Need Pumpkin Seeds?

Hi everyone! The last two years I've been very successfully growing an heirloom pumpkin called Small Sugar. It is a small pie pumpkin which is an excellent grower, at least in my yard! Last year we got about 70 pumpkins from just a few vines! Just last week I cooked and froze the last of my pumpkins, so they lasted quite a few months in storage in my basement. Small Sugar makes excellent pie, muffins, or bread. It has lots of seeds which are great for eating and saving, which brings me to the point of my post. Since this is an heirloom seed, you can plant the seeds and get the same thing you started out with. And, since we had so many pumpkins, I have lots of saved seed. Which means I have some to share!!


Would you like a few Small Sugar Pumpkin seeds? (See a description here.) If so, please send me an email at illinoisprepper(at)yahoo.com with your name and address. I will try to fulfill as many requests as I can, but if I run out of seed I will let you know. I will send 12 seeds in an envelope. Obviously, there is no guarantee that the seeds will grow, but they should. These are the same seeds that I will be using in my garden, and they have been saved and stored properly. (And they're free for you, so if they don't grow you're not out anything, right?) Since I don't want to be sending seeds 10 years from now if someone happens to find this post then, I will place a cut-off date of March 25, 2011. Please email your requests by then. Thanks!

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader


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Giveaway Winner and Stuff.......

Hi everyone! Let's get right down to business! Drum roll, please! The winner of the book giveaway, receiving a copy of the book, Economic Meltdown, is........luvthenght31! Congratulations, luvthenght31! Send your address to my email, inthered2 @ yahoo.com and I'll get the book out asap! I hope you enjoy it!


On to other news. I heard something on the radio news the other day that I thought would be of interest. The announcer said that there are a few countries who are experiencing fungus problems with their banana crops. My ears perked up, of course, as they do whenever I hear of any problems with our food supply that could cause shortages or price increases. So, the past few days I've been trying to find an article that would discuss this, but I haven't been able to. Did I dream it? (I hope my brain isn't so 'off' that I dream about banana fungus!) Has anyone else heard this? Even though I have a pretty good amount of dehydrated bananas, I found some brown bananas cheap at the grocery last week, so I purchased them for freezing. I was going to recommend that you put by (via freezing or dehydrating) some bananas when you find them cheap. Since I cannot verify my info, though, I'll leave the decision to you! You might want to put up bananas, but then you might not!! :) (What a great reporter I am!! As a prepper, though, I'd say it's always a good idea to have some bananas put by. If there's ever a shortage, we in Illinois would be out of luck in the banana category!)


Have you noticed the way gas prices have increased? We were holding steady under $3.00/gallon for a long time. It was even close to $2.60-2.70 a gallon for a while. I filled up today and the cost per gallon was $3.15! Wow! I hope we're not on our way up to the $4.00/gallon stuff that we experienced a few years ago!


I was able to put up a few more gallons of water over the holidays when we had company come over with some 2 liter pop bottles, and when I finished a gallon of vinegar. I simply washed out the containers and refilled with clean tap water. Easy as pie! Always be on the lookout for everyday things that can be used in your preps.


Well, our economy seems to be in some sort of holding pattern right now. Strange, isn't it? I feel like I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have a feeling, though, that the shoe is falling in slow motion, so slow we can't really tell it's happening. But, it's dropping as we watch it. Continue prepping, folks. Get out of debt. Learn a new skill. Be ready for what's coming! And as always,


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader
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Economic Meltdown: Book Review and Giveaway

Hi everyone!

Picture this: It's May 2010 and Sam and Cindy are becoming discouraged by the 'signs of the times'. They see too many homes going up for sale in their neighborhood, and know that many may have been lost due to foreclosure. Unemployment is rampant. Patients become seriously ill because they can't afford to visit their doctor. Cindy, especially, is feeling stressed and suggests that the family needs to do a little belt-tightening. She's in for a surprise, though, when Same returns from a business trip and informs the family that he wants them to learn to be as self-sufficient as they possibly can! With some reluctance, and a bit of excitement, we watch as this family begins their self-sufficiency journey, and we learn some valuable lessons along the way with them.


The family I'm describing is the main family in the book 'Economic Meltdown' by Karen McHale. A friend gave me this book which just came out in December. It's a short book and easy to read. I have read (or just skimmed) many preparedness books, some of which can get rather technical and preachy (or just plain boring). Economic Meltdown is written as a novel, which is so much more enjoyable to me! Preparedness lessons are learned by reading how the family in the story is learning. They start out their journey at point A, which for many of us may be a long, long time ago in our own journey. That didn't stop me from enjoying this book, though, which kept my interest the whole way through. It challenged me on a few points which I discussed with Karen via email, and which hubby and I will be discussing. There is always room for tweaking our preparedness plans, and the ideas are usually sparked by others' experiences. I think this book is one that will be enjoyed by not only beginners, but veteran preppers. I particularly enjoyed the way Sam and Cindy encourage their family, friends, and neighbors in their own self-sufficiency journey. The community that is formed is quite wonderful.


At the end of the book, Karen gives her own self-sufficiency list which has been told through the story in Economic Meltdown. Point #7 is regarding water, in which she encourages you to rely on city water instead of storing water. I confirmed with Karen that she was indeed referring to day-to-day self-sufficient living, and not emergency preparedness. She feels, as you know I do, that storing some water for emergency situations is a good and necessary thing.


And now for the giveaway: I have 1 copy of Economic Meltdown to give away to a reader here at Illinois Preppers. Leave a comment letting me know that you're interested and I will enter your name in the drawing. (BTW, this is a new copy, not the one that I've already read and written in!) The contest will be open through next Wednesday, January 12, 2011. The winner will be chosen after noon. Good luck, everyone!


And, in case you don't win the copy of the book and you want to buy a copy for yourself or someone you know, see Karen's website at http://meltdown2010.com/


Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader

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Win A Go Berkey Water Filter System (or Free Book!)

Hi everyone!
M.D. Creekmore over at the The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents, survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a Go Berkey Water Filter System (a $139.00 value)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

Also, if you're a reader of The Survivalist Blog and haven't seen it, he is having a book giveaway for his readers. See the post here.

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader
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Hi everyone! Not sure why, but I can't get on the blog at my house.
I'm at my sister's house right now checking comments. I will be checking in and hopefully whatever is wrong will be fixed soon, so feel free to comment to enter the giveaway!

Prep On!
Gen-IL Homesteader












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