Independence Days Challenge/ Preparedness, Using A Kerosene Heater

Winter 2017

Independence Days Challenge-

We're ready for winter! It's been colder, in the 20's at night, but dry. The forecast is a wetter winter, so may be snowier than usual, time will tell. I put away the Autumn decor yesterday.  We had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving with just our daughter and her boyfriend coming over. Our one daughter went to her in-laws with her husband for turkey day. Our other daughter had a very sick grandchild and they decided to stay home. We're trying to break the cycle of having anybody over who's actively sick, we were on the same page with that. Still sad. We did send them over a whole bunch of hot food right before we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner, so they were covered! Consequently we have quite a bit of turkey left which is nice. Will probably be making some turkey noodle soup and turkey enchiladas. If we still have more leftovers it's going into the freezer.

Will be putting out indoor winter decor and our Advent wreath with candles. Dave put up the front lights yesterday, since it was mild, not turned on yet though. I like a break between holidays, we did add this outside-

Bring it on! I love snow...

I have today off (Monday), since I currently work Tues. - Sat. It's "open enrollment" for the insurance company I work for, but only for a while longer. I decided to take tomorrow off, giving me a three day weekend. Taking Friday off too, for my birthday! Dave and I went to McCall for our anniversary for two nights a couple weeks ago. He's been working really long hours, so it was a much-needed break! Not much snow on the ground, nice weather. Sunset Alpenglow over Payette Lake-

The next day- 

City park pretty empty, got snow the next week after

I found some fun thrifted items for our new granddaughter! She was born Aug 27th, with red hair! Fun to shop for a girl baby. The two grandsons are doing great too, very busy busy. It's nice we all live in the area and can see each other. Hoping everyone is healthy for Christmas!

Watching the news about Canada's epic flooding, with more on the way, it's a sad reminder how important it is to prepare. Prices still going up here, shrinkflation with packaging, some of the local craft stores had shortages and empty spots. Grocery produce is going downhill quality-wise. Worker shortages in businesses. My own employer is having trouble hiring staff, maybe they'll raise the pay!!! So here's what we've been up to-    

1. Plant Something- It's winter here, nope 

 

2. Harvest Something- Eggs, chives, herbs. Herbs froze but are still hanging in there!

 

3. Preserve/Store Something- Freezing butter, cheese, baking supplies, chocolate (heck yes!) storing extra chicken feed/pine shavings for coop. Dave just cleaned it, ready for winter with extra thickness to keep the girls warm. I bought some cracked corn for the really cold days coming. We're only getting about one egg a day, glad I froze lots!!! 

 

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Got a new phone, mine was Galaxy 8S Active, 2G and 5 years old. Free with a slight plan upgrade, temporary for 3 years. Nice phone, got  a Galaxy S21, lots more photo options, although I love my DSLR. Buying extra cereals, butter, pastas, peanut butter, c leaning supplies, shampoos, various food items when I see a good sale. Got some clearance artisanal breads to freeze. Got a new 2022 wall calendar, two Amaryllis bulbs, one is already blooming, from a big box store! Only $5.00, had the stem 5" long when I took it out of the box! Added to my antique coffee pot, a gift from my cousin when I was young-

Red and white

Deep red blooms to come

Dave bought a MONSTER poinsettia from Costco, I have NEVER seen one that big! Going on the top of the entertainment center soon-

I also bought some more clearance priced seeds, .50 cents each.  More to store for next year, just in case. Bought more kerosene, in case we lose power. 

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- Just discovered a new Foodnetwork show on our anniversary trip (hotel had cable!) Girl Meets Farm , lots of unique fun recipes, especially the fried turkey breast! I may try that. I love her old farmhouse kitchen re-do, with Grandma's old range too! It's nice they actually film in a real kitchen, not a set somewhere- 

From Behind the Scenes Girl Meets Farm

 6. Build Community Food Systems- Farmer's market closed.

 

7. Recycle/Re-Use- Roasted a medium sized decorative pumpkin for the hens, food time! Thrifted baby clothes, on sale/half off, got several outfits (new on the hanger) for .50 cents, WOW! 

Pumpkin for the girls

8. Skill Up- Did some new research on using kerosene heaters and learning more about emergency heating. I really appreciate some of the Youtube vloggers out there- Alaska Prepper, Canadian Prepper, City Prepper, etc. I edit out the politics and look for things I can use. We don't have a wood stove, for instance, but can use lots of other ideas. Thinking outside the box in the main thing.

 

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Bought some small cans of paint to touch-up the kitchen, main hallway and big bathroom, a few dings here and there! 

Using A Kerosene Heater-

I have a couple of kerosene heaters, including some brooder heaters. These are for emergency use for us. I thought I'd share my experience with these. So before we get started...

Here's my DISCLAIMER- Kerosene heaters burn oxygen in the air and release carbon monoxide. Kerosene heaters can also release other pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. To reduce the risk of asphyxiation due to carbon monoxide poisoning, you must vent the room being heated! Crack a window or door, always have a working carbon monoxide. Safety first, don't burn down your house. Never leave a kerosene heater unattended/when you are sleeping, keep the instruction manual nearby, use clear kerosene, store kerosene in containers clearly marked. Refilling should only be done outdoors and when the unit is cool, keep heater away from all flammable and combustible items (such as curtains, furniture, aerosol sprays, and gasoline). Do your own research. Thanks. 

The large one above is a Perfection M525, probably from the 70's, info here Millesstair Perfection History. I bought is for about $15.00 several years ago at a thrift store.  I have another large one, an Alladin, I need to get it down to fill. I had trouble lighting it before, then read you need to fill and let sit for an hour, dry wick otherwise. DUH! Anyway, I filled and fired up the small brooder heater first, bought at a estate sale years ago, unknown brand, $10.00, like new-

Tips open to change wick

Open brass plug and fill

Nice, with the Mica window

I fill these up with WATER THE 1ST TIME, to check for leaks. Next, I filled these up outside, on the grass. Then snapped down the chimney. It got hot fast and you can adjust the wick as needed, very little odor and smoke! These were used to keep eggs and chicks warm in the coop, but an obvious fire hazard. You can find these on eBay on occasion. 

Now the Perfection, probably from the 1970's, in pristine condition! First you push a tab and open the top-

Fount in base

Silver tab to open and snap shut

open, take fount out

The fount-

Unplug and fill (outside) push plug back in, the cork floater will tell you if fuel is low-

Put the fount back in, light wick, roll up as needed, snap top down-

nice and toasty! 

I used this kerosene above, less smoke, recommended on many websites. This is an EXCELLENT website I have used, and bought wicks from, he really knows his stuff Milesstair.com Kero Fuel

Remember do YOUR OWN RESEARCH!!!

Preparedness 12.0/ Final Harvest, Winterizing The House and Coop

 

Preparedness 12.0/ Final Harvest-

Our first hard freeze is here! Eastern Idaho had several inches of snow two days ago. This is the time of year where you start preparing for winter. As they used to say in Game of Thrones WINTER IS COMING! We wrapped up the harvesting, except the Basil and herbs, covered those with a row cover-

High winds so need to weight it down

Only some small green tomatoes are still outside. We'll check on those this weekend. We picked our last really ripe tomatoes and peppers. With the cold snap warning Dave harvested all the last of the large green tomatoes in advance-

This is only one tray!

The really ripe ones we're using on homemade pizzas this week! Got the dough from a local pizza place. Some of the others I'll be freezing or I may make a big pot of pasta sauce. The green ones we will lay out and let ripen slowly. They never have quite as much flavor but they're good to use in soups and things. I dehydrated lots of dead ripe tomatoes, more coming!

This time of year we winterize the house, doing things like closing up the foundation vents, putting out some fleecy blankets for snuggling. I'll be adding our heavy comforter this weekend to our bed. I moved my summer clothes into our spare bedroom closet. Got out all my flannel blouses and fleece. Luckily I bought more wool socks last month! One of the things we do to winterize the houses is buy some of Costco's amazing chocolate/almond biscotti's! They are so good with a cup of something hot on a cold day. Winterizing the house includes the yard like putting away the hoses, pump is out of the pond and we moved some of the perennials in pots to winter-over in the garage. I'll pack up my garden bench and cover with plastic this weekend. Got out my small space heater for the kitchen. The big sliding glass doors make for a cold spot near the desk-

Link to my post Low Cost Ways to Keep Your Home Warm for more ideas. We got the cars ready for winter- new wiper blades, got out the snow scrapers, added a blanket in the backseat of each car. All those little things in case you get stranded and buried! What I bought this week- more acorn squash, lemons (small amount of pesto to still make), misc stuff.  

FOR MORE REALITY CHECKS- 5% inflation (today), new of possible brownouts/blackouts in some areas possible, droughts equal less foods, last springs freezes equals less foods and feed for ranchers, gas is going up, sizes going down /prices up (shrinkflation), less food in the stores, restaurants having less staffing/ more areas closed off, less available online to buy, trucking shortage, blackouts in China affecting manufacturing. Here's some visuals and links-  

From Wskg.org Supply Chain Troubles

Grocery Stores Food Shortage    China's Power Crunch  Australia Victorian Home Quarantine Selfie App   Natural Gas Prices Skyrocketing

Again- no down side to being prepared 

Winterizing the coop is actually fairly easy. We have a large window on the bottom of the coop that faces East. In the spring we switch it out, put on a frame with hardware cloth for ventilation (Dave built). We also took off the glass panel on the storm door. It was part of our Coop Rehab  Works much better than the old warped wood door, and it was recycled! The upper coop window (recycled) slides and can be opened as needed-

Lower vent on the left

Dave put the big glass panel on the coop wall back on and added the glass panel to the storm door before the freeze hit. They still have good ventilation through the lower vent and the coop itself is not airtight. There's also a vent in the roof. The main thing with the coop is that you do not want to have too much moisture inside. We also have the upper window that we can open if it gets really warm. Will be adding our exterior extension cord soon, to plug in their water so it won't freeze. It also allows us to turn on a light inside the coop if we have to go out after dark. I decided not to add a light at night to get more egg production. We do use a hardwired-in heat lamp and a reptile ceramic disc for additional heat if it gets really cold. Usually that would be in the teens or lower, but it depends. The good thing about the deep litter method is it actually generates some heat in the winter as it slowly breaks down. We love that method and there's never any odor! We'll add the sunroom soon, the new design worked great last year-

Just knocked off the snow once in a while!

Independence Days Challenge

Independence Days Challenge-
It's been cooling off a little bit here, but a few hot days once in a while. Generally the days are getting so much shorter that it's cooling off at night really nicely. Trees locally are getting some color, as is our huge maple tree-

We're getting a little bit of smoke again from California, not much we can do about that. There's also terrible fires now over in the Oregon areas we love. One is nearing an urban area where Dave's nephew lives, he may have to evacuate. I can't believe there are stupid people doing stupid things, like gender reveals involving explosives! Yeah that's a great idea to do in a drought stricken area! My one daughter was smart enough to do a pie reveal. One was supposed to be pink or blue, easy and safe! So anyway, here's what we've been up to lately-

1. Plant Something- 

Not this time of year, too hot/cold. I don't do fall plantings here. Might do some flower bulbs for spring.

2. Harvest Something- 

We just had a really nice harvest of tomatoes! They were late but prolific!!!

Many of these are heading for the freezer. We've also been getting Basil, several kinds of peppers, Kale, Collard greens, lemon cukes (almost done), the last of the blackberries and yellow squash. I'll be the drying some yellow squash for this winter. My BIG Italian peppers haven't turned red yet, but should soon. They're worth the wait! 

Collard greens

Green cabbage coming along slowly, red cabbage never got heads for some reason-

We have our mini-pumpkin patch too, I planted a mixed-seed varieties-

3. Preserve/Store Something-

I finished up the jams, chutneys, from the peaches that we had-

We let the pears ripen inside since they were pretty green over Labor Day weekend, which is when I had hoped to can them. I'll be canning these this weekend-

Will be harvesting our apples next weekend. Didn't have a great crop this year, but I'll decide what to do with those.  I still have plenty of apples in the freezer and canned previously. I may dry some. I have a small, nice food dryer. It's been challenging finding canning supplies and I guess that seem to be a national issue since it's been on the news Washingtonpost Canning Shortage  I was able to find some pint size jars on Amazon, so I did order one box today. Wasn't much more than I would usually pay in the grocery store, although haven't bought jars in a few years. I have tons of Basil and will make pesto to freeze soon. 

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep-

I went out to the Eddie Bauer Outlet on a whim. It's on the outskirts of Boise and found some great deals. I found women's flannel lined jeans, polar fleece lined wind pants (water resistant) and a regular pair of jeans. The warm ones will be handy in winter! They were all $17 each, a real steal,  very expensive (overpriced) originally-

Nice pockets!

So soft and warm 

Cheery flannel!

I got a new HEPA air filter replacement as my previous one died.  It turns out Amazon does not honor the warranties after a certain point, so I contacted the manufacturer directly. Took about 3 weeks, then I got a new one in the mail a few days ago. The other ones have lasted for years and years so I was really shocked it died after 4 months!

I ordered some pasta bowls from Ikea online that were delivered. Even with the shipping I can't find good ones for their prices. My old ones were in bad shape, but they lasted lots of years! 

When I ordered canning jars on Amazon I also bought a Vidalia Chopper/ Dicer-

I like making things like corn relish, but it is so much dicing for big batches! I've decided to make another big batch, for the fridge. I'm running out of canning jars and it should last quite a few months chilled in my 2 Qt. jars.  

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-

Will be using some of my homemade Chutney that I now that I have some. I posted recently about the BLT sandwich with catfish although I did substitute tilapia for that. Was great with our fresh tomatoes! Also tried the new Mexican dish that I posted about last week-

Cooked down the last of the frozen Rhubarb and made sauce for Dave.

6. Build Community Food Systems-

We supported our local Orchard and farmstead stand by buying our peaches, corn, apples and a few other things. We may go back next weekend to see if we can get some more apples and corn. The local Gala apples were the best I've ever had in my entire life. To say they were crispy was putting it mildly, really juicy and amazing-

7. Recycle/Re-Use-

I did some mending of some clothes, donated some bedding, towels, toys & decor to our local thrift store. I realized I had stashed some new bath towels from last time we went to Ikea, last year. The ones we were using we're getting pretty beat up, so it's nice to be able to get into the hall closet and bring out new ones! Sadly Ikea discontinued their apple green bath towels which I love, sigh. 

8. Skill Up-

I checked out Jamie Oliver's cookbook Ultimate Veg since I've been seeing some of the episodes on PBS. I love his recipes! I'm happy we can still get things from the Library, just can't go in. He has a really great use of spices and different cooking techniques I'm getting familiar with. Will be posting some reviews later as I try some of them-

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something-

Last year we added some new fence boards in our backyard after a small dog got in and killed two of our hens.  Dave didn't like the way the new boards stood out from the old.  He borrowed one of  relatives electric pressure washer. We are both pretty shocked about how fast a lot of dirt just came right off the boards. Electric pressure washers don't have the same high pressure as the gas powered ones do, but it did a great job! Clean part of the board on the right- 

Before photo last fall-

River saying high to neighbor kitty Posey

After shot- 

After shot, was really dark before! 

Not perfect but it will weather out anyway. 

After working in my home office/bedroom I realized how dirty our blinds were. When we bought the house the 2 front bedrooms had heavy, wood grain, plastic white blinds. Great for light control, so we added curtains and kept them-

I realized how dirty they were, so I asked Dave to take them down and I could wash them. Turns out they were too long for the tub! So Dave took them out washed them down and rinsed well, let dry. So white now!!!

Drying

So much cleaner! That's it for now!