It is fast approaching 7 o’clock in the evening, and the night is closing in.
We have had a busy day today, even though we had nothing planned! We’d prepared our stew before going out for a walk this morning, walking up into town and having a coffee breather. We got home just after midday and put the stew on, only to receive a text message to say our generator was ready to collect, so everything was switched off again and we went out.
The man from the water board was due to come and repair/ replace the catch on our water meter but I’m not sure if it’s been done as everything looks the same. The meter box is on the other side of the gate so we would not need to be here for the replacement, which is just as well as things turned out.
We have gone pro-active in case the shit hits the fan and we lose power due to the energy crisis. Hubby has been trying to source a small generator for a while so that we will be in a position to run our central heating to bring the house up to heat as we know that once warm, it stays that way as the insulation here is the best we have ever known.
He has also purchased the relevant connectors and cables and will build a housing for it to keep out the rain should we have to use it. Best to be prepared.
We have purchased a small single burner camping stove that runs off bottled gas so together with the single burner in the roof, will have means to cook a two pan dinner or boil a camping kettle should we have no power as my cooker is all electric.
Today, we have been exploring a dual fuel cooking appliance and there is something available well within our budget, though the housing for it was out of stock. Hubby has a hospital appointment tomorrow and there is a huge DIY store there, so we may come home with it all in the boot. This will then solve the cooking problem completely as I do not need an oven to feed us as proven on the boat. Plus I have been disappointed in my electric cooker and in hindsight wish we had replaced like for like 3 years ago.
Some of you may think this is a bit OTT an outlay for something that may not be needed, BUT the way things are going over here in the UK, it is not looking good and our attitude is best to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Besides, when Hubby gets his shed, and he will have one, the generator can run power for his tools rather than snaking cables out of windows across the back path, and the burner will also allow him to make himself a hot drink when he’s out there working. Nothing will go to waste.
We are looking ahead and thinking too about replacing natural gas for bottled gas. Kits are available for converting our current boiler and also the cooker hob we saw today, so while our leaders have not thought about the implications of turning the taps off, we are.
Hope you’ve had a good day. Keep safe everyone
pensitivity101 
WTG! You never know.
Playing safe Jen. Luckily it’s not actually going to cost us fortune!!
Smart! 👍
I had gas appliances in our old home so if the electricity went out, no problem. You could light the burners by hand, even the oven if needed. We had no fireplace then, but in warm TX each home had one.🤷🏼♀️
Mum always used to cook on gas, so I did too for years. I prefer an electric fan oven and gas hob combi. Hopefully we can get something sorted relatively quickly.
It sounds to me like you’re doing the right thing for sure!
We are trying to keep ahead of the game!
A good thought to have another source for electrifying source. Our RV was one for us.
thanks Betty Louise
I think you are absolutely sensible with the generator. We have the open fire and lots of wood for the heating. We can heat water with a Kelly Kettle (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Kettle) and would probably cook over the open fire too. We did that in our old house when we had a 12 hour outage. Better safe than sorry is our motto 😍. Hope you’ll have a good night
Thanks Bee. We miss our log burner from the cottage. There is no chimney here so we couldn’t have one.
That’s a shame. One reason we bought this one was the open fire. On a boat we certainly would also have a log burner. 🤗
We didn’t have a burner on the boat either, but the central heating was very efficient which ran off the diesel Wabasto heater.
I remember you saying that. It’s a bit tricky with the wood I suspect when you don’t have a big boat. But as long as it is warm then it doesn’t matter how 🤗
Most boats burnt smokeless fuel and one of our friends installed a small charcoal burner which chucked out so much heat, he had to open the bow doors!!
That’ll do 😁 happy Wednesday despite everything 🤗
🙂
👏🏻👍🏻 well written
thank you
Being prepared is prudent! Hope you can get all the supplies you need quickly and for a reasonable cost! Good Luck!
Thanks. Problem already, but we’re working on it!!
Preparing for another disaster Di, not good.
Best to be prepared Trish.
You’re such a girl guide! Be prepared! Dib dib dib…
I never was actually, or a Brownie, and when I asked my folks why I wasn’t, apparently it was because I didn’t ask!!!
Best to have and not need Geoff……………….
That is fair enough..
We are all electric these days, so a few years back we had a power problem and it was so frustrating being unable to cook anything. We invested in a camping stove, just in case and its look like being a sensible move right now!
That’s what we have. I can cook a decent meal on two burners.
Better than trying to cook on a bonfire, anyway…
Hubby’s done that too!!