Text 16009, 137 rader
Skriven 2014-08-19 20:29:55 av Ruth Haffly (1:396/45.28)
  Kommentar till text 15965 av NANCY BACKUS (1:123/140)
Ärende: camping  was: Mother's da
=================================
Hi Nancy,

 RH> Those are the main needs to keep stuff like that around. We don't
 RH> have any MRE's but can put together some survival food from the
 RH> pantry without too much trouble.

 NB> When we bought this house there were some MREs in the basement left
 NB> behind... haven't a clue how long they'd already been there... but the

Were they MREs or maybe C-rations? MREs started hitting the supply chain
in the early 80s; when Steve joined in 1983, they were the "new thing"
and he saw some C (and K) rations. They also experimented (don't know
how long, but had some while we were in Frankfurt) with something call T
(tray) rations. It was a pan, about 13x9, of something like eggs, cherry
"pudding", etc, designed to feed a number of troops. Once he brought
home a cherry pudding--it looked exactly like cherry pie filling so I
made several pies from it and sent them into the unit. They were well
received. (G)


 NB> mice got at them at some point later... I'm sure they are long
 NB> expired, unless they never do...  ;)  Fortunately, we've never really

They expire after a while, but the shelf life is quite long. Actually,
you could eat them after expiration bu the quality will definatly be
lacking.

 NB> needed any such for any emergencies, any power outages have been
 NB> short-lived and/or very localized...  :)   And we'd not have any

Not had any ice storms or other things taking out the power for extended
times recently?


 NB> difficulty putting
 NB> together survival food from the pantry, either... especially as we
 NB> only use a hand can opener any more...  :)

We use the electric most of the time but have a hand one available as
back up. It's easier on my wrists to use the former.

 NB>  NB>> Actually... the cabins at VA /have/ AC...  And, they supply
 NB> linens,  NB>> cookware and dishes... ... I really am not that sure
 NB> what they think  NB>> camping is...  :)

 RH> That is real luxury for a camp ground. When I was a kid, we'd call
 RH> that sort of camping "cheat camping" as you were away from home but
 RH> had all the comforts of home.

 NB> One, of course, pays for the luxury... And I suppose that some of the
 NB> comforts of home are missing... It's a smaller space, they wouldn't
 NB> have their large-screen TV, they have to share space with other family
 NB> members, and so forth...  ;)   But, this place even supplies a
 NB> microwave along with the stove/oven and refrigerator (full-size)...
 NB> but no
 NB> dishwasher... one still has to do that by hand, but there's hot
 NB> running water... :)

Such hardships! (G) One thing Mom always checked the Rand McNalley
camping guide for was flush toilets. Everything else could have been
lacking but the toilets had to be flush for us to stay at a place.


 NB>  NB>> My family might have camped, but it was long enough ago that I
 NB> have no  NB>> memories of it...  I suspect that as the family got
 NB> larger, it was  NB>> less and less something that my parents wanted to
 NB> do... and maybe it

 RH> We were brought up on it, and did it ourselves, as a money saver. It
 RH> was one way we could do some travelling.

 NB> That's pretty much how my sisters look at it... especially Lydia...
 NB> she still does mostly tent camping...  :)   My money saver was usually
 NB> to
 NB> find friends or family along my route... or to use our (non-converted
 NB> but with a mattress in the back) van for sleeping in a campground...

We just sort of aged out of it, plus health issues have made it less
appealing in recent years. I can breathe easier in an air conditioned
hotel/motel room when temps and humidity are high than outside in a
primitive camp situation.

 NB>  NB>> When we traveled, we either slept in the car, or once in a
 NB> while, in  NB>> a motel room (my only early exposure to TV, since we
 NB> never had one)...

 RH> I remember staying in a motel when we went to a wedding in North
 RH> Tonawanda. I was in 2nd grade, all of us were in one room. Don't
 RH> recall if there was tv or not but we had our first exposure to that at
 RH> grandparent's house in NJ. My folks got one when I was in 4th grade.

 NB> Most motels had TV.  My parents never did get a TV of their own...
 NB> Mommy still doesn't have one.

We have one, but it doesn't get too much use.

 NB>  RH>> Steve and I had various tents over the years--it was affordable
 NB>  RH>> camping.
 NB>  NB>> That's pretty much my sisters' (Tait and Lydia) philosophy...

 RH> It's OK when you're young but the older the bones get, the less fun
 RH> it is.

 NB> When I was a kid, I might have agreed with the it's ok part... The
 NB> latter part, of the older bones, definitely is true now...  Some of my
 NB> sisters have decided their bones got too old for the tents, too...
 NB> Just not Lydia, and to a lesser extent, Tait...  :)

They'll probably come around as they get older. (G)

 NB>  NB>>> diffuser
 NB>  RH>> And grab one next time you see one. I've used it a few times on
 NB>  RH>> electric stoves to get the heat really low.
 NB>  NB>> ok.

 RH> Not something you'll use every day but will appreciate having for
 RH> when you REALLY need it. (G)

 NB> Haven't come across one yet... actually looked for it at Wegmans last
 NB> grocery trip, in their kitchen supplies area, but maybe our store
 NB> isn't big enough to carry such...

Check some place like Wal-Mart, in the housewares section. K-Mart and
Target might be other options to look into as well. Ours has a handle
that folds on to the diffuser part, essential letting us store it flat,
in a smaller (about the size of a stove coil) space.

---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net  FIDO 1:396/45.28


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