At the magical hour of 5 PM on Friday, lights started flickering. Within a few seconds all power went out. After a week’s work, it felt seriously unfair.
Thankfully, the outside weather was tolerably cool, although still slightly warm, so the windows were just fine.
The power will be back in an hour or so, right?
Nope. Woke up at 5 AM Saturday morning to black screens, no WiFi, no power to my coffee maker or stove (no coffee or hot tea today!), and the realization that the hot water boiler is out so unable to shower. You get the picture.
I don’t have a car, so am grateful that the weather was nice.
I immediately thought through what was available to me. Good news! I have:
- Running water + my Multipure water filter
- Running water + my Anespa shower filter
- A bike (remember, no car!)
- Seeds, soil, and empty planters, but I needed to get more soil
- A clean gas grill on the patio
- Frozen shrimp and chicken breasts
- A broom, mop, pail, and homemade soap
- Lots of bulk dried herbs that need to be put into containers
- Foods that I wanted to ferment
Suddenly, I realized how many things I’d been putting off and had too many things to do.
I have a lot of work to do. Thank goodness the blackout lasted 24 hours.
So, what does an herbalist do with a 24-hour power blackout? Here we go.
Caffeine Fix
I love coffee, hence my dismay at not wanting or needing any at this stage of my life. Regardless, my mom and I kind of have coffee mugs that are relegated to use only during the weekend. Not happening this Saturday. Since I couldn’t even boil water, I put some herbs and spices into my pre-steeped, cold-brew green tea. I also have been re-purposing leftover brewed coffee by steeping it in coriander, black pepper, ground ginger, a shot of bourbon to preserve it, and whatever else is on hand. I tentatively offered this to her.
It turned out that she was willing to drink the tea at room temperature and appreciated the herbal profile of the preserved coffee, noting that it had digestion-fueling spices.
Transportation
This is untraditional in America, but I’ve lived without a car for 13 years and wouldn’t take back a single one of those years. However, I looked at my bike and realized it needed to be tuned for this summer. I pumped the tires, raised the seat, and set up the tools to clean the gears this evening. I strapped on the panniers to be ready for this day’s trip to the local Ace Hardware to get more potting soil.
Cleaning
Guys, it’s not commendable, but I’ve been working so hard on ImmerHealth blog posts, social media, and writing books that I haven’t had a chance to clean my home. It was still pre-sunrise, so, since the vacuum is out of the question, I got to work with my broom. No hot water, but room-temperature water works just as well. I also scrubbed the tub and cleaned the bathroom. Turns out, all you need is a brush and some soapy water!
Planting
I only have a small balcony, but, man, does it hold a lot of plants! Grateful that the weather was gorgeous, I needed to transplant some tomato and cucumber sprouts. I’m really quite pleased with the result. The tomatoes look so happy and evenly spaced and the cucumbers are content being near each other.
I planted three more containers, another sugar pea, some sorrel (lettuce), and dill. As you can imagine, my spring/summer garden is pretty much overflowing with different herbs. I did a quick check on all of them. The chives, which I accidentally bumped over a couple of weeks ago were recovering nicely from my unintended disruption, the arugula was getting stronger, and the basil plant I’d started just last Sunday was starting to sprout. I could go on about the red sails lettuce and other items, but the point is that things were really coming along well.
As I cared for my container garden, I noticed a neighbor a few floors down doing the same. It was nice to have a bit of companionship. Last summer she had planted a bunch of herbs in a slanting container garden rack and she was setting up her space for this summer. She has a little sitting area next to her plants and will read a book with coffee on weekend mornings. Kindred spirits!
My one regret is that I accidentally placed one cucumber plant among the tomatoes. Oh, well!
Nap
Shameless nap time!
Indoor Herbal Projects
I literally could have spent all 24 hours just in this space, between organizing my herbal cabinet and making new mixtures. I was quite tired, despite the nap, but my landlords had texted saying that the power should be on within 2 hours. Seriously, not much time was left!
I’ve been remiss in a mixing up a few herbal staples:
- Tooth powder
- Dry shampoo
- Foot soak mixture
- Ear oil
The other things I need that require heating, like deodorant, will have to wait.
There wasn’t enough time left to organize the herbal cabinet, so left it at that.
Cooking
Things in this space seemed a bit impossible since we have an electric stove and were trying to keep the refrigerator and freezer door closed to preserve the cold temperature. My apartment complex has a nice communal gas grill area. The cleaners keep the grills meticulously clean.
Just last week, my coworker randomly gave me extra bamboo skewers that he had at home, so I set to work making shrimp kabobs. I fired up the grill and a few minutes later my mom and I were eating a big plate of freshly grilled shrimp, onions, and peppers. She hadn’t been feeling well all day, but after that meal said she was feeling great. Food is medicine!
My Mom’s Health
Blackouts can be pretty bad for people with medical needs. Luckily, we don’t have a power dependency, such as a medical unit that needs electricity to operate. However, my mom has some pretty serious pain after a lifetime of scoliosis and her arthritis is extreme. She used her medical-grade light therapy device that does not need electricity. I love it because I can use the same device for facial treatment.
All Good Things Come To An End
My mom and I were having a normal, analog conversation about whatever when the lights started flickering back to life. We were each sort of sad to have this adventure end. It meant that I had internet again so I’d be right back at the computer, working, and she would be catching up on news and her self-education of learning German by watching a German-language station with her dictionary nearby (a great move for cognitive health!).
In hindsight, I’m grateful that the power went out so I could have a purely analog day. I’m not saying I want it to go out too frequently, but it was nice to have a little time to take care of things around the house.
Conclusion
It would have been easy to huff around, complaining about being denied the ability to get the things done that I’d planned to do. I could have been like those people I’d seen in town when I picked up the potting soil, looking peeved and running away from their homes to a restaurant or store with power. Instead, I used what was around me and got things done. My home is a better place as a result!
We’d been given a lemon and we made lemonade.
Next time something unfortunate happens, take a minute to consider the resources you DO have versus trying to run away from the situation.
