Icestorm preps

[dvandom]

Hopefully the worst I'll have to deal with is cabin fever...even if the university doesn't cancel classes tomorrow (and it's finals week, so they'll be reluctant to) I doubt I'll go in if there's ice on the roads. But I've done some basics to make sure that I can make it through a couple days if necessary.

1. Tarp over car windows. A while back I got one of those "attach with magnets" tarps but never opened it. Well, I opened it today and found that the sheet isn't big enough to cover all of my front window, but I've done what I can and fully expect this flimsy thing to shred the first time I have to remove it with ice on it, but it should save me some hassle tomorrow or Wednesday, whenever I next use my car. Back window, at least, is almost entirely covered.

2. Batteries. Power may go out, and I haven't replaced the batteries in my flashlights recently, so I hit Target and got a few packs of D-cells today for my big lantern. I also brought home one of the several hand-crank flashlights I keep at the office (power outages happen more often on campus than at home, my office has no windows, and these things make nifty demos anyway), the one that has a radio installed. I should dig out my weather radio and replace the batteries in it too, got some C-cells for it.

3. Food. I should be able to last 36 hours on what I have that doesn't require heating. It won't be fun (mainly cheese, nuts and granola, and some fruit snacks and candy), but I should be okay diabetes-wise. I picked up some more granola bars at Target just in case. And I've put several containers full of water in the fridge and been making ice as quick as it'll freeze so I can continue using my fridge and freezer as long as possible for the spoilables. Sure, it'll cost more energy to cool all this down, but the waste heat is a good thing today. :) And if the power goes out, I won't be using ANY energy for a while. :/

4. Communications/Entertainment. Made sure my phone and PDA are fully charged. Also dug out my old portable DVD player that I haven't used in a couple years and plugged it in to charge up. Dunno how long it'll last on the old battery pack, but if power goes out I should be able to at least huddle under blankets and watch one of the movies in my to-be-watched stack before it goes flat. Got several books on the PDA and hardcopy books to read during daylight. Probably gonna shut my computer down before going to bed, if the power stays on that long, just to be on the safe side.

5. General warmth. New heavy knit socks from dad just showed up, yay! Otherwise, if the power goes out I'll probably just stay in the bedroom most of the day, huddled up and reading or whatever under the covers. Edit: Wow, these socks are WARM.

6. Still need to decide if I'd rather take a cold shower or just not shower at all until the blackout's over. I guess I'll decide based on how nasty I feel in the morning if the power goes out. :)

Comments

[grant-p.livejournal.com]

Good for you! In case of serious power failure and school/work cancellation, I've often resorted to the 'stay in bed till noon' routine and it works quite well when in an area I can't easily start a fire in, and no electricity.

Do you have enough blankets to go through the night without heat, though?

And for general cleanup/odor control, so long as you don't smoke, some rubbing alcohol on a washcloth makes for a good wipedown before work, then you can use the sink there for anything else.

Good luck, I hope everything goes well.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

I've got a comforter and a crocheted afghan at the moment, and if it gets really bad I can break out the Transformers comforter my siblings got me for Christmas (the box wasn't taped shut well at the warehouse and burst open as I accepted it from the postman, hence knowing what it is...but I won't open it the rest of the way until the 24th if I can avoid it). Also have three layers of sleep pants I can put on, etc.

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Get some of those baby wipes. They work good on adults too, as a bath substitute, in a pinch.

I also use witch hazel, instead of alcohol, on a cotton pad, to clear the gunk off my face. "gunk" is a technical term here.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

The main thing that makes me want to make a shower is hair, actually. But this morning I didn't feel too scummy pre-shower, so I'm not too worried. And I happen to have rubbing alcohol and alcohol wipes left over from my insulin injection phase.

Anyway, the rain has started, so I'm locked down for the duration now.

[grant-p.livejournal.com]

Good luck. Remember: Soccer players, despite what you may have seen in movies, are NOT good eating. Too stringy. Try the managers, they tenderize better.

Let us know what happens!

[foomf.livejournal.com]

The decent baby wipes actually help with itchy hair, because they don't leave a lot of gunk behind, and they medicate the scalp.