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Our DD was surprised we were without power, gofish- they were just fine. I suspect that most of us out in the country are prepared. Stuff happens out here. The ones in the city & suburbs are the ones who head to the hotels & motels because they can't do without their comforts.

Mine, too... Glad you're going to have it checked out. My prayers are with you...

I was just gonna add this to the other list, and it hit me - OOPS! New month, new YEAR! There's an "Amish" one in here to those who like them... http://www.bookbasset.com/2016/01/01/happy-new-year-2/

Heh - Yeah, right... Our electricity went off for just about an hour around noon on Tuesday. We were having a wet, nasty storm that dumped ice all over the trees and power lines. We have a tremendous bunch of smaller branches down, and some larger ones that we're grateful didn't hit anything like the house or car. DH heard a couple of the larger branches fall close to the house. Then at 5 PM, the power went out again, and this time it didn't come back on. Some electrical poles were hit by sliding vehicles, some collapsed from ice buildup, and some wires were broken by falling trees and branches. Two local power companies had to call in LOTS of help from other areas. Hubby was detoured 3 times to avoid downed lines just coming home from work. We had no power for over 2 days. Almost 34 hours total. I ended up helping BigDD by babysitting yesterday for a while, so I got online for a very little bit there, but I didn't have much time. DH ran the generator when he was home, but mostly it was to keep the refrigerator & freezer going. Luckily, DH had pulled the generator out recently to test-run it. You must run them occasionally. He found a slight problem and had fixed it. So things went fairly smoothly. Still, not "fun". LilDD is still home on break from college, and while she was patient, it wasn't *great* for her. I am grateful to have an older stove that needs no electricity at all to work - propane works well for us. And the kerosene heater worked well. One thing we will be getting soon is a Carbon Monoxide detector, for safety. It's been on DH's list, but he hasn't gotten one yet. I think we can afford one now. Power outages are relatively rare for us, but when they are this widespread, our area isn't a priority. Out in the country there are too few of us. The cities come first. And we'll be exploring the woods sometimes soon. DH heard one BIG tree fall down yesterday before the power came back. We don't know if it was on our land or the neighbor's... Always lessons to be learned from unexpected occurrences...

She hasn't been in here since August of 2013. I hope she's OK.

Last one is a free prepper book... http://www.bookbasset.com/2015/12/27/how-the-cookie-crumbles/

On this most wonderful of holy days, I wish you the very best.

And then there are companies who send out test strips and other "diabetic" supplies when they are not even requested or needed and then charge our government enormous mark-up charges for their "service". My FIL had to threaten legal charges against a company who WOULD NOT STOP. Boy, was he angry.

Thank you for sharing this.

I made something today I haven't fixed for maybe 20 years. DH & I stopped in to check out a new local meat processing/food store/deli yesterday on the way home after his medical checkup. Our area has numerous "Amish" stores. This one seems to be another, might be what we call "car Amish" (similar values, but drive cars and some have electricity at home). A couple of guys came in while we were there and bought a bunch of frozen sausage, telling us it is the *best*. So we picked one up. And then DH saw frozen beef liver and decided THAT sounded good! So I cooked up liver and onions to make DH happy. I had to look up a recipe, it's been so long! And I cooked up the brussels sprouts I had in the fridge, and served them with butter and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. He liked it, so it was all worth it.

Paper Crafts, a Zane Grey book I've never heard of, and more. Maybe something you'd like???? Edited to add the link (Thanks, Mt_Rider! ) http://www.bookbasset.com/2015/12/12/just-a-bit-less-crazy-will-do/ I think the title of the page fits me right now... "Just A Bit Less Crazy Will Do".....

Some good ones here, and click on left-side title links for other possibilities. Might still be good when you see this. http://www.bookbasset.com/2015/12/11/just-because-we-can/

**Praying for you, my Friend**

"Amish" books - (some not free? ) http://www.bookbasset.com/2015/12/03/a-guiding-force/

It's not a "device" just to make bags, but the reviews I read about the "Professional SuperSaver Kit" says it has a manual operation that makes it easier to create your own bags without wasting so much plastic. I figured for the price, I'd try it. I got it for $90.98.

I think I'd better just stay offline tomorrow. I like my FoodSaver sealer for freezing all kinds of stuff. I'm finding it's nice to freeze leftovers so I can just grab something for a quick meal for DH and I. With him still home after his surgery, I would have to be cooking a LOT more often if I didn't have stuff already ready in the freezer. And really, I guess it's not that big of a deal, since he takes leftovers for lunch when he's working, too. So anyway, they sent me emails, and I bought a bunch of the rolls of plastics and a new device that might make it easier to make bags myself with less waste of the spaces between. But but but - the rolls were buy one GET one... I shouldn't have to buy any for quite a while. http://www.foodsaver.com/home

I have a Rival 16-quart electric roaster that I bought years & years ago, and I haven't used it in ages. We just haven't had those "big family Thanksgiving dinners" that I used to make when Mom was still here. I was reminded of it in Mt_Rider's thread "Basics of Groceries - Sale time" http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=52355&hl= SO - tell us how you have used yours. What kind/size is it? Do you like it? Why or why not? What's your favorite way to use it? Tips? Tricks? Recipes? Help us utilize ours better, and help others decide if it's a "must have" or a "no way"...

quite sick. Oh, my! I wish I had brought a friend along! No - wait - isn't my friend SueC here in New Zealand? SUEC!!! SUE??? Hey, BUDDY!!!!???? Can I raid your medicine cabinet?? I hear a rustling in the grass....

**Looks down at t-shirt** Buttons? Ain't no buttons on my shirt! Hopefully she'll pop in here soon.

She was last in a week ago. I haven't heard anything from her, but then my life is still nuts here, too. **Praying for Annarchy, and for everyone else here, too**

Apparently it's some kind of ammonia stuff they use. And I'm OK today. No, I didn't even think of using gloves. It was bagged, sort of, after all. And since I've picked up bags of junk before, I didn't even think of it. But after having been outside for over a week, it was falling apart. That's why I wanted to get it OUT of there before winter. Yeah, there aren't many children around here who might mess with it. People don't usually go clean up other people's property. It's a woodsey part on the edge of the neighbor's farm fields. The only child nearby is a Kindergartner on the other side of a deep drainage ditch, and I'm pretty sure he's not outside without supervision. But I made a special effort to go tell his parents what I found. This part of the county isn't important enough for the crews of organizations who go and clean the sides. They only do that on the big highways and the county comes and picks up their finished bags afterwards. God is good... Just one more of His blessings to count up in this crazy year.

Somebody dropped a bunch of trash down the road, across from us and relatively close to the ditch. UGH. Stupid people. The last couple of years, it's happened a couple of times. Somebody doesn't want to pay for trash pickup, so they just dump it somewhere for others to deal with. OK. Well, our trash man comes tomorrow, it's supposed to rain a lot during the next few days, and DH was taking a nap. So I figured I'd take a trash bag down and clean it all up before winter hits, before the rain hits us hard, and just get it DONE. I cleaned up everything I found across the road as I went down there. When I got to the main mess, it was two larger bags and some assorted other junk. I threw the bag of clothes (REALLY? ) in the bottom of the bag because it was heavier, then the other one on top. Looked like bottles & junk. Ugh I saw our new neighbor was outside, so I went over and introduced myself and we talked a bit. She seems like a nice person. Then I dragged the bag of junk to the other side of the road and picked up what I found on *that* side, until I got home. What IS that stuff? Bits of charcoal in a bottle? I made the mistake of just taking the lid off, a bit of breeze hit it and I inhaled "just enough" to take my breath away. *Literally.* I couldn't breathe for 15-20 seconds. It scared me. I made myself cough HARD, then finally gasped enough to breathe better. Then I looked at the other bottle that had its lid off, and saw that there was some kind of tube attached, and it hit me - METH LAB. So I got into the house and told Hubby, and then I called the county police non-emergency number. They listened and then sent out local medics and a county sheriff. Yup, I found a former meth lab. The sheriff pretty much just shrugged & said I could just throw it away. At least it's reported. The medics checked me out, offered to take me to the hospital if I needed, but my vitals were fine and I'm not scared. It was some kind of chemical smell, it filled my lungs, but Hubby will take me to the ER if anything changes. And it's been several hours, so I'm OK. The meth, of course, was gone. I've heard of portable labs that blow up, but I didn't think there was much real "danger" from the leftover junk. But I'm telling this on here so that *IF* any of you or your children or grandchildren find something similar - learn from my mistake. Call the police, if you want. That will at least alert them. But don't mess with it. It was a couple of 2-liter pop bottles, one juice bottle, other assorted junk Stay safe, my friends.

Did she ever get to hike the Appalachian Trail?

So very, very sad... Rest in peace, Dear Friend.

Yup, it's the Kindle Unlimited.