Stay Safe

I was a prepper for a long time, but when I moved from my farm in Colorado to this tiny apartment in.KY, I had to downsize. Yes, I absolutely regret getting rid of things...like a whole box of R95 masks.

We are only about four months into this pandemic. People are dropping like flies. Health care systems are understaffed, under-supplied and overworked. These medical workers  have cracked hands from so much washing. Their faces bear near-permanent marks from constant mask wearing. They can't see their families. They can't get tested.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. Stay at home. Learn something, like cooking or a language. Exercise. Make masks. Teach your children. Anything. Just stay at home.
2. Write the idiot Florida governor telling him to close everything or face a class action suit from RESIDENTS who contract and die from the CoVid-19 from Spring Breakers...all because he is a politician and a dick.
3. Order seeds, pots, dirt, grow bulbs.  Plant a little garden indoors ... lettuce, radishes, carrots, herbs. If you have space outdoors, do tomatoes, potatoes, the three sisters (corn, winter sqash like butternut and pumpkin, as vining green beans), berries, cucumbers, etc. You could be eating fresh food in just a few weeks!!
4. Take the time and effort to make face masks for your local clinics and hospitals.  (See:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4FB--BOyTiU )
5. Nap. Rest. Eat healthy. You deserve it.
6. Catch up on conversations even if it is just via FaceTime or Skype.

You get the idea. 

What are YOU doing with your quarantine time?

By the way...my prepping book is stuck in Amazon-land. I will figure something out.

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...And....I am sick. I won't get tested. (Why bother to try?! I am not a sports figure nor do I work in the White House.)  Will ride this out at home.

Pandemic Book

Completed writing this book and uploaded it to Amazon yesterday. It has a LOT of information on not only the CoVid-19 pandemic but also Ebola, Entero, and other health scenarios.

Good for preppers and concerned people of all kinds.

Am now waiting for Amazon and KDP to approve it for release. As soon as it is, I will provide links.

Homemade Face Mask Cover

Finally made my first! Did a test run with some old fabric. Used safety pins to hold the disposable in place. Can be taken off and washed.

(Sorry about the wrinkles...no iron!)

Once I finished seeing it and tried it on, sprayed thoroughly with rubbing alcohol and hung by front door.

I need to make three more and do the same.  Then will be ready to grab as we leave home.

(My special needs son is freaking. He forgot to put a mask on when he took the trash out yesterday. Poor sweet thing.)

Bug-Out Skills

According to www.thereadystore.com ...

A bug out bag is a portable emergency kit that should last you 72-hours. They're also known as 72-hour kits, grab bags, or go bags. The idea behind the bag is to be prepared in need of an evacuation. 

This doesn't address what SKILLS you need. You can't just go, pitch your tent, and sit.

If you decide to bug out “into the wilds” or a remote location while you wait for the Coronavirus (CoVid-19) to complete its run, what skills should you have?

Starter list:

·         Plant identification and food foraging

·         Hunting and fishing/dressing

·         Defense

·         Ability to camouflage yourself and campsite

·         Fire-starting

·         Cooking

What other skills should you have?  And how long do you plan to be out... away from society?

Book on CoronaVirus-19 Pandemic Prep

I am almost ready to release my comprehensive book on preparing for serious health situations.

When I first became interested in prepping, I gave a lot of thought to possible scenarios. So many possibilities, and the whole 'zombie apocalypse ' was barely thought.  I had started writing a whole series way back when, but life got in the way.

Since the attack of CoVid-19 / Coronavirus in 2019, I pulled out my partially-written manuscripts and started massively researching and then writing.

Thing is ... there is new information every day...from where it has spread, to deaths from it, to masks being stolen from hospitals, to India no longer exporting medications or ingredients to make same. Today I heard China is trying to lay the blame for the outbreak on the USA!

My book on pandemics and other health situations is almost ready. The goal is to release this book on Amazon this coming week. I hope you will find helpful information in it.

Hand Sanitizing

I am allergic to a chemical found in most soaps, shampoos, lotions, all kinds of cleaners, medical tape, bandages, etc.  I cannot use any kind of hand sanitizer because they too have the chemical.

So...what do I use, especially with this CoronaVirus spreading across the globe?

One day I came across these little spray bottles. All I put in it is the 70% isopropyl alcohol.  I have 91% but grabbed this first as the CDC (or was it the W.H.O.?) who said it should be 70 or above to be effective.

I regularly spray this on my hands, and because it dries my skin, I use a special lotion after.

When I go out, I also wear pretty lady-like gloves (have 5-8 pairs of various colors) so I don't touch cart handles, etc, then at home, I wash or spray the gloves.

Yes, some people give me weird looks when they see me in my gloves...especially in the Summer, but I have been doing this for years, and really don't care!!

Disposable Face Masks

I had ordered these masks a while ago, and patiently waited for them. They were due next week, but when I opened the front door just now to see if it was snowing, I found this package waiting for me. Confused, I opened it.

At first I was super-pumped that my masks were here. Then I took a closer look. Look at the pic with the pink masks. Note where the manufacturer is located...Wuhan. In China.

Uh...what?

So my conundrum is this: do I open and use them just as they are OR do I take them out and spray every one of them with an antibacterial spray like Lysol?

Fabric that I might use to make mask covers for a friend. She really loves cats!

Fabric for me, because I ALWAYS wear purple for epilepsy awareness.

Fabric for my son to choose through for his mask covers.

I had already purchased the above fabric squares to make covers because I only ordered 50 masks. In between uses, I can take the covers off and wash/disinfect.

Am I going overboard on this?

Maybe.

But ask me if I care!

Source of Water

If things go kaput, requiring you to be quarantined in your home, do you have enough water? Water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, make your baby's bottle or instant lemonade for your child, and for your pets and garden...

With the constant buzz over the possible Coronavirus pandemic (still just an epidemic), there is a flurry of activity for people to gather supplies for a possible quarantine.

Have you given a thought to water? Sure, you can stock up bottles and jugs of water, just in case something happens to your current source, but what about beyond that?

There is a small creek behind my patio fence that could provide water for my kid and I (we would have to strain and boil first/otherwise purify it).

And with all of the rain we have been getting lately, I put out four buckets to catch what I could. When they get full, I will snap the lids on...can always use to water the garden later.

What are YOU doing for extra water?

SHTF and Prescription Medications

I belong to a few prepping groups on Facebook. A post recently caught my eye. Of course, it was about the Coronavirus.... so many are these days.

Pictures and video have been circulating across the internet of how China is quarantining many of its residents, and even in some cases, welding doors shut.

I live in the United States. I can't imagine a time when a policeman or National Guard person would come to my door, tape up a notice saying that we were quarantined, and then weld my door shut. It seems unfathomable, but did make me consider the state of health care preparing, OTCs, and  more specifically, prescription medications.

I have numerous health issues including liver disease and diabetes. I can do without prescription medications if necessary... as long as I alter how I eat and how I take care of myself.

My son has uncontrolled epilepsy; he is on four seizure medications and believe me when I say that it is impossible to stock up on these medications. There is only one that I sort of accidentally stockpiled three months of, but the other three... I can barely get them on a month-to-month basis. The pharmacy just does not stock them, and other methods (CBD oil, keto diet, etc) don't work on him 

So what would happen to my son when his seizure meds begin to run out? I wouldn't be able to double up on the one I have stockpiled because it would quickly cause liver and kidney damage as well as probably put him in a suicidal or homicidal rage. So my best guess is that the seizures would start back... perhaps slowly at first. But after a while, they will increase intensity until finally he has that one last fatal seizure.

I would have absolutely no way to stop it.

So powerless.

If there's a situation where I cannot get his seizure meds every 30 days... what would we do?

Have you taken a look at your own health lately? Do you know how many extra pills of your prescription medications you have? Can you get more? Are there alternatives say holistic measures?

Give it some thought.