“Meet My Friends, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson”

You’ve Got it All—Now How Do You Keep It?

After years of concerted efforts, budgeting, canning, lifting, organizing and educating, you feel reasonably confident that you finally have enough food, water, and other emergency supplies to last you one year. But here’s the real question. Now that you have it all, how are you going to ensure that you’ll get to use it when all heck actually does break lose?

I’ve posed this question to many and I’m dismayed to hear many of their responses.

Some say that they will willingly share their supplies with others. Guess what? So will I, if necessary. But don’t you want to be able to decide who you will share your goods with? Unfortunately, that’s not likely to happen with any reasonable regularity.

Here’s why.

Suppose that an earthquake hits your area. (Where I live in the Wasatch Front of Utah, we’re right on a fault line and scientists say we’re due for a doozey of an earthquake. If you live in the Midwest near or in the states of Missouri, Tennessee, (comprising the Mississippi Valley) you are squarely on the New Madrid fault which is expected to have a 6.7 magnitude earthquake any time now. So I think this is a reasonable scenario for many, if not all of our readers.) Suppose that your home was somehow miraculously spared any severe damage to the point that you aren’t forced to flee elsewhere for shelter. What are the ramifications that you will still have to concern yourself with?

First, ask yourself how many prisons or jails are within a 60 mile radius of you. Are their walls built to sufficiently withstand an earthquake? If they are, will there be sufficient security available in the midst of a catastrophic earthquake to keep the prisoners confined inside? In the event of structural damage, do you really think that the criminals who are suddenly released from their prison walls, with no family or friends nearby, aren’t going to be on the prowl for survival supplies? Do you think they would just stroll into their local grocery store and purchase what they need?

How many violent gangs do you have in your area? There are over 21,500 active gangs in the U.S. at present. According to the FBI, there are estimated to be over 1,000,000 gang members in the U.S. who commit 80% of the crimes in our country. Are you aware that MS-13 is the most violent gang of them all and has permeated at least 42 states in the U.S.? One has to commit murder to get in the gang, and die to get out. (see http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-29-ms13_N.htm) Do you really think that in a time of chaos that they won’t be in search of appropriate supplies to sustain their group at all costs? Think they are going to ring your doorbell and ask you nicely for some rice and water?

Now let’s consider the abundance of drug addicts who live among us. There are currently over 7 million regular illicit drug users in America. Of course some of them will perish in such a catastrophic event, but the statistic of drug addicts comprising 2% of our current population will still hold true. Are you prepared to ward off 2% of the population suddenly unable to access their drugs? Due to the force of nature, millions of drug users will be unable to obtain their “fix” and will do whatever they need to do in order to obtain more drugs. (http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/archive/drug_abuse.shtml)

What if it’s not something so sinister? What if a desperate mother or father finds themselves in need of vital food, water, and medical supplies for their children? Can we rely on all of society, including desperate parents, to behave rationally as they watch their loved ones struggle? How long could you watch your children suffer before you’re desperately inclined to press the borders of honesty and decency to get what you need for them?

Let’s not forget the overall lawlessness and rampant looting which has consistently erupted in the event of chaos and panic (Can you say New Orleans or Los Angeles anyone?). Then there are the issues of actual law enforcement making an appearance, but attempting to infringe unconstitutional requests on the survivors. (See http://tinyurl.com/cpb7m9)

Do any of these issues potentially expose your family to the risk of being subjected to violence? Do these instances compromise your security or survival in the event of a catastrophe? So, don’t you think it’s just a bit naïve to believe that you’ll be fully permitted to go along your merry way and freely use your emergency preparedness supplies as you see fit? I think so. And yet so many I discuss preparedness with fail to recognize this important aspect of truly being prepared.

Let’s leave the motivation for food and supplies for a moment. Being subjected by irrational people with a sense of entitlement to your wares is not the only reason why lawlessness may come into your life. What about the paranoid, desperate individuals who are only capable of dealing with stress and chaos by taking virtue and life from others? This isn’t just about whether or not you’d be willing to share your food and water with complete strangers. This is also about protecting the health and well-being of your loved ones in a time of chaos.

Please don’t be misguided into believing that the streets will be patrolled by the U.S. National Guard or your local law enforcement. The local law enforcement doesn’t show up in record time now, and not until the crime has already been committed. Do you think you’d get any kind of a worthwhile response time when the streets are littered with all manner of huge debris? In all likelihood, as we saw from Hurricane Katrina, the law enforcement personnel will either be taking care of their own families or they will be answering the call of their Commander in Chief to what he sees as a priority. A rape here, a robbery there, and a shooting there are not going to mean much to a military leader when he’s dealing with other emergencies such chaos can unleash. Yep. You’re on your own folks. FEMA government officials have announced repeatedly that it could be days, if not weeks before they would be present in a disaster zone.

So, the next time you decide who you’re going to share you emergency supplies with, you may want to consider your friends Glock, Winchester, and Smith & Wesson as a part of those decisions, along with enough ammo and SKILL to properly defend.











Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Cheese Wax Will Save Us All

Well, at least those of us who are addicted to cheese anyway.

Can you name at least 10 different kinds of cheese that you love?
Do you believe that cheese should be its own food group?
Are you helpless to abide by your diet unless it involves huge amounts of melted cheese?
Then this article is for you!

So picture this. It’s a bona fide emergency survival situation. You are holed up in your home and living off of the emergency preparedness supplies you stored. And you’ve got one heck of a hankering for some yummy melted cheese. But you’re just not in the mood for the Velveeta, that nasty powdered stuff, or the “squirt” kind of cheese. You want a good solid bite of a yummy Monterey Jack, or Swiss, or sharp cheddar. (I’m making myself drool even as I write this.) But hey, cheese doesn’t store for a very long time, right? Well, in this case, I’m happy to tell you that you’re wrong. And if you’re a true cheese addict, then you’ll be happy to hear me tell you that you’re wrong for once, right?

So here’s the good news. You CAN have your favorite cheese on hand, even in an emergency, and even though no stores are open and you have no access to electricity. All you have to do is buy the blocks of cheese that you want now in order to have them stored for up to the next 25 years. Cheese wax prevents your cheese from developing mold or bacteria and it keeps the moisture in. Simply use a natural boars hair brush to apply the melted cheese wax liberally to your block of cheese, let it harden, and then, VOILA, you’ve got your wish. Cheese treated with cheese wax will store for up to 25 years at a mild to cool temperature. Sure, it will continue to age. But it sure won’t get moldy! Be sure that you select block sizes of cheese that you and your family can easily consume within a 3 to 5 day period in order to avoid it going bad once you’ve cut into it.

A couple of tips you should know though.
1) Don’t use paraffin wax. It tends to crack. And cheese wax warms at a cooler temperature and thus plies better to your cheese shapes and sizes. Cheese wax is also less crumbly and you can use less of it than paraffin.
2) I have yet to find a cheese that I can’t wax. So long as it’s hard enough to be in a block, you can wax it.
3) You don’t need cheesecloth, but if you desire to use it prior to your wax layers, it may be helpful getting the wax off. I’ve not had any problems without it though.
4) It’s best to melt the cheese wax in a double boiler as opposed to direct heat.
5) The less you handle the cheese with your hands the better.
6) Don’t bother with dipping the cheese. Your natural finger oils may cause cracking of the cheese wax. Use a natural boar’s hair brush instead. The reason why you want to use this kind of brush specifically is because other brushes will apply the cheese wax too thick, or with crevices, etc. This kind of brush is perfect for cheese waxing.
7) You don’t need to use food-grade labels for your cheese since they will go on the outside. However, it’s smart to use a label on the outside of your cheese just prior to the last wax layer. That way you don’t have to worry about it falling off. Be sure to label not only the kind of cheese it is, but when it was waxed as well.
8) Don’t store your waxed cheese in additional containers. Just stack them on top of like cheeses and let them breathe. I like to hang them from the ceiling in a “fishing net” kind of contraption.
9) Be sure to check for pockets or crevices that didn’t get sealed. 3 thin layers of wax is a good practice. There’s no need to do more coats than that.
10) The cheese surface should be clean and dry prior to waxing.
11) If your 2nd and 3rd coats are applied while the prior coat is still a bit warm you will get a better adhesion.
12) Cheese wax can be re-used several times. You can simply wash it in warm water, let it dry and then re-melt it. So when you remove cheese wax from your cheeses, you can simply reheat and reapply. Simply heat the cheese wax to about 110 degrees Celsius. This will also ensure that you’re not transferring any bacteria or unnecessary moisture to your new cheese.
13) You do not need to filter the cheese wax after you melt it. So don’t worry about that step.
14) Your first coat will have some unevenness to it. Don’t worry. The 2nd and 3rd coat will even it out just fine.

Cheese wax can be located at multiple places online or in your local health food stores. You should also have no problem finding a boar bristle brush either. It doesn’t really matter what color of cheese wax you use.

Once you get the hang of this cheese waxing stuff you can progress to making your own cheese from powdered milk in any flavor you decide! Yummy!

Enjoy the recipe below!

Kristen’s Cheesy Roughin’ It Enchiladas

1 can of tomato soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 regular sized can of enchilada sauce
2 cups of canned chicken, drained.
About 2 cups of your favorite shredded cheese

Make your sauce by combining the soups and the enchilada sauce.

Use enough flour or corn tortillas to line a large baking dish or Dutch oven with your enchiladas. (About 12 to 15 depending on how big you stuff them) Be sure to spray your dish with some cooking spray.

Lightly coat the bottom of our tortilla with the sauce. Then add about 2 tablespoons of chicken, according to your desire. Then top the chicken with about 2 tablespoons of cheese. Add about 1 tablespoon soup mixture. Then roll up your tortilla and place seam side down in the dish. Continue until you’ve filled the dish a single layer deep. Once you’re finished, pour the remaining sauce over the top and top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until the cheese is completely melted. You can add chopped black olives, black beans, rice, jalapenos, or even green chilies to this recipe as well.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

Preparedness For Fido and Kitty

I’ve had cats and I’ve had dogs. Regardless, they have always felt very much a part of my family. My concern for their care in an emergency is every bit as important to me as anyone else in my family. Here are some tips for you to implement in order to have peace of mind in case of an emergency.

1) Start training your pets now how to properly greet and interact with others. You must teach them when it is appropriate to “bark” now or you could compromise your safety in the future.

2) Be sure that you have a sufficient “grab and go” pack for your pets in the event you have to leave your home immediately for 2 to 3 days. The items in this bag should contain food, water plus a container, a familiar toy, spare leash and collar, a blanket and some bedding.

3) Be sure that you have the means of filing their nails. In the event that you have to trek a ways, long nails will get infected and complicate their travel. It’s surprising how many people who don’t file their pets nails and rely on the groomer to do so instead.

4) Have familiar toys stored for your pet. Be mindful to play with them in the same fashion they are used to when you find yourself having to rough it while you’re riding out a disaster.

5) Have teeth cleaning supplies available. In an emergency, it’s very likely that your pet will be eating—or attempting to—foreign items to their diet. These items will be foreign to their dental care as well. In the event of an emergency, a trip to the vet will not be feasible, so be sure that you have supplies for the care of their teeth as well as your own.

6) Rather than just a collar, have a halter for them. In an emergency, your pet may have plenty of reasons to respond to their surroundings differently that you are accustomed to. A harness/halter is more sturdy in maintaining their positions and less stressful for their neck. Be sure the halter is rugged. While the cute harnesses are fashionable, they may do little to ensure the safety of your pets should you have to head for the hills.

7) Be sure that you have a secure means of tethering them. Allowing your dogs or cats to roam wild in an emergency state is not smart! I don’t mean to be overly graphic, but people and/or animals may see them as food instead of family members. Keep them with you for your own safety as well as that of others. Consider a stake in the ground and a sturdy adjustable leash. You don’t want your pet resorting to his natural instincts of running in a pack with other strays. Plan on keeping him with you as a part of your family if you want him to remain a part of your family.

8 ) Store their breed and medical documentation in a waterproof package. Just as you would want your valuable documents for your identification and health, you will also want them for your pets as well.

9) Prepare for medical fix-ups for your pets. Have bandages, sewing kits, super glue, brushes, picks, tweezers, and other medically necessary items. Should you have a prescription for your pet, be sure to have some extra accessible to ride out an unexpected event as well.

10) Think in advance about what you need in order to transport your pet. That might be a carrier, a box, a wagon, etc, since you can’t expect your pet to walk all the time. You may also find that for his own safety you have to confine him.

11) Store a year’s supply of food for your pet. If it’s good advice for you, it’s good advice for them. While you may find yourself thinking they will just live off of spare foods or mice, think twice. Do you want your animals to eat other rabid animals? Do you want your animals to have the most nutrition available to them in order for them to survive a stressful situation the same as you? Of course. Then feed them what they know, and what you are certain contains nutrition for them. If you store the dry food in a plastic sealed bucket with an oxygen packet, it will last much longer than it will in its original packaging.

12) It’s not a bad idea to have some clothing available for your pet. While I’m not an advocate of dressing your pet up regularly, there are at least two items that your pet can use that will save you both a lot of hassle. Get booties for them in the event they have to walk more then they are accustomed to. It will preserve the soft portion of their paws from getting splinters or cuts. Also, get a rain repellant vest for them wear as well. Be sure that it fits them properly. You definitely don’t want it too tight or you’ll have other problems to deal with such as blisters and infections.

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

A Precarious Position Indeed

I confess that it is doubtful I will make any friends with this particular posting. It is inconvenient information that I share with you today. While I happily provide you with a yummy recipe at the end of this blog, one in which you can make from your food storage supplies, I realize that what I am about to share is an unpleasant thought.

Less than one percent of our population claims farming as their occupation--down from 10% in 1997. Over 40% of those farmers are north of the age 55. The farmers of our nation are dwindling significantly. Many of those farmers refused to grow wheat in past years due to an eagerness to earn a better living by jumping on the ethanol train, and thus grew corn and soy.

On average, one farmer only produces enough food for 96 people. In total there are 2 million farms in the U.S. (including livestock, etc). We have a total estimated population of over 303 million citizens. You do the math. The number of farms has been decreasing about 6 percent per year and yet our population has been increasing by just under 1% each year and is expected to increase by nearly 49% by the year 2050. A famine would overtake this nation in a matter of weeks if ANY violence or fluke of nature interrupted the operation of this highly interdependent system of food production and distribution. On a much smaller scale, look at what ripple affect one hurricane had on our entire nation, let alone what it did to Louisiana and other areas. Food, water, safety and freedoms were scarce.

For you additional consideration know that our government has shipped all of our surplus wheat to foreign nations due to the famines as of late. There is none to replace it because there are so few farmers who have been growing wheat. In other words, there is no longer any wheat or other public stores to fight famine in our own nation.

Indeed we are in a precarious position.

Perhaps there is not a people in the history of this nation who have been as vulnerable to starvation as we are today. Although we are highly specialized in our labor, we are relying almost completely upon electric power and labor-saving machinery. We have largely forgotten the meaning of physical labor and the art of feeding and clothing ourselves. If we had an interruption of our power supply, our production machinery, or our transportation, grocery markets would empty within hours and we would all be left to our own knowledge and skills to provide ourselves with the sustenance of life.

This is an overwhelming though to contemplate. But it is more clear to me, in consideration of this additional information, why we have been advised for eons to have emergency preparedness supplies on hand. Such supplies should address not just food and water, but shelter, clothing, medical, financial, mental, spiritual, and physical needs for protecting and providing for ourselves.

I understand that I may sound ludicrous. After all, it was probably just his past weekend that you roamed the aisle in the grocery stores and saw plenty. Have you never been in a grocery store on a Monday though, when so many of their supplies have been depleted over the weekend? I have and certainly feel inconvenienced by this simple anomaly. Now picture this scenario a hundred fold as the result of a REAL food shortage and a failing currency in our nation. It is as ugly as anything out of Hollywood has ever portrayed it. If our currency fails then all of the foods we import into our nation cease. If our food fails then all of the currency which we bring into our nation ceases as well. It’s a no win situation and you don’t have to look far to notice that both commodities are under serious threat!

Mark my words, the time will come when ammunition is worth more than any currency we can wave; when a bucket of wheat is held more dear than a bucket of gold; and when life skills such as shoemaking and iron works, and masonry will have a greater value than an irrelevant retirement account.

We are naïve if we somehow believe that this type of forecast is reserved for the future generations in light of all that is blatantly going on around us. We are naïve if we believe that the government will protect us or that anyone else is responsible for our well-being in this matter.

While you may bristle at this wake up call, nonetheless, wake up. I’m not exactly a “morning person” either, but I know enough to realize just how important this preparation is for you, your family, and anyone you love. And I tell you solemnly right now that the more complacent you choose to be in your lifestyle, the more hatred you will have for yourself later when you realize you could have done something to stop the suffering of those you love.

Blueberry Dump Cake

The name says it all. This is easy!

2 cans of blueberry pie filling
1 box of yellow cake mix (18.25 ounces)
12 tablespoons of butter or margarine

Simply dump the blueberry pie filling in your baking dish or Dutch oven. Top it with the box of yellow cake mix. Top that with the butter or margarine (melted or in cold pieces)
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until light golden brown on top.
If you have a way to make ice cream, this is a yummy dish served warm with some vanilla ice cream on top.


Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.

Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.

How to Prepare for an Emergency on a Tight Budget?

Another message and another recipe.

This time I’m going to start with the recipe. It’s called Chicken a la Queen, and it’s great whether you find yourself in an emergency survival situation and living off of your food storage or not.

Chicken a la Queen

2 5-ounce cans of boneless chicken or turkey meat
2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni
½ cup of minced onion
1/3 cup cooking oil
2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 ¼ cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup of grated cheddar cheese. (Of COURSE I use more than that. You can also substitute Velvetta cheese if necessary.

Dice the meat if it is in large chunks. Set aside chicken in natural juices from the cans. Sauté UNCOOKED macaroni and onion in hot oil in large skillet until macaroni turns slightly yellow. Add tomato sauce, water, salt, and pepper. Bring to boil; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Mix in chicken and juices; simmer 5 minutes more. Sprinkle the top with cheese.

For those of you who I’ve heard from constantly that claim you aren’t able to afford to be prepared, this one is for you.

First of all, I’ve discovered http://pinchingyourpennies.com/. It’s really, really great and replaces all of the time that you would have to spend pouring over coupons. And it’s FREE membership, unlike many sites. A large troupe of women volunteer their time every day to make sure you’ve got the best deals available. You can even end up spending a 10th of the price of groceries with their help.

More importantly, I have this message to those of you who aren’t able to afford to stock up on food and other supplies in order to be ready in an emergency. If you are short money, you need to make up for it in time…time in the library, time on the internet, and time in classes. You need to posses the knowledge which is available freely so that you can sew, make soap, start a fire (preferably outside J), repair shoes, sprout seeds, garden, cooking with a Dutch Oven, and so many other life skills that will truly save your life if you’re having living off of only what you can garner. Not having money in this day and age is no excuse for not being ready. If you have these kinds of skills you will be able to trade for what you need and you will be an asset to your community rather than a liability. If you’re not building up the Kingdom of heaven, then you’re sucking it dry. So get as much knowledge as possible in this regard. There are no excuses to not be ready for a disaster. Just poor choices.

Be safe and be prepared,

Kellene

Copyright 2009 Kellene Bishop. All rights reserved. You are welcome to repost this information so long as it is credited to Kellene Bishop.


Preparedness Pro Note: If you would like Kellene Bishop to present an Emergency Preparedness message for your community or church group, please contact us at 801-788-4133. Ms. Bishop is an experienced speaker on Emergency Preparedness topics and also has created a great “Preparedness Party” platform which makes the learning of such a topic more enjoyable for all.