Preparation

My canoe trip to the wilderness next week is the focus of my efforts lately. I'm testing and collecting and sorting my survival gear acquired over the past 25 years to select the best package to take along. Which knives ... which fire starting gear ... which food ... etc., etc. ?

The pemmican I made tastes good, and the hardtack is quite edible with peanut butter. I have some dried fruit, too, for the fish fries I've been assured will occur. Of course, though, I'll be taking some backup food if the fish don't leap onto the hooks of "les pêcheurs" aka the fishermen.

I've always kept a stockpile of MREs for food in case of civil strife or whatever, so I decided to actually eat some today. Mine are about five years old, as I re-stock my supplies every decade. That will let me test their edibility and their heaters - I've never actually eaten or used the heaters to heat the food. Sooooooo ...

For breakfast I'm having the MRE named, "egg omelet with cheese and vegetables". For lunch it will be the "chicken fajita filling" and "shredded potatoes with bacon". I'll also try the other items in the MRE: crackers, dried beverage, etc.

I'll post some "PS" items later as I do this today.

PS: The "egg omelet with cheese and vegetables" was quite edible and tasted OK with a reasonable texture. I'd describe it as a class below the old airline food. Rather than use a heater on my first try, I boiled the pouch for five minutes, which was adequate, but I think six or seven would be better. The pouch required a knife to cut open.

PPS: Just finished the MRE lunch - I thought it was quite good; as good as airline food or better. Lunch was chicken fajita filling (white meat), shredded potatoes with bacon & pineapple pound cake. All very tasty. The heater worked a bit less than the label suggested. I let it heat 15 minutes, but I think a few more would have helped. The food was just warm.

I also had the instant coffee mid-morning. Perfectly good.

Overall, these MREs are a fine source for food on the trail, during civil strife or after a comet hits

Actions

Europe and US futures are down about 1%. Maybe "they" will knock stocks down enough to give me some low risk re-buys. Waiting ...

Word of the Day

"Palatine" - noun & adjective [$10]
Palatine means 1. high officer of an imperial palace; 2. a feudal lord or official exercising sovereign authority over his lands or region (which would be the 'palatinate'); 3. a title of various administrative officials of the late Roman and Byzantine empires. [The term is often seen in writings about Germany, central and eastern Europe in the middle ages.]
Sentence: Why do so many CEOs think of themselves as a palatine and not as working for shareholders ? The problem arises from weak boards of directors and SEC rules the keep them weak.

Le Mot du Jour

"Qui-vive" - noun, masculine, invariant
Qui-vive is mainly used in expressions: être sur le qui-vive.
La Phrase: Soyez sur le qui-vive !
Sentence: Be prepared ! ... or ... Be on the alert !