Annabel covers the idea of Security very thoroughly in her blogpost so I won't go in to a lot of detail on the physical security of your home and your person. However, reading about security got me thinking about the myriad of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle novels that I have read over the years. How many 'victims' in those classic novels and stories gave too much of themselves away, and ended up being targeted in their vulnerability? I am not blaming the victims, but I am stressing that being particularly careful with the information that you share about yourself (and even more so now that we can - and do - share so much online) with others is not a new issue, but it is more important than ever as scams and crimes are committed at alarming rates.
Scamwatch has received over 6415 scam reports mentioning the coronavirus with more than $9 800 000 in reported losses since the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Common scams include phishing for personal information, online shopping, and superannuation scams. Source.
Who you share information with has never been a more important security issue and it goes a lot deeper than simply shredding envelopes or letters with your name on it. Having an effective and updated security system on your computer is absolutely imperative. People often wonder, "why would they care about stealing my information? I'm no-one important." But data collection goes a lot further than that. It is often unavoidable when we use social media sites and sites that contain cookies, but there is definitely something worthwhile in reading up on websites' privacy policies so that you know what information is being collected; especially on sites that you use regularly. Scamwatch has an excellent link outlining the different kinds of scams that are designed to take your information, your money and prey on our society's most vulnerable. If you receive anything that looks or sounds suspicious, then listen to your instincts. My mother recently got a couple of emails from her insurance company wanting to reimburse her some funds that she had allegedly overpaid. They asked for her bank details to make the deposit. She thought this sounded suspicious and contacted her insurance company straight away. Thankfully, it was a legitimate email from the company but I am so thankful she thought to check first.
Day 21 - Winter
I think if the ice storms that hit Texas in January this year taught us anything, it is that winter can be unpredictable at the best of times and downright dangerous at the worst. When it comes to classical inspiration, two books come to mind: The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. In the first one, the Ingalls family is faced with seven months of blizzards, something that only occurred once every twenty-one years. In it, Almanzo Wilder remarks "Anything can happen and most usually does." Keeping this thought in mind, it might not be silly to think about pipes freezing, gas or electricity being cut for weeks on end or shops to run out of supplies during winter. We have just come through a cold, though not particulary nasty, winter, where thankfully, none of this happened. But it might. In our house we have both electricity and gas and in the yard there is a portable pot belly stove that could be moved onto the deck if necessary. We also have a supply of wood and kindling for burning.
"Our clothing was insufficient to protect us from the severe cold: we had no boots, the snow got into our shoes and melted there: our ungloved hands became numbed and covered with chilblains, as were our feet: I remember well the distracting irritation I endured from this cause every evening, when my feet inflamed; and the torture of thrusting the swelled, raw, and stiff toes into my shoes in the morning."
Jane Eyre ~ Charlotte Brontë
We have a range of blankets, doonas, jackets, thermal underwear, beanies, scarves and gloves in case we are left without heating. We also use these day to day as the schools where we work and study aren't always heated well - if at all! My classroom is often 5 degrees celsius and under when I first arrive in the morning and switch on the ancient heater. It then takes several hours to warm up to twenty degrees, by which time the sun is usually up and brining some heat into the old demountable classroom. I am definitely someone who feels the cold very badly, so having a good, warm supply of layers is invaluable.
We also have several hot water bottles (which I sleep with every night in winter!) Our house is very well insulated and all the cracks have been sealed up over the years in our renovations. As talked about in a previous post, we have a good supply of candles and torches in case the electricity goes out and we need lighting. Luckily, we now have another eight months to make sure that we are prepared for all eventualities next winter and I think those little disposable hand warmers will definitely be on my list!
Day 22 - Skills, Mending and Repairs
"Consider... hair cutting scissors, sewing scissors, a sewing machine, garden tools, all kinds of glues. Knives, string, wire, paint, brushes, magnifying glasses, tiny little screws and tools for glasses. What about globes, batteries and filters. Motor oil, sewing machine oil, masking tape ... How valuable these could be. "
Annabel ~ The Bluebirds are Nesting of the Farm
In the current trend of minimalism and de-cluttering these sorts of tools and "stuff" are often amongst the first things to be tossed or donated. Fortunately, we don't do minimalism in our house and we have a good supply of these sorts of tools and use them regularly. However, I realised they were kept in random places, so this morning I took some time to tidy up and re-organise our laundry, putting little things like superglue, electric tape, batteries, globes and screwdrivers all together in a little tin.
Both my husband and his retired father are happiest in their shed tinkering, making things, planning how to improve the house and then following through on it. My father-in-law was a tradesman and passed many skills and tips onto my husband and the two of them together have done most of the renovations and repairs around our house. My sewing skills are adequate, though certainly nothing to boast about! The best I can do is make little gift bags out of scraps of material, something I love to do at Christmas time.
I can, however, sew on buttons, stitch up holes and sew on patches when required. I would love to improve my sewing skills and am planning to use Kayla's prairie skirt sewing tutorial to make a new skirt this summer. As for knitting...well, that's just something I have tried and had no success with! I have much more success with baking and I can work my way around a pair of haircutting scissors- I haven't taken the children to a hairdresser in years!
Day 23 - Communications
"A disappointment was in store for us, as no car had been sent to meet us, but Poirot put this down to his telegram having been delayed in transit."
Murder on The Links ~ Agatha Christie
Gone are the days of relying on telegrams to share communications; now we rely on the internet and our smart phones! This topic is a great one that once again reminds us how dependent we are on technology and would we really know what to do without it. We are so used to our news and information being shared and delivered instantaneously that I can see the rise in panic amongst people who are unable to access the latest news. We too, like some others on Annabel's blog, have kept our home phone line and also have two battery-powered clock radios. Yet another reason to keep a good supply of batteries on hand and in a convenient location!
Day 24 - Heat
Now unlike winter, this is definitely something that we can contend with here in Australia and with rising temperatures across the world it is definitely worth being prepared for.
"The dusk had fallen very softly and tenderly over the garden, and the paddocks, and the river. There was just the faintest wind at the waters edge, but it seemed almost too tired after the hot, long day to breathe and make ripples."
Seven Little Australians ~ Ethel Sybil Turner
We are all too familiar with those hot, dry summer days where even the rivers and creeks are too tired and hot to cool us down! The summer of 2019/20 was definitely one of the worst we have endured here, with a mixture of extreme heat (often days were above 45 degrees celsius), bushfire smoke, strong winds and a drought that had dragged on for years. My husband installed irrigation pipes all throughout our garden, so this means the plants get a good soaking in the morning and the evening without us having to be out there with the hose. That being said, on the really extreme days I was out watering the chickens several times a day. When I heard that friends of ours had lost their chickens in the heat I was glad that I had kept mine cool and that they had survived. I also topped up the bird baths, as so many native birds come into our garden throughout the year. They are often desperate for a drink and a wash and there's nothing like watching the galahs and the bush pigeons raise their little wings for a shower under the sprinkler!
I brought the rabbit and cat inside and kept all the curtains and blinds shut to keep the heat and smoke out and the cool air in. Block out curtains are definitely one of the cheapest and easiest way to protect your house against extreme heat and if you work outside the house during the day, coming home in the afternoon and putting on the air conditioner can be a real drain and difficult to cool the house down. Keeping your curtains closed throughout the day will keep the temperature lower throughout the day and it will be easier to cool down again in the evening. I know many European houses have double-glazing on their windows, but that is a relatively new concept here in Australia.
Being susceptible to the heat and often suffering from sun stroke (which like Annabel, triggers migraines for me) means that I get out in the garden early in the morning and then late in the evening. Unfortunately for us, the hottest part of the day is right at sunset, so it can take a very long time to cool down overnight. We have fans in all the bedrooms, keep water spray bottles handy and cold, wet washers for foreheads and hot, swollen feet. We also make sure that the vegetables in the garden are in the shade at that hottest part of the late afternoon, otherwise they burn to a crisp and no amount of water can save them!
Until recently we had a huge open front yard that faced west. Over the last couple of years we have landscaped; planting heat tolerant plants, trees and bushes and now we have a nice shady, heat-break in the front yard. We also keep more grass than mulch or concrete as these get too hot too quickly. It can take a lot to keep it alive though, and when water is scarce it often dies. Still, I would rather dead lawn than a concrete yard in summer!
If you have been following all this time, thank you! This was quite a long post! Do you have any other ideas that you could add to these areas to help us be prepared? Let us know in the comments below.
Kirsty x
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