If you are a fan of the Ddo Cocktail Hour then you have heard me go a little nuts about how the end is upon us. I am not talking about judgment day or any thing like that, although I do think there is a major shake up on the way. But one way or another major change is on the way. And I don’t know about you but I am getting ready.

For example last year we had some nasty ice storms, and many people lost power for 15+ days. And we had 22 inches of snow in places and going out to the store was a laugh.

So what am I doing about it?

1, I am putting together a few emergency bags for the vehicles. You know things like first aid kit, a few bottles of water, flash light, some basic food stuffs, some bailing wire and a good multi-tool and other whatnots. Things that are good to have on hand if say there is a car accident or getting stranded on the side of the road to there is a major emergency.

2, I am also building a list of everyday/everyplace gear. I stopped caring a pocket knife years ago, but I am going to start carrying one again. I am going to try to find a knife with a light on it. If not I have my cell phone which has a flash light app that turns on the flash until turned off. And I am looking at getting a small lighter that can go on the key chain. Boom mini survival kit. Again nothing super strange just good things to carry that I had carried when I was younger and quit.

3, Learning garden. This is a biggie, I am not an out side person and I don’t like yard work. But a simple patio garden sounds like a good idea. You know some potatoes, green onions and carrots maybe some sunflowers next year. I don’t need to replace my food supply, just give myself some fresh veggies.

4, Stock the pantry. My family kinda lives week to week when it comes to food. We don’t like going to the store. So when we go once every few weeks we end up spending a ton of money for what doesn’t seem like a lot. So I am just going to slowly try to bulk up on none perishables like noodles and whatnots. Trying to get a good week or two supply if for some reason I can’t get to the store.

5, Fuel, do you keep some gas on hand? I fill up a 5 gallon gas can maybe once a summer for the mower. I want to try to get myself on a better rotation for turning over that gas. I fill up once every two weeks or so, I will try to use that gas around the half a tank mark and then fill that container just to keep that gas fresher.

6, Power, that is the rub isn’t it. With out power Samius is sitting in the dark. So I am looking into generators, augmenting my home with solar or wind power. I live in Kansas so wind power might be a good option. I am also learning some other skills to live with lower power levels. I learned to build a solar oven. You know it is not that hard, and if I need to I can heat water, bake some food with little more then the sun.

7, Looking at other food supplies. I am thinking about some slightly more extreme options. I have looked at the city ordnances. I can get up to 15 chickens. I think I could build a small fish farm with out going over the top, maybe something as little as a nice yard pond with 30-40 fish and a few water plants. I don’t know yet, there are lots of options.

If you think I am nuts, that is cool. But what is the harm in having/doing some of the things on this list? Nothing. Look back over the last few years of your life. Has there been a time when you or a family member got in an accident? Or couldn’t get to the store or lost power for an extended amount of time? Were you/they able to handle that emergency? If not think about some basic insurance against just this kind of problem.

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