INVENTORY AND SUCH AS THAT

Today was a prep buying day. The Handmaiden picked this load and I was very happy with her choices. She went to Chinamart for the stuff. She bought these little cans of green chilies for 67 cents apiece. Already diced up and ready to go in your food. Those kind of things will keep your food interesting and enjoyable instead of dull and boring. She got some cans of chicken also. We already had some and now we have more. Due to the influence of Charles Bell we now have three 3&1/2 pound bags of just-add-water pancake mix. Next buy is some table syrup. But in cold weather those pancakes will fill an adult or a child up pretty fast. We got 3 pretty good sized bottles of Louisiana Hot Sauce to sorta keep the spice level of the food up to a noticeable level. Those little cans of diced Green Chilies will do wonders for common ordinary rice and beans. We got cans of Collard Greens, Turnip Greens, Black Beans, Chick Peas, and Mustard Greens. Gotta keep those vegetables coming! She also bought multiple bags of Split Peas, Lentils, and Black Beans. We also got three more cans of Chocolate made with only hot water. Good for keeping kids happy and me too! I have a Chocolate jones about as big as a truck. But this stuff we have now will go primarily to please the kids. I will be forced to stifle my chocolate gluttony for the benefit of the brats. Couldn't find a better cause! The prize of the whole excursion was a very large metal can of Decaf Coffee. My favorite.

I want to add that I switched my Saw Palmetto from the soft gels to the Whole Herbs capsules and it made a big difference. Much better.

I weary of bloggers who post things OTHER people have said and call it Obama. Not that Obama isn't in a position to do some nasty things, because he damn sure is, but he has not done them and until he does I will hold my verbal fire. We have all kinds of time to nail Obama if he screws up. But he hasn't so let's not. You have to give someone a little time to get settled, to get used to the press and so forth. I liked the remark Obama gave to the author of Primary Colors the other day. Michelle had asked if the man was going to write a book about them and Obama cut in and said no, "We were too boring!" I liked that remark. It showed an understanding of the media and the world's interest. Of maybe a bit of prepper interest, the Governor of New York is appointing a female representative from up-state New York to replace Hillary Clinton. This lady is backed by the NRA, doesn't like the bail-out bill, and ain't too keen on gay marriage. And she is a Democrat. Will wonders never cease. I can't help but feel that Obama was consulted on this appointment. The only negative was that Charles Schumer recommended her to the Governor. Anytime you see Schumer mentioned you can smell AIPAC in the air. It's obscene. So, we watch and wait.

The old style Pepto Bismal is making a comeback. It contains Bismuth and has the power to kick ass on cold sores and such. Apparently the virus that causes these little irritations does not like Bismuth. Bill Sardi, the health guru, says that Bismuth will also fight serious cases of food poisoning. At the very first symptom of the food poisoning you immediately start taking Pepto Bismal and you take it every hour, like clockwork. And that good ol' Bismuth will work on those nasty flu poisoning meanies and make the bastards go away. Funny how something as common as Pepto Bismal would be so effective against these nasty critters. For the colds sores you dab it on the sore with a Q-tip or a reasonable facsimile thereof. And you dab it on often.

Natog, over at TEOTWAWKIAIFF says he is going to start planting his garden. Good Lord! How can you plant garden in frozen dirt in January? I must be missing something here. Maybe he is talking about stating some plants inside in anticipation of this coming Spring. I can understand that. As an aside, we did an inventory of our stash and some of the beans we never froze have bugs in them. They go out into the frozen weather for a few days. All the stuff we froze is coming along quite well but we forgot to freeze this stuff. Well, I preached it and didn't do it and now we have more work to do. Fitting. I ain't throwing it out though. Bugs are high in protein and we will eat the bastards and gain from the experience. But the inventory did us some good. Every time we do inventory we get a clearer picture of our preps. :Little things that can make a big difference show up on the paper and we can see them in black and white. It gets better every time we do it. We get a little more comfortable with our situation. We get a little more sure of ourselves in a time of turmoil. It is so gratifying to read the news and watch the Chicken Littles run around squawking about the sky falling and we know it ain't gonna fall on us. Because we have preps! And our inventory is just our food stash. We have other stuff stuck all over the house. Seed and books and medical supplies and just lots of little things, like a firesteel and a magnesium bar and things like that.

So stay with it and do the best you can. We all get tired of treading water, waiting for the ship of state to blow a hole in the hull that cannot be patched. But it is not working that way right now so we deal with it in the manner we are presented with it. Keep prepping and say alive.

Michael

mboone@rtccom.net