OK, I’ll say ahead of time, you can call me Chicken Little if you want. But I’d rather be prepared for something, than ready for nothing.

A couple of months ago, we received word of a prediction from what we consider to be a reliable source. Word has it that we could all be facing a hard winter. By hard, I don’t mean a little bit of cold weather.

Now I know this coincides with all the talk about TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World as We Know It) on December 21st, but the fact is that catastrophic events happen. Just look at the hurricane that hit New York as an example. Earthquakes, tornados, solar flares. Apparently we are overdue for a big solar flare. A big enough blast could wipe out some or all of our electric power supply. Maybe for a long time.

As a homeschool exercise some years ago, the kids and I made a “survival list.” I think it may have been around the time of the “ice storm” in the east – many people were left without power at the coldest time of the year. Well, we never followed through. Now, I am.

Whether something major happens in December 2012, or in 2013, or never, I will feel calmer knowing that I have done something to prepare. Obviously if an asteroid hits the earth and we all die, then I won’t have to worry about clean air, drinkable water, or enough food to feed my family. However, if, say, we had a power cut for a week, I would like to be ready.

We have invested in a new water filter. A Crown Berkey. Google it – it filters just about any kind of water and makes it drinkable. We could walk down to the lake, lug it back, and stick it through, and we’d have potable water. (It arrived in the mail just today.)  I have been slowly stocking up the cold room. Flour, beans, lentils, canned tomatoes, plenty of walnuts from our trees. Sugar, salt, coconut oil, olive oil. I re-organised and tidied yesterday, and still have some empty shelves which I’d like to see filled. I bought extra lidded plastic containers this week – storing bags of food inside them will keep them safe from mice (which we’ve had trouble with before) and water damage.

We have a camping stove and some small tanks of propane. Firewood and old-fashioned fireplaces. Lots of blankets. Snowgear. Candles. Hand-cranked lights.

Tai Chi Man thinks I’m fretting about this a little too much. But it’s like insurance – better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.