Provident Living in Upper Kittitas County: Solar Flares and Preparing for Electrical Outages

Monday, August 2, 2010

Solar Flares and Preparing for Electrical Outages

I've been trying to think of scenarios in our area that would require emergency preparedness. All the experts say being prepared for specific emergencies is much more effective, but I never even considered an anticipated cycle of extreme solar flares that can potentially negatively affect our electronic way of life. Here's some food for thought from Totally Ready.com

Yes, there was a massive solar storm yesterday. It has been classified a solar tsunami. Scientists are expecting really magnificent auras in the night sky beginning tomorrow night. The sighting could be as far south as the southern states but probably not. In any case they will be much further south than Canada which usually gets all the fun. This could just be the beginning. We have been talking about this now for months and I would guess many of you thought I was nutty. The flares in this cycle will not take down power grids but remember we are just beginning this active sun cycle, and yes it is a cycle. Scientists are still expecting these to continue until the end of 2013 and they fear as the eruptions get worse many of the thousands of satellites in space will be disabled. That’s right, TV, cell phone, Internet…all will be affected even if the grids are not taken down on earth. Check out www.wired.com for some really spectacular videos.

Today the power went out. We knew it would. the power company was replacing the transformer. We took this as a good time to check out just how ready we are for a power outage. I made sure the freezers were full of bottles of water so things would stay frozen. I froze all of our blue ice packs and had them ready for use. I filled everything that would hold water and place jugs in the bathroom and next to the kitchen sink for hand washing. I took the foods for snacks and lunch out of the fridge and placed them in a cooler with some of the blue ice packs so we wouldn’t need to open the door. Didn’t place a sign on the door with a threat if the door were to be opened but during an outage when we don’t know exactly how long it will be out I will place that sign on the door to remind us not to open without a very specific plan of what you will grab before shutting the door quickly.

What I hadn’t done, because I hadn’t thought about it, which I will now do, was to place an object or bottle in the toilet tank so it wouldn’t take as much water to refill the tank. I realized this as I refilled the tank from a gallon of stored water and it took the whole gallon! and that didn’t even completely fill the tank. I knew it took lots of water but I just hadn’t thought to reduce the amount of water it would actually take. We dedicated one bathroom as the only on in use so monitoring supplies of water and hand sanitizer would be easier and would also save the water in the other tanks, just in case.

I got out the solar/crank radio and flashlight in my 72 hour kit so I could see how long a crank would actually last as we listened. To my chagrin the radio didn’t work on crank power. I flipped the switch to solar and it worked! I was angry that the crank didn’t give me the power needed but thrilled that the solar worked since it hadn’t been charged for months.

We dragged out the new generator and were thrilled that it was fairly quiet. It is an inexpensive model so this was great news. We powered a computer and a few other things and everything went well. Now we have a gauge to calculate the amount of gas it uses per hour so we can be better prepared for a long outage and know exactly how to ration our resources.

For all the planning we have done and all the times the power has been out, we always learn something new or are reminded of things we have forgotten. I would suggest you choose a 24 hour period to live without electric power. You can leave the freezer and the refrigerator plugged in but treat them as though they are not. See what you learn and share it with us and others.

This week I noticed some of the big pharmacy stores have their paper towels on sale. I guess because of my own power outage and the solar flare reminding us just how real a threat of gird collapse is, a sale on paper products caught my eye. We already have plates and cups in our storage. This week add paper towels and napkins. Again, consider the number of people in your home and how many others will likely show up to be fed, and multiply by three meals a day when purchasing napkins. For paper towels consider how many times a day you pick up a sponge or wash cloth to clean up.

Friday morning I will be speaking with Halli again. We will cover our latest General Store purchases and I’m sure more about the solar flare. The great thing about her show is that we can change direction the morning of the show if a disaster should become evident even five minuted before broadcast time. Visit with us on Friday morning 7:00AM Pacific time. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/idahotalk

Benjamin Franklin said: “Diligence is the mother of good luck”

Let us be diligent

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Stockpiling food as a hedge against inflation?

Who doesn't need to supplement their income in an inflation- riddled, down economy? If you've noticed that it takes more money to buy less, you're not alone. A 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal entitled "Load up the Pantry" http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB120881517227532621-lMyQjAxMDI4MDI4MjgyMTI1Wj.htm discussed the realities of inflation and advised stockpiling food as the best hedge against the shrinking dollar (not to mention a good way to practice that Provident Living concept!).

Ten things you should always have in your freezer

Thanks to Pinching Your Pennies (PYP) for the following Provident Living tips!

Everybody has a list of staples they can't live without. Here's my list of staples to keep in the freezer.

1) Ice cubes! I don't use them a lot BUT it is nice to have some on hand when we have guests over. If you have a bag (even a small one) of ice cubes you can look at it to be able to recognize if your freezer is working properly. I keep a small bag in the deep freeze - if the cubes melt and then freeze together in a big clump you will know that there has been a problem, like a power outage.

2) Cooked Turkey. I typically buy 4 or 5 turkeys when they are on sale at Thanksgiving. They are kept in my deep freeze. I cook one about every other month and freeze it in small bags so it can quickly be reheated and used for casseroles or soups.

3) Cooked Ground Beef can be tossed into a sauce and served with pasta or mixed with taco seasoning for quick tacos or burritos. It's ready to be assembled in a casserole, dropped into a soup, seasoned for sloppy joes or mixed with beans for chili.

4) Cooked Rice is a huge time saver. Frozen rice can be reheated in minutes to serve as a healthy side dish or use as a ingredient in another recipe. My family definitely prefers eating regular rice over the quick rice products so having some in the freezer is great for nights when I need something quick.

5) Juice. I love the convenience of frozen juice concentrate. I think it has a longer shelf life than bottled juices.

6) Chocolate Chips -- not only for baking but for a quick mommy treat!

7) Homemade waffles or pancakes. I am not a fan of the ones from the grocer's freezer. Every few weeks I make a BIG batch and freeze them. They can be put into the toaster or microwave for a quick weekday breakfast.

8) Frozen Fruit is perfect for smoothies and desserts. Use frozen fruit instead of fresh fruit and you don't have to add ice to your smoothie.

9) Meatballs can be made into a million other meals. They are small so it's easy to grab just as many as you need and they thaw and reheat fast. My kids LOVE meatballs so I buy a big bag from Costco. They are precooked and quick to reheat. I make a spinach meatball soup that my family loves.

10)Homemade Broth or at least the item necessary to make it. I have broth frozen in sour cream and cottage cheese containers. I also have a bag of cut vegetable pieces (like the tops of celery and carrots) and I have a bag with leftover chicken trimmings and chicken bones that I will be making broth with soon.

Jo Ann's Tips for Provident Living

Jo Ann Carveth stores her quilts and afghans near the front door in a grab-and-go container in case of emergency. It's a trick she learned from her grandmother who turned Emergency Preparedness into a fun event.

Worried that her grandchildren would be traumatized by a real emergency - the family practiced hurriedly grabbing their emergency supplies, racing out the door and then heading someplace for a picnic! Leaving the house in a hurry became a fun event.

Other tips from Jo Ann:
-Store your garden seeds in the freezer and rotate through the packages every year or two.
-Keep a supply of matches dipped in paraffin to protect them from moisture.

Beryl's Tips for Provident Living

Beryl Roberts remembers the years she spent on her parents' homestead in Colorado as some of the happiest in her life. It was the middle of the Great Depression and times were tough, but her parents' thrifty habits got them through.

Some of their strategies for "Provident Living":

-Adding a little water to the liquid dish soap container to dilute the mix and make it last longer.

-Buying pancake syrup in five gallon containers, pouring out some of the syrup into another container and then adding a little water to make it stretch.

-Saving end pieces of soap bars and then melting them down in a pan and pouring the mixture into a lightly greased 8 x 10 pan. When it was almost set up, Beryl's mom turned the pan over and after the soap slid out onto a cutting board, cutting it into individual sized bars of soap.

--Halving the fat in a recipe by replacing half of the butter or shortening with applesauce or mashed bananas i.e. replacing 1/2 cup of butter with 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce.

--Adding a couple unwrapped sticks of spearmint gum into a flour container to keep out insects who hate the minty smell (but doesn't change the taste of the flour).

If you actually had to use your 72-hour kit, could you survive?

So the unexpected happens - even though you don't live in a flood plain, your garage fills with water after a week of torrential rain and starts seeping into your house. You have to get out and fast - so you wade through the garage on the way to higher ground with your 72-hour kits in tow.

After congratulating yourself for actually being prepared for a catastrophic event, you're left with the reality of what you have to live on. Those gallon ziplock bags holding sticks of gum, instant soup and a couple cans of tuna add up to about 600 calories a day.

It'll keep you alive, but not fueled for extra physical exertion that usually goes with an emergency, not to mention the increased mental and emotional strain.

According to one military dietician: "What and how much you eat and drink can mean the difference between top performance and struggling to complete the mission. In extreme conditions, it could be the difference between life and death." (CPT Lisa M. Giese, RD, LN; High Caliber Nutrition in the Field)

Click on the link below for 1500/2000/2500 calorie 72 Hour Kit menu suggestions: http://mormonshare.com/lds-activity/150020002500-calorie-72-hour-kit-menus

Provident Living in Upper Kittitas County

Emergencies by definition are unplanned