Hanukah Storm 2006 Part 4: What I've Learned

We are now a few weeks out from the storm and power outage, and I'm really hoping we won't have another experience like that one any time soon. However, with the weather being what it is these days (highly unpredictable) you just never know. While I would not say we were exactly unprepared for the Hanukah storm, I feel like there are many places where we could have done better.

First of all, most of the preparedness people tell you to have a three day supply. Three days worth of water, three days worth of food, three days worth of everything else you will need to get by. However, during this event many people were without power for a heck of a lot more than three days. Not know how long you might be without power was a major problem for many people. Without even an estimate people could not ration things properly. Do I burn a nice big fire now and assume my wood only needs to last a few days? Or do I let the fire go out during the day to conserve fuel? Therefore, my first goal is to have at least a week (or even ten days) of all the essentials.

Second, I need to buy real firewood and not just the fake stuff. Presto logs are fine for making a cheerful glow, but they do NOTHING to actually heat the house. This summer I am going to buy a whole cord of seasoned firewood, and it will not be fir which burns too quickly. I'm thinking maple or spruce might be good. I get the feeling there might be a lot of firewood for sale in the next year or two.

Third, I'm buying a battery-powered or crank radio. I know, I know I should have had one already. It was such a weird feeling to be completely cut off from information. The only way to hear the news was to drive somewhere, and we didn't want to do that too often for fear of running out of gas. A radio would also let us know if more interesting weather was about to come along, and it might also help with estimating how long the power would be out.

Forth, I'm buying three or four more hot water bottles. I know this may sound strange, but since we have a gas water heater this is one source of heat even when the power goes out. I didn't remember about this until our last cold night, but a couple of hot water bottles in your bed will keep you happy for a few hours.

Fifth, I'm becoming The Candle Queen. It's not that we were in danger of running out of candles, in fact we had a good number, but I want enough to have actual light. If you sit in front of the fire with your one little tea light you can't see well enough to do anything, and you might as well just go to bed even though it's only 5:00pm. If, on the other hand, you have five or six nice tapers burning then you can actually read for a little while or play cards (I need more of those too) or do the dishes in comparative comfort. I like the Trader Joe's dripless tapers. Two bucks for half a dozen, and they DO NOT make the kind of mess that you get from emergency candles. Another note, scented candles are nice in a normal setting, but when you are burning several at once it can be a little overwhelming.

Sixth, I need to work out a better way to cook during black outs. We do not have a gas stove, so this is our biggest challenge. The fireplace produces some heat, and you can wrap things in foil and throw them in, but you can't boil water to save your life (when it's 48 degrees in your house a cup of tea IS a question of life or death!). M was very clever about using the alcohol burner on the fondue pot (okay for indoor use!) but it is very slow and the fuel runs out quickly. He also used a camp stove and the BBQ grill outside, but if it had been raining or snowing this would not have worked. Maybe we could work out some sort of hook in the fireplace? Must think on this one.

Okay, I think that covers it. Before I go shopping did I forget anything important? I always try to be prepared, but sometimes it's hard to know what you might be forgetting. What was that wonderful Rumsfeld quote? "You've got your know knows..."