June

It's incredibly hot out.  And humid.  It's rarely humid in the north, but this year we're into our fourth week of heat and humidity.

The garden is spotty and disappointing.  Given the heat it should be growing like crazy.  The greenhouses are doing well, but outside is slow growing.  The weeds of course, are growing like crazy.  We pull them for the birds every day- a fresh layer of weeds to cover the floor of the turkey shack every night.

We continue foraging for weeds and fiddleheads.  It's too hot for puffballs now.  I start a batch of dandelion wine.  I skimp on the sugar, so it won't be very strong.  Rhubarb is up, although not much appreciated without flour and a ton of sugar.  The boys much on an occasional stick.  I start a batch of rhubarb and dandelion wine.  I make a small batch of dandelion syrop, blending it with the birch syrop for sugar.

We dig dandelion roots and dry them for coffee.  Husband appreciates them more now, much stronger than my other tea weeds alone.  He even digs some himself when he's out and about.  We try to dig for roots farther away from the house, keeping the dandelions in the yard for greens.

We're cooking outside on the fire pit now.  We don't have to cut the branches as small, and are able to use a lot of twigs as well.  Cooking doesn't entail much.  We planted the remaining potatoes, carrots and beets for seed.  Meals are just a jar of canned meat and whatever weeds we foraged that day, mostly dandelion, occasionally lambs quarters.  We're all in the habit now of munching as we go as well, eating dandelions as we pick, and chewing on grass and clover.

The perennial bed comes to life, and I start cutting and drying chives, and some flowers and plants for medicine and tea.  I wonder if I can make tinctures with wine.  I make plantain/comfrey salves with tallow.  I plant calendula, bedstraw, bergamot, cicely and some other herbs.  I gather stinging nettle and make vegetable rennet.

We rotate the cows through the pasture every three days.  It's not enough to allow each section proper rest, but it helps.  The horses spend so little time in the pasture that we just leave them up at the barn.  They're usually in the side yard, or the garden yard, or at someone else's house.  They graze as they go.  The goats roam around loose, as always.  We never could keep them fenced in.  They never wander far though.

Sanya's horses were out behind the pasture one morning.  Brother and Sil chased them off.

We work on fencing the edge of our property, down the side of the logging trail to the creek.  Hopefully that will keep the horses out, and eventually we'll let the cows out to graze.  We cut thin poles and nail them to the trees, a crooked little fence.  We keep the tree tops and branches for firewood.  The Littles saw through the branches with the hand saw.  The basement fills slowly.

Brother and Sil take down their add a room tent and frame it in with logs.  They frame all the way around the trailer, putting the roof up over both.  They cut logs for the sides and chink it in with clay.  Poles for the roof are covered with the vinyl tent.  They soon have a solid little cabin with the drafts all sealed.  They build a bigger chicken coop beside the cabin, with a trap door/window between them.  They can heat the chicken coop with the woodstove next winter.

They fence in their growing yard and garden.  They need to protect their garden from their free ranging chickens, and the cows that will be grazing through soon.

Mom's roof leaked last winter, so we all work together to build her add a room and put a new roof on over the trailer.  She has enough lumber to frame in the walls, and press board to cover them.  The roof is covered with poles, then tin.  There's only enough tin to cover half of it.  We have to scrounge for more materials elsewhere.

We nearly fill Mom's woodshed with the tree tops and branches we cut for the roof.  We move the woodstove into the add a room.  We frame in the windows and build an archway in the trailer wall where the windows used to be.  It needs insulation and interior walls, but it'll give Mom more space and hopefully keep the roof dryer.

The first two banties to go broody both hatch their chicks, 18 little fluffballs between them.  We move them from the brooder boxes to the floor in one of the pens.  We pick weeds for them every day for two weeks, then let them out to free range.

Week after week, the other banties hatch their chicks, and we move them first to the floor, and then outside.  One of the missing hens from outside returns with a clutch of chicks as well.  Two are still missing.

Husband takes ten chicks to the farmer who gave us the calf.  He finds out the farmer couldn't drive his cows to Diego's.  They all scattered through the bush.  Most came home within a few days, but there are still a few loose.  He also caught a couple of horses that were roaming free.

We shoot a fox going after the chickens one afternoon.  I cut the meat into small pieces and put them into five gallon pails with holes in the bottom.  I hang the buckets from the fence surrounding the turkey pen.  The flies lay their eggs on the meat, then the maggots hatch and fall to the ground, providing the birds with a tasty treat.

Husband takes more parts off the tractor and delivers them to the fellow who builds cutters.  He stops and chats with the new neighbours on the way home.  Their names are Mel and Arlene, and the kids are Tommy and Ben.  They've built a small lean-to, set up a tent, put in a large garden, and have fenced off the area.  They've caught one of Sanya's horses that were in the garden before they fenced it.  They considered butchering it, but for now have it tied to a tree.  Husband offers them a dozen chicks if they'll continue working on the fenceline down that side of the property to the creek.

Lisa and Sally fence in their garden and a new chicken pen.  They dry and store weeds and grass for their chickens next winter.

Once all of the banties are out of the chicken coop, we clean it out and start drying and storing weeds and grass as well.  We clean out the hay lean to for grass storage.  We clean out the loft in the barn.

We accomplish much in the longer days, without screens and such to occupy our time.

Day 54- I Sick

I have been sick for over a week now.  Nothing too serious, just a cold, but a doozey of a cold.  Of course everyone else got it too, so we haven't accomplished much.

Between naps I read through my herbal remedy notes over and over and over again.  They weren't making much sense.  I decided to start a list for common ailments and write down the herbs and remedies suitable for treating it.  It means I have more than one copy of things, but searching by plant when my head feels like a football just wasn't working.

Husband, of course, had an outbreak of gout to go along with his cold.  I made a list of treatments for it, then started on the common cold.  I should do the same for the flu, urinary infections, and other illnesses we're likely to encounter.  I'm mad at myself for not collecting more herbs and weeds through the summer while I had the opportunity.

Lisa's been a blessing through this illness, coming up everyday to cook and clean.  I'm amazed she hasn't caught it from my germy crew.  Husband borrowed the treadle sewing machine from Diego and Nira, and she's been sewing curtains for the cabin, and taking in some of the pants that I got from the flea market.

I'm finally starting to feel somewhat like myself again now, though my nose is still runny and my chest a bit congested.

I have a fair bit of OTC drugs here at home, but tried to treat everyone with herbs and natural remedies.  I did give everyone a dose of cough medicine before bed on the worst nights, and #1 and I both had a touch of an ear infection, so a few drops of polysporin.  That's when I started wondering, what would I do?  That polysporin bottle is so tiny, it won't last long. 

Now I'm armed with a list of natural remedies, but I have many ingredients to gather for next winter.  We'll have to make do with what I have to get through this winter.  Hopefully we won't pick up too many viruses, since we're not out and about socializing like we used to be.

The one thing I noticed that I'd never given any thought to before- q-tips!  What did people do before q-tips?  I have less than half a box of them.  I hid them in my room to keep the kids from wasting them.  I know you're not supposed to put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear, but I just seem to produce so much ear wax when I have a cold.  I suppose I could flush the wax with oil or water.  We still have one of those suction ball thingys from when #1 was a tot and had ear infections all the time, but I don't remember how to use it.  Q-tips will definitely be harder to replace than toilet paper.

I didn't have anywhere near enough hankies for this onslaught either.  I've had to cut two more sheets into hankies.  I've been washing them in a bucket in the tub everyday, with a bit of bleach, and it seems we're still out of them before the washed batch is dry.  I've been using the old kleenex boxes to store the hankies in, but that'll only work for a little while longer.  They're starting to wear out.  I don't really want to have a laundry basket exclusively for hankies, but I don't really have anything else suitable to store them in.  Would wooden kleenex boxes be too weird?  Maybe I'll think of something better when my head clears a bit more. 

We set up the tree.  I don't think anyone's given much thought to presents this year.  Thankfully #4 is the only one who still believes in Santa, so the older boys won't be too horribly disappointed.  I had a few things tucked away, found on sale through the year.  It won't be much, but at least it won't be barren.  We'll definitely need to put more effort into it in the future.

The Christmas tree also solved the rocket heater problem.  I had decorations stored in old coffee cans- metal coffee cans!  I wouldn't have thought to look there, lol.  I haven't got it put together yet, but once we're all feeling better we have what we need to make them.  Would outhouse rocket heaters make good presents for the extended family?

On a positive note, we finally got some snow.  Barely a foot, but enough that we don't have to go for water for awhile.  It also means we're feeding hay constantly though.  We may have to see about making a trade with the Hutterites for hay.  We haven't butchered Mindy, but we did butcher Lucy.  She hasn't produced in the 3 years she's been here, and we had planned to sell her.  I suppose I could have put her on the list at the feed store, but I really just wanted her not eating hay.  Besides, I'll probably have an easier time trading the Hutterites for a cow than a goat.

Snow also means the house isn't so drafty.  The boys walked around with the shovel and piled snow in snug around the base of the house, covering all the 'holes'- the basement vents, the spot where the satellite cables come in, the basement windows.  It's still not warm enough though.

Husband and I have been talking about a power source for the furnace fan.  If we take all of the car batteries and the old truck batteries and wire them together we might have a reasonable battery bank.  We only have a couple of those mini solar panels to charge them with though.  I dug out my windmill plans, but he doesn't think we get enough wind to bother- and we don't really have anything suitable for a pole.  He doesn't think a log would be strong enough.  He said he'd fiddle with things once he's feeling better.

In the meantime, the boys moved their bunk beds to the livingroom.  The tv, book shelves, coffee and end tables are all up in their rooms now.  We haven't sealed off the upstairs, just keeping the doors closed and the curtains drawn.  The livingroom is crowded but functional.

We haven't seen Brother's family, or my parents.  I hope they haven't caught this cold.  Lisa offered to check in on them, but I didn't want her spreading the germs if they aren't sick.

Hopefully we'll all be well in a few more days.

Day 43- New Arrivals

Oh, it is definitely winter now.  We've still barely got any snow, the ground isn't even completely covered.  But it is cold, cold, cold.  -28°C through the day, and colder overnight.

In the last few days, Husband and the Bigs helped Brother clean his chimney, and taught Diego how to do his.  Dad's of course, was already done. 

Work with the horses continues.  There's not enough snow yet to practice with the sleigh.  Niece1 has driven the Littles and the kids in to school twice.  One of the Bigs go with them, just in case, but it looks like she has a handle on it.  The girls teach a little, read a lot, and help some of the older kids with projects.  The school system is more of an entertainment for bored kids than an actual classroom.  They all have fun with it though.

The honey is gone, and I'm using sugar in my tea.  Husband doesn't want to risk the trip to the Hutterite village yet.

I've been trying to be a hermit, staying in the house where it's warm, but eventually I have to go out to the outhouse.  I put my foot down on the overnights though.  It's frigid enough to use the outhouse through the day, I am not going out there at night.  The boys, thankfully, agreed to help with daily waste disposal, because they don't want to go out through the night either.  Husband calls us all a bunch of wussies.  I hope his arse freezes to the toilet seat.

We talked about putting a wood stove in the outhouse, but nobody wants to stay out there and get it going.  We don't have one we could use for it anyway, since we were surprised by the niece from the other side. I think a rocket stove might be a good idea, but I need to find some cans for it.  The best I can come up with is a paint can, since all of our empty coffee cans are plastic.

The niece from the other side, Lisa, showed up two days ago with her daughter, Sally.  Her parents were killed shortly after the blackout started.  They're never prepared for anything, and had to go scavenging for food.  It didn't go well for them.  She stayed with her sister at her sister's boyfriend's parents' place until this week, when she decided to try making the trip to our place.  Things were uncomfortable for her there, an outsider, and as their supplies have been running low, it was getting worse.  She thought about heading south, to her other sister, but realized that would put her in the same position, a burden on someone else's family.  If they were still alive, they'd surely be with his family.

So Lisa took Sally and started walking north.  They hid in the trees and slowly made their way around the towns, avoiding people, making their way north.  We were surprised to see them when they arrived at our place.  I had expected her parents to show up within the first week.  We haven't talked to them in a couple of years, but I expected them to show up expecting us to take care of them.  When they didn't, and the weeks went by, I figured they had moved out west before the black out.  I was happy to not have to deal with them, and never gave them another thought.  Until yesterday.

Lisa and Sally arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a blanket each.  No food, no supplies, not even a change of clothes.  We fed them twice yesterday, though they look thin enough they could have eaten a third or fourth meal.  They slept in the add-a-room last night, but today we'll move them down to the cabin Diego and Nira had started in the fall.

They don't come in before breakfast is ready, so I send the Littles out to wake them up.  They're awake, sitting huddled in a corner.  It's freezing in there, but they're afraid to come in and bother us.  The Littles tell them to come in for breakfast.

After we eat and they warm up, we all walk down to the cabin together.  It's just an empty shell, with the wood stove at one end.  Husband gets a fire burning.  The Bigs get to work on the outhouse.  The hole should have been deeper, but the ground is frozen now.  It'll have to be moved in the spring.  I show Lisa and sally the pile of clay that was dug out of the hole, work some loose and take it into the cabin.  After it warms up I'll show them how to fill the chinks the in the walls.  The north side is done, so most of the wind will be blocked.  Husband cuts a few trees to start making a bunk and shelves.

The Littles and I show Lisa and Sally around the pasture, the creek, and the bath tub.  I explain the lye water for laundry, that we were bringing the horses back here to graze, that we'd been picking edible weeds for vegetation.  There's none of that now, but Lisa can cut pine needles for tea.  The five of us walk back to the house, leaving Husband and the Bigs to work.

I get the small cast iron pan out of the trailer, a couple of small pots, two knives, forks, spoons, plates, cups, and glasses.  I grab a bowl and a wooden spoon.  It's not much, but it's just the two of them.  The Littles get two extra blankets and a pillow for each of them.  I pack up a box of groceries- 2 jars of weeds, 1 jar of beets, 1 jar of pickles, 2 jars of jam, 5 pounds of potatoes, 2 pounds of carrots, a few onions, half a bag of flour.  #4 gets the salt and pepper shaker from the trailer, #3 gets three candles.  I get two small roasts, a package each of stew meat, ground beef, and beans, and put them in a small cooler.  We have more than enough to carry, so we head back to the cabin.

The Bigs have put together a very rudimentary shelter for the outhouse.  I was complaining about our outhouse being cold, but it's a palace by comparison.  Husband has the built a loft for them to sleep in, over the end of the cabin.  He's putting the final touches on a ladder for them.  We toss the blankets and pillows up, then Sally tests the ladder and makes the bed.

The Bigs cut more trees for shelves, counter and table.  They fasten them together like thin rafts, and nail them into place against the north wall.  The table top is the same, but lower, under the loft.  They level off a couple of stumps for chairs.  The cabin looks somewhat cozy after a day's work.  The boxes are unpacked and the shelves are filled with their meagre supplies.  Lisa is happy and grateful.  They'll be safe and warm, and not feeling like they're always in the way.

We walk back to our house for supper.  Everyone's hungry from missing lunch.  After supper I gather up some old towels.  I cut the worst one into rags, for personal hygiene.  I pack them into a box, with a bar of soap, a couple of toothbrushes, a wash cloth, a dish cloth, a tea towel, a plastic basin, an old coffee pot, a small strainer, and 4 eggs.  #1 gets the hatchet from the garage.  Lisa can use it to knock off any branch stubs that are left poking through the loft and shelves.  #4 gets a change of clothes for Sally from his dresser, and I find a couple pairs of jeans that should fit Lisa from the stash from the flea market.  I add a sweater and a t-shirt from my closet.  I add a piece of paper and a pencil, so Lisa can write down anything she thinks of that they really need.  Finally, I put a deck of cards in the box and we send them back to the cabin.

It's been a long day, and we're all exhausted, so we head off to bed after stocking the stoves.  The house is really too big to heat without the furnace fan blowing heat through the vents.

Day 16- Construction

Days are getting shorter, and everyone seems to be waking earlier and earlier.  My quiet time in the morning gets shorter and shorter.  It's ok though, with the busy days we've been keeping it's nice to have the time to talk, just the six of us.  We drink coffee and tea, and #2 makes pancakes.  It'll be another long hard work day, so we won't be breaking for lunch. 

It froze last night, there is a thin layer of ice on the rain barrels.  I check the freezers, but there isn't much change there.  It seems that they insulated against the cold somewhat.  I prop them open to catch the early morning chill.  My water bottles for the cooler have frozen some, so I put them in the freezer and set out more bottles.

The Littles do chores, I close the freezers and check the smoker,  and then we all head over to Brother and Sil's to start construction, except Husband.  He gets the horse cart ready and heads to northern neighbour's.  It's been more than a couple of days, and we haven't checked on them.  He might even bring them back to help with construction.

We get to the camp and everyone is up and about.  The girls are cranky.  They don't like walking to the outhouse in the morning, and they hate sharing the tiny room at the back of the trailer.  Tonight, hopefully, they won't have to.  Once we rip off the tented extension, we really need to get the lean-to built.  They'll only have propane for heat until the woodstove is back in place, and it won't last long.

#2 and I start cutting logs while Brother, Sil and #1 take down the woodstove and tent.  The girls and the Littles move everything back out of the way.  The Bigs dig post holes once the ground is cleared, and Brother and Sil put the posts in.  The frame is up in a couple of hours, another 12' X 36', essentially turning their trailer into a double wide. 

Husband joins us.  Diego* and Nira* are doing well.  They got a bear the other day, so they're busy butchering.  They dug an outhouse, and they've been hauling water from the creek.  Nira's been working with the ponies, and Diego has built a little cart for them.  They're hoping they'll be able to travel in a couple of days. 

We cut and place logs for the walls all afternoon.  The Littles have a grand time filling the chinks with clay.  The door frame from the tent is recycled onto the new structure and the woodstove is put in place.  We cut poles for the roof and alternate them over the shelter and the trailer.  This will give them a peaked roof to combat the heavy snowfalls to come.  We cover them with the tent and a couple of tarps.  At the end of the day everyone is exhausted but the structure is finished.  Brother, Sil, and the girls will have another busy day tomorrow building shelves and bunks, piling the trimmings for firewood, and figuring out what to do about the dirt floor.

Back at home I check the smoker and add more wood to the fire.  #2 cuts a branch off one of the cherry trees for me to use as flavouring.  The roasts smell pretty good, and have shrunk some, but they don't look anything like jerky, so I'll keep them in at least overnight again.  The Bigs do chores. 

We splurge and cook a big pot of spaghetti for supper.  We're all hungry, and haven't had such a filling meal in a long time.

Day 12- Breaking and Entering

It's more peaceful this morning, with everyone sleeping when I wake up.  I enjoy my routine of making tea and coffee, filtering and boiling water, planning my day.

Diego and Nira come over for coffee.  I get some paper and start making a list of supplies they'll need.  Coffee and a coffee pot are first.  Nira wants sugar too, not that I can blame her.  Then they're going to need containers to put it in, more cooking utensils, a large pot for water.  They have a surprising amount of cash with them.  I wonder if anyone will take it.

Husband gets up and joins us.  I can see he's a little grumpy that he didn't get to sneak sugar into his first cup of coffee, but he started that.  In truth, I have enough sugar for a couple of months, at least, even with a lot of baking.

We talk about what we can take to trade, and I go to the basement for jams and pickles.  I'm somewhat resentful, using my supplies to buy theirs, but then, I'm the one insisting on having my own space.

Brother and Sil arrive.  They're anxious to get going.  The boys get up and I tell them to make pancakes to feed the kids.

The men go out to get the horses ready.  I pack up my books and take them to the cart.

We go to Our Village, where things look pretty normal, except for the cars on the street.  The townsfolk have pushed them off the roads though, so the way is clear.

There are men with guns sitting outside the store.  Since the town is so small, they've picked strategic locations to guard, rather than standing on the roads to stop people from coming through.  They've only had a few squabbles to deal with though, and no outsiders for days.

Brother and Sil use the phone, but there's no answer.

Inside the store there's a weird variety of things people have traded for food and supplies.  There isn't much food left though.  The flour and sugar are gone.  Nira looks over some pots and pans and asks how much they're asking.  They aren't taking money anymore, but they'll be happy to trade for food or anything useful.  She looks over a rack of clothing.  I go out to the cart and get the food.  Three jars of pickles and five jars of jam buy a new outfit for each of the kids, Nira and Diego.  The store owner tells us that meat is most sought after if we come again.  Any kind of meat.  Even horse.  I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.

Sil, Nira and I walk down to the library.  It's self serve, even though there are guards stationed there.  I take my books out and put them on an empty shelf.  We look over the selection left by others, and choose a few each.

Walking back to the store we notice broken windows and buildings that look abandoned.  Not so normal after all.

Another horse cart comes into town, this one has been loaded with potatoes and I see part of an animal.  Moose, I think.  I breathe a little easier.  I didn't like the way the store owner had said horse.

Brother tries the phone again before we leave.  This time there's an answer, but it's not Friend.  Friend's parents have made it to the cottage, but no one else is there.  They're happy to hear that Friend is on his way.

We leave town and head for home.  As we pass northern neighbour's place, I decide we should stop.  He never picks his rhubarb, and has let me have it before.  Husband and Brother snoop around through the outbuildings and find a small woodstove that isn't being used.  Neighbour had a broiler installed a few years ago and probably took this out of the house then.  We decide to borrow it for Nira and Diego.  Then we decide to borrow some other hand tools as well.  I'll make a list when we get home so we can return them if things ever get back to normal.

We're about to leave when Nira wonders if they left any food or blankets.  By the looks of the town it won't be long before someone is out here breaking in anyway, so we decide to check.

We break a small window with a rock and Nira climbs through.  She unlocks the door for the rest of us.  There is food, lots of clothing, blankets, and everything else you'd expect to find in a normal house.  The pantry is nearly full- it looks like Neighbours only took a bit of this and that from here and there.  They probably didn't have room to take it all.  We take what we can fit on the cart and leave the rest.  We can come back for more later.

Back at the house Nira tells Diego about everything left in neighbour's house.  They decide to move down there instead of bringing everything here.  It's true, they'll have everything they need there, but they'll be more exposed.  It'll be better for us though, with someone at the end of the road if people come to raid, so we don't argue.  They can always come back here if things don't work out.  We unload the horse cart at our house, so the kids will all fit in.  I suggest Nira take inventory of the food there, keep picking weeds, and ration things a bit, but I don't think she's listening.

Husband takes them down and drops them off.  He agrees to go back and check on them in a couple of days.

Back at home it's quiet and peaceful.  We decide to take the woodstove back to the cabin while the cart is still hooked up.  The boys grab some old stove pipe and the tire rubber for the door.  We leave the stove and pipe inside and put the door on.

It's time for lunch, with a whole lot less people to feed.  We decide to splurge and cook some burgers.  Supper will be a small roast that I cut off the beef.

We spend the afternoon getting firewood.  It goes much faster with the big boys.  We keep all of the thinner branches in a pile as we trim trees.  we take them to the chicken pen and weave them into the fence wherever there are holes.  It takes a while, but finally I think the pen is secure enough to keep out the foxes.  Our new chickens are put in the coop for the night.  They won't get to try out the pen until tomorrow.

We eat supper and then play Risk for a couple of hours before bed.

Day 11- Construction

I am a big sleepy head this morning.  I wake to the sound of what seems like a million people in the kitchen.  I don't want to go out there.  Smitty stretches beside me.  He's going to need out right away.  Puppy bladder.  I grab my housecoat and jump out of bed.  When I open the door he's right beside me, growling.  I look at the mob.  Everyone is eating pancakes.  I squeeze through a bunch of kids, wave at everyone, and make my way to the door.  I go straight outside with Smitty.

Husband comes outside after a few minutes.  "Are you okay?  Everyone thinks you're mad at them now."

"You know I don't talk when I first wake up.  There's too many people in there."  It's a nice day, surprisingly warm.


Sil hears me as she comes outside.  She laughs.  I think she's the only other person here who understands my need to be alone in my own head in the morning.  She hands me a cup of tea.

"Thanks", I say.

"No problem.  No honey though.  I didn't want to open it in front of all of them."

"Thanks."

I drink half my cup of tea before the kids start coming outside to play.  Once they're all outside I figure I can deal with the rest of the people in the house.  We go in and sit down.  Nira tries to hand me pancakes, but Husband takes them.  Food when I first wake up makes me want to puke.

Brother and Sil are anxious to get started on the truck.  I know they're anxious to head for Huntsville.  We're all hoping the girls have an uneventful trip.

The Bigs are going to go to the back with Diego and Nira to work on their cabin.  I tell them to get the bathtub out of the pasture and take it down with them, the one that the plug came out of and won't hold water now.  We have three old tubs that we use for water troughs.

Nira is excited.  "A bath!  Oh, I can't wait to have a bath!  I didn't think we'd be able to do that!"  I was thinking of laundry, but ok, I guess bathing's a good idea too.  She can do whatever she wants with it really.

The Bigs take my quad and trailer to load the tub.  They toss in a couple of buckets, some pop bottles, baler twine, chainsaw, and come back to the house.  They load the roll of plastic and a staple gun.  Nira and I go out to the trailer and pull out an old pot, a frying pan, some glasses, silverware, knives and a spatula.  We add it to the trailer.  I tell her to pack up their clothes and put them in too.

"We can't move down there yet!  There are no walls!", she looks like she's going to cry.

"You can do laundry down there though.  In the bathtub."  I don't have an extra plunger, so she'll have to find another way to agitate it.  I go back in the house and look at the box of laundry detergent.  There's not much left.  I decide to give her a bucket of ashes instead.  She might as well start out with lye water.  I take an ice cream bucket and poke holes in the bottom with a knife.  I fill it with ashes in the basement, then put it inside another ice cream bucket.  I take it out and add it to the load.  The trailer is full.  They're all ready to go.

Down at the camp the Bigs and Diego get to work cutting trees for the walls while Nira and the kids unload the trailer.  They can't lift the tub, so the Bigs do that for them.

Mom and Dad come over.  Dad, Husband and Brother start working on the truck.  Dad has to hot wire it, and fiddle with a few things, but he gets it running pretty quick.  They take it to Dad's to load the fuel tank.

Mom, Sil and I walk down to Diego and Nira's camp, picking weeds along the way.  They have a good pile of logs cut already.  I open the roll of plastic and spread it out.  It's 20' X 100', so it'll cover one side and the roof in one strip.  We all work together to get it up and over the top.  #1 staples it into place while Diego and #2 keep cutting trees.

We women walk down to the creek and scoop water.  The buckets are heavy and I wish the boys had dropped the bathtub closer.  I shove a plastic bag in the drain with a rock and hope that the tub will hold the water.  I take the ashes and pour water over them.  We pour the rest of the water in the tub and go back for more.  The water is holding when we get back, and the water has dripped through the ashes into the second bucket.  I explain to Nira that this is lye water.  It's what soap used to be made with.  It's stronger if it sits longer, but it should work for now.  I pour it in the tub, then pour more water over the ashes.

"Throw your laundry in and slosh it around."  Nira doesn't look impressed.  "Or you can keep wearing them until they stink bad enough to run around naked."  I take the baler twine and walk away.

I find a couple of trees that look like a good spot to hang laundry and tie the baler twine in place.  I tell #1 I need a laundry pole.  He finds me a small tree with a fork in it, cuts it down and trims the branches off.  It's about 8' high.  Perfect.  I stick it under the baler twine and use it to lift it up higher in the middle.

#2 shows Diego how to notch the logs to fit together.  They start on the back side of the cabin, with no windows.  I watch them put the first three logs in place.  Then I tell Diego to take the clay they've been digging up and smoosh it in between the logs.  That's actually a good job for the kids, and it'll give Nira more laundry to practice on.

#1, Sil and I cover the ends and remaining side of the cabin with plastic, then cut out the door and windows.

Mom, Sil and I walk back to the house to make lunch.  It's leftover beef soup today, with extra weeds and a few more potatoes.  Sil takes the dried weeds off the plant stands and stuffs them into old jars.  Then she spreads the fresh weeds out to dry.  Mom washes a bunch of dishes for me.  We leave the soup on the stove to simmer and walk over to Mom and Dad's.

The men have the fuel tank in the box of the truck and bolted into place.  They're debating whether to put the box on or not.  The box will hide it, and keep whoever's riding in the back warmer and dry, but it'll also block their view and might prevent them from being able to get a good shot if needed.  In the end they decide to put it on, out of sight, out of mind.

The truck is ready to go.  We walk back to our house for lunch.  Everyone else is already there.  They're waiting outside this time though.  We eat lunch together.  The Bigs are going back with Diego and Nira to finish the cabin after lunch.  Mom, Dad, Brother and Sil all decide to go back to their places.  I invite them all back for supper.

Husband and I decide to cut firewood for the afternoon.  The woodshed is filling slowly.  We cut from the lot across the road.  It's not our land, but it's close and convenient. Afterwards we decide to walk to the back and see how things are progressing.

The cabin looks pretty cozy when we get there.  The walls are all up and the kids look like they're having fun, running back and forth with their hands full of clay.  They've got one side done.  Diego has the windows installed.  The Bigs have built a door.  They're standing in the doorway wondering how to attach it without hinges.  We tell them it looks good.  The kids are excited.  They want to sleep in it tonight.  Of course for them, it's like camping in the woods.

We go inside and look it over.  It's only 12'X16', so every inch will have to be planned carefully.  We talk about a loft for the kids to sleep in, with a bed underneath for Diego and Nira.  They can both be built from logs.  The other end of the cabin will have to be the kitchen, and left empty for now, until we work out the stove situation.  I wonder if the cow hide would be strong enough to hold the door up.  Husband doesn't think so, but rubber would.  We have some old tires that can be cut up and nailed into place.

We all walk back to the house together, and cook up a stir fry with yesterday's partridge, lots of weeds, and a pot of rice.  Mom, Dad, Brother and Sil join us.  Everyone is full and happy.

Brother and Sil will go to town in the morning to call Friend and see if they made it.  I have a stack of books that I want to take into the library.  We decide to give Tori another work out and take the horse cart.  Nira wants to go too, so she can pick out some books and check the store for supplies.  She and I will ride, with the others in the cart.

I finish another book before drifting off to sleep.

Day 9

I'm up early, alone again.  It doesn't feel as cool this morning.  Maybe above freezing?  It's raining and the snow has melted.  Hopefully the rain barrels will fill back up.  The battery has died in my outdoor thermometer.  I know I have more somewhere, but it's just not that important.  I stoke the stove, then start a pot of tea and a pot of coffee.  I open one of the bags of dandelions and start trimming off the roots.

This morning will be different, with 'company'.  It's important to establish that they are NOT company, right now, this morning.  We will not be taking care of them.  They can stay, as long as they work.  If that's going to be a problem, they can join us for breakfast and head on down the road.

Diego taps softly on the door, which sets the dogs off.  I try to open the door and they push through barking and growling.  Diego's a little freaked out and stumbles back.  In all of the commotion the plant stand by the door gets jostled and a shelf full of seeds goes flying.  I lose it.  I start screaming at the dogs to get out, I yell at Diego to get the hell out of the doorway.  Husband, who just got up, asks what's going on, and I snap at him.  He pushes me out of the way and surveys the damage.  Most of the seeds have landed on the window sill.  It's wet from condensation, and they're all mixed together.  I'll have to take my chances and dry them out again.  They might sprout or mold.  I hope not.

Diego apologizes several times.  It's really not his fault.  I was hoping the dogs would go outside instead of waking everyone up, but I should have known better.

He asks for coffee.  Husband grabs three cups out of the cupboard and hands him two.  I notice he doesn't get the sugar out.  He pours himself a coffee and hands Diego the pot.  Diego asks for sugar, and to my surprise  Husband says, "No.  She's got me on rations, no sugar in the coffee.  Be happy you get coffee.  She hasn't started rationing it yet."

I laugh.  "What do you think I'm doing with these?"  He scowls at the dandelions.  He doesn't like dandelion coffee.

Diego asks, "What are you doing with those?"

"Making coffee", I answer.  "I dry and grind the roots, then roast them.  You can drink them on their own, but Husband doesn't like them.  I mix them in with the coffee grounds though, and they help stretch it a bit further.  I'll mix them with tea this year too."

Nira taps at the door and I yell, "Come in!".  Diego hands her a black coffee and tells her I made it out of dandelions.  She looks disgusted, but doesn't comment.  She watches him drink his before she tastes it.

"Not bad, but it needs sugar," she says.  "It's much warmer in here than it is out there.  We need a stove."

"Well you're not getting one", I say.  "You're moving."

"You're throwing us out?", they both ask at the same time.  Husband looks at me.

"No.  But yes.", I say.  "You can sleep in the add-a-room while you build yourselves a shack.  I need my personal space- I'm not easy to live with- and the trailer's too close to the house.  You're going to need firewood, greens and water.  It'll be easier if you're farther away from the house."  Husband asks where I was thinking of putting them.  I tell him in the clearing at the back by the creek.  They'll have easy access to water, space to forage now, and grow a garden in the spring if things aren't back to normal, and there's a pile of scrap logs left from logging that  they can burn.  They can hunt and set snares close to their shack without us feeling like they're stealing our food.

"You guys aren't prepared for the apocalypse?", Diego quips.  "I thought you were preparing for the end of the world!"

"Preparing, yes.  Prepared, no."  The boys are all up and have spread around the kitchen.  "I took inventory yesterday.  I figure we can stave off scurvy for the winter, but we'd only get one serving of veggies a day each, and that was without 7 extra people.  We won't starve- we've got beef hanging, as well as beef, goat and poultry on the hoof, but we won't be eating like we're used to.  All of the manual labour that needs to be done burns extra calories.  We're going to have to ration, and we're going to have to work.  Starting today- we forage for greens.  I'm not serving any fruits and veggies that I have canned or frozen until the snow is too deep to find something fresh."

"What do you expect us to eat?  Dandelions?", Nira asks.

"Yes.  Lots of dandelions.  They'll be the easiest.  Plantain's pretty easy to find, but bitter.  Cattails.  The roots need to be dug for starch.  Comfrey, wild carrots, mint, and chives are still growing.  Clover, chickweed, purslane.  There are still lots of greens growing, you just need to learn to look for them.  The kids, too.  Everyone.  Wherever you go, wherever you walk, you need to be looking and picking."  I look at my boys when I say the last bit.  They know what most of the weeds look like, but other than a few dandelions for doggy stew, they've never really picked them.  I know they understand though.  We've got to set the example.

"You guys are going to have to get started right away, too.  After breakfast.  You'll need to get a shelter built quickly,  before the ground freezes.  Then we'll see what we can do about a stove or fireplace.  You haven't got much clothing with you, so you're going to need to be doing laundry a lot.  You'll need a bucket and a clothesline, and something to agitate it with.  You can eat with us for now, but you'll need some cooking pots later, utensils and whatnot.  You'll need a water filter, and more buckets, and a rain barrel.  And an outhouse down there.  There's a lot of work to do."

They both look overwhelmed.  I feel overwhelmed just saying it.  A million things are still racing through my head.  Stuff they need to do, stuff we need to do, stuff I can't control.

"And we need potatoes.  Husband, you're going to have to get that horse ready to go, the sooner the better.  I don't know if the potato man will take cash, or if he'll want something in trade.  Look around for stuff that will fit in the cart that might be good to trade.  I'll wrap up some beef."

#2 shows Nira how to mix pancake batter, how to heat and clean the cast iron pan, how to cook on the woodstove.  She takes over as soon as she's got it figured out.  Then he joins his brothers, picking the dandelion leaves off the roots and tossing them in a big pot.  I keep cutting the roots off.  The rest of the kids come in, just as the pancakes are finished.  They're all hungry, and obviously enjoy the pancakes and blueberry syrop.

After breakfast the Bigs and Husband go out and jack up the old pick up truck.  We need to borrow the wheels off of it for the horse cart.  They get them put on, then pull the cart out.  They get Tori out of the pasture and harness her up.  She was broke to pull a buggy when we bought her, but we've never used her that way.  Husband hasn't been interested in horse work since we sold the Belgiums three years ago.  This will be quite the crash course in training for both of them.

I finish cutting the dandelion roots, then scrub them with a potato brush.  They need to be ground up, so I haul out the old hand crank meat grinder.  I enlist the Littles to keep turning the crank as I feed the roots through.  Once they're done, I spread them out on a cookie sheet in the oven on the stove top.

The Littles run out to play with the other kids.  I remind them to pick dandelions before they come in.

I go about my usual routine, heating water, filtering water, washing dishes.  I start more bread.  I get the soup pot ready with the dandelion greens, then run out and pick a few chives.  I add a package of frozen turkey and some noodles.

The Bigs walk down to the back clearing with Diego and Nira.  They point out and pick edible weeds as they go.  They've got a chainsaw, the post hole digger, a hammer,  and a bucket of spikes with them.  They pick out a flat spot in the clearing that looks like it should be good to dig in, and explain to Diego how to build a greenhouse.  It's our typical building construction method.  The three of them dig post holes, cut logs, and frame it in.  We don't have any tin left to spare, and we're down to the last sheet of pressboard.  #2 decides to cover the entire roof with poles.  It's a lot of cutting, but only the poles and the plastic will be keeping them dry and warm this winter.  They leave the tools there and walk back for lunch.

Husband returns for lunch as well.  He's test driven the cart to both of the neighbours' and had a long visit.  The southern neighbour's mother has died- she was on dialysis, with a host of medical problems.  They were unable to get her to the hospital.  They buried her in their yard.  Husband is quiet for a moment, eyes glassed over.  I'm sure he is thinking of his own mother, in a nursing home down south.  There's no way to know for sure, but I can imagine the rooms filled with bodies, equipment not working, and no one there  to run it anyway.  Our eyes meet, but we don't say it out loud.

Husband starts talking again.  They have food and candles to last a few weeks, but will have to let their horses loose since they don't have the hay to feed them.  This will be a problem for us.  Our hay is in the yard, easily accessible to strays.  We'll have to close up the yard fence, but it's only two strands of barbed wire.  If the horses come, it won't keep them out for long.  We may have to shoot them.

The northern neighbours are packing up and heading to their daughter's place an hour away.  They're travelling by horses and cart, but the ponies will be left behind.  There should be enough hay there for the winter.

Tori did well with the cart, and husband is confident that she'll be fine to make the trip.  He'll go in the morning.

Everyone has soup for lunch, though the kids barely pick at it.  It's far too weird for them.  I give them each a hunk of bread to dip into it, but they mostly just eat the bread.  The dogs will have a good soupy lunch instead.

After lunch Diego, Nira and the kids head back to their camp with a shovel to dig an outhouse.  I tell them to keep it up away from the creek.  Husband lets them take a couple of windows from the pile as well.

I add more dandelions to the soup, then spread the rest out on the plant stands to dry.  I stir the dandelion grounds, and decide to leave them bake awhile longer.  I look in the freezer and choose a package of sausages for supper, leaving them on the counter to defrost.

We grab a couple of chainsaws and walk to Brother and Sil's camp.  They've cut quite a bit of wood, but it's a big job for just two people.  The Bigs pick out a spot down the trail a bit and start digging a hole for an outhouse for them.  The rest of us work on firewood all afternoon.

We walk back home to find Diego and Nira in our house.  It gives me a sick feeling.  They're not strangers, but still, I feel my space has been invaded.  Nira has taken it upon herself to cook supper.  They took the oven off the stove top and put it on the table, where it burned a ring into the surface.  They put too much wood in the fire and the sausages are frazzled.  They didn't put the soup back on, so it's cold.  The sink is steaming with hot water.  I look over and see that the drinking water pot is empty.

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask.

"The kids were hungry, so we came back to get something to eat.", says Diego.

Husband can see I am going to lose it.  He starts rubbing my shoulder, and then he sees the table.  He loses it himself.  "What the hell?  You put a hot oven on top of a wooden table?  How stupid are you?"

"Well, we didn't want to burn the floor.", says Diego.

"So you burned our table instead?  The floor is tile, it won't burn, you moron.  What the hell else have you been doing?"

Diego sputters a bit.  "We were just trying to help.  Nira's cooking, washing dishes.  Sorry about the table, but we didn't know."

"You're right.  You didn't know.",  I say.  I'm not yelling or screaming.  I'm actually very calm.  "You didn't know that a hot oven will burn a wooden table.  You didn't know that the soup needs to be reheated for supper.  You didn't know that you can't turn down the heat on a woodstove.  You didn't know that you don't wash dishes with clean drinking water.  You didn't know that more water needs to go on the stove when you empty the pot.  You didn't know that the bread needed to go in the oven before you took the oven off.  There's a lot of things you don't know.  We're willing to let you stay here and learn, and maybe survive this black out.  But you should leave things you don't know alone.  Or I might have to shoot you myself."

The room is now very quiet.  I hand the empty water pot to #1, who takes it out to refill.  Husband takes the oven off the table and sets it on the sunroom floor.  He takes the sausages off the wood stove and puts the soup on.  #2 looks at the damage, then goes out to the garage.  He comes back with some sandpaper and quickly sands around the edges of the burn to remove loose varnish.  I roll out the bread.

Finally, Nira breaks the silence, "I don't see what the point of heating the soup up is.  Nobody's going to eat it anyway.  If you're going to buy potatoes tomorrow, we might as well eat the ones we have now, instead of eating that garbage."

"Nira."  I sigh.  "We ate the soup for lunch.  We will eat the soup with supper.  We prefer not to be hungry.  You and your family need to learn to eat different things, or you will not survive the winter.  Maybe you'll get lucky and the hydro will come back on soon, but there's no way to know that.  We do not have enough food for us all to survive the winter."

I look at Diego, who hasn't said anything.  "IF everything goes well, we will get potatoes tomorrow.  Husband and Tori have a long ride to the potato man's.  They could be attacked on the way, or on the way home.  They could be attacked when they get there.  There might not be any potatoes.  Husband might have to dig the potatoes.  The potato man might not be willing to sell.  We don't have much cash, and he might want a lot for a little.  He might refuse cash , because it's really not worth the paper it's printed on right now.  We have no idea how things will go tomorrow.  We will not count our chickens before they hatch."

#2 says, "I can go with Dad.  I can help dig potatoes, or fight people who try to attack us."

"Me too.", says #1.

I am still staring at Diego.  He looks up at Husband.  "I will go with you.", he says.

The soup is boiling.  I move things around on the stove, put the oven back on and put the bread in.  We sit down to eat.  The kids, of course, don't want to eat the soup.  They get a half sausage each, and Diego tells them this is all the food they're getting.  They better eat or they're going to bed hungry.  They pick at it.  When the bread is done I cut two loaves and give everyone a chunk.

We talk about how their construction went in the afternoon.  Diego managed to frame in the windows, but Nira and the kids didn't get much of a hole dug.  They hit clay about a foot down, which is very hard to dig through.  I tell them that's good, because they'll need the clay to fill the chinks between logs on the house.  After supper I let Nira wash the dishes and I fill jars with the dandelion coffee.  I pour about half a cup full into the open coffee container, then shake it up to mix in.

I play a game of chess with each of my boys.  I'm afraid to let them go tomorrow, but also afraid to let them stay.  There is safety in numbers.

We go to bed early, tired from a hard day's work, and knowing tomorrow will require an early start.