Tag Archives: goals

Momma Bear: Sequestration, Military Life & Our Growing Family

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The military received a 1% pay raise this year.  But with a 2% tax increase, that is the same as a 1% pay cut. I am thankful to report that while this did infuriate me, we were able to absorb the loss with minimal discomfort.  Sequestration hit right about the time that we were re-arranging our house to accommodate the two kids we are planning to adopt. While I had been busy spending to get ready for a larger family (beds, linens, 2nd fridge, etc.), some of our friends who are federally employed were getting furlough notices. Our one friend is being furloughed to the tune of a 12% pay cut.  With a new mortgage and small children at home, I hope that they can weather the storm. Other friends are being forced to retire early from the military because they are not at the top of their fields and the military needs a drastic reduction in forces. We are lucky in that my husband has a secure job, with a promotion on the horizon, and he is not at risk of a forced retirement. But it is a stark reminder that you can never be financially prepared ENOUGH to survive what life might throw at you.

another military moveIn addition to all of the sequestration drama, I was reminded recently that we will be facing our next set of military orders to move, sometime in the next year, probably moving in about 16 months . We usually know about 4-6 months prior to our moves (sometimes we know as early as a year in advance), which will allow us time to get our lives ready for the next big adventure. Those months leading up to finding out our next duty station is always filled with speculation about where we will go, how we will get there, etc., and a few times we have been utterly surprised by where the Marine Corps has chosen to send us.  For us, this will be the first time that we have moved since beginning a long term food storage program. While the movers will pack food in containers for moves within the U.S., it counts against our overall weight allowance. Foods are typically discouraged on international moves. This will be complicated for us because we will be moving a much larger household than ever before, and there is always the possibility of another international move. After rearranging our storage areas to accommodate the 2nd fridge last weekend, my husband raised the white flag and told me I needed to lay off the food storage (I believe the word “hoarder” may have been mumbled). He said I needed to develop a plan to deal with all this food for our next move. I think in his mind he was envisioning us having to throw out hundreds of pounds of food. Of course in my mind, I am more concerned with our increasing family size and feel the need to store more, but I can see his point.

moving-truckWe have both compromised and developed a plan. All future food storage purchases (in our current location) will need to be for our regular food storage pantry that we routinely eat from. No more long term storage food purchases until we reach our next duty station. The mylar and bucket food storage will be moved with our household goods (unless we are headed overseas and are limited on weight). Once we know where/when we are moving we will begin eating from our easy access long term food storage that I have in 2-liter bottles (see previous article on storage containers).  These are containers and food items that are easy to replace once we are relocated. When they come to move us, any surplus pantry items in original containers may then be donated to the local food pantry. I consider this a workable solution that we can both live with, and he promised not to use the word hoarder again.

Has anyone else ever had to deal with moving a great distance with their long term food storage?  Any tips or suggestions?

 

Nuts & Bolts by Nick: Joining in the Annual Reflections

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by Nick Romaniello

Since both Trace and Momma Bear have contributed articles reviewing the past year’s accomplishments and plans for the days ahead, I figured I would follow their lead (or rip off their article idea depending on how you look at it) and take a look at what I have done and what’s still on the list.

Though the practice of prepping isn’t exactly new to me, but the terminology and organization of it is. When I was a teenager in coastal South Carolina we all prepared for hurricanes with stored food, water, batteries and evacuation kits, and my frequent camping and hiking excursions kept me involved in outdoor skills. The current trend toward prepping, homesteading and sustainable living have provided me with plenty of new sources of inspiration to further my ability to be self sufficient in good times and bad. Despite financial and time constraints I have managed to make reasonable progress over the past many months.

gear shelfMy preps have been organized into a central location in my basement into bins and shelves. This not only allows for quick and easy access, but allows me to keep track of inventory.

I’ve extended my three-day food supply into a respectable store of non-perishables and water, including food for the dogs. Not a decade’s worth of #10 cans or anything, but enough to carry us through the blizzards and financial fluctuations of my job that we are most likely to encounter.

Fire extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were positioned on each floor and tested monthly. We made a family evacuation plan in the event of a fire including a meeting place should we leave through different exits.

I began training as a member of a local search and rescue organization. This will further develop my outdoor skills from woodland survival to technical rescue and provide in-depth training in emergency first aid as a wilderness first responder. Acting as a subject for search dog training is also handy for honing my skills of hiding in the outdoors. Plus it’s always good to know how to help others in a disaster scenario.

I began taking Krav Maga courses (a non-competitive self-defense martial art) and started practicing my marksmanship at the local range to improve my self-defense skills. I will always choose to walk the path of peace and kindness, but pacifism does not mean being defenseless to someone who means harm to me or my family.

I have increased my backups for alternative heating/cooking in the event of a long-term winter power outage by supplementing my indoor-safe propane heater with a small generator and an electric heater, and several off grid cooking methods.

tomatoesThere is always more to do and the coming spring is already laid heavy with plans to continue adding helpful gear and, more importantly, essential skills to what we already have. Our urban homesteading skills are at the forefront of our plans including more extensive preserving of our annual vegetable garden’s bounty, growing some fruits such as berries, and a more refined system of rainwater harvesting and grey water reclamation. Some of-interest-to-preppers home improvement projects are looming and I will be sure to thoroughly document them and share them here.

Hopefully by publicly reflecting upon our progresses and plans, we can all further the cycle of information, inspiration and motivation from which we can all grow to become more prepared as individuals and as a community.

 

Momma Bear: Year One in Review

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We recently reached our official one year mark for prepping and, like Trace & family, I decided to do our year in review to see where we stand and in which direction we need to focus for the future.

A few months after we first began “prepping” I went back to work, and I have to say that my lack of free time has seriously affected our prepping. Many of my smaller projects took a back seat to the more routine things like food storage. While we did do some amazing stuff, it was only a fraction of what we could have done had I not been working.

accomplishmentsOverall our big successes were:

  • learning to garden
  • canning
  • food storage in general
  • building good BOB’s
  • building emergency evacuation kits (2 boxed kits with tents, camp stoves, etc)
  • some basic skills training for the kids

Of all our successes this past year, gardening has been the most rewarding because my husband got so excited by the results. I simply could not grow enough tomatoes to keep him in salsa and he is anxiously awaiting this year’s crop! The big disappointments for me are that I still have not begun a food storage/surplus for my pet foods, I did not have enough free time to read and pursue prepping topics, the HAM radio course was a disaster (no license for me!), and we have currently postponed stock piling firearms/ammo (an intensely personal family decision).

2013-goals1Looking forward, we have a pretty clear idea of our priorities. The good news is that I am quitting my job because our family size is increasing (we are adopting)! I will be staying home, learning to be a mom to a larger family! Of course increasing our food storage this year continues to be the top priority, adding bulk food purchases (Costco) to our regular food preps. We will begin our pet food storage as well. We will be getting a bigger vehicle (in addition to the full size truck we already own), and possibly a small trailer.  I will also have more time to focus on our garden this year and go back to working with the dogs on backpacking and maybe carting. I also received HAM Radio for Dummies book (thanks mom!) and will attempt to master that. As an alternative to the firearms we are also looking into archery classes for the whole family.

Although there were as many ups as downs last year, the future is looking fine for us! How did your year of prepping turn out?

 

Goals For 2013

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2012 was the first time I had publicly posted my goals. Last week I reviewed those goals: some achieved, some postponed, some re-prioritized.

goals-for-2013So here it goes for 2013.

Most of our goals revolve around finally buying, and moving onto, our homestead. We’ve done a lot here in our rented home in suburbia, with our 1/10th of an acre yard (living with strict HOA rules) and two-car garage. Not that we’ve done everything we can, but we’ve done about all we’re likely to do. We are in a pretty good situation prepardness-wise–with all the above limitations considered–but now we’re ready to take the next step.

We’ve been looking for a homestead for the past year and a half, including having an offer accepted on one we really liked — only to have the seller back out. But both Sarah and I really feel like it’s time. We want to own a home on a rural piece of property. We have a relatively small budget, because we want to keep our mortgage low so we can easily live within our means, but we believe it’s enough to find what we are looking for. That being said, we can pretty much guarantee there will be additional expenses, and a lot of sweat-equity to make it properly livable. We have a limited range, we don’t want to move very far from where my girls live with their mother. We’d prefer the house to have at least three bedrooms and two baths, with a garage. The property needs to be mostly usable, at least half forested, preferably with water on it. We’ve got some leads we’re working on and hopefully everything will fall into place soon.

Goals (assuming we get the homestead)

  • Add more livestock. The first year in our new place we’ll probably just add chickens (in addition the rabbits we already have). Future years may bring ducks, goats, bees, and/or pigs — we’ll see.
  • Get a second working dog. Most likely a Great Pyrenees, to help with security of the livestock and property.
  • Learn more about permaculture design (developing sustainable, mostly self-maintained, agricultural systems based on natural ecosystems), and begin incorporating it into the property.
  • Begin planting annual fruit (and nut) bearing trees and bushes.
  • Get at least some type of garden in, and actively work on developing additional gardening spots through clearing, composting, and mulching.
  • (if there’s water on the property) Learn more about, and hopefully begin developing, a micro-hydro system to develop electricity.

1882313856_1356989402Other Goals

  • Learn to pickle vegetables
  • Continue to blog, at least weekly
  • Learn to preserve, and use, herbs in a variety of ways
  • Develop proficiency working with Kydex

Goals carried over from 2012

  • Learn to make yogurt
  • Learn to brew beer
  • Grow cabbage, then make sauerkraut
  • Get extra rice and beans to share with neighbors (if/when needed)
  • Learn to identify local plants (especially ones on the homestead)
  • Learn more about solar power, evaluate feasibility

What are your 2013 goals?

 

Review of Goals for 2012

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http://www.dreamstime.com/-image24241030Accomplished Goals in 2012

Major Goals

  • We are now debt-free — This goal took over two years of effort, and more patience and austere living than we were use to (but interestingly we seemed to adjust to it and now it’s sort of the norm). But Sarah is great at numbers and budgeting, and we were able to do this relatively painlessly. There are some exceptions, but we achieved what we set out to accomplish.
  • We own two female and one male American Chinchilla Rabbits — Though as we’ve still been unable to successfully breed them, we’re beginning to wonder if our male will need to be replaced.
  • We bought a 2004 F350 Ford Diesel pickup truck 4×4 crew-cab with an extended bed — We saved and bought it with cash, and are now slowly completing the repairs it needs (that’s why we got it at such a good price initially.)
  • I blogged for a full year, three times a week, through September — I’m now posting less regularly now but it’s still an active, and enjoyable, part of my life.

Minor/Ongoing Goals

  • We got a pressure canner, and used it — We successfully canned turkey and broth. We’d highly recommend this to anyone who preserves food, it was easy.
  • We inspected and rotated our BOB, etc. (later than scheduled, but it got done) — This is far more of a hassle than it should have been, but definitely needs to be done on a regular basis — it’s amazing how quickly you forget what you have, and where it is, in your kit.

(I reviewed my goals Halfway Through 2012, in July, and at that point wasn’t doing to bad. But I didn’t end up getting a whole lot done after that.)

stop go back try againGoals I’ll Roll Over To 2013

  • Learn to make yogurt  — This isn’t a hard one, it just needs to get done. Our family likes yogurt and it’s a great source of nutrition and protein.
  • Learn to brew beer — Now that my friend, Tad, is back living in the area I have no excuses. We hope to get together and make beer this month.
  • Grow cabbage, then make sauerkraut — We planted it, and it completely failed (no heads developed, possible pollination problem?). We’ll try again this summer with another variety. I guess we could have bought cabbage to make make into sauerkraut — but we didn’t.
  • Getting extra rice and beans to share with the the neighbors (if/when needed) — This  is still a priority. We’ll budget for it soon.
  • Learning to identify local plants (we got the book, now we need to use it).

Goals That’ll Wait Until We Get Our Homestead

  • Adding solar panels — When everything is said and done, we live in Western Washington and just don’t get a lot of sun to make this a top priority. It’d be nice, and I hope to experiment with it one day, but there are other projects first.
  • Honey Bees — This is something we’d really like to do, but have decided to wait until we’re situated at the new place
  • Planting Ground Nuts — They take a couple of years to mature, and we hope to be moved by then.
  • Get a 1/2 cord of wood — We decided we didn’t really need it at this house. Once we get our place I’ll add “cut and stack wood” to my to do list.

So how did you’re 2012 goals turn out? Are you better off as a prepper now then you were at this point last year?

(Next week: Goals For 2013)

Green highlighted words are links to posts that cover those topics.

One Year Blog Anniversary!

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A year ago I started writing TraceMyPreps. My goal was to write, three times a week, for a year. I’ve now completed that year and my goal. Counting today’s, I’ve published 147 posts; 119 written by me and 28 written by my regular and guest contributors.

So what now? I set out to write for a year “then reevaluate.” I’ve learned a ton from writing my blog, it’s kept me focused on my prepping, constantly learning more, and helped direct where I wanted to go. I’ve written about things I knew about, things I’d recently learned about, things that have gone on in our life, and reviewed items and books.

I do want to continue my blogging, but not on such a regimented schedule. So now–instead of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday–it’ll be when I choose to write; when I feel I have something worth writing.

That being said, Wednesdays will continue to written by one of my regular contributors:

  • 1st: Rural Relations with Josh. Josh recently started with us and will write about the lessons he’s learned, and what he’ll do differently next time, living on his own 5-acre homestead.
  • 2nd: Sarah’s View. Written by my wife Sarah, she tells of our prepping experiences from her perspective.
  • 3rd: Momma Bear. Leah writes as the “tip of the spear” prepper in her family. Though her husband is involved and supportive of their prepping, since he is an active duty Marine officer it’s possible–if a disaster strikes–he might not be around.

I’ll continue to write What We Did This Week To Prep and Teaching The Kids (& Learning More Myself) as things come along. Plus I’d like to do more book and product reviews, they always seem to be well received.

Essentially I’m giving myself “permission” not to stress about writing on a regularly basis. Since I’ll be posting more irregularly, I’d encourage people to “Subscribe To Blog Via Email”, there’s a box on the right side of my home page where you can do that. Then the entire post (not just a link) will be sent directly to your email; I never send anything else or distribute the list in any way. Another option is to “Like” TraceMyPreps on Facebook; there’s also a link to do that on the home page (right above “Subscribe to Blog”). Every time I post I put a link on FB, both on the TraceMyPreps FB page and on my personal page. Or just check back from time to time, most weeks there’ll be a couple of new posts.

Part of writing less is to reduce the time and stress in my life, but part of it is also that I’ve said a lot of what I wanted to say and I’m running out of ideas. If anyone has topics they’d like to see covered, feel free to pass them along either in the comments section, emailed directly to me, or on FB.

Finally, as we end our first year, I’d like to thank my wife, Sarah. She’s the one who suggested the idea of a blog, even though originally she wasn’t quite sure about this whole prepping thing (she still shakes her head from time to time), or the effort it would require from her. Over this last year we’ve learned a lot, but the biggest thing we’ve learned is where we want to end up together, both literally and figuratively.

(Wednesday: Sarah’s View)

Halfway Through 2012 – Reviewing The Goals

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We are halfway through the year. Six months are gone, and just less than six months are left — which of your goals have you accomplished? I don’t believe goals are a static thing; I believe they change and evolve as we progress and learn more. Something that might have seemed very important to accomplish, may not seem as much–or at all–important once you learn more about it, or vice-versa.

So here’s my halfway recap of how I’m doing,  on my goals for 2012, that I’ll share with you. (As always, I have included links–highlighted in green–to my old posts in case you missed them.)

Goals Accomplished

Goals We’re Still Working On

  • I plan to add some solar panels — I need to do additional research.
  • We’re actively working on getting a diesel pickup truck.
  • I’m continuing to blog through September. At that point I’ll probably just post once a week, or more if something specific comes up.
  • Learn to make yogurt — I just need to do it.
  • Learn to brew beer — it’s kind of a cop-out, but I’m waiting for my friend to move back here who already brews beer and have him teach me (I’ve had to self learn so many new things, it’d be nice just to have someone teach me).
  • We’ll probably get a pressure cooker when it’s time to start canning.
  • We’re growing cabbage and hope to make sauerkraut, and other fermented foods, this fall.
  • We’re planning to budget money to buy extra rice and beans, for neighbors, in a couple of months.
  • We recently got our book Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and now need to start learning what’s around us.
  • I still need to update our evacuation/emergency documentation notebook — it’s on my to do list.
  • We still need to find a source and order/buy 1/2 cord of firewood.

Goals We’ve Postponed or Cancelled

  • We’ve put off getting honey bees until next spring.
  • A storage unit near potential BOL has been put on hold; we’re considering getting an RV as a BOV/temporary BOL.
  • I had forgotten about the bicycle until I reviewed this list. While I still think it’s a good idea but it’s not going to happen this year.
  • I’m probably going to put off learning to make soap until next year (or so).
  • We forgot to get ground nut seeds, we’ll put that on next year’s list.
  • I probably won’t learn to fish this year, maybe I’ll find someone to go with during salmon season but they’re pretty passionate about it and it comes at a busy time of the year.

The year is halfway, are we halfway to our goals? No. But we’re doing okay. And, as always, other things have come up:

Review where you are, what you’ve done, do what you can, and know where you’re going. Continue–or start–working a little bit each week to make yourself and your family more self-reliant and self-sufficient.

(Wednesday: RV As A BOV/BOL?)

Goals For 2012

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Writing down goals–especially that others will see–is kind of scary. It takes them from being loose ideas and possible projects to specific committed tasks. Doing so will hold you accountable; peer oversight/review is a powerful motivator.

So here is my list(s). I recommend you write your own; then share it with someone. Feel free to post your goal list here in the comments, or on Trace My Preps facebook page, or even email them to me personally (email can be found in the “About Trace” tab at the top of the page). At the end of 2012 we can look back, quantify our results, and see what we did with some focus and hard work.

Major Goals

  • become debt-free
  • raise rabbits for meat
  • keep honey bees
  • add some solar panels to recharge battery bank
  • get storage unit near potential BOL*
  • buy older, diesel pickup truck (with cash)
  • continue blog through September (1 year) – then reevaluate
  • get bicycle, start cycling

Minor Goals

  • learn to make soap
  • learn to make yogurt
  • learn to brew beer
  • buy and learn to use pressure cooker
  • grow cabbage, make sauerkraut
  • store extra food for others/neighbors
  • plant ground nuts (Apios americana)
  • learn to fish
  • learn to identify local wild edible plants

To Do Goals (ongoing)

  • update evacuation/emergency documentation notebook
  • inspect and rotate BOB and other potential perishables
  • get 1/2 cord of firewood

(Wednesday: Walk A Mile In Your Shoes, Part 2)

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

What We Did This YEAR To Prep

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2011 In Review

(This will be my final post of 2011. I’m taking the last week of the year off to enjoy some quiet time, peace, and, of course, family – I encourage you to do the same. My first post of next year will be: Goals For 2012.)

2011 was our first full-fledged prepper year. I got back on the prepper bandwagon in the fall of 2010. By January 2011, we had pretty much adopted it as a lifestyle.

When I say we, I mean my wife Sarah and I. I consider our partnership–and our ability to discuss and share goals–our biggest prepper accomplishment. I feel fortunate to have such strong support from my wife. I’m so glad she understands my need to keep our family safe and prepared; [in her words] “That’s how he shows his love for me.” We work together to decide what purchases are made and what activities are undertaken. She’s my biggest prepper asset, and I love her very much.

The other, similar, accomplishment was getting my kids involved. They’ve helped, showing varying degrees of willingness, with many of our smaller activities and all of our major ones. They accept the fact that their dad is “that guy” and don’t roll their eyes nearly as much as they used to. They will even acknowledge that some of the things have been “fun” and “kind of cool.”

Since this was our first real year, there were a lot of big goals and priorities. Anytime you start a new project, especially on that is such a lifestyle change, there’s a lot to acquire and learn. We got more “stuff” this year than I’m sure we will in subsequent ones. I assume future years will involve more fine tuning, including smaller purchases and developing the items we have and projects already in place.

A big advantage we had was that we were both gainfully employed, and that we were willing to cut back on our spending and live a more austere lifestyle. Almost all the extra money we spent this year was with the goal of getting out of debt and building our preps. Also, on the financial side of things, I sold my 2003 Road King Harley Davidson motorcycle; Harleys hold their value well and we were able to get a good price for it. From the sale, half the money went to preps and the other half went to pay off debt.

Goals accomplished in 2011:

  • Grow a ‘learning’ garden. We grew an adequate garden. We learned a lot and will expand it next year. We also spent time improving the soil.
  • Store food, both LTS* and SWYE. We purchased, and have stored a good amount of LTS (blog post), this involved several trips to the Mormon cannery. We also created, and developed a good rotation of SWYE foods (blog post).
  • Buy a deep freezer. And develop a tracking system so stuff doesn’t get lost in there (blog post).
  • Build a compost pile. I don’t feel it’s as efficient as it could be yet, but it’s there and being used.
  • Buy a dog. Kate, our now four-month old, Border Collie. (blog post)
  • Develop a backup power system: generator and batteries. Bought, and learned to use, a Generac generator, AMC batteries, and an inverter/charge controller. Then successfully (with some help) hooked it all up to the battery bank. (blog post)
  • Create BOBs. We put together a total of three BOBs, one for each vehicle. I think they came together well, we put them in good packs in a modular setup. They’re built so one person could eat for 10 days. They are probably too heavy.
  • Develop BOB documentation package. We put a completed one in each BOB, one in the house, and one was given to the kid’s mom. Didn’t cost anything, but took a lot of time.
  • Buy non-electric heating source. Mr. Buddy Heater. A propane heater that can be used indoors. We also purchased several 5-gallon propane tanks.
  • Buy non-electric cooking source. Volcano II stove. A collapsible, portable stove that can cook with propane, charcoal, or wood.

In addition we also:

  • Bought a set of MURS radios. To be used as a backup form of communication (short-range). We used them extensively on our two car road trip to Lake Tahoe.
  • Bought, and learned to use, a straight razor. (blog post)
  • Bought a Berkey water filter.
  • Bought a coffee percolator, a french press, and a hand grinder (and stored plenty of coffee).
  • Bought, and installed, fire extinguishers (blog post) and a CO2 detector.
  • Added fish antibiotics to our collapse medicine preps. (blog post)
  • Learned the basics of canning (canned jelly and salsa).
  • Developed a ‘blackout kit”: flashlights and lighters stored in a central area, also lanterns (with fuel) and candles.
  • Bought extra gas cans and stored gasoline. (blog post)
  • Bought, and regularly use, a cast iron pan, pot, and dutch oven.
  • Added crutches to our collapse medicine preps (blog post)
  • Bought Emberlit Stoves for BOBs (blog post)
  • Bought an Airsoft pistol (blog post)
  • Built a rain barrel water collection system (blog post)
  • Began writing this blog (TraceMyPreps.com)

What did you do this YEAR? (Please leave a note in the comments!)

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

*For my list of abbreviations and other information, open the above ‘Check Here…’ page tab.

What I Did This Week To Prep 12/2/11

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We planted our winter compost crop seed mix this week. The seeds arrived last week (from Bountiful Gardens), but because the ground was frozen we had to wait for warmer weather. There is a mixture of vetch, wheat, and rye, and then the fava beans are planted separately. We’ve never done this before and are not exactly sure what to expect. Will it look like just a bunch of weeds growing? And it seems strange to plan to grow stuff, just to cut it down and leave it in the dirt. I understand the concept and the experts say it’s a good idea, so the only way to fully understand it is to do it. We also sprinkled Dutch White Clover seeds on the backyard areas with less grass which, hopefully, will expand throughout the yard.

Shooting real firearms in suburbia isn’t very convenient, plus winter is frequently cold and wet when you go to the range, and ammunition quickly gets expensive. So I’m going to try using airsoft guns as an alternative way to practice and teach shooting skills. I got the idea from listening to Jack Spirko’s TSP, Becoming a Better Shooter and Trainer with Airsoft Guns (Episode 671). Last week Ryan and I went and bought a Crossman Air Mag C11 CO2 pistol, a box of CO2 cartridges, and a 2000 pellets (total cost less than $100). We came home and built a frame (8 1/2 by 11 inches), with a plywood back, lined the inside with a towel (to absorb the impact and prevent ricochet), and tacked up a normal piece of paper with a target drawn on it. We hung it on the wall and paced off ten feet. Sarah, Ryan, Alison, Emily and I took turns shooting in our custom indoor-range. I think it will be a good cost and time-saving, teaching and practice tool. Of course it’s not the real thing, but it’s the right weight and size and it allows you to practice: stance, grip/hand placement, sight alignment and sight picture, and trigger control. About the only thing missing is the loud “bang” and recoil. I’m excited about this new training venue. Once we get our skills up to a good level, we can–since it’s not a real gun and can be shot in the house–practice some “what if a stranger breaks into the house” scenarios. I think this will be a good winter activity that will allow any and all of us, who want to shoot, to have almost unlimited practice.

December 1st was yesterday. 2011 is almost over. Now is the time to reflect on our 2011 goals and either hurry up and finish, or revise as necessary. My post the last Friday of this month/year will be: What I Did This Year To Prep. Then, in early January, I’ll write: Goals For 2012. I’d encourage you to reflect back on this year and start thinking about your goals for next year.

Lastly, I wanted to link to some follow-up information regarding antibiotics in our long-term preps. From The Doom and Bloom Hour blog with Dr. Bones, a medical doctor, and his wife Nurse Amy, a Nurse Practitioner: Antibiotics And Their Use In Collapse Medicine, Part 1 and Antibiotics And Their Use In Collapse Medicine, Part 2. I applaud this couple for their diligence and determination to share life-saving material about collapse medicine. It is difficult to get good information on this topic and they are my top resource.

What did you do?