Lots to say this week since I did not post last week due to
several unforeseen issues.
Do not forget to check out this months assignments below.
This is the last week for the July assignments.
Random New Things . . .
Subscribe to my blog by email: To receive an email each time I post a new post just put in your email and hit submit (see on the right of this blog at the top). You will receive an email you need to open and respond to.
New Posts: Last week I added 3 new posting under "Postings". Check them out . . . "Canning Your Fruits and Tomatoes/Vegetables", "Dehydrated Fruits and Vegetables", and "Family Emergency Preparedness Notebook". Read a comment from one of our viewer how he feels this notebook will help. Watch for more new post in the coming weeks.
Eggs Update: I contacted "thejimbakkershow.com" regarding how their website says the freeze-dried powdered whole eggs are out of stock. They informed me they are not and will correct their website. If the website is still showing out of stock, call them to place your order.
Once Again We Are Reminded Why We
Need To Be Prepared . . .
You never know what or when it will happen! Two events last week were a reminder of how little we are prepared.
In Long Beach, California USA, not far from us, sections of the city were without electricity for several days due to underground electrical fires causing about 6,000 customers to loose their electricity. This also happened during a week of high temperatures and high humidity, no fans or air conditioning. This included residences, high rise apartments and condo and many businesses in the downtown area of Long Beach, California USA. We needed to visit with a relative in an assisted living place and found trying to get there was a challenge. There were street closings and obstacles to work around. We saw people on small park grassy areas with small tents, blankets and supplies and porta potties lined up. CERT was delivering buckets of water to senior residence in high rise apartment buildings, no elevators. It was eerie seeing business, mini markets and restaurants blacked out. Street lights were not working. Cars and trucks were backed up. My husband's brother lives in the area hit. There was no electricity, no refrigeration and all his food spoiled. They were told to stay in their homes due to debris flying around from the fire and street manholes being blown off. 
Last weekend Southern California received some much needed rain from a storm coming up from Mexico. With that rain came some problems. In some areas they had mud slides. The biggest issue was that Interstate I-10 going from California to Phoenix, Arizona east of Coachella Valley near Desert Center collapsed due to flashing flooding under the overpass bridge.Cars and cargo trucks were lined up. It took several days to repair the interstate so cars and trucks could proceed. Imagine if this went on for weeks, months and other interstate roadways were closed. We are so dependent on trucks bring supplies of food, water, medical supplies and other much needed products across this country (USA). The I-10 and I-40 are major roadways from the docks in California to the Midwest and East Coast USA. Would we have enough supplies of food and other items on hand to help through this disaster? I would say most of us do not!Things like major power outages and interstate road closures would change our lives in an instant! Be prepared for what may come your way!
Procrastination and Distractions
Procrastination and distractions are two of the things that keep us from accomplishing our goals in life. How many times do we put off the difficult task ahead? How many times are we easily distracted by the things in our life or the world? I know I procrastinate and get distracted sometimes. We all do!
I find a way to handle these issues is to set goals and write them down. Do the hardest ones first. It seems if we do the easiest first we dread the hard ones. Once they are done check them off or cross them off. It feels great doing it this way knowing we have accomplished our goal.
Emergency Preparedness and Food Storage is one of the things we seem to procrastinate and get distracted from doing, even when we know it is important to provide for and protect our family, we let other things get in the way. We say tomorrow I will start! I have plenty of time to prepare! But do we really? It only takes a second for our lives to change drastically like in the examples above. If we wait until things happen it is to late to prepare, we suffer and our family suffers. Satan uses distractions to keep us from accomplishing our goals. Let us all strive to work hard on accomplishing our goals and not let procrastination and distraction keep us from accomplishing them.
Physical Preparation
I talk a lot about temporal preparation and spiritual preparation, but physical preparation is important too! If we strive to eat right, exercise and strive to stay physically fit as possible when a disaster or stress comes into our lives we will be able to survive and handle the situation better.
A few weeks ago I mentioned how the Jewish people were told to leave Jerusalem and go to the mountains for protection. We too may be asked to leave and go somewhere for protection. Would you be able to walk several miles?
Last Week for the July Monthly Assignments
Food Storage: Dairy
This coming month we will be working on adding dairy to our food storage. Dairy includes milks (dehydrated/freeze-dried, instant, fresh milk, buttermilk, evaporated, sweeten condensed, almond, rice, etc.), cheeses (Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Mozzarella, Colby, Parmesan, cottage cheese, cream cheese, etc.), sour cream, yogurts, butter/margarine, ice cream, frozen yogurt, etc. Store a variety of dairy products.
Milk:
You should store a verity of milks, some canned, boxed
non-refrigerated, dehydrated/freeze dried and instant. You can also
freeze fresh milk by taking some of the milk out of the container to
allow for expansion and placing the container in the freezer to freeze.
It will last for up to one year. Canned milks can be stored up to their
expiration dates. Dehydrated/freeze-dried and instant milk in #10 sealed
cans can be stored for up to 10-20 years depending on the temperature
(cool 70 degrees or less, dry and dark). The boxed instant milk you
purchase in grocery stores will only store for up to 6 months in a
cool,dry, dark place. 
Cheese:
Most hard and soft cheeses can be shredded and frozen for up to one
year in a zip lock freezer bag. You can also purchase cheeses
dehydrated/freeze dried in 2.5 cans or #10 cans for up to 20 years
depending on the temperature (cool 70 degrees or less, dry and dark).
This also includes sour cream and other cheeses. 
Butter/margarine: You can freeze
butter/margarine up to one year. You can also purchase dehydrated/freeze
dried butter/margarine in 2.5 cans and #10 cans. You can purchase it
from local grocery stores, box stores and food emergency supply
companies.
Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt: Yes,
you can purchase dehydrated/freeze dried ice cream and frozen yogurt.
No need for extra water to rehydrate them. You just put them in your
mouth and let them melt. Yummy! A special treat during a disaster
situation! 
Eggs: Some people say eggs are
part of diary, but for me they belong in the protein (meat, etc.)
section. You can include them if you want. You can purchase
dehydrated/freeze dried eggs. I use them just like regular eggs, just
add water, scramble, use in baking. They come in #10 cans, they last for
20 years in a cool, dry, dark place. You can take fresh eggs and freeze
them by taking a cupcake pan, lining each cupcake space with saran
wrap, cracking the egg and dropping the egg into the cupcake space,
cover with the saran wrap and freeze. Once frozen take them out and
place the wrapped eggs into a freezer zip lock bag and freeze for up to
one year. When needed, let them thaw and use as needed.
Note: Just remember, if you store dehydrated/freeze dried diary products it take extra water to rehydrate them.
Where to purchase: Of
course, your local grocery store and box stores are great for canned
milks, boxed milks, fresh milks, cheeses, butter/margarine and other
dairy products. I find emergencyessentials.com is the best economical place to purchase the dehydrated/freeze dried diary products. store.lds.org
also sells non-fat instant milk. Go to their websites and search for
their diary products. And of course, there are other emergency food
supply companies, just do the research. You can also request a catalog
from emergencyessentials.com be sent to you. Watch for sales. I like
their fortified instant milk, cheeses and other diary products.
How much to purchase: Determine
how much dairy, include all dairies, your family uses in a month,
multiply that by the number of months you have set your food storage
goal
Emergency Preparedness:
Shelter and Sanitation
Shelter: You never know when you may not be able to stay in your home due to severe damage and you will need shelter. Every family should have a tent large enough to fit their family or several small ones. You should also learn how to build a shelter from surrounding sources if away from home. We carry a small 3 man tent in the trunk of our car just in case we are away from home and might need it. Click here to check out the Posting "Shelter" on this blog. Click here to check out a website showing great ways to build a shelter if away from home.
Sanitation is a very important part of emergency preparedness. What would you do if you could not use your home toilet? Click here to learn about how to handle sanitation and what you will need in an emergency situation.
Emergency Cleaning Bucket: During a disaster you may not be able to use your conventional washing machine and dryer. Put together an emergency cleaning bucket. All the items will fit into a 5 gallon bucket except the scrub board, large tub and mobile washer (emergencyessentials.com)
Watch this video on how to put the bucket together.
Emergency Preparedness Ideas
New product for canning vegetables . . .
I recently purchased a Power Pressure Cooker XL which I love. It is not only for cooking food but you can can vegetables, fruits and meats. I purchased mine at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $99 and used my 20% off coupon You can also purchase them online and you see them advertised on television. You can only use the pressure cooking method with this product if you live at an elevation lower the 2,000 feet. It above that call the company.
This week I canned 20 pint jars of carrots from my vegetable garden.You can can 4 pint jars at one time and it takes about 25 minutes. Other vegetables and food items can at different time, see the in closed chart. Carrots and most vegetables are low acid cannot be canned in the water bath canning method. The picture below are the carrots from my vegetable garden before canning them. You can also peel, slice and blanch them and then freeze them for up to a year.
I also canned tomatoes from my vegetable garden using the water bath canning method. For instructions see under "Postings" on the right,
"Canning Your Fruits and Tomatoes/Vegetables". It is not hard, it just takes time. This is economical and adds vegetable to our food storage.
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