Wednesday, April 29, 2009

THIS WEEK'S LOCAL GROCERY SALES

Here's this week's grocery ad sales -- remember, though, this is just a sampling of some of the products -- check your mailbox -- the ads should have arrived yesterday! As you get used to watching the ads, you will know what are the good prices, what are the great prices and what are the... WHAT? NO WAY I WOULD PAY THAT prices!

Smith's:
Milk (gallon) = $1.69
Kroger Peanut Butter (18 oz.) = $1.00 (stock up NOW)
Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs (16 oz) = $1.00
Cottage Bread = $1.49 each (everyday low price)

Albertson's:
Kellogg's Cereal (limit 2) = $1.49 each - Raisin Bran, corn flakes, Fruit Loops, Cookie Crunch or Pop Tarts
Mission Medium Flour Tortillas = 97 cents each (limit 4)
Fresh Whole Watermelon =39 cents/lb (three days only - Friday through Sunday only, May 1-3)

Sunflower Market:
Extra Lean (85%) Ground Beef - $1.77/lb in the family pack - ground fresh daily
Red Seedless Grapes = 77 cents/lb.

Macey's:
Ground Beef (80% Lean) = $1.49/lb
WF Canned Refried Beans (15 oz.) = 2/$1
Lynn Wilson's 20 oz pkg of Flour Tortillas = 79 cents each
Tillamook Cheese (32 oz.) = $5.99
Shur Saving Milk (Gallon) = 3/$5
WF Diced Green Chiles (4 oz can) = 2/$1
Remember that Macey's typically has unadvertised specials on Saturdays -- walk through the store and catch the deals!

Well, that is just a sampling of what you can find -- open up the newspaper ads and see what your family eats and start stocking up! Remember, we should start with a three month supply of those foods we regularly eat and then build up from there.

If any of you have questions on building your food storage (where to start, what to buy, etc.), feel free to contact me and I'd love to help.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Upcoming Community Classes and Swine Flu Update

The following classes will be held at Parley's Hardware in Orem (behind Trafalga -- just south of it in a new building):

Thursday April 30th Neal Bosshardt - Redmond Clay, home remedies
6:00 – 7:30

Th ursday May 7th Jim Phillips – Heat Light and Fuel
6:00 – 7:50 (Jim is available for questions at 5:30)

Friday May 8th Susan McGhie, Master Gardener - Organic Gardening
6:00 – 7:50
(future class options by Susan: Raising Chickens, Melons, Berries, Cold Weather Vegetables, Warm weather Vegetables, Extending the growing Season with a greenhouse.)

Saturday May 9th Tina Crowder, Solar Cooking Basics for everyday use
3 p.m. - Food available if sun is out

I have never been to any of these, but I think they could be really good. I am going to try to get to the Master Gardener class on the 8th and possibly the one on the 7th, if anyone would like to carpool with me. You can either e-mail me at susan_wheatley@comcast.net or call me at 801-368-9865.

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Here is some important info on the swine flu. I have some handouts that I need to figure out how to attach to this blog -- if anyone has any ideas of how to do that, please contact me -- in the meantime, if you would like the handouts e-mailed to you, please let me know and I'll jet it over to you. Thanks to Andrea Urban for sending this my way....

The attachment provides a wealth of practical information about how to prevent or treat the flu if you find yourself dealing with that situation…I prefer the prevent part myself, but I also think that it’s a great idea to PRINT the information so you can refer to it if needed.

This should go into your preparedness binder and be readily accessible. As always, prevention is the best medicine. The info below should be put into practice immediately if it isn’t habit for us yet. We should teach it to our kids and grandkids as well.

The best way to deal with this Flu is to avoid it. One of the ways to do that is to maintain impeccable personal hygiene practices.

(This SHOULD be our everyday practice, in sickness and in health, but if not….START NOW! and we need to teach this to the children within our influence)

Wash your hands (no don't wash . . . scrub) with antibacterial soap thoroughly before every meal and after touching questionable surfaces. Sing in your head the alphabet song twice while washing. That should be sufficient time.

When using public restrooms use the paper seat guards for the toilets.

Wash your hands before and after you touch intimate body parts while relieving yourself.

After washing your hands in a public restroom try to use paper towels when provided. When you are done drying your hands use the towel to open the door and then dispose of your towel.

Sneeze or cough into your armpit or elbow. Don't use your hands to cover your faces when sneezing or coughing.

Carry a handkerchief with you and use it when needed. Wash it when you come home. Don't save it for another day or another person. If you don't have handkerchief carry a wad of toilet paper or Kleenex packages.

Don't share eating utensils or dinnerware or towels,

When greeting someone I would prefer at a 20' distance but shake elbows if you must come in close.

Alcohol hand gels and wipes are okay to use but they should not be your only source of keeping your hands clean. Wash your hands with soap and water frequently then use the alcohol gel or wipe.

Brush your teeth like your dentist wants you to after every meal.

When touching questionable surfaces (especially in public) never touch your face afterwards.

When the environment is questionable (possible outbreak) use an N95 dust mask and gloves and then go straight home.

Bathe regularly.

Sanitize "touchable" surfaces in your home like door knobs, toilet handles, cold and hot water handles, etc.

The solution to pollution is dilution.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Welcome to the SuWheat Life!

Welcome to all!

Instead of sending to an e-mail list of friends and acquaintances every time I had a thought, I woke up in the middle of the night two nights ago and thought, "Why not create a blog?" Well, here is the fruits of that thought!

I hope that this blog will allow me to pass along to you:
1. Sales in our area on a more timely basis (especially the new grocery ads each Wednesday);
2. Information on building your food storage one step at a time;
3. Information on emergency preparedness -- after all, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear";
4. Tips on how to use ALL of your food storage -- yes, even the wheat, beans, and powdered milk;
5. Recipes that I use and love;
6. Organizational hints;
7. Financial tips;
8. Links to other blogs and websites that I have learned from; and,
8. A place where you can share YOUR wisdom on these items as well.

So, without any further procrastinating, here we go...

First of all, I am sure that you are all aware of the problems in Mexico (and now in the US and New Zealand and spreading into other countries of the world) with the swine flu. The CDC is watching this very closely, but it concerns me because of how rapidly it has spread from one country to another to the other side of the world. It definitely started down in Mexico and the worst hit population is down there (I am SO thankful my son is back from his mission in Mexico). However, there have been several cases here in the US as well, but thankfully no deaths here in the US. The good news: it is treatable if discovered and treated in the first 72 hours of the disease. The bad news: not everyone will get treated or even realize it is a problem. So, we have to be on alert to watch out for ourselves, our families and our neighbors. This outbreak is a good example of why we need our year’s supply of food and preparedness products already in place.

Here's a question that I want you to ask yourself -- I asked myself this question on Saturday morning and it certainly helps you see where the gaps are in your food storage and emergency preparedness:

If the US was put on quarantine TODAY, would you be able to do it RIGHT NOW without going to the store to get those last minute HAVE TO HAVES? We are all in different places in our quest for food storage and I truly believe that if we have been doing all that we can and then some, the Lord will bless us. Remember, if we are doing that, we have the right to call down the powers of heaven to help sustain us. I truly believe that.

OK, enough of SuWheat Philosophy 101, let’s get on to the different things that I have for you today:

1. HONEY BULK ORDER. The time is short. The absolute deadline is May 1st. As this is such a short deadline, I am going to let you each make contact yourselves with the person putting together this order. If we had more time, I would be happy to put a group order together on it. This is for RAW HONEY. Raw honey has great medicinal purposes. Because it is raw, it will crystallize, so be aware of that, but it is better for you. The honey comes in 4 lb tubs. You can purchase them by the case (8-4 lb tubs for $80) or individually at $11.00 each. The honey was produced in Cache Valley, Utah. It is mostly clover and alfalfa honey and is unpasteurized. If you are interested, contact Emily or Brian Rowley at emilyrowley1@hotmail.com or isee2020@hotmail.com for more information. But, remember this is the last week and the money has to get to them by this coming weekend!
2. GARDEN BOXES. If any of you are wanting garden boxes, but can’t make them yourselves, there is a gentleman down in Santaquin that is making them and charging a nominal fee. Each box is 4 feet square and 8 inches deep. They are made of wood with steel reinforced corners and are $25 each. For more information, contact Jim or Loretta at utahhome@aol.com.
3. FIRE STARTERS. At first I was not very interested in this bulk buy (thanks to Mary's daughter-in-law who keeps us stocked with lots of great ideas and buys), but then she sent a follow-up e-mail with some youtube videos and after watching them, I thought, “I have to have this!” Take a couple of minutes and watch the two youtube videos and see if you are as impressed as I am. I have always worried about how to store “fuel” without the worry of explosion – this is the solution! Looks great – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpYKaPwoClQ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa4HR5Nr2FA . The fire starters are eco-friendly, granulated, and are storable without the worry of it exploding! It is a patended blend of volcanic rock, wood pellets, and paraffin wax. It is also water repellant so it can be used in wet or snowy conditions. My goodness, what doesn't this stuff do? It comes in 5 gallon buckets (160+ hours of burn time). Each bucket retails for up to $79.95. This group deal is for $49.95 + $3.00 tax. This includes delivery to us in Provo! And, if we order five (5) buckets, we get a FREE Volcano II Cooker (over $100 retail value). To make it fair, all those who order, I will put their name in for a chance to win that Volcano II cooker. That's a deal I can't pass! I would be happy to put the order together and place it all as one bulk order. In order for me to get this order placed in a timely manner, I would like to have all orders AND MONEY to me no later than May 17th!
4. FIRST AID KITS/SUPPLIES. As you probably noticed, I never got the bulk order prepared on this – I will try for the month of May. So sorry about that.
5. QUINOA. For those of you who ordered red or white quinoa from me, I should be getting with you this week. I received the red quinoa (and it was an even better deal than I told you) and I should hopefully receive the white quinoa this week. Alpine Food Storage does have the white quinoa for the same price if anyone missed out on that order. Go to alpinefoodstorage.com.
6. CLASSES. One last thing – if I arranged some basic (and some advanced) cooking classes, what would you like to see taught? I would like to start up again in the month of May (starting hopefully next week), but it may be that it will be best to have them on Saturday mornings instead of Thursday evenings (seems like all of a sudden, Thursdays have become busy church-wise). Let me know your thoughts ASAP by posting on our new BLOG! Also, please let me know what other type of classes you would like to attend (budgeting, organization, emergency preparedness, etc) and we'll see what we can do!

While you are thinking of it, if you are interested in following this blog (because I am going to stop all e-mails from this time forward), mark this as one of your favorites and do a "quick check" each day to see if I have added anything new.

Let me know of ways to improve -- I love suggestions, especially since I am a blogger-novice!

Next post: List of great blogs and websites that I follow....

Take care of yourselves and stay away from this swine flu – let’s get prepared!