(no subject)

[camwyn]

Still okay. Still no power or heat at the apartment. Water, yes, gas, yes, but they haven't turned the power back on. I'm guessing they have to have the basement pass inspection first; there were workmen ripping stuff out of the basement when I got home yesterday and an unbelievable amount of stuff stacked at the kerb today when I got up. I would not mind this so much if it weren't for the fact that every other apartment building on the block has power. Please please please please please, landlord, PSE&G, please, finish whatever you have to do to get my building back up on its feet.

I'm waiting for my devices to recharge before going out in search of a laundromat that works.

I emptied the fridge out the other day, finally. should I be worried that several sticks of butter were in exactly the same condition they would have been had it been an operational fridge?

Oh, and I have to say- my experiment in no-shampoo work turned out to be useful. It's far easier to clean your hair with baking soda solution and rinse it with vinegar solution fresh from the stove top than it is to get up a head of lather with shampoo and water from the stove. So at least my hair is clean, and I can get some sponge bathing in.

98% on the laptop, 96% on the phone. should be able to head out soon.

hope the rest of you are doing okay.

Comments

[minkhollow]

Quinn says she knows people who keep their butter on the counter, and that keeping it in cold storage is a fairly modern idea; you probably didn't have to toss it unless it was green or something.

[hellkitty]

My mom has lost power since Tuesday so I just looked this up: butter is fine. It's when it gets warm (well above room temp) that it possibly gets rancid.

In the army we used to just use straight dry cornstarch for 'shampoo' (powder in, brush it out) and babywipes to bathe. It was...eurgh. I hope your stuff gets restored!

[camwyn]

Okay, good. I didn't actually throw away the butter in the fridge; it felt too firm for me to feel right doing that.

As far as the bathing, I bought a pack of Power Shower wipes from the sporting goods store last week. I wash with heated stove water when I can and use the wipes when I can't. No one's made any "you know, you might want to consider..." comments about the smell yet, so I'll keep up with that for now. At least until I get my hot water back, anyway.

man, I wish this town had a functioning YMCA.

[camwyn]

Well, I got rid of the first butter I had, but there's about a pound and a half still in the fridge that I couldn't bring myself to dispose of. So it's good to know.

[spiritdancer]

As has been noted, the butter should be just fine at room temp, for a fairly long time. Eggs generally ok, at least for a day or two, but the quality goes down quickly (you're better off cooking & eating them now). Condiments like ketchup and mustard should be fine for a while.

At least you have a gas stove and can cook. A long outage here, and I'd be in trouble with an electric stove/cooktop. I'd probably be using the gas grill (outside) for our cooking.

[camwyn]

Scrambled and ate the eggs very early on, as it seemed like the wisest idea. The mustard, soy sauce, and sriracha have been left where they are, so that shouldn't be an issue.

And I just got an email from my landlord saying there was power to the building but they had to replace the circuit breakers and there was an electrician due in first thing tomorrow. So there's that.

[spiritdancer]

Well, at least you have an answer, and hopefully by this time tomorrow, you'll have power as well!