"It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark"

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" Doctrine and Covenants 38:30

I've heard all kinds of scary things lately - Nostradamus predictions, Myan Calendar doom and gloom, comets could crash, meteorites hurtling through space etc. We're obviously on a collision course for disaster!! But then again, haven't we always been?

It doesn't phase me though, rather just makes me more determined to get my stuff sorted out.

A little while ago I printed out an emergency preparedness calendar from The Idea Door titled "It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark". The Idea Door has had a few problems recently, and this calendar isn't available at present. Lucky I was prepared, and had printed it out ;)

August hints are as follows:-
"For the moment we live in a day of peace, but is shall not ever be thus. Great trials lie ahead...and we must prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually. - Bruce R. McConkie.

Spiritual Goal: Have family home evenings with your family every Monday night.

Priesthood Provident Living Goal: Learn to preserve food in a way that you haven't tried before. Make sure your children receive blessings before school starts.

Storage Goal: 100 quarts fruit and/or vegetables per person
24 pints jam or jelly per person
School supplies
Pet supplies

72 Hour Kit: 1 can tuna and 1 can pork and beans per person
1/2 lb dried milk or 6 shelf-safe milk containers per person
2 packets hot chocolate mix and 2 cup instant soup packets per person
Disposable plates, cups, bowls and silverware
Pet supplies - be sure to include dishes, leash and extra water
$25 cash.

I really do love this idea. We do have slightly different measurements in Australia, and I guess the whole point is that so long as you are doing SOMETHING with your food storage, as well as other areas, then that's a good thing.

I have also been following another Emergency Preparedness plan, but I'll include details of that in a different post. Soooo many to choose from on the net these days.

$20 in 20 mins food storage FHE

I stumbled across this idea last night, although I added a few bits in. The game goes like this:-

1. Divide your family up into groups.
2. Head all together to the supermarket.
3. Give each team $20 and instructions that they have 20 mins to buy as many useable food storage items as they can with their $20.
4. Meet back at the checkout in 20 mins with their goods.
5. The team with the most food storage items wins.

You could do $10 in 10 mins. The point is to teach children about food storage and being money wise all in the same short space of time.

Hubby was quite keen on the idea, and we're going to try it next time I have a spare $40 (for two teams).

He added a varation on the idea:
1. Two teams
2. Head to the supermarket
3. Each team has $20 to buy ingredients in 20 mins for dinner that night (or over two nights).
4. They have to cook dinner at home using only the ingredients they just bought.

Just one problem honey, isn't that what I do normally during the day?? ;)

Lochgary Lamb

For the last couple of months, there has been a Lochgary Lamb van parked on Fridays in the Liquormart car park outside Winston Hills Mall. Curiosity got the better of me a few weeks ago, so I wandered up to find signs stating "$95 1/2 lamb/box" and "Fresh farm lamb". I was intrigued, so I asked the poor guy a million questions "How long had they been in business", "Were their lambs organic", "Were the lambs free range" (dumb question, I know, but these days... some people are really cruel) "Can I have a look?". He was more than happy to answer all my questions.

So Lochgary Lamb has been in business for 3 years. They are family run company. The lambs are free range, and would be certified organic, except they drench them. I got to have a look at the contents of one of the boxes (1/2 lamb) and it looked pretty good. The same quality as Spring Hill Beef, but I liked the look of the Lochgary cuts better. Lochgary made a seasoned roast out of the flap (which was very nice, I have to say. It is a very, very fatty cut of the lamb, and most people don't know what to do with it. Usually ends up being fed to the dogs). $15 cheaper than the lamb from Spring Hill Beef, no scraps (however they do sell dog food separately if you want that - I don't have dogs)

I bought a box last Friday, and the lovely gentleman carried the box to my car!

Overall I'm very pleased with Lochgary Lamb, and will be purchasing from their vendor from now on. Still getting my beef from Spring Hill Beef.

On a side note, Lochgary is having some troubles with their phone and internet. A female member of the family usually mans the phones and email, but her service provider was giving her grief, so she cut off the internet connection, not realising her phone would go as well. They are fixing this up at the moment.

A box ($95) of lamb from Lochgary contains the following:-

10 forequarter chops
3 lamb steaks
2 lamb shanks
1 leg of lamb
10 short loin chops
2 neck chops (I got 4 in my box)
1 rack or 8 cutlets
1 rolled lamb roast (this was the flap seasoned roast)

"Every box contains at least 8kg of farm fresh lamb, and all meat is butchered to meet halal requirements".

My box got a big thumbs up from me :)

www.lochgarylamb.com.au

Eddited 23//9/10 to add that Lochgary Lamb appears to have vanished :( They no longer have a van at Winston Hills and it doesn't appear that you can purchase from them any more. If anyone has any other info, I'd love to know as their lamb was REALLY tasty.

$150 Challenge

Hubby and I were discussing what would happen if we were to not have an extra $150 each week, ie it would be spent on something else, like rent.

We decided to try it and see if we would actually be able to handle it. Then use that $150 where we see fit, either to save for something I need before things get tougher, or to put onto credit cards.

We're only on the second week of this challenge so far, and it has been successful.

There was an emergency at the end of last week and I was very glad I had that cash on hand, but I would have been able to get it from another source if needed.

This week I have another $150 set aside, hiding this time. Out of sight, out of mind! I think this week's $150 will go towards our holiday next week. A night out to a romantic dinner with hubby sounds like a wonderful idea.

We did the $150 challenge, because that's how much we'll end up being out of pocket for if circumstances change, but you could do a $50 a week challenge, and set that aside for whatever you want.

The Experiment

The last little while I have secretly been doing an experiment on my family. Just how long can we get by on Food Storage?

It started mainly to start saving for, and to clean out the fridge before the big celebration we had a few weeks ago for my son's 8th birthday. We ended up with a fridge full for a couple of days after that and gleefully lived on roast beef, pork and salads until that ran out.

Then the lack of food in the fridge hit, and my refusal to buy any more (because I've been saving for other things) and I really wanted to see how long my family would be able to handle living just on what we have available. Apparently the answer is "Two weeks". Poor hubby cracked today and is craving all sorts of things, which just aren't in the cupboard any more. No more chips, soft drink, cordial, meat (we're having the last of the bacon tomorrow), fried chicken, 'normal' soup (he likes brand name soup).

Heaven help us if we actually have no choice but to live off our food storage!

So, would your family be able to complete this challenge? Would you be able to survive on just what is in your pantry cupboard? Do you have appropriate food in there that you can make complete meals out of? Would it be a reasonably balanced diet? Do you know how to make bread/pasta/tortillas etc without running to Google for help?

The 'two weeks' was a bit of a lie. We actually have survived for a few months, with a $100 spend in the middle of that for fresh fruit, veggies, milk, bread and sandwich meat for hubby to take his lunch to work (plus washing powder, tissues, toilet paper, dishwashing detergent etc that I hadn't stored up on, all in that $100 too).

Not a bad experiment, if I may say so yourself.

Try it, you may be suprised!

What to do with powdered milk

I'm planning on stocking up on some powdered milk this year, but as per usual, before I actually buy bulk anything and store it, I want to be able to make sure I can actually use it, and that I know how to use it.

So I did a little Googling, and here's what you can do with Powdered Milk to make it 'useable':-

Whole milk

1 cup water
1/3 cup powdered milk

Evaporated milk

1 cup water
2/3 cup powdered milk

Whipped evaporated milk

Makes 3 cups

1 cup evaporated milk
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Thoroughly chill evaporated milk.

Add lemon juice and whip until stiff.

Sweeten and flavor as desired.

Condensed milk

1/2 cup hot water
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered milk

Blend thoroughly in a blender.

Can be stored in refrigerator or frozen.

Buttermilk or sour milk

1 cup water
1/3 cup powdered milk

1 Tbsp vinegar or lemon juice

Drinkable powdered milk

To improve the flavor of powdered milk, mix it half and half with 2% or whole milk. Another suggestion would be to try adding a little sugar or vanilla to enhance flavor. Let chill several hours before drinking.

(I found this info on 'cookmyfoodstorage.blogspot.com')

Home made musical instruments

Have to love those rainy days with the kids, when all they want to do is make noise. Here are some musical instruments you can make with them:-

Maracas Two small, dry, empty water/juice bottles with lids.
Fill about a centimetre from the bottom with rice or beans.
Tape lids on and decorate.

Drum A large ice cream container with a lid on makes a fantastic drum. Add wooden spoons for a 'professional' effect.

Shakers Two toilet rolls, one end taped on each.
Fill 1/4 way with rice or dried beans.
Tape other end (I tape over a piece of thick paper).

Cymbals Saucapan lids make fantastic cymbals, but they may never look the same again (or fit on your saucepans)

Rubber Band Music Put a rubber band over two cupboard handles. My kids loved to 'twang' them for ages.

Tapping Sticks Find two thick sticks out of the garden, or wooden spoons will do, and tap them together.

Clappers Two metal teaspoons back to back, hold between three fingers, with your index finger in the middle.

Guiro Cheese grater and a wooden spoon. Hopefully you don't have a very very sharp cheese grater, or you may go through a few wooden spoons.