“Life happens” is a frequent saying and is very true. My publishing schedule has been anything but consistent. Good intentions mean nothing. I’m working on that. I changed jobs a few months ago and my commute to and from work is much more than I expected. 1 hour to get there each morning, and around 1.5 hours to get home depending on traffic and weather. As you can imagine during a snowstorm everything slows. A couple of weeks ago I spent over 2 hours getting home during one such storm.
It is what it is and I’m thankful to have this job as the region doesn’t have a great demand for my professional expertise.
So – It’s time to get back on track, especially with the shitstorm going on all around us. If there was ever a time for you and I to be in contact more often it’s now. One thing I would ask of all of you if you could: When I publish something that is of interest – please share it with friends, family, and like-minded people. I’m doing my best to spread the word about preparedness and self-reliance across numerous social media platforms. I could use all the help I can get. Thx.
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During a recent trip to Walmart, I saw they were bringing out all the Springtime supplies. Kinda crazy to do that here as we have a lot of winter left. They have displays of seeds, seed starting kits, outdoor tools, and lots of canning supplies. I had seen someone I follow on YouTube report that their local Walmarts has an above-average amount of canning supplies scattered throughout the store. She thought that Walmart was predicting a large influx of people who were going to get into canning that normally were not involved in the activity.
At my own local Walmart, they have a couple of end-caps of canning jars, and the main area where they normally keep canning supplies is maxed out. Does this suggest that the upper management team at Walmart knows there is going to be severe economic trouble and that supplies will be in high demand?
I think they simply monitor and see trends in product demands. Canning and gardening are on an upward trend. It makes sense they would increase the supply level they have in the store to meet an increased demand from consumers.
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A recent trip to Sam’s Club showed that 25-pound bags of rice are available for $12.98. While this is a 30% increase from just a few years ago it still represents what is the most affordable means to store calories.
If you have not secured a substantial food supply NOW is the time to do so.
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I’d written about our woodstove several months ago and the issue with it smoking more than we thought it should. Well, over the past several weeks we’ve fine-tuned the operation and now have no problem. In fact, this thing is absolutely fantastic in keeping the cabin toasty even in sub-zero temperatures.
We use propane for most of our heating, however, when the temps drop in the low 20s and below the woodstove is called in to handle the heating responsibilities.
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Stay safe all and please…..keep preparing.
Rourke
Maine winters are long just like here in NH. Always look forward to spring!
Here in Montana where we live, we have a saying: “IT AIN”T JUNE YET”.
DW – I love the winter and snow. I hate cold and rain though which is what we are getting today. Tonight it will drop in the 20s and tomorrow we will have a giant ice skating rink….LOL
You’re lucky. Our Sam’s Club stopped stocking rice a year or so back, and it’s only available if they ship it to you. They’ve done that with a lot of what I consider to be long-term foods, so I rarely go there anymore.
WOW – can’t imagine why a Sam’s would do that. I have seen some decent deals with Sam’s and Walmart shipping heavy items like rice and wheat with free shipping.
John, I understand long commutes. In the early 80’s Milton, NH to S. Boston, MA and back, winter were always fun.
No doubt they were JohnP. I avoid Boston and other big cities as much as possible.
DW: Here in the Flathead we had five night in a row of 35 below.I learned
that if you sleep in an electric recliner chair an the power goes out the
9 volt back up batteries don’t work worth a crap. Flopping around like
a beached whale trying to make it to the toilet at 4AM sucks.
Thank God for our Pacific Energy wood stove.The garage door froze
shut for five days but that’s ok.We weren’t going anywhere at all.
I would like to mention that the InstaFire Company makes a Rocket
Stove Oven that bakes bread nicely at 350 degrees.
Does anyone know why the Kammikazzi Pilots wore helmets?
I know it’s misspelled but this is an old IPad that doesn’t spell check.
Looking at the picture of Roarkes desk with the coffee ring tells me
that Maine Prepper Girl is a very understanding lady.
LOL Chuck on your comment about Maine Prepper Girl. Nope – not understanding when it coms to that at all…. 😉
I used to commute from Greensboro to Danville four times a week and went through at least two vehicles that I can remember.
The money was good back in the day with $15 per hour, 10 hours a day, four days a week wasn’t bad for a 1250 Multilith operator back in the early 90’s.
I didn’t mind the long drive too much but back then Hwy 29 was an old lonely highway that didn’t get much attention during the winter time and without any street lights it was a wild ride during those snow/ice days!
Now working at a chemical plant about 20 minutes frrom home so things have improved!
Katanatac – I lived in Greensboro for a year back in 10th grade. I remember thinking of all the places I lived in the South. we truly experienced all 4 seasons there. Received several inches of snow over the winter.