The-Atlantic-thefemalesurvivalist

Today I went into South Carolina on a new adventure. First, the town stuff, then the adventure stuff.

The gas across the state line is 20 cents cheaper per gallon, and there's a Save A Lot that, well, can save you a lot of money on some items. But, beware! Today they charged me $7.99 for dry milk per box, not the $6.99 posted on the shelf by the item. You bet I called their attention to the decrepancy. The flour was more, so by passed that and instead got real Yellow self rising cornmeal. You know how easy it is to make corn bread when you use this stuff?

Vegan Corn Bread, Cast Iron Style

Measure 2 cups self rising corn meal and 3/4 cup flour into a bowl. Add 1/3 cup dry milk if you like for more protein, 1/3 cup oil, and about 1 3/4 cup water to make a medium thick batter. It should look and feel like thick pancake batter. I also add 1/2 teaspoon of salt because of the flour. (Straight self rising products don't need salt) You don't need eggs, but add one if you like. I don't use them. Still all this up and pour into an oiled, about two tablespoons,  cast iron 10 inch skillet. Put the flame on low, cover with a tight lid, and let "bake" for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat, let coast another 10 minutes. Lift lid and check, it should feel firm.

I use this method for corn bread when I don't want to heat up the whole oven. When I use the oven, its full of other goodies as well. Never run a part way empty oven. Baked potatoes, a nice quiche, some cake if you want sweets.
Back to town day. I'd heard Burger King was instituting the Oatmeal option. The sign in town said, Oatmeal $1.99. Are you serious, BK? Oatmeal is so easy to make, why on earth would anyone pay $1.99 for a bowl of it? I will divulge that I never buy stuff that I make at home, like oatmeal and grilled cheese. Just me.

Make oatmeal so easy by bringing to a boil in your tea kettle enough water to pour over the 1/2 cup you've placed into a mug. Let this sit a minute or two so it "cooks".  Season with cinnamon, couple dashes of salt, sweetener of your choice. I add raisins once in awhile. Add other nuts or dried fruit, serve with some milk on the side. Yummy. Cost, about 25 cents before fruit or nuts are added. Cheap.

I bought my gas and headed home, stopping by this park called Stumphouse Tunnel Park. The town of Wallahalla keeps it up and running. The gates close at 5 every day. After all these years, I finally took the time to do this. I will definitely come back to hike the trail down to the Issaqueena Falls and take the yellow blazed trail labeled B.RR Trail. Not sure what that even stands for.

The park has a lot of huge garbage bins which are black bear proof. The reach in handles show you they are serious. There's a shelter, and several wonderful signs which give the rich history behind this park. The railroad tunnel was never completed because the Civil War got in the way. I'm going to be writing and posting photos over at my hiking blog, http://brawnyview.blogspot.com if you're interested.

I bought a huge box of soap powder today. Writing my novel has made a true practitioner out of me, and I don't know if I will ever recover. One thing for sure, I'll be ready!

I was reading over the pricing and print options over at CreateSpace, an affiliate of Amazon.com.
This company will print books, on demand, which allows an author to do e-books, yet make them available in hard copy to those who don't Do E-Books.

Turns out, and this does make sense, considering the high cost of paper, ink, labor, etc, the author make a few cents and the rest of the funds go to that company. Not a lot of incentive for the author unless you want to do a souvenir copy to put on the shelf.

For instance, many people write a book, and want it on the shelf. It may be a family tree thing, a memoir of a trip, a journal of sorts.

By using CreateSpace.com you can accomplish this without contacting a separate printer or publisher. Do the work of setting it up in Word format, add the photos, edit it properly and upload the files to their site. They even have a calculator to show you how much they receive per copy and how much the royalty will be given a set price.

http://www.createspace.com


Many people aspire to write a book, and I encourage them to go for it. Using the new online apps, it doesn't even require much financial investment. It requires a lot of time and commitment, however.

A Measured Response is the first book in the Trilogy End of Days.

I finally have it it finished and uploaded to the Amazon.com E-Book department, otherwise known as Kindle for PC.

This book took an incredible emotional toll on me. I had no idea how involved I would become with the whole survival/ apocalyptic scenario. It sort of wrote itself, unfolding daily. I walk and bring a notebook with me in the mornings on my wilderness hikes. The story would unfold in this atmosphere, and the trail miles would slip by while my mind worked it out.

I did a lot of research for this book because the weaponry and battle scenes needed to be accurate. The skills our people use are fairly detailed. The second book is now in progress.

Writing my first novel has been unlike any experience I've ever had.

I oiled my stove, that's the reason it's so beautifully black.
The legs have been "cemented" on with that great caulking stuff I used to glue the front panel on. The stuff hardens like rock and can withstand temps up to 1,000 degrees. The legs were the weak spot. Everything in life has a weakness.

The blocks are each 12 inches square and the platform is 2 x 3 feet. Once the cement cures, I'll move the stove forward so its two feet from that back wall. The pipe will go through the window at a 90 degree angle, then 90 degrees up past the roof. I checked the draw, it should be perfect.


Each of these blocks was $1.58 at walmart. I could have bought grey, but this color seemed more rustic.
This studio was a 12 x 16 steel beam and pressure treated floor. I insulated it with 13 R factor and paneled it. The building was delivered in 2005 and until now had not had any real source of heat. Now it will be toasty warm, with a pot of coffee ready on the back burner. I'll be installing pipes next week, I hope.

I just finished watching the premier hour long show called Livin' for the Apocalypse.

Four family groups were show cased, three of which lived in the southwest, and one in St. Louis, Missouri. All of the main preparers were at least middle age, except the young couple living in Mesa, AZ. They were my favorites by far.

The people stocked a lot of food, and three have turned this "vision" into a business with websites and sales helping to support their efforts.

I love the young couple with two kids, age 2 and 5 because they have turned their home into a sustainable renewable lifestyle. Even if the apocalypse doesn't happen next year as they feel it will, they will be off the grid.
I especially loved the in-ground empty swimming pool which was turned into a green house. They grow food in it all year long, plus have a pool to grow tilapia (fresh water fish) and chickens. They have goats as well, and rain gutters collect enough water to fill cistern. All of this work is positive energy towards a sustainable lifestyle, regardless.

One family has 7 children and a bunker below the business they bought. Watching them go into that bunker I felt claustrophobic. The narrowness of the cement bomb shelter was stifling. I wonder how long people could be sequestered like that without murder.

Speaking of which, the last preppers interviewed, two women roommates, said they were always taught if you shoot it, you eat it. And if people came to take what they had they would shoot, and may be cannibals if things got that bad.

This was an interesting reality show. I hope there's more of them. My man and I were both amazed at some of the stockpiling of vast amounts of food.

Comments welcome. Did you see it and what did you think?

Today I went into town and bought a tube of cast iron and fireplace caulking. To my surprise the stuff cleans up with water. I clipped the end off the tube and applied it with my finger.

The directions say to remove all loose debris first, wet with a bit of water, then use a putty knife. I found it easier to smear it into the grooves with a finger. After it cures, it directs you to use a low fire to help it solidify rock hard. The manufacturer claims it withstands temperatures of 1,000 degrees. You may not think so, but wood burning stoves can generate some serious heat, so this rating isn't as overkill as one might imagine.



The finish of this caulking is a grainy blackness, much like the stove itself. I made circular motions to improve the randomness, and found it very pleasing. The old cast iron lid was used as my palate, and intentionally became black as well. Sort of a two birds with one stone.

The simple tools I always keep around help in these projects. Metal shears, needle nose pliers, hammer, both kinds of screw drivers, a caulking gun, and scraps of pliable metal. Outdated licence plates are ideal.

Tomorrow we will lay the cement blocks I also bought today. Each one is 12 x 12 and my protective area will measure 2 feet wide by 3 feet deep, a lovely terracotta. Stay tuned.

This post is definitely female logic, so guys, sorry for any quantum leaps. I've been thinking a lot about the comments over at a friends blog where someone mentioned, "rampant feminism". That's food for thought.

So, the other day in Walmart a lady was giving out all kinds of Brach's candy samples. The chocolates, the jelly beans, the orange slices all brand name deliciousness.  I could never do that job because all the samples would end up in my tummy.

Well, she also had coupons for the delectables, and I being weak for jelly beans actually bought a bag.

But this post is about the free samples. If a person is always giving out free samples with no strings attached, why would you spend any money buying them?  If she'd said, come back and I'll give you a free bag of candy, I wouldn't have bought any.

Now, Sex and the City is just a story of a bunch of Free Sample Ho's, in my honest opinion. Always giving it up free, putting it out there to the UPS guy, the shoe salesman, the lawyer. I don't get it. Used to be we'd worry about should I let him kiss me on the first date. Used to be we'd worry about losing his respect, or if he'd bother with a second date, or let us meet his mom.
Used to be we'd want a ring before we gave out on a regular basis.  I know, things have changed.

Free Sample Ho. Free Sample Bitch.

Is that Rampant Feminism? I'm thinking these type of HBO series are bad for our society. It makes women into cheap thrills, users, players, without commitment or classiness.

Of course, we have the Ho that sells it or trades it for a promotion. We call them whores.
Women can use their bodies to win fights and gain protection. Guys don't think that's fair.

My friend always says if you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck.