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VEGAN FEAST SUBSCRIBERS' COOKING AND RECIPE FORUM>
POWER OUTAGE UPDATE!
Bryanna
Owner/Moderator
1914 posts
Dec 15, 2006
2:20 PM
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Hi, again! I am at work writing this again, because we still don't have power (5 days, now!) Parts of the island have power now--- the downtown, and nearby. My mother (thank goodness, because she's 89 and pretty game, but she was getting fed-up) and my son, who live near the downtown, got power last night, so we went to my mom's and had showers! But, on the next island over, Hornby, where my oldest daughter and her family live, NOBODY has power yet!
Thanks for all your good wishes and prayers! The last two storms did not turn out to be as bad as the first one, thank goodness, but there has been lots of rain, and yesterday it snowed 4 slushy, heavy inches and then rained again (now it's sunny!). We did not get the bad winds, thank heavesn (we need a break!). But Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Victoria and the Washington/Oregon coast got it really badly, as Debbie mentioned, and I really feel for them.
We just might get power tomorrow, but I think that is overly-optimistic. I think maybe Weds. They JUST got the power to the ferry terminal on Denman Is. this morning. There are contracted tree-cutters all over the island and they did cut the trees off our power line this morning, but the Hydro crew has to reconnect everything, and there are still big lines down on many of the major roads. So, I don't think they'll get to us for a long time.
I was getting a bit depressed, because it's hard to feel Christmasy, and everything takes so long, it's so dark (unless we get sun, like today), etc., etc. I should be working on the newsletter and the e-book! But, I decided to be positive and regard it as a holiday from work. I'm getting lots of reading done and catching up on sleep, since we get to bed really early! And, after all, how can we feel sorry for ourselves when we think of all we have compared to so many?
We got head-lamps (like cavers use) and that has been great--free hands! We're warm and dry; we're collecting lots of rain-water, so water's not a problem; we have lots of food and are eating really well. We still have our phone, and now we can even have showers and wash clothes nearby! Fortunately, we have no meat in our freezer, so there's nothing we can really loose. The freezer is old and heavily-insulated and I hadn't defrosted it recently, so it's actually still got ice in it! We are eating the things as they thaw (reconstituted soycurls, veggies, etc.) and have not even had to resort to canned and dried foods yet! We use our deck as an outdoor fridge.
It reminds me of when I was young and was "homesteading" with my late husband Wayne and my kids in the 70's. We lived voluntarily without power or running water for 3 years, and without running water for several more! As I washed my hair in the sink yesterday after heating up the water on the woodstove and using a pitcher to wet my hair, I was reminded of the school mornings when my 3 teenage girls would all be doing this every day! We didn't even have a TV in those days either, but we had lots of fun.
It also has made me very aware of the over-consumption at Christmas time, for some reason. I'm not THAT old, but I can remember feeling so thrilled to get a special doll and a few other things. Parents might get eachother a nice article of clothing, or something like that. But ordinary middle class people didn't buy what would have been the equivilant of these games and other pieces of technology that cost hundreds of dollars that people spend,spend, spend (and feel somehow obliged to spend!) now. Most of us think nothing of buying these things for ourselves, anyway, so why do we need other people to get into debt to buy us something more?
We're keeping it really simple this year. Getting together is the main thing. And our extended family is helping out a family member who really needs it right now instead of getting gifts for all the nieces and nephews, etc..
My daughter-in-law Amber did a really nice thing (now that I'm on the subject). We have homeless on Denman Island, believe it or not. A couple of individuals who have been dealt some hard knocks in life and, though very smart and hard-working, have a problem with alcohol. They live in donated vans. Amber pre-paid for some gas for their vans at the local store. A very kind gesture.
To digress, I've been taking photos, but I can't upload them and resize them, so blogging with photos will have to wait. I got out my Chinese stacking bamboo steamers and they have come in handy for reheating leftovers.
What did we have for dinner last night? Frozen potato-and-onion pyrogies (well-- half-frozen!), boiiled and then sauteed in a little earth Balance wih mushrooms and onions and a few Soycurls, topped with leftover brown gravy. Spinach salad on the side. No too shabby! Oh, and by candlelight, of course!
PS: I'm repeating this on my blog.
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patlanz
21 posts
Dec 16, 2006
12:11 AM
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Here's hoping you get power soon, Bryanna! And strangely, my part of Salt Spring Island was undamaged last night as well. I fully expected the worst, and had bought one of those headlamps too. But I slept all night and woke up this morning and the sun was shining. It's bizarre. My son in North Vancouver is without power!!
I have 3 of those small LED lights, a battery radio, always lots of candles and I fill a thermos every morning with boiling water, so I can make tea. But only lost power Monday late afternoon, and feel very lucky. We truly need a break. Take care.
Pat
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Debbie
1281 posts
Dec 16, 2006
3:45 PM
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Hi Bryanna,
Thanks for posting about your situations. Our good thoughts are with you and glad that you seem to be surviving the no power days. I have been thinking that being a vegan makes it simpler since you don't have to worry for food to get spoiled. Most of our staples come from dry goods like TVPs, beans, rice, and whole grain flours.
I know what you mean about over consumption in North America. I always have that same thinking every time I came back from out of country. The people in China live very simple live. In Beijing, majority people live in 50 square meter living space (about 500 square feet?). That includes everything: living room, kitchen, bedroom etc. That's for the mid income family. The poor family lives in this small space with other families. They also ride bicycle to work and to go other places. We saw a lot of people on bicycle on the road. My girlfriend asked me what if the weather is bad? Do they still go to work on a bike? What do you think? Of course, they do. That's their only transportation. So every time I see things like that I am really grateful for what I have and for this country we live in.
It seems that you have an experience to live without power. For 3 years? Wow!
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Debbie
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne
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