Pantry Done (check!) Dog Food (check!)

Day by day the checklist of "things to do" is getting done.  Hurricane Iselle was actually a good test run for some of our emergency preparedness systems, including use of solar panels and 12volt battery system to run the water pump and filtration during the days without electricity.  And, we got a good test drive with our generator too.  Hurricanes, however, come and go....and,

....preparing for a Lava Event is different.  In some ways it is simplified by the horror of it heading right at your house:  you get OUT fast!  But when it is slowly headed toward your only highway in an out, things take on a different perspective. Water is not an issue, power is manageable, but what do you do about food when your local market closes because it is in the path of the advancing flow, and the highway is closed?  STOCK UP on non-perishables.

The freezer is full of salmon, chicken, lamb, roasts, catfish, bacon, nuts, goat, cheddar and Havarti cheeses, breads and muffins.  After a mega-shopping spree in Hilo last week, this week it was time to sort, organize and label the pantry items.  We feel we could actually manage well on what we have for 5-6 weeks.

OF COURSE the pantry is well stocked with dog food!!

We have a neighbor on our street who launches down at Pohoiki (where I swim) and catches fish weekly -- yum!  We can depend on some "portable" local farmers' markets to provide us with fresh items weekly.

 This week with the help of our contractor, we will have our sub-panel system installed next to our electrical box; this system allows us to easily "switch" from electric to generator.  This week we also finish construction an insulated generator shed -- out 20 feet from the house to reduce both noise and exhaust.(check!  check!  check!)   As you may have guessed, plans for assembly and installation of the hot tub have taken a back seat to these priorities, but soon we will be doing that as well -- by then we will need it!)