Basic Needs During a Power Outage

Have you put thought into what you would do if there was an emergency situation in your area?  I live in hurricane land so not only do I think about it, the news stations talk about planning and the papers put out printed booklets each year on the best way to be prepared.  I guess the attitude in this area is, ' An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'.  This makes perfect sense to me.  So Angie wants to give you ideas on how to be prepared for an emergency situation.  I'm prepared for two weeks of downed power, just in case it takes longer than expected to restore power.  Most people in this area are also prepared to leave their homes if mandated.

Keep in mind, I'm no prepping expert, nor do I feel the world is ending.  I just prepare for an emergency hurricane.  When I lived in the North I prepared for winter storms.  (That was used quite often,)

The BASIC list of items you may need to be semi comfortable during an emergency situation consist of things that address basic human needs.  Instead of keeping things in different spots in the house, I have a bin that can be picked up and moved IF we are told to leave the area.

An easy way to organize a bin is to write down what you would do and need if power was out.

FOOD and WATER
How can you warm up food?  Do you have food that can be eaten cold?  Do you have one gallon of water per person per day?

WARMTH
blankets and a small kerosene heater. (or) use fragrance free candles in a closed room.  Leave a window opened just a bit so the fumes don't disable you.
Clean clothes, shoes and undies

LIGHT
Flashlights (My daughter got me five small ones at WM for 1.00 apiece)
Candles
Batteries for flashlight

MEDICAL
Any medicines taken daily
Bandages
Tape
Antibiotic cream
Scissors
Pain reliever

CASH
Small denominations in case ATMs are down and you can get to a store after the disaster or during recovery period.

These will provide basic needs in an emergency.
If you want to go beyond basic needs it would be good to have string, scissors or small knife, and a tarp.  A tarp can be used to cover holes during a storm to prevent water damage to your home.  It also has a number of other uses such as shelter in an extreme case.

This list only provides the basic human needs to survive a short lived event.  I have watch videos where people go all out.  I do a lot of eye rolling during them.  I used them to glean basic information.  And, of course, for entertainment purposes!

Christmas Bargain Shopping and a Shared Meal

On September 15 2016 the new discount card I received in the mail from Kohl's becomes valid.  This time I received a 30% off coupon.  I've been waiting for the 30% coupon because there are a couple of Christmas/birthday gifts I want to purchase.  Not only can I use the 30% coupon, they are also offering cash back.  For every 50.00 spent, I will receive 10.00 in cash back vouchers to be spent during the next cycle.

Here's the scenario:

1.Cost of gifts: $460.00
2.Purchasing online through www.ebates.com cash back promotion of .03%  Minus $9.66
3. 30% coupon, minus $138.00
4. Kohl's cash, 60.00
5. 2 you rewards, $15.00

460.00
- 138.00 = 322.00 (coupon)
-9.66 = 312.34 (ebates reward, rounded down)
- 60.00 = 252.00 (Kohl's cash)
- 15.00 = 237.00 ( 2 you rewards)
This comes out to be a savings of 223.00

I like this!  First thing in the morning I will take advantage of the free shipping online and order the items.


Monday I woke up with so much energy that I did a marathon session in the kitchen.  The beef stew and home made bread made a great meal that I shared with friends and family.  I enjoyed the visit and had fun setting the table with a fall theme.   The meal was topped off with a garden salad and jello.  The kids ate mac and cheese with some salad and the jello.  The adults topped off the dinner with a store bought coffee crumb cake while the kids chomped down a few candy corns.

Because I don't use recipes, I just fling
meals together, I was hoping the stew
was good.  I got a few thumbs up!

I meant to take a picture of the table
setting, but got side tracked.  These tulips
were in the center.  You know I love
tulips!

I used the bread machine to make
this loaf.  It was stored in a 'green' bag
which lived up to the claims of the creator.


 

After dinner I sat in the back yard while the kids drew race tracks on the patio and the four year old ate every blackberry she could find on the bushes.  I had a nice time with everyone.  I even had help with the dishes.  Many hands make the work light.

I also made a quiche to use up small amounts of mushrooms and spinach.  The quiche will be cut into single servings and placed in the freezer for future meals.

Nothing was lost when I made this quiche.
The eggs were fresh from a friend's
chickens (I'm sooo thankful) and the
veggies were fresh.

I love the blue color of the eggs.

This picture is for a friend who thinks
when I cook I'm a neat freak.  I just
create and worry about the mess
later.  I do separate clean from dirty
though.  Just ingrained in me from
medical and surgical training.

All clean now.  I thought my hands were
going to fall off after cleaning dishes
four times during the marathon!

Stay safe.

Fall's Not Here, but the Decorations Are!

For some reason I've spent the past couple of days  reflecting on the past.  Not on purpose, but things are popping in and out in a rather random manner.  Not things that happened, but the things and people who have shaped who I am.  Things I consider gifts from God.  At this very moment I am so thankful for the good things that my heart is bursting and tears of joy are flowing.  Thank you, Father, for always taking care of me and protecting me.

This week has been a quiet one, but I did get out a couple of times.  Dinner with family on Wednesday evening at Smokey Bones to celebrate little miss's fourth birthday, then a party on Saturday with friends and family.

One of the families that came to the party are foster parents.  They currently are caring for a beautiful one year old girl who warmed my heart when she put her arms out for me to hold her.  I love babies and puppies.  It's nice they like me, too.

A local grocery was offering a 10.00 off 50.00 purchase coupon.  Since I seldom spend over 28.00 a week on groceries my first thought was the offer was not for me.  Immediately afterwards my mind went in a different direction.  I could purchase long term items such as coffee and sugar to bring up the total to meet the requirements.  Not only did this work well, but the items I needed were all on sale.  Here's the breakdown.

The total came to 71.00 and change.
The coupon brought the total down to 61.00 and change.
I then asked what day the military discount applied and was told it was every day on store brand items. (organic items included)
The final total was 58.33.

I have enough food for well over three weeks, including organic fed sausage that was on a manager's special for 1.49 for eight patties.  I bought the two packs that were in the meat case.

Another item I want to rave about is a new to my area yogurt called NOOSA.  It's made in Colorado with a mother from Australia.  What an amazing product.  The container holds close to twice as much as our normal ones do so it will last for two to three servings.  It's so good, though, I may 'pig out' on it and eat it all at once.

I normally eat peach yogurt, but it was
not on the shelf.  Strawberry runs a
close second.

I also stopped in to a local thrift store and found a sweater from The Loft which looks as if it has never been washed or worn.  4.99 later I have something to keep the chill of winter at bay.

The toasty warm thrift store sweater.

This was the week I went through the fall decorations and brought a few down.  In one bin I have fall, Thanksgiving and Halloween decorations.  I only brought out the fall decorations and paired them with a new wreath for the front door and a new pillow that has dogs dressed in costumes that was placed on a living room chair.  I bought that pillow more for the little ones than myself.  The four year old loved it while she described all of the animals and outfits they wore. 

This is one of those items I paid full
price for.  The picture doesn't do it
justice because in reality the
colors are rich and deep.

I can't remember where I got this or
when, I only know it's been around for
a while.  It hangs off the pantry door.

This is the third year this pumpkin
has held a place of honor on the coffee
table.  It's blown glass and is a
heavy pumpkin at that.

The pillow that charmed a four year old!

How has your week been?  Do you have your fall decorations out yet, or perhaps you don't decorate for the fall season.  Let us know in the comment section.

Stay safe.

Lots of Activity at Angie's

I had hoped to go to the farmer's market this morning, but we are in the middle of a tropical storm.  A tropical storm is a hurricane with lower wind gusts.  (I think)  I did prepare for it as I removed the wreath on the front door and brought up the outside chairs and plants on the porch and in the yard. 

Yesterday I went to the bank and stopped in Michael's.  I seldom go to that store, but there was something I've been wanting there for a couple of weeks.  When I remember something, I know I really want it.  Just a small package of magnetic page markers for my planner.  I'm not one for 'decorating' my planner, but this small item makes it an easy task to find the current week's activities.  There's not a lot of activities, but I won't keep all the information in my brain without it written down.

That small black item is the page
flag that has been helpful in
finding the current week quickly.

The box (on sale) that is currently
holding my kitchen utensils.

I also found a small rectangular box with chicken wire on the front and the back.  I saw my kitchen utensils in it for a winter look.  I also picked up a small gift to pop into a Christmas stocking.  I spent a little over 19.00 of my discretionary cash at Michael's and decided that was enough.

When I purchased my vehicle two years ago one of the perks was free oil changes and free annual state inspections.  No one told me that the oil change would cost if the percentage of good oil was above 20%.  Since I have always been a 'better safe than sorry' kind of girl, it stressed me out to wait that long.  It finally hit the target point so I spent Wednesday afternoon at the dealership drinking ice cold bottled water and watching HGTV.

The blackberry  bushes finally gave up enough fruit for a nice batch of jelly.  (seven pints) This batch is the best I've ever made.  Organic fruit, but I didn't have enough organic sugar for an entire batch so I used regular cane sugar as there was plenty in the pantry.  Can I say yum yum?

Hot jelly boiling away to make
a delightful treat!

On the same day I made chicken salad using marked down antibiotic free, cage free, (whatever that means) everything free chicken.  One breast yielded two hearty sandwiches.

One half is gone because it was lunch time.

Another project was cleaning out my bedside table.  This didn't take too long, but I did have things in there that did not relate to what the table was made for.  One whole drawer was filled with paper of one sort or another.  I took all of that and put it in the office where it belonged.  The CD cases went in the fireplace storage area with the DVDs where they belonged.

The second drawer now holds the bible
and any electronics I sometimes use..

The bottom drawer holds a  prayer folder and
address book

I do use cough drops at times
when I just settle in to sleep.  The magnifying
 glass is must.  The box that looks
like a book holds  a couple of
cherished items given to me by my
husband.

Bob Marley sits at the top of the
pile.  He was one of my husband's
favorites.  The rest are my favs, The Beatles!
 

I really don't use a lot of products before bed so I don't have too many in the table drawers.  I use Vick's rub as a lip balm, among other things.  It's a go to item for me.  I am fortunate not to have dry or oily skin so I keep lotion in the bathroom.  This lasts quite a while since I only use it sparingly after a shower or bath.

I also cleaned out the TV cabinet that is in the bedroom.  Of course the TV is not stored in there.  I have blankets and candles in it.

Winter blankets are easily accesable
in this cabinet.

The other project I worked on was making sauce from the tomatoes I got at the farm market.  The four tomatoes made enough sauce for three meals.  As a meat source I used meatloaf I had in the freezer that was broken up into small chunks.   Lots of grated cheese later, I had a yummy dinner.

I also did four more jars of pickles and pulled the cucumber plant out.  It was a very sad plant, but it was so good to me while it was healthy.  The total jars of pickles from the three plants I had came to 13 jars.

What have you been up to recently?  You know I love to hear from you.

Stay safe.

Olive Cheese Ball, Cheap Recipes

This cheese ball is a big hit with minimal time invested to make it.  If the items are bough on sale it's can be considered a cheap recipe.   Because the olives are the major taste, a cheaper cream cheese can be used without deterring from the finished product. This recipe makes two.

16 ounces cream cheese
1 can black olives, chopped into small pieces
1 jar green olives, chopped into small pieces
garlic powder to taste
hot sauce to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Form into a ball and wrap in cellophane.  Refrigerate until used.  Serve with crackers and fruit on the side.

In The Kitchen With Angie (And Other Things)

I broke a rule and went out on Saturday.  The farm market was smaller than I remember it being last year.  Let me qualify that statement.  We have two locations.  One is close to my house and the other location is between my house and my daughter's house.  Because I was going to my daughter's home, I stopped at the location that was between our homes.

I did find a farmer who was smart enough to offer bruised tomatoes at 4/ 1.00.  I scooped up four big ones to make a couple of sandwiches and use the rest for home made pasta sauce.  Those four tomatoes will provide two sandwiches and at least two pasta dishes.  I guess the cost for each would be .25 cents.  Not bad and makes me happy to use what others would think to be inferior foods.  The perfect tomatoes were selling for 1.00 each.

Also into my bag went five peaches that were priced at 3.00.  Sixty cents a peach is OK.  They were local (state) peaches so I scooped them up.

From the farm market I went to pick up my daughter for a trek to Wal Mart where she had to pick up glasses for her sons.  I returned two items and picked up a box of 12 individual packs of cookies for 4.00.  Each pack was .30 so it was a good deal as far as cookies I didn't need.  The original thought was to have them on hand for the grandchildren, but they may not last that long.

After dropping my daughter and her sons off I headed home.  Noticing the Intercostal Waterways bridge was up I detoured to the Dollar Tree instead of waiting in traffic while the boats passed through.  I was looking for one more white container for the pantry and was surprised to see only one white one on the shelves.  Snatched up and placed in the cart, I went on my way.  I also picked up two other items - a spool of plaid ribbon to make a bow and sour patch kids for the grandchildren.

Heading home took a few minutes with a total of 11.00 spent.  The items I returned totaled close to 28.00.

The rest of the afternoon was spent eating a tomato sandwich, removing two of the cucumber plants from the garden, watching BBC documentaries and a quick nap.  The evening ended with a daily call from a friend with lots of laughter and a good night call from my daughter.

Remember the flour I canned?  I wanted to test it out in a recipe so I made ginger cookies with it.  The cookies came out delicious, but I will not can flour again.  It became lumpy and difficult to break up.  I'll use what I have so it won't waste, but not repeat the process. I did have fun experimenting though.

Another experiment was making up a small batch of pancake batter that didn't need anything added but water to make the pancakes.  I did add mild and eggs for a good protein source   This experiment was successful.

I did make one other trip to the book store on Thursday.  My daughter and I bought our date books and we each found a cookbook that interested us.  The rest of Thursday was spent with S and her family as I stayed over night with her pup as my sleeping buddy.

How was your week spent?  Did you enjoy at least one thing this week?  Let us know in the comment section.

Stay safe.