ahahah -
That snow keeps - most of the flat-landers away. I came back 'home' 35 years ago - after 10 years in Calif...saw the writing on the wall then -
I grew up in up in northern part of the state - on my grandparents farm - There was no electricity in the area. WE lived quite a bit like people had "forever." Simple , self-sufficient and with everything we needed.
Most people today think that living without electricity is next to a death sentence.
My grampa was a Maine Guide - between raising food and hunting/fishing, we always had plenty of food. (During the '100-year Ice Storm of 1998, I was without power for 3 weeks. No problem. I had my wood stove, kerosene lamps, plenty of food/water, etc.
If TSHTF, I could live the way I grew up and enjoy it - although I'd miss my 'puter and hot water spigit ;)
I hear ya.
I personally think we (on these threads) invest a lot of time and energy on how to create electricity, when we could easier and cheaper design a life without it. All sources of generating our own electricity will fail at some point - not enough fuel, sun, wind. So we need a backup plan.
We will remodel our country house when hubby gets here, and I want/need a wood cookstove. Cooking on top of the current wood (heating) stove is an option, but wouldn’t have the versatility of a real cookstove for long-term use. In the summer, I guess i’ll cook outside ;)
We need to have all the equipment to survive without power - saws and axes, mules or donkeys, butter churn, hand grinders, the list goes on ad infinitum. Even if we don’t use them now, having them is just as important as having food storage and weapons. I know i’ll forget something though. Maybe you can help come up with a list we can post on these threads?
ps. You’re good at writing and have the skills and knowledge to survive happily without power. Ever considered writing what a week without power would be like, specifically addressing the items and skills needed? That would be very helpful on these threads, and survival blogs. I’ve seen bits and pieces, but never an in-depth description. It’s as if most are planning on this being a temporary event, and being able to refill our propane tanks or other fuels after the initial crisis. Perhaps that’s the normalcy bias seeping in.