First Hard Frost

We woke up this morning to a silvery frost over everything. Actually, it didn't come as a surprise because it was -4c when we went to bed and the big pile of firewood in our driveway was starting to sparkle. It's -7c now. The whole rest of the country seems to be under a deep freeze with Alberta recording temps in the low -30's Brrr! That's cold for November. Just because they're used to it (we lived there for years) doesn't mean they have to like it. That's cold! Even Vancouver Island where it rarely snows has a nice white blanket. So all things considered we're doing good. It's been 15 degrees a couple of days over the weekend and sunny, but we know that winter is inevitable. So Steve winterized the motorhome last night, draining the water systems and putting RV anti-freeze in the plumbing and regular anti-freeze in the engine. It should be ready to move to Sackville this week, just waiting on a moving permit.

We've been very busy finishing stocking up with firewood. A massive pile of cut and split logs is on the driveway (about 2 cords) with the exception of the oak we cut, we need a log splitter for those massive rounds. Once it's all cut we're loading it into the garage and into the basement to help get it nice and dry. It's really important that the moisture has somewhere to go and we have 2 extractor fans in the basement, one right by the woodpile. The basement currently contains almost a cord of very very dry wood and another half cord that's drying. So we should be good now for the winter with a total of about 6 cords of hardwood. All in all with scrounging, cutting ourselves, donations and $350 cash paid out, we've got our winter supply. And with any luck there will be some left over to go towards next year. We couldn't have done it without our friends too, you guys are terrific!

It's 64 degrees in the house right now, or 17 celcius, so I lit a fire to take off the chill. We're still getting acclimatized to the damp cold here and so keeping the hose a bit warmer than we usually would. Outside it's sunny and there's a nice wintery blue sky. It's -7c (19f) so the kids dressed up warmly when they headed out for the bus today. The low pressure system we've been watching over the last few days has moved up the Atlantic seaboard and is now lying to the southwest of Nova Scotia so we have a snowfall warning that we could get upto a foot (30cm) of snow tonight. As soon as I see the clouds coming I'm pulling that trailer of wood inside! Hopefully I can get the other pile moved or tarped as well. It's no fun to have to try and dry wet wood before you can stack it. And if it gets snowed on and then melts it's going to wet the outside of every log. Not a disaster on seasoned wood, but it's less efficient to burn. What we want are logs with check marks (small cracks) on the ends indicating that it's dry.

Tonight I'm teaching a class at church for the women about emerency preparedness. We're going to discuss a 72 hour kit, fuel storage, water storage and we're having a basic first aid class too. As important as it is to learn these things...I'm just glad for a chance to hang out and get to know them better. Guess that means I should take some snacks too...maybe cookies and hot apple cider? I'll think about it.

So what's in your 72 hour kit? Can you carry it in a backpack or is it in totes? Ours is partly in the motorhome and we're working on backpacks for everyone too. We have a lot of camping gear and use it fairly regularly during the warmer weather, but now that we live where it gets colder int he winter I think we should reassess the thermal ratings of our sleeping bags. Another thing to add to the 'to do' list. Also have to stock up on fuel again too for our camping stove. It's never ending isn't it?

Well I've got to go print up supply lists and other emergency info stuff for tonight. Hope you're all keeping warm. And a big cold hug to those readers who live where it's warm!

Elizabeth

Preparing for an Emergency

As a lot of you know, we're Mormons. And one of the teaching of the latter day prophets is to store a supply of food, clothing and other necessities to help in times of need. Now this can mean that using you stored supplies helps with stretching your budget if you lose your job, getting through a natural disaster, and some people believe that if the economy crashes you'll need it too. This advice has been around for many many years though and it's not something new. What IS new are the types of people who now call themselves 'preppers'. They read things about the economy, politics, peak oil, and the many predictions that we as a world are heading for another depression. Probably one of the most famous late commers to the movement is Robert Kiyosaki, author of the famously popular "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series of books about investing and money management. There's an interesting intervies with him over at Total Investor and I've included the video below.

Now of course several guys mention about firearms and that is a subject I don't wish to discuss on the blog right now. But the other ideas about storing supplies are something that we are hearing the world over and not just from church leaders. Governments and community groups are urging people everywhere to have a 72 hour kit ready so that in case of a disaster they can get by on their own for a few days before help can reach them. I noticed recently that many are now suggesting 96 hours (4 days) or upto a week if you live in a remote area.

If and what you decide to store are very individual choices. Some people simply don't want to store food. Some have limited resources or space for it. Whereas others will go gung ho and spend money on a lot of stuff that's really not essential. I would simply urge you to think about this....If something happens to disrupt the supply of food in Canada (3 days or less), or your neighbourhood, how long can you last? Do you have a source of heat, water, food and shelter? In a pinch this is as simple as a small tent, sleeping bag, cooking pot with matches, water and some canned food or granola bars in the trunk of your car. We're not talking about building a fallout shelter in the back yard. It's best, in my opinion, to start slowly and to gradually store what you will use and eat. Even those on the leanest budget should be able to find a way to store an extra can of soup or a small bag of oatmeal every week. It quickly adds up to the point that you have to begin rotating your food. And if you look closely you can find room to store it. When I was first married I had my boxes of food supporting the mattress of my bed and I used jars of blackberry jam to hold up the individual boards of my shelves. They work just as well as bricks :)Think about a motorhome, it's laid out to have as much usable storage and space as possible. If you need some help, just send me a message.

I have to go get the kids but will finish this post later on what to have in your 72 hour kit.