Our lockdowns are similar to yours Kate but because the UK is so overcrowded we needed to pick times to go out when we are least likely to bump into other folks, the best routes around here are quite busy so we have to go further off the beaten path.
This weeks preps check-in
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Our lockdowns are similar to yours Kate but because the UK is so overcrowded we needed to pick times to go out when we are least likely to bump into other folks, the best routes around here are quite busy so we have to go further off the beaten path.
My problem was compounded by having massively increase the amount of driving I have been doing lately which left much less time for exercise, and often when I could / wanted to go out the rural areas were full of other people so i didnt bother. I made the problem worse for myself also by focusing far to much on intel gathering online and / or online time looking for extra supplies. I got tardy and am paying the price.
I dont like getting old, when i was soldiering still in my 40s we were running 5 miles a day in full combats with pack and rifle. Its just caught me out how EASY it is to lose muscle tone.
My day bag of EDC gear contents is only 3KG without water, My GHB is 6 KG. I like to travel as light as possible
I have been focused on saving money for awhile now. I am doing okay with it. So my preps are not as fun to talk about.
I did have to pull everything out of my trunk yesterday to get some yard work stuff from Lowes. I recharged my jumper for my car, and checked batteries. I also had a solar cell charger and it is now missing from my bag. I am not sure what happened to it, so I will be ordering another one.
I am checking flashlights and such around here today as we are in for some late afternoon bad weather.
I am also looking for sales on meat to stock up. I am reading about the possible shortages that people have posted on here... might as well be prepared
I did have to pull everything out of my trunk yesterday to get some yard work stuff from Lowes. I recharged my jumper for my car, and checked batteries. I also had a solar cell charger and it is now missing from my bag. I am not sure what happened to it, so I will be ordering another one.
I am checking flashlights and such around here today as we are in for some late afternoon bad weather.
I am also looking for sales on meat to stock up. I am reading about the possible shortages that people have posted on here... might as well be prepared
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The lockdown here is mostly aimed at businesses not individuals. Of course a lot of individuals are affected by what is happening to the places they work.
Even though we are under "lockdown" I can go anywhere I want, pretty much do anything I want...except of course if it involves a business that has been shut down.
Even though we are under "lockdown" I can go anywhere I want, pretty much do anything I want...except of course if it involves a business that has been shut down.
if you think the UK is overcrowded your living in the wrong area Bill.
yes some of it is overcrowded, the South East, the Midlands, but a lot of it isn't.
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So I got up early yesterday to make the trip down south to the farm/ranch supply store. I hooked up my flatbed goose neck trailer and headed out. Normally it's about a 2-1/2 hour trip one way.
A few miles out of town I had a flat tire. A couple miles later I found a place wide enough to pull off the road. Got the truck jacked up and pulled the tire off, simple. Until I tried getting the spare off the holder. I ended up having to cut the spare tire holder off with my Leatherman (the greatest invention of all times).
Put the spare on and it was flat. About that time a young man stopped. And he just happened to have an air tank on his truck! There are some good people out there, in fact most people are good. I gave him a couple cold beers for his help.
Finially made it to the store. I picked up a couple hundred more fence posts, wire, gates, calf table, vet supplies, miscellaneous parts and tools, chicken feed and fuel and propane. Also found some blackberry and grape plants there.
Even though I got home before dark I was tired and not feeling good. So I just got firewood, ate a salad and went to bed.
I talked to the wife yesterday while I was on the road. They're saying now that they may keep her at work until winter. It changes daily.
A few miles out of town I had a flat tire. A couple miles later I found a place wide enough to pull off the road. Got the truck jacked up and pulled the tire off, simple. Until I tried getting the spare off the holder. I ended up having to cut the spare tire holder off with my Leatherman (the greatest invention of all times).
Put the spare on and it was flat. About that time a young man stopped. And he just happened to have an air tank on his truck! There are some good people out there, in fact most people are good. I gave him a couple cold beers for his help.
Finially made it to the store. I picked up a couple hundred more fence posts, wire, gates, calf table, vet supplies, miscellaneous parts and tools, chicken feed and fuel and propane. Also found some blackberry and grape plants there.
Even though I got home before dark I was tired and not feeling good. So I just got firewood, ate a salad and went to bed.
I talked to the wife yesterday while I was on the road. They're saying now that they may keep her at work until winter. It changes daily.
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Your supply run yesterday was a lot more interesting than mine, LOL.
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My truck is a '97 Ford and yesterday was the first time that spare was ever off the truck. I better add checking spares to my annual maintenance list.
If in doubt, put it on a fuse... most of the electrical is common sense. Now that I said that I’m likely to toast something....
I checked the spare on my FJ recently, down about a third. The dealer I got it from said they filled it with nitrogen. Lying dogs, that spare hadn’t been checked in ages. I’ve had enough flats in my lifetime that I commonly check them now.
I installed seven of the 10 door and window alarms I got yesterday. Loud little buggars! They aren’t exactly a high tech alarm system but will wake dead people in the middle of the night. It was a good ‘peace of mind purchase’.
Last week I worked on the drain field for the septic. Expanded the field and tied it together. Major pain in the butt. Anyways today I saw water trickling up again on the ground. I followed the water with the backhoe and discovered the 4” line from the septic had uncoupled and fallen into the infiltrator chamber and was sitting on the bottom so it couldn’t drain properly. Where it uncoupled was the only place it could drain and of course was working its way above ground. So long story short, all that other work wasn’t necessary. I guess it’s a good thing to increase the capacity of the drain field at least. I am meeting a crane to drop a light pole tomorrow and while out I will get some 4” pipe fittings to make the needed repairs. Crappy job.... at least I found the issue and have it all dug up and exposed for the repairs now. I’m really glad I’m not a plumber though. Doing this daily would suck.
I installed seven of the 10 door and window alarms I got yesterday. Loud little buggars! They aren’t exactly a high tech alarm system but will wake dead people in the middle of the night. It was a good ‘peace of mind purchase’.
Last week I worked on the drain field for the septic. Expanded the field and tied it together. Major pain in the butt. Anyways today I saw water trickling up again on the ground. I followed the water with the backhoe and discovered the 4” line from the septic had uncoupled and fallen into the infiltrator chamber and was sitting on the bottom so it couldn’t drain properly. Where it uncoupled was the only place it could drain and of course was working its way above ground. So long story short, all that other work wasn’t necessary. I guess it’s a good thing to increase the capacity of the drain field at least. I am meeting a crane to drop a light pole tomorrow and while out I will get some 4” pipe fittings to make the needed repairs. Crappy job.... at least I found the issue and have it all dug up and exposed for the repairs now. I’m really glad I’m not a plumber though. Doing this daily would suck.
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I do carry an air compressor on my atv's. I'll have to add one to my truck too.
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True. And I do carry them on my atv's. The tires on my truck were my winter studded tires that I bought in 2000. I planned on replacing them this fall so I was trying to squeeze out every mile that I could. In this case the tire shredded, no punctures. I run 80 psi on my truck tires so I'd need a good sized compressor.
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Slow day today. Only got 3 posts in the ground. All solid rock. Only 6 more posts to finish the corral. Then I'll start bolting up the 2×10 rails and install the squeeze chute and calf table. Might be done by next week.
Got all my food cabinets completely filled. We are now back to full capacity, food wise. Both freezers brimming to the top, House refrigerator /freezer full. Now we simply restock what is used. Reloading is going to accelerate. I picked up two extra cordless drill motors and can now handle the brass prep much faster. All in all, things are progressing very well, except the rifle range is still closed. I don't want to reload the 6.5 Creedmoor, until I can chronograph the loads. I need the range to open so I can test the loads but if it starts to get real ugly, I will load them but just under the max powder loads. Just moving forward as best we can.
I got about a dozen more food grade buckets from the local grocery stores, that I'm going to clean out today to store more food.
Hey U.P you come use my range.... bring some xtra ammo, I'll provide the food.
Hey U.P you come use my range.... bring some xtra ammo, I'll provide the food.
Saving may not be glamorous but it’s one of the smartest things I’ve read here....I have been focused on saving money for awhile now. I am doing okay with it. So my preps are not as fun to talk about.
I did have to pull everything out of my trunk yesterday to get some yard work stuff from Lowes. I recharged my jumper for my car, and checked batteries. I also had a solar cell charger and it is now missing from my bag. I am not sure what happened to it, so I will be ordering another one.
I am checking flashlights and such around here today as we are in for some late afternoon bad weather.
I am also looking for sales on meat to stock up. I am reading about the possible shortages that people have posted on here... might as well be prepared
That sounds great but I doubt the Warden (wife) will grant parole. I am on house arrest. Sure wish I could take advantage of your offer. Would be happy to bring the ammo. Got a lot of 9 mm, 223, and 7.62 x 39. Not quite as much in 6.5 Creedmoor. My hand loads cost twice as much as my factory stuff. Still trying to find out who makes Sellier & Bellots 156 grain 6.5 Creedmoor bullets.
I've been thinking about getting a portable air compressor to keep in my car. I already keep a full-size spare tire rather than a "donut spare" commonly seen in sedans. I don't want to use the sealant flat repair stuff because I it voids the warranty on my tires (which I can get repaired for free right now, and have taken advantage of this before.)
I wasn’t aware that slime voided a warranty? I know it makes a mess for the guy changing your tire though. I’m sure that had something to do with it. My advice is carry some anyways. You can always try to not have to use it but it would be there in a pinch. Just picture having two flats on a dark night in an unknown area after crime is getting worse. Hey, better yet, avoid those kinds of areas anyways! But do get the slime.
I know some tire repair replaces won't even repair or replace a tire if fix-a-flat was used, some charge 2 to 3 times the price for repairs.
One can pick up a good pneumatic tire changing station for a thousand or less, for a little more you can get one with a balancer. I picked up a used commercial station and balancer for $800 a few years back (make sure you have a good compressor)
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For punctures you can do the same thing the tire shop does, using just a cheap repair kit.
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K
I keep a plug kit in my vehicle at all times.
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My wife bought a used car that didn't have a spare. Shortly after she bought it, we ran over a screw in Atlanta at 10 pm at night. I took an Uber to the nearest Walmart and bought that kit in the picture, and a small compressor, and we were on our way.
I used to do tire repairs for years but haven’t in ages now. It’s a good addition to your vehicles emergency kit.For punctures you can do the same thing the tire shop does, using just a cheap repair kit.
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K
Make sure you get the best quality one. I've had the handles break off on the first use.
I like this better than the slime stuff. I need to learn how to use one of these. I know the basic concept but I've never actually done it.For punctures you can do the same thing the tire shop does, using just a cheap repair kit.
https://www.amazon.com/Slime-1034-T-Handle-Tire-Plug/dp/B000ET525K
