Reeder Custom Guns - I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day, we did.

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lot of acres of woods and rolling hills. Every one in that area has to have 2 acres, that's the law. So about 10AM there were 580 homes without electricity. It went off about 9AM. The news said 580 homes were effected by the black out, but said it would be back on by noon. Come noon, still no juice and it was about 15 degrees outside with a 35 MPH wind out of the north. The people that supposedly know said the electricity would be back on by 2PM. Come 4PM, still no electricity and I am sure a lot of half cooked turkeys in 580 ovens. I live in the ghetto but just past my house there are a lot of 3 and 4 million dollar homes. A lot of California folks moved in and by midday I am sure they were making calls and letting the folks at the dept of electricity know that they were rich and they deserved electricity even if the slugs that they have seen all summer long hauling wood and stacking it in the garage didn't have any.

My house is not big, right at 2700 Sq Ft. But it is sort of spread out with rooms going left and right off a long hallway and a large room at the end of the hallway and thank the Lord I have 3 wood stoves here and there with a wood heating stove in each end of the house and a wood cook stove like they had back in the 1800s to cook on. I did find out how much wood it takes to keep that house warm.

The folks in the know said by 8PM the juice would be back on. I walked out front and looking up and down the street we live on there was only 1 house that had lights in the window. It was one of the high dollar homes and they must have thought ahead and put in a generator. At a little after 11 PM they got it on. So 14 hours without electricity or running water can stretch tempers a bit. Normally we could close off doors in areas where no heat is required, but that wouldn't work either as we had a litter of pups in the back side of the house, in my reloading/trophy room. And up front there was another litter of pups in my office, completely on the other end of the house.

But we got by. I felt sorry for the families that had relatives over for Thanksgiving and those that were cooking a big T'giving dinner and those that were just looking forward to being with friends and relatives for the weekend that now had a half cooked turkey in the oven and a houseful of relatives that couldn't use the bathroom and were running out of excuses for why there was no electricity.

I still could cook on the wood cook stove and it kept the back side of the house warm at the same time. Kase and Colleen both had their I-phones or whatever those things are to keep them occupied and I stayed busy bringing wood in to feed the 3 stoves. We have coal oil lanterns like they had way back when plus a lot of big candles so we weren't in the dark. But I have more respect for the old folks of a hundred and 25 years ago that lived like that every day. I went thru a lot of wood keeping those 3 stoves going but all in all we did fine and for that I am thankful.

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those folks who rely on the power grid for everything were in serious trouble. And it may get worse with the present government we have ..... I hope not but ....

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In my last house circa 2008 I put in a generator setup and the 200 Amp transfer switch was around $800. In my new house we just moved into, fortunately there was fat wire run to the garage for a welder so I had that outlet changed to a generator input and at the breaker box he moved that breaker to the top of the box and installed an interlock bracket that locks out either the main breaker or the 30 Amp generator breaker, so to enable the generator circuit you'v e got to turn off the main breaker. Simple and so much less expensive than the 200A switch. the electrician said they've been doing it that way for about 8 years. Someone was thinking outside the box.

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We got a full house generator installed when we moved to the ranch full time, as it goes out a few times a year up here by the US border (USA/ Canada) in N Idaho. Money well spent, with propane fuel, as it never goes out at a proper time. We also pretty much only use wood heat. It’s not only warm and cozy, there’s something about enjoying a fire. I will keep the thermostat set at 55 or so, in case something happens and we’re not home for an extended period of time. Keep things from freezing. Ceiling fan and 26’ ceilings, the stove pipe puts off wonderful heat as well. I’ll always keep the wood shed ( 2 car garage size) very stocked with 2 years worth of wood.
Living far enough back in the woods on acreage, I can’t see out, and no one can see in. We’re self sufficient for as long as we want to or need to be. I give thanks for living a simple comfortable life, as the last ranch on a private road, in the middle nowhere Idaho.

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Stove up until 1961. Actually had an icebox and had 50 lb blocks delivered once a week to put in it. I remember stacking wood cut with a crosscut saw or axe (no chainsaw), split with a maul and wedges. The rule of thumb was for cooking and heating we needed enough wood cut by May that would fill the house floor to ceiling. Luckily it was just a two room shotgun house maybe 800sq feet total.including the porches. About once a week during the summer us kids would spend a day walking the railroad tracks with tow sacks picking up coal that fell off coal cars from the coal mines. Our reward would always be a blackberry cobbler cooked in a big Dutch oven in that wood stove, the coal was used in the potbellied stove at night during the winter because Granny thought it burned slower and longer than wood. It’s kind of funny that we did not see any of that as any kind of hardship at the time. No electricity until 1961 and no indoor plumbing until ‘62. I read many a book by coal oil light.

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I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving day, we did.

Out our way there are 580 homes scattered thru a

I am happy to hear you made it in relative comfort ...

Generator transfer switch

Fortunately our power stayed on, many areas were out here

Yep, my Grandmother cooked on a wood