tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post5823691075768867820..comments2024-03-26T10:01:18.135-04:00Comments on Living the Frugal Life: Back in the Loving Arms of the GridKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-4905256525564630972011-11-13T20:23:22.357-05:002011-11-13T20:23:22.357-05:00I'm glad that you came through this okay. Fri...I'm glad that you came through this okay. Friends of ours were without power and heat for a week -- with a baby and a toddler. <br /><br />I have to go look at our battery supply, now that I think of it.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03932975112078606231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-10732315870000626982011-11-11T08:15:17.959-05:002011-11-11T08:15:17.959-05:00As you may have read in blog, We ended up with sto...As you may have read in blog, We ended up with storm refuges. What I needed more prep for was the sheer number of bodies.kathyhttp://www.justincasebook.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-47816379151273184762011-11-09T21:26:47.078-05:002011-11-09T21:26:47.078-05:00We got just enough snow to piss off the cows. I mo...We got just enough snow to piss off the cows. I moved them to a new field so they could continue to "snow graze." They had other ideas of getting some hay instead.<br />We got hit hard here in Vermont during Irene, so we were relieved that we didn't suffer too much with the storm. Come visit the herd when you have a chance:<br />www.tailgait.blogspot.com~ Janishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10637404142608576162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-79875030392664155592011-11-07T18:08:31.517-05:002011-11-07T18:08:31.517-05:00We had one of those Halloween snows in Nebraska in...We had one of those Halloween snows in Nebraska in 1997: Lots of damage and power outages all over town. There was an up-side, though. Two to five days of blessed silence due to lack of power and free wood chips for the next couple of years!Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06486945464862663890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-218169478516665422011-11-03T22:31:48.921-04:002011-11-03T22:31:48.921-04:00Glad no one was hurt and no serious damage was don...Glad no one was hurt and no serious damage was done. We escaped scot-free out here on Cape Cod.<br /><br />Since we have wood for heat, propane for cooking, and a 110-acre water supply in our backyard, I tend to be sanguine about emergencies. The only thing we really need to keep powered up is our freezers, and I'm thinking we're going to just buy a generator. Easy way out, I guess.Tamar@StarvingofftheLandhttp://www.starvingofftheland.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-60675472509744995002011-11-03T19:26:30.998-04:002011-11-03T19:26:30.998-04:00Gosh, that's quite some snow. Glad you and you...Gosh, that's quite some snow. Glad you and your people managed to stay safe. Hoping that the clean-up isn't too dismal.Alexis, Baron von Harlothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04675225579658733004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-33063448604950682782011-11-03T10:40:06.463-04:002011-11-03T10:40:06.463-04:00From my understanding, we only live a couple of co...From my understanding, we only live a couple of counties apart. We fared just about as well as you did. We have a lot of maple trees....well had. What wasn't totally destroyed will need to come down in the next few weeks due to instability. We were with out power for about 36 hours, but had a generator and gas fireplace. My son thought it was the coolest night having candles in the rooms we were using. We have friends that are due to get their power back today, Thursday. Their excitement help to add humor to this week. Glad you guys were ok and other then minor fixable things, you came through good.Fletchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12894490737224750742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-70332421501444428592011-11-03T05:47:18.136-04:002011-11-03T05:47:18.136-04:00Hazel, thanks. It's strange to be in the posi...Hazel, thanks. It's strange to be in the position of being the ones affected by so much weather this year. Usually we're only reading about events and how others are coping with them. Hope the forecast snow treats you well over there.<br /><br />Wendy, thanks. We can deal with damaged fences. No one was hurt and the house is fine. Thanks for the suggestion on batteries. We'll certainly look into the various possibilities when we get serious about the project. <br /><br />Dea-chan, glad you were spared the worst of the storm. Our peppers, and various other garden denizens are definitely kaput after the snow.<br /><br />eatclosetohome, maybe the key to getting other people to prepare themselves is the good feeling that comes when you know you're fine and can help other people. Even being able to offer a friend or family member a shower and a hot meal, maybe some frozen bottles of water for their refrigerator, is a fantastic feeling. We did this for some people who were out of power longer than we were. Sometimes people will do better by others than they do by themselves. We should figure out a way to exploit that to motivate people to prepare better.<br /><br />agwh, I'm a firm believer in starting small, and then doing one more thing. We have a similar panel that trickle charges the battery for our seldom-used pickup truck. So I can relate.<br /><br />Laura, thanks. We're trying hard to look on the positive side. It's mostly working.Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18017959421018964001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-87174837048949081572011-11-02T14:22:39.879-04:002011-11-02T14:22:39.879-04:00Glad to hear y'all are physically ok. Sorry th...Glad to hear y'all are physically ok. Sorry that you have had to deal with storm damage.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-26792663000854662432011-11-01T21:33:39.851-04:002011-11-01T21:33:39.851-04:00Glad to hear that you are essentially OK. We have ...Glad to hear that you are essentially OK. We have a tiny solar "system" that helps get us through blackouts, but it's hilariously small. We have a panel that's about the size of my computer monitor on the roof, hooked up to the appropriate charge converter and battery, with a wire that runs into the kitchen where it powers one LED bulb. There is an inverter, too, so we can charge things like our cell phones and iPods. We figured it was a start ...Amy W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14108368551894382300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-62659296974584525642011-11-01T15:48:38.432-04:002011-11-01T15:48:38.432-04:00Glad to hear you are ok! Sounds like your preparat...Glad to hear you are ok! Sounds like your preparations stood you in good stead, even if they were not 100% complete. Wish others would do at least as much as you do!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-46551430754917637042011-11-01T15:18:47.058-04:002011-11-01T15:18:47.058-04:00Oh, and my peppers survived the snow and are NOW h...Oh, and my peppers survived the snow and are NOW happily in my kitchen. As further indication that we had different storms practically. :-PDea-chanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00140404243041621186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-77535281249389197292011-11-01T15:18:09.770-04:002011-11-01T15:18:09.770-04:00Wow, that's a lot of damage for the one storm ...Wow, that's a lot of damage for the one storm -- and it wasn't even an ice storm!<br /><br />In Somerville we got... hmm... 1/2" of snow and it melted by Sunday morning. Although we did have the first plows of the season Saturday night!Dea-chanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00140404243041621186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-13324390954173150422011-11-01T11:00:33.090-04:002011-11-01T11:00:33.090-04:00I'm sorry to hear about all of the damage. Th...I'm sorry to hear about all of the damage. There was no damage to our property here, and mostly it was just snow, which is mostly gone now. <br /><br />With regard to the batteries, have you seen those "jumpstart" batteries? You can charge them on a wall outlet, and they allow you to plug some things in. It's like a miniature generator. It would give you some electricity - not a lot, but sometimes you only need a little. They cost around $100. <br /><br />The downside is if your power isn't restored quickly, and you've run out of charge, there's no power, but it might be good for the start to your off-grid system. You could, eventually, add a bicycle generator, solar panels or an RV-sized windmill to charge the battery.Wendyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04642417312794814066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7237633934633144064.post-3957934918677294422011-11-01T08:55:46.301-04:002011-11-01T08:55:46.301-04:00Glad you were essentially ok; we've had news f...Glad you were essentially ok; we've had news footage of the storm over here, but I wasn't sure who would be affected.<br />We've had an exceptionally warm autumn too, with only 1 or 2 light frosts in my area. I even have nasturtiums flowering in the garden, though the ones at the allotment are mush.<br />Snow is forecast later this month though...Hazelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05388175819512214533noreply@blogger.com