What have you done this week to prep?

[Thor]

Canned about 3 gallons of apple/rhubarb/cranberry compote. Just because.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Please...please...don't tell us what the found.

Same tartar/calculus that is everyone's mouth. Took 12 minutes but I use a Phillips electric brush. Really reduces the chair time!

Dental health is an overlooked prep that not everyone considers.

 

[churchmouse]

Canned about 3 gallons of apple/rhubarb/cranberry compote. Just because.

.....................OMG

 

[Thor]

Same tartar/calculus that is everyone's mouth. Took 12 minutes but I use a Phillips electric brush. Really reduces the chair time!

Dental health is an overlooked prep that not everyone considers.

Well...that's kind of anticlimactic. Wait...they found math in your mouth? cool..

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Well...that's kind of anticlimactic. Wait...they found math in your mouth? cool..

INGO, setting the bar for knowledge . . . somewhere.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

No MRAP parts, then?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

No MRAP parts, then?

Yes, I do have MRAP parts in the unattached garage.

It is an Indianapolis speed wrench for solving Tippecanoe County's MRAP problem.

 

[Zoub]

Unattached, just a fancy way of saying detached.

 

[OutdoorDad]

I threw away some canned goods on my basement "storage" shelf and did some rearranging.

I lost one can of lentil soup and a box of prepared madras lentil heat and serve to the calendar. (I also may have discovered something about my family's attitudes towards lentils. )

Grabed some chicken noodle soup before the "best by" date and made lunch for the Mrs.

In the last year, I've kept enough in rotation to feed the family for 30 days without losing weight. And only lost $10 or so to stale dating.

And I was able to demonstrate that it isn't "going to waste".

 

[cmr13]

Got another 80 bottles of water that were bought for me by a friend that has a Sam's Club membership.

 

[churchmouse]

Got another 80 bottles of water that were bought for me by a friend that has a Sam's Club membership.

Sams club members only 40 pack is just north of $3.00 per.
We have stacks of them.

 

[Sylvain]

 

[cmr13]

Bought some more lithium batteries on sale at Menards. Got a Rite in the Rain pad and pen at TSC to put in my emergency bag. Looked at hitches at TSC. Went to use my certificate for a free cylinder of propane but the place was closed. Gotta go back for that at some point.

 

[mikefraz]

Stocked up on food in general. Got some odds and ends for my FAK. Steadily saving money to get that house with some land this time next year, hopefully.

 

[bigus_D]

Talked to a life insurance agent.
Contributed to 529 plans.
fully funded 401k and hsa plans for the year.
Closed pool. Winter is approaching.
Ran 5k.
Introduced 3yr old to new set of chores.
Reminded 5yr old to do her chores.

 

[Jackson]

Talked to a life insurance agent.
Contributed to 529 plans.
fully funded 401k and hsa plans for the year.
Closed pool. Winter is approaching.
Ran 5k.
Introduced 3yr old to new set of chores.
Reminded 5yr old to do her chores.

Practical and relevant to your most probable future. Surely that doesn't belong in here. :-)

 

[rhino]

Yesterday I finally practiced building fire using locally gathered materials and a ferrocerium rod for ignition. It was a bit damp, so it was a little more challenging that I'd hoped (although the host thoughtfully put some dry sticks under cover in preparation). I confirmed that no matter how much you read or watch, you don't know until you actually do it yourself. It's challenging and if you don't follow the basics, it's an exercise in frustration. Having an experienced guide/teacher is invaluable and I learned a lot, including a much better way to use the ferro rod to ignite stubborn tinder. I can build fire now and I also know that I'm going to build an elevated fire pit for future practice! I know how to make char cloth. I know how to use char cloth, when, and why.

I also learned that if you have really good tinder (like some twine/cordage a little girl spent several minutes fraying into small bundle, it can ignite and burn faster than you expect, even if the rest of your tinder is a bit damp. If you're not ready for that, you can get burned. I was expecting to have to blow and nurse it into an open flame and I was surprised when that was not necessary. Of course, my first overly successful tinder bundle never made it to the kindling or larger fuel, but it was a good lesson. My next attempt took a lot longer and included a lot of wasted effort using the ferro rod the way you see most people use them in videos. That works fine with tinder that will readily catch a spark, but something is more stubborn just sits there as showers of sparks bounce off!

More tinder is better for a lot of reasons. In the future, I will have as big of a tinder nest as I can manager. I will have double the amount of small kindling than I think I need before I try to ignite.

I also confirmed how good scandi edges knives are for processing wood. I did a lot whittling/shaving and some light splitting of kindling with a Condor Bushlore and it performed nicely! I also confirmed that the Condor Moonstalker is an excellent chopper and that when you have a knife that big, let it do the work instead of trying muscle it.

Practical experience and practice are as essential as the facts, theory, and knowledge behind these skills. Many of you know this and many of you probably need to learn it the way I continue to learn it.

 

[cmr13]

Bought a knife for a bag. Put more stuff in my bag. As I work on building my first bag it's getting heavier, and it just makes me smile knowing I'm getting more prepared.

 

[teddy12b]

Along the same line of thought as Rhino was mentioning, I signed up for the Wetsu/MPS survival class through AGS on Nov. 7th. AGS Armament | MPS Survival 101
I've taken this class two times before and it's always been worth every penny and every minute. It's good to meet with like minded people who will actually get out and train. Every time I've taken his class I've struggled in areas where I needed tuned up. Since the last class of his that I attended I went to the Pathfinder school, and I'm looking forward to putting those skills to his test.

Continuing to go to Crossfit classes. Continuing to get stronger, faster, etc.

I've been reloading ammo to replenish my working supply of ammo. I keep my factory ammo for hard times and crank off the cheaper reloads for training.

Planted additional fruit trees on the property.

Preparing for a hunting trip in Nov. Getting the clothes all scented right, knife sharp, and confirming rifle is zeroed.

Oddly enough, my wife and I have been watching a lot of the show "Naked and Afraid" and it's been a really good conversation starter for us to talk about outdoors skills and how bad things could possibly get. She thinks she would be fine, but when we see "survivalists" who asked to be tested on the show at each others throats after a week it kind of hits home with her about why I do the things I do and why I'd like her to be able to do the same.

 

[rhino]

Oh, and I will be reluctant in the future to criticize people on the survival-oriented shows when they cannot readily make a fire. Yes, they should be fire-building experts before applying for a role on any of those shows (even "Survivor"), but it's just not as easy as it looks if your resources are limited and the conditions are not favorable.