Suggestion for helping relatives and others in cold weather

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My brother and his family have announced their desire to be with us during the millenium rollover as they feel it is significant (these folks are very definite DGI, not for lack of trying on my part).

I of course have been making preps for those of us here in the Northwest (brother & family live in Hawaii), and it is cold in January (brrrr!). So I have begun haunting the local Goodwill, Value Village, Salvation Army resale stores. Here is what I found, 4 sleeping bags ($2.99 - $3.99 each), fake fur hats, wooly hooded shawls, great gloves (leather & knit), cup coffee drippers (melita (sp?)), plastic tarps & a new roll of plastic sheeting, boots, blankets, and a vast array of other useful items for those that will not be prepared for what will happen.

I thought perhaps these ideas might help others with visitors to have plenty on hand without spending big $$$$$.

Live well and die very, very old ;->

-- Sammie Davis (sammie0X@hotmail.com), August 07, 1999

Answers

thanks! often overlooked! great post!

-- eddy (xxx@xxx.com), August 07, 1999.

Hello!

I don't mean to sound anti-social but I can't tell by your post if you WANT them to come or not.... If NOT then suggest a big party at the REAL millenium turnover - next year! On the other hand if you look at this as an opportunity to be able to have them close and help them if things get difficult then.... ENJOY!

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), August 07, 1999.


Yes, indeedy, I want my family with me! I suppose my quest made me sound tired & grumpy, sorry. I feel very good that I have the foresight to provide these necessities for those I love, and because I love them dearly, wish I could provide more. I have ramped up my food purchases (thought I was about done, hahaha). Having a problem finding enough room (no basement or extra rooms to use). I also picked up about 20 really fun kids and adult games at the above stores. In my town, on Thursdays two of the outfits have 1/2 off sales on different color tags each week. Games and toys, colored pencils (bagsful!), musical instruments for kids, anything that is colorful & looks like fun, and that adults can participate as well I picked up for the enjoyment of all. Don't forget to get lots of books just for fun reading!

Keeping on, keeping on ;->

-- Sammie Davis (sammie0X@hotmail.com), August 07, 1999.


As you are stocking up on cold weather gear keep in mind they are likely to feel colder than you do at a given temperature as they are not acclimited (is that a word?). And laundry day may not be as frequent as usual. So have PLENTY of layers and tons of socks and gloves. I'm hoping for an end-of-summer sale on those cheapy sleeping bags of polar fleece. Wouldn't do much good in winter AS sleeping bags, but should be great as extra blankets or just to wrap around chilled shoulders.. or to climb into as a body bag while sitting around the Aladdin playing cards.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), August 07, 1999.

I heard that polar fleece is especially flamable, so be careful. And they sell the stuff for camping...

-- biker (y2kbiker@worldnet.att.net), August 08, 1999.


Hmmm, if it is especially flamable, how could they use it for kids sleeping bags? And isn't it also used for things like infant's sleepers? Aren't there really tough fire safety standards for things like that?

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), August 08, 1999.

My parents have a large home that will be impossible to heat in Wyoming in January. They purchased a white canvas hunting tent that will be placed in front of their fireplace. Inside, they will have a $350 wood-burning camp cook stove, made for these tents, that will vent through the tent, up the chimney of the fireplace. They may hand their place over to my DGI sister and get down to Kansas with us, if things start looking that bad. They purchased everything from Cabella's in Nebraska. It needed to be big enough to keep stored food inside (freezing) and stored water as well. During deep winter in Wyo, frozen pipes will become a reality in a matter of hours in a home without heat. Many, many people did away with wood fireplaces and went to natural gas. Even those with wood stoves would have no way of heating an entire house with one, and many buy their wood throughout the winter due to storage problems. This could become a disaster in a heart beat in a State that has been known to have 9 months of winter and 3 months of Spring........60 degrees below zero with wind chill, is quite common. We're praying a mild Winter will be in store for all of you in the Northern States and Canada!

Plastic sheeting and duct tape, mattresses propped up against doors, windows and North walls, hot burning lanterns, any possible way of keeping heat in, cold out, will be essential. Pick up free pallettes from behind stores to burn. Have fire-extinguishers available! Those of you in hard Winter areas have a WHOLE set of serious problems we in milder climates won't need to deal with. This is nothing to procrastinate about. Been there, done it. Think about that plumbing and those canned goods. No 'do-overs'.

It angers me to hear 'local disruptions' or 'prepare for loss of power no longer than a few weeks'. WHAT?????? Depending upon your local, this will mean death! 60 degrees BELOW zero? Three day snow storm? In Wyo, this could be more similar to being stuck in your car alongside an abandoned highway, hidden beneath a 5 ft. drift and waiting for someone to rescue you in a raging 3 day blizzard. Are they talking about a Wyo 'three day snow storm' or a Kansas 'three day snow storm'? Please.....think fast.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), August 08, 1999.


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