Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Refilled the kerosene heaters and lamps the other day…this was a task that was on my perpetual “To Do” list that I had been ignoring. It occurred to me that I need to get a second kero heater for the basement to keep the pipes from freezing in the event of a lengthy power outage. A good heater, with a couple extra wicks, is going to be about $150 but thats a whole lot cheaper than frozen busted pipes. And, of course, having spare gear is always nice to have in case anything happens to your primary gear.
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The election is drawing closer and Im still expecting to hear “We interrupt this broadcast for a special report…” at any moment. One thing that I love about living where I am is that if someone nuked NY, or L.A., or even Seattle the immediate effect on me is fairly small. Im remote enough from most of those locations that the only effect to me would be in what government response is (i.e. martial law, new laws, etc). I suppose if Seattle got nuked or something thered be a stream of refugees headed in this direction but even then I’d have about a nine-hour headsup until they got here. On the other hand I do know people who live in what could be called ‘target rich areas’ who would be driving on the roads with the other panicked populace trying to pull their kids out of school and their spouses out of work so they could hunker down together…a scenario I would not want to have to deal with. (Although I *could* if I had to.)
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Which reminds me, I need to pick up some 5-gallon fuel cans, load em up with treated gas and stick ‘em away somewhere (with the usual rotation schedule). If anything big did happen, gasoline will be highly prized and if theres a power problem those pumps at the station aint gonna work. Having to leave town in a hurry and only having 1/4 tank of gas is seriously bad mojo for your projected lifespan. Even in a more casual environment, its nice to know you can drive all night if you have to and not worry about gas stations being closed.
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My local Albertson’s has a “10 for $10″ sale every week. They mark a a couple dozen items down to a buck each and then promote them. Every week or so it changes to a new group of things. Usually theres at least a few items work for me and my needs. I just noticed they had Chunky soup, in pull-top (very important) cans, $1 ea. Gonna have to pick up a case of that. Toothbrushes also on sale…need a few of those. Canned goods are usually on sale and that gives me an opportunity to stock up. They had 28 oz. cans of pears a while back and I bought a case of them and after chilling them in the fridge they made an outstnding snack. Canned goods…mmmmmmmmmm.

I think one of the hallmarks of ‘maturing’ in your preperations is when you get past the guns-n-camouflage stage (not that there is anything wrong with it) and focus on food even more than you did on guns. Im always touching up and adding a little bit here and there to my stockpile of ammo and guns but for the most part Im 95% done with the gun aspect. I just need to keep buying ammo and pick up another rifle or two. These days Im more interested in energy and food.
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Picked up another book offa my Amazon list….its on water storage, treatment, etc, etc, including pond construction, wells and well pumps, plumbing systems, etc, etc. I’ve actually amassed a pretty respectable collection of books on the various topics the savvy survivor needs to know…first aid, food storage, concrete construction, methods of making ID, radio communications, etc, etc, etc. Really, information is the best tool you can have…heck, McGuyver never had more than a stupid Swiss Army Knife but he kicked ass because he knew things.