In the short-term category...

The Albertson's deals that end tomorrow had a couple of deals that I thought would be good for my short-term storage. To be honest, when it comes to my three-month supply (that I keep working on) my main concern is the dinner meal, so I haven't concentrated as much as I could on the other two meals.

However, and I am sure as I can be without relocating the flyer from last Wednesday's paper, that one of the deals that is week-long is 18 oz. jars of peanut butter 2/$4.00. I was so excited about that that I went that day and bought some peanut butter, which I figure is really good for lunches, and pretty filling any time of the day. They also had some pretty good buys on cold cereal, which as a rule gives me sticker shock, so got some of that too. 2 Tramps, from over at Tramp's Camp left a comment on my other blog about The Grocery Girls blog, whose Aug. 27th post goes in to more detail on some of these deals, and gives ideas on how to save even more on your purchases. I mention these details on this blog because I don't know how widespread Albertson's stores/Albertson's deals are, but I would imagine they are similar across our state, and as mentioned on the Grocery Girls blog, are likely to be similar in Utah as well. In any case, if you have an Albertson's near you, it may be worthwhile to give them a call and find out...

So, yeah, still working/should be concentrating more on my short-term storage, but at least now I have more peanut butter in the storage room.... :)

If you are interested in a wolf tag...

You won't have to wait long to buy one. Thanks to IdahoBob, who informed me in a comment on my last post, that they go on sale August 24th. More information is always helpful...

A new policy on wolves. What does that have to do with food storage?

Was interested to learn that there will now be a hunting season on wolves in Idaho--as this article points out. One of my first thoughts was, if I were able to hunt down a wolf, would it have any edible value for my family? Is wolf meat edible for anybody? If we hit hard times, it might be useful to know...

One of my second thoughts was to wonder where I put a cookbook that I bought a couple of years ago---it's a collection of recipes, many of which are older, and if memory serves, there is a recipe for preparing muskrat in there somewhere. Ah, good times---not that I personally have ever even been in really close proximity to a muskrat, but it is good times when people know how to use anything and everything to provide food, etc. for their families.

I ordered that county recipe book from e-bay, and was hoping to find some really basic recipes so that I could use my really basic long-term storage supplies. I didn't start in earnest using my long-term supplies until considerably later, so the cookbook (once located) will probably be a lot more useful for me now.

After I thought about that cookbook, I remembered that you don't always have to go to all that much extra effort to get a recipe for something. This was evidenced by the fact that I was looking for something to do with my pumpkin puree last year, and should have looked to my grandmother first, who has a pumpkin bread recipe that I posted about here on my other blog. Having supplies is a necessity, as is knowing how to use them once you have purchased them and/or have managed to get your hands on them. (I'm thinking getting a hold of wolf meat is no walk in the park, for example. :)

Well, seeing as how this post seems a little disjointed, here are the points I was trying to make...

--The policy on hunting wolves has changed in Idaho. If you're interested, I believe the season starts in September, according to the linked article.

--Really basic recipes that work with food storage items can be found in older cookbooks if you are willing to look for them.

--Sometimes the best recipes you can find are within your own family, if you think about it and are willing to ask. (Unless you have relatives who have some famous, classified, top-secret recipe that nobody gets, even if they ask.... :)

So, the question remains: is wolf meat edible? And hey, if you're willing to share, food storage recipes are always welcome.... :)

Of gardens, a food bank, and school supplies

Had a question about Idaho locations on my previous post, and my husband answered it in the comment column. His mention of Malad reminded me of how fun it is to live in Idaho....

Saw this article and thought that there might be other people who would be interested in reading about how some cities are planting gardens any and everywhere they can. I'm kind of jealous of those people who are now allowed to have hens (but no roosters) out back, as the linked article mentions....

In Boise, the Hawks are helping out the food bank-- details here. If you can stock up so that you won't need help from the food bank, or so that you can have enough for yourselves in an emergency, as well as enough to help others, you will be in a pretty good situation. If you already need help, I hope that things improve for you soon.

Don't forget to stock up on school supplies--they're awfully inexpensive at the moment, and would come in handy for communication and entertainment in case of emergency situations. Going out soon to shop for school supplies--hope that there will be some left....

Well, that's about it at the moment. Raspberries are ready and I'm glad they're producing so well this year. Corn's getting taller, but lacking that height that I always hope for....hope everyone continues to have a great summer!

Thought the H1N1 virus was old news?

I hadn't thought about H1N1 all that much once summer started, but it did affect our family's travel plans recently. We had family come out from the Southeast for vacation, and got to visit with them one weekend down in Utah. We were going to go down the following weekend as well, until the Wednesday of that week we found out that one of the cousins had the swine flu, and another appeared to be developing similar symptoms. We didn't end up seeing the relatives from back east again before they left. It was a big disappointment, but we figured what was in Utah shouldn't be brought back to Idaho, if at all possible. Fortunately, the cousin who had it has gotten over it, and the second cousin had something, but it doesn't look like it was the same thing. Just a reminder-- in this case one close to home--that the swine flu (aka H1N1) is still something that brings to mind the saying, hope for the best, and prepare for the worst...

This article indicates that it is still a problem. Hopefully everyone is/is getting ready for a possible quarantine--even if a quarantine doesn't end up being declared, the emergency supplies you have on hand for a possible quarantine will come in handy for any other emergency as well.

One of my favorite sources for recommendations/information on the swine flu is Preparedness Pro, and here is a link to her swine flu archives. Haven't been to visit the sites I usually visit as regularly lately, (summer can do that to you :) and upon looking for another subject concerning the H1N1 virus on the Preparedness Pro site, I found out that there was a thought provoking post on the swine flu vaccinations posted only yesterday. Went searching, and found the archives. Amazing what you can find when you follow the links....

I also like this list over at Survival Lady. I wouldn't purchase everything on this list, and would add to it (as she suggests) according to my own family's particular needs, but it supplies a lot of food for thought about what might be needed in a pandemic situation. I think it was probably this list that prompted me to buy a second humidifier at a garage sale lately. Again, always hope that pandemic supplies won't be needed for an actual pandemic, but better to have it and not need it, than the other way around...

My condolences go out to the loved ones of Robert Manwill. There is a brief update on his case here.

Take a listen, and Are you up for a challenge?

Had family activities going on when the actual broadcast took place, but wanted to point out that some members of the American Preppers Network were on the Family Preparedness Guide Program Saturday with James Talmage Stevens. Fortunately, if you go to the link, you can listen to the program there, as I have done. They did a really good job--and got the first international call as well, apparently, from Canada. (Gotta love Ontario!) And a call from Kymber over at Canadian Preppers Network. Very impressive, and I highly recommend taking a listen.

Over at Preparedness Pro, there is a challenge to live on what you have (no shopping!) for a two-week period in the month of August. I am strongly considering doing it, not starting on the 1st, obviously. Yeah, not proud of it, but one of my first thoughts was how inconvenient it would be in some aspects. However, better to have inconvenience now, than a survival crisis later--and I would rather find out now what I'm missing. Unfortunately, emergencies aren't known for being convenient, and in this case, you aren't prohibited from using electricity, etc., so it will be a lot easier than some emergencies would ever be...

So much good information out there, and so many good ideas (hope we're up for a challenge :)--thanks everyone!