What have done towards your prep?

[Mortblanc]

I grew peppers and tomatoes in a square of bales 8 years back. In the center square of the bales I planted potatoes. Kept throwing compost onto the potatoes until they were heaped up over the height of the bales.

I got good results from the bales with zero efforts applied. All I did was let the rain soak them, pull out a handful of straw and set the plants in the hollow and throw a spoonful of fertilizer on them now and then.

Ants took over the bales half way through the summer and they were a pain to dispose by autumn. Rotted out and full of ants. They went on the compost heap but it was an ant filled and itchy effort.

[Mortblanc]

I had some old jeans with the knees blown out so I turned them into shorts last night.

I sewed up the leftover leg parts and will fill them with pea gravel to use as sandbags at the range.

BTW the jeans were an old pair left from last year and put away due to being too tight. I discovered that due to the diabetes control diet they are now too large!

I have lost 3 1/2 of your stones in the past year by my calculation. Still losing too.

[Straight Shooter]

3 1/2 stone is a tremendous achievement MB.......good on you mate !......Crosskeys RFC are looking for a fly half.....i will put your name forward.

[Mortblanc]

Not quite up to football!

I have been pretty good for the past year though. No sugar, very restricted carb intake, 1500 calories daily, lots of vegetables of all kinds, enough rabbit food to feed a warren.

The most difficult part of my eating program is the bread restriction. I do not allow myself but two slices of sandwich type bread during any week. Potatoes fall in second. I did have a baked potato on my birthday, but it spiked my blood sugar and I have not tried that again.

My greatest achievement? I have not had pizza or icecream, my two favorite foods, since the day I was diagnosed. That will be a year at the end of June.

[Mortblanc]

Oh yea, I forgot. I am also doing 6 miles on the bike daily.

Had I been on the motorway I could have peddled from my home to the west coast of the U.S. and part way back.

I guess for you guys that would be from London to Moscow and nearly home again.

[Straight Shooter]

At this rate you'll have to run back and forth in the shower to get wet mate .

[Mortblanc]

It is not that bad yet. There is still plenty of me here.

I am far from the acceptable weight for height of the medical profession, but I am sneaking up on the military height weight chart.

The medical profession wants every one emaciated but the military realizes that muscle mass weighs a bit and normal folks have to carry enough mass around to accomplish some work.

The medical profession does not make any allowance for age either! 18 year olds and 80 year olds are on the same chart. The military does take age into consideration and the difference is considerable at around 20 kilos where their charts top out at age 60.

[Straight Shooter]

The front elevation of the ground (garden) is about complete.... loads of vegetables, shrubs, fruit trees and bushes are doing well .....all weeded and looking good, bottom greenhouse is full of flower seedlings ready to plant on...cold frame is also full of wild childs favourite flowers ready to plant on .......there is still more logging and splitting to get done ....about two cords ...sil pulled a pile out ready for me to let loose tomorrow ...he weeded the last bit of bank ready to plant up tomorrow.

We set up two IBC s last week 900 ltr tanks ready to harvest the rainwater ....walking the boundary this afternoon looking at trees that need felling near the house ....and lying the wrong way ....will have to be sorted by a climber and not SS three in total ...the others are within my capabilities.

The southern elevation ....rear acre is mostly woodland with some clearings ....plans are afoot to put this to good use ....growing and some livestock ....the ground has excellent soil rich in compost ...i have never used this ground in 35 years nor did the previous owners ....so best part of 94 years ...and then it was used to graze cattle...there are two streams running through so no problems there......sil is busy drawing up the plan and schedule of events for the years ahead.....would be nice to see it all completed ...God willing .

[Pete Grey]

Managed to get to a car-boot sale between storms this afternoon, to our advantage there were not many customers due to the weather, managed to get a decent hand axe and a couple of bill hooks.
No other preps this week other than getting some lumpwood charcoal.

A friend had some major electricity problems so lent him a leasure battery and the spare inverter to run his freezer, i think we can start him on some simple prepping without him knowing what he’s doing, then if he gets into it he’ll be a useful pair of hands if i ever need some help, he’s a quiet lad and has skills i don’t have.

[Mortblanc]

My 200 amp hour battery and inverter will not run my freezer more than a few minutes. I have to use the gen set for that job.