What Preps are you doing this week? Part 12

[Yorkshire Andy]

Let there be light

Just for clarity that's a 907 refillable 2.7kg bottle it's rather big

[GillyBee]

Lovely! Ours is a bit smaller - vintage seventies but still going strong. Came with a single burner stove that screws straight onto the canister. They saw us through a lot of holidays until we moved over to LED lighting.
Do you have spare mantles?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Lovely! Ours is a bit smaller - vintage seventies but still going strong. Came with a single burner stove that screws straight onto the canister. They saw us through a lot of holidays until we moved over to LED lighting.
Do you have spare mantles?

I got some cheap ones they are rubbish kept splitting when burning it in so just ordered some genuine gaz ones I'm no stranger to burning in mantles but they are just poo

It's just another lighting option for when things go wrong the more options the better in My eyes I've got self piercing version .. a camping gaz easi click variant plus one that runs on the threaded type along with the coleman duel fuel (petrol) lanterns
Have seen the ones that run on the bistro cartridge but not seen a branded version yet just cheap chinnesie models

[Arzosah]

People have mentioned poor germination this year. Mine has been bad then the seedlings just stopped growing and lots died. I've never had this before. I've bought some vermiculite to increase drainage. Anything I took a risk on and planted out into the garden early has done well because of the warm weather, anything I kept in pots to nurture...died. I think this is the first year ive bought peat free compost. I assumed it was all peat free before, I've read that this can lead to water holding so suspect that's why I lost so much due to damping off.

Repotting things and pottering in the garden as been a great help. I unfortunately have been diagnosed with breast cancer with my mastectomy booked for Friday. Keeping fingers crossed that nothing is found in the nodes and I/my family can just move on from this. It's been a bit carp! Gardening has helped, I'm supposed to be stopping spending money but I have ordered some more fruit trees from places selling them off cheap and some hardy kiwi vines. If everything arrives after the op, husband will have to dig the holes for me

I've also got the stuff ordered for raising some chicks. It's going to be a good project for the boys, our rescue hens are laying about 1 egg a day between the 4 of them and weve had a few yolkless ones. The farm are expecting to hatch some around mid July. I'm hoping it's light enough work that I can continue to do it (or instruct others) whilst having radiotherapy. Fingers crossed on not needing chemo but see what comes and deal with it then.

Also, as its half term, we bought some fishing rods and went fishing for a bit. 1 each of the boys and 1 for husband and I to share to learn to lure fish. Bith boys caught one but we lost them both when i tried to help, reading into it i think i didnt keep the line tight enough. My eldest (age 7) has always wanted to give it a go and I'm very happy for them to learn to catch their own food. Living in cornwall, it would be a shame not to. I dont eat meat but do eat fish and there has been more hoohaa in the news about provenance of fishpond in supermarkets so I would love to catch my own mackeral and bass and pollack. I suggested going to a nearby air rifle club to see if he wants to learn to shoot and possibly one day hunt, he wasn't keen and looks like he's too young for the clubs at the moment anyway.

Other prepping, we were going to aggressively pay off a personal loan we have feom getting a new kitchen but I don't know how long I'll be off work so we've decided to put it into savings. I do find it very easy to spend money. I don't get hair and nails done, don't have many clothes, but happily spend money on various hobbies and home stuff.

Apologies for not seeing this before now, Sarini - I've actually posted on this thread since you wrote this, I don't understand how I didn't see it. Your op is this Friday, though? I'm so sorry you've had that diagnosis, and I hope the op and the recovery go really well. Let us know, when you feel it's right for you, even in practical terms it might be quite difficult to use the computer for a bit. All the best for now.

[Frnc]

Prepping while decorating.

Wardrobe is empty, ready to go in the prep room so the decorator has more room. Fire escape ladder can stay in here til the decorating starts. Both sides would have to go in the carabiner that's bolted to the wall. I've tested it, and it seems to work. The ladder hangs out of one corner of the window, but that's ok. I'm fairly confident in the bolt. I've only wiggled it gently, can't detect any movement. The tension would be at 90°, anyway. To be honest, a lot of climbing anchors are more dodgy, eg small chocks and hexes placed into cracks. They can wiggle out. Anyway, the backup was rope tied to the wardrobe legs. That's down for the next few weeks.

Bugout bags will go back in the wardrobe, in the prep room for now. The window in there is the best fire escape, and I've had to put stuff in front of it. My exercise bike is a bit in the way, but I could use the handlebar as a hand hold. And I put a chair over 2 x 10l water containers, so I could stand on that to climb out. So it's not that bad. Ladder is next to the window, easy to reach.

Got rid of the standing desk and redundant fire escape ladder last night. Those metal ladders are way more bulky than the one in my room, which rolls up to about 6" diameter. Got my new mattress, and the old one taken away.

I'm almost ready for the decorator! I'm not someone who leaves things to the last minute.

[Sarini]

Thanks for all the well wishes folks. I think it will go well, I'm relatively fit and healthy aside from this and it's a good team.

I also meant to mention, getting the diagnosis promptly followed by getting some kind of gastric illness and just taking to my bed for a few days....ive kicked my caffeine addiction. Hurrah! It was a pretty strong addiction where I just couldn't function without 2 cups before leaving the house and keeping it topped up all day...and then often becoming a jittery mess by late afternoon. It was a real weakness. So I've managed to quit smoking, alcohol and now caffeine. Feel much better for it myself but not about to become evangelical about it.

None of the trees and vines i ordered have arrived before the op tomorrow so Mr Sarini is going to have some work to do in the garden over the next week . I ordered a couple more plants today! Now I think I will have run out of space so my bank account can have a rest. It was the last thing on my list....Caragana. it's a siberean pea tree, great for protein, you kind of treat them like lentils. It's a perennial protein source. The size I've ordered will probably need to grow on a bit so I'll just pot on. Now I'll only get new plants from propagating or plant swaps.

I asked chat gpr it to evaluate my plans with a bit of criticism - its unfailingly positive if you don't specify this. It basically says it's a good supplement for a house or 4 people with lots covered but I'm not leaving much space for calorie crops like potatoes (I'm using winter squash instead as potatoes are so cheap). I'm on the list for allotment so if I ever do get one will put the crops that take up a lot of space there. Also oil, which it says is often an issue with self sufficient prepperaims. I have sunflowers for that purpose but you need a lot, I'm not that far advanced and also, I'm after a good supplement to smooth out the bumps, not to sustain the family in an apocalypse.

I think someone mentioned before about wanting a kind of intruder proof hedge, chatgpt mentioned sea buckthorn, this would fit the bill and provides sustenance and oil.

[Frnc]

Was probably me, but I now realise a burglar could get into mine via next door's, and get into theirs from the back or the side. So the bushes are a bit pointless to be honest.

Got downstairs lodger to help me move my wardrobe into the prep room. Nightmare. Prep room is 90° to mine, and about a foot lower, with the banniser in front. We took it vertically, narrow side forward through my doorway. The landing then drops down a step, to the top of the stairs. Got it onto that. But now the wide side was facing the prep room, too wide, and no room to wiggle it round! I thought we'd have to lift it over the bannister, to the horizontal, but as we lifted it, somehow it was going in. I just hope we can repeat that in reverse. Basically a long rectangle went round a tight curve, sideways and down. Prep room is 90° to mine, and about a foot lower, with the banniser in front, and landing that's very narrow.

Put the BOBs back in the bottom of it, plus my insulated jacket I always keep with them, as it can get cold at night, even in the summer. Also the maps, compass, map case.

I just remembered I'd moved my head torch when the mattress came, so that's back on the end of the bed.

So, slightly disorganised, but trying to maintain preps.

[Arzosah]

Thanks for all the well wishes folks. I think it will go well, I'm relatively fit and healthy aside from this and it's a good team.

I also meant to mention, getting the diagnosis promptly followed by getting some kind of gastric illness and just taking to my bed for a few days....ive kicked my caffeine addiction. Hurrah! It was a pretty strong addiction where I just couldn't function without 2 cups before leaving the house and keeping it topped up all day...and then often becoming a jittery mess by late afternoon. It was a real weakness. So I've managed to quit smoking, alcohol and now caffeine. Feel much better for it myself but not about to become evangelical about it.

You probably won't see this before your op now, but best of luck, hope everything goes smoothly. And congratulations on all that quitting! I'm lucky about the smoking, never fell into it for longer than 3 weeks, alcohol I had to stop completely for about 5 years, but I can now drink whenever I want to (about twice a year ) no problem. Caffeine, hmmm. One strong one a day, though I long for two, and I know what a slippery slope that is.

None of the trees and vines i ordered have arrived before the op tomorrow so Mr Sarini is going to have some work to do in the garden over the next week . I ordered a couple more plants today! Now I think I will have run out of space so my bank account can have a rest. It was the last thing on my list....Caragana. it's a siberian pea tree, great for protein, you kind of treat them like lentils. It's a perennial protein source. The size I've ordered will probably need to grow on a bit so I'll just pot on.

It'll do Mr Sarini good to have something to do that he *knows* you want done! And ooh, siberian pea tree. That sounds just amazing, I'm going to have to do a bit of research on that.

[Frnc]

I have 2 very strong coffees in the morning, one when I get up and one an hour later. I don't have any more. The rest of my family drink tea all day. I only have water. I gave up smoking 16 years ago, and haven't had one since. I gave up drinking for 2 years and started again. I'm trying to cut that down.

Got told I have to download Microsoft Edge today, but it was very easy. No logging in, and it knew all my passwords. It replaces Authenticator in June or July. Authenticator is what I use to get into Outlook on my computer, but it's approved on my phone.

[Yorkshire Andy]

Well the new genuine camping gaz mantles turned up....

Little one for comparison

Picked another gas lantern up in lidl tonight for £7.99 they are getting stingy they don't include gas like they used to