SHELTER

-----THE GARDEN GNOME
[IMG]http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/paleriter/new-garden-gnome.jpg[/IMG]

I came across a Mother Earth News article on building a home from a kit, had Montgomery Wards catalogs way back in the early 1900's sold plans and actual pre-fab homes for veterans coming home from war, so the housing boom could be implemented in Earnest. Many of these homes are still being used for habitation.

But you can, with materials on hand build shelter for you and your family. Sure it'll be basic but it can be snug. Our pioneer ancestors built homes from logs, rocks, raw lumber, mud and even cut blocks of sod. Roofs in England were made of thatch, a little experimentation, a little checking around to see what materials you have available can yield a completely habitable home in case of emergency.


a few things to consider

(2)Shelter site

If possible choose ground:

- that is dry, well drained and reasonably flat.
- that is a comfortable distance to water and has a supply of firewood.
- that has building materials for your shelter.
- that provides protection against strong winds.

I'd add- make sure you have water fairly close but not so close that it will overflow and overwhelm you, High ground is good if you don't mind winds, low ground is where you'll have more mosquitoes high water and other critters.

The soundness and elaborateness of your shelter will depend upon how long you plan to stay, your climate and environmental hazards in your area.

Here are a few ways to make emergency shelters:

(3)**Bough Shelter Look for branches that sweep to the ground or fallen boughs that offer protection from the wind-ensure they are secure enough not to fall on you though! You may want to secure them by lashing (see diagram). Weave in other branches to add supplemental protection, conifers are more suited to this technique than broad leaves.

**Root Shelter The spreading roots and compacted earth at the base of a fallen tree form a useful storm barrier, if they are facing the right way. Filling in the sides around the roots will increase it's potential and provide a solid base for construction of something more elaborate.

**Natural Hollow A shallow depression in the earth will provide some protection from wind immediately, and provides a natural basis for construction of a shelter. However care must be taken in damp areas or on hills or you'll end up under water! Lay a few light logs across the hollow and then a larger bow across them, this will give pitch to short branches laid across the top to keep out rain. Finish with turf or twigs and leaves.

**Fallen Trunk A fallen trunk alone provides a good windbreak scoop out a small hollow on the leeward side and construct a lean-to roof of boughs.

**Stone Barriers A shelter is more comfortable if you have enough headroom to sit up in it. So build up a low wall of stones around a hollow or shallow excavation. Caulk the walls with mud, leaves, twigs and turf, finish with a roof of branches and turf.

**Sapling Shelter If you should happen upon a growth of saplings, clear the ground between them and lash their tops together, weave branches between them and consolidate with ferns and turf. A similar effect can be gained by driving pliable branches firmly in the ground.

Buy a Home Kit and Build Your Own House

Building your own house is much easier if you start with a house kit. Kit home packages include all the materials you need (sometimes they’re even pre-cut) to build the outside shell of a house. Learn all you need to know before you start shopping for kit homes.

The very first thing to do before building that shelter is to ask God. Find out from Him what to build, how to build, and to give you the strength to build. So build your shelter on the Rock.
MT 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. [26] But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. [27] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."


See the fourth url below on how to build a shelter in the woods [video]

Here is a good site to find some garden tips so you will have a successful garden
SECRET GARDEN TIPS

A good place to buy seeds from is:ORCHARDHOUSE HEIRLOOMS

Lord, Be the center of our homes, guide lead and protect us, Lord and teach us what we need to walk in your ways. In Jesus' Name, Amen.


sources
(1) http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/Kit-Homes-Kit-Houses.aspx
(2) http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/survivalshelter.html
(3) http://www.solareagle.com/PREP/SHELTER.HTM
(4) http://www.uncooped.com/Chrisjob/posts/79-Survival-Tip-Build-an-Emergency-Shelter-

HOW TO GROW FOOD FOR YOUR FUTURE

-----THE GARDEN GNOME


First, pray about it and decide what your family will eat. I grow a lot, because I'm planning to share a lot. I'm taking out all of my sunnier flower gardens to make room for more vegetables. I'm growing way more snow peas than we can eat, because I hope to share them with my church group. Also I'll be actually picking turnip greens and collards just to share. Yesterday I put in a small [40 square feet] salad garden in my backyard against my garage so it'll be ready for our summer salads. There are many ways to preserve your harvest and a few are listed below.

Personally I'm not into canning. Altho' many people do. However this year I'm growing a whole 25'X 25' root garden and I'll be keeping them in my basement or maybe clean out my old frig in my garage and keep them there[an unplugged refrigerator will keep things from freezing in an unheated garage]. Just remember, never wash vegetables or berries unless you are ready to eat them. I like to brush off any foreign matter on my berries, place them all unwashed on a large tray in my freezer and freeze them. Then I tip them into a ziplock baggie, squeeze out all the air and keep them frozen until ready for use. All vegetables need to be blanched before freezing. I boil them briefly in lemon water [the lemon makes the color better] then put them hot[cool in cold water bath]-and drained, into a ziplock baggie. I spread them out inside the bag [then express excess air, to make nice flat bags for storage; cool a bit and freeze. If the- let's say zucchini- is not in a big frozen glob it's easier to just use part of a bag for my winter meals.

Drying is also a viable way to keep foods, but it must be very dry or it'll mold in the baggie. I won't got into great detail here on how to do these things, This blog is just for ideas that you can investigate on your own. I dry my herbs in paper bags n a high shelf in my kitchen, then grind them up and keep them in saved spice bottles.

Here is a good site to find some garden tips so you will have a successful garden
SECRET GARDEN TIPS

A good place to buy seeds from is:ORCHARDHOUSE HEIRLOOMS

Lord, Please help us to make whatever preparations We need to do to thrive in the coming hard times, In Jesus' Name, Amen.

BEING INVENTIVE

-----THE GARDEN GNOME


ok, we've discussed keeping our stuff longer by taking care of it, and repairing it, sewing our clothes, growing a garden. Now I want to talk about something even trickier; Making your own tools.

Remember all tools were originally made by hand. With a little practice and "INVENTIVENESS" you too can make a labor-saving device.

It is good to acquire as many tools as you can, before you can no longer find them. Have as much raw material as you can on hand because there will always be something you have no tool for. First when building your tool, decide exactly what this tool needs to do, then figure out what material it needs to be made from. This is exactly the way all tools have been made.

Then with paper and pencil start drawing all the ideas you have about your new tool.

Decide how heavy it can be. Wood which can be easily worked is pretty heavy in widths that are strong, metals need to be malleable when being formed into tools but they need to be strong and light when it is a finished hand tool. Old-time tools makers chose lightweight wood shafts for many garden tools that need a long reach, then they screwed or riveted to the metal tool itself. Ancient man used thongs to attach the metal or stone tool to the shaft. A thong if it is raw leather can be wrapped tightly while wet and when it dries it will tighten to make a pretty good connection.

While you are deciding how to make your tool; talk to people who will give you input on how this tool can be made, unless of course, you live in a state of invincible ignorance and cannot deal with anyone offering advice, in which case you might just as well forget the whole tool-making deal and have plenty on hand to buy what you need.

Laziness is not going to help you when hard times hit, so cultivate an attitude of business now. Truthfully, lack means lots of extra work, don't nap and think you're storing up energy for when you need tgo work, it doesn't work that way.

I've had to be "inventive" all my life because no one ever handed me anything on a silver platter. I had to do my own electyrical repairs, my own plumbing fixes, I had to build whatever I needed because I couldn't just go out and buy things. Anyone can do this it just involves some thinking and figuring out obstacles. I usually built my tools in my mind several times, going thru' every step over and over L:ong before I began my endeavor.

Woodworking with Hand Tools
Author Roy Underhill takes us from forest to furniture with historical woodworking techniques.



Here is a good site to find some garden tips so you will have a successful garden
SECRET GARDEN TIPS

A good place to buy seeds from is:ORCHARDHOUSE HEIRLOOMS

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and those that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. In Jesus' precious name. Amen.

BARTER vs. GOLD

-----THE GARDEN GNOME


Some people are insisting that we all buy as much gold and silver as we can get our hands on, and it sounds like a good idea. If; as it has been expected that inflation will soon hit because paper money is being printed with nothing backing it [And everyone except you and me] is getting billions to make them happy, money won't be worth much but Gold and silver will have value. But if the government decides to outlaw private ownership [ah, yes it's in the works] of precious metals, then all that hoarding won't be of much use.

However when it comes to daily living and we need something, there is always bartering. Start saving things of ordinary value that others will need so you can trade. I make small quilts, and veggie pulp crackers and save them. Other items like foods and clothing will be of use in bartering.

Ezekiel 7:19
19-They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumbling block of their iniquity.

Here is another interesting Scripture passage regarding gold and silver and how it cannot save the rich in the last days.

James 5:1-8
1-Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2-Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten.
3-Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
4-Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5-Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
6-Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
7-Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8-Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.


So, again, bury pounds and pounds of gold and silver [after buying it with all of your savings] or use those savings to buy barter items. Sewing supplies, clothing, and blankets, And all foods will be good to trade, Chickens raised at your home can be sold or traded, eggs will be a premium item, any meat canned or frozen, assuming you still have electricity; is good, gasoline, kerosene and other fuels... I'm sure lots of things are popping into your head right now.

Here's someone else's ideas:

Experts offer tips on surviving inflation »
As economic uncertainty continues and government spending skyrockets, some experts have offered advice on how best to prepare for what they see as an inevitable rise in inflation. According to the National Inflation Association (NIA), the smartest way to shield one’s net worth from the damaging effects of rising prices is to do away with U.S. bonds, treasuries and other dollar-denominated assets. Due to uncertainties surrounding the stock and the real estate markets, NIA also suggests precious metals, especially gold and silver, will become an ever more attractive class of assets to invest in, given their liquidity and tradability.
"Gold and silver have been accepted as real money for thousands of years and could replace the U.S. dollar as the ultimate safe haven for Americans to store their money," the association said. Because inflation leads to rising prices of food, clothing and other necessities, it may also be a good idea to stock up on canned foods, bottled water, medicine, toothpaste and first aid products in case government imposes price controls that would lead to shortages, it says. In times of economic hardship, some people have moreover benefitted from planting their own gardens or starting a farm. NIA concludes its inflation warning by saying that those who have debt should try to refinance it into smaller monthly payments over a longer period of time and should not loan money to anybody given that inflation increases the real value of debt.

http://www.personalliberty.com/news/experts-offer-tips-on-surviving-inflation-19118238/


I'd suggest Asking God now what He thinks you could use later to trade for other things you'll need and of course store up, this is a Biblical concept, on all the things you'll need.

Here is a good site to find some garden tips so you will have a successful garden
SECRET GARDEN TIPS

A good place to buy seeds from is:ORCHARDHOUSE HEIRLOOMS

ECONOMIC TSUNAMIS

DREAM - The TWO TSUNAMI'S
-Trenton Adams.

On Sunday night, March 16th, 2008, I had a dream. First off, it
seemed to me that I was viewing through someone else’s eyes
through the entire dream.

In the dream I was driving down a freeway in some city. Some
other people and I were going to either get a bite to eat, or go
for coffee, or something like that. We got off the freeway, and
got out of the car. I looked back down the freeway, from the
direction we had come, and there was water rushing down the
freeway towards us. So, I jumped back into the car, and started
driving down the freeway as fast as possible. It seemed like
everyone was scared. Eventually, the water caught up to me,
and that part of the dream ended.

Suddenly I was somewhere else completely, on a beach
somewhere. Some people were watching some big waves come
in. They were talking about how the Tsunami would not affect
them because they were protected by a land mass off the coast.
It seemed like maybe they were in an inlet of some sort perhaps.
I saw top view for a moment, even to the details of what the land
mass off the cost looked like.

I was a bit confused how they could be so confident that they
would be unaffected by the coming Tsunami. Just then, a very
large wave (maybe 20' high) approached at a very high rate of
speed, and no one was able to escape. As it was coming, I
formulated a plan to duck under the wave, and swim to the top.
So, I did just that, and I was surfing the wave, without a fear in
the world. In fact, I was actually enjoying myself. It seemed odd
that I was having fun, which first made me wonder if it really was
a dream from the Lord.

After the one wave was finished, a second wave was approaching
very quickly. But this time, it was about 300' high. I had the same
plan as before. It was a little more difficult, but again, I was able
to get to the top, and surf the wave. I found that the wave was
swallowing all of the big office buildings, and almost reached the
very top of them, but not quite. Then, as I was floating on the top
of the water, it began to subside, and go back out to sea.

I asked the Lord what it could mean, but I did not initially get an
answer. As I was telling some friends about it, I said “It’s really
odd, because usually the Lord gives me the interpretation to my
dreams“. Just then, an interpretation formed in my mind.

The interpretation goes like this: I am unsure about the interpretation
of the first part of the dream.

The second part of the dream was a similar situation. Many
people were in denial about the coming economic collapse, and
were thinking they would escape being touched by it. I was
confused at how they could just look the other way, as if nothing
was going to happen. Suddenly, the first wave came, and I had
a plan before it got there, and I was not afraid, but had peace.
In fact, I was enjoying it because I had the peace of God, and
did not trust in material things.

Then the second larger wave came, and once again, I had a plan,
and was not afraid. The wave reached the top of the big
businesses, and almost destroyed many of them. There was very
little left.

Furthermore, the second HUGE wave will subside, but I believe
our economies (Canada and the US) will never be the same.

For those who are in the rest of God, this time will just be another
stepping stone to the coming Kingdom of God. I also believe that
this dream is showing that there are going to be two significant
events in the economic collapse. The second one will be HUGE,
and the first will just be a pre-cursor to the big one.

-MAR 2008- http://blog.trentonadams.ca/2008/03/25/tsunami-dream

THE IDEA IS TO BE PREPARED, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY.

saving money

-----THE GARDEN GNOME


The best way to save money is to stop spending it. Every time you want to buy something, First look at your money or your card or checkbook and ask yourself, "Do I really need this enough to spend my money on it?"

Look at all of your bills and try to trim the fat. If you don't really need some service or whatever each bill represents- drop it.

For instance why buy newspapers? You can get all that info online or if you need the want ads get the free paper. Who wants all that bad news crammed into their brains every day. If we go to war, someone will tell you. No more piles of read papers all over the floor, no more trash containers packed full of newspapers. No more paying for wet papers delivered to the roof. one less bill, YAY!

Each bill you have can be considered this way. Then, one by one make every effort to pay off each bill and afterwards don't use that card again.

here is a url that will help you with your grocery bills:
CUT GROCERY BUDGET IN HALF
and one more:
50 TIPS TO SAVE MONEY ON FOOD


A great way to stretch your money and get healthy food for your family is to grow a garden. How best to save money on food is grow some, that will really cut your grocery bills.

Here is a good site to find some garden tips so you will have a successful garden
SECRET GARDEN TIPS

A good place to buy seeds from is:ORCHARDHOUSE HEIRLOOMS

Saving on those utility bills is another great way to keep more greenbacks in your wallet. Check out the faucets in your house for drips and get them fixed, don't forget your toilet. See if you can turn off some lights or unplug those charge-up tools you have all over the house, Turn off the computer or TV's when you aren't watching them. Put dimmer switches on places you don't need reading lights and use them. Go through your home and seal off the windows and doors, the attic and basement for air leaks, you pay for that heated or cooled air don't let it escape.

10 TIPS FOR LIVING OFF THE GRID

-----THE GARDEN GNOME

Here is someone else's ideas

Living Off the Grid
Number one, where do you start?

1-Getting started first requires a piece of land, whether it is rural or urban does not matter, although rural living offers a few special possibilities for you. Consider, if you were able to find a piece of property that had no power line access, only a road to it. Can you imagine how little it would cost? That is what we did and figured we saved over $20,000, and that was years ago, today the savings by investing in a piece of rural land for off grid living is substantial.

2-Build your own house even? That option is a great way to save money on your housing costs. After working for years in the contracting business as a sub contractor I know that building a house may seem like a big project, but just break it down into pieces.
Everyone needs at least one of these for their emergency kits:
pure-go filtering water bottles
It lasts for approximately 1 year. If a person drinks 3 bottles of water per day the cost of the bottle is equals less than 3 cents per fill up.

Grow your own:heirloom seeds

3-Living off the grid opens up all sorts of possibilities for food production too, from growing a few chickens to growing a bigger garden. This is one of the main ways we save money each year and grow healthier food for ourselves. You can too.

4-Don’t bother with spending thousands of dollars on expensive solar panels from the dealers either. You can build your own inexpensively and easily.

5-Ditto for wind generators, have you seen the price of these? Wow! Our own off grid living experience was greatly enhanced by learning how to build our own wind generator, producing free power for our home.

6-Work as a team, a family team that is…It is so important to have regular family meetings before and after you make your off grid move. It can get to be an overwhelming amount of work and confusion if you don’t assign regular duties for everyone. Remember you are your own power company and more, it doesn’t have to be a lot of work if you manage properly.

7-Set your power center, which includes your battery storage and monitoring equipment in a convenient place. This is a must. We have ours beside our main entry door in a little nook that we built and this way we can have a look every time we pass by.

8-Locate your renewable energy power sources in the most advantageous place. This means full sun for solar panels and the highest point on the property for your wind generator.

9-Always innovate with your system. There is constant improvement lately in technology and keeping up can be a real chore, so find a source of information you trust and stick with them.

10-Have fun. How good does it feel to take a Tuesday off and go shopping with your wife whenever you want? Living off the grid has given us freedom to do as we please in a World that sucks you into a system of debt and despair. What a relief to break the chains, there simply are no words for how good it feels to be finally free from the wage cycle.http://www.living-off-grid.com/lifestyle/living-off-the-grid-%E2%80%93-10-tips-for-off-grid-living

I would add that if you can find a sustainable income source like a home business it would really help
Everyone needs at least one of these for their emergency kits:
pure-go filtering water bottles
It lasts for approximately 1 year. If a person drinks 3 bottles of water per day the cost of the bottle is equals less than 3 cents per fill up.

Grow your own:heirloom seeds