How I Built My Deck - Free Kindle Book

How I Built My Deck was a free Kindle book when I wrote this blog post. A great DIY project to save yourself some money.

From the Description: "This is the Story of how I built a deck in my garden. It is a pictorial account of how I went about it. It details the Materials and Tools used and some of the Methodology of getting the job done. Anyone who likes gardening projects will find this an interesting little book."

Emergency Preparedness Checklist

No one knows when disaster might strike or where they will be when an emergency situation happens. It could occur while you're at home, traveling in your car, at work, while on vacation, or while exploring the great outdoors. It could be something that lasts a few hours or a few days. To cope with any type of crisis situation, emergency preparedness is essential.
There are several key components of a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan. How well are you prepared? Below is a checklist that addresses emergency preparedness. See how prepared you are to face any type of catastrophe. Give yourself a point for every "Yes" answer.
1. When you go hiking, mountain climbing, boating, fishing, cross country skiing, canoeing, or take part in any other outdoor activity, do you have a survival kit in case you get lost, injured, or separated from the group?
2. Do you have an emergency preparedness plan so that all family members know where to go and how to get in touch in case a disaster occurs when everyone's away from home, such as at work and at school?
3. Do you have an emergency preparedness disaster supplies kit for your home? For your office? For your car?
4. Does your survival kit include the basics of a three-day supply per person of food and water; a battery powered radio; a flashlight; a first aid kit; an emergency blanket; matches in a waterproof container or a fire starter kit; hygiene and sanitation items; a rescue signal, such as a whistle; extra clothing; a manually operated can opener; extra batteries; copies of identification; cash and change; and other items that you and your family require on a daily basis, such as prescriptions, eye glasses and hearing aid batteries?
5. Do you maintain your disaster supplies kit by changing food and water supplies every six months; storing canned and packaged foods in a cool, dry place; replacing expired items; and updating the contents each year or as your family's needs change?
6. Are you aware of the risk level in your community for possible hazards or emergency situations? These can include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and lighting, winter storms, earthquakes, extreme heat, volcanoes, landslides, fires, tsunamis, hazardous material leaks, nuclear power plant incidents, terrorism, explosions, chemical threats, biological threats and nuclear blasts.
7. Does your emergency preparedness plan include an evacuation route for you and your family in the event you have to leave your home, work, or school?
8. Do you know how to shut off utility services to your home, such as natural gas, the main water valve and electricity?
9. Have you established an emergency preparedness plan for your pets?
10. Are you prepared to shelter-in-place at home, work, school, or in between, and to seal off a room from outside air in the event of chemical or radiological contaminants?
While preparing for an emergency or natural disaster can be overwhelming, taking emergency preparedness steps will help you and your family better cope with a stressful situation. Emergency preparedness also ensures that you and your loved ones will all make it through the crisis situation just fine.

Survival-Gear.com has survival kits and gear suited to help you prepare for the unexpected. Their emergency preparedness packs are stocked with high quality survival items you can count on when you need it.

Bug Out Bag Checklist for Preppers and Survivalists

A bug out bag (BOB), also referred to as a Get Out Of Dodge Bag (GOOD Bag), is a pack that has all the necessary items for any survival situation for 72 hours or longer. Below I'll provide a detailed checklist that will give you a good understanding of what you should have in your bag. Remember that when you pack to think about the weight of each item and ask if it will be worth carrying it. Most times more gear will be better, but just keep weight in mind.
The most important thing about a bug out bag is the QUALITY of the bag itself. You will be entrusting this bag with your life, so try to get a good quality. The best ones have a place for a water bladder, straps and good amount of outside pockets.
Remember the four 3's:
3 minutes without Oxygen, 3 hours in harsh weather, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.
Shelter- Shelter is the most important (3 hours in bad weather). If you know how to pitch a tent correctly then all this may mean to you is packing a tarp and equipment to set it up. If you don't then remember to pack something you know how to setup. Also remember to pack a sleeping bag and anything else you might need to keep you dry and warm.
Water- Water is behind shelter (3 days without water). Pack a few water bladders and remember to keep your water bladder filled with clean water (this may mean dumping the water in it and refilling it every now and again to make sure the water is nice and clean if the situation arises where you need to use it). Also, a water filter can save your life if you run out of water. Never drink water in the wild without boiling/treating it. Recommended amount of water intake is different for everyone but a good way to think about is half your weight in fluid ounces. So if your weight 150 pounds, 75oz a day is your recommended amount. 128 fluid ounces is a gallon so that would mean you need to drink a little more than half a gallon a day.
Food-Food is in last at 3 weeks (that's assuming you have water). Freeze dried food and MRE's are recommended for survival because they are high calorie food rations that will provide your body with the energy it needs. Trail mix also has a lot of calories so you may want to consider packing some to eat while you're traveling. Like water, the recommended amount of calories differs from person to person depending on height, weight, gender and more but try to eat 3,000 calories a day. Never eat below 1,200 calories a day.
Checklist:
Here is a simple checklist for your bag (This is not set in stone, everyone has difference skills and this is just to give you an idea):
Flashlight
A good survival knife
Tape (Duct Tape/Gorilla Tape)
MRE's or freeze dried food
Sewing kit
Some form of getting your hands clean if needed (dish soap, bar soap, etc.....)
Bottles of Water (Water Bladder that's filled would be good too. Water purification tablets and a water filter would be good as well)
Multi-tools are very good to have because they take up less room
Radio (Hand Crank/Solar would be best but battery operated is fine)
Rechargeable batteries for your equipment that needs them.
Camp stove (try to find one that uses multiple fuels)
A copy of emergency and important contacts (include addresses and phone numbers)
First Aid Kit
Money (If you have to leave your city for a few days
Maybe an extra copy of your I.D.
Para cord (preferred) or very strong rope
Map of the area
Hygiene necessities (comb, toothbrush, small can of shaving cream, razor, toothpaste)
A waterproof way of starting fire (flint/waterproof matches/etc...)
Extra change of clothes (include socks and underwear)
Can opener (small one)
A list for defensive purposes:
100+ extra rounds for each of your firearms
a form of night vision sight (Sighting scope, a rifle scope that functions in daylight and night, etc...)
Remember to camouflage all of your equipment (including your bug out bag itself)

This is Jeff from Survival Hour we are dedicated to informing the public how to survive almost any situation and providing the best gear to help. Be sure to check out our Survival Hour blog as well for even more in-depth information.
Check here for some good stock bags to start with(you should add a lot more stuff to them though): Bug Out Bags

Grandmother's Critter Ridder (Grandmother's Kitchen Wisdom) Book is a Must-Have

Grandmother's Critter Ridder (Grandmother's Kitchen Wisdom) is such a great book. I am so glad that I found it that I had to share it with all of my readers.It is full of timeless ways to get  rid of bugs in the house, around the house, in the garden, and more. Tons of all-natural ways to rid the pest out of your life. Just go to your kitchen the next time you have a pest problem.

What if the sun doesn't shine??

It has rained here or has had a chance of rain here for the last 3 weeks! No sun at all. Monday was the first day that we had any sun for any length of time. I hurried up and took all of my solar powered items outside. But, it wasn't enough. My lights and radios are all dead! I can't use the cell phone charger either. What do we do when we have no sunlight to charge our solar powered gadgets??? I even tried leaving the light on over the stove with the stuff under it and it didn't charge them. I don't like this at all. No sun all winter and now no sun in the summer time. Blah - this year is not turning out to be very good at all.