08:37 – The cold weather has moved in. Our overnight low was in the low 20’s F, with wind chill down in the single digits. Our forecast low tonight is 14F (-10C), with wind chill down around OF.
I plan to spend today getting set up to build more science kits. We’re in decent shape on chemistry kits, but getting low on biology kits and forensic kits. We’re out of stock on both of the forensic kit supplements. The top priority is to build all the subassemblies we need to assemble the various kits, but before we can do that we need to get the work area set up.
Barbara made dinner last night using only shelf-stable long-term storage foods: pasta, Keystone canned chicken, and Bertolli mushroom alfredo sauce. It was excellent.
13:38 – Email from Jen. Short take, everything went pretty well. They had some cold weather, but everyone managed to keep warm by clustering in the couple of rooms nearest the woodstove. The remainder of the house stayed well above freezing. Jen said that trying to cook on the woodstove was a bit of an adventure, since there aren’t any knobs to adjust temperature. But they tried several LTS food recipes, and managed to get through the weekend without any real problems. They did decide to lay in a few more 20-pound propane cannisters so that they could continue using their propane campstove as long as possible. Either that, or they may get a propane heater and a 250 gallon propane tank installed. They kept watch 24×7, but no one “attacked” them other than the mailman on his regular Saturday route.
We’re making progress on getting the unfinished basement area set up for making kits, although it’s slower than expected. Still, getting this stuff organized, labeled, and stacked is a big part of the job.