A little bit is better than none

Of course, when it comes to food storage itself, every little bit that you can get in will be helpful, a can, bottle, bag, or box at a time. In this particular case, though, I'm referring to information.

Yesterday I was ironing near the front door while one of my children was reading out loud. (Kind of an unusual situation, but hey, ironing boards are portable, and in this case it turns out that the emergency was all about location, location, location...) All of the sudden I heard a whooshing sound that sounded really close to the house. I asked one of my children to look out the front window and see what was making that sound. The answer was "the wind". However, when I looked out the window from my vantage point, I saw no movement in the trees. My second thought was that it was a street cleaner, because it sounded more like water.

Then I got smart and actually opened the front door.

Water was spurting everywhere from a water fixture right next to the front porch, and it wasn't pretty. And, though my technical expertise limits my description to calling it a "water fixture", you may recall our experience nearly a year ago when my expertise on water valves increased by necessity, though fortunately gushing water was not a part of the equation. Add to that the fact that a couple of months ago we had a family night where we talked about the water valve by the street and actually taught our children how to turn off the water in an emergency among other emergency information, and things turned out better than they would have otherwise. I sent a child out with the water key to turn it off (glad to see that a lesson learned was a lesson remembered :) and I was relieved to find that the water stopped immediately.

We went back in, and I was soon informed (read: immediately) that there was water leaking into the basement. I was soon outside emptying out a window well with a bucket. It did not turn out to be a big deal, since we were able to deal with it so quickly.

If I had not been in the front room, I would not have heard the water problem, and it would have been more time before we found out about the water in the basement as well. The way it turned out was a real blessing for us. After I was done bailing water, I called my husband and told him what had happened.

Turns out that the "water fixture" has something to do with the sprinkler system, and a line burst because it hadn't been cleared before freezing temperatures had set in. (This is an odd occurrence because my husband is very good at this sort of thing and has even cleared lines on other property for other people, but there it is.) So when he got home, he dealt with the sprinkler system and turned the water back on. That was nice.

If I had had more information, I could have dealt with the sprinkler system as quickly as my husband did. However, even though my information consisted of "water fixture", I did have enough information to deal with the immediate emergency and to tide me over until someone with more information could help me.

This reminds me of food storage as well, in that I don't have all of the knowledge that I need/would like to have when it comes to emergency situations, but when it comes to food, I do have some. I know how to make some "emergency meals" (which I try to work into my regular meal rotation occasionally) and how to do some basic breads, etc. I know how to use my basics to some extent--rice and beans, flour, oil, etc.--but need to learn more. The plan is to be even (much) better prepared before an emergency hits, but I have some information. You have to start somewhere, and sometimes I get worried that people don't start at all on their food storage because there is so much to learn. I hope people get some grains and/or other basics in, even if they don't know how to use them yet, so that they have something to work with before there's a food shortage. It's more ideal to be an expert with your food storage, obviously, but if you know how to make a few basic dishes with foods that can last long-term, you will be much better off than if you don't have anything at all. After all, you and your loved ones may be your only resource when an emergency first hits. Surviving on a few dishes may not be ideal, but it is surviving. And if there are people to help you after an emergency strikes, it will be a better situation if we have our own resources to share and/or learn with.

Oh, and the other thing this reminds me of is the necessity to clear those sprinkler lines before they freeze.... :)

All substitutions are not created equal

Well, if I were in the mood to tell stories on myself, I guess I could talk about the time when I was living overseas, and:

--because there were no varieties of Rice Krispies, a decision was made to use puffed wheat instead in a variation of Rice Krispie treats. The result? The result was not good. Conclusion: puffed wheat is not a good substitution for Rice Krispies in the recipe for Rice Krispie treats. Bad substitution. Bad, bad, brick-like substitution.

--because there was no mixer available, the decision was made to try to make "no-fail divinity" in a blender. The chances of success? Hopes were high, I mean, look at the name of the recipe. The result? You may be surprised (or not) to hear that the results were not good. Conclusion: a blender is not a good substitution for a mixer when it comes to making divinity. Bad substitution. Bad, bad, total mess of a failure substitution.

Now, I'm obviously not against trying new things, (at least if you look at the above examples) but in an emergency situation you might not have the luxury of trying new things--either because you don't have the resources, or because the information is not available. And I'm not talking about fun things like rice krispie treats and divinity--I'm talking about things like eggs and white flour. However, if you know what substitutions can be made for common items in cooking, you can not only stock up on needed supplies, but you will know how to use them if the need arises.

Wendy, over at iPrepared, recently put up an excellent comprehensive list of many common cooking items in this post. I have not tried these substitutions as of yet, but I did make myself write them down in my emergency notebook before I let myself write this post. It took quite a while, but now it's in there! I am especially glad to know how to substitute for eggs, because as of this post I have no chickens on my property.... Many thanks to Wendy for putting so much valuable information up for all to share.

Just a note about this week's poll--lots of times, as I may have mentioned before, I put up questions that I'm thinking about that apply to my own situation. If I had to pick one of the options on the poll that is worrying me particularly at the moment, I would say it would be the one about time. I'm hoping things will still be available and affordable by the time that I am able to get all the provisions in that I want to get in. If you have the means, please get emergency supplies in as quickly as possible for your family. If you are already in an emergency situation, I hope that things get better for you soon.

I haven't said this in a while, but really, one of the reasons that I started this blog is because I don't want my children to go hungry in a crisis situation, and I don't want anyone else's children to go hungry either. We may not be able to get everything in storage that we would like to get, but everything that we can get in will end up being a big plus, emergency or not...

In the research phase

Well, I haven't got that much to write about at the moment, but I am in the middle of researching a couple of things that I want to have/know for emergency purposes. Once I have more info, or even a purchase (gotta love those :) I will post about it. Here are my current areas of interest:

--I want/need to get an oil/kerosene lamp. We now have more flashlights, but I really would like a good lantern or lamp (one of the decisions), and have looked on ebay. Found out that I don't know much about wicks and wick lengths. Found out that I would like to have extra of whatever wick I would need. Found out that prices vary greatly on ebay. And found out that I just need a lot more information before I can buy something of this nature and/or write a helpful post on this subject, so this paragraph is all that I have for now....

--If I'm not mistaken, I have written about the terrible sticker shock I experience in the cereal aisle at insert any store name here, unless there is some kind of wonderful low-price sale on cereal intended to draw you in in the hopes that you will buy a ton of other stuff. So far have survived by stocking up on 10/$10 boxes (those were the days) and more lately more expensive "good" deals, but have decided that I just need to bite the bullet and find at least a couple of breakfast recipes that:

--use as few ingredients as possible...

--- use ingredients that would be ones that I already have or am planning to have in storage, or would be ingredients that are not too expensive but have a relatively long shelf life and which I would feel good about storing...

-- could be variations on the old standards---oatmeal, breads, some kind of rice dish that could be eaten for breakfast, etc. ...

--are really easy, so that a person such as myself would not be frightened into procrastination upon seeing the recipe...

Unfortunately, I have not found what I am looking for yet, or you would be reading more success stories (with links) or failure stories (without links) right now. Sorry that it's not more informative at the moment, but I'm working on it. Would welcome suggestions, ideas, etc., if you're willing to share....

Sometimes, it's all in the timing

Well, we couldn't have been more fortunate if we had tried to time it this way:

--A couple of days after we got our wood, it snowed, and then turned brutally cold. I realize that some people's definition of "brutally cold" may differ, but when that wind chill kicks in with considerable numbers below zero, I don't think anyone will hold my definition against me.

--Checked the paper yesterday to see if aspen wood gentleman was still advertising his wood, and his ad wasn't there. Just checked this morning's paper to make sure I wasn't making this all up, or was mistaken about which ad was his, and with extra information from my husband can confirm that his ad is not included in the classifieds. (Can you blame him, really? Who wants to cut/haul/sell wood in -0 degree temperatures?) I think there are 3 ads for pine wood and a mystery wood, (too lazy to check the paper again, sorry) but no aspen wood gentleman. Guess we got our order in just in time. Now that we're using that aspen wood, guess we'll see how long it lasts.... :)

We feel very blessed that it worked out for us this way. We also feel blessed that at this point we are not in the middle of an emergency of any nature, so that we can prepare.

Our wood purchase is one example of timing working out to our advantage. Timing isn't always connected to weather or forces outside of ourselves, though. We can use timing to our advantage, and I love this quote that I saw recently:

"Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time." –Theodore Roosevelt

What I take from this quote is that we look/are pretty smart if we do things "in time," which means to me while we still can, and before it's too late. I have a tendency to look at things in terms of preparation, (hey, I have a blog to write... :) and specifically in terms of emergency preparation. I gather information and read other blogs, but I also need to do what I can to prepare--just knowing I should/need to/ought to will not be enough--it's like being a grasshopper and watching the ants store up and thinking that it's a wonderful idea to try tomorrow. If it's a matter of truly not having time to learn new things because of multiple jobs/responsibilities/insert your situation here, or the finances are not there for emergency preparation activities/expenses/insert your emergency preparedness issue here, at this time, that is a different story entirely. However, if we have the time and means to do more for emergency preparation right now, it would probably be wise to do as much as we can before an emergency strikes. I'm nine-tenths certain that I do better with new recipes when I'm not under stress than I do in the middle of an emergency...and cooking new recipes is something that I find it quite easy to put off. That's an area I need to work on--I have gathered some recipes that I should try soon, rather than always putting it off until tomorrow.

What are some preparedness issues that are particular to your situation? Wood, obviously, is an issue for us, not only for the heating issue that we are facing at the moment, but for cooking if it became necessary. If you live in Florida or somewhere that it doesn't get extremely cold, your preparation activities could take a different direction entirely. One thing that we would all agree on, however, (taking the tiniest of leaps here) is that we will all need to eat, regardless of location. We are also not all in the same financial situation, so we have to be wise with our means--do what we can when we can without going into debt over it. Every little bit we can put aside helps, a bag or box or can at a time. We never know when an emergency of whatever nature is going to find its way to our door, so we need to be "wise in time" and get some/more in while we still can....

So what's in your emergency preparedness files?

Awhile back now, one of my poll questions dealt keeping track of your emergency preparedness information. Quite a bit of the information I have gained has come from the internet, but the problem is that in an emergency situation, the internet or other sources of information might not be available. So I put the question out about storing information, and here are the results:

How do you keep track of your emergency preparedness information?

Emergency preparedness is a way of life for me, so it is all in my head 42%
I collect recipes, pointers for emergencies, etc., in a folder or notebook 64%
I have a list of blogs that have the information I need so that I can refer to them if necessary 42%
I have emergency preparedness manuals that I can use in an emergency 42%
I know people that I can call and ask for information in case of an emergency 28%
I have a backup of emergency information in a file on my computer 50%
I don't yet have a system for storing emergency information 7%
Other 21%

And now, (drumroll, please :) for a quick commentary on the results:

There is something to be said (and it's all good) for having practiced/learned a skill to the point that you have it in your head--it would be great to not even have to think about how to deal with food preparation, or look in a manual for directions, because you know how to deal with a situation already, and you're with you 24/7. I am honestly impressed with those who are at this point of emergency preparation. Alas, that is not me--you may have noticed my disclaimer about not being a professional posted handily and prominently on this very blog. But I and others like me need not despair, if we think ahead, and use perhaps....

A folder or notebook in which we keep a collection of written reminders of what we have learned. This question actually prompted me to start my notebook, a project which I had been planning on and procrastinating for quite awhile. I have printed out the recipes I use most frequently, but there is a lot of information out there that would come in handy when I am nowhere near internet access or people more knowledgeable than I am, if said information could easily be found gathered in one place. I can gather some of said information more easily if...

I have a list of blogs readily available from which to glean information. You can see a blog list on my blog of blogs that I read regularly, but I have also found other blogs that provide useful emergency preparedness information that I will likely share in the future. Some much information, so many blogs, and so little time...

That sometimes it may be easier to buy your emergency preparation pre-packaged, as it were, in an emergency manual. When we talked to the emergency expert in our area recently, he suggested some manuals to us--and some that he mentioned to me before I have already checked out at the library and perused. We will probably end up purchasing some, and should probably plan on it now. People who have read my blog for awhile, will know, however, that....

My best source is my mom, who I call when I have an emergency. This can be helpful, but seeing as how some emergencies can cause loss of power, phone connections, etc., it would probably be best to converse with your best sources before an emergency situation. Since my best source lives in another state, I'm just hoping that she will never have an emergency situation at the same time as we do....

And that the electricity won't be out forever, but there are no guarantees. I don't have a backup in computer form, but for those who do, please make sure that you can access the information you need in an emergency situation. And those of you who marked that you don't yet have a system for storing emergency information...

You are not that far behind me. Like I said, I finally started a notebook because of this question, even though I knew I should have started before. (Amazing what looming feelings of guilt and hypocrisy will do for your motivation... :) So I will let you know how I have started.

One, I have started to practice. I am pretty sure that the process for harvesting pumpkins is now firmly entrenched in my head. Yay! For other situations, ones that I have never come up against (and hope that I never will) I have started a notebook collection. It could be better organized, but the beginnings are there. I will probably share some of the info I have collected on different types of emergency information occasionally in the hopes that it will help other people , because the sources I am going to cite have certainly helped me. One example of great information is.....

The Stealth Survival Site, written by Riverwalker. He has information on his site about a multitude of subjects, and here are a few recently added entries to my own personal notebook:

--On the main page, there is a recipe for making your own electrolyte beverage in an emergency.

---If you search for Tuesday Tips, you will find a vast amount of information on many different posts. I appreciated his tips on salvaging burnt rice and prolonging the usefulness of tomato sauce/paste here, and his tips for dealing with wounded fingers and navigating by the moon here.

Those tips have found a home in my notebook, but I am far from done gleaning information from his site. I would recommend checking it out and seeing what you might want to add to your own information system.

Those of you who mark "other" should start a blog....I would love to know the information you have in your head.... or you could just leave a comment to satisfy my curiosity... :)