Beautiful – but Painful
The ice storm continued all day yesterday, we lost power for a few hours in the afternoon but it came back on. I still have a “lights out” blog post scheduled for tomorrow in case they go out again and I can’t get on-line. Ice storms are beautiful, but they’re a mess. We have enough ice that trees are dropping branches left and right. When you go outside the sound of branches and trees coming down is constant. Lucky for us, there aren’t any trees close enough to drop branches on the house. The chicken coop barely escaped a big white pine branch.
It should be interesting to get out a little today to see how much damage has been done. We won’t be able to go into the wood until all the ice melts and we’re hoping our driveway melts soon.
Anyone else dealing with ice and power outages from this storm?
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Cultivate Simple 58: Preparing for the Worst
With a half of an inch of ice on the ground and more to come, we discuss being prepared for power outages and natural disasters.
South River Miso a great source for naturally fermented miso and tamari.
The Basics
– Prepare for the basic essential needs first: warmth and water
– If you live in a cold climate you need to have an alternate source of heat, at it’s most basic a small propane heater works well.
– An oil lamp works well for providing light for a room, it works much better than flashlights
Power
– Batteries (if rechargeables make sure they are all topped off, including cell phones)
– Have a GOOD flashlight
– Inverter to power appliances from your car (less expensive but your car is not ‘built’ for this)
– Generator (more expensive but made for the job)
– A generator is only as good as the supply of fuel you have
– Turn off all your stuff so when the power comes back on it doesn’t overwhelm the grid
Steve Harris’s Website has lots of good information on power.
Food
– Cook a pot of soup the night before, it’s easier to heat up one pot of already prepared food than try to cook without power, if the power doesn’t go out you have food for the next day
– Always have a weeks worth of food on hand
– Canned food is good, raw ingredients are better
– You need a way to cook it. If you don’t have a gas stove that will run without power, make alternate plans (grill, coleman stove, cook over fire)
– If there is an extended power outage, eat perishable food first
– Freeze gallon jugs of water in your freezer (thermal mass)
Water
– Do you have a well or city water
– Gather water in containers for drinking and cooking
– Having a Berkey water filter will save you from having to boil
– Fill the bathtub with water for washing and flushing (tub bladder)
– Your hot water tank is an often overlooked source of water
Supplies
– Have some cash on hand
– First Aid Supplies
– Sanitary supplies
– Extra items above can be used for trade/barter in extended outages
Security
– People are stupid and stupid people do stupid things when society breaks down
Entertainment
– Have things to do without power/electric: knitting, crocheting, reading, puzzles, games, etc
– Movies on laptop
Book of the Week
What is the longest stretch you have been without power?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:04 — 57.8MB)
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The Garden Year – a poem by Sara Coleridge
THE GARDEN YEAR
by Sara Coleridge
January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.
March brings breezes, loud and shrill,
To stir the dancing daffodil.
April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.
May brings flocks of pretty lambs
Skipping by their fleecy dams.
June brings tulips, lilies, roses,
Fills the children’s hands with posies.
Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots, and gillyflowers.
August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.
Warm September brings the fruit;
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.
Fresh October brings the pheasant;
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
Dull November brings the blast;
Then the leaves are whirling fast.
Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.
What’s your December bringing?
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Roasted Chickpeas
Last night we went to a holiday party. We were supposed to take a snack of some sort. Knowing there’d be the usual snack items already there, I decided to make roasted chickpeas. Mine were dried beans that I soaked overnight then cooked. I tossed them with coconut oil and roasted them in a 400 oven for about 40 minutes (or until most of them are crispy). I then removed them from the oven, poured them in a bowl and tossed them with ghee, honey and various spices like smoked paprika and cinnamon. Back into the oven they went for 5-10 minutes. They should all end up crispy and delicious, a little like pretzels.
Sometimes I also love to add smoke chipotle to add some nice heat, but usually avoid that when I’m taking them elsewhere as most folks don’t enjoy that level of spiciness. One of these days I’m going to add mustard powder instead of paprika because I think honey mustard ones would be heavenly!
What crazy snack foods are you taking to holiday parties?
