CERTifiable

Last weekend I attended CERT training. Community Emergency Response Team. Our community is small, not even an incorporated city. There is no way out of town that doesn't involve crossing a bridge - unless you go by boat and then we don't have a port, just a beach. We are at the end of the road. Fact is, in a major disaster, we'll be the last ones they remember and the last ones they'll get help to even when they do remember. So we were learning how to help ourselves.

The training is pretty good. It's an all-purpose emergency training, so what we were learning was a variety of skills. A lot of it was knowing our limitations. We learned not to try to put out a fire bigger than a garbage can because that's just too big for our resources. And triage so we can prioritize the wounded for emergency services when they do arrive.

A lot of the focus of the attendees is what happens when we're cut off for a long time. If the tsunami ever really hits, all our bridges will go out. And probably all of our communications. So we need to be prepared. Even in less dramatic circumstances we could be cut off (December 2007 ring any bells?) So we're learning to be prepared. I hope our group will have occasional if not regular drills to keep us in practice.

Our simulation is coming this weekend. Saturday is scheduled for a major disaster of some sort. (They did promise no firefighting. The volunteer fire department might be too busy to save us if it goes south, so they won't take a chance on it.) But we will have something. I'm voting for an earthquake. :]

Home Sweet Home

Eric and I live in a trailer house. No, this is not a modular home, it's a trailer house. It is a little on the old side (only about thirty years) and is leaky. We have to do something about the roof this year. We've already tarred and patched and we have to replace it. So this summer we are going to build something. We were considering a pole building just to cover the roof. But then I started thinking long term. Best value received for the money going out and all that. I WANT A HOUSE!!!

We were down visiting family for the holiday and on our way back saw the Uncle Howard's Barns was open. Uncle Howard designs the most adorable cottages (see here). We had already emailed for info but since we were stopping by . . .

The long and the short is - we have a house plan! We walked in and told them we were looking to build and before we knew it, Uncle Howard sat us down, asked us what we were looking for and started sketching. Next thing, we have a plan for an adorable 16x20 cabin with an 8x12 enclosed porch, with loft and basement. Total sq ft including basement - 1152. Perfect for our famiy of two. Also ideal to become a guest cottage or vacation home for someone else someday. (Resale value is very important). Perfect! Now begins the process of preparing to build. Let's see, I need to find out about permits, and loans, and . . .

When Life Catches Up With You

Where have I been? Well, at first I was boring. Then I was coping. You know how it is. Work, house, a series of colds, etc, etc, etc. But I'm back.

My most recent triumph - the kitchen! I'm not sure I want to post a picture of how the stove looked before I tackled it Tuesday, but believe me, it was bad. So, on Tuesday afternoon (when I had an unexpected free half-day thanks to aborted jury duty) I tackled the stove. You are probably thinking in terms of baked on grease needing scrubbing off, or spilled sugar that burned and clung to the oven (the worst to remove). Nope. My stove problem was entirely different.

You see, some years ago, my husband and I installed a wood cookstove. My electric stove was big and bulky for a family of two. I could either heat a huge oven for a small thing, or cook something big and eat my heart out. A wood cookstove had the added advantage of providing heat. We liked that, most definitely. So, the stove became just so much more clutter. And a great place to hold more clutter. Just think, one more surface that never gets cleared off! And thus it was for some years (about 4, I think, maybe more).

When I was ill the year before last, things got really out of hand with the stove. The space in front became cluttered as well. We didn't need access to the drawer, so why not stack the recycling in front of it and the extra pots I didn't use and couldn't find a place for, and, and, and . . . In short, the stove was annoying, in my way, and too cluttered to move. Yesterday, that changed.

Everything is gone from in front of the stove. Most of it is in a tub, waiting to be sorted and put away, but that's okay. It's contained. Everything is gone from the top of the stove, either where it belongs, or also in that tub. Now I have access to the cupboards above the stove, which will shortly be free of their cobwebby guck and back into use. Hooray!!! And the stove will shortly find a new home - preferably at the Salvation Army. Anyone have their number?

Oh, and before someone comments on how unsafe it is to stack things on top of a stove, even if you aren't using it - we turned off it's power circuit, so no accidental meltings or burnings! I'm not stupid, no matter what I look like!