Trunk or Treat?!

Hello Ladies!

Just a reminder about our ward Trunk or Treat/ward service project this Saturday. The chili cookoff will be a ward activity held in the courtyard and will start promptly at 5pm and the Trunk or treat will start at 6pm and end at 8pm. The public is invited to come to our Trunk or Treat. The price of admission will be one can of non-perishable food per person. I know the food banks are in great need of baby food, so that would be a great addition!

There will be no outside non-ward members allowed to set up a "Trunk" at the Trunk or Treat. The location of the trunk or treat will be our buildings east parking lot. The parking lot will have one entrance and one exit and will be confined to foot traffic only, so if you are planning on having your car participate it needs to be in the parking lot no later than 5:00 pm! Please provide what candy you can, we will provide more if needed. Please remember, no homemade goodies (or just bring all homemade goodies to my house, hehe:)).

There will be prizes for the best decorated trunk, the hottest chili, the best chili, and the best decorated pumpkin! All of this will happen BEFORE 6pm when the public will arrive. If you can bring some cornbread that would be great, please let me know so that we can plan accordingly. (what good is chili without cornbread!)

We look forward to the opportunity to make this a fun yet powerful way in which to help those in need! Cant wait to see you all there!

Self Reliance Tip # 30 Sounds of Communication

Think "Sound of Music" with me...


"The hills are alive with the sounds of communication..." Ok, it doesn't completely fit unless you REALLY try.


What have you done this month to strengthen your emergency communication? Send me an email so I can share.


Ok, back to business. Gone are the days of smoke signals, mirrors of mountain tops and Morse Code. Speaking of Morse Code, do you know what the first message sent over telegraph using this outlandish new technology ? It was a scripture. Numbers 23; "What hath God wrought?" What would Mr. Samuel Morse think of our communication technology today? Oh, Mylanta!


I send these tips to some of my friends and family (if you want any of yours added to our tips, ask their permission first and I will add them to our e-mailings). My sister-in-law sent me the cutest email. You might be able to glean something from what she learned when it is "sanitation vs. communication".


We have a meeting place planned out and map in both our cars. On the back of the map we put lists of things to bring and we prioritized them by how much time you have to gather things. So, like you are told you have 15 minutes to grab stuff and run, etc. It also has a list of things to do before leaving the house... like leave a note for other family members and what to put in it (just in case your brain is in panic mode!). We also have a list of designated contacts with phone, cell, and email listed. I printed it on card-stock and laminated it so it can stay in there and not fall apart.

I also made tiny little phone number lists of close friends, family, doctors, etc and also laminated them and [my husband] and I each have one in our purse/wallet. I realized once (after I dropped my cell phone in the toilet!) that I had nothing without all those numbers stored in my cell (and that it's really gross to pull your cell phone out of a toilet!). Luckily [my husband] had his, but what if we didn't have our cell phone? We live in a day of speed dial. I don't have a lot of numbers memorized.


I love how she has a list of "grab and go" things and her list. It can almost be painful for me to have a list. That means I have to SIT and THINK. When I finally do, I'm glad I did.


Well, I'm not going to ask HOW the cell phone got in the toilet. BUT (there's always a big but) I think the important thing is, that if your brain is in panic mode and you don't know the phone numbers by heart, then you'll be thankful that "God hath wrought..." a plan B.


And another thing....


I must admit I was wrong...(don't tell my husband) :) . I need to correct something I said last week. Aluminum is an excellent heat conductor and will quickly heat water in a Kelly Kettle - maybe even more quickly than the stainless steel kettle. However, I would be purchasing the stainless steel one before the aluminum one for the reason I stated last week. Just an FYI.



My friend and I were talking Monday morning about how some of our ancestors (some are different, some are the same :) ) had so little. Her ancestors had one set of clothes. They were getting ready to have a baby and prayed and prayed to have a piece of flannel to wrap the new baby in. She was so afraid to not have anything to wrap the baby in that to console her, her husband said, "Has there ever been a baby born that had nothing to be wrapped in?" Her reply was, "No, I think not." His reply was, "Neither shall this baby." When the baby was born, a neighbor gave them a piece of flannel to wrap the baby in. Her prayer had been answered through another person. So, this week's extra thought is, remember how blessed you are. Remember how rich you truly are. People can live without a great many things and be happy.


I leave you with an AWESOME video:
http://www.youtube.com/davidkat99#p/u/7/WNQfmKBN2bQ

Self Reliance Tip #29 I love Your Hams!!

Goal for October: In some way, enhance your emergency communication. A few ways are:
Get a ham radio license

Get a reliable radio with am and fm stations on it ( and sufficient batteries to keep it going)

Create a DETAILED plan with your family (great FHE idea) on where you would go in your community if you couldn't go home, where you would go in the state if you needed to evacuate your community, where you would go out of state if you needed to.

Have name badges for your younger school children with name/address/etc. (you could really make these cute if you wanted to).

Or something else that will help you communicate better



As promised, I am sending information that Sister Barbara sent me on the local Ham Radio classes and test. Also provided is the website to study on your own if you cannot make it to the classes. Then show up on test day.


Wednesday at 5:45 P.M. is our 1st class for ham radio given by the ham radio club in town. The following 3 Tueday, 25th the 1st and the 8th will also be held at 5:45 with the test at the last meeting on Nov 8. The test will cost $15.00. The classes are free. You can also get on the web site: qrz.com/xtest2.html to practice for the test. If you can't make the classes you can study for the test and then take the test Wednesday Nov 8th. Which ever way I would like to know so that I can let the club know. The meeting will ge held at Ace Hardware, door is south of the building.



Contact Sister Barbara if you have any questions.



And another thing...


Well, if you were wondering where I was last Tuesday, I was playing hookie in the forest between Show Low and Heber. I had a blast and learned a lot. I wanted to share with you something that I learned.


Ok, I wasn't playing hookie, I was "preparedness camping" with my family. One family that was there had the most AWESOME gadget. It is called a Thermette. They used it to heat water quickly for showers, dishes, laundry etc. I just looked up its website and sadly they are no longer making them. But...have no fear my dear...I have a plan B!


The Thermette is like a rocket stove, but it is specifically built for heating water. The Thermette is made of copper which is the best heat conductor. However, this Kelly Kettle will still boil water in 3 minutes using sticks, pine cones, grass and even dung :) (did you expect anything less from me? Think of the pioneer children gathering chips for wood).


Check it out here - the vid is very informative.
http://www.kellykettleusa.com/


I would only recommend the stainless steel. The aluminum is less expensive, but it not a very good conductor of heat. As a side mention, anytime you cook with aluminum it gets into your water/food and thus into your body. Think tin foil, soda cans, and aluminum pans. The less heavy metals in your body the better...that includes heavy metal music :).