Mother

Way to go Lois, all great suggestions. Let's here from more of you on this!

Perhaps Mamacat is right and this thread is only causing more confusion (Thanks Mamacat!! For bringing that up ) I’m going to try to be very blunt here so that there will be no misunderstanding. The confusion is with Schoolmarm and myself about the intentions of the Mrs. S’s members towards the manual. Here are the basic facts of the matter: This manual is a pretty good idea in fact a darn good idea. We know that you are all busy with your own preps but now would be the perfect time to help others be prepared as well. The more people who are prepared, the less problems for us all. We'd like to see the manual come to life but there's no way that Schoolmarm and I can do it alone. It is intended to be the Mrs. S. manual, not ours, and that means it needs to come from the members. Plain and simple, that means if there is going to BE a Mrs. S manual, we need volunteers to WRITE this stuff. We may add some links within it to other sites but we can't just take it from other sites or books or we could run into problems with copyrights and etc. Besides, this manual is meant to be like Mrs. S. herself; wonderful caring women, and some great men, helping others to be more prepared. We want to retain the feel that Mrs. S. gives to us all. ***That it CAN be done, that we will show them how with this manual and that there is support in the doing. In other words, not JUST a dry list of supplies but a whole way of life. Down to earth info and love, dispensed with each post or in this case, page.*** All the ideas you’ve posted here and in other places are great for the things that could be added but we need people willing to work on getting them ready to include. We need volunteers to write info on prepping for babies and for the elderly and for pets. We need people willing to tackle the other items included in the outlines. We need input but we also need tangible help. Pertinent information: It's my understanding that when the information starts coming in, it will be posted here for all to read and comment on. Then Schoolmarm and I will be in contact with those writing the info to see about REWRITING it to include the most pertinent info given. No one has to be an expert writer, as the editors, probably Schoolmarm and I and maybe some other volunteers, will help to shape it up. You just need to know your subject well or be willing to do the research on it. As each section is finished, we will somehow to all

I have been in contact with Schoolmarm and she has suggested that there may be some confusion about the Mrs. Survival's Survival and Preparation Manual. Perhaps all of us need to "chat". When the idea for the manual first began there were several ideas put forth for what should be included. That resulted in the great list that Schoolmarm came up with on your suggestions. Many of you volunteered to tackle those specific areas of need. Those areas have not been abandoned. They are a vital and necessary part of the manual. Since that time, through discussions with Darlene and others, it has come to our attention that a section might also be added to the book that gave newcomers a chance to see basic preparation information all gathered into one place. That is how my outline on basic preps came about. I know that this is a difficult time for all of us with the bird flu and other disasters looming on the horizon. It's difficult for each of us to take time out from our busy schedules to try to get the information together that might be needed in this manual. It is also a time of needing to share the information with others, perhaps new to preparation and survival, who might be helped through a difficult time by learning now about being prepared. So, here is the situation. As this is a MRS S. manual it should be left up to the members to choose: 1.) IF you want to continue with the manual, and 2.) WHAT you would like to see the manual contain. Schoolmarm and I propose that you take a look at the two outlines. Take a look at the amount of time you will be able to devote to helping to pull this book together and then give us your vote. Feel free to add your input as to changes that might be needed. We need your input before we can continue. Please cast your vote soon. Big

Gosh, I can hardly post for the tears. How sweet of you Darlene. Bless you for the hug. I got a big kick out of the tiny though.......

I rather liked you bouncy little guy, I'll miss him

Remember this is just an outline, suggestions of things to include. Please don't let it's length be discouraging. We may be able to pull some of this from other posts but would have to make sure the info doesn’t have a copywrite on it. I left a lot of the random ideas in the list. Perhaps some of you will not want to tackle an entire subject but would be willing to tackle just one part of it. Feel free to suggest or even post other things you believe need to be included or excluded. I've not had a chance to read all the back posts in Mrs. S. That would take an eon as there is SO much good information here but if any of you remember a post that can be used, please bring it to mind for us. Moderators, I know you are all busy people, but perhaps you could search your forums for back posts that will fit. Perhaps some of you would be willing to pull those posts into an article. BASIC PREPARATION OUTLINE: *Introduction- LOIS Small kits: Bug out Bag or 72 hour kit *Backpack or vehicle kit- LOIS *Personal Fanny pack_ LOIS Specifics: *Water- LOIS (possibly Wheelers emergency water info also) *Food plans- MOTHER Basic survival plan. (long term storage) 2 week plan 3 month plan 1 year plan Suggestions for preparing on a shoestring budget ($20 a week plan) Nana's Food, general information- How much (needs per person) What kind (storage foods, MRE’s, canned, dried) Healthy eating (nutritional needs in stressful times) Rotating stock Where to store (innovated storage)- Finding food in an emergency (SHADY PINE is doing foraging, any other ideas anyone?) Cooking in an emergency- MOTHER Cooking stored foods (recipes or cook book, this could certainly be a separate book!) Stocking up for special needs: Elderly and infants Pets Emergency Refrigeration- DARLENE (southern style at least) Root cellars, Clay pot coolers, swamp coolers, Spring houses or running water, And etc. Sanitation- T-paper and alternatives Bathing or lack of Portable potties, out houses, composting toilets, and make shift toilets. Gloves Disinfectants Shelter- Shelter in place Alternative shelter (evacuation) Emergency shelters (tents, make shifts etc) Possibly JO will cover this in Wilderness Survival Heat and cooling- Clothes Wood heat Keeping warm without heat Generators Cooling (shaded windows, cooling house at night and closed in day, caves? Paper fans????) Personal Important papers Finances and available funds Etc. First aid- Kits - BOOKWORM Meds (what kind, expiration dates) *Herbs- LOIS Instructions (Recommended book) Knowledge ahead ( Suggested classes, online links, etc) Lighting- POGO Matches and lighters, Batteries, Lanterns and candles Emergency lights (rush lights, button lamps, cooking oil, etc) Flash lights (various kinds) Generator Solar Safety- Possibly covered in each different area Protection- Self defense Property defense Communication- Cell phone (keeping a charge, versus land lines, towers work?) Land line (will it still work, keep non electric phone) Communication plan ahead of time with family Radios (battery, hand cranked, electric) Entertainment: SUNNY Long term self sufficiency- Heirloom seeds and plants Gardening (ground, container, green house or cold frame, city gardening)- KIM MC Hunting (country and city) Wild crafting- SHADY PINE w/ Wilderness Survival Basic how to Information Is there something that you think should go here? General Checklist- Personal Checklist We can do these along with the index after all the other info is compile.

OH Spider, please don't pout, Mother should have done her homework better.

This is Schoolmarms list with the additions that have come in since this was first posted. The star denotes those which have been turned in. Weather/Natural Disasters: *Floods- Evergreen Hurricanes- Darlene Tornados and hail- Buttercup *Snow and Ice Storms- Lois *Drought, Wild Fires, Fires and Extreme Heat- Goatherder Earthquake-Becca Anne Wilderness Survival- Jo and Shady Pine Asteroid- Ma Steel Tidal Wave Lahar Pandemics/Bird flu- Manmade Disasters: Train/Truck-chemical or biological accident EMP- Goatherder **Civil unrest/ riots- Spider Chemical Terrorism- Schoolmarm Biological Terrorism- Schoolmarm Nuclear Bomb/Nuclear radiation- Teaberry War Personal Disasters *Unemployment- Moonstar Death- Waiting *Cover-Pixie Please look these over and see what I might have missed. There may corrections that I'm not aware of. If you volunteered for a segment and I missed it, or if you see something there you would be willing to tackle would you please let me know? I'll try to put the updated outline for the basic preps on tomorrow.

Super post, Nana. I read myself in every word, except the chocolate. I'm allergic to that and my DH likes it but would have no trouble doing without it. Everything else you brought up is right on.

These are excellent,

Mother doesn't come up either, or rather, tons of mothers come up, but not me. Strangely enough though, I was doing a search on woman's work in the past, trying to find some info I needed and ended up with coming up with an article that "I" wrote and posted several years ago....Pretty bad when you find your own information. How am I going to learn anything THAT way

Hey Westbrook.. Great article. Just a couple of suggestions though. First, the amounts she uses to make a cup of tea are pretty heavy, especially if you are not used to herb teas. You might want to start out with some less. I rarely use more than a teaspoon or two of dried product per cup. Second, Lemon balm and Bee balm are two separate herbs. Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis L. is indeed lemony flavored. But Bee Balm, Monarda didyma is a strong almost minty flavor. They are both good but both different from each other and have different medicinal values. Didn't want anyone to get a surprise in their tea!

I like JoAnna Lund. She lives near me and I've met her a few times but she also has cancer which I'm not sure didn't come from all the artificial sweeteners she has used over the years. I prefer my candy in the natural form of dried fruit and/or honey or maple syrup. I've got some recipe's I will try to post real soon.

I've been reading the back posts and find them so interesting and informative. I love making soap and have used many different recipes with differing results. It's the variety that makes if fun. I thought some of you might want to hear about soap making in the past. The pioneer way to make soap was quite different but effective none the less. Lye was leached out of hard wood ashes in the "Ash Hopper". That is a wooden squared off funnel shaped aparatus (wider at the top than the bottom that is) that was set up so that there was a screen or filter of some sort in the bottom; sometimes cloth, sometimes woven reeds, sometimes just a thick layer of grass or straw or whatever they could fabricate. It was up off the ground on legs and a wooden or crockery container was set below it. Ashes from hard woods (those like oak, hickory, maple etc)were poured into the bottom of the hopper as they accumulated and then water was added to the top. Rain water was considered best. It was usually covered with a wooden lid and the water was allowed to slowly seep through the ashes. The resulting water was lye water. When run through the first time it was often not strong enough and would be run through again and again using more ashes each time as needed until a medium sized potato would float on top of it with only about a quarter sized area showing above the water. That would indicate the strength of the lye. This lye water was used straight for scrubbing the wood floors of the cabins, for making hominy (from corn but that's another topic)and for making a cooked soft or hard soap in a big iron pot over a fire. That is an art in itself and each housewife had their own recipe. The soap was made with fat rendered from butchering and/or leftover from meat that had been saved for months. The fat was usually clarified before use. Clarifying was the process of mixing the fat with water, bringing it to a simmer and then letting it cool so the fat would come to the top and get hard. The impurities settled to the bottom with the water which was then discarded. Sometimes, if they wanted a really nice product, they would clarify the fat several times. If the soap was going to be used for laundry and scrubbing, they might only do it once. Then on a nice day, over a fire in the yard (usually it was done outside because of the smell and danger), the housewife would hang a big kettle of fat to melt and when it reached the proper temperature according to her own specifications, she would add the lye water which she had previously heated. That was a pretty dangerous moment if everything wasn't just the right temp. Many a soap maker was left with burns in the process. When all was mixed, she would continue to stir, (in one direction only if the old recipes are to be believed) sometimes for hours, until the whole thing started to "trace" and then she would remove it from the heat and either dip it into molds or put it into crocks. If she wanted it scented she might add different herbs to her soap or attar of roses which she made herself. Molds were normally just wooden boxes or baskets with wet toweling lining them. (No waxed paper or plastic for our great ancestors. And actually, when I make soap I use a wet towel lined box to pour it into, wrap the extra around it and let it set that way. Not any neat edges this way but it looks like the old fashioned kind even though I normally use boughten lye and it all uses the same). This 'cooked' soap was often more a gel than a bar though, depending on her recipe or fat and is usually pretty brown in color because of the iron pot. If it was thick enough to make a bar, she let it set a day or so and then cut it and stacked it on a shelf or in a basket with air spaces between each layer to "age". This soap often took three months to cure or saponify so they were sure to make it ahead of need. The longer these bars aged, the harder and dryer they became and eventually they could be grated for use in laundry and etc The soft gel soap could be used for cleaning or heavy laundry in a few weeks but it too got much better as it aged. That soap was often harsh and hard on the skin but cleaned better than most of what we have now. It was often used to clean and rub into leather or as a lubricant among other things. This whole process could take days depending on how long it took the lye to reach the right strength and how many times she clarified the fat, so when you are making that nice white mild soap, give a thought to your great grandmothers who didn't have it so easy and be grateful that you have learned a bit of her wisdom, but be sure to pass it on to future generations. Who knows, they might need the information more even than we do. Here's another idea for your homemade soap or even boughten soaps. You can shave or grate the soap into a container and cover it with a little water. Let it set a few days, shaking or stirring it often and you will have a gel soap to use as needed. Or, if you want to fancy up plain soap, melt it down with a bit of water and add whatever ingredients you desire. Scents, oatmeal or corn meal, even rosin for a rough scrub can be added. Pour the soap back into a mold and let it set up again. This does not have to age and is an easy way to add more scent if you didn't get enough the first time. and happy soap making....

Hi Ginger, Great link. Just thought I'd mention that domestic strawberry leaves are great dried for a tea also. Has the same medicinal properties. And rose hips, off all roses are tasty but the rosa rugosa has the largest hips on them. The larger hips make a great syrup or jelly too. For those of you who buy organic lemons and oranges (well technically you can use inorganic ones too but be sure to wash wash wash them) the peel,minus some of the white pithy parts as they are sort of bitter, can be dried in small squares and used to flavor teas. I love to put a whole clove through each piece before I dry it and then pop some into a cup of hot tea. It gives it a wonderful spicy citrus taste. While I'm on a roll....you can dry apple peels for tea also. Dry the peels in either a dehydrator or just in a warm spot on a cookie sheet until they are sort of leathery but not crisp. They will store quite well in an air tight container that way. For a unique taste, I like to take some of them and put them on a cookie sheet in a single layer in a 300 degree oven and let them 'roast' until dark brown. Watch them so they don't burn. When you cool them these will be crisp. Use about a quarter cup of peel per cup of hot water, add a bit of honey and some cinnamon if you want or stir it with a cinnamon stick. Mother