What Preps are you doing this week? Part 11

[Yorkshire Andy]

Very nice, Y/Andy, I must copy the electronic bits of the last few days

The basic set up

[jennyjj01]

Finally got a decent session digging and weeding the allotment and raised beds. A really poor and late start this year and I'm cross at myself. Back and shoulders suffering. Covering areas with cardboard and tarps was a great help in suppressing weeds.

Amusingly, I'm growing onions and garlic in the front garden border. Flowers are over-rated.

The first crop of marestail has now been harvested spore heads just starting to appear.

Sowed a large area with LOTS of peas.
Sowed another batch of tomatoes indoors. The first lot were slow to germinate and didn't prosper.
Weeded around and replanted some strawberries.
Hard pruned the raspberry patch.
Bought some netting.

Bought some more onion sets and spud seeds from B&M to go in on Saturday. Spuds to be planted include some that I stored from last years crop and some picked up from Tesco at 15p a bag. The stored ones lasted very well indeed, in hessian sacks in the garage. They chitted without my intervention, which is just as well.Who else here is this late in sowing

[Yorkshire Andy]

Got the three new solar panels mounted on the shed ..

Been revising the home fire preps replaced the older extinguishers in the wife's car ..

I've had a sort out and dumped / gifted half a dozen random little extinguisher out of the shed randoms that got replaced due to age / plastic brackets breaking or got a bit low on pressure but still green ...

Kids can have a play with the really tatty ones on the allotment


Added one of these to the store room..

Now a basic water extinguisher might seem old technology but like the fire warden trainer said the other year water has been used for 100's of years to put out fires . It just works causes no real mess.. no toxic chemicals (they are going after Fire fighting foam at the moment in a big way world wide : https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.thegua ... tamination )


And let's be fair most houses are stuffed full of textiles / furnishings / plastics/ wood and paper and for lithium batteries a long discharge and lots of cooling water can prevent other battery cells from rupturing (thermal runaway) 6m throw and a 55 second discharge time it'll shoot the length of thr living room with ease

Being stainless steel it won't rust and I can refill it myself if needed with nothing more than a bike pump (stirrup type) and a little brass adapter. Plus some water from the tap... Shtf the ability to get stuff replaced / maintained by a company just won't be an option

[Arzosah]

The first crop of marestail has now been harvested spore heads just starting to appear.

Have you been writing about the marestail in your gardening thread on here, Jenny? Must catch up if so ...

Who else here is this late in sowing

Me. I'm not sowing anything until I get back from holibob at the end of January. I'm going to have the modules all set up before I go, but there's no point sowing beforehand

[pseudonym]

Thanks for the link for the ration pouches! Will definitely take a look .

The £2 deal has just ended, but I am certain they will do another one soon.

[PreppingSu]

Bought a small plastic 'greenhouse' so seeds now planted. Normally I just chuck everything into the raised beds but the soil is so wet, I am sure the seeds would just drown.

Decided to get some chooks again. Not as big scale as before as that space in the garden now has a fruit cage on it. But a couple of chickens woukd provide us with enough eggs. So pricing up coops and runs and found what I like so just need to measure up.

Ordered a click and collect shop. Hmmm, not as much as normal but costs more. I don't normally keep a big check on prices but this is noticeable. I will need to start getting a little bit more savvy with my shopping.

I also need to do a complete overhaul of first aid/medical/medicines as I have let that slip a little recently. I usually order in bulk from MedTree. Does anyone have any other suggestions of places to get first aid supplies?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Postman delivered my order of foam concentrate 3x 6l refill one shot bottles of concentrate add the concentrate to 5.9l of water making 6l of AFFF

Obviously for a 3l extinguisher I'd add 50ml of foam concentrate to 2950ml of water

So even now if the man bans foam I've got a few years worth of backup stock until they find something that actually works and if shtf and I use a few extinguishers I can restore fire cover in 15 minutes or so by refilling my own used extinguishers

[jansman]

I’ve done our online grocery shopping. Got an offer from Ocado and am rather impressed. As my illness makes me pretty much housebound now I tend to deal with it. So I am getting good deals as I have time. Every penny helps,especially as my income has dropped somewhat. Anyhow,that’s worked out well.
One very good deal was our cat food. We have two Toms so I have bought a load for the pantry. They are as important as us! I’ve built the tins of our favourite basic foods too. Reading the news about European conflict,I can see the odd shortage of products along with price! Our stores are now good ,but sensible.
Come Winter I think fuel ( gas and electric) will be an issue too. Petrol and diesel is creeping up I noticed out there too…

Bought myself another ‘settee blanket’ for my chair in our Summer house too. Those plug - in blankets are superb. I used one all winter when wife was working,so I was warm ,very warm, and the heating was suspended until she came home. At 3p per hour it’s a bargain,and even without leccy they are warm! It’s rather amusing that we have modern and technologically sophisticated homes and the cost of electricity and gas are an issue like the 1970’s !

Another little thing I’ve done is make sure my workshop battery radio is in home too. We have a smashing posh plug in job ,but I suggested that my little emergency one on my bookcase is a good idea. We’ve had local power cut several times,and if we have issues beyond UK control in the coming time there is communication ready to go. My dear wife never checks my heavy labelled stock! There is another radio in there too…

I am also making sure I have plenty of my prescriptions in too. There have been issues amongst the local *ancer patients who are struggling to get certain things. I was there with my anti seizure medication. It ain’t funny.

How my prepping has changed!

Then finally my ultimate preparation took place at the end of last week. Thankfully I updated our legal wills last year . Done! On Friday I organised my funeral. It sounds grim perhaps,but it’s dealt with and frankly my mind is restful . I will be cremated upon my demise . As a Career Butcher/ Slaughterman and a hunting ,shooting and fishing man,I am rather practical about my coming situation. After that I have organised my family to throw their speeches ,tears at my party. Basically I want them on the pi** rather than a grim funeral service. I hate them,and I have that choice!

Now my mind is at rest, my daily prepping is about feeling as well as I can for the time left. Take care everyone and have a great day. Every day is a good one!

[Arzosah]

Good for you, jansman. I know the funeral thing sounds grim, as you say, but I think it's a good idea. With funerals of close family members, the trouble has come from choosing the right music by the right artists, and believe it or not from constructing the service order - typos from the firm chosen have been horrendous, I'm afraid.

My preps: carrying on practising driving, I'm going to head outside of my town in the direction of my sister's town early next week, we'll see how that goes. And I've finished pruning my shrubs and trees (until its time to prune my enormous rhodedendron) so I'm weeding the ground - weird stuff that looks like strawberries but has tap roots, that sort of thing. And I'm working on holiday bag/hotel&bugout bag/hospital bag.

[Medusa]

Take care Jansman, organising my Mum's funeral was the worst thing I had to do. Luckily we had many a conversation and knew exactly what her wishes were. Family only at the funeral at the crem and no alcohol afterwards. She had chosen a particular song she wanted, my Dad chose one and my sister too. We could only have three and I am guessing that she didnt trust me to choose something appropriate (for what its worth it would have been The Sound of Silence by Disturbed and not Simon and Garfunkel). I did write and read her euolgy though. My donation form to donate my body to science has already been completed and accepted. I am glad that you have everything in place and am in awe that you continue to prep even if it is slightly differently.