Today is day #4 of strong winds and rain (though the sun was out earlier and the wind has died down for the most part.) I can't help but feel sorry for people here on vacation - a little disappointing, don't ya think? Although the weather is usually a little warmer and dryer down on the beach then up here in the middle of the island, so maybe Waikiki Beach is still busy with surfers and sunbathers.
The storm blew over a couple trees and road signs and knocked dead branches out of trees. It even killed Emily's little sunflower seedling. Poor Emily. A large amount of garbage was blown onto the fence near our backyard, and 3 stray bouncy balls ended up in our driveway.
Last night, after putting the kids to bed, I was reading on the couch (Nathan fell asleep at about 8pm - I think he's still on Arizona time) when the power went out. And it got very very dark. I heard Hannah get up and go into Sydney's room. It was cute to hear them talking to each other. Outside I heard a few shouts and the wind howling.
I clicked off the lamp (didn't want it to turn on in the middle of the night) then I felt my way up the stairs to check on the kids, then into bed. Luckily I did not crash into a wall or hit my little toe on a chair leg. Before I went to sleep I thought about how very unprepared we are for any kind of emergency.
We have no candles.
We have camp stoves but no propane.
We have absolutely no water.
No 72 hour kit or any thing like it.
No phone that doesn't need electicity to work.
No spare batteries for flashlights.
Nor do I know where the flashlights are.
And no children's tylenol.
Luckily the power came on around midnight, and I didn't have to gather downed branches to build a fire to boil water this morning.... But I am feeling the need to buy a little of this and organize a little of that - you never know when we might just need it!
12 comments:
Isn't it interesting how we don't think of being prepared until a disaster may strike??? Even though we were no where near it, I finally made our 72-hour kits after Hurricane Katrina struck. You're smart to get those things organized!
Good job navigating in the dark! :)
Suzanne, I made 72 hour kids after Katrina too! A friend from my ward organized a little get-together to make the kids, so smart.
Wendy, good reminder to get organized! We have a few of the things on your list, but not all, and they are spread all over the place (closet upstairs, box in basement, pantry, etc). Good luck!
Oh, I love it when I hear others aren't as prepared as we 'should' be. I always assume everyone but me is. I'm thinking the thing you need is a raft! It's not like you'll ever freeze to death. ;)
being prepared is something I worry about all the time. Maybe this was a good gentle reminder to get a few things!
like cold cereal...which if you serve it for dinner means
"daddy is working late"
glad your lights came back on.
I haven't thought of putting together a disaster kit since we moved. Michigan gave plenty of opportunity to need a kit, not that I every had one fully put together....but I did use my candles after a huge storm took out the cities power! Yeah me, I knew where they were! I had to finish off the ice cream before it melted since the fridge wasn't working...darn! : ) Anyway, maybe I should get together a kit, you never know what an earthquake could do over here and what I'd need to survive for a few days. Hope you get yours all together before you really need it!!!
I know how you feel. We used to be really prepared - then we moved to Idaho and I haven't been able to get my act together. It's on my list of goals this yr. though. So maybe we'll finally pull it off. :)
Glad you didnt stub your toe. That hurts!
If you do nothing else in the next 48 hours, make sure you have an adequate supply of Beefaroni on hand for your entire family in case of emergency. When there's a mad, panicked rush to the grocery store to snap up Beefaroni cans, you can feel totally smug that you were well prepared.
Chef Boyardee is your friend.
At least now you know. That’s like the easiest way to find out how necessary that 72-hr kit is,
How sweet, the girls talking to each other during the storm :D.
Those are fun as long as no one gets hurt and nothing gets broke, like the poor sunflower seedling.
That is sad about Emily's little plant. I dislike the wind very much. Today we were back at windchill factors of -20. brrrrrr!! I agree that we need to be more prepared. I don't know where a flashlight is in our house. I do feel that we are a little prepared with our wood burning stove. And we have some of the Foudray's old food storage. Surely that would help us for a little while. I have no homemade toliet paper or femine hygeine products though. Did you ever hear about that Enrichment night that Roxanne did??
Beefaroni. hmmm not a bad idea, this is Hawaii, though, so I may just go with a years supply of spam.
Amanda - brrrrr! Homemade pads? remind me not to volunteer for laundry duty!
I think sometimes we get tested with little things, to remind us to be prepared for the big things.
We are prepared to be in our house for weeks at at time, but we are not prepared to take it and run.
But do you have Valium? That's the real test. If you have it, not only will people want to trade with you for stuff, but if you take it yourself, you can sleep your disaster cares away. :)
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