Heatring with wood

bfast- oatmeal and grain combo, toast, coffee
lunch- fruit sandie, waster
dinner- hoagies and chips form rthe Wallie.
I found this article on one of the sites I read regularly and thought to pass it on. I picked up a ben Frankilin wood stove a few months ago for a 6 pack of beer and it is ready for use.
enjoy.

There you go scratching your head, trying to figure out how you are going to stay warm during the cold winter months after the Saudi's import sanctions against the U.S., preferring to sell their oil to China. After all the Chinese produce over ten percent of the world’s consumer goods and they are ready, willing and able to sell or trade military secrets and technology to countries hostel toward the America.

There is no easy answer, at least long term. I think the problem will be more a lack of funds rather then of supply. Those holding the wealth will control whatever resources left. As usual the poor will be hit hardest, while the rich will continue on as usual, at least until actual Peak Oil happens and the oil flow decreases to a dribble.

The availability of wood for heating will depend on your location more then anything else. Someone hidden away in the deserts of Nevada would have a harder time heating with wood then the hermit secluded in the hills of Tennessee.

Only a few years ago just about everyone in my area heated with wood, now only a small number own a wood stove. It seems the ease of natural gas drove the final nail in the coffin of the wood burner.

I can heat my trailer all winter with three pickup loads of wood or less depending on how cold it gets and how long the cold snaps last. In the south our winters are fairly mild, rarely falling below twenty degrees, up north it may get minus twenty or lower requiring much more wood to stay warm.

Post Peak Oil, cutting the wood and getting it from woodlot to woodpile may present the most difficult challenge for the survivor, rather then a lack of supply. A crosscut saw and an ax would be worth there weight in gold after the chainsaw sucks the last drop of fuel from the tank.

Sleeping bags rated at -10 or better, thermal socks and underwear are a must for colder parts of the country. I can remember as a child of maybe eight or ten, my mother lost her job and we were forced to stay in an old abandoned barn. I recall waking to a bed full of snow that had blown in through the cracks in the walls. We survived only because we had those sleeping bags and thermal socks and underwear.

Do everything you can to make your dwelling more energy efficient. Plastic over the windows, blankets hung over the doors, skirting around trailers etc,. Little things can make a big difference, saving a lot of resources making your supplies last much longer then normal.

Wood heat may not be the perfect solution against the cold but it maybe the best option available for most of us at the moment. It sure beats propane post peak-oil or dying of CO poisoning while trying to feed a Sierra Stove with bags of wood pellets.

50 degrees an 60 mile winds

bfast- oatmeal, toast and coffee
lunch- chips and dip fruit and water
dinner pasta and turkey sausage, bread and water

as the title says its 50 degrees outside and winds have been howling at the stead all night. Supposed to wind down later this morning. Then will assess the damage. Right now cant see any but you never know. Anyhow I went and picked up about 200 leftover candles from a church nearby who was giving them away. Now I should have enough to keep the house lit in case of another power outage.
Also stopped by SPROUTS on the way back ( i took the dumpe bike) and loaded up on oats and grain cereal at 2 lbs for a $1. Checked the back door and grabbed a 5 lb bag of onions.On the way back I rode behind the Safie way and grabbed some oranges, pckged blueberries and a bag of cashews. gotta love the after Xmas snacks that didnt sell..
Spent the afternoon playing board games with the kidlets and havein a beer or 2. Learning alot during this time of reflection.

Sunday morning meanderings

bfast- leftover ham burritos, coffee
lunch- doritos and dip, oragne, water
dinner- roast chicken, yams, green bean casserole leftovers.

Hangin out at the stead yesterday working the CL for money makin opps I was catchin up on the TCM channel and am noticing the move towards Depression era offerings. Yesterday alone I caught Grapes of Wrath and Bound for Glory. The ideas of tent cities and Hoovervilles are rearing there heads again. More and more people are beginning to make attempts at self reliance and sufficiency. Something the missus and I have been doing for most of ourt lives. Welcome aboard.

Livi off the excess of others is something I profess to all. There is so much waste out there you only need to search locally to take advantage. Frsh dates and bags of Spanish peanuts were the fids of yesterday. Greast snacks and healthy too.

the day after xmas

bfast- holiday cheese ball quesadilla, fruit and coffee
lunch- ham sandies with catsup on wheat bread, fruit, water
dinnere fried ham, mashed taters, and doritos and dip.

yesterday was not m,uch fun. the kids were all snug in their roooms with the new games while wife was in bed in pain after throwing out the back. OUCH. pain meds and sleep for her. poor kid

did some front f door shopping for bread and chips (buy 2 get 2free) and some leftover pudding cakes (from the Safieway back door) yumyum. Anyhow it warmed up to about 40 yesterday so spent some time out of doors. the snow is melting and gaterhing in my tanks for later use.

happy Xttianmas

bfast- cheddar roll burrito, banana coffee
lunch- leftover homemade enchiladas- water
xmas eve dinner- hot wings, hot ribs, chips and beef stick cold beer

hohoho it was fun this morning and now the kids are playing with the board games and dvd games we gottem. Along with necessities. socks, gloves sweats and boots and coats.
got the missus some bath stuff and nail stuff on clearance at the Wally. She also loved her new crucifix and chain. She had tears of happiness. That makes it all worth while. Its hard livin with Trash. And i appreciate her.
Anyhow gonna have ham and scalloped taters and more cold beer later. And get ready to hit the dumpies tomorrow and the next week to see the goodies come out.

luv the holidays. free stuff good food and family dumpieing. Loadin up just in case times get tough, or even if they dont.

a Survivalist Night before Xmas

Twas the month before ChristmasAnd all through the houseThe storage was lowHardly a crumb for a mouse.
The shelves were about empty,Oh, what a plight!The wolf’s at the door,And no money in sight.
All the children were nestledTo keep warm in their bed,Hoping that before longThey surely would be fed.
The prophet had counseled“Each one be prepared,”We had procrastinated the day,Why hadn’t we cared?
ALAS! “Twas only a dream”,But that didn’t’ matterI jumped from my bedMaking a loud awful clatter.
Away to the basementI flew like a flash,Stumbling over boxes and bottles,Along with some trash.
As I surveyed my storage,With eyes all aglowThe security of filled bottlesAll straight in a row
Filled my heart with a warmthAnd my eyes with a tearTo think I had foodto last us a year.
This feeling of warmthAnd security too,Is what we as your friendsWish for you.
So put gifts of storageUnder each Christmas treeFor those on your list,Is our warmest plea,
Give honey, give sugar,Give flour or wheat.Give milk, give salt,Give something to eat.
And you’ll hear them exclaim,When Christmas is here,“Thank-you so much,It will be a good year.”
Author unknown (If you know, tell me )

monday monday

bfast- oatmeal toast and coffee
lunch- fruit and toast w/jelly coffee
dinner- homemade bean and cheese burritos with chips and juice

We spent most of yesterday watching the TV and taking it easy..
Came back to Babylon this morning with its bribery of sweets and the like.

A Jewish colleague of mine invited me to lunch so we went to an authentic Vietnamese cafe for a noodle soup bowl. I had the chicken one as I am not a big beef eater.. I ordered a medium one and it was way too much to finish.. But darn good. I will have to go back there. Also had some hot green tea . It was very pleasant.

One more day and the the holiday break from Babylon begins. A time to enjoy my family and the opportunity to gorge on holiday treats and dumpsterdiving finds. funfunfun

twas the weekend before Xtianmas

bfast- oatmeal, and toast coffee
lunch- assorted snacks from Babylon week
dinner- tuna sandies, chips and water

I havent had much time to post tis past week as Babylon been keepin me busy with end of year buying spree and the annual eating of goodies at the assorted gatherings.. Been bringin home bags of leftovers and stray food all week. Really saves on the grocery bill.
Anyhow went front dooring again to Wallie yesterday for more commercial goodies . But only after I was able to backdoor some fresh green and fruit for de critters and us. Also picked up some kindling (romance paperbacks for the fire). Pickins are real slim this holiday. Of course wife went overboard in Babylon but that is to be expected.
The coldfront that ws supposed to come in did and dropped us to almost 18 degrees for a high yesterday. Supposed to warm up for the week into the 30-s . Hope so as there is just so much TV you can watch. GOing outside is a job as you spend time putting the layers on to go out.

-18 last night and it hasnt reached +10 today

bfast- bacon and brown eggs with tortillas, OJ, and coffee
lunch- bologna sandies, chips and water
dinner spanish rice and foccaccia

the storm came in overnight Saturday dropping another 3-4 inches of snow but also brought brrrr weather. Spent most of the day watching tv and playing around with the kids. But did have to get out for a while to go to Wallyworld. Man oh man it is cold. As of now it is not even 10 degrees outside with ful sunshine.
Looks like Rosie made it thru her trauma of being left out overnight. Only time will tell.

-3 degrees at 5 am this morning

bfast- toast and pb with coffee
lunch-- found bologna sandies and juice
dinner- we splurged and had the family pack from Long John Silvers

the snow came in overnight and dumped another few inches (looks like about 4 outside). Dont know if Rosie will make it though as I forgot her last night and she spent the night outside. I notice her at 3am and resuced her from the cold. Time will tell if she makes it.

Anyhow we went front door shopping at the Wallie world last night anf got the kids most of their xmas stuff. Board games , perfumes and a r/c car ore the biggie stuff for them this year and lots of necessities too.

the warm before the storm

bfast- grits and donuts and coffee
lunch- leftover pork roast, taters and water (still enough for Monday
dinner-- leftovers from hoiday gathering in Babylon. (assorted meaballs, pastry puffs, beef tenders, etc and a crapload of brownis, lemon cakes and desserts)

went over to the Bubby after work as she had had gotten some stuff for the kiddos and some freezer stuff for the whole of us. When she finds good deal at the local Whole Paycheck market she buys em up .. got a cuppla whole chickens, day old focaccias, bacon bacon and more bacon , sausage etc. She also had gotten a mis-delivery from Swiss Colony and she stocked us up on that crap too.

I filled up 4 shopping bags to bring home on the bus. Then the bike.
This morning I took a ride over behind the Safieway and had gotten some overrip citru for the birs, the boxes of Hollywood diet cookies and some just expired bologna and salami.. lunch was good today.

Anyhow since we are expecting an arctic mass to drop I double checked the heat stick, the tape and the heater filter and all is well. You wouldnt know given it is almost 60 right now but tomorrw high is supposed to be around 30. and cold lasting all week. feels like Xmas.
anyhow hohoho

Its almost the weekend...

bfast- oatmeal with clover honey, onion bagel, coffee
lunch- old tyme boloney and cheese with tomato soup
dinner- McDonnies dollar menu ($12 fed 5 of us) and a 2liter bottle of pop (81cents)

cheap evening last night. kids watched You tube videos of Xmas light shows and want to do something like that at the stead.. Will see. Got in the dumpiemobile about 8 and drove around the neighborhood nearby gawking at the displays between the empty repossessed houses. It was fun. Got to be about 11 and awoke at 6am to begin the trip to Babylon..

gotta love the wannabes

bfast -grits and coffee with freebie pumpkin bread
lunch- boloney burrito, water
dinner- chicken alfredo- the way wife makes it only need 2 chicken breast diced to feed 6.

left Babylon to hit up the republic of Boulder. Once biz done went over to Naropa to get freebies. nothing anymore they shut down the sharestation. So came on home. Just in time before the snow hit again. 4 more inches (but not as cold). Hankered down the stead to go another round and all went well.

Gotta love the wannabe survivalists over at my daily listen must listen to podcast (www.thesurvivalpodcast.com). They complain about cold when the overnight hits 32 degrees,, We here in Zone 7 heaven could teach them a bit.. And then they whine about not scaring junior about the DEPRESSION we are in. If you lose your house and have to move to an apt , make it an adventure.. hahaha ROFL. If you lose your house, you got shit for credit, you aint getting an apt..they do credit checks. you get to live in car.. Adventure my ars. Shelters are too crowded as it is so the possibilities for roof over head are relatives, friends or car. Dumpster diving for survival.. is a crucial skill that must be taught to all people.. America is the land of waste. Grab some waste for yourself.

Remember these are kids of the new gen with cells and laptops and ipods.. Anything less is considered child abuse and Social Services will get called.. Wake up. My kids are told the truth. And we are prepped for it should it happen that SHTF. No humbleness here.

today is Monday

bfast- apple butter burrito coffee
lunch- bologna and cheese sandies, water
dinner- stir fried rice and veggies with chunks of the roast we havew had for 4 meals now. water

the snow that came on Thursday in with a wallup. is non-existent today. Except for about 40 gallons of meltoff that I willl now use for the yard and the indoor plants for a few weeks. It hit 55 on Saturday and almost 50+ yesterday. Was able to do a doggie poop roundup- turn some soils in the compost bin and fill the squirrrel and bird feeders for our out door frineds. By the looks of it outside they are enjoying the treats.
Rosie and herbal friends got a tad of sunshine on Saturday (they were put in the sun outside)and they appear to have liked the experience. Rosie sure smells good while la cuppla sprigs of her went into the stuffing on Thanksgiving and also on the roast this past weekend.
Picked up a tole angel (about 3 foot tall) and a new bird feeder stand from behind the Safieway. Not much in the way of produce yesterday. Also picked up some Dickies overall winter suit and a flannel shirt with sweatshirt yesterday from the dumpies.
watm clothes for free is good.
Enjoyin the rest of the warmth before another little snow shows up later into tomorrow. And I head back to Babylon.

Let it snow, let it snow

bfast- grits-fruit and coffee
lunch- pasta w/ jalapeno turkey tomato sauce
dinner- Wallieworld chicken and mac/cheese water

4-6 inches and counting..

baby its cold outside

bfast- grits and coffee
lunch- pasta with turkey jalapeno tomato sauce, veggies and water
dinner- homemade hamburgers with dumpie green salad and onions.

been talkin survival methods and practice with the head of the Survival Podcast ( http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/) thru email over the past days and am beginning to wonder just how serious he is. First he worries about life insurance over actual money onhand and then talks up stockpiling 90 days worth of grubbings while not hiding about 6 months worth of cash and barter materials on the stead JIC..

He also worries about the debt to the corporate man as NEEDING to be paid to be honorable. BS, debt to family paid is honorable. Debt to a corporation is like debt to noone.. Paper debt.
If you cant pay. feel no guilt as they will write it off. You cant bleed turnips. They bleed us constantly and care not the consequences this may cause. Gotta love these old military guys and their loyalty to the corporate nation they fight to perpetuate.

Anyhow off the soapbox for a tad as I am needing to make sure the stead is toasty for the current cold snap..

HO HO HO

Bfast-- leftover baked apples with cinnamon, freebie slice of pumpkin pie and cream ( from Babylon)
lunch- turkey wings, hard cheese (from dumpie), strawberry cream pie, water bottle
dinner ( last night)- BBQ sandies, leftover stuffing, and water.

Saw this pic on one of my daily reads and thought it was good. Considering this is being seen more and more out here in CO. Affordable food is becoming a scarce commodity as we saw last night in our monthly front door shopping trip. The majority of the plain label, no brand food was empty on the shelves. Milk is pricing itself cheap again but bread and butter prices are going thru the roof. $2 for a loaf of bread is ridiculous.
Fresh produce (greens and citrus amongst others ) prices are up up.. Hard to find afforadble alternatives.. But thank goodness for the back door shopping of expired and overripe stuff to keep us going.. Greens and citrus abounded this weekend as well as some higher end deli stuff we found..