Good Survival Gear is like Good Scuba Gear: Used!

So you have everything you could ever need to survive Armageddon. Great. Stuff is helpful, but it's just a tool. Just like any tool, you need to use your survival gear.

I'm a big scuba diver and I dive in some of the dirtiest, scariest waters there are: river wrecks. What does my gear look like? I can tell you this: it's not shiny, or pristine. My gear is faded from sun and chlorine, my wetsuit is patched several times over, and a lot of my rig set up is diy. I'm not saying it's dirt or broken. As a diver, every time you go under water you are depending on the gear, it's your life support system. Any gear that is standing between you and death needs to be lovingly mantained. Not just serviced yearly. You check it before you pack it in the car for the trip, you check it again when you set up, and you check on last time before you get in the water. To do this, you have to know your gear. I can set mine up blindfolded (yes, from the zipped dive bag as long as I don't have to carry the tank around blind, I like my toes.)


Survival gear should be treated the same way. You have to know it, you have to use it, and you have to have it. All three of those steps are vitally important. If you have a hatchet in your BOB but don't know how to split wood, are you going to figure it out as you make your way across country? I'm not saying don't put a hatchet in your BOB. I'm saying go buy a hatchet and learn to use it. When you're not using it, take care of it, then store it in your BOB.

Secondly, you have to have all the gear you need. If you have a reg and tank but no BC, you're not going diving. If you have a rifle and a handgun, but no boots, you're not going to make it across country.

Thirdly, with out a plan, even having and knowing how to use your gear, you'll still be in trouble. You can't just wander around, if you're using your BOB it's to get somewhere safe.

A sighting!

Zombies spotted in Australia!

How the animals got their names.

Our first cat was born in my mother's garage to the tiniest siamese cat you'd ever seen. We all called her Princess, and she expected to be treated like one. Toes-are-Tasty inherited none of her genes as far as I can tell. He's a gray tabby and is our most sociable cat. He went home with Can-We-Nuke-'Em, as this was a few years before we were married, and was content as the uncontested ruler of the apartment.

Then one day, Can-We-Nuke-'Em and his roommate Tiberius decided that if they got Toes-are-Tasty a playmate, maybe he'd stop pouncing on their feet at 5 am, demanding to play. They came home with Why-is-my-food-bowl-empty. Little did they know, Why-is-my-food-bowl-empty would only make their lives more complicated. See, she cannot stand to see the bottom of her bowl. She'll meow and howl, and sit on you until you go fill it up to the top (shaking the bowl so that the remain food covers the spot where she dug down to find the bottom of the bowl doesn't cut it.) Also, Toes-Are-Tasty and Why-is-my-food-bowl-empty hated each other. Much yowling and cat fighting happened until they'd sectioned off the apartment and chosen to ignore each other.

Meanwhile, my sister's puppy died tragically, and my mom took her to the SPCA to find another. I just happened to be home that weekend, and I tagged along. I fell in love at first sight with the only white puppy in a enclosure of German shepherd/chow mixes. They all been dumped together, and the SPCA though that Pet-Me-Now-Please was a Great Pyrenees/German Shepherd mix and the sibling of the other brown and black puppies, one of which, my sister adopted. I-eat-houses, for that was what this puppy did, never got much bigger, and had a taste for siding. Mom was not impressed. As Pet-Me-Now-Please got bigger, we took her to the vet, who tried not to laugh hysterically when told that she was a Great Pyr/German Shepherd, informed us that she was most likely a yellow lab/husky or malamute mix, and was two months older than I-eat-houses. All of this was okay with me, for Pet-Me-Now-Please is the easiest dog I've ever met. If you pet her, she is happy. Food is good too, but she'd rather be pet.

Then, Can-We-Nuke-'Em and I combined household out east, and all the animals came with us. After the dog stopped freaking out about being somewhere new, she decided that cats were not worth bothering with and settled down for a lifetime of being pet.

You'd think at this point, the house would be full. Well, one day we went to buy cat food, and there were kittens. Two of them actually, tiny white fluff ball that had been born to a feral mother. The lady said, "Two-for-One!" and so we took Fluff-for-Brains and I-am-a-Lion-really home. Besides thinking that Pet-Me-Now-Please was the best play toy ever, I think they really thought they'd grow up to be as big as her. Fluff-for-Brains would crawl up on top of the washer and wait for Pet-Me-Now-Please to walk by and then pounce! Then the cat would hurtle himself through the air at the dog and try and play ride 'em, cowboy with the dog. The dog just turned around and looked at him and then kept walking.

When we moved up north, we packed up everything. Including Fluff-for-Brains. The truck was almost all packed, and then we noticed he was gone. All the animals had been shut up in our room to avoid packing them, so we knew he had to be either in the dresser or the bed. A little rearranging later, we found Fluff-for-Brains in the box spring, and he was not going to move. We had to cut the fabric liner on the bottom off to pry him out. He was not a happy camper, but he was retrieved safely. He and I-am-a-Lion-really spent the entire car ride north yowling at the top of their lungs, and to this day Brains-for-Fluff will not go near a carrier voluntarily. Sadly, I-am-a-Lion-really died shortly after we moved north.

No More Corn

The next three weeks, I'll be eating a corn-less diet. Hopefully when the vampires (err, doctors) get all their tests done, I'll be able to eat corn again. Why, you ask, is this so annoying? Corn is in everything. I'm not even employing hyperbole. Corn is in the meat you buy at the grocery store, your powdered sugar, you vitamin-C pills, your soda, your bread, your margarine, your baking soda, your cookies, crackers, and pancake syrup.

List of things I can eat (to be updated for the next three weeks):
Kashi cereal

List of Tools for an Emergency

So, as you all read, I did a tool inventory this month. Then I sat down and thought about what I still needed and wanted. I thought I'd share the list I came up with. Without further ado, the list:


Hand Tools
Hammers:
Framing hammer
Ball peen hammer
Caulking mallet
Wooden mallet
Rubber mallet
Sledgehammer

Saws and other Cutting Tools:
Arbor saw (does the job of a chain saw)
Crosscut saw
Rip saw
Bow saw
Coping saw
Miter saw
Miter box
Hole saws
Circular saw
Masonry blades for circular saw
Extra saw blades
Felling axe
Splitting axe
Hatchet
Shipwright’s Adze
Bolt Cutters
End snips
Flush cutters
Machete
Electrician’s Knife
Set of Wood Carving knifes
Drawknife
Utility knives


Chisels and Planes
Set of Chisels (1/8” -2”)
Set of Lathe Chisels
Set of Gouges
Caulking iron
Spokeshave
Scrapper
Set of Bench planes
Block plane
Scrub plane
Bull nosed rabbet plane
Set of Finger Planes

Drills and Screwdrivers:
Brace and Bits
Phillips head screwdrivers (various sizes)
Slotted screwdrivers (various sizes)
Robertson screwdrivers (various sizes)
Hex set

Pliers and Wrenches:
Round nose pliers
Needle nose pliers
Locking pliers
Socket Set
Adjustable Wrench
Set of Open Ended Wrenches (various sizes)
Pipe wrenches
Channel lock pliers

Clamps and Vices:
Bench Clamps
Anvil
C-Clamps (a whole array of sizes)
Gripe
Bar clamps
Quick clamps
Spring clamps

Levels, Measures, and Drafting tools
Spline
Plumb-bob
Carpenter’s Level
Line level
Combination Square
Framing Square
T-Square
Tape Measure
Ruler
Yard Stick
Straightedge

Misc:
Bevel gauge
Spar markers
Marlin spike
Leather palm
Awl
Pin Punch
A set of letter and number punches
Crowbar
Files
Rasps
Wedges for the sledgehammer
Metal chisels
Metal punches
Set of saw horses
Hydraulic jacks

Consumables:
Carpenters Pencils
Sandpaper (various grits)
Glue
Nails
Screws
Washers
Bolts
Chalk line
WD-40

Power Tools
Lathes (Wood and Metal)
Power Saws
Power Drill
Band Saw
Metal Band Saw
Table Saw
Belt sander
Router
Bench Grinder
Jointer
Planer
Jigsaw
Dremel w/flex shaft, drill press set up, and bits

Preps as Gifts

My first introduction to any sort of emergency prepping was the BOB my dh's grandmother made him for Christmas one year, it was an excellent base to work from, and a lot of it is still in his BOB today. In fact, I wish she'd give us such useful things every year.

Preps as gifts can be as big or as little as you'd like. Car kits and BOBs are good medium size choices, especially if you throw in a book about prepping. Information is key. If you want to larger then that, make sure you pick something that suits the giftees needs and abilities. While everyone should eventually have a canner, it's not a good first prep gift for a non-cooker. If you want to go smaller,I gave my sister an emergency kit in a water bottle for her birthday. She's a college student and never without her backpack, so she shoved the water bottle in a pocket and I'm sure promptly forgot about it, but it'll be there when she needs it.

I used:
1 Lexan-type Wide Mouth water bottle (needs to be wide mouthed to get stuff into it!)
1 emergency space blanket
1 leatherman multi-tool thingie
1 mini-flashlight with extra batteries
1 poncho
1 powerbar
1 bag of electrolyte jelly beans (they looked cool)
1 tiny first aide kit
1 whistle
1 compass/signaling mirror
1 carabiner
1 mini-duct tape roll
and then I wrapped about 50ft of cord around the bottle in a turk's head.

Since I was mailing it, I didn't include matches, but I did tell her to go pick some up for it. It cost me about $30 as she is my sister and I got her both a nice multi-tool and solid compass. Both Eddie Bauer and someone else make commercial versions of the emergency kit in the bottle for about $10, though you'd want to beef them up.

Belated Report on Tool Inventory

Guys, inventory is boring, and I just couldn't bring myself to want to write much about it. It's pretty easy if you only have a small stash of tools, and even my medium stash wasn't too bad as it's all neatly tucked away in tool boxes. I ended up doing it in front of the tv (I was watching season one of Psych, which is hilarious and easy enough to do other things during). I'd haul out a tool box, type up everything in it, print out a list to tape inside the lid, and move on. It still took two weeks. Why? Well, it also got cold here, cold enough to break out the winter clothes, which all needed to be washed and fold and put away. The other reason, there are lots of little parts to hand tools, and you need them all. A plane is an excellent thing to have, but if it's missing it's screw or iron, it's not going to do you much good. Extra saw blades are always a good idea, don't just count a saw, know if you have extra blades and what kind they are, a rip saw and a crosscut saw don't do the same job and you'll be upset if you mix up the two.

Once you know what you have, then you can think about what you need. I focus on hand tools, as you never know when the electricity will fail you. I'm not saying I don't have power tools, I love my Makita drill, but I also have a brace, just in case :). What I do have are a few specialty hand tools that I love and that you might not have thought about investing in. I have a whole array of planes. My most beloved is a tiny bull nosed rabbet plane. While I usually prefer wooden bodied planes, this little guy is metal, and can get anywhere. I also have a a set of Japanese saws (they work opposite of American saws) and a bevy of back up blades. Blades snap, go dull, and rust, and the saw is vitally important to almost any work working project. And speaking of dull, no matter how excellent your chisels are (and mine are some of my favorite tools, a beautiful set of Lie-Nielsens) they'll need to be sharpened. Sharpening is one area where I'm still electricity dependent. My bench grinder has to be plugged in. Another area to work on.

Apple Sauce is tasty and delicious

I made 3 qts of nummy and delicious apple sauce from Fireside and Gala apples. My extra tasty hint: added a tps. of Pumpkin Pie spice of extra tastiness. Next step, canning.

Last of the First Aid Kits and on to Apples

When making your first aide kits, don't forget to keep track of what's in them and what you still need. The first tab in my binder of plenty (or, y'know, control journal, for the less lyrical among us) is TO DO. Check lists for all the first aid kits are in my TO DO section this week. Tomorrow, I'll look at the lists, write down the last few things we need, put that list in TO DO and move my check lists back to the Emergency Preps section of the binder. Most of the items we still need are larger purchase or need to be ordered, which is why they didn't show up this week. This way, I'll still know what I need.

I'll tell you early, next week's task is going to be canning apples. This weekend is Apple Fest and I intend to come home with a bushel of apples for apple sauce, baked apples, apple pancakes, and apple dumplings. Mmmmm, apples.

Steampocalypse and More on First Aid

One of the things I do when not preparing for zombie attacks is tinker around in the steampunk community. This week, the Steam Punk Magazine has joined me in preparing for any of several different apocalyptic situations in their third issue. Also included is the Steam Punks Guide to the Apocalypse, with drawings and instructions on setting up your own water filtration system and making spindles and more!

While you're at it, this is First Aid week. Supplies are not the only essential thing you need to have one hand. CPR and First Aid classes are an important part of your toolkit. Also, if you can, get signed up for an oxygen administrator class. You can get your own oxygen kit from DAN. They carry several different types of oxygen kits mostly aimed at diving accidents.

Organization and First Aid Kits!

Okay, I'm not one for Flylady and those other "girly" homemaking type sites. Pretty much anything "girly" is enough to make me go running off into the night, but Flylady's control journal was the step toward organization that I needed.

It hard to have a working food storage when you don't know what you're storing. Or what you're missing! I have eight tabs: TO DO, House repair (that'd be cleaning for most of you), Emergency Preps Inventory, Food Storage Recipes and Cooking Tips, Food Storage Inventory, Coupons, Notes, and Emergency Info. I downloaded templates for the Control Journal yahoo group, and set up all my pages. It's working great for me.

This is also a good time to get your cars kitted out for winter weather. In addition to your usually carbox items, things like extra blankets or sleeping bags, more food, salt and kitty litter, maybe even a shovel would be good additions.

THIS WEEK'S TASK: This week I'm cleaning out and reorganizing all the first aid kits. That's a kit in each bob, one in each carbox, one in the scuba gear, and one in the house. That's alot of first aid kits, but it's important to know that they'll all be stocked when you need them. If you're just starting out, don't forgot pocket masks for sanitary CPR. You can get them at Walgreen's or the Red Cross and one should go into every first aide kit you are making.

Time for Winter Prepping

Winter is on the way in the Midwest. The days are growing shorter, and the zombies are still threaten the walls.

Winter survival requires you to keep warm as well as feed and secure. Extra blankets and wool socks are good ideas (Check Good Will and Salvation Army, or if you're like me, drop a hint to one of the several aunts who's taken up crocheting or quilting).

We on the look out for a non-electric heater this year, just in case. One of the perks of a gas stove is that you can light it with out electricity, so long necked lighters are also on the winter prep list.

Don't forget the animals...

Cats and Dogs will get hungry to if you have to wait out a Zombie Siege. Pet food already lives in 5 gallon buckets at our house, so storage isn't really a problem. (Though I need to locate more 5 gallon buckets soon).

As for stocking up, when I need pet food, I buy two bags. One for use, and one for storage. And then when the use bag is out, I go buy two more, and feed the cats from the fist storage bag, and store the two new bags. This why, Why-is my-food-bowl-empty? never need have a panic attack because there may not be food soon.

Shopping for the Apocalypse

Food storage is one of the most important things you can do for any stay-in place emergency. I use a $20 a week list. Instead of buying every week, I buy food on week 1 and week 3. On week 2, I buy from my medical and hygiene supply list, and on week 4 I buy miscellaneous items. So the first month's shopping list would look like this:

Week 1:
1 box oatmeal
3 lbs lentils
2 boxes of saltines
1 can of coffee
3 cans of condensed milk

Week 2:
3 bottles expectorant type cough syrup
2 bottles hydrogen peroxide
2 bottles isopropyl alcohol
2 boxes assorted bandages
4 packs latex household gloves
1 bottle acetaminophen
1 bottle ibuprofen
2 bottles waterless anti-bacterial hand cleaner
1 roll trash bags

Week 3:
10 lbs. complete pancake mix
1 gallon pancake syrup
12 cans cream of chicken soup

Week 4:
5 bottles of vitamin C
1 12-pack of toilet paper
5 packs of AA batteries

So how did I come up with the month's shopping list? First, I looked at the budget. $20 dollars a week. Then I looked at everyone else's list. I'm not buying wheat yet, because I don't have a mill. I don't bu grits because I'm not sure I could force myself to eat them. You should store things you normally eat, and you should eat the things you store. All food has an expiration date, so you'll probably eat a lot of your storage food before the Zombie get around to being undead, and who wants to only has instant mashed potatoes to eat for the rest of their lives?

Lists to take take a look at (Some of these list come from religious groups, just giving you a head's up):

Planning Smart

Food Storage Worksheet

LDS Food Storage Calculator

Getting Started in Food Storage

Nana's Food Storage List
Nana's Flu Preps List
Nana's Supplemental List

How Long Things Store

Why Zombies?

Okay, now that real life has died down a bit, I'm going to try and post here more often. For those of you who are wondering how the blog got it's name, here's the story. When Can-We-Nuke-'em and I talk about emergency preparedness, we always discuss it in terms of Zombie attacks. Will we have enough food if we're under siege from Zombies? What will life be like after the Zombies are defeated and the population is depleted?

What we're really talking about is being able to survive flood, fire and famine. It's just that Zombies are way more fun to talk about!