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By mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry
Wagon clipart link … https://clipart-library.com/clipart/713877.htm
(For those just popping in, this is an imaginary scenario that's part of a class we are doing and not real life.)
We’re about ready to start week #3 in
our Circling the Wagons class, but before we do let’s take a look back at the
last two weeks in our imaginary scenario …
It’s day 14 with no power …
Some of you may or may not have
running water depending on your location. If the water is still flowing, it may
not be safe to drink at this point …
Your whole household is dealing with
cabin fever since schools are closed and most employers have sent their
employees home until further notice …
You’re recovering from an injury …
You’re beginning to hear of looting
and stealing in your neighborhood/area …
And you’re faced with the decision of
whether or not you’ll help others in your neighborhood/area …
What have you learned about your
preparedness after 2 weeks in our imaginary scenario?
After we’ve looked back at the last 2
weeks, let’s pause for a little longer and take stock of where we’re at now …
Do you still have food?
Do you have a way to cook it?
Depending on your weather, how are you
staying warm or cool?
Are you starting to feel a bit
overwhelmed?
I love the participation and am taking huge amounts of notes! I hope you continue to add to your Disaster Guide notebook as well!
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
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I think we are pretty well-prepared to cope with short term power cuts/loss of water/food shortages. I think the biggest problem (as with the Covid lockdowns) is the uncertainty and fear of not knowing how long the problem will continue for and exactly what comes next. That is very wearing mentally.
ReplyDeleteWe would still have food, although I would be careful about portion sizes and trying to make the most of what we have. Our bottled gas wouldn't have lasted long, but we would still have wood available for cooking and heating. Lots of layers of clothing would be the order of the day so that we are not burning any more fuel than strictly necessary. Whenever the fire is lit I would have a pan of water heating up so that we could have warm drinks.
Tracy, you summed up where we would all be in this scenario, the not knowing would be hard. Not knowing how long one would need to try to stretch what they have would be just one of the concerns. Great summation!
DeleteI think we would still be okay. We would be watching our food supplies and portions to stretch them as far as possible. As in the days of COVID cabin fever/boredom would be the enemy along with the uncertainty of how much longer this problem would last as we live in a rural area with few people close by to share the limited news. The woodstove along with blankets and layering clothing would help keep us warm. As a senior citizen my ankle injury would likely be slow in healing adding frustration to the day-to-day boredom.
ReplyDeleteSuzinWA, the older we get the longer it takes to heal, doesn't it! Sounds like you're doing good though!
DeleteWe would still have plenty of food and we would be happy to share with our neighbors. We do still have a way to cook on either our camp stove, or portable grill or full size grill and a Blackstone griddle. We still have bottled water and water from our neighbors for toilets. We did a lot of reading for the seven days after Helene and would still have plenty oto read. We live out of town and rarely see strangers in our neighborhood. People often tell us they didn't know this neighborhood was even here so we are still safe here. Weather is still bearable without heat or air.
ReplyDeleteOver six weeks since Helene and Ashville, NC water is still not up and working. They are saying Dec 15.
Image that.
Typed this response this morning and forgot to hit "send". Oops ...
ReplyDeleteAt two weeks out, I am starting to become concerned with protein supplies, from the standpoint of having little/no cold storage. Ice is now non-existent in my area, since all of the stores are without power, but I do have a variety of dried beans and some canned kidney and black beans on hand. Not knowing how widespread the outage is makes me hesitant to drive farther away to find (or not find) gas and ice. My chef friend has riden his bike over a couple of times to check on me. He knows about my lack of ice and will keep an eye out for any open store or gas station. He's convinced that if the store is open, they'll take debit card, but I give him $10 in singles, just in case. He'll bring me what he can get and transport on his bike. My water supply is starting to look a little thin and he will look for jugs of water, too. I need to keep some aside for pup. So, I'm supplementing my liquid intake with other canned / bottled beverages I have on hand (juice, soda, seltzer, iced tea, made from a pitcher of water I got when we had power). The neighbors I know through daily dog-walking and those with whom I've developed a connection have started to converse more regularly -- dog-walkers have decided to be a little inconspicuous and we've agreed on a time to walk our dogs, so we can meet up like we normally do, just more frequently and keeping things as usual, and we're discussing what we're seeing and where people are starting to experience shortages, who needs assistance, and what we can do to help each other.
Among our neighborhood residents, we have retired military, Homeland Security workers, and several first responders and they are keeping close watch. The two in the end unit and one across the street know I'm a single senior female and I have their phone numbers, just in case I need help.
One of my biggest concerns right now is how long this outage will last and if I'll have enough pet food if this goes longer than another week or so. I think I'll start cutting back on pup's portions and supplement his meals with canned goods I have on hand (vegetables, pumpkin, oatmeal, etc.). This seems to be a concern among most all of the dog owners, and one was going to reach out to another neighbor who worked as a manager at a "big box" outdoors store that stocks animal food to see if she can get some for us and we'll pay her for it. She needed to check with their ownership to find out about the store security system and how she should record such sales, since their systems are down.
Cooking is still going well and I've even made muffins using indirect heat on the grill. I just have to remember to watch the time and temperature, and rotate them a couple of times. Thank goodness for a natural gas grill with battery operated ignition.
Someone must have said something to the parents of the kids who were out screaming all the time. They seem to be taking them up to the park during the day to let them burn off some energy. And they must be back to e-learning (or the parents are trying to have at least some education time during the day). It is much quieter for at least part of the day.
What I've learned thus far: I need to get a Brita pitcher or some other kind of filtration system for purifying water in case of an emergency, where I don't trust the tap water or need to rely on pond or rain water.
We’re starting to use water we filtered from the pond in the neighborhood. Still plenty of food for us and the pup. We’re cooking with the grill and camp stove. We only have enough wood for a few more fires in the fireplace. We have plenty of sleeping bags and warm clothes. We’re counting on more gas for the generators to keep running the furnace and freezer. We have cash but need to get smaller bills since credit card machines aren’t working. I can see keeping warm being a problem if this goes on another couple weeks. Sue in mn
ReplyDeleteJohn and I actually discussed this over the weekend and he came up with a solution of sorts right away to insure we have more water on hand for emergencies.
ReplyDeleteBut in the midst of our scenario, we can stay warm, we can cook. Food might get dull but there's enough of it to go a bit longer and then some. I expect we'll be helping our son and his family by cooking their foods here, too...and likely having to share water. I've been after both my kids for years to store some extra water 'just in case' but here I've been caught out short and I doubt they'll have any at their house. We'll offer assistance to a couple of neighbors I'm sure. But 14 days in I'm definitely taking stock and rethinking usage of gas heat and water...And determining how well we can wash dishes...I'm thinking we'll be eating lots of soups simply because it's liquid-ish, I can keep it simmering on the stove all day long, it's one pan cookery, I can use all canned goods to make it.