Was going to do a post today on metal containers (excluding #10 cans and such) but it will have to be later. Somehow, day-before-yesterday, the door to my freezer got knocked open. Not wide open, but just enough that it looked closed unless you got right up on it — and just enough that I lost everything in the freezer. Clean-up about completed, defrosting underway, and I’m trying to figure out what happened, how, and how do I make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Had switched from original plan to talking about metal for Long Term Storage given all the solar storms and resulting aurora. Seeing such is on my bucket list, sadly it was cloudy the night we could see it with the naked eye. At the rate things are going, however, we might have the opportunity here again soon. If you don’t know what a Carrington Event is, will have links up on the post to come.
More soon.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I had hoped to get a more substantive post up today, but things have worked against that. So, just a quick update.
First, the medical consult I’ve been after for so long is still on for the end of this month. I had gotten worried as some materials had not arrived, and I was worried the (hopefully fully resolved) mail issues might have impacted things. Took an hour or so, but the good news is that no it didn’t, yes things are still a go, and I should have the materials (including things to fill out) soon. It will be a relief to have a fresh set of eyes check things (and me) out and possibly switch to the consultant as my regular cardiologist.
Second, storage posts will continue soon. Going to go over some things, but a post on sealing bulk storage will have to wait a bit. For good reasons I hope. May jump around a bit from the plan, will see.
Third, this week has been busy! It is Bright Week at Church and it has been an interesting time. Short version is that thanks to illness and such, we have been shorthanded so I’ve done what I can as gopher, dish washer, or other. Been good to spend the time down there and learn about a lot of different things. Great discussion over coffee this morning with the brother of our priest, who is also a priest. Hoping he helps out again tomorrow.
Hope to get something solid up tomorrow, but have to make bread on top of attending a morning Matins/Liturgy. As I’ve discovered store-bought bread is dreck, will be VERY glad to get back to regular backing. Hope to try something very different tomorrow, and if it goes well will share.
Meantime, be good, be safe, keep your family and friends close, and your things where you can find them in the dark.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Sorry for the lack of posting. Things continue to be amost-as-hectic as last week at Church as we celebrate Bright Week, and life has been a bit hectic as well. Good, but hectic.
First, this comment brings up a good discussion. Why not use plastic food jars and such? First, we will be getting into plastic containers here soon, rather into plastic containers that work for Long Term Storage (LTS). As for your usual plastic jars from foods and such, they can be quite useful but NOT for long-term storage.
A few quick points. First, the average plastic jar or container often contains interesting compounds that will leach out. That why even with food-safe plastic containers it is advisable to use mylar bags to isolate. Second, the use-life of your average plastic container is often limited. As the chemicals within leach, oxidize, etc., the plastic often turns quite brittle. They may be good for a year or two, but after that all bets are off. There are some that may last longer, but they are a rarity given that they are often more expensive to produce. Third, the porosity of you lower-grade plastics is higher. Keep in mind that even metal is not truly solid. There is a fair bit of space between molecules, and your denser plastics, glass, and metal do a fair job of keeping most things in or out. And I do mean most things: hydrogen is small and slippery and one of the things keeping us from a hydrogen economy is devising a reliable and safe means of storage. Zeolites were investigated for that, not sure where that research is these days. Your cheaper plastics are more porous, which is why good food-safe plastic containers, which are denser, cost more. Also, I focus more on glass than “typical” plastic containers for LTS both for lifespan and for the fact that the glass containers can be re-used for canning multiple times if you have sufficient lids tucked away. Again, we will be getting to food-safe plastic containers here soon.
Second, this comment points out a good option for sewing in the face of emergencies or disasters. I’m sure there are other brands similar, so take a look around. The more you can do for yourself, the better off you will be.
More soon.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Or, what I’ve been up to these last few weeks… As some of you know, I began attending a new Church last year. I had been searching for a new Church home, but had not found one in the local or even semi-local Catholic churches. Three different routes pointed me to a Church downtown, so I went down to a men’s club coffee to test the waters.
Turns out the online schedule was wrong, but the wonderful couple in the bookstore that is part of the Church made me welcome. They got the Deacon to come talk to me, set me up with multiple booklets about the Church, and pretty much got me to promise to come back to the Sunday service.
While a bit unsure, I did so. After talking briefly to the Deacon, I took a seat on a back pew (what would be the visitor’s pews in a lot of churches) and was joined fairly quickly by a seasoned lady who introduced herself, talked to me a bit, and the next thing I knew I had a liturgy book and other materials in hand, and she explained what would happen, why, how, and when. She also made sure I knew what to do (and not do) in the process.
After the service, they have a “coffee” that I call a lunch. My new guide introduced me around, and to say I was made welcome is an understatement. Her son-in-law (who took the wonderful photos of me being Baptized) took me under his wing a bit, and I “helped” him out during the Christmas Market they do. I put that in quotes as I didn’t do all that much, and was not allowed to overdo it (since I was still recovering from my latest surgery). I think I’ve only missed a couple of Sunday’s since, and those were either due to weather or health. Along the way, “Matrushka” (“mother”) as I had been asked to call her, presented me with a number of prayer and reading books.
The short version is that I found a new Church home. Last Saturday, the day before Pascha (Easter), she became my Godmother as she and her husband, the “retired” priest of the parish (now my Godfather), sponsored me and stood with me for my Baptism into the Eastern Orthodox Church. That night, I took part in my first Pascha midnight service.
You might have gathered that the last few weeks, especially Holy Week, have been a bit busy. There have been a lot of services and a lot of prayers (and even an exorcism), and I don’t think two years of catchumen training could have prepared me for it. I will say that it was an honor to be a part of the reading of Acts that preceded the midnight service.
This week will be a bit busy as well. There is nothing scheduled for today, and I have been (firmly) instructed to rest and take it easy. Tomorrow starts another round of special services for Bright Week (the week after Pascha) and while not required I am going to do as many of them as I can.
There is more to come. Please be patient as I take care of the important things so I can do more on temporal things here.
Yesterday’s post sparked something that deserves it’s own post. Yes, I do recommend having a fair bit of sewing gear tucked away. Aside from fabric, it is fairly inexpensive and in an emergency you will find yourself facing two needs: minor repair and major repair/manufacturing.
Individual Components, Click To Embiggen
First, here’s what I’m talking about when I say inexpensive. Individual packs of hand needles can be found for a couple of bucks, though certain specialty needles can get a bit more expensive. Safety pins and other pins are still at a semi-reasonable price. Thread has gone up since the last time I bought any, but again picking up a spool or two a month is not going to break the bank. What you see above is one kit for minor clothing emergencies, and the start to something more.
The kit on the left is a fairly complete and ready to go minor emergency kit. You have assorted hand needles, pins, safety pins, and a small pre-threaded repair kit. You can add more thread options, which is not a bad idea. Meantime, you have with this the ability to sew on buttons, make minor repairs, and otherwise repair your clothing. You don’t have to be Mr. Baggins running from Gollum and the Goblins to end up losing a button or three, or otherwise doing things that require some repair. Tucking a few of these around is a good investment. Heck, I used to have a slightly larger emergency kit like the one bottom center in each suitcase when I traveled on business. Used them a few times too — my buttons were on, even if not always as pretty as those done by the pros.
The kit on the right is a start to a larger kit. The small rolls of thread are on the bottom, the larger rolls above along with the various needles, pins, and such. My plan is to add more large rolls of thread, a cloth tape measure, some larger specialized needles, and some other basics to it. This will be good for major repairs and a start towards being able to make something at need.
Pro Tip: If your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/other sews and has good scissors, do not try to use them for anything else, much less add them to a kit. If you have used them to cut paper or anything else, a new pair and dinner is a good start towards making up for that. Find out what they are, where they were obtained, and buy some new to go into a kit. Get their advice on what to tuck away, possibly including some fabric for repairs and more.
One of the things that stuck with me after the first time I read Alas Babylon by Pat Frank was how breaking a needle almost sent some of the survivors into a meltdown. If you are dealing with an emergency or a disaster, you are probably not going to be able to run to the store or shop online. Needles (hand or machine) and other items we take for granted as being cheap and common may well become expensive and scarce. Also, if you have a sewing machine consider getting a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for it, though it will likely need to be something on the order of what you would get for a sump pump or such. For that matter, having an antique foot-powered sewing machine could provide decoration as well as a functioning machine at need.
Now, I use jars for size and convenience. Pins, needles, and such are not great to put in mylar. For the larger kits you could use gallon or 2.5-gallon buckets, but that is up to you. Also, fabric would work well in mylar and a 5-gallon bucket. Be smart, be flexible, and tuck a few away at need.
Just wanted to sew this up while I could…
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Yesterday’s post brought up questions, so some quick thoughts on wicks and the need for multiple lighting sources. Here we go.
While a lot of my emergency lighting (some of which doubles as my camping lighting) is electric, keep in mind that having multiple sources of lighting is a very good idea for emergencies and disasters. Short version is that even with rechargeable batteries and multiple ways to recharge them (solar, hand crank, etc.) batteries only last so long. There may be times when using electricity is not an option or not a good idea. That’s when having other options is a very good idea.
I use a small oil lamp for religious purposes, and am set to create more at need as sources of light. Regular olive oil or plain vegetable oil work very well in such cases, and you can even use oil that is out of date for lighting when you can’t (or shouldn’t at least) use it for food. As I noted a while back, you can often get expired oil from restaurants or other food service operations for cheap or for free. So long as it is not rancid (smell), you are good.
Oil lamps and such that use liquid paraffin are a good option as well. Again, gives you a different source of fuel, different light, and an additional option to go with electric, lanterns, and candles. Anything open flame is a safety issue, which is why enclosed lamps, lanterns, or using candle lanterns (discussed previously) is a very good idea.
So, to repeat: I plan on flashlights and electric lanterns as my primary at need; name-brand and old fashioned lanterns are a good secondary option; oil and liquid paraffin lamps and candles are another; and, real candles do come in handy. Also decorative and/or scented. No reason things can’t do more than one thing, and most really should…
As to wicks, I have a mix of braided and “adjust-a-size” wicks around. I like to keep some lamp wicks handy (top of photo) and you can get packs with different sizes of them very inexpensively. The ones I use the most are braided wicks in 3mm and 4mm diameter (left in photo). Versatile and you can make lamps or candles out of them quickly at need. The non-braided wicks (right in photo) can be adjusted to whatever size you need. I’m not as fond of them as the other, and find them not to be quite as useful or long-lasting. That said, they come in handy for use in a variety of wick holders of different sizes and they do give you some options. It’s all about having as many options as possible…
So, just a few quick thoughts (and hopefully some answers) before I head out for the day. More to come.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
One thing I think I forgot to mention in the post looking at glass containers is that they can be very useful for storing things that mylar is not going to like. For example, pointy bits of metal that are oddly shaped. In the example above (click to embiggen) are some items for making emergency oil lamps.
These come from a religious book and supply store, and give you options for how to do your lamps. The drawback is that they are oddly shaped, part may be pointy, and otherwise are unsuitable for bag storage since they also need to be protected from crushing. Jelly jar is a perfect home for them and a variety of braided and non-braided wicks. You may notice that I have wicks already threaded through the holders, as if I’m dealing with an emergency the last thing I want to do is to have to spend time threading wicks into place. This way, I have them set to go.
Now, there are good arguments for using oxygen absorbers, but for this jar I opted to go with a vacuum seal. The portable unit I reviewed a while back was sufficient for this task.
With a bit of padding, the jar can go in a bucket or other larger container where it can be protected. Or, it can be stuck in the back of a closet, back of an out-of-the-way shelf, etc. Never a bad idea to have several of these around in different locations so that at least one, if not all, survive for use when and if needed. Same holds true for other supplies as well and one thing I want to do is set-up a sewing jar with a variety of hand sewing needles and other supplies that, again, might not be best to store in mylar or such.
Just a quick thought to share this morning. While I hope to get some more short posts up this week, things are busy down at the Church and my focus is there. Given all, really glad I’m not cooking on top of all else that is going on. Working to be sure my (limited) focus is on what is truly important.
More soon!
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
Hope to post more soon, but back from seeing my regular doctor, and will say thanks again to the wonderful person who drove me down there and back. Short version: doctor’s health is doing well and I don’t need to frantically be searching for a new GP. My bloodwork was much better than I was expecting, though he gave me an A- on my report because my blood sugar was higher than normal.
We both strongly suspect that something I ate or drank in the 48-hours before the draw caused that spike, and it wasn’t a really bad spike but higher than normal levels. Given that I’ve been fasting and eating more carbs than normal, I’m glad it wasn’t higher. Liver and kidneys seem to be doing good, and we are both interested in what comes out of the upcoming consult next month.
More soon.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I’ve talked on here before about considering getting a guitar to test to see if I can learn a new skill, and to use it for potential therapy. It’s something I put aside as I didn’t feel it was the right time or the best use of resources.
Today, I was offered a very nice guitar (with hard case) for $200, and weekly lessons for $25 — quite a nice discount on both. In fact, I was made to sit down and try the guitar and get essentially a first lesson, as part of evaluating things (me the guitar and them if I had a chance). It actually went a lot better than I expected.
If anyone cares to help, hit the tip jar here and it would be appreciated. I sure did better with it than I ever did with the bagpipes, as people did not run screaming. It really is a nice acoustic guitar, and the person doing the lessons has a few decades of experience. Close by even.
I know things are tight, but also think this is a good opportunity to see what I can do and perhaps move some things along. Thanks.
More soon, I hope! The lunch for the Church went well, and it appears they liked my vegetarian gumbo as they almost took enamel off the dutch ovens scraping it all out of both pots. Have already been asked about doing a proper gumbo once fasting is over. Long weekend, and we have been having special vespers at different churches each Sunday evening. Between it all I’m exhausted and having to do more resting today than I would care for.
Have a post I hope to get done today, up later. More on long-term storage and that it applies to much more than food.
That said, it turns out I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday for which I have to do an early-morning fasting blood draw tomorrow. Going to be interesting as my GP is not easy to get to via bus, so may have to try to limp the car down there. It’s actually not a bad walk from the closest bus stop; but, the ride down takes about two hours with all the stops and you then have to cross one or more major roadways/highways without the benefit of crosswalks or lights. My insurance allegedly provides rides, but the system for that requires almost a week notice, is a mix of online and text messaging that is not easy, clear, or convenient and there is no way to get human help that I can find. Which means if you make a mistake, or the system makes a mistake, your only option is to cancel that appointment and start over. My thoughts on the set-up are better left unsaid as I’m really not supposed to be using such language anymore.
Also, lots going on at Church the next couple of weeks. The week of the 28th I may not be on much as I will be down there almost every day. We have a massive cleaning of the Church coming up next Saturday as well, and I will be helping cook breakfast (more a brunch really). Was asked if I could do some more gumbo, but may go with a jambalaya for time and pot considerations. I keep doing this I’m going to need a couple more dutch ovens and at least one more good pot. Oh, going to do speckled heart grits for the brunch as well.
So, thank you for your patience. There is more to come (I hope).
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, which include moving once we have medical issues cleared up, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
