007 Day are Here Again
Well, the 007 days of Christmas have once again arrived here at Chiot’s Run. Mr Chiots and I are huge James Bond fans so each year between Christmas and New Year’s Day we watch as many Bond movies as we can. Last year we got the 50 year anniversary boxed set as a Christmas gift for each other, it’s a great way to get all the movies.
It’s fun to have crazy traditions that don’t really have anything to do with the actual holidays. We love that at this time of the year we have a little down time and watching movies forces us to take some much needed physical rest.
Do you have any holiday traditions that are out of the ordinary?
Filed under Around the House | Comments (5)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?
Filed under Around the Garden | Comments (9)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)
Filed under Cultivate Simple Podcast | Comments (15)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?
Filed under Quote | Comments (3)