What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

How are you preparing
jansman
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Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by jansman »

Well, the polytunnel just needs the new cover over it. Got to wait for a still, sunny day. Plenty of time yet. Along with that I shall continue to ‘age-proof’ my rather large garden, amongst that being my new aviary, which is almost complete. My ‘Saturday’ is actually Tuesday. There will be no time to pitch in to my projects though, as I am taking my lovely wife for ongoing post-cancer treatment.

That in itself, I have regarded as a useful prep. Reason being, that continuing good health is vital in the long term. My wife’s illness has prompted me to get tested for prostate cancer,as it is in our family. At this time, I am fine.

Tomorrow afternoon, I shall be bottling 40 pints of bitter, and racking 5 gallons of red wine. There is a red cabbage in the pantry ( bought on a whim!) that needs salting and pickling. So much to do... I need to get retired.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
Prep007
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Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2020 5:21 pm

Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by Prep007 »

Preps being tested this week with my mother being in hospital seriously ill and I've drawn upon some of my stock of antibac wipes, gels, cereal bars, bottled water and those individually wrapped towellettes she can use to freshen up and then dispose of.

I've heard the recent horror stories about hospitals and can verify from her experience the past 36 hours in hospital that my worst fears were true. She was left on a bed in a corridor for 13hours as there was no bed space in any ward, the staff are madly overworked and stressed (but doing their absolute best) and equipment is woeful, 2 thermometers for a whole ward!

My food stocks at home are helpful, not having to do a supermarket shop at this time as I have so much in is a blessing.
Arzosah
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Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by Arzosah »

Sorry to hear of your mum's situation, Prep007, thats got to be really rough. Me and my nearest and dearest are each constructing hospital bags right now, I thought I was being a bit paranoid to include hand gel in mine, as there's gel all over the hospital - but of course, not right by each bed :(

I returned to work on the garden for the first time since Christmas yesterday - cutting down the cherry laurel, again. It will give more openness to the garden, get more sunlight in. Just a few more bramble roots to dig up, and I'm good to go.
Arzosah
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Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by Arzosah »

I was at a U3A talk this morning, from my local "distribution network operator" https://www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/ and in the break I went up to the guy giving the talk and told him I loved reading apocafic, and it was all full of solar bursts a la Carrington Event (I left out the high-burst nuclear weapons, I really didn't think that would be helpful :lol: ) and he said a couple of things:
- that the UK network is resilient because it's a network, not lots of long lines like the US or Australia in particular.
- it's also more resilient than them because a fair few of our cables are underground.
- the problems we have are more around the coast - salt interferes with the transformers quite badly.
- when I asked what stock of transformers they keep, in case they do get problems, he said they didn't, they rely on the manufacturers to keep stock in :roll:
- and who are they, I asked? The nearest one is in Portugal (our oldest ally! Yay for Portugal!) But the only other supplier country he mentioned was Korea. Long way away, with other commitments.

It was interesting.
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Deeps
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Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by Deeps »

Been prepping by using our preps recently. We're skint so apart from using pretty much all of my spare cash (one small reserve then its cards :evil: ) we've been trying to live on what we have. Mostly quite comfortably as we run with a pretty healthy reserve of scran. Just buying fresh fruit and veg for ourselves really. Its given me a few ideas on where I'm weaker though and things that will be redressed (and tweaked). Will up my milk and we've run our bread flour down without replacing it, the missus has 'got with the program' on the eggs front, she appreciates us having plenty in, and its proved useful.

I've had to sacrifice some vino though which is bordering on a war crime. :cry:
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diamond lil
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Location: Scotland.

Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by diamond lil »

Doing something similar here Deeps. The problem son arrived on the doorstep in a blizzard a week ago, frozen to the bone and on his bike - I found out afterwards he was wearing his JAMMIES under his leathers so god knows what happened there, I haven't asked :shock: So we're feeding him and he eats a lot. He was made redundant.
Having to go back to cheap meals that we had years ago, but enjoying the challenge. However if he doesn't get a job soon then things will go to custard fast, because he smokes a pkt of fags a day and I'm not paying for them.
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Deeps
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Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by Deeps »

diamond lil wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:32 pm Doing something similar here Deeps. The problem son arrived on the doorstep in a blizzard a week ago, frozen to the bone and on his bike - I found out afterwards he was wearing his JAMMIES under his leathers so god knows what happened there, I haven't asked :shock: So we're feeding him and he eats a lot. He was made redundant.
Having to go back to cheap meals that we had years ago, but enjoying the challenge. However if he doesn't get a job soon then things will go to custard fast, because he smokes a pkt of fags a day and I'm not paying for them.
Neither you should. Must be difficult for you though as at least you can keep an eye on him. Hope it all pans out for you all.

We're having more simple scran generally and I accept that we're playing at it as we have the safety net of CC's or getting an overdraft. I'm not really one for New Year resolutions but I've been crap lately and run up my CC so determined to reduce it this year. Its time for 'sometime' to be 'NOW' so sucking it up. Fortunately, Her Maj is of a similar mind, she's been a bit 'free and easy' with her finances too.
jansman
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Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by jansman »

Deeps wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2020 5:09 pm Been prepping by using our preps recently. We're skint so apart from using pretty much all of my spare cash (one small reserve then its cards :evil: ) we've been trying to live on what we have. Mostly quite comfortably as we run with a pretty healthy reserve of scran. Just buying fresh fruit and veg for ourselves really. Its given me a few ideas on where I'm weaker though and things that will be redressed (and tweaked). Will up my milk and we've run our bread flour down without replacing it, the missus has 'got with the program' on the eggs front, she appreciates us having plenty in, and its proved useful.

I've had to sacrifice some vino though which is bordering on a war crime. :cry:
It 's times like yours that make prepping make sense - if that makes sense?
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jansman
Posts: 13663
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:16 pm

Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by jansman »

And the same for you Diamond Lil ,hope it works out.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
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Deeps
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2014 8:36 pm

Re: What Preps are you doing this week? Part 7.

Post by Deeps »

jansman wrote: Sun Feb 16, 2020 6:47 pm
It 's times like yours that make prepping make sense - if that makes sense?
Yup, that makes sense. its why I see the practical prepping as different to the running off to the woods sort of prepping. I can still run off to the woods, I'm meeting mates for a prearranged 'running off to the woods' quite soon but its got nothing to do with this short term financial 'pile up'. We do have the option of kicking the can down the road but we're loath to do it. Time to suck it up and get it sorted.