Answering a question, and people can trump a GPS

I was asked in an e-mail for help in contacting other preppers. The best way I can think of to contact other people is to go to this site  and when you go to this page  on that site, send an e-mail to American Prepper with your questions. Did you know that the founder of the American Preppers Network is from Idaho? Yeah, he's the one to ask....

Happy 2012! We headed south for a few days on a road trip right after Christmas, and someone was generous enough to loan us a GPS  (global positioning system) to take with us so that we would hopefully never get lost. (As a side note, my husband has about the best sense of direction I have ever seen, and really doesn't get lost, but the GPS is still an interesting piece of technology to work with, so there it is.) It can be amusing to listen to a mechanical voice give you directions, even  (or perhaps especially) if "her" directions to "make a legal u-turn" when possible sound suspiciously like "make illegal u-turn" when possible... 

So anyway, we headed on our merry way. The borrowed GPS we used is handy because you can feed in an address, and it will then give you directions to the desired location. It worked really well most of the time. It was the two times it, shall we say, "got confused" that showed that common sense plus previous research on a location is priceless regardless of how much technology you are working with. 

Example one:

Ah, this was kind of a biggy... the GPS was programmed to take us to a particular address in a given city--and asked us to exit at a non-existent exit many miles in advance of the city we were actually traveling to. Fortunately, my husband knew enough about the area that he didn't even entertain the idea of taking the route offered, and reset the GPS. There's no shame in asking for directions if you can find someone to give them to you, but it might be a tad bit embarrassing if you are in the wrong area altogether and the people you stop to ask don't know what you are talking about. (Or they do know what you are talking about, and realize that you are about 30 or so miles off-course...) 

Example two:

We were in the aimed-for city already, so we were looking for help from the GPS  with the more detailed directions. Thing is, the location we were looking for was a pretty large building from what we understood, and the GPS was leading us out in the middle of nowhere....so of course we turned around, and just looked for it with our eyes. When I think back on that experience, I think the GPS was "turned around" somehow, because we passed what could have been the other end of a street we had seen when we were following its directions--if it was, it was a looonnngg street. In any case, the only way we got there was to look around, use common sense, and ignore the GPS...

So, what's my point? I guess in this case, one point that can be made is that it is best to think of technology as being the back-up plan in an emergency. If we have technology (electricity, and all that comes with it, as an example) woo-hooo, (seriously) our lives will be that much easier. We just have to know what to do when the technology isn't working, electricity or no. What could we do if the things we do with technology were no longer available? 

For example, what about lighting? If you read my most recent post on my other blog, you will remember that  one of the things that showed up as Christmas gifts were a couple of flashlights, to replace flashlights that had somehow disappeared from where they should have been. Those new (and older, truant flashlights) have a place to be so that they can be found when the lights go out. If the older truant flashlights had been unavailable during a blackout, we would have had to fumble our way to our candles and matches. And hopefully there would be daylight before we had to devise a plan C, if necessary. 

Technology is great, but sometimes fails, and common sense and ingenuity can come to the rescue if necessary. Having somewhat recently reread The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I am intrigued by the "button light", I believe it was called, that Ma made when they ran out of other means of lighting. It involved a button, a piece of cloth, and some oil...if anyone already knows how to make this, please share. In any case, I will most likely look up how one is made, because I loved the ingenuity of it. When the family ran out of fuel, they made sticks of hay to burn, the method for which is also described in the book. The sticks burned quickly, but they kept the family alive. 

So, yeah, I pretty much figure that people can think of new ways to do things when they have to, and can figure things out when technology just isn't working right. I just figure it's best to have as many back-up plans as possible to deal with such events before any back-up plans are needed.... 

  

Merry Christmas!

Hoping everyone will have a wonderful Christmas, and wishing you and yours all the best now and always--Merry Christmas!

Hot chocolate is good for storage...

...and getting it for free is even better. Found this giveaway over at The Daybook, and if you are on Facebook, follow the directions at the giveaway link above, and you will have a chance to win 12 (!) cans of hot chocolate. I personally really like Stephen's hot chocolate, but it is my husband who introduced me to it, so I would say he is the biggest fan in our house. Anyway, just a heads-up if you want a chance to win... hope all is well with everyone!

Have you heard about this?

Seems that I'm kind of stuck on questions for titles lately... :)

First off, snow was not long in coming after my last post on my tires--if memory serves, it snowed the very next day. Not much stayed except a few icy patches on the road in inconvenient places. But then, I suppose no matter where they were, they would be inconvenient... :) Anyway, we are in the process of getting any and all issues concerning tires take care of, and I hope no one else has had any problems with theirs. Here's hoping that our street doesn't turn into the (seemingly) perpetual ice rink that it was last year.

Just wanted to include this link for those who have not yet seen it. It concerns recent U.S. legislation, and storing food is one of the particular things mentioned. I did just mention this link today on my other blog, so it is a repeat, but just trying to spread information as much as possible. The information in this link is the "this" referred to in the post title, and might interest those who haven't heard about it yet...

Those readers who prefer incandescent light bulbs may be interested in this article, which includes information on when they will no longer be available. Yes, the article is a little old (gotta hate procrastination on posting about it--sorry) but the deadlines are coming up, especially on the 100 watt variety. You might want to pick up a couple of them while you still can, if they are your light bulb of choice.

Hope all is well with everyone, and that everyone is enjoying the Christmas season!

Have you checked your tires lately?

Well, the long and short of it is I hadn't about two weeks ago, and so one of my tires decided to "check out" on its own.

At the time, I had a child in the car with me, and we had just recently entered a really busy highway. Suddenly, I heard a strange noise, (although I have had a flat tire before, I always discovered that I had a flat while the car was stationary, so this was a new experience for me) and thought/did the following:

1. Turned off the radio, and thought, "Is that my car?"

2. Thought (very) briefly that it might be the wind, since I had increased speed, but even though it does get windy in Idaho, it doesn't get that windy.

3. Checked the dashboard, thinking that something was wrong with the innards of the car, since the sound was coming from that direction. There was nothing wrong.

4. Started to smell burning rubber, and immediately started to look for a place to pull off the road. Unfortunately, at that point of the highway in question, there really is no place to pull off the road, and it was right before an exit ramp. There is a white line that indicates the edge of the road, but after that there is very little concrete, and a lot of hill sloping immediately downward. So not a lot of options, considering the above-mentioned exit ramp coming up.

5. Pulled off the road, as close to the edge as possible, put on the hazard lights, and called my husband, who was, fortunately, not very far away. Then I, and the child accompanying me, exited on the hill side of the car, and waited. I figured if one of the many cars passing by bumped into the car, we wouldn't want to be anywhere in or around it.

Ok, I am the first to admit that I should definitely know how to change my own tire, but I don't, even though I have been shown how before. Thing is, in this particular situation, I wouldn't have changed the tire even if I had known how--I was unwilling to even go around the side of the car and see the extent of the damage done, due to the location I was in and the amount of traffic going by.

Then, YAY, an Idaho state trooper stopped behind me. I was impressed by how much this state trooper helped us, though I never knew his name.

He came up and I told him what had happened, and that my husband was on the way. He asked if my husband was in town, and then said, "Is that him?" and yes. Yes, it was. He was backing up to my car.

My husband proceeded to work on the tire, and the state trooper moved his car out so that anyone coming toward our car would have to go around him. Then he got out and helped my husband, and they were done in like, no time flat. No pun intended.

The state trooper then asked how long I had been waiting before he showed up, and I said, "Oh, five to seven minutes." He then said that they try to patrol the roads so that no one has to wait long for help, but sometimes in the more isolated areas it takes a lot longer. He was very nice, and didn't have to help my husband, but I am so grateful that he did. It was a dangerous spot, and he made it a lot safer. He also went above and beyond the call of duty. He deserves more than a YAY!, but perhaps and maybe he will see this post and know how much we appreciate his help.

Soooo, turns out that it was the tread on the tires that was bad that caused this unfortunate situation. Now we have a good tire in place, but I feel that I was blessed in many ways when this happened to me:

1. There was no snow on the ground at the time, just as there is no snow on the ground in this area as I write this. When I think about how slick the roads can get around here, and try to imagine what slick roads + flat blown out tire + no place to turn off to speak of when there is good (but windy) weather, well, it doesn't add up to anything good.

2. I had someone to call that could help me, and if my husband had been farther away, the state trooper was there quickly, and as mentioned, he made it a lot safer by locating his car to minimize the chances of an accident as the tire was changed.

3. We had a good tire, (not a donut) as the spare, so I didn't have to worry about the spare blowing up on my way home. Which is where I went immediately, and was not late for something I had to be home for. (Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about "donuts" so the likelihood of one blowing out on my way home is not something I know a lot about. However, I did feel better that I had a regular tire as a replacement.)

So, I reiterate, have you checked your tires lately? I am surprised that we haven't had more snow yet, at least in this part of Idaho, but it does give us more of a chance to check (and if necessary) improve our situation before the roads get slick...

Happy Veteran's Day!

Wanted to express my gratitude to those who have served and sacrificed for our country in the armed forces-- I could never say it enough, and will never forget it. Thank you for your service.

Nothing like the 31st...

...to make you realize that you have once again procrastinated, and it is past time to post those things you have been thinking about writing about...

First, a huge thank you to those who have contributed information on Idaho on the last post. If you read the comments, you will find varying opinions about Idaho and a lot of info. There is also a comment from my friend Carl, who asks a very specific question about a particular region. You can go to the comments section under the last post for the comment in its entirety, but the following excerpt is where I come to my readers for help:

"We are looking at Idaho again, but I am concerned about hospitals in the Northern Idaho area near Spokane. I am wondering if any of your readers can comment?"

I will ask around here to see if I can get some info, but thank you in advance for any information you may be able to offer on this specific area!

On another subject, at an emergency preparedness presentation I attended recently, there were a couple of things that stuck out that I don't remember seeing mentioned anywhere else on the internet, or at other presentations:

--The presenter asked if we kept a permanent marker in our 72-hour kits. Turns out that when Hurricane Katrina and all the accompanying problems happened, that families would sometimes need to be separated, and some parents had the brilliant idea to write vital information on their childrens' arms in permanent marker--things like contact information with important phone numbers, etc., so it would be easier for the families to be reunited again. I can't remember what was specifically said, (and that is what is wrong with procrastination) but it seems that things like medication information for children and/or others who might need help with such issues might also benefit from having it written down where others can see what is needed and render aid.

--When a sample 72-hour kit was presented, there was an empty gallon jug attached to the backpack, so that when this person and their family were headed out the door, they could quickly fill it up, and have the "extra" water with them. No doubt it would be a little heavy, but like I always tell my children, even if you have to lighten your pack, you keep the water...I wouldn't expect my children to carry an extra gallon, but I can imagine that there would be great benefits from the adults to carry one each, and if you are able to fill it up before there are water issues and are able to stay home or evacuate by vehicle, all the better....

And, you have probably heard about the prices on peanut butter going up--this article has more information, and in the video in the article, has the percentages for some brand names for how much, as well as when, the prices are expected to rise. This to me is one of those examples of how it's good to have a couple jars/bags/containers of products you use regularly put aside, so that you have a little leeway on when you have to stock up again, and can hopefully hold out until you have coupons and/or a sale...Unfortunately, the massive price increase on some brands of peanut butter have already started, if I have understood correctly, and the others will not be far behind--stock up on what you can, while you can, if peanut butter is one of your preferred preparedness items....

Thanks again to those who commented on Idaho, and thanks for coming back to read despite my procrastination--hope all is well with everyone!