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No, really. I was sleeping along quite nicely today when something started buzzing, alarming the heck out me in my nice little slumbering retreat from reality. It took me a while to wake enough to figure out where the problem, or even what the problem, was. Ah, my cellphone, on mute. It vibrates like a... well... a vibrator I suppose. But it sounds more like a bee, a big one. Anyway, by the time I did all that, unplugged the thing, got it to within viewing distance and realize what it was all about, the call ended... of course! It is amazing how hard it can be to figure out how to unplug something coming from such a far away place sometimes... I feel like a newborn babe when waking like that, often.
It turns out I am needed at the KoC meeting. I had hoped to be there tonight anyway, I have some gifts to deliver. And, while I had hoped to be there as a long-standing plan, I really didn't think I would be able to make it tonight, as a shorter term understanding. Still, I called my fellow warden back to let him know I would be there. Why? Because. Really, too, I need and want things that demand of me what I would not otherwise give. A wife? Kids? I don't have those yet. But I do have this group and Church. I have been falling down this summer, but... this... I will do this. It only took four phone-calender warnings and two phone calls to get me to go, plus need. *sigh* Yeah, God really has to work with me to get me going.
On another front, I looked over some of what D.C. suggested, including a propane camp grill. And, actually, with some thought, I think that is workable. While I don't like not being able to use it indoors, I think with my back walled-in (always walled-in) porch area, with it's own door to the rest of the house and many windows, if it was truly cold and snowy outside I could use that area, with the windows open, for the camp stove. I also didn't like the little cans of propane. Those things are monster expensive. So... I looked a bit and found an 8' hose that would transfer to a #20 tank (typical grill sized tank) and a leader poll that would transfer up to three connections from tanks to whatever propane appliances might require it. Plus, I looked for a propane lantern. Okay, that puts the canner back into contention for the next short-term item... if the sale lasts long enough for me to check my finances. I say short-term because propane would go exceedingly fast in a grid-down, with no way to refill. Gah! Double Bah! and some other stuff. I am running, but on empty, confused, alone, and cold... But I think I am getting closer.
Life is such a nagging thing, no matter how beautiful. Like a wife, or a mountain top, or anything else that offers great things, there is all the work to make it so. Still, the vastness of the beauty of love I saw while dead makes it so much easier. I sort of got a sneak preview, and a lesser one at that. But I tell you, if what I saw was the lesser form... This time, I will not be satisfied with it. I will do my homework. While I can't get an A+, with the right teacher there is no need. I still have to do my part, be a saint, impossible without the Grace of God, but... The work is harder, the way is narrower, the castigation may be the mortal end of me. All good. I wouldn't trade even what I saw for everything available on earth, even if they took away all the bad that comes with so much of the "good". This mortal life, even this planet, only last just... so... long. There is eternity. Then again, it isn't about what I could get there or here. It was the symphony of true love I felt there. It was knowing good, without a doubt, there. It was... is... the only home I have ever known. Which sort of means I am stranded here. But I can bring a little of that here, within the confines of my fallen flesh into the realm of fallen men in a fallen world, albeit. Perhaps this, and just being patient with things as they are for me, is a form of pennance? A second chance? So I try to relish it. Mustard, strong, if you please. :p
Hey, I best get showered and on the road. Be good, be right, believe that there is truth, and know you can be a party to it. Never stand in simple or complex Truth's way. Good day.
I was thinking along the lines of these things:
ReplyDeletePropane Cookers
They come equipped with the hose to hook up to a 20 lb propane tank.
This one might be just about right--not too much heat, but enough to bring a canner to a boil and keep it just at the right temperature when turned down:
ReplyDeleteSingle Burner Camp Stove — 54,000 BTU
Come to think of it, even that is on the big side. It needs to be able to be turned way down to maintain at canning temperature.
ReplyDeleteThis one is lower output, but still very very high compared to a kitchen stove:
38,000 BTU, Model
I suppose in the worst case you could just throttle it further at the tank valve, or slip a thick steel plate between the burner and the bottom of the pot to moderate the temp.
Man, though, think of the wok frying a person could do with thirty eight thousand BTU at their disposal. These are definitely Man Cooking tools.
At first I thought my idea might be better. And while a camp stove might still be a good plan... they are usually only 20k btu or less, between both burners. Yikes but that would take forever to bring a 30 or 41 quart canner to a head! Actually, I haven't seen anything up to $150 more that has anything over a 35k btu output.
ReplyDeleteThis wouldn't really be multipurpose though. Boiling water or using the canner would be about it. Still, I think you might be right. That is some serious heat, enough even for a 30 quart canner.
I've got it back in the cart, along with the doodads that make the process run. I'll be checking my finances soon. Hmm, $350 for that and gadgets, another hundred for the burner... worth every penny. That would leave only the grain mill, I think, for pretty much total prep for the moment. I will probably take a break from prepping, while trying to learn to can meats and use the mill and such...
I am on the way. You do realize you were almost the total inspiration, right? I mean, I've always been on the preparedness side, but... nothing so intense. I didn't see how I could see myself to this depth, even if we both know my prep is... weak. It sure beats sitting in an apartment in IC, waiting for the shoe(s) to drop. Heh...
Well I hope you are able to make good use of the setup.
ReplyDeleteI almost hesitate to say that, because I don't actually want to *have* to use any of my preps for the main reason I am making them.
However there are all secondary uses for this stuff. Buying in bulk on sale and canning is always a good way to stretch funds, even if it is not intended for use post-SHTF.
Some of my stuff I need to start using and then replacing. It's going on five years since I started accumulating miscellaneous canned goods, etc. For example, I have to dig out the oldest tuna and start eating.
Of course I will make good use of it. As I said, I plan to back off purchases, just maintaining stocks, until I can get a handle on things once the canner/system and grain mill are purchased.
ReplyDeleteThen I will consider a slower increase in stocks, a few more hand tools, building a bit (work shop stuff in the garage), home improvements, and such.
I want meat canned simply because I am not always able to get to town. The energy I would have spent doing that can much more easily be used for grinding grain, or other things around the home. I have to pace everything, down to minute physical movement sometimes.
This isn't hording, merely a new lifestyle. A more frugal way, in many respects. But it fits my spurts of activity and long stretches of inability more closely than other methods, so it fits.