. thermometer (covers if available to prevent transmission vectoring)
11. contact numbers - family, doctor, neighbors
12. Tamiflu
13. Decongestants  ( Mucinex - DM) or other favorites
14. Electrolyte solutions  - Gatorade/Pedialight
15. trashcan for vomiting (with trash bags)
16. disposable dishes and utensils for easy cleanup and limiting spread of virus
17. Blood pressure cuff / stethoscope (listen to lungs)
18. Rubbing Alcohol for sterilization
19. Anti-diarrhea medications; Kaopectate, Pepto, to start; Lomidium for severe case
20. Extra sheets and blankets for changing of linens (I prefer white for bleaching/sterilization)
21. Bleach for laundry
22. Lysol wipes for use in public

What other supplies might come in handy? The comment line is open and encouraged.

Keep Right On Prepping - K