I went shopping today to augment my fast dwindling supplies of what I call my *candle night do-dads*. Meaning I went out in search of batteries and more lights, basically.
Next week, during my four day hiatus from the Energy Gods, I will be trialling a few new lighting methods, as well as seeing just how well my house copes in various temperatures without any external help (i.e., no fans, no air con etc). The Powers That Be say it is likely to reach 30 C here on Wednesday, so I'm glad I won't have my PC on!
I've also fished out some books to read (if I am able) for the evenings, one of which is "Great Expectations", by Charles Dickens, another being "Pygmalion", by George Bernard Shaw. So I have the *things to do* box firmly ticked now :-)
As to food and drink - well that's a bit more difficult, because while my fridge/freezer will be plugged in and turned on, under the rules I have set out for myself - that being NO ELECTRICAL POWER USAGE BY ME AT ALL FOR FOUR DAYS - I won't be able to use them. Which means no cold milk for iced coffee (it was an option to replace my morning coffees for a few days), no fridge to store butter in (so if I have sandwiches, they have to be without much at all on them, but given I'm having a bread-free month as well, that's also not an option), no freezer to store other food stuffs in. I will be doing my food shopping on Tuesday (my first day of my experiment), because that's when I get paid, and I think I might stop by the Golden Arches for one of their cheapy small coffees (it being likely to be my only way of having a hot coffee for the next four days), before I descend into the depths of despair as I realise just how much I rely on electricity to help me have a decent meal every day. Even stuff like a home made salad needs electricity, because unless you plan on eating every single thing you bought (even if it IS only one of everything), you will need somewhere to store the rest of it. I don't know about you, but I'm not really up to eating an entire head of lettuce in one sitting :(
Anyway, there are always options, and this coming week is about finding nutritious, healthy versions of them, without breaking the bank!
In short, I am going camping in my own house. The only real differences seem to be indoor plumbing and not sleeping under the stars (well I am, only there's a roof in the way, so no nice views).
So if you imagine a tent with an indoor loo, and cold running water, no lights, no way to cook anything (or heat anything), and the only way to get cool is by opening a window or door....well that's pretty much what I am doing for four days. :-)
It also occurred to me that it isn't just lighting, food, coffee, and something to do in the days & evenings that I have to think about. It's all the other little things in our lives that use electricity. Clocks, fans, radios and the like.
While rummaging through my own supplies, to find out what still worked, what needed replacing, and what I needed to add to, I found my old battery-operated, waterproof bathroom clock. He's fish-shaped, and green, but he's been a God-send on more than one occasion. He was the clock I brought up to my new house before the power was put on, so that I would know what time it was, he's the clock I generally fish out (pardon the pun) from the hall cupboard when the power goes out so that I have a vague idea of what time it is, and he ticks, so at least I have that wonderful "old ticking clock" noise to go to sleep to at night, which I actually find very soothing.
I also have a wind up radio with built-in lantern. The radio isn't that great, and to be honest, neither is the lantern, but if all my batteries were to die at the same time, and the sun for some reason refused to charge my little solar shed light, I could at least give this a wind for a few minutes and get many half an hour of light out it. Enough to go check the circuit breaker box with anyway!
Through my days, when I have sunlight, I plan on giving my house a thorough spring cleaning, in time for Christmas, which I intend on celebrating to the full this year, given last year's Christmas-New Year period was pretty upsetting. It will be interesting to see if I get as much done as I hope, despite not having electronic goodies to play with (laptop, tv, games console etc), and also to see if my sleep patterns improve (they've been terrible of late).
Anyway, it's only four days, when you think about it. It's not the end of the world (yet), and it's not like it will be a "forever" thing. It's just a chance to try a bit of 'emergency survival' in a controlled environment, where if things get a bit too tough, it's just a matter of turning on the light, or boiling the kettle (for when I just can't go a minute longer without a cup of coffee, and I don't want to have to actually go to Maccas to pay for it!).
See you in a week, guys...
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