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Prepping for biological disaster

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'm actually surprised you are on municipal water!

When you get out into the country in East Texas your water needs are generally met by a subscriber owned water co-op. Most are small and only cater to a limited area. If your house is a long way from their supply line, it gets pretty expensive to run water line from the road to the house. In those cases people sometimes drill domestic water wells but it isn't all that common. Most people are like me and have a water well for topping up the lake and irrigation. My grass is always green even in the height of the Texas summer.

Well, it seems that I was wrong. It used to be co-op owned but the "all knowing one" tells me that a couple of years ago the State started organizing all the small, independent water companies into "Special Utility Companies" which gives them some sort of Federal tax break and allows access to Federal funds. Just say that I don't know what is going on around here.
 

m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
When you get out into the country in East Texas your water needs are generally met by a subscriber owned water co-op. Most are small and only cater to a limited area. If your house is a long way from their supply line, it gets pretty expensive to run water line from the road to the house. In those cases people sometimes drill domestic water wells but it isn't all that common. Most people are like me and have a water well for topping up the lake and irrigation. My grass is always green even in the height of the Texas summer.

Well, it seems that I was wrong. It used to be co-op owned but the "all knowing one" tells me that a couple of years ago the State started organizing all the small, independent water companies into "Special Utility Companies" which gives them some sort of Federal tax break and allows access to Federal funds. Just say that I don't know what is going on around here.

Is your well water potable? if not at least you can flush the toilet with it etc. Maybe boil it to drink if you have to. That sucks about the water pipe.
Why now??
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Well we had our first HICCUP with the grocery store pick-up system.

The grocery store we frequent is a small local chain. Stores located in my town, the town north of here, the next town north of that, etc. About a dozen total stores.

My bank is 2 towns north of my town so I selected the grocery store location that is between the bank and my house, instead of the store in town. That proved to be a problem. That store accepted my order, but actually the system never seemed to receive my order?!? So I went at my designated time and there was no food for me. I stayed in the car and called, they said "yeah, that computer order doesn't work here for the past 2 weeks..."

OH. Well F..k. I drive home. Placed the order with my local store and cancelled the order with their sister store the next town up. So my groceries will be available tomorrow. No big deal. It was all going into my supplies anyway. So tomorrow I'll get it after lunch. But I guess this is proof that the systems are FRAGILE and not to be counted on for critical supplies.
 

mla2ofus

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sometimes it's best to not depend on someone else to do something you can do yourself.
Mike
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Is your well water potable? if not at least you can flush the toilet with it etc. Maybe boil it to drink if you have to. That sucks about the water pipe.
Why now??

The water line was repaired in about 4 hours.

To be honest I don't know if the well water is potable or not. I've never had it tested. It was never intended to be used domestically. It was drilled to be used for the lawn sprinkler system, water the veggie garden that we used to have and to top up the lake. I have about 25k gallons of chlorinated water in the swimming pool if needed. I can also pump water out of the 4-acre lake and have all kinds of filter/purification systems to make it potable and safe. I'm not hurting for water.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Day 13 of House Arrest. Total state lockdown mandated by the Governor, a Republican, takes affect at 5 this afternoon. Dems here are claiming it is against the law for him to mandate that.

I realized this morning that my supply of bar & chain oil is almost depleted. Damn. I must have used more than I thought rust proofing the truck last fall. Thought sure I still had a gallon of it at least, instead I'll be lucky to have a quart in the jug. Damn. Try and think of everything, but age gets in the way, sometimes. :th_lmao:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
...I realized this morning that my supply of bar & chain oil is almost depleted. ... Try and think of everything, but age gets in the way, sometimes. :th_lmao:

Yup, I think every day I find some little thing that I wish I had another "x" amount of but none are critical things. Just little nuisance things mostly.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
Yup, I think every day I find some little thing that I wish I had another "x" amount of but none are critical things. Just little nuisance things mostly.

Yeah, I told my wife every time you think of something jot it down on a piece of paper or voice memo on your iPhone. If I do not do that, 5 seconds later it is totally forgotten and I am racking my brain trying to remember what that was. :th_lmao:
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Melsdad and TR, I am in about the same position. We don't lack for anything and are actually managing very well. At least I am but my wife is having problems. She is still very involved in the local community and is in town once a day, sometimes twice, sometimes three times. This confinement is tough for her. I, on the other hand, don't go in to town all that often so it's no real hardship for me.

One thing that proved problematic is the lack of fresh produce and veggies. We have plenty of frozen and canned but you can't stock up on salad stuff. It has a life of about 2-weeks so needs to be replenished. You wouldn't think that you'd get in the position where you'd be willing to trade a toilet roll for a beefsteak tomato. :smileywac

Given enough time during the spring I could till up an acre or maybe two and have more vegetables that we could use. That's what I used to do every year but scaled back and finally quit as I got older. I can see a small greenhouse in our future to keep us supplied with greens during the winter.

Edit: My S-I-L got back from Georgia last night and went grocery shopping during the old people's hour this morning. She said that it was really good, not fully stocked but there was a lot more stuff than when my wife went late last night … she got lemons. My wife is really happy now.

On a side note, the guy who owns a mom and pop country store in the town 11 miles south of us got himself arrested for selling TP at $5.49 a roll.
 
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m1west

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just got back from meeting a customer and hitting the grocery store up town. I was able to get there right at 7 am when they opened. There new policy is they let seniors in at 7-8am then the rest. I was able to get everything we wanted to last 2 weeks on the fresh and filled the freezer again. After I eat I still have to take Roberts bronco frame to be dropped off then back to lock down. I thought today would be the only day I would go out but customers keep calling and you can't say no or they will call someone else and you don't want others getting there foot in the door so I have to do it. I never thought I would complain about work but here I am. I would much prefer to stay home WTF.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
So a lady in my shooting group wants to buy a rifle. I have a bunch. The lady is in her 50's, lives with, and cares for her sick mother. I'm selling her an inexpensive but reliable, AR15 with some magazines. She ordered ammo on-line. Can't find a gun in stock at the stores.

Not really sure why she wants the rifle for self defense, but I keep them for home protection so I won't question it. She has a bunch of wheel guns and is proficient with them. I guess she just wants something more powerful.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
I was always a shotgun fan for home defense. 12 gauge, 2/0 buck. No need to aim, just point. If hearing you pump that bad boy does not put the fear of God into them, the 2.0 buck in the face will.

Of course now, having lost all my firearms in the boating accident, I am relying on other things.
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I just placed an order for some of this. Most of my freeze dried stash is this brand and I can testify it is really good tasting stuff. 30 year shelf life. Order is not delivering until May, but that is no surprise right now.

I have some of their freeze dried food, not a lot, probably enough for a week. I'm trying hard not to over react but after all this is over and things settle down, I can see me getting about a 3-month stash of Mountain House.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
I have some of their freeze dried food, not a lot, probably enough for a week. I'm trying hard not to over react but after all this is over and things settle down, I can see me getting about a 3-month stash of Mountain House.

Yes, very good stuff. I ordered now because this is actually a lower price than what I paid over a year ago.

I agree, a three month supply of Mountain House foods would be, for me, an ideal situation coupled with the regular stash, that would give a 6 month supply for two people. I would feel comfortable with that.

Of course, all that is a moot point unless one can maintain a six month supply of necessary meds.
 

mla2ofus

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Yeah, TR, there's no other sound quite like a pump gun chambering a round. If the bad guy hears it and doesn't run then he'll have to be killed.
Mike
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Well I'm pretty much done with prepping.

I ran out of vacuum seal bags. Had to resort to ZipLocks. After the last of the fresh meat was thoroughly frozen the Amazon truck showed up with more vacuum bags!

Melen is worried she will run out of wine!

Our problems are obviously "first world" problems here. Other people are probably a lot more concerned about finding food and toilet paper. Not going to gloat about being prepared or reading the winds on this thing but I'm glad that we were 90% prepared 2 weeks before the real SHTF. We normally have about a months worth of food here, but at the end of the month it would be Spam + Pickles. We are sitting on a solid 3-4 months right now, and well balanced meals. But the wine will not hold out nearly that long!
 

mla2ofus

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Our governor just locked down Idaho. All but essential businesses and even in our strongly Mormon state the liquor stores will stay open.
Mike
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Our problems are obviously "first world" problems here. Other people are probably a lot more concerned about finding food and toilet paper. Not going to gloat about being prepared or reading the winds on this thing but I'm glad that we were 90% prepared 2 weeks before the real SHTF. We normally have about a months worth of food here, but at the end of the month it would be Spam + Pickles. We are sitting on a solid 3-4 months right now, and well balanced meals. But the wine will not hold out nearly that long!

Melsdad, that's pretty much where we stand. We used to run at about 6-months of supplies but ran it down to about 3 months. We topped up on some essentials before the panic started. I dare say we will run out of some "I wish I hads" before the 3 months is up but we will still be eating reasonably well.

We don't drink a whole lot of wine. My wife does enjoy a glass while cooking and I've been known to tipple every now and then. I checked earlier on today. The wine cooler is about 3/4 full of whites and the wine rack is easily 1/2 full of reds. I'm more worried about my Scotch not lasting to December. I seem to be going through it at an accelerated pace.
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
My big screw up was yeast. I have none. I never gave it a thought. I always make a big loaf of homemade bread when I make a chowder or stew. Damn.

I just about got the last tin of it on Amazon but I will not get it until April 9. I am chomping at the bit for my Beef Stew. I guess I will keep chomping for a few more weeks. :th_lmao:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
My big screw up was yeast. I have none. I never gave it a thought. I always make a big loaf of homemade bread when I make a chowder or stew. Damn.

I just about got the last tin of it on Amazon but I will not get it until April 9. I am chomping at the bit for my Beef Stew. I guess I will keep chomping for a few more weeks. :th_lmao:

We generally do the bread-mix instead of scratch. Sometimes we do scratch but not very often. Not sure if we have yeast. But we have a 18+ boxes of various types of mix. Hawaiian, Italian, Sourdough, 10 grain, etc
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
PM me your address and I'll drop some packets in an envelope and mail it to you.

That's very nice of you and I appreciate it. However, it seems they pushed my date up to April 3 so I will have it by next weekend. You hold on to your supply, trust me there is NONE to be had, at least around here.

Again, thank you, sir!! Very much. :clap:
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
My big screw up was yeast. I have none. I never gave it a thought. I always make a big loaf of homemade bread when I make a chowder or stew.

TR, You have my sympathy. We have some loaves frozen but our back-up was to bake our own … until my wife discovered that we had no yeast.

We used to do the breadmaker thing until I was diagnosed with diabetes about 12-years ago. It was put away never to be seen again. In fact, we tossed it about a year ago. It was just taking up space. I really wish that we had kept it now. Some fresh bread would be a moral booster.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
TR, You have my sympathy. We have some loaves frozen but our back-up was to bake our own … until my wife discovered that we had no yeast.


I bought a whole pile of the little packets when I did my last prepper shop. I generally don't eat bread and my wife and kids are too lazy to make it.

If you want a couple let me know. It's one thing that's easy to ship.:smile:
 

tiredretired

The Old Salt
SUPER Site Supporter
TR, You have my sympathy. We have some loaves frozen but our back-up was to bake our own … until my wife discovered that we had no yeast.

We used to do the breadmaker thing until I was diagnosed with diabetes about 12-years ago. It was put away never to be seen again. In fact, we tossed it about a year ago. It was just taking up space. I really wish that we had kept it now. Some fresh bread would be a moral booster.

For some reason I love making bread the old fashioned way. We do a mix of 25% whole wheat flour and 75% white. Can't buy anything like that in the store.

I found one vendor on Amazon selling some imported Italian yeast for 7 bucks for a 3.5 oz tin. A few hours later, sold out. As they say, timing is everything.

My wife was telling me some vendors are selling Campbells soup for as much as 10 bucks a can on Amazon. Sons-a-bitches should have their ass kicked.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just took a loaf out of our bread machine.

I prefer it baked in the oven but I wasn’t doing the baking!
 

EastTexFrank

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just took a loaf out of our bread machine.

I prefer it baked in the oven but I wasn’t doing the baking!

Darn you Melensdad. :boxing: Nah, just kidding.

Thank you PB but there is no need. We have enough bread to last us for a little while. We put a couple of loaves in the freezer before all this started. We don't usually eat a lot of it anyway. My S-I-L is a baker. She doesn't often bake from scratch any more but she still has some good yeast we can borrow if needed. Heck, I should let her do the baking and trade her for the loaves. I know that she is getting short on toilet paper. :)
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
.... My S-I-L is a baker. She doesn't often bake from scratch any more but she still has some good yeast we can borrow if needed. Heck, I should let her do the baking and trade her for the loaves. I know that she is getting short on toilet paper. :)
Wait until she is 1/2 way through her last roll before you start negotiations.
 
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