by R Kralik
She started chewing her bottom lip. She was listening intently and getting a worried look on her face as I continued speaking. "I need you. I need you to take care of Caleb and Amber while we're attempting these necessary looting runs. I need you to watch out for Nana while we're off on some fool's errand. I need you to help Dad and me when we come in, completely worn down, from doing work we aren't used to doing. You’re an important part in our survival plan, maybe the most important part. When we've done all the looting we can and gathered all the supplies we can, we'll build a fence and plant a garden. We’ll preserve any bit of food we can and keep trying to survive. We'll need your help with all of that. Until then, my goal is to keep you safe, healthy, and happy enough to do your part when the time comes."
Carisa pushed back from the table and said "Okay, I understand what you're saying and I wasn't thinking about it being that bad, and I think I'm having computer withdrawal symptoms. I was feeling left out and didn't think I was really keeping Amber and Caleb safe and watching out for Nana. I'll keep doing whatever you and Dad need me to do. I don't wanna do all the babysitting, but if you really need me to, I'll do it. Can you tell Marisa not to be so bossy about it though?" I nodded my head and she stood up to go on with her day.
"Maybe when we go to loot Mr. Peterson's house, or another nearby, you can come with us" I said. She grinned at me, grabbed a book off the bookshelf, and plopped down in Mick's recliner to read. "I love you" I told her. "I love you too, Mom. What's for breakfast?" she replied. "What do you think?" I asked. She tilted her head and guessed "cold cereal?" I gave her a little grin and said "you got it, sister." Lord, I love that girl so much. Thank you for giving her to us.
I stood up to go in the laundry room and put a couple of potholders in the dirty pile and I almost choked. We must find a way to wash clothes. I swear, the dirty pile is above my knees. I looked around the house and came up with a plan, but it won't be fun.
1:00 PM...
Mick and Jason haven’t made it back. I'm getting worried about them. I hope they're finding lots of stuff at the TSC and not fighting for their lives against a mob of HDI's. I hope they get back soon. I need Mick to dig a good sized fire pit so I can wash clothes.
4:30 PM...
Nana's sportin' a new pair of cowgirl boots!
Mick and Jason pulled in about 1:30 this afternoon.
The TSC looked horrible when they first pulled up. All the windows are broken and there's tons of merchandise strewn all over the parking lot. They decided to take a look anyway. They found a few things we can use.
The fenced area outside is still fenced. The gate’s open and there's a lot missing, but not the rolls of fencing. "Heck yeah, it's six feet tall" Jason said, grinning. They already have it on their list of "places that might have chain-link fencing."
There isn’t one pellet of animal food left in the entire place, even the bird seed section is bare.
The section that holds lawn care items was untouched and so was the clothing section. Just about every other area looks looted, destroyed, or bare. The front of the store is covered in a bunch of decorative stuff and toys like Christmas decorations and little animal figurines. Jason stepped on a horsy and fell into the register counter, shoulder first. He says he's fine, just a little sore. Marisa told him she'd "check it out later" and he turned beet red.
There used to be a working, antique soda machine between the main doors. The front is busted out and all the contents have been removed.
Mick found a couple bottles of cattle wormer that we can use on the goats, but he had to fish them out of a puddle of purple stuff on the floor. The refrigerator that held all the animal medications needing to be kept cold has the glass busted out and is laying on its side.
Jason took every foot of chain he could get from the big rolls where you buy it by the foot. He said the pile of large link chain was so heavy that he had to drag it to the truck.
He found a box of six honey buns in the workers lounge. There was also a mini fridge with a bunch of moldy, rotten food inside. He found a dozen little "one-pot" packages of coffee and an abundance of coffee stirrers. There was a half empty package of filters, a half empty jar of non-dairy creamer, and a few packages of Sweet 'n Low. He took all of it. There were a few stained coffee mugs on a shelf above the ancient coffee pot, but we have mugs and, ewww.
Jason had the idea to take the shelving. He told Mick we can use it to organize everything in the basement along with whatever else we bring in. They spent most of the day taking apart shelving and loading it on the flatbed trailer. That's what took them so long. It takes quite a bit of time to take apart shelving and save all the screws and bolts to put it back together.
The last thing they did was "go shopping" in the clothing section. I had no idea the TSC has women's clothes. You learn something new every day, I guess.
We all got a new pair of boots and Carisa got two pair! Mick and Jason chose work boots and picked out the same for Jeremy and Pop. They brought home every pair of work boots they could find, regardless of size. We all got new socks. Pop and Mick got a new cowboy hat each, and Jason picked up several baseball caps.
Each of us got several pair of blue jeans. Jeremy can finally take off those sweatpants that are getting get a little ripe.
They got several John Deere t-shirts along with several long sleeved t-shirts that have hunting and farming logos. The shirts are in all different sizes, and we'll let everyone go through them and pick out what they need. Mick got several pairs of overalls for himself and Pop along with a bunch of button up and snap up western shirts for all the men.
Caleb and Amber have new jeans, t-shirts, and cowboy boots. It feels like Christmas all over again!
They threw four rolls of 6' fencing on top of the shelves, tied everything down with about a gazillion bungee cords, and came home starving. Nana took care of their tummies with grilled cheese sandwiches and warm tomato soup.
We've been taking bird baths out of the sink with water heated on the motorhome stove and the propane grill. We don't stink yet, but I’d do just about anything for a nice, hot, bubble bath. If I don't get laundry done tomorrow or the next day we'll be stinkin' to high heaven by next week.
Pop still says we can't use the propane for hot showers in the motorhome. It'd be a waste of both propane, and water.
9:00 PM...
Nothing else happened today. Mick wants to start hitting food places, but he's too tired for trip planning. I want to hit more pharmacies and look for more of the medications we need.
We've turned the generator off tonight. It's colder outside than it is in the freezer, so I'm sure the food we have left will be fine.
The kids are already in bed. Carisa told Amber and Caleb to sleep with Jason and Marisa tonight. I guess Marisa won't be "checking that shoulder wound" after all (snort).
Mick and Jason got the flatbed unloaded, and we had spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread for supper.
I didn't ask Mick to dig the fire pit 'cause he is wore slap out. I mentioned my idea to him and he says there’s a few of those big metal water troughs at the TSC. He'll get them in the next couple of days. I took down the antique washboard I had on the wall and pulled off the fake flowers and ribbons that someone hot glued to the top.
Mick says he has a "water idea" for one of those big, above-ground swimming pools, some 6" PVC pipe, and the little stream in the woods to the right of our property. He fell asleep before he could explain it to me. We'd better come up with something soon. We've used over a quarter of the water I had stored.
I'm about to lay myself down, try to get warm, and wait for whatever tomorrow brings.
Bye for now.
Saturday, January 11
Good Morning fellow campers!
I slept pretty good last night. We had three blankets and a comforter on the bed. I snuggled up against my warm hubby and felt safe.
We're up. We had coffee and muffins at the table with Pop and Nana. Jeremy has come around and
is eating like a horse. It's time to get some pay back for those groceries he's been packing away. He'll be put to work today to see if he can handle it yet. He gets to put together shelving. Yay for him!
Mick just blew my laundry idea out the window. He mentioned that I won't be able to use the washboard in the trough 'cause I'd get burned standing that close to the fire. He said he'd get some boat paddles out of Pop's barn to stir the clothes in the troughs. He needs to take Pop over there to get the canned food and other things they didn't have room for when they left. Pop wants to bring his F350 back with him.
Hey, I can wash cold water stuff with the washboard, or I can scrub the hot water stuff before stirring it into the laundry soup. It'll go into cold rinse water anyway.
Wait a minute! I can dip out buckets of hot water and move it to a smaller tub to scrub, so there! We can dip out hot water and put it in a trough for a nice warm bath!
I hope Mick has time to get those troughs today.
I told him about my conversation with Carisa and he said I could take her along to loot Mr. Peterson's house after breakfast, as long as we take Jason, Mr. Winchester, and Sam Colt.
Carisa's very familiar with Mr. Winchester, but I think we'll leave him in Jason's hands today. Mick told me to bring back the screens off the windows. I wonder what he has in mind for those.
Jeremy just headed downstairs, with a toolbox and a little hop in his step, to put together shelving. I wonder if he'll have that hop when he comes back up.
Pop says the time has come to outfit us with new weapons. Mick has the Benelli, an AR-15, Mr. Winchester, and Sam Colt. He's all set, but the rest of us could use a new weapon or two. I want the AR-15 to go along with my Glock and Ka-Bar knife, but Mick says "not a chance." We'll work on that after lunch.
Pop's thinking about heading out in a few days, and taking Jeremy with him, to look for my sister and her family. I'll highly discourage that idea. I love my sister, well, like a sister, but I love my Daddy too and I'm afraid to send him out there in all this mess, especially since the National Guard would rip Jeremy away from him at the first roadblock. I hope he thinks this over thoroughly.
Well, time to go lootin’ at Mr. Peterson’s house. See ya later.
10:45 AM...
THERE'S A WOOD COOKSTOVE IN MR. PETERSON'S SHED!
It's a "Kitchen Queen" brand. I'm unfamiliar with that brand but I don't know squat about cook stoves.
I want it, and by golly Mick better get it for me. Jason thinks it'll take all of us to lift it, including Amber and Caleb. Yeah, right. It can't be that heavy. Mick and Jason better figure out a way to get it up here and to its new home in my kitchen.
We broke the lock on Mr. Peterson's front door. I felt guilty and didn't want to go in, but I did anyway. Carisa ran right in and straight to the kitchen.
The refrigerator and freezer doors were standing open. Someone has cleaned them out. I assume it was his niece who cleaned them after his burial. We found a total of five cans of food in that house. The cans were pushed way back in the cabinet and were hard to reach.
We wandered around the house and took all the personal hygiene stuff. I took the toilet paper left on the roller. Half a roll is better than no roll at all, right?
There wasn't much else there to take.
I took a couple pieces of cast iron cookware, a tea kettle a speckle ware water bath canner, and all the silverware that was left.
We took several quilts and blankets along with a couple of sheet sets and every pillowcase we could find. Pillowcases are good for carrying loot, especially the king sized variety.
Jason went around the entire house and took all the screens from the windows. The windows were boarded up on the inside, so the screens were easy to get.
We loaded the loot into the S10 and went to check the outbuildings.
I could see where they buried Mr. Peterson. I thought about the coffin they had to make to bury him in, so I headed over to the wood shop. There's a lot of wood in that little wood shop. Jason and Marisa will be able to use some of it to board up windows at Caleb's house. I looked around for a minute and then headed to the enclosed shed.
It's a pretty good sized shed and I had guilty daydreams about what I might find as I stepped through the door. Then, I saw it. In the front left corner was the cook stove peeking out from under one those furniture moving blankets. It's dusty, and will need a good cleaning inside and out, but it's beautiful and in perfect condition! I did a little dance right there.
I told Jason and Carisa that it was time to go, and they finished loading up the things they had in their hands.
I ran back in the house and grabbed the flower arrangement off the dining table. I also grabbed a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson when they were younger. I ran out the back door, placed the flowers on Mr. Peterson's grave, and told him "Thank You." I climbed in the truck with the photo in my hand and we headed back up the hill to home and family. I'll hang the photo on our wall. I sure do miss Mr. Peterson and I sure do thank him for that cook stove.
Mick didn't make it to TSC today but says he'll head there first thing in the morning. He felt a little under the weather today, and spent most of this afternoon in his recliner with a notepad and pen.
We have a few sets of clean clothes left only because of the TSC run. I fully expect the dirty pile to be up to my neck soon. It's a woman's worst nightmare.
Nana's says she has lots of clothes in the closet back at their house, but she's short. Carisa's the only one who’d be able to wear them. Nana's pants would be serious high-waters on me and Marisa, and maybe a little on Carisa too.
Jason has split a lot of wood in preparation for the fire pit and cook stove. He's dirty, sweaty, and wore out. I hope he doesn't get sick from getting sweaty in the cold air.
3:00 PM...
Lunch was a fruit salad with every piece of fruit we had left in the house. I had a couple blocks of cheddar cheese and some club crackers. I also had a gift set with summer sausage inside. I planned to give it to Carisa's piano teacher if she'd come for that lesson, but she didn't. We opened that puppy to go with lunch.
I have a new weapon to learn about. I have a Marlin 1894 .44 magnum rifle. I'm gonna name it "Marley" for short. It kicks a little, but not too bad.
I have a lot to learn about Marley but I hit a pretty good percentage in practice this afternoon. I need a lot more practice and I'm looking forward to it. Mick grinned and said I could "probably get lots of practice" if I took it down to Super Walmart and climbed up on the roof. I have no plans to try that, yet.
Pop said it was okay for me to keep my Glock since I'm familiar with it and it'll do the job. I get to keep my Ka-Bar knife as well.
Jason gets to keep Mr. Winchester. Mick said he didn't need it since he has the AR and the Benelli. Jason seemed happy about that. He also got a Smith & Wesson 1911 and he was happy about that as well. He got a nice machete and the scabbard to go with it. He's all puffed up and feeling 10 feet tall.
Marisa got her own Glock 17. She wouldn't take a rifle because she said she gets too wobbly from her MS to be able to aim and shoot accurately. She'll get a lot of practice with her Glock, and if this afternoon was any indication, she's going to be a crack shot. She also got to keep her Ka-Bar knife. She can be my "pistol totin' momma" partner. Maybe someday we'll get a Glock tattoo together on our tushies. Nah, don't see that happening.
Carisa now has a .22 LR of her very own. Mick and Pop said she’s not ready for a pistol yet, but she doesn't care. She's excited about the .22. She practiced for an hour this afternoon and was surprised that it's so much lighter than Mr. Winchester. She's a natural.
Mick's gonna put some sort of gun holder thingies above the door in her bedroom so she can keep it loaded and handy. Amber and Caleb won't be able to reach it.
I think Carisa now feels like she is part of the "protector" gang. She also got a Kissing Crane, Sodbuster knife. It's a folding knife and it's pretty darn cute. It was good to see her smiling.
Pop has a lot of ammo stored, but we'll need to loot any gun shops we can find. I think Sam Colt and Jason's S&W use the same caliber, but don't quote me on that.
Nana says her weapons are a spatula and a cast iron skillet. I know for a fact that she has a little Derringer somewhere around. I wonder if she carries it on her.
9:30 PM...
I warmed up some of my home canned chili over the fire for supper tonight. We ate some of the pastries Mick and Jason got on their first trip to the gas station for dessert. We were all craving something sweet after the chili.
After supper, we cleaned up the dishes and sat around talking about our new weapons and throwing around ideas about how to get the cook stove up here.
Jason announced that he's gonna head out Wednesday to look for his son. He would never forgive himself if he didn't at least try. He wants his son. Heck, WE want his son. I completely understand and would do the same thing if I were in his shoes. Marisa’s really nervous about it but she understands and would love to have Michael here with us. "Your ex-wife can't come along," she told Jason.
I want that cook stove. I'm sure Mick will figure out a way to get it here. He always tries to make me happy.
Bye for now.
Sunday, January 12
Mick went back to TSC this morning for the water troughs and to scope out what he needs to do to get the fencing. He brought home a surprise from a gas station near the TSC.
Mick brought home a family!
They introduced themselves by shooting a couple of HDI's who were headed towards him while he was loading the horse troughs. He said he didn't even see the HDI's before the shots rang out. He ducked for cover and watched the new guy take them out.