I grew up on the west coast, specifically in Southern California for my early years. Earthquakes don't bother me. High winds, however, do.
So, in the middle of moving to the east coast, the girls and I find ourselves in the path of Hurricane Sandy.
If we were already in the new house, with the woodstove that we're in the process of buying, then I wouldn't worry. With a woodstove, you have heat and can cook. In the new house, I'll be able to have provisions stocked in the freezer and pantry. In the rental, there's no wood stove, and I don't have so much as a camp stove for heating water. It's more than a little frustrating.
I have to admit that I was fairly scared when I first heard about the storm hitting here. I know there was a snowstorm last year, but snow didn't scare me. Wind, and losing power (and therefore water, heat, and the ability to cook) did scare me.
Then I started to think, and plan.
Water - we have milk jugs, juice jugs, bottles from water and gatorade. All of those are now filled with water, along with a jug I found outside with no lid, but it works for Daisy water. If we finish off the milk that's in the fridge, that carton will be filled with water, too. (Actually, I may pour the milk into a pitcher and fill the jug with water.) Talking to a friend this morning, it occurred to me that I can fill the bathtub with water to use for flushing the toilet, and she mentioned filling rubbermaid tubs as well. I happen to have one that we've been using for a laundry basket, so that will hold several more gallons.
Food - we have things to eat that don't require cooking. While having hot food is nice, it's not a requirement. I got lunchmeat and cheese, and extra bread at the store, and we have cereal, peanut butter, trail mix, crackers, and all sorts of other things in the cupboard. Not the store I usually would have, but enough that we won't starve. I bought a big bag of dog food not long ago, too, so Daisy's set.
Heat and light - Well, we have blankets, warm clothes (or pajamas) and can move people into smaller rooms to conserve heat. Becky would move into the room with her sisters, which has three beds, and then we'd only need to heat that one. There is daylight from windows, depending on the severity of the storm, and I bought a few candles yesterday. I couldn't necessarily find many, but I found enough to get us through a few days, with careful use. The benefit of candles, as opposed to battery powered lights, is that candles produce heat, too. It may not be a lot of heat, but a single candle in a small tent can help keep someone from freezing to death in a snowstorm. Candles seem friendlier, too. We used to light a tealight in the girls' room at night when they had nightmares, telling them that the candle would burn away the bad dreams. We do also have a couple flashlights.
Entertainment - while we might go stir-crazy a bit, we actually do have things to do. We have board games that everyone likes, and we have books, kindles, and ipods. We made sure everything was charged last night, and ipods can be recharged in the car if necessary. That gives us things to do, things to listen to, books to read, and three of the ipods double as kindles, even producing their own light, so we could all read even if it's dark.
So far, it's calm and grey this morning. No sign of the storm yet, and if I hadn't been hearing about it on the news, I wouldn't know it was coming. Good. I'll have time to go to the laundromat and do laundry, giving us a few more days of clothes if necessary. I'll start stew cooking in the crock-pot, so even if we lose power later, we'll have a good, hearty, warm (or hot, depending on timing) supper.
We're ready. We can do this.
Life's not about surviving the storm; it's learning to dance in the rain.
Let's dance!
So, in the middle of moving to the east coast, the girls and I find ourselves in the path of Hurricane Sandy.
If we were already in the new house, with the woodstove that we're in the process of buying, then I wouldn't worry. With a woodstove, you have heat and can cook. In the new house, I'll be able to have provisions stocked in the freezer and pantry. In the rental, there's no wood stove, and I don't have so much as a camp stove for heating water. It's more than a little frustrating.
I have to admit that I was fairly scared when I first heard about the storm hitting here. I know there was a snowstorm last year, but snow didn't scare me. Wind, and losing power (and therefore water, heat, and the ability to cook) did scare me.
Then I started to think, and plan.
Water - we have milk jugs, juice jugs, bottles from water and gatorade. All of those are now filled with water, along with a jug I found outside with no lid, but it works for Daisy water. If we finish off the milk that's in the fridge, that carton will be filled with water, too. (Actually, I may pour the milk into a pitcher and fill the jug with water.) Talking to a friend this morning, it occurred to me that I can fill the bathtub with water to use for flushing the toilet, and she mentioned filling rubbermaid tubs as well. I happen to have one that we've been using for a laundry basket, so that will hold several more gallons.
Food - we have things to eat that don't require cooking. While having hot food is nice, it's not a requirement. I got lunchmeat and cheese, and extra bread at the store, and we have cereal, peanut butter, trail mix, crackers, and all sorts of other things in the cupboard. Not the store I usually would have, but enough that we won't starve. I bought a big bag of dog food not long ago, too, so Daisy's set.
Heat and light - Well, we have blankets, warm clothes (or pajamas) and can move people into smaller rooms to conserve heat. Becky would move into the room with her sisters, which has three beds, and then we'd only need to heat that one. There is daylight from windows, depending on the severity of the storm, and I bought a few candles yesterday. I couldn't necessarily find many, but I found enough to get us through a few days, with careful use. The benefit of candles, as opposed to battery powered lights, is that candles produce heat, too. It may not be a lot of heat, but a single candle in a small tent can help keep someone from freezing to death in a snowstorm. Candles seem friendlier, too. We used to light a tealight in the girls' room at night when they had nightmares, telling them that the candle would burn away the bad dreams. We do also have a couple flashlights.
Entertainment - while we might go stir-crazy a bit, we actually do have things to do. We have board games that everyone likes, and we have books, kindles, and ipods. We made sure everything was charged last night, and ipods can be recharged in the car if necessary. That gives us things to do, things to listen to, books to read, and three of the ipods double as kindles, even producing their own light, so we could all read even if it's dark.
So far, it's calm and grey this morning. No sign of the storm yet, and if I hadn't been hearing about it on the news, I wouldn't know it was coming. Good. I'll have time to go to the laundromat and do laundry, giving us a few more days of clothes if necessary. I'll start stew cooking in the crock-pot, so even if we lose power later, we'll have a good, hearty, warm (or hot, depending on timing) supper.
We're ready. We can do this.
Life's not about surviving the storm; it's learning to dance in the rain.
Let's dance!
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