What Preps are you doing this week? Part 9

[jansman]

Hoorah, my bookcase repair is finished - cut down, reinforced, cleaned, shuffled to the alcove, which it fits with about 2mm each side, woo. Also repaired the paint in the living room where an RSJ from the kitchen had to be installed. I'm collecting the books from around the house to go back into the bookcase, and this time I'm making the decision that in case of flood, I'm putting the prepping books (gardening, foraging, sourdough making etc) onto a higher shelf than previously.

That’s a good idea.

[itsybitsy]

So glad I married a practical man. He was an accountant but did an engineering degree and his heart is in pottering. Our fridge is 35 years old and still going strong because he has replaced the thermostat at least three times. It's a Husqvarna which is no longer a brand that you can buy but it takes Indesit parts. He found that out the same way as you did.

We bought a Mercury cooker just before Mercury were taken over by AGA - eliminating the competition. AGA never even made a pretence of maintaining production of the conventional cookers, they wanted Mercury's heatstore technology. So when the oven element packed up we couldn't find a repair man who would look at it. Thanks to some internet research he found an element that would fit and we were in business again.

Ditto replacing the brushes in the washing machine motor. Now, he may be practical but he doesn't always have an abundance of common sense. That job produces a really filthy black carbon dust which marks everything it touches. Let's just say he needed supervision so as not to trek it over the carpet.

Mercury cookers! I'd forgotten about them until you mentioned that - I used to be their PR many years ago. Amazing cookers (which they should have been for the price! ).

[Frnc]

Just got two big books on fungi delivered today. Fungi of Temperate Europe: Volumes 1&2, 1,700 pages.
Was thinking about what someone said about printing bank statements, but my printer won't work. It's a dilemma whether to buy a new one. The ink is so expensive. I did write down my account details in a notebook.

[Arzosah]

Okay, I'm going to post it. Please don't experiment with foraging fungi with knowledge that you've got from a book. Please.

[GillyBee]

If your printer won't work but you want a copy of your bank statements which is not in the control of the bank website you could always "print" to pdf and save the file somewhere safe like an encrypted USB stick or cloud storage as well as your laptop/tablet.

Clearly it won't be much use if there is no power or Internet to be had but for everyday it would make another layer of protection for your data.

[jansman]

Okay, I'm going to post it. Please don't experiment with foraging fungi with knowledge that you've got from a book. Please.

ABSOLUTELY! My dad taught me about fungi. He knew the half dozen or so that grow locally ( and they still do) . Importantly,he showed me the ones NOT to pick.

I have books about mushrooms,and as good as the pictures are,they ain’t like the real thing!

Caveat Emptor.

[ForgeCorvus]

Just got two big books on fungi delivered today. Fungi of Temperate Europe: Volumes 1&2, 1,700 pages.
Was thinking about what someone said about printing bank statements, but my printer won't work. It's a dilemma whether to buy a new one. The ink is so expensive. I did write down my account details in a notebook.

Regarding printers and ink:
Because I don't print very often I find the cartridges gum up and I end up having to replace them far too often, I've recently been running test print weekly and worked well until I forgot

The printer at work uses bulk bottles and is much cheaper to run then even cheap compatible cartridges..... My next printer will be one of those.

Re: Fungi
Apart from puffball, Chicken of the Woods and a couple of others, I wouldn't eat any 'mushroom' that hadn't be checked by a real expert...... I was told that over in France (or at least in some areas) you can take your foraged fungi to a Pharmacy for checking.

[Frnc]

Okay, I'm going to post it. Please don't experiment with foraging fungi with knowledge that you've got from a book. Please.

It's more for learning, and a survival situation. 1,700 pages, retail price £120 (got it for £70), it's a proper reference source. All the experts say to use two or three sources though. I do have one or two others, but they are more like little field guides. Some mushrooms are hard to mistake for anything dangerous. There are also apps you can get, Facebook groups, videos on youtube, and courses you can go on.

[Frnc]

Regarding printers and ink:
Because I don't print very often I find the cartridges gum up and I end up having to replace them far too often, I've recently been running test print weekly and worked well until I forgot

The printer at work uses bulk bottles and is much cheaper to run then even cheap compatible cartridges..... My next printer will be one of those.

Re: Fungi
Apart from puffball, Chicken of the Woods and a couple of others, I wouldn't eat any 'mushroom' that hadn't be checked by a real expert...... I was told that over in France (or at least in some areas) you can take your foraged fungi to a Pharmacy for checking.

Caved in and bought a cheap new printer last night, picked it up this morning. Got it to work eventually!
Yeah, puffballs are pretty safe but you need to eat them when they are "pure white with a spongy flesh and nothing else" inside. You need to slice them open to check they are not actually sacks with poisonous mushrooms inside. Some Earthballs can be white inside, but are "much firmer to the touch and without the spongy effect inside. The skin will still be tough and warty."
I've heard Chicken of the Woods is pretty safe. WildFoodUK, a very good company from what I can tell, say "When young it could be confused with the Dryads Saddle or Blackening Polypore, pictured, but both are edible."
Early days for me anyway, I won't be eating anything in a hurry!

[Frnc]

Update on the idea about printing bank statements etc. As I say, I got a new printer this morning.
Was gutted to find you have to have a colour cartridge installed even if you only want to print in black and white! Nearly considered sending it back but couldn't be bothered. I just hope they don't dry up.
Also started writing bank account numbers, passwords etc in a notebook as well.
Printer is in a new place which liberates a reasonable chunk of shelf space I can use for long term food storage.
I'm trying to keep on top of expiry dates using a basic spreadsheet app that comes with a mac or iphone. I used these for calculating bugout weights as well, plus lists of gear.
Using the Notes app a lot to compile info on wild edibles and what to avoid. Some websites you can pretty much copy the whole page in one go.