Spring is Coming......

I am really motivated right now. Here in the Southeast we had our warmest day of the year so far - and spring is getting closer. Really looking forward to honing my gardening skills.

There is a lot of information out there regarding possible food shortages upcoming. I don't know if anything will come about - but I do believe food cost will be going up. I see fuel prices heading over $3.00 per gallon this summer - which will drive the cost of everything. So - no matter the reasoning - gardening is valuable for a lot of reasons. I enjoy growing food as it gives me a sense of accomplishment once I pick those first few cucumber and zucinni's. Of course - I save a decent amount of money as well.

Would love to hear from others there successes - especially growing food in buckets and straw bales.

Take care all -

Rourke
www.WorldInfoCD.com

Preparation for Deep Cold.......

Took the family snow tubing today in the North Carolina mountains.

I learned something very valuable today.......

I am not properly prepared or educated in living in extreme cold weather.

Temperatures were in the teens with wind blowing up to 40 mph. Boots that I used to hunt for several hours in up in New Hampshire allowed my toes to freeze. My winter coat combined with a hooded sweatshirt did OK - but did not properly cover my face and ears. My gloves again were mediocre. I had long johns on and medium weight snow pants - honestly my legs did not get cold - so something positive. I have been in colder temps - but not with that wind.

I must do some research and learn more on dealing with cold weather. Need to review my own survival & prearedness DVD's for more info. I lived in New Hampshire for 6 years. Living in the Southeast for sometime has not subjected me to the cold that sometimes occurs elsewhere. With the recent unbelievable snow/winter storms that have been happening all over the United States - I have found myself unprepared.

Better boots, better coats, better hats, etc.

Take care all and stay warm -

Rourke
www.WorldInfoCD.com

P90X so far........

Well - I started P90X seriously this past Sunday. So far - it's a hell of a workout. Following a very strict diet - although not fully what is in the program.

I like it. There is a lot of variation and feel that with this program I will be "survival" fit - not just able to bench a lot of weight. For starting out there are lots of variation to the different moves so those that struggle to perform can still get benefits. As of right now - I like the Plyometrics the best. I wish I had done this long ago.

I will check my weight in a couple of weeks and see the results.

I recommend it to anyone.

Take care all -

Rourke
WorldInfoCD.com

Started Garden This Weekend......

I planted lettuce today - first planting of the year.

Bought some translplants from local farmers exchange, tilled up a couple of rows and put in 18 lettuce plants - iceberg and butternut. I have never tried growing lettuce so this will be a learning experiance.

I have some seed potato's I saved from last fall and also purchased some this weekend. I plan to start planting some in buckets in the middle of March. Hoping to do about 40 buckets of red & Yukon Gold potatoes.

Also turned my compost container (55 gallon) - moving the stuff from the bottom to the top. It is looking great. I want to start 1 or 2 more. Will be spreading this compost over the garden beginning of April and tilling it in a few inches.

Looking forward to this years crop.

Take care all -

Rourke WorldInfoCD.com

What I Put Away This Week.......

Every week I try to stock away a few items.

So - here is some recent additions:

• Band Aid's - 5 boxes
• Eye Drops - 3 vials
• Snack Bars - 2 boxes
• Spaghetti Sauce - 5 cans
• Spaghetti - 10 boxes
• Pineapple - 6 cans

That's about it. Not a whole lot - but better off than I was before.

Future additions are planned with an emphasis on food stores and inflationary items (need to do a post on that soon).

Take care all -

Rourke

Updating Survival, Preparedness and Weapons DVD

Today I worked on some updates on our Survival, Preparedness and Weapons Information DVD. For those that may not be familiar with these DVD's - they are computer based. Basically - you place the DVD in your PC's DVD tray and a menu autoloads. The contents of the menu-driven DVD consist of articles, books, and video's covering a huge array of preparedness topics from first aid to firearm reviews to building a survival kit. I have put a lot of time into these DVD's and CD's that WorldInfoCD.com offers (at a very inexpensive price I might add).

My goal all along was to simply amaze whomever gets one. I imagine them placing the DVD in the disk tray - and seeing the menu pop up. Then they spend literally hours going thru the menu's looking at all of the information (printing some along the way) and watching the video's. I really am developing a survival and preparedness information system that the likes of has never been seen.

Over 20 years ago when I first was interested in survival - all I had for reference were some 60's era Civil Defense pamphlets, a new magazine called "Survive" and a series of books called "The Survivalist". I wish there was a referance available back then like our DVD's today.

Take care all -

Rourke

WorldInfoCD.com

Mountain House Ice Cream Sandwich Review

I have never really tried freeze dried food before. I have had military MRE's - but never freeze dried foods. My personal food storage system consists of foods that my family eats mostly day to day. I have stocked up quite a bit and have a decent rotation system going. So - I started thinking about long term food storage - which is ruled by freeze dried foods - namely Mountain House.

Back in the 80's when the survival movement started really taking off - Mountain House was there. They are a quality company and make an excellent product for long-term storage. Taste? I have no idea. I am going to be purchasing some foil packs (approx 7+ year shelf life) and some #10 cans (25+ year shelf life) over the next few months and will be performing some taste tests.

Oh, by the way - I am known as being a pretty picky eater.

Thinking of children and maintaining morale in a difficult and stressful situation - my first purchase was a freeze dried ice cream sandwich in a foil pack by Mountain House. I really did not know what to expect when I opened the package. I tore it open and sure enough looking at me....an ice cream sandwich. It looked just like what I had in my freezer last summer.

The sandwich has 2 chocolate "shells" with what looks like vanilla ice cream in between. I smelled it and it even smelt like an ice cream sandwich. I took a small bite and noticed that the chocolate shell was crispy and fragile - while the vanilla filling was very smooth as it absorbed moisture from my mouth. It tasted very good - more like a cookie than its frozen brother. My 6 year old son came to see what I was doing and wanted some. He tried it and took it in the living room with him and ate the rest of it telling me he wanted me to buy him some for his school lunches.

I plan to get some more for infrequent treats for my kids - as well as to put away "just in case". I am looking forward to trying out some additional varieties and will post my opinions here.

By the way - the single Mountain House Freeze Dried Ice Cream Sandwich cost me around $2.00 .

Take care all -

Rourke
http://www.worldinfocd.com/