Survival Week-would you do it?
We had a Food Storage/Preparedness Fair Jan 24th after the 2 week survival week. I had a lot of people that couldn't believe we would live without electricity and water for 2 weeks. After listening to the 3 other couple/families that participated, I think we had the most enjoyment out of it. The other 3 families ended up at the doctors office. One had a really bad cold and got laryngitis. Another family ended up at the emergency room when their 18 month old inhaled a popcorn kernel into his lung and had to go into surgery and have it removed. The other family had their 2 year old daughter get very sick and bought over $100 worth of medication, and her mom's blood sugar went up with her diabetes because of the high carbs that they consumed from food storage.
I feel very blessed that we didn't have to make any trips to the doctor and no one got sick, which is very surprising since I know our hand washing was not as it should have been.
We did plan for the last night of our 2-week survival to be a celebration. I knew I was going to need something to look forward to get me through the week. We cooked beans and little smokies in a dutch oven in the fireplace, and had homemade applesauce. There is something that makes food taste better when cooked over an open fire. Then we set up the boys' tent and brought some mattresses in front of the fire (we slept by the fire since we had the heat off all day and the temp outside was down to 17 degrees that night) Then I pulled out my violin and played some fiddle tunes and then we read scriptures and Little House on the Prairie by firelight/candlelight.
It really was a memorable evening. The next morning I got up and started making bread (in the bread maker) and apple crisp (in the oven) and rice and beans (in the crock pot) and pancakes for breakfast (on the griddle) I went from not cooking with any appliances for 3 days, to using most of them in one morning. I am very thankful for modern conveniences (especially the shower.) It is all too easy to ignore the many blessings we have until we live without them.
We will definitely be doing this again next year. Probably in the winter as it is a nice diversion to the seemingly endless bleak winter days. I don't know when the last time was that January flew by quite so fast. I will forever be grateful for what the last few weeks has meant for the unity of our family. It has made very clear to me what the priorities in my life are. I look forward to the opportunity again!
I feel very blessed that we didn't have to make any trips to the doctor and no one got sick, which is very surprising since I know our hand washing was not as it should have been.
We did plan for the last night of our 2-week survival to be a celebration. I knew I was going to need something to look forward to get me through the week. We cooked beans and little smokies in a dutch oven in the fireplace, and had homemade applesauce. There is something that makes food taste better when cooked over an open fire. Then we set up the boys' tent and brought some mattresses in front of the fire (we slept by the fire since we had the heat off all day and the temp outside was down to 17 degrees that night) Then I pulled out my violin and played some fiddle tunes and then we read scriptures and Little House on the Prairie by firelight/candlelight.
It really was a memorable evening. The next morning I got up and started making bread (in the bread maker) and apple crisp (in the oven) and rice and beans (in the crock pot) and pancakes for breakfast (on the griddle) I went from not cooking with any appliances for 3 days, to using most of them in one morning. I am very thankful for modern conveniences (especially the shower.) It is all too easy to ignore the many blessings we have until we live without them.
We will definitely be doing this again next year. Probably in the winter as it is a nice diversion to the seemingly endless bleak winter days. I don't know when the last time was that January flew by quite so fast. I will forever be grateful for what the last few weeks has meant for the unity of our family. It has made very clear to me what the priorities in my life are. I look forward to the opportunity again!
posted by Jason and Denise Black | 8:38 PM
1 Comments:
This really sounds like a lot of fun. I think I'd like to try it sometime, but it would definitely take some convincing to get Adam on board with it. I'm trying to figure out how you can read the scriptures AND Little House on the Prairie in one sitting and your kids remain attentive? What's your secret?
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