Calm Before the Storm

For obvious reasons, I was never a Boy Scout.  And despite my thorough enjoyment of Tagalong cookies, I wasn't a Girl Scout, either.  Somewhere along the line I still got the message: Be Prepared.  This weekend our community was abuzz with talk of the coming weather (even more than usual).  A cold front was expected to change warm rain to a wintery mix to snow to below zero temperatures within just a couple hours' span on Sunday night.  Unlike northern climes that brave subzero readings and copious amounts of snow for months at a time, our area isn't used to this drastic an arctic dip.  Of greatest concern is our region's propensity for ice.  The Ice Storm of 2009 left thousands without power for weeks (in addition to the millions of dollars of damage).  Though that event was certainly the extreme, it was an excellent lesson in being prepared. The current winter flare up is intensely cold, but nowhere near as catastrophic or long-lasting as in 2009 (thankfully!). However, one of the crazy things about weather is that it's hard to know beforehand how bad it's really going to be. Without getting all doomsday about it, Weldon and I like to take advantage of the calm before the storm with a bit of old-fashioned preparation.

A leafy welcome mat, thanks to swirling winds

 

...and so it begins.

Baby, It's Cold Outside: Heat
We've got it easy on this one.  We heat our home with a wood stove.  The building is fairly well-insulated and the stove is over-sized for the 1,200 square foot space (an unforeseen benefit of being gifted with a castoff stove from a former co-worker).  It's not hard for us to keep our domicile romping warm.  As long as we can scuttle to the wood pile outside, we're set.  Folks with grid-tied heat are going to have a harder time with this.  Liquid Propane is a classic alternative. Otherwise, come on over...we've got a spare bed with your name on it.

Rub-a-dub-dub, Thanks for the Grub: Food
Another benefit of our wonderful wood stove is that it has a hinged grate on top which, when propped open like the hood of a car, reveals a nifty, albeit ashy, cook top.  We normally keep a water-filled iron kettle on this surface to re-humidify the air; but in times of power-outage (or just to save the energy used for a kitchen appliance) we cook, re-heat, or defrost food as well.  When we're not looking for hot vittles to throw down our gullets, the canning pantry is stacked with an array of ready-to-eat pickles, jams, fruit, and veggies.  While the refrigerator and freezers are tagged as "low-traffic zones" during power outages, there's plenty to munch on within those chilly doors.  It's awfully handy for us to thaw frozen goods on a cement floor that's been heated by a radiating stove -- bread, frozen leftovers, and produce are easy pickings.  To maintain freezers and refrigerators during longer outages (or for folks with a medical issue that requires electricity), consider a generator.  They're often an expensive purchase, but neighbors/extended families can go in on one as a group and collectively use it to keep home and farm appliances charged.

Water, Water Everywhere: Water
We have county water.  Folks with well water may have significantly higher or lower issue with water supply in the event of a power outage.  While I could (and probably should) write an entire post on municipal water, I'll keep these comments to the storm-related topic at hand.  The good news for grid-tied water supply is that it is rare to have an immediate shortage.  Most times there are backup generators in place for filtering and pumping water for quite some time.  However, as in the case of the 2009 Ice Storm, a boil water advisory was put in place for large portions of the Kentucky population because the failure of backup systems allowed unfiltered water through the lines. While some homes had a decrease in supply, others were without water entirely.  Enter the Berkey water filter.  We didn't have one of these babies in the days of the Ice Storm, but I bought one for Weldon as an unabashedly self-serving Christmas gift a couple years ago.  What a winner! After tiring of our seemingly teacup-sized pitcher filter, we decided to take the plunge and pay for the quality of a Berkey (you can check out our Royal Berkey Water Purifier at www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com).  With 2 carbon filters and the added optional fluoride filters, we have 2-3 gallons of filtered water ready at the simple flick of a spigot.  It's an easy refill in the morning or at bed time. We keep a gallon chilled in the fridge and we can down the crystal clear hydration for the rest of day.  The awesome thing about a Berkey product (no, I'm not getting kickbacks from their company) is that their long-lasting filters are used all around the world in developing countries where potable water is difficult or impossible to find.  That means that should times get really rough in our hollows of Kentucky, Weldon and I can simply catch rainwater or run down to the creek, filter out the nasties with astonishingly reliable results, and keep on keeping on. In the meantime, we're getting rid of the pharmaceuticals, arsenic, mercury, and other chemicals infused in municipal water.  In the case of weather like this weekend, we fill extra jugs to have on hand for washing or filtering later.  You know...just in case.

Hello, Central?: Communication
The ease of cordless phones can become pretty moot if there's no electricity to power them.  If you can believe this, when Weldon and I married we had a rotary phone in our house.  I wish we were just that cool, but in actuality, we moved into his grandparents' former home and were too nostalgic to think of using anything else.  It certainly came in handy a time or two when there was no power to our cordless alternatives.  Communication is an often overlooked factor during storm-prep.  How many homes are no longer equipped with a wired land line? Cell phones are an obvious go to. While we're on the subject, I might as well mention that having the phone fully charged before the storm is key and having a car charger isn't a bad back up plan.  Another valuable tool of communication worthy of consideration is a radio.  Though it seems archaic in our technological age, a good radio is extremely handy when a computer or smartphone aren't reliable options. Weldon and I have a solar powered, hand-crank radio that we can whip out at a moment's notice.  It doesn't come out often, but we're glad it's there none the less.

Let there be Light: Light
These days it's hard to imagine that humans lived for many thousands of years without anything but the sun for light.  Unless you're one of those for which flashlights and batteries always seem to be on strike (i.e. dead batteries, bad bulbs, etc.), you'll be pleased to hear that a couple different-sized flashlights may be all you need to keep yourself half-sane during an outage.  As long as they're handy and in working condition, you're set!  We really like our headlamps for hands-free maneuvering (they're the kind of fashion statement that never goes out of style).  We also have the ever-romantic stash of candles and a trigger lighter on hand.  Last, but far from least, Weldon has a pair of '57 Chevy metallic aqua-colored glass-globe lanterns.  They're collectors-style lanterns seen everywhere at flea markets for kitschy folks to throw on their mantel as the piece de resistance of a dusty still-life.  Once again, we're not that cool. We have ours to actually put lamp oil and a wick into so we can light up the room or porch or what have you.  Though antique oil lamps can easily be refurbished, our Dietz brand lanterns were gifts purchased from lehmans.com  With all these options at our finger-tips I'm a bit loath to admit that in the event of an extended outage we're just as likely to slip back into our ancestral pattern of sleeping when it's dark and getting a move on when Mother Nature's light returns.

Twist and Shout -- a bonus section on Tornadoes
I did not grow up in tornado country.  I was as awestruck as Dorothy in Oz when I first heard tornado warnings issued for our area after moving to Kentucky.  (Notes to newcomers: Acquire a map of your state with the counties clearly marked. When a warning is issued for You-Have-No-Idea-Where County, shudder and look concerned.  Then, secretly take out your map and locate said county.  If the county is on the other side of the state mutter an honest, "Bless their hearts," within earshot of the locals.  However, if the county is nearby, grab your bunny slippers, run for the basement, and listen for your own county to be announced shortly.) While this week's storm was not a tornado scare, they are a harsh reality for our region.  Our families have the unofficial plan of calling all members at the first sign of a county-wide tornado watch.  If the watch progresses to a warning or the winds seem particularly infuriated, we send out another round of calls.  At that point, Weldon and I generally hop in our car with a good book tucked under our arms and scream into his parents driveway a mile away to join the Tornado Party in their basement.  They even have a television down there so we can watch the local radar.  Hey, whatever works!  A recent addition that our county has implemented is a voluntary weather emergency calling system -- at the first announcement of an official event warning or siting, we signed up to receive an alert call to our home and cell phones.  Way to go Hart County!


I'm certain there are many more storm-prep tactics that experienced folks implement.  Naturally, everyone's situation and needs are unique.  The above are the basic tenants that I attempt to keep covered.  The beauty of living the way we do is that none of this seems too far out there.  A stretch, yes, but not a back bend.  With our supplies and plans never far from reach the calm before the storm begins to feel fairly, well, calm.  My idea is to keep it simple, take it seriously, and to find fun in the situation if at all possible.  When else can you pull a special coffeecake out of the freezer and say with all seriousness, "I simply can't do anything else tonight but cozy up by the fire with my sweetie and this delectable coffeecake"?