Mother

Welcome back Nana, I'm SO glad you are here again with your wonderfully concise suggestions and lists. They are always extremely helpful for the newbies and even *I* have my pencil sharpened and ready to go. We don't have a garden this year for the first time and being able to order items like this the cheapest way may well be a God sent. Thank you ahead of time for doing all the planning for us. ((((((( Nana ))))))

Westy, you are just amazing. Now if I could just GROW it here. I'd be happy. Guess I'll stock up some more.

There are several methods for making salves right here on Mrs. S, I believe in Lois's sticky's. I make mine by gently heating about a fourth cup of olive oil (or sunflower, canola or other oil) with about two teaspoon fulls of beeswax in a pan over hot water until the wax is just melted. Remove it from the heat and stir it as it cools, before it's totally set up, add about 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of tea tree oil (less if you are going to use it on lips, the amount would depend on what you are going to use it for. You could use lots more) and continue stiring until it starts to sets up. If it seems too liquid (this would be a lotion actually) before you add the tea tree oil, add a bit more beeswax and remelt and if it's too solid to suit you, add a bit more oil. These portions are only guides, adjust it as you desire. Stored in a tight container it keeps a long time. You can use other esential oils in this salve or if you choose you can make this salve by steeping herbs in the oil for a couple of weeks before you strain it and use it to make salve. I've never used tea tree oil for lice but would imagine that if you were using it on children you'd want to dilute it quite a bit. I see no reason why it wouldn't work to just put a few drops of the essential oil in a cup of regular cooking oil, or in mayonaise which believe it or not is also used to kill lice, and then use it to thoroughly saturate the hair, leaving it covered with a plastic for perhaps a half hour or so before washing well with shampoo. Many shampoos already have Tea tree oil in them but I've never heard them used specifically for lice. Does anyone else have info on this? ((( )))

Our family uses Tea Tree Oil for lots of things and it's one of the things on my list to stock up on. I try to stay at least four or five bottles ahead all the time because that's likely the one thing I'll have trouble getting if the SHTF. It's one of the essential oils that can be used full strength unless you are using it for mouth sores or as a gargle, then it needs to be diluted in water. I also use it diluted with another oil like olive oil when using it for really raw or sensitive areas. I've used it with good results on all sorts of scrapes, wounds and rashes. It's good on fungus and even on burns. Might be a bit strong for deep burns but then I'd dilute it, probably with milk as milk is a natural healer for burns. I've used it in a sray for my plants to discourage bugs and fungus and I've used it on my pets and farm animals. Hmmm, guess you could say I think about reaching for it first before other remedies but that's not to say that I don't have natural, local substitutes for it's uses on hand too. It's interesting how nature (God if you will) provides us with almost all we need, might even say everything we need if we are willing to give up some conveniences.

There you go Cookie, a perfect cover for you nepharious (boy is that spelled right?) activities on the old closed golf course. But how are you going to explain that bag of seeds and plants you're carrying with you?

Okay here's my two cents. Unless the dandelions are different in Florida than in Illinois, which there are a lot of varieties, the leaves on this look too rounded.

Those are good sites, Snowmom. I can't add much to the basic diretions but perhaps some would like some historic info. Soap was being made from hard wood ash lye long before commercial lye was even thought about. I've made it many times using that very process. It is true that the strength of the lye will determine the saponification process but I've not had one fail totally yet but some batches had a lot more work involved than others. It's true that home made lye soap is often thought about as being too harsh but it usually becomes more usable with curing. Most pioneers tried to make soap only once or twice a year and always about three months before they needed it if they wanted a gentler product. Soap was often made just from saved fats from various meats. Even the grease from frying meat was saved if it wasn't used for cooking. It was usually clarified by heating with water and allowing to cool long enough for the impurities to settle to the bottom and the fat congeal on the top. The type of fat will make a difference in the soap. For instance, some wild animal fat leaves a strong smell in the soap. Most pioneer did make a soft cooked soap that was stored in barrels or in crocks. It often took hours of stirring over an open fire to get it to "turn". All sorts of directions could be found for this including the direction that you should stir the soap in one direction only, usually clockwise. This soap was used for laundry, scrubbing and heavy cleaning. But women are women no matter the era and most wanted a nice hard hand soap, usually with some herbal concoction for scenting them. They would often go to great lengths to save the whitest fat for this soap, rendering it gently and clarifying it again and again until a completely white fat remained. Venison fat is especially nice for that. (As an aside, this white fat was also used to make lotions and salves) Then the lye would be very carefully made, leached again and again or boiled down to the correct strength so that the soap would turn very quickly. (See the info about floating an egg or potato) Then the product would be well aged, sometimes as much as a year or more. If the product wasn't scented before curing, it would be remelted and a fragrance, often attar of roses (which is a whole 'nother post)added. Other ingredients could be added as well, such as fine oat powder. A pioneer woman who had mastered this art could have a great home business which might be something for some of you to think about if TSHTF. The lye water itself was often used to scrub the punchion (split log)floors and porches of a long cabin and left them very white and beautiful. It was well watered down and usually the floor was srubbed using a homemade scrub brush, often made from hardwood twigs, straw, or corn husks. Lye, even made from ashes, IS caustic so be very careful if you use it. If you are considering learning this as a SHTF necessity it might be good to know the whole process AND to practice it before hand. You may not have the time to experiment later. Welcome to Mrs. S Halfpint, that was a super post.

And remember that a golf course might be the most chemical laden piece of property there is around. Takes three years of not being sprayed to be considered 'organic'. While you're sticking plants into the ground,,,,,don't forget a few medicinal ones. Plantain is a good one and is considered a weed. Mallow too. Lots more to consider and some are food sources too. While you are 'checking out' the flora, be sure to see if some of the trees have edible leaves. Some are and make great salads. Bushes too. Rose hips make great tea and is full of vitamin C. Ohhhhhh, this could be FUN

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It's always good to be able to recognize wild edibles but I might suggest that you not wait until you are desperate to snack on them. Do it now. Not only will you learn how to find and process them but you will be allowing your system to become accustomed to them. Besides giving you considerable savings on your grocery bill. There is some mighty good eating out there for free.

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Um, Cat? Wouldn't the geese look like FOOD to most people?

Some great points Magpie, and ones I always make in my cooking seminars. I should have rememberd to add them to the info. Thanks for doing so. As another one who's cooked in stays and layers of skirts (Civil War reenacting, Rendezvous, SCA and Pioneer/historic recreation) I know first hand the dangers involved in working around a fire. It helps to have stones, bricks or etc surrounding the fire, not only to contain the fire but to act as a shield for your legs. It also helps to have some sort of fire proof work surface close to the fire so you don't have to move hot containers far when working with them. I like a low surface to set on too; a stump will often do. It gets you below the smoke and heat somewhat so you can see what you are doing better and gives you stability when working over the fire. How about the rest of you open fire cooks giving us some of your favorite tips?

This was originally posted in the homesteading forum but I felt there might be some interest in it here. COOKING OVER AN OPEN FIRE OR WITHIN A FIREPLACE Cooking over an open fire or in a fireplace is neither difficult nor complicated if you start with the right equipment and fire. The most important difference between a conventional stove and oven and fire cooking is the fact that a fire does not come with knobs to turn the temperature up and down. Instead of turning knobs, you move the pan or the coals or both. FIRES: How you manage your fire will determine how well your finished product turns out. Different types of firewood are used in different cooking methods. Hard woods such as oak, maple, etc. hold their heat longer and usually burn steady and hot. These woods would be good for long cooking or baking and for making lots of coals to use in either. Soft woods such as fir and pine make a quick hot fire but do not burn as long. They also tend to snap and throw sparks. They would be good for getting the fire going, to fry things and to bring water to a boil fast. Corncobs usually burn hot and fast also. These fast burning woods and cobs, when used in a cook stove, are called biscuit wood because they make a fire hot enough and keep it burning long enough to bake a pan of baking powder biscuits. They work the same way in a fire. Rotten wood makes the worst fire as it smokes almost continually, but would be great to chase mosquitoes. You can also use charcoal to bake and cook with, either by itself or put on a wood fire to help hold the heat more evenly. Before starting your fire be sure to make the fire pit large enough to accommodate whatever cooking vessels you will be using. Baking is usually done within the coals at the side of the fire pit. If you are using a fireplace, the baking will be done either to the side, possibly in a back corner or at the front of the fire. Roasting can be done either over the fire or directly beside it. Grilling, frying and boiling are done over the fire itself, either using a grate or directly on the hot coals, or by raking coals to the edge of the fire. Some fireplaces come with a crane for hanging a pot and this is normally used for boiling or simmering foods but a Dutch oven, hung the correct distance from the fire, can be used for baking there too. A keyhole shaped outdoor fire pit works well if you will be doing a variety of cooking. That is a large circle pit can be built with a small square or long rectangle pit sticking out from one side. A fire can be built within the whole area and the circular section used for baking, with the square section off to the side used for placing a grate across to use as a grill or stove top. This small square area can also give you more control over the heat by building the main fire just within the circle and pulling hot coals to the square end as needed. MANAGING YOUR FIRE: Whether you are cooking outside on an open fire in a pit, or inside in a fireplace, there are several requirements for a good fire. First, never leave a fire unattended and never build it so big as to let it get out of control. Second, all fires need oxygen to burn well. The amount of oxygen you give a fire will determine how efficiently and hot the fire burns. Ideally, the oxygen should come from the bottom of the fire. In a fireplace or an above ground fire pit, that means keeping the fire off the ground somewhat, either on a grate or by making sure that the coals are loose enough for the air to circulate under them. A bellows is another possibility for getting the air below the fire. In a pit fire, you may have to dig a small trench on the windward side of the fire to direct the flow of oxygen to the base of the fire, or keep the coals stirred occasionally. Start your fire by laying down some crumbled newspaper, dry leaves, or other dry flammable material. Place several small, dry twigs, or dry corncobs on top of that. Place a few medium sized, dry pieces on top of that (you can place them in teepee fashion or stack them sort of like a log cabin, just so the wood is fairly loosely placed on the kindling wood) and then light the kindling paper beneath. Do not add more wood until the kindling, small twigs, and medium sized pieces have all caught flame. Fan the flames gently with a paper if they seem to be slow taking hold. Keep the fan low to the base of the fire. Once the fire is burning well, add wood, a piece or two at a time, until a bed of hot coals starts to build up. Do not break up the coals into smaller pieces as this destroys the heat they contain. If you are boiling, frying or doing other top of the fire cooking you can start cooking as soon as there is sufficient heat coming from the fire. Be aware that this early fire will give you hotter and cooler areas so be careful not to burn the food. If you are baking, roasting or doing other slow cooking, you should take plenty of time to let a deep bed of coals build. Time spent on feeding the fire will save time spent later in the baking. The more coals you place under and/or around your food, the greater the heat. Adding or removing coals is the essence of controlling the temperature. With a little practice it becomes possible to prepare anything on an open fire that might have been prepared with a conventional stove. COOKING UTENSILS: Pots Pans and Utensils: Though tin ware is light and easy to carry it works well only with frying or very liquid meals. Enamel ware, the blue speckled ware you often see in camp stores, is also not a good product to cook over an open fire as it often is too light weight and food can burn easily. However, both of these types of cookware are much better than heavier cast iron for heating water for drinks or clean up. With some searching, you can still find tin ware intended for specific uses around the fire, such as reflector ovens for roasting at the side of the fire and drip pans for catching the juices from roasting meats. Cast iron is by far the best material to bake in. This material holds the heat well and distributes it evenly, thus avoiding the hot spots you get with lighter cooking material. One type of heavy cast iron pot suitable for baking, stews, and a lot of other cooking is called a Dutch oven. If you are going to purchase a Dutch oven try to get one that has a tight fitting lid, preferably with a lip around the edge to hold hot coals on top of the pan, and one that is big enough to hold another pan (like a bread or pie pan) inside to make it a true ‘oven’. Though a smaller one can still be baked in the larger one will be more versatile. There are two basic types of Dutch Ovens, the camp model that has legs on the bottom to lift it above the coals a bit and to help stabilize it and a lip around the edge of the lid for holding coals and the kitchen model that is flat on the bottom and has a rounded lid. If you can only afford one, get one without legs as it can be used on the fire or on the grate and in the kitchen both. If it needs to be raised above the fire or coals or it needs to be stabilized in the fire, rocks work quite well. Sometimes you can find Dutch Ovens that come with lids that can, when turned upside down, double as a griddle or even a frying pan. These are great double duty pans but are hard to find. If you plan on making a lot of pancakes, eggs, etc. You might want to consider getting a cast iron griddle, as they are excellent for that type of cooking. Cast iron frying pans come in all sizes and some come with legs like the Camp oven and lids with lips around them for coals. Often called spiders, they lend a lot of versatility to cooking. I prefer a deep frying pan, sometimes called a chicken fryer, without legs but with a lid with a lip. These can be used for baking also and are extremely versatile. There is a large variety of cast iron ware out there, from bean pots and corn bread makers to teakettles and coffee pots. They all have their uses but unless you will be using the fire as your major source of cooking, only a few are needed. Cast iron cookware needs some special care. Some new pans already come ‘cured’ but most only come with a factory coating to keep it from rusting. That coating should be washed off and the cookware ‘cured’. Curing is the process of putting some sort of fat on the entire pan, inside and out, and heating it to bake the coating on. Some cast iron is very porous and takes many light coatings and baking to make the surface smooth and easy to clean. Enough coatings and a cast iron pan can become almost non-stick. From time to time extra curing will be necessary even with will-cured pans. I use plain unsalted lard to cure my pans with. Some people use cooking oil but I don’t find it works quite as well though others may want to try it. Basically, you coat the cookware, inside and out with a thin layer of some type of fat. Then you put it in a fairly hot oven or even over the coals of a fire and let it heat through until almost smoking hot. This sets the fat into a coating on the pan. Let it cool slowly and repeat as necessary. Even rusted cast iron can be refurbished. First, clean off all the rust. This can be done by scraping, sanding, grinding or even having it sand blasted. I know some people who have put it in their self-cleaning ovens and have had good results with that. Then just use the process above to cure it. Wooden spoons are great for use around the fire, as they don’t conduct heat to the hands. Make sure they are as long as possible to keep you back as far as possible from the heat and smoke when using them. The same goes for turners and cooking forks. The long hot dog forks might seem like a good buy but they are only good for just that, roasting lightweight foods. I prefer the long handled forks and turners that you can buy to use with grills for around the fire. A small shovel such as a coal shovel or a short handled garden shovel is a great help when moving coals from one place to another. Pothooks, various “S” hook and chains, are useful for hanging pots and pans at different heights above the fire if a tripod or spit is used. Lid lifters will be found indispensable. These are simply long or short iron hooks with handles that are used to remove lids or move pans around. They often come with the Dutch oven or cast iron pan. If you cannot find one to buy, you might consider making one if you are handy. They are simply a piece of 1\4 or 1\2 inch rod, bent into a hook at the bottom and a "T" handle fastened to the top. Just make sure that the rod is not too thick to fit through the handles of your pots. Leather welding gloves also work well for potholders and moving hot pots. Just make sure they fit well so that they do not make you clumsy around the fire. Another useful item if you don’t have legged pans is a trivet. It is a pan sized flat metal grill with small (or long) legs under it and usually a handle of some sort to move it around. It is used to raise cookware above the coals to keep the food from burning on the bottom. They come in different heights and if you can only choose one, buy one that has 1 to 3 inch high legs. As I’ve said before though, rocks of different sizes or even bricks can be used in place of a trivet, just make sure the rocks are not those that might hold water as they can explode when heated. Most other utensils needed for cooking over a fire will be found right in your own kitchen I might mention clean up here. Cooking over a fire causes the bottom and sides of cookware to become black with soot. Some people are appalled at using any kind of soap on cast iron pans, even for washing them, but one tip is to coat the bottom and sides of the pan with dish soap before starting to cook and the black will wash off easily afterwards but be very careful not to get the soap in the foods you are cooking. Another suggestion is that you just wipe the inside well with a damp paper towel or cloth, maybe using a bit of sand on the stubborn places and then heat them thoroughly to sanitize them afterwards, leaving the black on the outside. I personally like to use a soft rag or paper towels to wipe off the excess black on my pans before washing them in hot soapy water. I rinse them well, pat them with a paper towel and dry them as fast as possible using a heat source such as an oven, burner or on a grate. If they are well cured, they will not rust or you can give them a very thin coat of cooking oil just to be sure especially if you are going to be storing them for a while without use.

My mom and several other relatives have been on coumadin and their doctors have just had them stop taking it whenever they needed to have surgery. It never seemed to affect them and they always had to go off it several days before surgery to be sure they wouldn't bleed to death DURING surgery. I wonder if it's different for each individual depending on how much they have to take. I would suggest that each have a talk with their doctor about the possibilities of what would happen to them if they DID have to stop taking it suddenly. Find out how long it would be in their system and what symptoms they might expect to have. My suggestions were only for EMERGENCIES, such as when TSHTF, where their meds ran out and they could not get more. That might be a do or die situation. Then it might be wise to have something on hand instead of trying to find something. Or at the least to know there might be a more common thing, like garlic or ginger, that could be used. Nana, you are so caring,,,thanks for bringing this up again so we can define it.

Happy Valley, you might consider doing some research on blood thinning herbs to keep on hand to substitute for the warfarin. You would not want to give them WITH the warfarin but they could be used singly or in combination if your husband runs out in an emergency situation. Remember that warfarin will stay in the blood stream for a short period after stopping the medication so you would have to start the herbs cautiously but at least it would be an alternative and some of these herbs are very effective. Off the top of my head I can think of Garlic, Gingko, Hawthorn, Horsechestnut, Ginger, Turmeric, Dong Quai, and even Blueberries. Start your research by looking up herbal interactions with warfarin as most of the herbs interact by enhancing warfarin's potential because they are blood thinning in themselves or by looking for herbal blood thinners. Many medicines that are taken today have alternative herbal ones to replace them but be aware that the herbal ones may not be as fast acting or as drastic. For those of you who are dependent on medication for life and who feel they will NOT be able to obtain those medicines, it would be wise to do the research for alternatives ahead of time and be prepared. Be sure to check into homeopathic medicines as well as herbal ones.

Hi Stacey, the one I have is called Coban self adhesive wrap and is made by 3M. There may be others. You can find it at most pharmacies. Actually, farm supply places like Farm and Fleet usually have it cheaper and it's the same thing. You can probably order it on line also. Be sure to check animal supply companies too when comparing prices online. The veterinary world really does tend to have a lot of "fun" stuff first. I suppose so they can use the animals for trial runs. I believe they were the first to get Surgical glue. We were using it to repair broken bird wings long before it came out for humans I know.

Vet Wrap is wonderful stuff. We got it from the vet and from animal supply stores for years before it became available in a Human form......It comes in various widths and sticks to itself when wrapped. Very supportive, and holds bandages securely and has the advantage of being waterproof. It's not reusable though or very rarely can be so is considered disposable. I keep both it and reusable elastic bands on hand all the time. I also keep Betadine which you can usually buy cheaper in large quantities at farm supply stores like Farm and Fleet or Farm King. This is a great thread. Nana, you have done an excellent job of it again..... Thanks.

I smear a layer of regular dish soap on the bottom of my pans when I use our old LP canning stove AND when I cook over an open fire. You have to be careful in handling the pots that you don't get it on your fingers and then lick them

Good read Westy.

I'm with you Lois, it's part of caring. A very hard part but a necessity. Not only for US but the others in our families also. They all need to learn if possible. Our kids are grown with children but I keep wondering if the grandkids will know what to do if all the adults get sick. The idea of a 'hand book' is very appealing.

I had thought that we would have a check list section, Sunny, but we could as easily have one after each section. We will be doing that after we get the rest of the book finished though so we don't miss things. If you look at the outline for the basic preps you will find that we have sections like lighting and cooking and such. In the specific disaster outline there's a section on EMP's which would mean no electricity also. It's my hope that as we cover each subject we will also be covering most anything that someone might need to be ready. Actually, a section on entertainment isn't listed and it might be a good addition to the manual. Things like games and projects to keep kids busy would be good but so would something for adults also. I don't suppose many adults go a day without TV, newspapers and/or the computer. I have but would miss the computer more than anything else. Yes, that might be a very good section to include. Thanks for the idea. Want to tackle it???

If you have high humidity in your area I would suggest that you get a dehydrator with a fan, not one of the small round convection ones. A fan will keep the warm air moving and the humidity forced out. If you are hoping to dehydrate foods without electricity, say after the SHTF, it will be harder to do in a more humid environment but not impossible. Before you purchase a dehydrator, look at the trays in it with an eye to using them to dehydrate foods without electricity, either as is in the dehydrator set in the sunshine, or in some home made appliance. Most are too closed in to use as-is but the trays can be utilized easily. Also, if you make or think you might want to make yogurt or sour cream, be sure to look to see if the dehydrator has temperature settings for that. Some do, most don't, especially the new ones. An old one I have has settings for fruits, vegetables, meats, yogurt and raising breads but it's small with only four trays. Fo those of you who are handy there are a lot of very good hand made dehydrator instructions on line. Some just using a cardboard box. My DH made one years ago from plywood, plexiglass, and tent screening for the trays (with a back up light bulb and fan in case of inclimate weather) that would dehydrate a bushel of apples at a time. Vaccuum sealed, most dried products will keep for years. I don't have one so I often store my dried items in my freezer if I have space. They don't have to be however. I have stored properly dehydrated produce just on a shelf in a dark area for five or more years and not had them go bad. They may start to lose their taste and their nutritional value after the first year or two though. Hope this helps some.

Nana, just when I think you can't get any better, you do. I don't think anyone would challenge the validity of that list. I'm even going to use it for ME to check out my stocks. In reading through the list I realized that there are some things I WAS stocked up on that I'm not any longer. (course, you know I'm stealing this also for the manual