And the Weeks Not Even Over Yet.....

While I am seriously enjoying....

...having Bones here for a visit.....

I am not enjoying.....

...a child with a broken arm - thanks to gymnastics class......

...on the eve of leaving for summer vacation.

Waiting on the ortho call and wondering what happens next.

Yep - normal day at the Frymark house.

Still Alive...

Just to let you guys know I am still alive and kicking, I'm joining Sandra in Happy Homemaker Monday...

The weather in my neck of the woods:
High of 90 expected today.  While so many of my friends and family have been dealing with temps over 100 for months now, we have had a summer of high 80's - mid 90's.  It's been AWESOME.

Things that make me happy: 
My son Bones is flying in today for a visit -- for the first time in the 2 years we have been here.
Book I'm reading:
Eternity Road by Jack McDevitt.  Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction


What's on my TV today: 
I will have the Netflix on in the sewing room where I will spend most of the day. 


On the menu for dinner:
Today is Bones favorite Steak Stroganof, tomorrow will be his request of Chicken Souvaki with tzatziki. Plus he has requested green chile dip. 


On my To Do List:
Finish my big project before our vacation
Pickle the jalapeno's from my plants before vacation
Write a to-do/instructions list for the house sitter


New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
We have been eating very very cheap to conserve money for vacation - so its has been breakfast for dinner, tomato mac, hamburgers and tacos for a bit. 

In the craft basket:

A bucket load of quilts


Looking forward to this week:
Bones being here and leaving for vacation


Tips and Tricks:
Teach your kids to pack their own vacation suitcase (or camp). Have them lay everything out they think they need and then check it before THEY pack it.  If they pack it themselves THEY will know where their stuff is when they arrive and need it. This keeps the suitcases neater and teaches a life skill while still under your wing. We start this with 5 year olds.  And guess what -- if they do forget something, they WILL remember it next time. (And if its critical and you are in the states you know you can go buy it.) 




My favorite blog post this week: 
I've been really busy with a few things so I am just scanning blogs this week and nothing comes to mind.


Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Surviving the Suburbs  - I found this blog recently and have really enjoyed it. Basically the writer is a "thrivalist".  She believes in peak oil crisis and that the world will be changing over time to be very different (not an apocalyptic event kind of thing...just a change in how we will all live).  Her blog is about self sustaining type living right where you are -- in your own home, on your own lawn.  



No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):


Lesson learned the past few days:
There is always another "great deal".  We started the process to buy a used travel trailer for about 10k.  We took the weekend to really think about it while they did the paperwork. In this time we did our pro's and con's lists. We ended up discovering conflicting info on what the Durango could safely pull....which resulted in changing our minds to be safe (we've put an awful lot of money in that truck this year).  Since our loan was already approved they showed us a new trailer and offered it too us at a fantastic price and said it would only be a couple of dollars more a month as they could extend the time to pay it off and get a better interest rate as it was new.  Most people would have done this.  But bottom line is it was almost TWICE the debt.  There will be another deal.  We walked away.  Our sales guy knows what we want and what I'm willing to pay.  We started the look a good 5 months prior to the time we really want to have it.  Learn to wait. Look at the bigger picture.


On my mind:
Vacation
Lake house trip in August




So as you can see, its still going to be a busy time for me and I probably wont post much.  Time is flying by!

What?

So I go to my two hour doctor appointment...

Where they first stick on electrodes and stuff and hit me with electric shocks....

And then they change it up a bit and stick needles into my muscles and shock those.....

And the DX?

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome.

Apparently I need to quit typing with my toes.

Who knew?

7 Days and 6 Nights

The Good:
Fireflies lighting up our glen like fairy lights every night. Just beautiful.
S'mores
Low Ropes Course
Sewing silly monsters
Tie-dye
Reverse tie-dye
Night hike and banana boats
Sand volleyball
Candle making
Hiking
Scrapbooking
Snorkling
Swimming every day
Creeking
High Ropes
Sleeping under the stars
Parachute games
Orienteering
The sleep walker DID NOT walk!
A trip home mid week for a shower when a parent came out to spell me!

The Bad:
One camper in tears before we even reached the camp.
One camper up all but 2 hours on the first night. Yawn.
Homesick campers
Rainstorms - with two trips to the lodge due to dangerous storms
Climbing heart attack hill to reach the dinning hall a minimum for 3x daily.

The Ugly:
Spiders bigger than my hand in all the tents.....every night....and a camp full of girl afraid of them.
Passing out more meds than a nursing home on a daily basis.
One camper who refused to use the latrines and screamed and cried about it.
Lots of fights between lots of girls.
One camper whose nickname should be "cry baby"

But all was trumped by Pepe Le Pew.  Yes. Yes. We had a STINKY camper.  So bad we changed tents half way through the week to give tent mates a break. And we ended up drawing straws to see who had to put her in their car on the way home.  You know I lost right?????

Oh. My. Word.  And we never could exactly figure out WHAT the smell was. What was it like you ask? Well, it was like a combo of dirty butt, sweaty feet, mildew and a "soiled" sleeping bag.  Not that it was any of those things....but thats what it smelled like.  I thought I would barf on the way home.  (I suspect that it was coming out of her pores...she takes meds every day.)

I did crash and burn half way through the week. I have a foot with numb toes and I was in serious pain by Wednesday. I even skipped dinner to avoid climbing the hill again.  I'm being sent to a neurologist -- but government health care means that it will be July before I am seen. I didn't expect the pain for all the camping since the foot is numb.

But I survived.

And Wed-Friday this week I do it all over again with the little girls.

Oy.

So Was It Worth It?

A week of prep.
An extra run for more supplies when a girl was added AFTER supplies bought.
Hauling 4 girls out to camp and back and delivering home for 5 days.
13 active campers.
One 8 1/2 month pregnant assistant leader.
Swimming all week.
Tye-Dyed shirts...with a couple of girls not listening...which resulted in all shirts turning purple.
One hour drive out to the farm.
One hour of horse back riding.
One hour drive back.
One child sick and taken to Urgent Care....DX strep (groan)
One long hike on a very hot day.
One overnight with 2 homesick campers.
One overly friendly skunk chasing us around. (Hysterical!!!)
One other troop out to prank us....thank goodness they fell asleep first....snicker....
One day with archery which was just not long enough...
One parent day with all kids doing skits.
Awards given to each camper.

Mighty Mouse's Award:

Oh yes.

It was worth it.

Who would have ever guessed my daughter would be awarded a Social Butterfly award?

Not me.

Ever.

Summer Explodes

I LOVE summer. I love the hot weather. I love air conditioned days indoors. I love camping outdoors. I love no schedule. I love all the festivals. I love all the time with my kids.  It has always been my favorite part of the year.

I am not the mom that dreads 3 months with the kids. I'm the mom that teaches my kids the value of lazy summer days.

So what the heck was I thinking?

Our school year was extended by a week due to snow days. Bummer.  That means Songbird went immediately into summer school the day after school got out. And she has to be there at 8 am. That's just not right.  (Songbird is ambitious. She is taking her required government course in summer school to start next year as a Senior.  Yes, my daughter is skipping over Junior year all together and will be graduating next school year. Considering she just turned 16 this is a little unsettling. But with a possible move next summer she did not like the thought of moving her Senior year.)

Tomorrow starts Girl Scout Day Camp. Its a week long "camp" for Girl Scouts to go play from 9:30-3:00. The older girls have a campout on Wednesday -- but Mighty Mouse is not in that age bracket so I didn't have to worry about that.  Except. The camp ran into a problem finding the one more Junior leader they needed. One with first aid and camp training.  So who agreed to help?  Right.  What's so bad about showing up and being a warm body and helping out the experienced people, right?

Hah. Except there was no experienced person paired with me. And the person listed as the leader wasn't at training. And the training? Well, I'm not going to say anything more on that because I'm afraid I'd get volunteered to do something about it. Needless to say I walked away from training having filled out a schedule I was not prepared for, shown a very primitive site we would be camping at, and handed a large check so I could plan activities and go buy supplies...including all the food for the campover days.

Shell shocked.  That's a good word.  And did I mention I don't have time for this? I'm in the middle of two something elses?  And they added a girl AFTER I bought all the supplies so now I have to go do it all over again...with gas the price it is AND not having the time for this?

Yes. I've proven it again. I am an idiot.

But it doesn't stop there. Oh no.

The following week I am going to 6 day REAL camp with my Junior Scouts.  6 days...5 nights. No showers. Rain or shine (and last year was 100% rain I'm told).

Oh...and then the following week....Wed-Sat.....yes, that is the week I go to GS camp with Mighty Mouse because she wants to go...but not without me.  And I'm one of the few with all the training. Again.

June is gone.

Thankfully I have a small break in July....until our son comes up for a vacation. Then we will drive him back to Texas with stops at the various grandparents in various states along the way so they can all see him.

July is gone.

And then its time to gear up for school. And go on our favorite GS camp with our troop out to the mountains. And then I fly to Texas for a week to go play with my girl friends at the lake house. And I return to put my girls in school.

August is gone.

And I did it all to myself.

Maybe its a midlife crisis gone wrong?

No idea.

But I won't be posting much.  That's for sure. Unless I take the ipad...which is very possible.

But someone might want to check on me in August....just to make sure I made it.  

Let Them Eat Cake....Or...I Love To Barter

I think with the way things in the economy are going we need to use the barter system more. Have a talent or skill? I might have one to that we can swap.  I don't think our world is going to get better with the debt we have now run up. I can't imagine how we could possibly fix it because some of the things we need to do is cut the politicians and reps to the bone. Take away retirement unless it exactly mirrors the military. Only provide them with the medical care the military receives. Limit terms. Etc, etc.  Not going to happen. They have the power to give themselves whatever they want while taking from the little guy and they are NOT going to take away any of their own benefits.  And its amazing how free people will be with someone else's money....hence our insane debt as a country.

Getting way off track here.

Redirecting.

I don't have many skills or talents to trade off but I have time.  I have one friend that needed 1/2 hours worth of babysitting a few days when the kids got off the bus while she finished up school. No problem. You see she was finishing her hair dressers license.  So I traded for haircuts....something that we need regularly. Perfect trade in my opinion.

I have another friend that does custom Birthday Cakes.  I personally don't enjoy doing fancy cakes. I like to eat me some cake...but I'm not the decorating kind of girl.  But my friend is.  So I bartered a scrap, couch sized quilts for various custom birthday cakes.  Sweet.

(Very sad after daughter destroyed the top - but hey, its her cake and it tasted the same! LOL)

My barter quilt is named Let Them Eat Cake...and took about 2 1/2 days to complete.

Made from leftovers in my scrap bin.  The backing was a large roll of material I picked up at a thrift store for like $3 ... and I still have more even.

Quilt has now been delivered.  All parties are happy and we both ended up with something of value.

So how about you? Do you barter with friends and neighbors?

It might be worth thinking about.

Distance

How far is it?

How far have you come?

The thing I like about the word "distance" is it can mean going forward or moving back. Either way, its and action word. It implies space and time.

I don't think very much in terms of the distant future.  I never know what is coming next. I don't mean that in a small sense...but a rather large one.

Will orders drop and send us off across the states or the world again?

Is it time to call it quits and leave the military behind?

If so, where do we go?  Where do we look for jobs? Everywhere? Anywhere? Somewhere specific? (This is a hard question as we don't really have a place we MUST go back to.)

Will we like the next place....or the next 5 places?  Will the kids adapt well or will it be hard on them?

See - I could spend hours on these kind of questions and focus way too much of my mind and energy on them.  And it would all be for naught.  Because what comes -- well comes.  And we always roll with it just fine. There are always snags and complications -- which we work through and move on.

So worrying about how far we will go...... its not really my thing.  Plus the Bible backs me up on that one. It's a time waster. I've got life to live.

Since I don't have roots, most of my contemplation on distance is about how far I've come. That could be physically or just growth as a person.  Either way you can look back and the the progress or lack thereof.  And I know I'm not done....there is so much distance still to travel.

But I've come so far....

...as a parent.  I believe we are far better parents now than we have ever been in the past.  You learn with each kid. Your priorities shift as you age and your focus is different.  Hopefully, all these years you are actively learning and adjusting your parenting skills.

...as a Christian.  Its hard to start late in life and try to unlearn all you've ever been. Not that is a complete lobotomy....but it is a completely new way of thinking to add to or temper your personality.  I'd say I've had quite a bit of tempering. Sarcasm in no longer the first thing you notice about me.  I will speak to strangers. Hah -- I will speak to non-strangers!  And I LOVE helping others.

...as a neighbor. For so long when we were young life was all about our family and friends. Now I take this a step farther and try to be a good neighbor.  Even if I don't care for or know someone, I can step forward to lend a helping hand without even thinking about it.  It's what you do for your neighbors. And we have seen alot of this on the tv in the places that have been hit by tornadoes and deadly storms.  Love your neighbors even if you don't have a relationship with them. Hey -- where have we heard that before???

...as a person.  I can see I am much calmer, patient and just more settled in the skin I'm in.  And this has been a very rocky road.   Although I tend to get over things fairly quickly, once you cross my "don't cross" line in the sand, you are done.  That can be really hard on people. (No, sorry, wasn't hard on me at all - I won't lie.) But as I travel the distance that is my life.....I find myself letting people back in that I normally wouldn't have.
(At least I hope that's growth...not some kind of idiotic old age disease!!)

You know, its really soul satisfying to look back and see the good distances we have traveled.  And the not so good ones are learning tools or stepping stones. They have their place and play their parts. I'll never be proud of them -- but I won't waste time fretting over them or punishing myself over the mistakes. We all make them. It's what you do from there that counts.  And sometimes, late is better than never.

So how about you?

Are your distances positive journeys......or a road of regret?  Is your journey forward a cause for fear and anxiety or do you live life today and take what comes as a challenge or a surprise just around the bend?

Being Prepared Part III OR ... This One's For You Anna!!

One way to help being prepared for a time without electricity or water is having camping gear at hand. Not everyone is going to have this, but I promise the campers are going to do better overall than the non campers....just because they have the extra gear.  I'm not trying to convince anyone that they need to become campers, but you could help yourself out a little by having some of those handy camping tools. Its worth considering on a small scale.

I have a friend in the area that is a non-camper.  She is now in a situation where her husband wants to take the kids camping....and she's not real enthusiastic about it.  At one point I told her I would give her a list of what we have in our gear to help her out. So Anna -- this post is just for you!  We don't actually have alot of camping gear as our family camping is very few and far between -- most of our camping revolves around  our kids and Scouts.

Our gear is stored in two plastic foot lockers.  They are lighter than the wood ones and hopefully better for wet conditions.  The only reason we have two is because as a Scout leader I don't need everything I take as a family camper...because the Big Boss has EVERYTHING.  I have total camping equipment envy of her. So not kidding.

Anyways.

When its just Scouts we have our own Dunk Bags.  Each bag has plate, bowl, cup and silverware. Mine also has a can opener, some tea and sugar and a sharp knife.  The point of the dunk bag is so you can hang them on a line to dry and walk away. And it keeps each persons stuff all together.  Not necessary for family camping unless you want each person to be responsible for their own dishes -- in which case it is key. Our kids are capable of maintaining their own dishes and we do not have to do it for them. This makes it easy for them.

  In the family locker we have dishes. Plenty of cups for hot and cold liquids.  The plates and bowls are mostly this hard plastic. This insulates from immediate heat transfer if the food is very hot.  All of our dishes except 2 of the enamel ware cups were picked up from the thrift store for almost nothing. The large cups have our names written on them for multiple use during the day.

At this point in time we do not have many camping cookware pieces. I have two largish pots. I also picked up a cast iron smaller pot with a lid at a Goodwill that has not been seasoned yet.  We need a few different sized cast iron skillets to round this out. We do have such in the house should they be needed for an emergency situation.

You will notice that I do not have a camp stove at this time. That will be rectified before the end of the month as I got myself in a Scout situation where I will be camping without the Big Boss and her super stuff. Oy.  We just got rid of the other two stoves we had...both Goodwill finds that used Coleman fuel. We are upgrading to a safer fuel source stove.

Next you need your stuff for doing dishes.  We have two plastic tubs and a plastic drainboard. We carry a small bottle of dish washing liquid, wash clothes, sponges/scrubbies and dish towels. Scouts actually use three tubs....soap, rinse, sterilize (cap full of bleach - in a much bigger tub - a capfull would be too much in this size). Since I am washing most of the dishes I don't bother with the bleach step on family trips....plus I have a reaction to bleach so I can't get my hands in it...even diluted. In an emergency situation it would be a very good idea to have that third tub to sterilize. Last thing you need is to come down sick at that time. Same if you have children doing their own dishes.

We have a couple of makeshift type grates just in case we need them over the fire. This is our extra water container also. We fill in and keep it by the fire. Its not that good for other uses as it is soft sided and hard to handle for drinking purposes.

I keep a plastic container full of silverware, knives, can opener, tongs, etc. Do not forget fireproof, long handled cooking utensils for use over a camp fire. Also remember your hot pads for removing things from the stove...and a pair of heat resistant gloves for removing things from the fire. Welding gloves do well.  We also have a hard sided egg carrier as we always take eggs on family trips, and a camp coffee pot to keep hot water in. We also have a set of marshmellow/hot dog sticks for roasting over the fire.

I carry a coffee can full of dryer lint to help start the fire. It catches and burns pretty quick to get the kindling going.  Plus all the food covering stuff -- a box of larger ziplock bags can come in handy many different ways. Wax paper is good for covering a surface to make hamburger patties or whatever. Tinfoil is a must as it can be used in the fire for making things or used as a cover on pans on the fire.

I carry paper napkins, paper towels, TOILET PAPER, extra plastic bags for trash or wet clothing/shoes, a shower curtain in case there are showers but no curtain (yes it does happen) and two table clothes with the clips to keep them on the table.  If you get the plastic/vinyl ones you can also throw them down on the wet ground to use as a picnic surface without the wet soaking through.

This is my pile of fans.  And no, their most important purpose is not to cool me off.  Its to blow on my face and keep the bugs off of me while I sleep.  The sound of a mosquito buzzing in my ear while I'm trying to sleep drives me nuts -- in a very bad way! The canister in the middle not only runs the grey fan, it will also charge phones, etc.

Which brings me back to something I forgot to show you in the house.  The battery barn.  Right now it is rather depleted because I was just replacing all the batteries in the camping gear and 72 hour kit, indoor flashlights, etc. LOVE THESE.  I had to go online to Amazon to find it because I couldn't find them local and I knew just what a wanted.  This one has a battery tester on it also.

Lastly  I have lots of misc stuff.  Rain gear....don't leave home without it! Line/rope to string to hang things....like the washcloth and dish towels if nothing else.  It is also a good visual barrier on one side of your camp site if you don't want people walking through.  I don't know what the heck people are thinking when you are camping and they all run through your site. Beyond bad form.

We also carry a small hatchet for firewood that needs to be shortened and a camp shovel in case you need to bury anything (think no bathroom) or to clean out the fire pit that someone left in a disgraceful way.

Handheld walkie talkies, multipurpose tool and survival whistles (with compass and slot to carry matches).

We also have lanterns, a tent, sleeping bags, sheets (so you can lay on the sleeping bag and not in it when its hot) and a blow up mattress and its pump.

Then practice your mad jigsaw puzzle skills.....and there you have it.

So Anna, I hope this helps. And before you go buy anything, go to MWR and see what the have available for check out/rent. They should have the expensive stuff for sure.  

Good luck on your first family camping trip!

31 Days of Prayer For My Husband

Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom is one of my favorite bloggers -- like in the top ten. This month she is doing 31 Days of Prayer For My Husband.  I am not going to blog along with her but I am joining her in praying each day along side her for the most important human in my world.  Hop on over to her blog and join in if you'd like.

7 Amazing Things

Lots of bloggers are talking about their bucket lists right now. And what's funny is that I had just recently started one on paper just befor this took off again.  I find reading about what others want to do really interesting.

But...

even more interesting is what people HAVE done. And that is exactly what Cassie over at This Journey Through Life wrote about last week.

So, what I'd really like to know is 7 Amazing things you have already done.  Tell me your great stories. Like, I have one friend that was a missionary in Africa.  And I know another that was a missionary in South America.  I have a great Aunt that helped deliver Bibles to countries in Asia.  Another great aunt puts on real plays and performances...she's like a director and is very talented.  My mother worked in a funeral home when she was very young doing the hair of the deceased....and it sounds like she did Juliette Gordon Lowes hair. I have a cousin that travels all over in search of great wines. This same cousin lived in Alaska and has some great snow stories.  My sister goes on great girls vacations with her buds to exciting places.

I love hearing about this stuff.....so pony-up!

And here is my top 7 Amazing Things:

1. Gone on trips over glaciers with a 4-wheel drive club while living in Iceland. Hit the rivers going fast and flew through. Slid into Glacier Bay and had to be pulled out.  Wow. The memories - and the Northern Lights.

2. Spent over two weeks in China for an amazing Adoption trip. What a friendly country. Can't wait to go back.

3. Took a helicopter ride over Iceland and was given a good look at the island by a Rescue Team.

4.  Stayed for a week in a castle in Germany when I was in 5th grade.  This was for German class and we had to go into stores and try to buy things using German and we ate foods I was unfamiliar with. I remember loving the long walks through the country side and HATING the coffee's they served us for breakfast (!!).

5. Camping in Holland for a week.  Talk about a blast.  And the Dutch boys would try to talk to us...but their English was pretty much related to current pop music and cuss words.

6.  A week long vacation in England with just the Hubs and I.  We got a book and rented a car and went to see many sites and castles and the cliffs of Dover.  I did miss London though as I came down super sick. I thought I was dying. Worst two days of my life.  But still one of the most amazing trips.

7.   An ultra cool girls weekend to a town somewhere in Texas where they have miles and miles of barns and places full of antiques. A whole weekend picking through history. And we stayed at the first Bed and Breakfast I have ever stayed at. I'd like to do that one again!

So go ahead and tell me what cool things you have done. As you can see I love to travel so mine are mostly about places I've gone.

And you?

Simple Joys

Wendy over at Adoption and Fire did a post on Simple Joys yesterday and asked what our simple joys are. I'd say mine are very similar to hers.... its the little things with family.

So Wendy....here are my simple joys...

Spending Memorial Day with one of my favorite Veterans.....and going to the National Cemetery to place flags on the graves of the men and women that died for our country.

Fresh simple foods grown in my backyard.

Watching my youngest come out of her shell and join in life.....even being in the school play with no coercion needed!

A trip out to the local dairy complete with their home made ice cream!

So what about you?  What are some of your simple joys lately?

Autumn Asks: Are You Prepared? Part II

Besides a 72 hour kit, there are alot of little things we can all do around the house to help us for the times we lose power or water. Most of it is common sense and I'm sure you already know.

So we are assuming we already have shelter so we just need food, water and light.

When the storms come and the lights start flickering the first thing we do is light candles in every room...including the bathrooms.  This is for the girls peace of mind. They feel better knowing that if the lights go out they can see.  Its a little thing.

I also have two oil lamps -- which I need more fuel for this year. I picked them up at antique malls but you can buy cheap ones at most all purpose stores. These are my favorite light sources as they give a nice glow and I don't have to worry about battery power. As long as I have fuel, we are fine. They do not consume the fuel very quickly. We also have replacement wicks.

Our camping lanterns have an indoor storage spot since we use them any time we lose the lights also. Usually we get them out but don't actually use them.  But, if the house was compromised or we needed to take light outside, these are what you need - not a flame.

Most of our candle holders are made of substances that will not break from heat and I don't worry about having in the girls rooms. I recommend something that is not easily knocked over.

I pick up candles on clearance. I'm not real interested in the smells as much as in keeping the candle drawer stocked cheaply. My favorite are the plumbers candles...but they are hard to find now. These ones burn for days.

We have flashlights placed strategically all over the house. This one is by the back door.  Most of them are mag lights as they double as a weapon (not kidding).  When the newer led lights came out and we got those, we purchased the tiny ones that fit in our pockets and now we all have one on our person when its storming. I didn't want to get rid of the mag lights so they are stationed by doors, on the main computer desk, on night stands and in the garage and dining room.  I still take my mag with me camping as I like that it is big enough to swing at something should I feel the need.

Of course I have my backup battery for the phones and ipad and video games.  I recently discovered they make wind-up, solar powered ones so I will be in the market for one of those come Christmas time.  We don't actually have a home phone (Magic Jack) so if the power is out we need the cells.  And this is one case where your kids having cells also is a plus. You just have to confiscate them so they don't run the batteries down texting.  While we were holed up in the hall the other day my teen was furiously texting back and forth with her buds.  And by the way, the phone uses less energy to text than to call so keep that in mind if you are in an emergency situation and are low on cell phone battery power.

Now lets talk water.  Normally we fill our 5 gallon jug with water when the weather moves in.  We also have a smaller collapsible one but I rarely get it out. It rolls and is a pain. We will also make sure there is water in the fridge.  I do not fill up the bath tubs with water.  They usually aren't clean enough! LOL!

Do you have a chest freezer? If you are lucky enough to own one you have more water storage at hand.  See, a chest freezer works better when its full. Its uses less energy that way.  So, if you are like we are at the time, your chest freezer is half empty.  Since we don't know when orders will drop, we don't want to keep it full. I can combat that problem by filling the freezer with....

frozen 2 liter bottles of water.  This keeps the freezer full to run more efficiently. It also will keep your frozen food longer should the electricity fail...because its full of ice.  And when it melts...you have more drinking water.  And if you don't drink soda or anything in those bottles, no worries.  I promise your neighbor probably does.  Just ask for the empties, clean with a little bleach water, drain good and air out a day or two and then fill with water. Just remember to leave some room for expansion -- which is why I don't recommend already bottled water...it doesn't have enough expansion room unless you want to crack the seal and pour some out.

Food and cooking is where it can get tricky.  We have a gas grill and a smoker and a bunch of wood. We keep an extra full bottle of propane for the grill so at any given time we have a minimum of one full bottle.  One of the next things on my list is a fire pit as I can cook over it. We already have wood, and in the area we are in we can glean more if necessary.  We have a wagon and a wheelbarrow we can use to gather should we need them.    We also have one burner we can use in the camping gear....but I just got rid of the two butane stoves as we want to update to the newer propane ones (or do I have that backwards?). So right now I do not have a camp stove.  But again, if we did have them and ran out of fuel, they would be useless.  What I need is a place I can have a wood fire.  One day when we have a permanent place of our own I would like a new wood burning stove inside and a fire ring/pit outside.

All these precautions, coupled with our camping gear should keep us comfortable should we experience a time of no electricity and limited mobility.  Assuming there is no house damage, the pantry is usually stocked...although not with enough to hold us over long -- we just don't have the room at the moment.

So tell me what you do different. Is there something I could add?

Autumn Asks: How Prepared Are You? Part I

We have all been watching in complete heartbreak the crazy weather catastrophes all over the world the last few years. It defies words.

The last two days we have had our share of alarms and warnings and sirens, etc. Luckily (??????) my kids are well rounded on the disaster front.

In Iceland it was volcano's and white-outs.  We had to even keep packed suitcases under all of our beds for immediate evac.....and had exercises to practice exactly how it would happen. It was a huge ordeal.

Texas and Nebraska had the tornado's. In Nebraska we had a pretty good plan and safe place in the basement...in Texas we did not. That house was not meant to keep you safe in a tornado-- which is really stupid when you consider the number they get a year.

Florida we had hurricanes.  One was coming in as I gave birth to Songbird. Another chased us out of the state when she was a month old. We lived right on the water and were never sure if the house would be standing when we returned. Thankfully it always was.

So now we are back in tornado country again. Heck, right now it looks like the whole country is tornado country. Very scary stuff.

And last night we had all the sirens going off and we had to "seek shelter immediately".  I'm happy to announce that my children handle this so very well.  And it all starts with....

The 72-hour kit.  Its an obnoxious orange backpack that hangs on the wall in the garage. You can't miss it. But this time it so happened to already be on the couch because this is the time of year I pull it out and replace all batteries and expired stuff, etc.  And the Hubs and I had been talking about beefing it up a bit with some more things.  So I had just inventoried and made a new shopping list.  As a matter of fact we are going to add another backpack to hang beside it with some more food stuffs and clothing and such.

So the orange backpack was placed in the hall and the girls know to grab their stuff also. MM brings a laundry basket that she fills with books and stuffed ladybugs. Everyone grabs a pillow and blanket. The Rat is placed in his crate and put in there. We grabbed Cinders bed but not her crate as it was too big. I think we need to rectify that somehow as she walked all over us. Its a very very small hall. I imagine she could have hurt one of us if we were actually hit. She would be safer contained I think.

Since we have been having these storms....with more to come today...I thought I'd talk a little bit about being prepared.  I'm not talking about "end of the world" stuff....just storms and such.  Most of us will not be hit catastrophically -- and if we are, no amount of prep work is going to really help that much.  But many of us can experience electric and water outages for days - serious but not un-livable home damage and be stuck living in an area where there is no gas for the gas stations because of damage and everything could be rather serious, with the shelves of the stores stripped bare. That is not the time to begin thinking about this.

So lets start with a 72 hour kit.  For us this is just a backpack.  In it you will find enough food to keep us in sufficient calories for 3 days.  Without added water or electricity.

We also like to toss the extra's from MRE packs in. My kids think its a treat when daddy brings home MRE's and we have an MRE dinner night. (No this does not happen often as they are made with a gazillion calories to keep warriors in the field fed and ready to fight.) Anyways, you will also find bagged water and the drops to purify water.  This is emergency rations, so we are not worried about taste and such...its all about survival.

You will also find a small bag of toiletries.

This needs to be supplemented some more right now. Currently it has two travel size "girl stuff", 5 toothbrush/paste, a couple of shampoos, a couple travel sewing kits, a disposable razor, a travel comb/mirror combo and two bars of soap.  As you can see most of this is hotel fodder. The other are from the travel sized stuff.  As long as your house is still standing you will have most of this.  But if you run to a shelter its good to have the things for a couple of nights...until the donations are set in motion or you are allowed to return home.

A word on the soaps -- remember, in an emergency situation that soap can be used as shampoo, to wash clothes and to wash dishes.  This is not optimum for dishes but it is better than nothing.  So I will be adding a few more bars of soap.

The first aide portion of the backpack is where we are sorely under prepared.  Now, we do have kits in both cars and an extra in the garage and one in the camping gear.  This is one reason I have waited until last to beef it up.  Currently it has one mask, disposable gloves (need several pairs to add), a small first aid kit, biohazardous waste bags -- oh, and the can opener that should be with the food. NEVER go without a can opener. There is nothing crazier than having canned food at hand...and no way to get into it without compromising the food inside.

Lastly, we have some basics: duct tape, a utility wrench, lighter, multi-purpose tool, an emergency whistle, plastic sheeting to seal off doors and windows, a weather radio and earphones and a flashlight.  Batteries will need to be replaced yearly  (in my opinion) and the lighter swapped out with a fresh one.  I also want to add a magnesium fire starter and some of the cheap fire starters you can buy at the store.  Remember, we are talking about no electricity.  How are you going to cook?  Also, I need to get a roll of toilet paper in the bag.

We should have a stash of cash in the bag also, but we have that under lock and key in a safe instead. Just not comfortable otherwise.

Remember - no electricity means you cannot pump gas.  You cannot go out to eat unless you find a place with electricity.  You cannot use ATM's.  Many stores will not accept credit/debit if there is no power - its cash only.  You will NEED some cash.   If you have ever survived a nasty hurricane evac you are well aware of these situations.  Also, the sewage seems to get backed up easy so you might be going in the bushes. Not kidding. Been there, done that.

So that is our current kit -- it is no where near complete but we add to it each year.

How about you? Do you have a 3 day kit? What do you have that I am missing?

In part two I will show you more of what is done around the house at all times to be prepared. It's the little things that make such a big difference when that snow storm knocks out the power for days....or whatever the situation.  

Are you prepared?