In a Bag?

 I added a US blog to my reading list just to see if it was of any interest. This was one day last week - made me smile as it was titled  "50 items for your evacuation bag".

Bag? You'd need a blinkin' big truck!

Having a grab bag seems like a good idea with wild fires forcing people to evacuate homes at short notice, but I can manage without number 13! 

1. Case of water
2. Cash/credit cards
3. ALL of your prescription medications (if your house burns down, it can be difficult to get replacement refills)
4. Laptop/charging cord
5. Cell phone/charging cord
6. Important documents (passports, birth certificates, marriage/divorce/military/immigration docs, etc)
7. All of your files backed up on a thumb drive
8. Copies of financial/insurance/other important records
9. A paper map of your city/state
10. A video tour of your entire home for insurance purposes
11. Any irreplaceable heirlooms
12. Jewelry
13. Firearms/ammo/holster/pepper spray
14. Pets/carrier/leash/food/meds/water bowl, etc
15. Shoes/couple of changes of clothes for each family member
16. Toiletry kit for each family member/makeup/sunglasses
17. A bag of snacks and easy to prepare food/MREs/etc
18. Can opener/utensils, plate and bowl for each person
19. Insulated cooler
20. Wet Wipes/hand sanitizer
21. Kleenex/paper towels
22. Ziploc bags
23. Notebook and pen/envelope for receipts
24. Camping gear (sleeping bags, tent, cooking gear, mess kits, water purifier, etc)
25. Necessary health aids: dentures/hearing aids and charger/cane/wheel chair/glasses/contacts/etc
26. Stuff for infant/baby/toddler if applicable (diapers, wipes, bottles, food, formula, favorite toys, etc)
27. Stuff for elderly or infirm family members (diapers, CPAP, feminine hygiene products, etc)
28. Throw blankets
29. Weather appropriate clothing (coat, hat, gloves in the winter)
30. Tablets for each family member with pre-loaded books, movies, games, etc
31. Headphones or earbuds for each family member
32. Battery banks to recharge phones
33. Portable battery bank and solar panel kit
34. Battery box jumper for car battery
35. Portable air compressor for tires
36. Other entertainment options: coloring books/crayons, puzzle books, playing cards, etc
37. Small AM/FM radio/extra batteries
38. First aid kit/sunscreen/bug spray/umbrella
39. Vehicle emergency kit
40. Flashlights/extra batteries
41. Portable toilet kit/wag bags
42. PPEs (nitrile gloves, N95 masks, goggles, leather work gloves, etc)
43. Basic tool kit (hammer, pliers, wrench, screwdrivers, etc)
44. Spare tire/jack
45. Fire extinguisher
46. Signal material (flares, whistle, etc)
47. Specialized radios: NOAA weather, HAM radio
48. Compass
49. Knife and/or multi tool
50. Other: paracord, duct tape, tarp, zipties, sewing kit, matches

How many of these things do people really have in a grab/go/bug out bag?

£1 Addition to the 'Art Wall'

 I rarely buy anything at boot sales nowadays that I like rather than need (actually I rarely buy anything that isn't something to use Full Stop!) but spotted this little original water colour of ducks a couple of weeks ago and for £1 it seemed like an inexpensive addition to the other small pictures I have.

The photo has made the picture look a bit faded but it isn't.

I can't read the artists name but a label on the back says it was framed in Glamorgan, so I'm guessing the artist is Welsh.

There's still room for a few more pictures. .............. That is the cane topper in my summer display - it hasn't gone outside yet.

(I wish I'd caught the guy who fitted the Carbon-Monoxide alarm when he did the wood-burner  before he put it there, right where I didn't want it!)

Mum

 My Mum would have been 100 today but she died in 1999 a few months before her 73rd birthday..

 She was the second oldest in a family of 6 children although her youngest brother died very young from leukemia . Her Dad worked in dusty conditions and smoked untipped cigarettes and was often ill. Their was no spare cash. I know Mum said that all three girls passed the 11 Plus to go to Grammar School and uniform was a struggle.

She was so beautiful  - this photo has no date but she looks to be 14 ish?

She left school  and went to work at ICI in Stowmarket.(They made paint and other chemicals) She worked as a chemist testing paints and colours. Met my dad there - he was a engineer machinist.

There's a date on the back of this one - June 12th 1949

1951

We never had one of those close Mum/Daughter relationships. I think she was forever changed by the death of my real Dad in 1954 just before I was born, when they had only been married for 3 years.

1955

She married his older brother in 1958. She said she knew he would look after us - I don't think they were ever incredibly happy. He worked 5½ days a week in his builder business and I think my Mum was bored. She didn't drive and didn't really have an outlet for her intelligence.

In the 1970's she developed Rheumatoid Arthritis in all her joints, back then there wasn't any good treatment and it gradually got worse. I think she gave up wanting to move as it was so painful and that meant her muscles all gave up too. By the time our eldest daughter was born in 1980 she already found it too difficult and painful to have a baby on her lap - a huge regret. 

She also had breast cancer but after a mastectomy she wouldn't have any more treatment and hated any fuss being made. She never even mentioned she'd had cancer and always reckoned there were people worse off than she was.

After  hip replacements and then frequent infections in the wounds, so they never healed, she eventually had both hip joints removed and of course was then stuck in a chair, using a hoist to move- she Hated being reliant on Dad to help her but carers were forever changing - and never knew how  to operate the hoist so she was stuck being reliant.

It was years after she died and Dad was in hospital that they discovered he was a carrier of  MRSA so had possibly been reinfecting Mum for years. So sad.

She would have hated anyone to see this photo - Sorry Mum. The only way the children remember  her was sat in her chair in the living room. That's sad too. This photo from 1995 ish. 

Thank goodness treatment for both Rheumatoid Arthritis and Breast Cancer have improved since then.