Canning oopsie

I picked up a couple of gallon jugs of barbecue sauce last time I was in the city, specifically for purposes of re-canning into pint jars.

We don't go through a whole lot of BBQ sauce, but we like it in meatloaf or on a hamburger. Having some canned up in the pantry would be convenient.

And re-canning BBQ sauce is easy-peasy. Pour it into clean jars, pop on the lids and rings, water-bath it for 15 to 20 minutes, and voilà.

So that's what I did. I got the jars filled.

I scalded the Tattler lids and gaskets.

I got the pots and racks ready.

And then I realized..........I had no rings.

Seriously, I must have hundreds of canning rings (they reproduce during the wee hours of the night, I'm sure of it), but I remembered they're all packed away in a storage unit in our old town. I'm so used to having all my canning supplies at my fingertips that it didn't occur to me to look for rings until all the jars were already filled. Crud.

You should have seen me after that, tearing apart the pantry for any stray or random ring I could find. I stripped rings from spice jars, honey jars, and dehydrated foods.

In the end I had to re-pour some of the sauce into wide-mouth jars because I found more wide-mouth rings than regular rings, but at least I had enough to cap all the jars.

Those two gallon jugs of BBQ sauce filled 17 pint jars, certainly enough to last us a long time.

I have some other things I want to put in jars in the future, but you can bet I'll check my rings first. 

It will be nice when we finish moving. Having our household goods scattered in distant locations gets awkward at times.

Prepper conventions – status?

This morning I was musing on the subject of preparedness conventions/expos, and thinking to myself that any such events held this year could potentially be huge.

I mean honestly – attendance would be through the roof, wouldn't it? There is an enormous interest out there by people wanting to learn more about preparedness.

Yet ironically, at the time when they're most needed, many such venues are either closed or postponed, or simply went out of existence. I clicked on a number of websites for big events, only to find they haven't been updated since 2021 (or in one case, since 2018). Others have gone "virtual," holding webinars and such. But in-person events? Not so easy to find.

So if anyone knows of a prepper expo that is up and running in 2021 (I'm talking about in-person venues, not "virtual" events), please let us know by providing the name, dates, location, and website.

Supply chain shortages

Don went to our local hardware store last week. While there, he fell into conversation with another customer who happened to be an electrical contractor. The contractor mentioned how he was unable to obtain the plastic switch, plug, and junction boxes that are essential to modern home wiring – and which, incidentally, are required by code.

This meant the contractor was delayed in fulfilling his own contractual obligations, which as you can imagine was as frustrating for him as it was for his customers. This is just one example of supply chain shortages that have been cropping up everywhere.

There's an organization called ISM^® (Institute for Supply Management) that has a fascinating report on what's going on at the ground level for the supply chain. (I am reprinting some of their data with written permission from their Research & Analytics Manager.)

In the category of "Electrical Equipment, Appliances, and Components" (meaning, for such items as the junction box shown above), respondents are desperate: "Things are now out of control. Everything is a mess, and we are seeing wide-scale shortages."

For the category of "Wood Products," respondents are saying, "Prices are rising so rapidly that many are wondering if [the situation] is sustainable. Shortages have the industry concerned for supply going forward, at least deep into the second quarter."

This February ISM^® report has many informative breakdowns in the supply chain. It has a long list of commodities going up in price (which includes, well, pretty much everything), commodities going down in price (which listed one item: dairy), and commodities in short supply: "Acetone; Aluminum; Computer Displays/Monitors; Corrugate; Corrugated Boxes; Electrical Components; Electronic Components; Freight – Ocean; Isocyanates; Methacrylate; Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – Gloves); Plastic Products; Polypropylene; Propylene; Semiconductors; Steel; Steel – Cold Rolled; Steel – Hot Rolled (4); Steel – Specialty; and Steel Products."

A ZeroHedge piece entitled "There Is A Shortage Of Everything And Prices Are Soaring: What Happens Next" discusses many aspects of the supply chain and includes useful charts. Referencing one chart put out by Goldman Sachs, they state: "One striking feature of these reports is that supply chain disruptions are 'very widespread' and although the semiconductor shortage and its drag on auto production has garnered significant attention, Goldman economist Jan Hatzius notes that many other consumer goods – from headphones to sofas to roller skates – have also faced supply challenges this year."

They give two reasons for the disruptions:

• "First, manufacturers were caught off guard by a faster-than-anticipated recovery in demand and hadn’t ordered enough inputs in advance to meet production needs.
• Second, the increase in goods demand while transportation services are limited by the virus has led to an undersupply of shipping containers and congestion problems at West Coast ports, resulting in lengthy shipping delays."

Right now the semiconductor shortage is getting the most press – it impacts a tremendous number of industries – but make no mistake, lumber and junction boxes and steel are just as important. So, for that matter, are canning supplies.

Even more alarming, there appears to be a one-year delay on network router orders as the chip shortages worsen. This means internet service providers could be directly impacted. Think how much business is done via the internet, and you'll start to grasp the scope of the problem ... a problem that has been exacerbated by the millions of people now engaged in remote work.

Some think the supply chain is being manipulated to create artificial shortages. Others maintain it's just a natural fallout of pandemic closures, disruptions, and transportation issues. Most authorities believe it's a bottleneck situation that will ease with time.

But whatever the source or the reason, the effects are very real; so much so that Biden (a man without the slightest modicum of business experience) recently signed an executive order calling for a review of the global supply chain.

Here in our new home, we're in the planning (and in some cases, early construction) stages of a vast number of projects to turn this property into a self-sufficient homestead. We find ourselves having to get very creative when it comes to supplies and materials, and are in the process of scrounging or purchasing second-hand or "freecycling" various components. Clearly this is good for our budget and it encourages us to think outside the box; however it's also helpful that nothing we're building has to be up to "code."

We've been trying to purchase a unit of both OSB (oriented strand board) and 2x4 lumber, and – here's the thing – we can't. Our local hardware store simply cannot get lumber in any quantity. This morning Don was quoted a price of $60 for a single sheet of OSB. So, unless and until some creative alternatives come available, many of our projects will have to be put on hold.

So what I want to know is how all of you, dear readers, are dealing with supply chain issues. What shortages have you experienced? What work-arounds have you come up with? What creative alternatives have you tried? Your experiences will help everyone.

The secret of Sleeping Beauty's castle

In the original Grimm version of Sleeping Beauty, the castle in which the princess slept was gradually overgrown with thorns "until at last the whole castle was hidden from view, and nothing of it could be seen but the vane on the roof."

The story continues: "And a rumor went abroad in all that country of the beautiful sleeping princess; and from time to time many kings' sons came and tried to force their way through the hedge; but it was impossible for them to do so, for the thorns held fast together like strong hands, and the young men were caught by them, and not being able to get free, there died a lamentable death."

Sounds, well, "grimm," doesn't it? All those poor young men stuck in the hedge of thorns.

I've decided I know what kind of thorns were surrounding the castle. It was wild roses.

Seriously, we have tons of wild rose bushes around us here in our new home, and let me tell you they are dangerous and not to be trifled with.

The thorns are huge and vicious.

Can't you just see some poor young prince getting caught within these things?

I expect nesting birds, everything from songbirds to pheasant, will take advantage of the natural barrier against predators to build nests and lay eggs.

The rest of us just have to put up with them.

I've seen neighbors pull in heavy equipment and do their best to rip out the roses, to little avail. They'll just grow back.

Right now the rose bushes have no flowers (too early in the season), but I expect the hillsides will be a blaze of pink by June. Despite the thorns, I'm sure they'll be beautiful.

After all, even Sleeping Beauty's castle must have been gorgeous in the early summer.

From a safe distance, of course.

Remember, tankards are available

Our tankard business is mostly shut down thanks to COVID restrictions (all our wholesale venues are closed), but as a reminder we have some pieces available on Etsy.

Just so everyone knows, these tankards are suitable for either hot or cold beverages. We do NOT recommend they be placed in the dishwasher (hand-washing only), and never ever put them in a microwave. Otherwise they're tough as nails and will last for years (decades in some cases) with good care.

The fun thing is the current inventory was made by Older Daughter, who hopes (once the pandemic eases up) to take over most or all of the business in upcoming years. She spent last summer apprenticing with Don, learning the tools, and this batch is her creation.

Everything we have is on the Etsy page. Once they're gone, they're gone. Check it out!

Rest in peace, Prince Philip

Today we heard Prince Philip, consort for 74 years to Queen Elizabeth, passed away at the venerable age of 99.

For all the foibles of the royal family over the last few decades, my understanding is Philip was a rock of stability. What a blow to the queen to lose her husband after nearly three-quarters of a century together.

Rest in peace, Prince Philip.

What kind of mushrooms are you canning?

Almost ten years ago, I posted a piece on canning mushrooms.

Just the other day, I got a comment from someone named "Zohaib malik" on that post as follows: "We request you to definitely the actual web page where one can study along with fascinating home elevators comparable subjects. [Buy psychedelics online]"

(The bracketed part, obviously, was a hotlink to where readers could buy psychedelics online.)

"Home elevators"? "To definitely the actual web page"? I don't know what kind of mushrooms Mr. Malik was canning to create such a word salad, but I recommend he lay off of them right away.

Modern appliances, grrrr

We live in a very musical house.

That's because every appliance that came with the house sings to us. The washing machine sings. The dryer sings. The microwave sings. The refrigerator sings. The dishwasher sings.

Modern appliances, grrrr.

Seriously, this is the first time we've lived in a place with modern appliances, and I tell ya, I can't wait to replace (nearly) all of them.

The washing machine works great ... until it doesn't. Loads of laundry can take up to two hours (!!) to wash. And I've never seen a washer that gives so many error messages. Whenever there's an error, it holds the laundry hostage (because the door locks), which then requires a frantic scrambling through the user's manual (which usually reveals nothing), then a massive pushing and shoving to get the washer far enough away from the wall to unplug it (to reset it), and then we have to jiggle the controls again until the washer deigns to unlock itself (usually by running it on spin cycle or something). I did a load of whites last week that, I kid you not, took a total of about twelve hours to get finished.

Give me an old-fashioned washing machine where you lift the lid, add the clothes and detergent, and push the button. No singing, no error messages, just clean clothes.

As for the dryer, I've literally never used it. After the first few wrestling matches with the washing machine when we first moved in, Don looked wearily at the dryer and said, "Go with the technology you know." So I did.

This is the dishwasher. It, too, sings. I've opened the door once or twice to peer inside, but I've never used it. I've managed to get through the last 40 years without a dishwasher and don't see a need to start now.

This is our refrigerator. It's a fancy dancy model with a pull-out freezer on the bottom, and a cold water and ice dispenser in the door. The interior actually has less room than our old el-cheapo model in our last house, and it sings to us if we don't properly close the door or commit some other misdemeanor.

You can probably guess where this is going. We woke up this morning and saw this:

Groan.

We pulled the fridge out and saw, no surprise, the water line was leaking. I tell ya, refrigerators shouldn't have water lines into them. End of sentence.

Until he has a chance to remove a side panel and crawl under the house to disconnect the water line, Don tapped into his Inner MacGyver and crimped the water line with wire.

He then found the switch to the ice maker, and shut it off.

I took the opportunity to clean the floor...

...and then we shoved the fridge back against the wall. Problem solved.

As Don put it, the ice maker was fun. It was a novelty. But the old ways (ice cube trays) work just fine, and we get nice cold water from the sink tap.

In every other respect this house is wonderful, but I could boot the appliances out the door tomorrow and be happy as a clam.

The Faerie Gold scam

Some of you who are familiar with mythical folklore might remember "faerie gold." Faerie gold is glittering riches bestowed upon humans by faeries. It looks real until humans try to use it, at which point it either disappears or changes into something worthless. Keep this in mind for a few minutes.

During the 18-month period it took us to sell our old home, I kept notes about various things that happened because I knew I would be writing an article for Backwoods Home Magazine on the subject of For Sale By Owner (FSBO) selling. (I submitted the article a couple weeks ago, and it's slated to be printed in the near future.)

But while writing the article, I opted to leave out an unusual series of communications that happened with one prospective "buyer" (scammer) since it was too long, drawn-out, and confusing to include in the article. However it was weird enough that I thought I would post the experiences here, and see if any of you could offer insight.

In a nutshell, this is what happened. We engaged in some bizarre, elaborate, and lengthy emails (over several weeks) supposedly involving two physicians working in southern California, but originally from Australia. They apparently were so eager to buy our home in the middle of rural Idaho that they had their "solicitor" draw up papers before they had even seen the property. Suffice it to say the solicitor's contact information (website, physical address) was incorrect, and the phone number was disconnected. The only contact was by email. There were so many red flags about these people that in the end it became more amusing than anything else as they strung us along.

I kept all communications from this party, which are copied below. Please note the English is careful but not fluent (spelling and punctuation is copied from the original). The last names of the buyers are substituted with [Lastname], and the attorney's last name is substituted with [Surname]. [Bracketed and italicized comments are mine.]

Them: "Hello, is this property still available in the market? We would like to get more information. Are you the owner?" [This communication included a Los Angeles phone number and an email.]

My response: "With regards to your inquiry about our homestead for sale – yes, it's still available, and we are the owners. We'd be happy to answer any questions."

Them: "Sorry for the late response. My wife and I are doctors which is quite overwhelming especially in such uncertain times.  It's good to know you are the property owner because we have a few questions that need your answers. We would like to know the following;

1. Has there been any major renovation done in the past?
2. Currently, are there any major or minor renovations to be done? Especially with the roof, how old is the roof?
3. Can we get a list of what is included and not included in the house sale?
4. Lastly, please enlighten us on what the neighborhood is like

My wife is particularly interested in the property so we would like to get answers to these questions to be sure it fits with our budget then we can proceed accordingly."

[This was the first red flag for us. Why would two doctors be interested in a homestead property in a remote corner of Idaho?]

Me: (Gave detailed responses to his questions.)

Them: "Thank you for the detailed response and sharing these information to help us make a decision. It is good to hear the roof will not be needing any renovation, talking from experience. Kindly let us know when is a good time to inspect so we can get a physical view of the property  Let us know if 2pm next tuesday or wednesday works for you. In the meantime, share the floor plan of the property so we can have a better understanding of it's layout. Lia (my wife) is particularly interested in this property and has made necessary steps to prompt our attorney to come up with a formal offer. We would be happy to present to you for your consideration and hopefully we can come to an agreement and close the deal at the earliest time possible."

[This is when multiple red flags began waving. Why would anyone make a "formal offer" on a property they hadn't even seen? We did extensive searches and found absolutely no online presence for anyone with the names they gave us. Surely two doctors in Southern California would have some sort of internet presence?]

Me: "We'd be delighted to schedule a showing. Either of those dates (Tue. Aug. 4 or Wed. Aug. 5) work well for us. We have another party interested in seeing the property early next week, so give us a firm date/time and we'll make sure the other party picks a different date/time. Have you been to our dedicated website? You'll find floor plans of the house, a Google Earth overhead shot of the property, and dozens of photos. Please note we are firm on our asking price. Our property is actually priced on the low side for comparable properties in our area. As a matter of interest, where are you coming from?"

Them: "Thank you once again. We will be looking forward to the inspection for next week Tuesday and will be sure to keep in touch. Our attorney is copied on this email, his name is Justin and he will be coming up with all our offer for the property, proof of funds and letter of intent. Hopefully we can strike a deal after the inspection and you have considered our offer."

[Note, he didn't answer my question of where they were coming from.]

From the attorney: "I would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself to Patrice as the solicitor to Drs. Morgan and Lia [Lastname]. It is my understanding there's existing correspondence between seller (Patrice Lewis) and prospective buyer (Drs. Morgan and Lia [Lastname]) prompting an intent to purchase your property. Patrice, Kindly advise if you have a contract of sale. If yes, please provide. Thanks, Kind regards."

[The contact information from this "solicitor" was in Queensland, Australia. We immediately did an internet search and found discrepancies, notably in the spelling of the solicitor's email address versus the spelling of the company in which he was supposedly a partner.]

Don wrote an email to the "solicitors" in Queensland as follows: "Good day: My name is Don Lewis and I'm writing to inquire if Justin [Surname] is an associate partner with your firm. I'm located in the State of Idaho in the U.S. and we are in the process of selling our house. We were contacted by Drs. Morgan and Lia [Lastname] about our home and they asked their attorney, Justin [Surname], to deal with making an offer. Below is the contact information and signature line for Mr. Madden [Here, Don listed the full contact info provided.] While his address is the same as yours, neither of the phone numbers agree with your office numbers, and one of them points to the U.S. state of New Jersey. Additionally, his email address is spelled differently than your firm's. Please advise us if Mr. [Surname] is associated with your firm. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. – Don Lewis"

We heard nothing back from the email, so we tried calling the Queensland phone number. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work.

Me, to the buyers: "We will look for you on Tuesday, August 4, at 2 pm. You will find driving directions below. Where are you coming from?"

[This was the second attempt to gauge where they're from. No response.]

The buyers rescheduled: "Hi Don & Patrice, I just found this message in my outbox, apparently i thought i had sent it until i didn't get a reply from you up till this morning i decided to check again. Can we please reschedule the inspection for Thursday or Friday same time (2pm)? Some other situation just came up that won't allow the previous arrangement. Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause."

Me: "Thursday will not work since we have a prior commitment. However Friday at 2 pm sounds fine. We'll see you then."

Then the attorney sent a "Formal Offer" with encrypted attachments. The email said: "FORMAL OFFER. Sequel to previous correspondence with my clients, please find Introduction letter, Offer Letter and Proof of funds as discussed. I'm available until 5pm today if you need me for further clarity."

[Neither of us could open the encrypted attachments. And again, who makes an offer without ever having seen the property?]

Me to attorney: "I'm sorry, we're unable to open the attached files. Please send either un-encrypted or as a Word attachment. Alternately, since your clients will be viewing the property this upcoming Friday, they can bring the documents with them."

Attorney: "My apologies. My clients just brought my attention to this. Let me have it resent to you. I'm not with my computer i could send you the pdf if it's easier."

Me: "Yes, please try a pdf."

[No reply from attorney.]

Me to buyers: "Please confirm your plans to inspect our homestead tomorrow at 2 pm. If your schedule has changed, do let us know. Where are you coming from? Also, did you receive the driving directions I sent yesterday?"

And that was that. We never heard back from either the "buyers" or the "solicitor." On the day they were supposed to arrive, we cleaned the house and prepared to receive them, but were completely unsurprised when no one showed up.

So what was behind this elaborate ruse? My only guess is they supposed that since our house was FSBO, we were a couple of uneducated rubes. But what were they after? They never asked for money (like those silly Nigerian scams). It's not like they could steal our house.

About this time, a lot of scary advertisements were airing about home title theft, but as it turns out, home title theft is actually very rare and usually involves a lot of clueless (often elderly) sellers giving away far more information than they should. I did take the precaution of calling our title company to confirm the house was still in our name (it was), but otherwise title theft did not seem to be the focus of these scammers.

Another possibility was the encrypted file sent by the attorney (which neither of us could open) might have put a bug in our computers that that would lead them to finding the passwords to our home's title, which they could then "steal" so they could "sell" our house to some unsuspecting victim – but that's nothing more than speculation. We ran virus scans on both our computers and found nothing. Nor have we since then.

Anyway, that was our experience. Like faerie gold, the whole ephemeral ruse disappeared into thin air. In fact, that's what we started calling it – the Faerie Gold scam. Even now, many months later, we're clueless why these people engaged in such a lengthy back-and-forth communications, but without any apparent benefit to themselves.

Can anyone offer any insight to what in blazes this whole elaborate drawn-out scheme was about?

He is risen!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

Love that porch....

Older Daughter came to visit, and set herself up with a book on the porch, with Mr. Darcy faithfully at her side. I thought the photo came out charmingly.

"Is it too late to move?"

Recently on Daisy Luther's website, she posted an article entitled "The 'Camping Trip' Is Ending and the REAL SHTF Is About to Start."

One of the comments on this piece was from a reader named Joy, who posted the following: "Do you think it's too late to move at this point? How would you know when it's too late? We are looking to sell our (paid-for) house and buy land and build a house on it (mostly ourselves, outsourcing some of the work). A house with wood heat, and solar power, and lower cost of living, and a huge garden with chickens. If we do that, we have to rent for a year while we clear the land, and build. Is it too late? That's the question that haunts me at night when I can't sleep."

Don thought it was a viable question and wrote the following response. "Joy" may never see this, but that's okay. The answer is for everyone to consider.

----------------------------------------------------

Hi Joy: No, it's not too late to move. But what IS rapidly becoming too late is the time available to make the decision.

You know, if fifty people were to ask the same question you did, perhaps 10 percent would listen to the following advice. Nothing new about that, it's just human nature. We can find endless examples through history of people who didn't leave a disintegrating situation when they could.

If you and your spouse are serious about moving, it's time to stop your sleepless nights and get to work.

You must sell your house now, before the markets in more urban areas crash. You must make that sale even if it means you sell for less than you wanted.

While selling your house, you should begin the process of figuring out where you want to live. Bear in mind that rural land in desirable locations – which used to be cheap – has, at least temporarily, become unavailable.

You might review some of the columns of prepper Pat McLene, whose archive can be found here, especially his later columns. Among other things, he discusses the best place to move that will meet your needs.

Unless you have an incredible skills set, rethink the concept of buying bare land. Where we live, finding a contractor who is not only available, but who can obtain the necessary supplies and materials, is becoming increasingly difficult. Unless you or your spouse happen to be in the construction industry, you'd be far wiser to relocate to a livable fixer-upper. These days, it's much easier to rehab and modify an existing building than it is to build fresh.

However if that's impossible and you must settle for a piece of bare land – and rather than renting an off-site place while you wait for the contractor to arrive – you might want to consider buying a good-quality second-hand RV (a four-season model), or even a used single-wide. Given the times that are coming, the closer you are to your home place, the better off you'll be.

Now doing any of this presupposes that you have some kind of income stream that can follow you, or you have marketable rural skills, or you made sufficient profit from the sale of your own home that you can work full-time on your new place. If this isn't the case, the road will be harder; but if you have a roof over your head, you can live on peanuts. (And you may very well have to, at first.)

Of course, none of this matters if all you're going to do is talk and worry. You're going to have to make a leap of faith to make this work. It can be done, because Patrice and I have done it three times.

There's a lot of great information on this site and others like it. But look for those websites and blogs where the owners have walked the walk and not simply talked the talk.

The last bit of advice I can give you is to not do any of this because you think the world is coming to an end. Do this because you think it's the best thing that you can do for you and those you love.

And at the risk of offending some, don't go alone. Ask God to go with you. He will.

See you on the two-lane road,
Don