A Modest Accomplishment

I recently received the following text message from our bank: "Checking withdrawal posted for $876.10". This was the final payment on our home and land loan, and we are for all intents and purposes debt-free. Now in our mid-fifties and after thirty years of marriage, we are the proud owners free and clear of our home and land, three old cars, an old travel trailer and three kayaks. We've also managed to build an emergency savings account and invest a bit for retirement. Here I'll reflect on how we accomplished that.

How to Build a Cooler out of Foam Board

[You can also watch the video tutorial posted on my YouTube channel and/or view this photo album]

I would love to have one of the modern high-performance coolers, such as the rotomolded style, but we don’t actually need one badly enough to justify spending the money. But I wondered if I could build something comparable out of foam board for a fraction of the cost. 

So I built a small prototype, process described below, and here’s what I learned. I could NOT build a comparable cooler at a fraction of the cost. Nonetheless, I had a ton of fun and while the example I built would not stand up to the “Yeti” style coolers, it is quite functional and looks pretty great, IMHO. 

The Story of Deer Number Nine (A Note To My Beloved)

[Near the bottom of this post is a picture of a harvested deer]

This deer hunting season, my ninth, was a season of hard won lessons. And in the end, the biggest lesson is to do things differently next year.

To be honest, there was much I did not enjoy about the season. There were warm days in October when gnats and mosquitos were a frequent nuisance. There were long hours sitting in makeshift stands that lack creature comforts, leaving me stiff and sore.  There was the usual disappointment of failed hunts. In many cases I saw zero deer through hours on the stand. Perhaps even worse were the various occasions when a deer spied me before I even had a chance to aim, and scurried off or stayed out of range. 

Kayak Gear Checklist

This is a list of gear that you might want to take with you on a short kayak or canoe trip in warm weather on flat/calm waters. I also created a short video going over these items. Be sure to check with the appropriate regulatory authorities to be certain you meet minimum equipment requirements in your area. And be sure to wear a PFD (personal flotation device) any time you go boating. Note that in "back country", "wilderness" or other more isolated areas, there may be a need for emergency supplies that could sustain you for a longer period.

A Comprehensive Overview of Prepping Using a Sensible Strategy

Although I own neither a survival knife nor an underground bunker, I am indeed a prepper.

But how, you ask, can someone be a prepper without an underground bunker?

The answer, my friends, is simple. After thorough application of my powers of prophecy, I remain wholly unconvinced that a bunker-worthy apocalyptic event is eminent.

Full disclosure: Although they haven't been officially tested recently, my powers of prophecy are likely rated in the "poor" to "fair" range.

You doubt my credentials? 

What more proof do you need?

Nonetheless, I've been studying and applying the prepping concept for years, and aside from the insufferable agony of running out of hazelnut flavored creamer, six weeks without restocking groceries would be easy peazy. Granted, I never served in the special forces, but I do have my canoeing merit badge and was only a couple ranks shy of Eagle Scout. Or was it three? Four max. Clearly my qualifications are formidable. So let's get on with it.

Get Home Bag Checklist

A "get home bag" is a set of supplies kept in the car or office that will help you get home in the event of a widespread disruption to normal transportation systems. Such a disruption might happen due to a severe weather event, natural disaster, man-made disaster, or other occurrences. While I'm not a survival expert, below is a list of some of the major categories of items that might be included, with examples of each. 

The Long Season

By the metric of hours sitting in the deer stand, this was almost certainly the longest hunting season I've experienced. I started off keeping a record, but the exercise of cataloging failed hunts was simply too discouraging.

There were additional reasons to be discouraged. I've seen precious few deer on the 30 or so times I've hunted. On only four of those hunts did I see any that were even marginally within range. On three of those four my poor job of concealment gave me away and the deer spooked. Twice the spooked deer was a small buck that I coveted.