Also, please be sure to check the expiration dates on the items in your first aid kits and replace anything used since the last time you checked.
If the aluminum didn't get there by ingesting salt containing aluminum as a free-flowing agent, leaching from aluminum cookware, absorption from antiperspirants, how did it get into the body? It is not a mineral needed by any biological form so had to be introduced artificially.
I say, "Better safe than sorry," which currently leaves me to decide - aluminum or sugar? I'll keep searching for sugar-free iodized table salt, but if worse comes to worse, I'll pick sugar over aluminum.
There were only three boxes of salt on the shelf, one of which contained dextrose.
I bought the other two boxes.
Score!
About storms - I keep my laptop unplugged during lightning storms so it won't get zapped and save the battery for use in case of emergency. Although I have a surge protector, I prefer to ensure I'm safe rather than sorry.
Mobile Survival Kit - I have all but hand sanitizing and insect repellent wipes which won't much change the current weight (under 5 lbs.) and bulk (approx. 540 cu. in.). I'd like to trim it down further.
Kindle - nothing's actually wrong. In fact, several things are much better. One thing is now Kindle ebooks are available for borrowing from participating libraries. Another is that user-documents are archived.
My issue is in order to use the new features, there's an update for which I have to go to the library to use the Wi-Fi. Normally, that isn't a problem. What makes it an issue for me is that somehow, I have an Audible book, a foreign language course, also waiting to download via Wi-Fi. I'll get the Audible book, whether I want it or not, when I receive the Kindle update.
Since I did not order the book, it must be a gift. However, gift Kindle books are supposed to be announced by an email stating who is the gift-giver and allowing the recipient the opportunity to accept or exchange it for a gift card. I did not receive the email.
Because I have several foreign language courses on CDs and already used up 1 Gb on my Kindle, I'm reluctant to receive the Audible book. As a result, I decided to try the sample only to discover to my dismay that the sample is also too large to be delivered except by Wi-Fi to my Kindle, not that I thought to try to request the sample be delivered to my PC in the first place.
At this point, I'm thinking I'll have to call Customer Service. But, wait! Look, there's a shiny thing!
What if I finally buy an MP3 player? I could put the Audible book on it thereby saving space on my Kindle and retrieve Kindle space by deleting the MP3 Bible's New Testament in favor of putting the entire Bible on the player.
So, I started shopping. I really like the idea of SanDisk's expansion SD slot because it means I can have my entire music collection, all my foreign language courses, the entire MP3 Bible, plus any Audible books I may acquire with me, conveniently, at all times wherever I may go. All I have to do is decide whether to buy a Fuze, Clip+, or Clip Zip and figure out how to write to an SD card from my laptop which doesn't have an SD card slot. I would probably have to take it to a computer shop for the transfer service or buy something external to do it myself.
When did they start doing that? My old box of salt has only salt, iodide, and something to keep the salt free-flowing.
It doesn't do much good for people trying to decrease the amount of sugar they consume to have it added to salt.
Since sugar is addictive and since there's no good reason to add sugar to salt, why did the salt companies add it? What were they thinking? Is it to keep people tied to their product who would otherwise decrease the amount of salt they're putting in their food?
Are we going to have to demand sugar-free salt?
Ideally, our first priority is to prepare our evacuation kits since they may be used anywhere if stored in our vehicles where they would be easily accessible whether we're at work, home, or simply running errands.
Ideally, we'd have our stuff in backpacks, duffel bags, or other easily transportable containers in case we have to abandon our vehicles and walk.
As a traveler, I already have travel packs and wheeled suitcases I could use. However, the travel packs are too small for everything I want to have on hand and the wheeled suitcases are too heavy and bulky to easily navigate rough terrain.
My solution is to get a backpack. However, I need to figure out what capacity I need before I'm ready to shop for one. Since I'll have to go out of town to get the best fit and avoid mail-order returns, it doesn't have the highest priority. I rather research reviews online to narrow the field, first.
So, I converted my Preparedness Food & Beverage list last week to a text file and transferred it to my Kindle as a reusable shopping list for the items I need to check every six months for rotation.
All I have left to do this month are the following:
1. Go shopping and rotate my food and water supplies.
2. Replace all batteries, saving those being phased out for my electronic Solitaire game.
3. Check the air in my car's spare tire. This should be done whenever I check my tires, but I usually put it off and now I can't recall when it was last done, it's been so long.
4. Add a bottle of hand sanitizing gel to my car kit because it will also help start a fire.
Simple dimple!
The disadvantage is it doesn't taste as good as fresh milk prompting me to buy expensive box milk that doesn't need refrigeration.
Trying out a tip I read in "Long-Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail" by Roland Mueser © 1998 Ragged Mountain Press, I added a couple of spoonfuls of non-dairy creamer to my cup of evaporated milk, stirred well, and gingerly tasted it.
It was great! Whoo-hoo!
[Updated 12/1/2011 - If I use non-fat, non-dairy creamer, it's even better to add a couple of spoonfuls of "Original" Carnation Malted Milk.]
Replacing the water was no big deal. All I did was buy more and move the jugs reserved for preparedness so they can be used for current needs which I pretty well do whenever I buy spring water by the gallon for my tea, anyway. The only difference this time was that I did it on purpose because it's the mid-year check, not because I needed to buy water which means I'll have more water than usual in my regular supply for a while. I'm unsure of the sense of doing things this way except it ensures my preparedness supply of water is fresh whether or not I use my regular supply.
What's new is that I started thinking about medications for a preparedness first aid kit (FAK) and bought an extra box of allergy pills, generic pain relief, and other basic first aid medications. I usually wait until I need these before buying them because I've stocked them in my home FAK before only to discard them after the expiration date without ever using any, but decided that a period of tumult is not the time to be needing a drug store that may not be open during a disaster.
The allergy pills won't be wasted because I can rotate them into current use and buy a new box for the preparedness kit when my daily supply needs to be replaced, and I should add a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplement to aid good health in whatever stressful situation this preparedness kit is to see me through, but I expect to take a hit on the cost of the rest since they are more likely to expire than be used.
Finally, I decided to store the FAK meds and my Katadyn Micropur water purification tablets in an insulated cooler bag designed to hold four cans. Since I don't know whether a preparedness situation might be too cold or too hot, either of which may degrade the chemicals, I figure it's better to play it safe by storing them in a cooler.
Besides, I wasn't using the bag for anything else. I originally bought it on sale for air travel because it folds flat for easy packing so I don't have to buy, then leave behind, a cheap Styrofoam cooler at every destination just to keep a few beverage cans cold. It'll do fine in my Grab & Go bag and for road trips, but I'll have to think about what to do for preparedness issues when I travel by air since it can't fold flat when full. It's easy enough when I travel by car, but air travel requires paring down to the bare minimum especially when trying to use only a carry-on bag.
I'm becoming increasingly aware that going on vacation doesn't exempt people from disastrous situations. Vacationers and business travelers should have basic preparedness kits with them in order to survive the unexpected just like anybody else, probably more so since they're away from their home turf in unfamiliar surroundings.
Being facetious I asked, "Do you deliver?" and it turned out she was planning a trip close enough for me to drive over on a day trip to meet her. As it turned out, her husband came instead and we met for lunch last Thursday at the Red Lobster restaurant in one of the larger cities.
We talked about lots of stuff from the last time he ate at Red Lobster (when he proposed to his wife on her birthday) to driving in San Francisco (We agreed the thing to do is not drive - park your car and use the excellent public transportation to get around instead.) & L.A. to our beliefs and how some people like to ignore the scripture and make God out to be what they want Him to be, in effect, turning Him into a man-made god. Our backgrounds are different, but we're pretty close in many of our beliefs when we're not spot on. He gave me some things to look into the Bible about and I believe he got some from me, too.
Somehow, our conversation inspired some changes I've been wanting to do on my websites and I've been busy incorporating them. One has to do with the copyright notice. I had made one using JavaScript which makes it maintenance-free for me, but part of it won't show up if visitors don't have JavaScript enabled in their browsers.
Another modification is to change a drop-down menu into an include file so I won't have to upload all the other pages whenever I add a new page. By using an include file, all I have to do is upload the edited drop-down menu and the new webpage.
Suddenly, it dawned on me. Putting my copyright notice into an include file will solve the issue. I'll have to edit and upload only one little file one time each year I modify my websites and it won't matter if visitors have JavaScript enabled or not.
Whoo-hoo!
Me? I'm feeling lazy, too lazy to actually count my blessings, but not too lazy to think about adding them up.
Hopefully, you'll be better about it before you eat or watch the game, the fights, the hero show, Beyonce, or whatever you plan to do.
Hopefully, I'll be better about it by that time, too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
One of the items stolen was a BearVault. Although I'm not currently in bear country, a bear-resistant canister also protects food from being stolen by small creatures such as raccoons that are quite adept at accessing food campers thought they had secured.
Not only do I have to decide whether or not to replace the BearVault now or wait until later, I also need to decide whether to buy another BearVault or get a canister made by a different company.
Reading customer reviews, I was struck by a series of thoughts:
Considering that bears can break into cars but not into canisters approved by the Sierra Interagency Black Bear Group (SIBBG)...
Considering that BearVaults are made of super-strong polycarbonate, the same stuff used to make bullet-proof glass...
Considering that some campers were able to open their BearVaults to store food inside but missed meals because they weren't able to re-open them to get their food out...
Considering that I may have removed the label on the lid that has instructions on how to open the BearVault (I can't recall)...
Considering that San Ysidro, being a border town, has a majority Hispanic population and the thief might not have been able to read English if I left the label on (considering some restaurants there had menus only in Spanish and many business signs were in Spanish)...
Considering I had nothing worth more than US$20 stored in my BearVault (a coffee mug gift for a friend wrapped in a couple of shawls for cushioning)...
The thief likely expended great effort over a period of time to open my BearVault for very little reward, if it was ever opened at all!
Cue evil laughter.
I'm getting a kick from the thought of buying another see-through BearVault, putting a $20 bill in it, and Super gluing the lid shut just for the joy of knowing another thief will be aggravated by not knowing how to get the money out.
Except bear canisters are too expensive to buy just for the heck of it, I'd rather spend the $20 myself, and when the time comes, I've decided to try the Model 812 by Garcia Machine that can be opened, obviously, with a simple tool such as a coin.
Still, it's good to laugh at the idea.
If I do the entire list in pencil, I will save paper because I'll be using an eraser instead of reprinting the list.
Hooray for low-tech solutions!
I'm talking about checking the expiration dates on my preparedness food supplies.
As I unpack everything from the two large shopping bags in which they're stored, I check each date, having rewritten those that are hard to find or read with a fine Sharpie before putting them in the bags.
Those expiring within 9-16 months, for example, January 2011 for this past April's food check and January 2012 for this month's food check, get moved to my regular food supply and are added to my shopping list to replenish my preparedness kit so I always have fresher food in my kit and nothing's wasted due to an expiration date. The rest are put back into the bags.
It's dull work and I'm doing it for only one person. Imagine how grumpy I'd be if I were doing it for a family!
This year, I decided to make a list of items with their expiration dates. The list is organized by meals: breakfasts, lunches and dinners with meat or fish, rice or potato, and veggie; followed by snacks and beverages. That would make it quick to check what I set aside and the quantities as well as their expiration dates because I have only to scan the list and won't have to remove anything from a bag until it's due to be moved to my regular food supply and replaced.
When I replenish items, all I have to do is write the new expiration dates onto the list until it's so cluttered and difficult to read that I have to make a new printout.
Ha! Let's see how well this idea works out.
[Update 3/31/11 - The list is working out well. I left the spaces for the expiration dates blank on my computer and filled them in with pencil so I can erase the old expiration dates and write the new dates for the replacements in the same spaces. As expected, the list is staying neater, longer.]
I also need to change from storing them in shopping bags to something more secure like a plastic bin and an ice chest. While shopping bags are easy to load into and out of my car in case of evacuation or while traveling, they're also too easy for critters to get into. Although canned food is secure and will stay in a bag, lined with another to hold the weight, the last thing I need in an emergency situation is to discover holes in my packages of instant oatmeal, potatoes, rice, or snacks where wee furry beasties helped themselves to the food as they would depending on where I stay and park.
Unfortunately for some, plain carbonated water, even chilled and iced, may be an acquired taste. It was for me.
As an alternative to squeezing in a wedge of lemon or lime for flavor, I made up a recipe for Fruit Juice Soda (serves one):
1. Fill 12 oz. glass with ice cubes.
2. Fill half way with fruit juice of choice or empty a 6-7 oz. box of juice into the glass. My favorite juices for Fruit Juice Soda are apple, fruit punch, and grape.
Tip: If you use a box of juice, enlarge the hole as much as possible, then squeeze the box to make the juice flow more easily.
3. Fill the rest of the glass with Seltzer (plain carbonated) water.
4. Give a quick stir to help blend the juice with the fizzy water, but not much or you'll lose too many bubbles; once or twice around the glass is enough.
Enjoy!
"They're the same thing," came from the voice in the box.
Surely, I didn't hear that correctly. "I want one pineapple malt. I do not want a shake," I said.
"Shakes and malts are the same thing," he said.
"Excuse me?"
The guy taking my order repeated, "Shakes and malts are the same thing."
It doesn't bother me if regular people don't know the difference between a malt and a shake, but it does when an employee of an establishment that has both on the menu doesn't know and he definitely gave me the wrong response three times in a row.
"Obviously, you don't know your beverages," I cut back at him. Was he not trained properly, did he forget his training, or was he an idiot who liked to annoy customers with inappropriate replies?
"A malt is a shake," he said.
Well, yes, but since a shake isn't a malt and with his repeatedly insisting that they're the same thing, I had no reason to believe that I'd be getting a malt.
"Just forget the whole thing," I said as I started my car and proceeded to the grocery store's deli section for the much better dinner of Tequila Lime chicken and hot veggies.
The next day, I called Sonic's toll-free number and reported the store that has an employee who doesn't know the difference between a shake and a malt.
(A malt is a shake with malt added, usually a powder consisting of barley that gives a richer flavor. Sometimes, the malt includes wheat or other grains.)
Justin was very nice and apologized, promising to have my complaint passed down to that particular store and thanking me for contacting Sonic. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
"Yes, I have a question about pricing. The previous time I ordered a pineapple malt, I was charged extra for the pineapple. It was at the same store and doesn't seem right because there isn't anything on the menu that says other flavors cost more. Why aren't vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate priced the same? They're flavors, too. When the car hop came out, he pointed to another section lower on the board that said additional flavors cost more, but I shouldn't have had to hunt around the board to see that. If the additional pricing isn't right there by the shakes and malts, there should be an asterisk to let me know there's a footnote with additional pricing information that applies to them."
He replied, "The first flavor is the price posted whether it's vanilla, chocolate, or pineapple. The second flavor has an additional price added. That means that a pineapple malt is the price on the board, but a pineapple and coconut malt is more.
"So, I was overcharged! I thought so! Please add that to my complaint."
Yesterday, I received a postcard from Sonic thanking me for contacting them with a coupon for a free sandwich.
It pays to complain!
Since I've eaten there before, I was confident that the food would be good and the setting pleasant. Sure enough, the round tables with white tablecloths customarily used for banquets awaited us loaded with plates of salad, dessert, and sparkling goblets of iced tea and water at each place.
As expected, the food was delicious, so much better than I've had at other cafeterias, good enough for a decent restaurant. Two grilled steak strips topped the bed of freshly crisp rabbit food punctuated by rather large soft croutons with a bread stick along side. The dessert was a layered, flaky cream pastry topped by strawberries.
The accompanist was a man I had met in a local music store who had left a long time ago. The last I heard, he was the music minister for a local church. David joked with us as we were deciding where to sit saying that we'd have to pay him $2 for the privilege of sitting at the table closest to him.
The fashion show opened with a mother-daughter pair of unmatched black and white coats. The busy print on the mother's coat was large enough to tell it was houndstooth and small enough to be an instant headache. The black and white houndstooth on the girl's coat was larger and a relief to see but still too small to look good.
With that start, I was not eager to see the rest of the show.
As it turned out, the fashion show was a mixed bag leading me to hope that whoever put the show together isn't making fashion her career.
Some of the outfits were fine but the descriptions inappropriate. For example, a lovely pine green dress was described as emerald. Another dress, totally unsuitable for the office, modeled with stiletto-heeled, thigh-high leather boots was described as an outfit for the professional.
I leaned to my friend, "Professional what?"
What got to me were the separates that came across as totally uncoordinated and downright ugly. For example, while gray is a neutral, supposedly going with anything, gray slacks that were definitely cool in color temperature were topped with a print blouse and short jacket in light olive green, soft gold, rust, and other colors on the warm side of the color wheel resulting in the model looking like she was chopped in half at the waist. All I could think was, "Ugh." Why weren't warm neutrals such as khaki, tan, or brown used for the pants instead? Best, in my opinion, would have been pants in a darker olive.
Pleasantly surprising were the shoes that ranged from fun black and white lace-up tennies to slip-ons to boots to platforms with those really high "hooker" heels you just know that no woman will be able to stand or walk in comfortably for very long.
Between the categories of casual, business, party, and evening wear were dance performances by a group of teen girls. Seeing movements that were rather listless and sloppy except for their high kicks, I told myself not to be hard on their performance since they were only teens. Then, I remembered that high school cheerleaders look alive and put snap into their routines. Why can't these girls? Of course, they can. It must be their choreographer or whoever was coaching their practices who let them look like slouches.
The best part was the door prizes. I almost always pray to win something I can use and when I heard, "Now, we have a $50 gift certificate to [a local flower shop]..."
I thought, "No, Lord. I don't want that."
The name was pulled and the announcer finished, "...goes to Gail Rhea."
Puzzled, I accepted it with thanks and pondered how I might use it before its expiration date as the rest of the door prizes were awarded.
Near the end, the lady seated next to my other side won a small green cutting board and paring knife set by Pampered Chef that I instantly coveted. As we stood to leave, I ventured to ask, "By any chance, would you be willing to exchange door prizes with me? That shade of green is my cousin's wife's favorite color and I'd love to be able to give it to her."
I know that my gift certificate was worth much more than her prize, but it isn't always about monetary value, is it?
The real question is whether the set will make it into my cousin's Christmas box or if I'll end up keeping it for myself.
It's the perfect size for traveling.
Teriyaki Grilled Shrimp
Cajun Shrimp
Garlic Shrimp Scampi
Hand-breaded Shrimp
Coconut Shrimp Bites.
Where were the shrimp Alfredo and popcorn shrimp? Surely, the menu wasn't reprinted since Tuesday.
I asked Ashley, the same server as before. "I told you about them," she said.
"Oh, okay." I guess I hadn't looked at the menu very well.
After enjoying the teriyaki and the shrimp scampi, I asked what is the difference between the hand-breaded shrimp and the popcorn shrimp.
"The popcorn shrimp have the tails cut off. Other than that, they're pretty much the same. They both come with marinara sauce," Ashley explained.
Not a fan of marinara, I asked if I may have the Alfredo again and was soon indulging in its delectable richness followed by the coconut shrimp.
Ahh....
On the advice of the manager who verified that the gift certificates I received as a farewell gift when I left a company in January 2000 were still valid (I haven't been to a Red Lobster in nearly 10 years - how time flies!), we first ordered the Grilled Shrimp Teriyaki and the Cajun shrimp because they take the longest time to cook and enjoyed our salad and cheese rolls while waiting for our platters to arrive.
Delicious! The Cajun shrimp was spicy, but not overwhelmingly. The shrimp teriyaki was perfection itself.
Realizing that we wouldn't be able to complete all of the five different shrimp dishes available in the special, we next ordered the shrimp Alfredo as a single order with an extra clean plate so we could share. That was permitted because we were both having the same dinner. Smooth and creamy, it rivaled the teriyaki for perfection.
Feeling full, we bypassed the popcorn shrimp and split a single serving of the coconut shrimp that was served with a piña colada dipping sauce for the finish. Ahh... No room for dessert was necessary after that treat.
Yum! I want to go back and have more.
(Which I did in Part 2.)
1 package of Knorr Rice Sides, Asian Sides, Cajun Sides, Sides Plus Veggies, or Pasta Sides; any flavor that appeals to you except the Pasta Sides that require milk.
1 can of meat, approximately 5 oz. for 1-2 people. I usually use chicken, Vienna sausages (sliced), kippered herrings, ham, or Spam (cubed). Not needed with the Cajun Sides Red Beans & Rice.
1 can of vegetables, approximately 8 oz. I usually use mixed veggies, peas, corn, string beans, or carrots. Not needed with Sides Plus Veggies.
Directions:
Empty packet of Knorr Sides into a medium container with a close-fitting lid. I use a 32 oz. (1 L) Fairshare Mug by GSI Outdoors.
If the package directions specify 2 cups of water, boil 10 oz. of water. I use the Mini Ibis electric kettle by Bodum.
If the package directions specify 1-3/4 cups of water or if the packet is Pasta Sides, boil 9 oz. of water.
Pour the boiling hot water over the packet contents, stir, and cover for approximately double the length of time specified on the packet. For example, if the directions say to simmer for 7 minutes, let it sit covered for 14-15 minutes.
While waiting, open and drain the cans of vegetables and meat or fish, cutting up meat or breaking up fish when necessary.
Stir rice, then top with vegetables and meat or fish. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, then stir. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes more or until rice is tender, liquid is absorbed, and vegetables and meat or fish are warm. Stir and serve.
For pasta, do the same as with rice in the paragraph above, but don't let it sit longer than 15 minutes or the pasta will become too soft. There will be a slight amount of sauce. See how you like it the first time, then use 1 oz. more water next time if you want more sauce. Please feel free to experiment with the sit time until the pasta is how you like it best.
Yields enough for one really hungry person or 2 moderately hungry people with the addition of bread, salad, and dessert.
If traveling solo, plan on being really hungry to avoid having leftovers because these leftovers don't taste good when cold (Your Mileage May Vary).
Sure, why not?
Having been burned by Gouda cheese pretending to be imported when, in fact, it was from Wisconsin and tasted nothing like the Gouda I got when I was in Holland, I examine the Laughing Cow label more closely and turn it over to read the rest.
Hmm. "Original Creamy Swiss Flavor" means there's more to this than I would have otherwise thought.
"Indulge in the rich creamy-delicious taste of imported Swiss cheese, blended with a touch of cream for easy spreading."
The tiny print running below the bar code says, "bel brands USA, 25 Northwest Point Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL ..."
I chuckle. Taste of imported Swiss cheese, indeed. It certainly isn't Swiss cheese that was actually imported.
My eyes skim over the nutrition facts to the ingredients, below.
"INGREDIENTS: [CHEDDAR..."
BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
Other shoppers look at me.
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!
Yes, I laughed today! Who knew the first word of a list of ingredients would be so funny?
