I'm Back!!!

Wow! 48 hours without power is enough to make me seriously re-assess how good we have it and how spoiled we are! It's on now, finally! But, while it was off, I also realized that we are not prepared if unforeseen circumstances were to cause us to be without power for an extended period of time.

This time we were blessed to have help in the form of somewhere air conditioned for my children and pets to stay while I was at work during the hottest part of the day. The same person had room in her chest freezer for all of my frozen food. I HAVE TO START CANNING AND STOP FREEZING! I was able to store the essentials from my refrigerator in a cooler, but I couldn't cook anything. We were dependent on that cooler, even for produce from the garden. I couldn't cook it (or freeze it) without power, so I used the cooler to extend the life of my tomatoes, okra, peaches, and more. I HAVE TO GET A WOOD STOVE!  If we had a wood stove for heat, it could be used for cooking in an emergency. I have a friend who has a wood stove in addition to central heat. She uses the stove usually, and only occasionally the electric heat. Any time the power goes out, she just cooks a huge meal so that she can minimize how much frozen and refrigerated food goes to waste. But in the event of a long-term power outage, she would still run out of food and so would I. Which is why...I HAVE TO GET CHICKENS! I keep talking about it, and so does my husband, but we still haven't done it. There was a good reason to wait at first, but now there is no reason except that we will have to put up a coop and section off part of the backyard for them. And speaking of the backyard, I HAVE TO GET A CLOTHESLINE! We were forced during this power outage to hand wash a few items that just couldn't wait. I had to put my son's pants on a hanger and hang them from a flower hook on the front porch. I didn't have anywhere else to put them because I haven't had a clothesline since we moved here 5 years ago. I have (foolishly) been totally dependent on my dryer. 


I guess I have my newest to-do list, my next green goals. Mama just keeps making changes 'round here! Hope they can keep up!