Text 13878, 123 rader
Skriven 2008-09-16 21:13:00 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
     Kommentar till en text av Glen Jamieson
Ärende: MORE FOOD  80913
========================
Hi Glen,

 GJ> It did a job on Cuba, leaving many parts without power for an expected
 GJ> month or more.

 RH> No surprise considering the country.

 GJ> There have been reports of areas with 90% of power poles flattened,
 GJ> and lack of food in Cuba and Haiti.  Many killed in Haiti.  A British
 GJ> warship standing by to provide power and other assistance.

Not a part of the world with the highest standard of living either,
especially Haiti.  It's going to be quite a while before they recover.

 GJ> The bottles or bags kept in the freezer should have a strong brine in
 GJ> them, as that freezes at well below 0 degrees C, and will therefore

 RH> But if you want to use the freezer water for drinking later, brining
 RH> isn't a good idea.  Probably better to do some jugs each way, but
 RH> clearly label them.

 GJ> Yes, or use plastic bags for brine and plastic bottles for drinking
 GJ> water.  Start with all in the freezer, then move the bottles to the
 GJ> refrigerator section as required.  This is the best way to keep frozen
 GJ> food frozen for as long as possible.

Then just be careful the plastic bags don't get punctured.  Steve is
talking about doing the brine bags in our freezer as it is getting
emptier.


 GJ> My niece lives in Houston; the mayor has told them to sit tight where
 GJ> they are, but residents in Galveston and areas along the coast have to
 GJ> get out. There are some lovely old buildings in Galveston, but now
 GJ> they are likely to be flooded.

There's little left of a lot of areas in Galveston.  I saw some pictures
on the news today; it looked bad.

 GJ> Having a well with good water and a hand pump is a great advantage
 RH> Yes, my parents are hooked into the town water system but kept the
 RH> well for the kitchen water.  They can convert back to all well quickly

 GJ> Very wise.  At our house in Manila, a hand pump was installed in the
 GJ> back garden at a time when mains water was erratic.  The well water
 GJ> was not suitable for drinking, but it was quite OK for the garden,
 GJ> bathing
 GJ> and washing clothes.  Drinking water was saved separately.

And, I read an article today about rain barrels coming back in some
areas.  I understand they're big in west TX; the Big Island of Hawaii
uses rooftop cisterns.


 RH> together quickly if the time comes we need to.  For one of the blankets
 RH> needed, I'd take a quilt down from its hanger.

 GJ> With your weather becoming cooler, you might need that.

Yes; I'm thinking of the green one you may remember seeing last year.


 GJ> And, being good Catholics, they always had plenty of candles.  :)

 RH> We're moving away from the use of candles as they bothere my asthma
 RH> too much.  The emergency managment authorities are also discouraging
 RH> the use of them because of the potential for house fires.

 GJ> There is that danger from candles.  I like to keep a hurricane lamp
 GJ> handy, as it is safer, and lasts longer on a fill of kerosene.

We have a couple of oil lamps but never did buy any oil out here.


 GJ> Our family stove normally used bottled gas, but also included one
 GJ> electric element.  That was more expensive to cook on, but it was very
 GJ> useful for backup when the gas bottle ran out part way through
 GJ> cooking.

 RH> A lot of good that does if the power is out tho. (G)

 GJ> If both power and gas go out at the same time, someone gets told off
 GJ> for bad management!  Usually as soon as the gas bottle emptied, it
 GJ> would be tossed onto the family bicycle and side-car, and someone
 GJ> would ride off to get a filled exchange bottle.

Have to keep up with the cooking.  We have a propane grill and camp
stove we've used before when power has gone out.

 RH> Same here.  Looks like we will have wind/rain from the outer fringes
 RH> of Ike today but it's supposed to clear & dry up by tomorrow as he

 GJ> Watch out, as he is big, and is wandering around in a fairly random
 GJ> manner.

But, he missed us & right now nothing is brewing.

 GJ>       Title: TEENAGER'S SURVIVAL EGG & BACON TARTS
 GJ>  Categories: Breakfasts, Snacks, Easy
 GJ>       Yield: 12 Servings

 RH> Looks fairly easy but you never know with some kids.  If you've ever
 RH> seen the American comic strip "Zits" (about a teen age boy), this is
 RH> in line with what is currently running.  He's trying to do some
 RH> beginning cooking--wants to do it without help from his mom but
 RH> realises he needs her help.

 GJ> I have seen that particular comic strip.  After all, I do know a bit
 GJ> about American culture!  (g)  (Joan is a comic reader.)

OK, not sure if you'ld been exposed to that particular one.


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly@earthlink.net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


... 90% of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at.

--- PPoint 3.01
 * Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)