BEYOND the STRANDLINE TIP OF THE WEEK:

DENTAL FLOSS:  It’s a dancer’s trick. Ballerina’s have to sew ribbons on their shoes and mend costumes—constantly. Nothing works better or holds up tougher than using dental floss for mending clothes, backpacks, and shoes. Waterproof, heavy duty, and almost impossible to wear out, dancers use dental floss instead of regular thread for quick mending jobs. It’s tougher than quilting thread.

Stock up. Dental floss is a fabulous multi-use item to include in your storage. Just make sure you also store heavy duty needles with larger eyes.

In the novel, Beyond the Strandline, Tess recognizes her backpack because of the dental floss used to mend rips and tears in it. It’s one of those details that come from shared experience and thinking through various emergency scenarios.

SEARCH IT OUT

New to prepping?  Sure. But the Internet makes getting prepared, getting ready, and planning ahead as easy as doing a search on Google. Here's a fun link to an article from the UK; couldn't do that in the old days.

Pinterest is a place to find fellow preppers and planners.

Pinterest Preppers:
Read all about it in the news.

WINTER PREP! A RE-POST

Here are two ideas that might come in handy for your family.  The first is one that I hadn’t gone into such depth, but can see many benefits! It’s putting in EMERGENCY numbers in your cell phone. If you have a smartphone, you can just look up these numbers. However, under stressful circumstances, the ability to easily scroll to what you need could be very helpful. Take a few minutes of your time to be prepared! Here are some important ones, but think of your family and those places you’d want to be able to contact easily! You’ll need to figure out a way to list them so they POP on your phone list.

ICE-with your next of kin emergency numbers                      Local Fire & Police

Water, Power & Gas companies                                              Poison Control

Nearby hospitals                                                                   Doctor(s)

Neighbors                                                                              Towing or AAA

Insurance Agent                                                                    Co-workers/Boss

Church (Pastor, etc.)

While we’re getting ready for Winter….Do you have an emergency car kit….IN YOUR CAR?? Gather these items up, many will already be in your home, get a box and in they go~

• bottled water
• packaged food (protein bars, nuts, etc.)
• blanket
• package of body and hand warmers (these work well inside gloves and shoes)
• flares
• flashlight
• jumper cables
• rope/chain
• small shovel and windshield scraper
• kitty litter
• battery operated weather radio
• batteries
• extra clothes (including socks/insulated shoes)
• thick jacket and hat, gloves, ear muffs
• extra cellphone charger (or battery backup)
• TP/wipes

If you usually travel with babies or small kids, then you will want to include these extras:

• extra food and water                                                          Dry formula you can mix with water
• extra clothing and blankets                                                 infant or children’s Tylenol
• diapers                                                                                Toy or game to keep them occupied

CAN DO!

Try it out. Mindy’s advice to try out long-term food storage items is perfect. Try it out in smaller sizes before you invest.

Emergency food storage has come a long, long way since the days we were filling our shelves with food we canned ourselves and put in glass jars, not that we shouldn’t continue to perfect our skills in this area. I’m just saying that we’ve come a long way, baby, when it comes to emergency food supplies.

They’re popular. They’re varied. And more companies selling more emergency food means more competition, means more good deals. Let’s hear it for free enterprise.

Number ten cans, jar canning, buckets, pails, kits, assortments, MRE’s, and now smaller, more versatile fourteen-ounce size cans of dehydrated and freeze-dried foods.

Try it out.

Some dehydrated/freeze-dried foods, once opened, need to be used up and quickly and some sit quite nicely on the shelf for a while.

The smaller can sizes are perfect for experimenting without wasting a lot of money, and if you don’t get to them for a while . . . well . . . it’s long-term storage; you’re still good to go.

I rotate and use my long-term storage a lot more in my everyday cooking these days, finding that it’s more economical, in that I don’t waste food.

Tomato powders get gross fast and tomato pieces or chunks turn dark fairly quickly, but I’ve had excellent luck with green beans, peas, corn, mushrooms, and other vegetables, and I love dehydrated mashed potatoes.

What works for you and yours? 

Next time:  How do you know when it’s too old?

Linda (Can Do) Zern

 

 

     

BUY A BOOK FOR YOUR HERO!

Genre fiction can be tricky. There are books for boys. There are books for girls. There are books for cat lovers. BEYOND the STRANDLINE is a book for guys, gals, and lovers who have cats. amazon.com/author/lindazern

GENRE FICTION: YOU BE THE HERO!!

Genre fiction can be tricky. There are books for boys. There are books for girls. There are books for cat lovers. BEYOND the STRANDLINE is a book for guys, gals, and lovers who have cats. amazon.com/author/lindazern

Getting ready for Winter....are you??

Here are two ideas that might come in handy for your family.  The first is one that I hadn’t gone into such depth, but can see many benefits! It’s putting in EMERGENCY numbers in your cell phone. If you have a smartphone, you can just look up these numbers. However, under stressful circumstances, the ability to easily scroll to what you need could be very helpful. Take a few minutes of your time to be prepared! Here are some important ones, but think of your family and those places you’d want to be able to contact easily! You’ll need to figure out a way to list them so they POP on your phone list.

ICE-with your next of kin emergency numbers                      Local Fire & Police

Water, Power & Gas companies                                              Poison Control

Nearby hospitals                                                                   Doctor(s)

Neighbors                                                                              Towing or AAA

Insurance Agent                                                                    Co-workers/Boss

Church (Pastor, etc.)

While we’re getting ready for Winter….Do you have an emergency car kit….IN YOUR CAR?? Gather these items up, many will already be in your home, get a box and in they go~

• bottled water
• packaged food (protein bars, nuts, etc.)
• blanket
• package of body and hand warmers (these work well inside gloves and shoes)
• flares
• flashlight
• jumper cables
• rope/chain
• small shovel and windshield scraper
• kitty litter
• battery operated weather radio
• batteries
• extra clothes (including socks/insulated shoes)
• thick jacket and hat, gloves, ear muffs
• extra cellphone charger (or battery backup)
• TP/wipes

If you usually travel with babies or small kids, then you will want to include these extras:

• extra food and water                                                          Dry formula you can mix with water
• extra clothing and blankets                                                 infant or children’s Tylenol
• diapers                                                                                Toy or game to keep them occupied

TWO CAMPS & **SOLAR STORMS

Spent last weekend at the Authors for Authors Book Fair, selling books, chatting with authors, and explaining “prepper” fiction. My book “Beyond the Strandline” is realistic “prepper fiction.”

It was fascinating. There were definitely two camps of readers: those that were looking for books on cats or cats on books or escape to cat land and those that not only understood “prepper” fiction but were in to it.

The cat crowd was definitely the larger group. Please understand; I like cats and books about cats. I, myself, own some cat books. I have a cat.

But I have always enjoyed books that invited a reader into scenarios that stretched my understanding of what might be and placed me in worlds that require something of the characters involved and vicariously—me.

What would I do if my home were threatened by brutal civil war as in Gone With the Wind, and how would I save Tara?

Would I have the courage to pull the trigger and sacrifice my friend, Flag, like in The Yearling to ensure the survival of my family?

Where would I go to find salt, an essential nutrient for human health, in a collapse situation like that in Alas Babylon?

Prepper fiction allows us to safely peek through the windows of science fiction where the stakes are high, the consequences life altering, and the choices resulting in life and death.

Prepper fiction is the stuff of heroes and solar storms.

Cat books are good too.  

   It's all about the sun . . . or **solar flares. #beyondthestrandline WHAT IF?  

Hangin With ... Authors Linda Zern & Pat Pesce

DETAILS

Halfway through writing book two of BEYOND the STRANDLINE, still working on the title, I realized how important details are in getting the story right.

In book two, I talk about the way Florida pioneers kept their yards free of grass and weeds. Cabins were surrounded by sand and dirt. There were a couple of reasons for this: one, to provide a natural firebreak around their wooden cabins, barns, and sheds, and two, so that it would be easier to spot the poisonous snakes that inhabit the semi-tropical state.

Details.

Grassy lawns are a modern day luxury. Think about it.

In a recent blog post, I talked about cast iron pots and how important the right cookware for open flames and high heat would be without the easy predictability and consistency of electric heat.

It made me do a bit of research on the subject: details.

What I learned. 

Cast iron needs to be seasoned. Rub it lightly with oil and heat in the oven until it smokes lightly. A detail I had not known before about cast iron is that storing a kettle or Dutch oven with the lid closed tight can make the oil go rancid and smell. I checked my pots and true. To fix it, wash, oil, and re-season.  Note: Some say soap is okay. Some say not.

Just make sure that you store the pots with the lids slightly askew so that air can circulate.

Details.

The stuff our grandmothers knew and quit telling us when we starting buying Teflon and Tupperware.

Linda (Good and Seasoned) Zern       

   

AUTHOR FOR AUTHORS BOOK FAIR: NOV 21 & 22

Buy a copy of BEYOND the STRANDLINE this weekend at the Author for Authors Book Fair and receive a FREE bandana for your go-bag. 9:30 - 4:30 Eau Gallie Civic Center, Florida

SEE YOU THERE!!! 

What do you know about FREEZE DRIED foods??

Lots of variety

Have you ever wondered if you’d like to use FD foods? Wondered how and what?? Do they taste good, and do they really rehydrate and taste “mostly” like fresh or canned foods? For the most part, the answer is yes! Here are some tips from the Survival Mom book.   

*Do you use a lot of fruits and veggies? Jot down the ones you buy each week. Use these interchangeably with your regular recipes. These are tasty eaten right out of the can!

*You have a favorite pasta dish? You might try FD crumbled sausage (good stuff!), dehydrated onions, FD cheese (rehydrates like fresh). AND, that macaroni or spaghetti you already have in your pantry.

*What about staples? I don’t buy things pre-canned like sugar, salt, etc. But, I do like having small cans of baking powder, baking soda, etc. They are a bit bigger and store well.

*Emergency meals. FD just add water meals could be a lifesaver in an emergency. Many companies sell meals that can be cooked/heated in the original bag. I like these for my 72 hr. kits. BUT….they ALL taste differently. I’d buy the smallest size to try before buying a #10 can.

*Meats. They have come a LONG way in the last several years. Competing companies have helped bring more variety in the product itself and in packaging. If you have several casserole type meals…this is a great place to try out FD meats.

*Convenience. Some companies sell veggies packaged for soup. What an easy way to throw a dinner together….emergency or not!

LOTS of different companies~

I have been building this part of my pantry for several years. I use them sparingly because of the expense.  I only buy what’s on sale, usually from Emergency Essentials. However, I have friends who use them all the time, saying it’s the easiest way to get food on the table.  The MOST important thing to remember about FOOD STORAGE is that it’s your pantry and your family. Build a pantry that can serve you!

Here's the link to THE SURVIVAL MOM's post about FD foods. 

http://thesurvivalmom.com/food-storage-can-sizes-when-to-go-big-when-to-go-small/

GET LINKED UP!

BUG OUT BAG CHECKLIST!

I loved Mindy's bug-out-bag list for her car. I'm all about the lists and checklists, maybe it's that "making a list and checking it twice" lyric from Christmas time.

Anything that can help me take stock, organize, and make a list to work on, is right in.

Here's a website a fellow prepper posted on Facebook today . . . a lot of great checklists and advice.

PrimalSurvivor

You've got a Chicken, You've got a Pot.....now what??

In Linda's last post, she talked about the wonders of dutch ovens. They've been around forever and if taken care of properly can last generations. You can bet that Colonel Kennedy had thought ahead about this problem. And, had several different options! So...you're ready to cook something in your DO....what are some options? 

What about a Rocket Stove?? 

Homemade

Manufactured

These are a great way to cook your food. They can be simple and pretty cheap or not! As a prepper, you actually might want both. Remember...a back up to a back up! Here is the principle behind this idea-

A simple rocket stove can be made for around $10-15, and is quick to put together. You can pick up your supplies from HD or Lowe's, and be ready to cook outside tonight! Because, remember the OTHER prepper skill??? Practice, practice, practice!

                 

A CHICKEN IN EVERY POT

Crock-pots are the single greatest invention known to man—in my opinion—and since it’s just my opinion, I can still think it if I want to in America. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that it’s true.

Anyway . . . I wrote this book with a fictional apocalypse scenario where solar flares crash the electrical grid and the world never recovers. It’s really science fiction, but it gave me the chance to imagine a world without crock-pots or Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was eye opening, especially when it comes to the basics like eating food. What would the residents of the S-Line Ranch likely eat.

In the 1950’s it was common for families to sit down at the end of day and have dinner. Mothers were careful to make it balanced: two kinds of vegetables, a starch, bread, meat, and dessert. High schools offered “Home Economics” where girls were taught a government approved “food pyramid.” Sounds prehistoric. Doesn’t it? SIDENOTE: Just remember childhood obesity was unknown when I was a girl.

Now, families are more likely to eat processed food and fast food than not. 

Writing BEYOND THE STRANDLINE made me re-think the way a family would have to prepare and cook food without the power grid and vats of bubbling oil at Macdonald’s. 

Think crock-pots! Without electric. Take away the electric and you’ve got one pot cooking, tinfoil dinners: stews and soups. 

Meals with separate offerings of starch and vegetables and protein would not be practical or saved for special occasions like Thanksgiving or Christmas. On a day-to-day basis, it’s going to be one pot cooking. 

And bread or hard tack . . . homemade cheese, hard-boiled eggs, jerked/smoked meat . . . portable . . . fruit in season . . . raw vegetables . . . 

Cast iron one pot cooking: Dutch ovens and cast iron kettles; pots tough enough to stand up to the intense heat of an open flame.

And bread . . . homemade bread. Let’s start practicing. 

Paper Maps....out of date or useful??

When I think about prepping, I often wonder what I would miss the most or NEED the most if something happened. Maybe the event is something simple and easily fixable. Say I was just stuck on the highway going to see my family 600 miles away from home. And, a chemical spill happens, or a wreck that causes hours and miles of delay. If you have a smart phone (we don't) and can access the internet, you could find your way around those problems.  

But, what if it's a bigger problem. Say an attack like 9-11. Or an EMP. Or even a natural disaster that damages the power grid enough that we go "dark" for even a few days. 

If something big happens, I would want to be with my family or have them come here. The easiest way is to drive. However, planning ahead will be key. I have to map a few different routes, knowing I'll probably have to change many times along the way.

This would be slow...but moving.

But, THIS is a more realistic picture of what you'd experience!

So. Maps. Paper ones. Like these. If I need to get to Florida, NOT taking I-95 or I-85/75 will be key to success. There are tons of back roads to get there that might not be the parking lot that will be the Interstates. And, once I get to the area, (I picked Jacksonville, FL....ever tried to get around all the bridges and waterways???), I have a local, city map that will help me navigate. 

Larger area map

City Map

Be prepared. You need to decide what the plan is for your family. Then, get the maps you need. Think big picture (road atlas, state highway maps, local city maps) for your chosen destination. Sit down and look at different possible routes, noting "problematic" areas (big cities, bridges, tracks, chemical type sites) along the way. Mark your map, make it your own! It might save your life!