Last summer in Yuma, Arizona, we had the worst thunder/rain storm I have ever seen. We had winds of over 60 mph and astonishing rain. We got about 2.5 inches of rain in about two hours (our average rainfall for a year is 3 inches). At times the rain was blowing sideways. I usually use this gauge to measure rain, just because we don’t get very much. I am always curious about it! Our sliding patio door is under an …
The vast majority of people want to be clean and hygienic. Daily showers or baths (sometimes more than one!), multiple hand washings, and brushing teeth a couple times per day is the norm. If the grid goes down, we will still want to be clean, but it may get a little more difficult to do so. Here are a few things to remember about off-grid personal hygiene. Proper Hand Washing Many people wash their hands ineffectively. It is critical in …
I’d be willing to bet that most of you reading this have at least made s’mores, perhaps even heated up a hot dog or two, around a campfire. Fun stuff, no doubt about it. But, there’s a whole lot more involved if you need to make an actual meal over an open flame. One of the first things that goes away in a disaster is usually electricity. If you have an electric stove top, you won’t be using it for …
As you turn the opening pages of Outage, the parents of 15 year old Dee, our self-absorbed and somewhat reluctant teenage heroine from the city, are leaving her with her grandfather. He runs a veterinary service on a small farm near the town of Lookout Falls in Washington State. After Dee’s mom and dad depart for a vacation cruise to Alaska, she is hit with the realization that there is no cell phone or internet service, let alone a mall …
