Jamie, I know Gary would be interested in any helpful resources you've come across regarding the fireplace if you could PM or e-mail that.

We've got a generator already that is typically used in conjunction with the camper. It won't power the whole house, but we can keep minimal power going. Gas supply is the issue, and we're looking into putting a tank on our property. I thought that was crazy at first, but we can use it to fill our own vehicles, the lawn equipment, etc. so why not?

For food we now have a 30 day supply of MRE's (formerly C-Rations??). We also have a 30 day supply of THK for the dogs - of course we will rotate that so it stays refreshed (we already use THK for "fill in the gap" purposes in our feeding plan anyway).

For water Gary got 3? 4? big barrels with some sort of filtration device. You can spend a TON of money on those - he found something he felt was the most cost effective - if anyone wants to know exactly what he ended up getting I can find out the brand and other info.

Among the ton of other misc. stuff he's assembled are things like hand crank flashlights (don't need batteries), some sort of "super matches" that burn like mad and come in water proof containers, etc., etc.

It's a lot to think about - I would probably never get around to this myself. But if something truly bad ever does happen around here, I'll be glad HE's put the time and planning into preparedness.

The biggest thing that makes all this worth it to me? Knowing that we've greatly improved our odds of not having to be separated from our dogs.

Thanks for sharing ideas!

Beth

http://www.ready.gov/ Not that the government gives what to me would be true survival info, but there are a few tips on there that a person may not think of, like important papers, cash or travelers' checks (in case electricity is out, debit or credit cards can't be used), and links to Ready Pets Brochure, your local or state gov's readiness info, etc.

Definitely insert a wood burning stove in a fireplace if preparing for survival in case of disaster. Fireplaces are useless for heating homes, all the wood's heat goes up the chimney, terrible waste of wood in an emergency. If you use a wood burning stove, don't forget kindling (pine is best and you'll need paper to start the kindling - you can split the ) or fire starters (easier to use, no paper needed) to start fires, then of course the hardwoods (oak recommended, pine burns easier but burns out much quicker so you'll need more) to burn, at least one cord of wood. A cord of wood is 4'x4'x4', or the equivalent. And unless you have the wood delivered already split, you'll need the tools to split it yourself. Just another thing to think about

Sandy - LOL!! Gary is really the one who thinks ahead about most problems around here - I'm pretty happy most of the time in la la land. Believe it or not, I actually am the one who thought of the important papers / cash thing. I was pretty proud of myself since that's a rare occurance.

I don't know if Gary has come across any wood burning stoves that can be outfitted inside of an existing wood burning fireplace. If you know of such a thing and might have a link, that would be much appreciated. That sounds like a good solution - something that is designed for that purpose.

We're pretty fortunate on the wood front. We live on a wooded property, so we have our own supply along with the tools to handle it. (sadly, we are losing too many trees for a couple of environmental reasons here - one major "mother nature" reason, and another "man made" reason - not man made by us.) We have been trying to be diligent about planting a new tree for every tree that we lose, but of course we're planting babies to replace much older, larger trees. If we end up getting that gas tank here, there will be gas for the chain saw readily available. While I have split wood myself many times before...I'm older, wiser, and now consider that a "guy job." (Although I could do it myself if I had to)

Gary tried to capture my interest in this sort of stuff a few years ago. I didn't really "bite" until this year - where we have seen so many back to back "mother nature" disasters one on top of the other. Everything from the wild fires in CA to the Frozen Tundras of OK to the massive snow dumps in CO to the ice storms on the east coast. Of course seeing all that stuff back to back is a reminder of 911, Katrina, etc. We've also had thing happen very near us - a tornado touched down within a couple miles of us a few years ago. Thankfully it wasn't as devastating to our community as it could have been (and we weren't touched directly at all) - but there were still people without power for at least a couple of weeks.

You know what the hardest part is for me to get my head around? Where would I draw the line in terms of helping others with our own supplies, if a true survival scenario actually occurred for us? (Gary is worried about that part of me too!) I'm a giver and helper by nature, and I could easily see myself being too generous, and in the mean time putting ourselves and our own dogs at risk. Someone talk me down from THAT ledge, OK?

I'm really not a gloomy doomy sort - and I appreciate being able to communicate about this topic without feeling that people are *rolling their eyes* at me. I'm glad Gary and I aren't the only ones concerned about this sort of thing.

Thanks!!!!!!

Beth

Hey Beth if you need to calm him down every now & then remind him of the great computer disaster that was to ruin all of us when the year turned to 2000!!! I seem to remember a lot of "survivalists" predicting "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" which (thank goodness) never happened.

I don't really have a plan, to be honest, but I do have a flashlight that doesn't require batteries or bulbs...that could definitely come in handy!

In fact, it did come in handy the other night when the power went out - especially since one of my dogs is afraid of the dark. I'm not kidding, either, he starts panting and pacing and whining and just generally driving me nuts.

beth: they're called "fireplace inserts", and they're not cheap in the slightest. we want one for purely aesthetic reasons, but if you can stand to look at it, bricking over your fireplace, knocking a hole in the front of the chimney for the flue and putting a standalone woodheater in front of it seems to be cheaper (comparing BTU for BTU and feature for feature).

i have a bunch of different plans for wood heaters in .pdf format around someplace, i'll have to dig them up though. i do know that places like "rural king" here in indiana sell kits that let you convert a sealable 50 gallon drum into a wood heater very easily, but i don't know how well they'd work, or how long they'd last.

Beth, you and hubby don't sound gloom and doom, you sound wise. The key to survival (IMO) is having the tools necessary for survival first and foremost, then secondly knowing how to use the tools , thirdly knowing IF and when and how to distribute the tools and supplies you have. To me, wisdom dictates that distributing the supplies necessary for YOUR survival deserves long and hard consideration, including factors such as absolute knowledge of the duration of a disaster and how much you have on hand at the time. Word would get around of the kind neighbor who's giving their stuff away - you'd have an endless stream of visitors, mostly strangers to you, which could put you in a precarious position. Just another thing to consider. It's not that you don't want to share, it's just not always wise to share during catastrophes. Your family's safety comes first.

If you Google "fireplace inserts" you'll come up with lots of sites. Another thought - try to find a woodburning stove manufacturer in your area that you can ask about the following: Depending on how large your fireplace is, you might just be able to get a stand-alone woodburning stove and put it directly into your fireplace cavity, but you'd need a flue (pipe) that goes all the way to the top of the chimney from the stove and it has to have an angle on the connector pipes that allows free flow of smoke up the pipe (no extreme right angles). We had exactly that when we lived in the mountains, stove right in a fireplace cavity, just set out a bit so the pipe didn't have a right angle before going straight up.

In the shop where my husband worked, they used a 55 gallon drum as a wood stove and it worked just fine, however they tend to get weak with a few years of use (hopefully no disaster would last that long) and also, since it's not something you want in your living room before you need it, when you do need it there would be a setup involved that you may or may not be able to do during a disaster.

All good tips above... Keep in mind too that you won't actually DIE if you miss a few meals here and there. So your 30-day food supply, if you take that down to just 1 or 2 meals per day, or even every other day, might last much longer. And when your food supply is up, most healthy people (even those who are slim) can survive 10+ days without a bite of food. If you're at all overweight, you can go more.

Food is the LEAST important actual aspect of preparedness, IMO, and is at the bottom of the list with water and shelter/warmth being the most important. In fact, it's SOOOOO far down the list of importancies that I find it funny that it's the first thing people think of when they think "disaster preparedness"

Typical North America, I tell ya!

Beth ,Keep up the good work, make sure you have everything and more ,I am going over your house if a disaster happens
You are on a mission!

I'm sure this preparation will stand you in good stead when the Earth's magnetic poles reverse, as some are predicting, in 2012.... I've cancelled my plans to see the London Olympics