Freezers without power

Blessings Darlings!

Lots of folks still without power here on the East Coast.  Word is that in Charles Town WV the Burger King, KFC, FOOD LION, etc have had to throw out all their frozen and refrigerated foods.  That's a heck of a lot of food!

I have full freezers here - both the freezer part of the refrigerator and the free-standing upright 14.7 cubic foot freezer.  What, you ask, would *I* do in an extended power outage during the summer?

FIRST - I'd see if I could get any dry ice.  I know that AirGas in Martinsburg sells it, but don't know their hours and have not tried to see if they are open during this since, well, I don't need the stuff.  Yes, I have emergency cash on hand to pay for that.

SECOND - I'd wrap the freezer in blankets.  I sure don't need them now!  And the freezers being so full they'd last 3 days or more with added insulation.

THIRD - I'd can the freezer contents, using a propane-powered camping stove and a case of propane I keep around JUST in case that.  Frozen fruits would have sugar and spices added and be canned as pie filling in quart jars (I'd add corn starch when making pies later).  Veggies would go in pint or quart jars - and I suppose I might not 'can' them and might make pickles of them instead.  The pickles could be water bath canned if power continues out once they are 'done'.  Boneless meats go in pint jars, bone-in go in quart jars and get pressure canned.  The pork jowl would finally get smoked! The pork shoulder would be smoked, pulled, then canned (maybe in BBQ sauce). 

The chicken livers I don't know WHAT I'd do with.  Probably make rumaki and eat them rather than try to preserve them further.

Obviously, if we had any ice cream we'd have eaten that early on.

And, of course, we DO have a generator, but in an emergency I might use that only to pump water rather than run the freezer.

Look, it's not like I've got a freezer full of microwaveable dinners or other majorly prepared foods.  It's full of 'ingredients' rather than food, as Sharon Astyk might put it.  That means that I can MAKE the raw ingredients INTO food and preserve the food. 

Danger! Danger, My Darlings!

Blessings, Darlings!

And, apparently, we're all going to really really NEED all the blessings we can get.

A friend of mine who speaks fluent astrology says that the astrological forecast for the mid July to mid August time is 'as bad as he's seen in his life'. Like wars or attacks, like lack of food and power, etc. Spiritual attacks as well.

So, work on getting that 3 week supply of food/water/energy in place, put wards around your home/work/vehicles/family, get at least a baseball bat or two for self-defense, clear the spiritual garbage that is attracting flies, etc.

Oatmeal, dry milk, dry fruit will cover breakfasts. Peanut butter and crackers (jelly or honey optional) will cover lunch. Rice, stir-fried cabbage, soy sauce can cover dinners (and take little wood to prepare). Or tomatoes and cucs from your garden, with a can of chickpeas added, makes a WONDERFUL salad dinner, especially served in a pita. Yes, you can make pita over wood on a 'charcoal' grill if you practice now. Oh, make your rocket stove (google it) and store some wood now.

You can do more elaborate meals if you have the money.

On any meds? Get refills before the middle of July.

Frondly, Fern