For starters, Tarzan has been through so many practice maneuvers in the Air Force, that he thought it was unnecessary and that he could survive not matter what the circumstances, so with that said, here is what I found out. There is no lights in our bathroom. No window, means no lights without electricity and I read in the bathroom (sorry if that is more information than you want). Bo Hutchinson suggested those battery operated lights that you just press and they come on. They are applied to the wall by just peeling and sticking them on. My mother suggested a “treasure trove” of flashlights and batteries. I think we just need to install solar energy and be done with it.
The next order of business for me was sweeping the living room carpet (no electricity, thus no vacuum). Anyone who says the Pioneers led a simpler life is living in an unreal world. At least I have carpet to sweep and not just dirt floors, as many had then. I remember sweeping the carpet when I was a girl and we couldn’t afford a vacuum. I didn’t like it then any better than I do now.
We have been diligently getting our business set up so that when we retire, we still have a steady income and something to do. Nothing worse than having nothing to do. Our business will be in deep doo-doo. No electric saw, no light. Well, if we get in a position where there is no electricity and it extends over more than a 72 hour emergency, we probably won’t be selling any grow stick anyway. As for my teaching on-line--ditto.
As Tarzan cooked breakfast, no problem with cooking outside, we found that our propane bottle was not full and while we had enough for today, we noted it should be kept full all of the time and our wood pile kept up as well. We had no charcoal briquettes. We did have a meaningful conversation about preserving potatoes. Our grandparents kept a bushel barrel in the root cellar filled with dirt and potatoes. We don’t have a root cellar and in Arizona, in the summer, keeping potatoes would be a real trick, even buried in dirt. We are going to try it this year and see what happens.
The phone is another issue--we could not completely comply. Both of our Moms are, let’s see how can I put this nicely without offending my Mom (who reads, but doesn’t comment, on my blog). I have it, both of our Moms are older than us :-). We like to stay in touch and therefore talked to both on Saturday, thus using the phone. Once the phone was used, all bets were off and we just used it all day.
If my refrigerator doesn’t make ice, I will be praying that Sonic has power.
Those peaches we bottles last summer made a fantastic sweet treat when the only other baking option was the dutch over. What a pain if every time you had a hankerin’ for a chocolate cake, you had to get the coals just right, before you could put the cake in the dutch over and then keep the coals on top of the dutch oven at just the right temperature so the cake would cook all around, evenly.
Jared Harrison was our block captain and he called to see if we were participating, we told him we were and he said he would drive by our house and see if we had a green flag (all is okay), a yellow flag (need someone to follow up with us), or a red flag (HELP). He was sick today so Bo Hutchinson came puffing up the hill on his dirt bike because he couldn’t see our green flag, it was supposed to be in the window and Tarzan left it laying over the brick wall in front. Knowing all was well here, we visited for a few minutes and he was on his way. Rest assured, if we had an emergency and the phones were working. I would be calling 911, not putting a red flag up and hoping someone would notice. I am so glad I don’t have to hitch up the horses to the wagon to go visiting teaching. If I have to go visiting teaching on a bike, we are getting a tandem, so my partner can help pump.
Having the TV on is habit, not required in our house. We had it on for about ½ hour to see what the news was and then turned it off. All day today I have enjoyed the sounds of nature (when not irritated by the neighbor’s quads).
The day ended in the home of a family not participating so Tarzan was able to catch up on the political news. We babysat for friends.
My idea of babysitting:
- Capri Sun
- Tootsie Pop
- Playing basketball (Tarzan did participate in this)
- Coloring Book
- Colored Pencils
- Going through the toys to see how they all work
- Playing trains together
- Putting the train away, including the one hiding behind the curtain
- Lying on the floor coloring together
- Throwing the pencils on the floor and playing pick-up sticks (which Coop is verrrrry good at)
- Brushing (don’t forget flossing) teeth (I really have to demonstrate this for you to give you the true picture of how this is done)
- Prayers
- Story
- Song
Tarzan’s idea of babysitting:
5 comments:
that is a classic "babysitting" photo!!
A few years back, for Christmas,we purchased 72 hour kits for our married children plus one for ourselves. We also purchased a smaller 24 hour kit to put in your car. Each year since then, each Christmas,we have added an emergency use item such as self contained lanterns, small self contained portable grills, etc. Storing fresh veggies is always hard. I oncce had an old Idaho potato farmer tell me that potato's would keep if the dirt that was on them when harvested was left there. I bought a 100 lb. sack from him in this condition and sure enough, we didn't lose one spud from that sack. Just some thoughts. UL
that photo is terrific! We sure appreciated you breaking the rules regarding emergency preparedness so we could have you here! Burying potatoes is an interesting idea... let me know how that one turns out.
That is a fascinating neighborhood project! I will mention it to my neighbors just to shock them!
What a great post, I'm sad that I didn't get to read it earlier. Thanks for participating in all the fun.
Post a Comment