Picked up some new shelving the other day. My kitchen, like many peoples kitchens, has two levels of cabinets. You have the usual eye-height cabinets and then another row of inconveniently high cabinets above that. These higher, difficult-to-access cabinets are usually home to things like fondue sets, waffle irons, old china and other stuff that you don’t use often enough to warrant moving them to the lower more useful real estate. Unfortunately, that location is ideal for longer term foods such as canned goods and the like. Problem is, heat rises and when its 105 degerees outside and I’m cooking in the kitchen all that heat rises and the result is that anything stored near the ceiling isn’t going to be getting its full shelf life like it would at a moderate, consistent 65-70 degree clime. So…enter the new shelving.

I don’t have a pantry in my house so storing food away is a bit more work. There is space, its just not conveniently located space. I’d love to have a big door in my kitchen that would lead to an enormous walk-in-closet sized pantry. Aint gonna happen. What I do have is a large basement that is cool even on the hottest days and stays above freezing (usually) in the winter. So, I’ll trade convenience for usability and set up the shelving in the basement.

Anything more complex than just setting up shelving and stacking food on it? Of course there is. First of all, everything has to be in seriously hardcore containers. Everything is either in a can, glass or a sealed bucket. Why? This is Montana..there is no shortage of organisms that would like to sneak into a basement and set up residence in a 50# bag of rice. I have no desire to become the five-star dining establishment for Montana’s rodent population. Additionally, heaven forefend, if a pipe breaks and the basement floods I’d like everything to be fairly waterproof. So – only durable packaging. What sorta stuff is going down there? Well, 80% of my canned goods for starters..the soups, canned tomatoes, canned corn, canned pasta, jars of spaghetti sauce, etc, etc. The rice is already packaged in 5-gallon buckets with liners so I’ll just keep a big jar of the stuff in the kitchen for immediate use. This should free up at least three cabinets worth of space, giving me room to get my cookware put away.

The true long-term stuff (MRE’s, freeze drieds, etc) already live in the bunker where there are safe from temperature extremes and late-night snacking.

=-=-=-=

Quick inventory today shows I still have a decent amount of the Mountain House #10 cans if anyone is interested. Additionally, I’ve still got about three dozen of the AR mags for sale.

=-=-=-=

The more I read the various newswires the more convinced I am that these are ‘interesting times’ as the Chinese call them.

The election? In the back of my mind I can see it becoming an Obama/Hillary Giulliani/Romney ticket. (although I get the impression Hillary would never take second fiddle so it may be a Hillary/Obama ticket.) From a realistic standpoint I don’t think it’ll happen but who knows…I am, however, reasonably certain that the Republicans will lose the White House and I am certain enough that I will spend money and resources based on that belief. Less jet ski’s, more semi-autos.

=-=-=-=

I remember bitching when 7.62×39 jumped from $85/1000 to $100/1000 but I bought some more anyway…and now I pat myself on the back for doing so. My point being that no matter how expensive it is today, I think a year from now you wont regret having bought. But, if you’re an optimist and think prices will be dropping next year do yourself a favor and only buy half as much. That way if prices go down you don’t feel like you wasted as much money and when prices go up you wont feel foolish for not having bought at all.

=-=-=-=

Had a customer drop off 5200 pieces of once fired .40 S&W brass, 6000 9mm brass, 3500 .38/.357 brass and 2500 pieces of once fired .45 ACP brass. Thus, the Dillon RL 1050 is getting a bit of a workout. What does it cost to reload 1000 rounds of ammo these days? Using 9mm as an example, assuming I have saved 1000 pcs. Of brass from previous range outings I’d be looking at $81.20~ per thousand or $4.06~ per box.

=-=-=-=

Thanks to those who dropped a few bucks at the wedding registry. Every bit helps ’cause them .50’s ain’t cheap!