Summer Storm and preparedness

We survived the Summer Storm of 2015. It was no "Great Storm" or "Storm of the Century" or "Zombie Apocalypse", but it was unexpected.

I admit that even though it was predicted that we'd get an "entire summer's worth of rain" (that was the Vancouver Sun's headline, mentioning how we were to get 80-140mm of rain between Friday and Monday. I can't find the article online anymore though.) I had mixed feelings. A part of me was pessimistic. After all, we've had so little fall this summer, that the idea of a huge dump sounded dubious. I also felt torn between being annoyed (I was planning a yard sale this weekend!) and being relieved. (yay, rain!) But we did get the rain. It fell all Friday early morning, so I cancelled our sale (no one wants to walk through squishy grass) and was happy to wake up to pouring rain on Saturday. I don't know how much fell, but the campfire ban was lifted for Metro Vancouver. Woohoo! We could roast weinies and marshmallows---if it weren't so wet outside!

What no one was expecting was the wind. And it was crazy windy! With gusts up to 80 km/h. Leaves were blowing around the yard and the kids had fun running outside in them, but I felt uneasy. I love a good thunderstorm and I like rain, but wind I could do without.

Our power went out at noon, which wasn't a huge deal. We "rough it" when we go camping, so this wasn't anything worrisome. That is, until I heard how large of an area was effected. I couldn't believe how many people had no power! BC Hydro wasn't anticipating it to be back up until the next day at noon, but I imagine they like to over-estimate, just in case. The problem is that I like to blow things out of proportion, you know, just in case! In my mind, I was picturing three days.

 We have a generator, but it needed gas, so Hunny and I set out on a journey. And that was an eye opener. The power-outtages covered a larger area than it stated on BC Hydro's webpage. (which kept crashing anyways) Plus there were so many branches and trees knocked down across the roads. I think that every business we drove past was closed due to no power! We got hopeful when we saw a Chevron gas station that was busy, but were disappointed (along with many others) to realize that even though the pumps still appeared to be on, they would not work without power either. It was a crazy trip. In the end, we found gas from our neighbour, so the trip could've been so much shorter and faster if we had stayed! (We are so blessed to have some awesome neighbour friends)

My emergency-end-of-the-world-preparedness thinking went a bit overboard though. I started to think of how long would it be to restore power to everyone we saw. And I considered that there were no grocery stores or gas stations open, and no one could take money out of a bank machine without power, add in that people's cell phones and internet connections would eventually lose battery power--- it would be chaos! How long before that happened? That people started to panic? It's a good thing that my Hunny could be a survivalist (he's never been dropped into the wilderness with a cameraman, but he'd know what to do if he was)   He made up a huge batch of chilli on our campstove and slow cooker, while the kids watched a movie (generator FTW), which he shared with our neighbours. (When the power goes out, you can usually order dinner from somewhere close by, but it was out everywhere, so many people were stuck)

We spent our evening hanging out with our other neighbours in their carport, roasting marshmallows over their propane firepit, and listening to music by their generator, and watching it pour. It was a fun way to spend a summer night. The kids snuggled up on the couches to sleep since it's less scary in the dark when you have others around you.

Our power returned at 3:30am, but I hardly noticed. (I woke up briefly and heard our fan was on, but didn't even think of it) It was an interesting 15 hours. (there are still so many without power though. But at least there are options to eat out or visit friends with power. But not having hot water and possibly losing food in your fridge and freezer suck.)


We did really well, but it wasn't a challenging 15 hours. We had some branches break off a tree in our back yard and land on the neighbour's trampoline (thankfully it wasn't damaged and no one was hurt) and our pool overflowed and collapsed overnight due to rain (it looks so pathetic right now! There goes the end of our summer pool) and we had the fastest take down of our gazebo due to it blowing around in the yard, but it really wasn't too bad. Partially due to our camping skills, but mostly due to how short it lasted. Our power returned and the wind died down the next day. But it really has me thinking about our emergency preparedness. How ready are we if the Big One happens? (there were two small earthquakes in Abbotsford and Mission this past week) or for the Zombie Apocalypse? (which I actually don't believe in, but it's fun to say) We'll need to have gas stored, as well as water, and emergency cash. Plus we'll need to buy a new can opener; ours really wasn't up to the challenge of opening a can of beans yesterday. (so disappointing and so frustrating) A generator sure is nice. Maybe we should start putting things aside for if that day comes, or in case we're stuck with another storm this year.

 A good book to read is How to Survive the End of the World as We Know it. by James Wesley, Rawles. (of course my Hunny has it) It has many good survival skill tips....as long as you don't get your mind too panicked. (I can get pretty imaginative!)

I'd love to hear your tips of how to survive a power failure. What do you do if you have young kids? What if it's longer than a day? Are you prepared for a natural disaster? Please share in the comments!

six down...two to go...

My Hunny left for his annual hunting trip with his friends last week. They are up in the mountainous areas of Kamloops (or was it Kelowna?) doing manly things, getting dirty and smelly and sleeping in tents, where there is only partial connection for cellphone service depending on where they are.   He has been doing this with his friends for a few years now, so I am feeling used to it. It is our hope to get a freezer full of meat to last us most of the year. We really need to cut down on our spending, and not spending money on the high cost of meat in the grocery stores would be a big step!

It has been six days since he left and I am counting down the days til he returns!

It hasn't been a horrible week, it's just starting to feel very long, that's all.  I am tired and I need a rest and I have so much to do and I can't do it all and so many things are falling to the wayside.  My heart and my mind are on my single mom friends. How do they do this every day?  I know in my head that if I had to do it, I could, but wow. Knowing that I don't, and that I do have a spouse who will come home and share some of the load makes it so much easier for me!  This is a reminder to me to bless my single mom friends, and to do more for them. Even those who I feel must have support through family; doesn't everyone want a friend to help them out sometimes?

I know I did this week! Not only did I catch a cold, but everything I had planned didn't work out. (mostly due to said cold. Boo!) Abi missed her Youth Retreat this year since she was sick. I didn't get to take the kids to a Fall Festival on the weekend.  I didn't stay up late watching MY shows (I don't watch a lot of tv, but when I do it is mostly my husband's shows. There are a few that we share, but if he is already downstairs watching tv or movies, if I want to join him, it's his stuff I am subjected to. I don't often find myself getting first pick. I had every intention to re-watch all of the Sherlock episodes this week!)

I would say that the kids are enjoying it though. We just do things differently when Daddy is away! For one, I am less strict about things. We are relaxed about dinners (since we mostly agree on what we all like) and I let them stay up late (too late actually....I admit to being a bit upset with how these kids can manipulate me! I need to work on that some more...) and not much gets done. Oh boy, things will change when their Father comes back home!

I was thinking about how things are different and what I do when he is gone, and I noticed that it happens almost immediately!  The first thing I do when it becomes evening is that the porch light goes on and stays on (my Hunny likes to turn it off when he goes to bed. He feels that the light goes out and the house goes to sleep. I feel that it is un-friendly to leave the house in the dark for the neighbourhood.), and I close the bedroom window (he is always hot at night...he blames it on me...so our windows are always open. I am always cold, so I like the windows closed.) I also pull my pillows over and I sleep in the middle of the bed! (I find that I start to drift over to his side the longer he is gone though, and so by now I enter and exit the bed on his side!)

It will be nice to have my Wilderness Man back home. I have managed good this week, and I am pleased with how things have gone, but it will be nice having support again.

camping on "the island"

Every summer we do a big week-long camping trip with friends, and every year we talk about how we wish we could do more trips. So this year, we managed to get one trip in with just our family at the beginning of the month, before our big one next month! It was fun and tiring and a different experience for us.  For one, Hunny wanted to surprise us, so he wouldn't tell us where we were going! He gave us one clue though: we would be going on a big boat! H'mm...curious. I jokingly said sailing, and a cruise, but it was clarified that we'd be taking a ferry! That could mean three different places off the top of my head. Victoria, which we had been wanting to take all of the kids to for a while now, Galiano Island, where we had camped  for two summers when it was just the three kids, or Powell River, where my brother lives with his family, and where we hadn't been in years either!

We ended up going to Powell River!  My Hunny couldn't take not telling us anymore, and my refusal to guess (haha), so he had to tell me. (Although, truthfully, I had already found out by accident.) And then he spilled it to the kids later by not being careful what he said around them! It was a fun surprise though, and we didn't know about the location until two days prior to our leaving. (trying to plan a camping trip without knowing for sure where you'd end up wasn't easy. I kept having to remind myself that the climate across BC is pretty much the same. We'd need some shorts as well as pants, and it's always good to pack a swimsuit just in case!)

I haven't been to Powell River to see my brother since I was pregnant with Rhys, with my parents. And Hunny hadn't been since before Bryn was born. So it was a long overdue trip! It was nice!  It takes two ferries to get there (so we were up at 5am to pack up and leave to catch the first ferry of the morning. Ugh. I don't like mornings at all!) and is on the Sunshine Coast, which is still on the Mainland, but I seem to have a hard time remembering that and I still think it is on an Island! It was funny driving around and telling myself that it was really just the other side of Whistler that we were at. In fact, there is a few logging roads that you can drive to get there, but it is so rough and long that no one drives it. It would be so nice if BC would decide to pave a road there, but then they'd miss out on all the revenue from the BC Ferries. Phooey. Oh well, taking a boat is fun for the kids.  Not so much for me though. I admit to having a bit of fear when it comes to windy open spaces near water, and having an unnatural fear of the kids being swept off the boat deck and into the ocean! Thankfully those were unwarranted!

We had a slight half hour delay for the second ferry at Earl's Cove as there was a bike race that was setting up.  I was impressed with all of the competitors; I found out it was a 7 day race and this was day 4. Wow. Good for them!

 Our first night had my brother and sister in law come by the campsite with their kids and snacks and stuff that we had forgotten to pack (like sugar, ice, coffee, wood...) It was a fun evening. The older cousins took my kids down to the water and they played there while I got to sit by the fire and visit. That doesn't usually happen!

Our second day was spent driving around Powell River and checking out the other campsites (we are deciding if we will end up back there for our big trip in August with our friends, so we need to see which sites are bigger and more to our style.) I was surprised with Powell River; it is bigger that I thought. When I visited in 2008, we spend the weekend at my brother's place and didn't go out sightseeing or anything.

 (Eden wanted us to wear her hats)

There was fun trips to the water, and catching small fish with two other boys, named Talon and Kale.  Kai managed to catch one, which freaked him out just a bit! (my not-so-brave boy!)  Bryn wanted to see how deep he could walk in the lake and made up to his chest.

Rhys found a caterpillar, actually I found one on my shirt and gave it to him, which he named Friendly. He pet it and made a little home for him, and loved on it for some time. It was sweet. Hunny was finally able to convince him that maybe it was best if we let Friendly go find his family, so Rhys was lifted so he could put him onto a leaf.  It was a sad, sincere goodbye!

The funny thing is that we found a caterpillar the next morning that they were convinced was Friendly, so there was more loving and petting before we released him again!

We roasted bottoms and s'mores on the campfire, and Kai made it his job to chop wood and keep the fire going.

 I mentioned earlier this week that my Dad is staying at Mark's house now too, working with him on some painting jobs, so he came up to our campsite one night too. That was fun! 

Our last evening in Powell River was spent at my brother Mark's house, where the kids got to snuggle with their cousin Emma's kitten Charcoal, swing in the backyard, swim in the pool (Abi was really only the bravest to swim, since it was too cold for the others. She attempted to bring them in with her, but no one else lasted!), play video games with cousin Isaac, and sit out by the backyard firepit.

Our camping experience was different this year. We went tenting, instead of using our tent trailer (to save on costs. We'd need to take two vehicles since the truck that pulls the trailer doesn't fit all of us, and that would cost a lot for the ferries) and we had family to visit! We have never gone camping anywhere local-ish were people could come see us. I liked this opportunity!

peaches come in a can, they were put there by a man....

Oh yes I did!

I canned some peaches this weekend! I am quite proud of myself too!

I probably would've been more proud if I had done it all on my own, but I had help!

Last year, we canned a good 16 jars of peaches and set up an assembly line in our kitchen. MIL was blanching and peeling peaches, Abi was cutting them up and jarring them, Hunny was filling the jars with syrup and heat sealing them. It was a great team. That is, until Abi starting having an allergy attack!  Peaches are on her "possible" list. That is, she is highly allergic (+4) to Alder and Birch, which means, due to cross-pollinating, she could be allergic to hazelnuts, cherries, bananas, peaches, nectarines, kiwi, almonds, apricots, carrots, celery, tomato, chilli pepper, peanuts, papaya, and pineapple. (she has noticed that carrots, tomatoes, kiwi all make her tongue itchy, so we avoid those.) She has no problem eating peaches, so we didn't think anything of it. But then she got really itchy on the inside of her arms, which then quickly spread to her face and her legs, until she was so itchy she was in pain. She didn't break out in hives, thankfully, but we couldn't do anything other than give her some Benedryl and wait for it to work. Poor girl. :(  She can still eat peaches, but she can't touch the outside fuzzy part! (she reacted to the jar of peaches once. I guess it had some residue on it from when we canned them, and it caused a rash of tiny red bumps on her arms.)

This year, the production was smaller. Abi couldn't help me (even though she wanted to), and MIL was busy, and Hunny had plans to read a book. But I was up to the task! I had it all prepared and got myself ready....but then Hunny had to remind me of a few things (what is the syrup solution? how much sugar? how long do I need to keep them in the pot for heat sealing?) I was loosing my self confidence! So Hunny came to my rescue and helped me out.  It meant that I couldn't take all the credit anymore, or prove that I could do it on my own, but it made it go by faster and I knew it would be done right!

I am so blessed that my man grew up doing these strange and neat things (like sewing and cooking and canning!)

Look at those jars of sweet yellow goodness! Mmmm......

ignore the one in the back that is partially full. It didn't seal properly, so we decided to open it now and eat it!  Mmmm...warm sugary peaches. :)

I'm working my way up to canning other things and hopefully will make some jam too!  Our neighbours gave us a bunch of plums off of their tree so I've got to look up recipes. All I can think of is plum sauce to go on top of ice cream or pie. Yum!


And for your listening and watching pleasure, I have added this delightful song back in the day... *big grin*  (and no, you're not too old if you remember this song and still think it's fun!)

Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America