OK, FRiends, this week should tell you what preps your lacking.
Crossing fingers TX gets through this without losing the entire electrical grid. Honestly don’t understand why we haven’t hardened and improved the power structure. They are talking if we lose the grid, we will be looking at months and months without power. What?!? In our area, there is no way the permanent residents are using more electricity than during tourist season. In our neighborhood, there are only half a dozen or so residents compared to the locust swarm of tourists who leave their lights on and leave the doors open while running the a/c.
There are reports of food shortages. For us, food is fine (knock on wood) but everything else has pretty much gone south. I’d made some soups and pasta salads ahead of time for easy or no heating. Make sure you have a coffee pot and other cookery that can heat on a grill.
There are more than anyone’s fair share of electrical blackouts all over the state. Alternative heat (propane and kerosene) has been a pain in our backside but thankful for it. Keeping an eye on the alternate heat all night isn’t fun. Doing all the little chores like unplugging and replugging phones and checking water and timing your #1 and #2 when there is electricity (if you’re on an electric water pump and the septic uses electricity to move the you know what) and forgetting not to flush. Tie something on the toilet handle to remind you but make sure it doesn’t hang in the down position.
Then there are medical situations. Hubby was getting down to light the kerosene heater and fell breaking a few bones. Accidents can happen before you know it. He ended up in the ER and I think that was worse on him than the breaks because they didn’t have room and needed to kick him out when all the roads were closed and most people couldn’t get out their driveways much less onto the roads.
There are gas shortages so do you have enough for the extra long slow drives?
Do you have enough meds to last out an emergency situation? Do you have enough baby food and supplies? What about pet supplies? Is there someplace they can potty without going outside? Do they have enough litter and extra boxes because they tend to leave accidents when they can’t go out.
What about an alternate light source? Batteries and flashlight bulbs need to be at the ready. Did everything get charged? Our big fail was not replacing a wireless phone battery so only have seconds before it die.
Family plans for cell phones are great savers but if one service provider goes down, then every family member is without service. If you can afford it, have at least two difference companies. Our one cell phone has been out 99.9% of the time and for some reason tends to rely on electricity. Maybe the tower?
Perhaps it wasn’t such a great idea to dump your landline phone.
Don’t count on cable or internet for information or entertainment.
Good thing I’ve been a sort of nutcase for years. If things get really scarce/in a southerly direction for a long time, I won’t have stuff like fresh mile (CRY) but I’ll sort of manage.
Is your husband okay now? I hope he got his breaks treated and is heaing up, this sounds serious.
Start out with hot beverages and soup.
You will save on fuel by doing your cooking all at once and still being able to have something hot thorough out the day.
You can also cook in them but if nothing else being able to have a hot cup of coffee can make a cold day more bearable.
It also allows you to share wit people who may not be as prepared as you.
Large sports thermos allow you to give people the gift of hot water if you have it to spare.
We have a reservoir on the wood stove which means hot water for washing is always available.