So far, we have learned basic food preservation and canning, though we should really still cover salting and smoking before we totally check that one off the list. We learned to spin fiber. Thanks, Karrie! I already knit and in a pinch I can weave, so we’re set on that front. Sorta. Set enough for our purposes. Check that off the list!
We learned to weld in a class held at The Crucible. Welding, we determined, is a key skill to surviving a zombie apocalypse. You need to be able to build strong barriers and fortify structures, not to mention the whole Mad Max-ification of any large vehicles you can acquire. Welding is also wicked fun, as a bonus.
This leaves us with a pretty long list as yet unattempted. I need to learn how to fire a gun safely and how to build a fire. What are different methods to collect water? At least one of us should take a basic first aid class. Not to mention that I need to learn how to drive a motorcycle — to better navigate the roads when they’re filled with wrecked cars — and how to fly a plane so when someone says “Doesn’t anyone here know how to fly a plane?” I can volunteer. That happens in disaster movies all the time, right?
Another thing about zombies: they can’t swim. With this in mind, sailing skills originally had a spot on the Zomb-poca-list. That was before we went whale watching and I was miserably seasick the entire time. I guess I’ll be taking my chances with zombies on land.
Last things I can think of on the list are how to field dress and butcher an animal, and hide preparation/tanning. I have no idea how to do either of these, but Karrie suggested that I take one of the outdoorswoman classes offered by Alaska or maybe California. I don’t have the time to do those classes anytime soon, but hey… the zombies will wait awhile. Hopefully.