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Cookbook Giveaway

I am hosting a cookbook giveaway every month until the end of the year on my farm blog. Please swing over and enter today at Cookbook Giveaway.

One of the cookbooks to be given away is a cookbook called Wilderness Cookery by Bradford Angier. As one that is living a simple life, learning to cook is a sure fired way to begin, as it starts the process of foods, how they go together, and then of course, where do they come from.

Have a great day.

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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Free Screening

Please go over and watch the free screening of the documentary Fresh, by ana Sofia joanes.

Here(the viewing is free for a week).

The documentary is about small scale farming and coming back to our roots because the impact of the large scale farming. I recommend everyone watch this film as it has a good deal of information in it~one thing that resonated with me is that 4-soon to be 3 firms handle 80% of our beef in the US. That is pretty worrisome in so many ways.

As a person living to be more self sufficient the film reaffirms much of what I am doing.

Enjoy the documentary!

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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Incredible Food Dehydrator Makeover: link fixed

Please go over and check it out:Pellet Stove Dehydration Unit.

It is a blog I found a while ago and have in my blog favorites. Please swing by and check out this wonderful blog: Subsistence Pattern!

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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Food Storage Series

This is a photo of a batch of popcorn I made the other day. I want to share that the popcorn was 4 years old and tasted delicious!

The thing about this 4 year old popcorn is that I did not buy longevity items, nor expensive buckets to secure the popcorn. I did what I always saw my mom do. I always put any flour, sugar, rice, beans, wheat, or popcorn in the freezer for 48 hours. This kills off any bugs that may be in the product. Then I pack my long term food storage in food grade buckets that I get for free from a local restaurant. The buckets still have the o ring in the lid, and once I close the lid and stand on the bucket to make sure it is closed, I label and date the bucket and into the pantry it goes. Result: spending no money, aside from the actual food, the stored item is as fresh as when packed~now how is that for practical doable food storage?

I believe maintaining a rotating pantry filled with foods you and your family use is a way that you can stretch your money. When an item goes on sale you can get several items and slowly but surely your pantry is ready for you when you have a need.

Since no one can predict when or what type of crises will occur, it is a good idea to have a pantry to hold you over. Last February, almost the entire nation suffered from a blizzard and bitter cold temps. Many people were stranded in their homes. For me, that is reason enough to have food storage on hand~before a crises arises.


I must put this rule I live by~I am very frugal but~if I think a food item, whether newly purchased or older, is off, or I am concerned a tad~ I throw it out. I never would risk the health of my family over an item in my food storage. Food safety and product awareness is key to keep you alive!

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm
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Simple Thought

Supplemental prep item: Manual Sweeper!

All of my life I had used an electric vacuum. I never thought of it as being a luxury item and if one broke I tossed it and bought another as they are so inexpensive.

When my last vacuum died, I wished to learn how I could do without, as a vacuum uses electricity and bags etc. So I looked for the push Bissell. I found the Bissell Sweep Up.

photo credit Bissell

I paid $12.99 total as Bissell did not charge shipping. They have several models that are manual. Check here.

I am not being paid by Bissell. I am sharing a simple tip to slowly ween yourself from so many things that you think you need. In a crises, cleanliness is critical-especially to keep disease down yet, how many situations occur where power is off for a good while? Perhaps a prep item should be a manual sweeper as it is for me!

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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Use it Up

What a wonderful WW II poster! As a prepper I find this my theme of 2012. Jump over to my farm blog to see how incredible an orange is, and how much you can do with it...The Incredible Edible Egg Orange.

Remember the time is now.

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm


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What do apples have to do with prepping?

First off, forgive me for my lack of prep blogging. This has been a crazy year with things like my oldest in Afghanistan, my mothers illness then death, two teens graduating, crossing the country twice, my father-in-law kind of moving in, my husbands issues and surgery all have been contributing factors to life and not posting.

Secondly, I plan on posting more of my day to day life which is no longer a life of one of a prepper, as I have changed over the years. Instead I have been transformed to a life that many will never understand, and others, perhaps like you will read and nod, or aspire to do as my life is the life of a blending of long ago skills with modern innovation...which will be coming soon to a more regularly scheduled weekly format.

For now I wish to share that I have been researching Kimchi.

The apples are what I put in some batches of Kimchi.

I am going to dive in more and share about Kimchi and how I use it in my life and the farm soon. My question to readers is this: Do you know what kimchi is, and if you do what are your thoughts on it?


Please share as that is what a real prepper is...one that listens, studies, and learns from those that have done something. A prepper appreciates that it is not what we accumulate that will get us through a crises, but what we learn and are able to cart in our mind are the real tools of prepping and survival.

Take care,

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm


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The Record Heat Waves

With the record heat waves and drought across the nation, the American Preppers Network hopes that you have been prepared.  Disasters of any type can and do happen anywhere, at anytime, and without warning.  We are now witnessing and will continue to witness a prime example of how one disaster can cause a chain reaction leading to other disasters.  Here are some potential disasters to be aware of as a result of the drought and heat waves.


1) Water shortages.  Water is the number 1 most important necessity to survival.  The average human can only survive 3 days without water, and even less in a heat wave.  I hope you've stored some.  If the water system shuts down or does not have enough, you could turn on the tap only to have a few drips.  If you run into a situation where there is not enough municipal water supply to your home, start looking for other sources of stored water.

• Your hot water tank may have 30 - 50 gallons of water stored. 
• The top supply tank to your toilette is typically clean water that you can use.
• Your plumbing in your house could have a few gallons.  Open a higher faucet in your house as in a shower, sink, or upstairs source to relieve pressure, then open a lower outside faucet to retrieve water from your plumbing system.

Don't short change yourself on water!  Make sure you have plenty for personal consumption.  If you stop sweating, that means you are dehydrated!   

Got Water?

2) Heat.  Heat poses many risks, including but not limited to:

• Heat Stroke.  Watch family members closely, especially the elderly, watch for slurred speech and disorientation.  When in doubt, call for help.  Time lost is brain lost.  Never leave pets or children in a vehicle, and keep them out of the direct sun.  Drink lots of water.
• Fire.  Fires are much more common in the heat.  Things dry out and become more flammable.  Keep dry brush and trash picked up.  Do not store fuel in or around your house, and keep well ventilated in a cool area out of the sun.  Keep grass cut short, especially if your city is rationing water and not allowing watering of lawns.  Do not store any flammables in the direct sun or in your attic.  
• Vehicle breakdowns. Avoid driving unless it's absolutely necessary, or drive at nite. Check your fluid levels and make sure your oil and coolant are topped off.  Bring extra oil and coolant with you in case you need it.  DO NOT top off your fuel tank!  Make sure your tires are property inflated and not over or under inflated.  Bring extra water with you in case you do break down.  Drive with the A/C off when going uphill.  Watch your vehicles tempature when climbing grades.  If your car starts to overheat when going uphill, pull over at a safe location to let it cool.  Check to make sure your thermostat is working before you make your trip.

3) Blackouts.   The nations grids are maxed out.  With everyone using A/C, expect rolling blackouts.  If you are in a blackout, you can wrap sleeping bags around your refrigerator or freezer to help insulate it.  To conserve power, only use what you absolutely need.  Keep lights turned off and keep your A/C set to the warmest temperature that you can safely stand.  Do you have a generator?  Be prepared to use it.  Do you have plenty of non-perishable food stored?  If there is an extended blackout, you may need it.  Stores and gas stations will be shut down in a blackout.  Do you have an emergency battery powered radio and flashlights?

4) Food Prices   Expect food prices to increase.  Especially meat.  Many ranchers are butchering all of there livestock as there is not enough food and water to care for them, this means shortages in the future.  Produce crops are drying up. Prices of corn, wheat and other grains will increase.  Even produce grown in unaffected areas may increase in price as well due to demand.  If the blackouts are too severe, stores, gas stations and truck stops may close down temporarily disrupting the supply chain and preventing food from making it to the stores.

Stay safe during this heat wave and dought.  This is a serious and potentially devastating national disaster.


If you have tips, ideas, news, videos or pictures that you wish to share regarding this heat wave you can submit your article to americanprepper@yahoo.com.  If your article is chosen we will post it on your states preppers network blog.  Top articles will get posted on APN.  The top article of the week will win a free flashlantern valued at $49.95 (made in the USA).  Articles must be submitted before 7/29.

Feel free to copy and repost this article in it's entirety.  Credit source as AmericanPreppersNetwork.com

Here are some free helpful pdf files to download

Fire and Heat Waves
- ARC - Are You Ready - Fire

- ARC - Are You Ready - Heat Wave

- ARC - Are You Ready - Wildfires

- Fact Sheet: Fires

- Fact Sheet: Fire Safe

- WildFires

Water
- ARC - Food and Water in Emergency

- Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water 

- How To Make A Solar Still (Plastic Cover)

- Purification Of Water On A Small Scale 

- Simple Solar Still For The Production Of Distilled Water

- Slow Sand Filters

- Water Purification

- Water Treatment

Fire Safety 

- Fighting Fire 

- Fire Safety

Get More Free Downloads here:
http://preppers.info/Free_Downloads.html

What to do...in a Catastrophic Event?

I wrote what to do on Double Nickel Farm. We have no way to prepare for every situation, but you can read What to do...and it will give you some ideas on what a prepper can do after a crises occurs.

It appears as if this summer is going to be one for the record books. Now is the time to learn skills to prepare you for any crises that comes your way.

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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Home Made Dog Food

I had been researching home made dog food recipes and came up with one that costs pennies a day. I wrote about my recipe on my farm blog Home Made Dog Food~The Results. It is important to factor in our preps food for our pets too.

Feel free to swing over to Double Nickel Farm to see how you too can make homemade dog food!
Jennifer

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Pickling Eggs

I pickled eggs today and shared the how to's on my farm blog Double Nickel Farm. It is so important that we take the time to continue to acquire new skills. Becoming more frugal in these times seems to be an incredible side effect, so feel free to go over and see how many items I was able to re-purpose while pickling eggs!

Happy Mother's Day!
Jennifer- mom of 4!
Double Nickel Farm

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What is Possible?

I promote learning skills more so than accumulating actual prep items as things run out, but your skills will be there forever. On my farm blog, I share how my family has been able to accomplish both skills and building up my prep items, all because of the potential or the possibility we saw when we found our farm. Feel free to read my post Breaking the Land on my blog, and maybe you too will be inspired to seek out some piece of land and live the dream of yesteryear, all the while preparing your family for the future that is coming.

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm
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How to's

On my farm blog I share how to make simple deodorant. It seems so silly to realize that in your preps are all the items you need to make most every thing. Instead of having x amount of deodorant in your prep to last x amount of time, you could save a good deal of money by learning how to make a deodorant that is unisex, and cost pennies. Go here to to see how easy it is to make deodorant.

By the way my post that shares how to make deodorant also shares how easy it is to prepare and eat lentils. Lentils are highly nutritious and are easy to add to your preps for very little money. I never understood how easy it was to prepare lentils, beans and the likes until I realized how inexpensive the bags of lentils were and beans verses buying the canned beans. A bonus was how I can eat foods that now do not have that silly little product corn syrup added. Seems like corn syrup is now added to everything, and in my mind that troubles me. Take the time and increase your skills today as well as adding to your preps.

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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What's in the Pantry

I wrote a post about what's In the Pantry on my farm blog. It is time to make sure our pantry is full and our skills are constantly increasing as we live in uncertain times.

The time is now.

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm

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Shopping, Groceries and Preparation

Hello preppers!

It has been a good while since I have been able to apply some time to share prepping ideas or tips. I just completed a post on my farm blog that shares how much my family of five spends on shopping, groceries and preparation. It is so important that we all appreciate the times we live in...

Feel free to swing over and check it out!
Shopping Groceries and Preparation

Jennifer
Double Nickel Farm
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New Mexico Preppers Roll Call - All Preppers Please Check In

The American Preppers Network is conducting a network-wide roll call.  Whether you are a member or not please check in and let us know what you are doing to prepare.

This is a good opportunity to network with other preppers near you.

New Mexico Preppers, to respond to the roll call please follow this link:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=479&t=9273

• Reply to the Roll Call and let us know what you have been doing to prepare.

If you are not yet a member of the forum you can register here for free:
http://americanpreppersnetwork.net/ucp.php?mode=register

Funding For Uninsured

$1 Million from The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration will be available for damaged homes of residents affected during the natural gas outage.

How To Be A World-Class Survivalist in 5 Simple Steps

Joy Paley
Activist Post

With the recent econopocalypse, it’s no wonder that people are becoming more interested in what it would take to survive after our current society has undergone a major shift. After all, if something we thought was intrinsically stable—our financial sector, and the guarantee of ever increasing wealth—is actually pretty flimsy, well, a lot of other things can be brought into question too. Take out a seemingly small piece of the puzzle, like access to gasoline, and you find that your local grocery will run out of goods within 2 days. Learning the basic skills to survive without the modern conveniences of society is a way to prepare yourself for these unpredictable shifts. And, the skills you’ll hone in the process—self-reliance, problem solving, and cleverness—are ones that will definitely benefit you in your everyday life.

1. Get In Shape
It’s not that exciting of a tip, but it’s probably the most important in terms of survival. Having an in-shape cardiovascular system will mean that you’ll be able to run, forage, and do any other intense aerobic activity that comes with living outside of society. Keeping your muscles strong is to key for chopping wood, building shelter, and generally being useful when physical brawn again becomes as important as intellectual ability.

2. Learn Basic Wilderness Skills
Before you hit the military surplus store for thousands of dollars worth of MRE rations, first put a little effort into really getting good at basic skills for navigating outside of your comfort zone. First, learn how to build a fire

, without a gallon of fire starter and newspaper. Review how to build a protective shelter outside and how to find water. These three most basic skills aren’t easy—but they are sure to come in handy when you’ve got no lights, heat, or running water.

3. Invest Wisely in Supplies
Now that you’ve shown your commitment to survivalism by knowing a few basic essentials, you can consider investing in the supplies that will make your life easier, after society’s collapse. Don’t head down to your local REI store though—you can burn through your entire nest egg on commercial wilderness and survival gear at those fancy places. Think utility and budget.

• Stock up a pantry of canned goods—think beans, tuna, veggies, fruit, and soups
• Get bulk basics like oil, sugar, salt, peanut butter, rice, lentils, and any other grains you prefer
• Pick up a rechargeable LED flashlight for every member of your family
• Get several 5 gallon jugs of water
• Create a comprehensive first aid kid
• If you don’t have one, purchase a firearm and stock up on ammunition

4. Learn How to Feed Yourself
No matter how many Costco jugs of peanut butter you buy, your food stock isn’t going to last forever. Any survivalist has to know how to feed themselves when the going gets tough. This includes growing food, foraging, fishing, and hunting. Stock up on seeds, and start with a small vegetable garden. Learn to identify and find edible and medicinal plants in your area. If you’ve never hunted, start small. Find, catch, kill, and cook a rabbit or squirrel to start.

5. Learn Antiquated Skills
Back before the days of Super Wal-Mart and excess income, regular people like you and me knew skills for surviving the year. In the winter when there weren’t any fresh fruits and vegetables, people depended on canned, pickled, smoked, and other preserved food that they had prepared in the summertime. Candles offered valuable light, and handmade soap kept them clean. These are the types of skills that will not only keep you alive longer, but will actually make living a little more enjoyable.

Joy Paley is a science and technology writer from Berkeley, California. She is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and writes on accredited online degrees for Guide to Online Schools.

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We’re Going to Experience Apocalyptic Pain, and It’s Going to Be Out of Our Control

The US Treasury Department tells us that our federal debt is currently sitting at $13.8 trillion. On its most basic level the federal deficit is the difference between current government spending (including interest payments) and total current revenue from all types of taxes.

In 2001, when President George Bush took office, our debt was around $6.5 trillion. Combined with President Obama’s spending packages and commitments, our public and gross debt over the last 10 years has more than doubled.

But that’s not the scary part. What’s scary is how much money we owe when we look at current and future liabilities over the course of the next three decades. Officially, this figure is estimated to be around $150 trillion. Unofficially, according to Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff, our future liabilities exceed some $200 trillion. Considering that the tax revenue of the United States is around $4 trillion per year, anyone who’s ever held a balance and made a credit card payment can understand the near impossibility of paying off such a debt.

Senator Tom Coburn is one of many who warns of dire consequences if we can’t get our finances under control:

I think you’ll see a 15 to 18 percent unemployment rate . I think you will see an 8 to 9 percent decline in GDP. I think you’ll see the middle class just destroyed if we don’t do this. And the people that it will harm the most will be the poorest of the poor, because we’ll print money to try to debase our currency and get out of it and what you will see is hyperinflation.

If we don’t take some pain now, we’re going to experience apocalyptic pain, and it’s going to be out of our control. The idea should be that we control it.

We share Senator Coburn’s sentiment. Unfortunately, we’re not as optimistic as he is that any of Congress’ placations will be sufficient enough to help us get out of this hole.

With $4 trillion in annual tax revenue, at today’s debt levels it would literally take 50 years just to pay off the debt that we’ve already committed to - that’s if we stopped all additional spending right now - today. The odds of that are zero - thus our debt liability will continue to grow, as will the interest payments required to service our debt.

The end result of our pulling forward 25 - 50 years of debt is not going to be pretty. As we’ve outlined before, we are on the brink of a catastrophic collapse in the credit of the United States of America. This means that at some point our national credit card is going to be maxed out.

When that will be is difficult to predict. According to Senator Coburn, we’re looking at about 3 - 4 years - which sounds like a viable time line. Really, it all depends on China, because they are the largest buyer of US debt.

But the Chinese are not going to stand by while their US currency reserves become worthless. They are already taking action to counter the effects of a soon-to-be suicided US dollar.

We recently learned that the Chinese have signed agreements with the Russians to drop the dollar as a settlement vehicle, essentially replacing the world’s reserve currency with the Yuan when dealing with each other. We’ve heard many people suggest that this is just a drop in the bucket because of the widespread use of the US dollar - and we agree. However, China is working with other trade partners to do the same thing. And eventually all of those drops in the bucket will fill it up.

Once the Chinese pull the plug there will be only one entity left to support the US dollar - The Federal Reserve. They’ll digitally print trillions of dollars for as long as they can, but sooner rather than later the US dollar will collapse.

And when it does, the end result can only be described as an economic apocalypse.

If the dollar gets to the point it is equivalent to Monopoly money it will be impossible for holders of the bills, as well as our government, to settle transactions with the currency. This means that commerce on a global scale, for all of those expecting to fulfill transactions in US dollars, will come to a standstill.

How will individuals and governments buy food, gas, and other essential goods when the very currency being used to settle the transaction is no longer a viable trade instrument?

Really, it can get that bad. We have no confidence that Congress, the President, the Federal Reserve or US Treasury can fix this problem.

Over the course of the next decade we will see a new US monetary system introduced - just like we saw in 1971, 1944, 1913 and 1785.

This time it will be very disorderly. We can expect trillions in wealth to be wiped out and the many complications that come along with such an event - violence, protests, riots, breakdown in the rule of law and potentially even large-scale war.

If you haven’t done so already, take action to protect your wealth and preserve your well being now, before it hits the fan. Follow the investment strategies of the Chinese and you might have a chance of coming out with something when the chickens come home to roost.

Take possession of hard assets whenever you can, including precious metals, long-term food stores, tools & equipment, and anything else that will retain value when the US dollar loses it.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: December 27th, 2010
Visit the Author's Website: http://www.SHTFplan.com/

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