Get a small sterno stove, a few cans of sterno, some old pots and pans and have an indoor campout! Have a Melita-type one cup coffee filter and holder and voila, hot breakfast! I've done bacon & eggs this way with my husband laughing at the Girl Scout still in me. Oh, just pull the cord on your garage door and you can open it manually, with one hand. If -29 is common, I'd worry more about my pipes freezing! Woodstove or backup generator anyone?

And, if you're on a well...no water at all (which means no toilets!)...that's us!

Southboundtrain is right! Or, you could get a small propane camp stove (and then you can use it if you camp for hot coffee b/f the fire is ready in the AM)

We've always had all-electric everything, and no generator, so I've lived that scenario many times...Except with cold cereal and sandwiches instead of the restaurant. Last time we had a major outage, it was 5 days. Woodstoves are worth their weight in gold at times like that...Gas grills, too, but I don't suppose outdoor cooking is too tempting at -29!

Are you sure you can't open your garage door manually. I know that mine can be - there's something you push on the chain that lifts the door and then you can push it open.

You could move to So. Cal. Sometimes we can fry eggs on the car hood or right on the driveway...no electricity needed.

Our woodstove has kept us warm and fed many times in the past. DH insisted on wiring for a generator in the new hosue and I'm kind of sad to miss out on those quiet days with out power once in a while. Of course after the first half day without power I'm sure I'll see the beenfit of the generator!

OMG, you poor thing! Sending good wishes your way for a better evening tonight . . . warm house & warm food!

You know we do have camping stuff in the basement - completely forgot about that LOL and I think DH said you can pull the cord on the garage door to get it to open manually but it may be a pain to re-attach - anyone know anything about that?

We do have a gas fireplace in the great room so I guess s'mores could have been an option.

teedup - funny. I'm on the coast so it's only that hot here maybe twice a year.

We had to install a manual garage door opener "thingie". We only have the large garage door so when the power went out the was stuck unless the skylight happened to be open. Have you ever tried crawling through a skyligh, into a garage. The spiders and web are gross and it's a darn long drop to the bottom of a garage. lol

The contraption that DH hooked up uses a key on the outside of the door, above the handle, that when turned turns activates a wire cord that pulls the emergency release cord.

-29, now that's just crazy. I whine when it's 50 degress and windy. Spoiled So Cal girl am I.

Garage door manual release is easy to reattach. When I first moved into my house, the builder had left the garage door unattached. I had to spend the night out and then he told me I should have just tried to push the door open. That's when I learned the trick! Only problem is that you can open the garage door from both sides when it's in "manual" operation. Mine has a red knob attached to the cord and you just pull it. Then "thingy" pulls down to re-attach. Hope it's warmer and the power is on!

This is precisely why a responsible wife and mother should always keep a large supply of Pop Tarts in her pantry!

;-)

Francy

Hi loves..., I'm in Northbrook, Il and we have outtages and brownouts all the time. Same temps as you.
I'd use my propane Weber on the back porch but it's covered in ice and snow and too much of a pain to clear.
I KNOW I can manually open the garage but, even after 30 years in this same house, I haven't, can't, yet!
Cold cereal and cold milk do the trick. Fruit,too. Hot meals on a 24/7 basis is overrated for me, an old, lazy, cooked-out, person. Actually, I am so TKO, and at the same time, sick of cooking..go figure. No explanation!lol.
That's why there's Panera...and Starbucks...and White Hen. Even McD's has decent coffee these days!
Unfortunately, I am soooo used to being without power. Bev

We came home a couple weeks ago and no power. DH had to go to work (night shift) and needed a bite to eat, so we fired up the gas range the "old fashioned" way, with matches! He had a nice warm grilled cheese sandwich cooked by candle light! Luckily, DD and I had ate before getting home. We even did Homework with a flash light.

Christy

We're all electric and on a water well. One of my best Christmas Eve's ever was when the power went out.
We huddled by the fireplace and opened our gifts by candlelight! :::sigh:::

Gas stoves are nice bec you can light them with a match. Unfortunately, my cousin's Viking gas oven won't light with a match - somethng about you have to pull it out from the cabinet first, and you know that won't happen!

I was tempted by induction cooktops but kept reminding myself of the potential for power outages in the countryside. So we have a propane gas cooktop and propane fireplace. We do need to get a better lamp but so far (knocking on wood) we haven't needed to use our backup plans!

Loves2cook, I love your attitude, turning it into a treat! I can't even imagine -29, but Igloochic said the Big Green Egg was good down to something like -75 :D I can't even imagine what that means, nor do I think you'd want to go outside to tend it, but...

I'm with Jenellecal re temps (not far in location either), and I feel like such a weenie for being bothered by my dead water heater last week when it was +60! I'm getting both gas and induction :)

I'm home and everything is working just fine LOL

I grew up in Africa - what I wouldn't give right now for a nice hot DRY Savannah summer day.

You know, when you're rushing (and freaking out at the same time) who thinks of all the things you could have done.

Francy - thanks. Have to wipe the computer screen and send your post into oblivion so my kids don't see your advice :)

Christmas by candlelight sounds awesome.

Cooking an egg on the hood of my car - now that's something I'd like to be doing right now :)

60+? Why aren't you in the swimming pool? I remember going home to Africa one year during their winter (our summer) We'd just come from winter here and it was still "cold" there and everyone laughed at us when we went swimming in 65 degree weather. We thought is was HOT!

I have a gas grill on the porch with an extra tank of propane. The porch is screened, so the grill is always available and I use it all the time. I keep a 6 gallon bottle of water ready to put on the water crock. I have lots of oil lamps and glow sticks, so there's plenty of light. I have a creek in the back yard, so I can always get water to flush, and heat for bathing. I have a coffee pot and pots and pans for the grill, XM radio and a converter for the car (computer, cell phone, portable DVD player, portable TV, heat if necessary). I can and do open the garage manually, because we lose power all the time, and usually for no obvious reason. It's always an adventure.

What you need is a portable butane burner. They're inexpensive and extremely handy when the power fails. They're plenty hot enough to cook anything you'd prepare on the stove. Just pop in the butane can (available everywhere) -- and you're back in business! You don't even need a match!

Here is a link that might be useful: Portable Butane Burners at Amazon

LOL! Swimming pool :) In January :) Well, okay, it was 77 yesterday, but the water is still cold :) (Well, even more, I don't have a pool of my own.)

What part of Africa did you grow up in?

Glad all is well.

I had the same sort of is-this-real experience our first winter in Georgia after moving from Los Angeles, where winter meant we got out the sweaters. An ice storm (not unusually bad weather, really) caused power outages to almost half a million people in the Atlanta/North Georgia area. People were literally evacuating their all-electric homes for shelters. The markets were crammed with families looking for ready-cooked food. We had a gas stove in our rental (purely luckily) and were perfectly comfortable as we sat there wondering how an entire state could be so...improvident.

In any case, we were lucky and so will people who see this thread and add yet another, very important item to their must-have list. Basic issue, right?

BTW, no gas available where we built, but since we were lucky enough to have that ice storm experience before we built, we have a wood-burning furnace to heat our home; a modest bring-home-in-box-type generator to keep the well pump, water heater, fridge, stove, TV, computer, and a few lights going; and an antique gas range in the basement we're converting to propane in case we want to cook more, so no danger of having to evacuate our home for survival, or even comfort. I think.

Good for you for sharing your experience, Loves2cook. A real Public Service message!

If you do get out your camping stuff for a power outage, please remember that many of the camp stoves aren't safe for indoor use. I've used our Coleman white gas stove in a power outage but only in the backyard (it barely drops below freezing here at the worst of winter). Maybe you could use it in the garage and at least have some shelter.

The little butane burner may be a better choice for a getting hot water in a power outage.

The garage door is easy to use in a power outage. Pull the cord to disconnect. When power is back pull the cord again to reconnect to the drive screw. Our garage door has a bolt lock inside that can be used to lock it when disconnected. Of course that can only be done from inside the garage so to leave it locked you have to lock then leave via the house door or the back garage (people)door.

Cloud_Swift is correct - white gas stoves don't belong inside the house. You can use them in the garage if the door is open. When we had a 26 hour power outage during Firestorm 2003, we cooked out on the back porch with the Coleman stove, and lit one of the white gas lanterns out there, too. It lit up enough of the kitchen inside to be able to get things out of the fridge safely.

As long as the restaurants have power, that's definitely another option.

Make sure you're stocked up on batteries for flashlights, candles (and the means with which to light them), and extra water.

A well-stocked emergency food supply should also include some canned fruit (and a non-electric can opener).

DonnaR/CA

Thanks for all the advice. We do have emergency food - enough for all 6 of us for one month including tablets to sterilize water.

I also ordered one of those butane cooktops from Amazon. The camping stuff scares me - I don't even like using it when camping but then I don't like camping either. It's dh's thing with the kids, I get to stay home BY MYSELF - the best treat of all LOL

A period like this really makes you evaluate your emergeny preparations and hopefully you find yourselves equipped to deal with whatever curveball life throws your way.

Stay warm and eat hearty....

BTW, I grew up in South Africa

Francy, you are so cute!