It's day 20 since the lights went out and they are starting to come. My bil, his wife, their one son and his wife and daughter arrived this afternoon. They have nothing to eat but a couple of rabbits for the last 5 days. They are all out of food. I don't really mind since I had prepped with the intentions of them being here to. But they did not show up empty handed. They brought all their own bedclothes and bed pillows, blow up air matteresses and hand pump for pumping them up. All their empty canning jars and other canning equipment, 50 gallons of water in 5 gallon water cans and guns. Ten guns to be exact plus a lot of ammo. The biggest item they brought was a fresh killed doe. It was a beauty and a good size. Our nephew went out and shot it this morning before they came over here while the others loaded the truck and car. While we women unloaded the smaller things in the truck and car my son and nephew took the deer and hung it from the rafters in the garage. They placed a large tote under to let it bleed out. It had not been dead long since the body was still warm. We are going to butcher it and can it tomorrow. It will stay cold enough in the garage for tonight.
I had my son and nephew help me move all of mine and John's stuff in the room next to my food storage and gave my bil and sil our room. Their dil is not happy with me right now. I would not make my son give up his big bedroom so she could have it. Her and my nephew got the smaller room. She is also not going to be happy with the fact that she will not be allowed in the food storage area. She is always snacking and eats a lot. How she stays so skinny is beyond me. After every one was setteled in to their new sleeping quarters I called a family meeting. Months ago I had sat down and thought about all the things that would need to be done to feed a big household and I wrote out a chore list. At the meeting I would be assigning chores. Nephews wife is not going to like the fact that she either helps or she is out of the group. She is so lazy that is a wonder she even breathes at times.
I doled out the chores as follows:
John and bil will do the guardingin the day time. Since they both have severe health problems this is the one thing they can do.
Sil will help cook and do dishes and light housekeeping. She has pretty bad health problems to but she can help with those chores.
Son and nephew will take care of all outside yard work, cut wood, hunt and fix what ever needs fixing and night time guard duty. I will make sure they get their rest even if I have to hog tie nephew's wife.
The granddaughter will set the table, clean it off, feed the chickens and rabbits and gather eggs.
Nephew's wife will help me with the planting, growing, weeding, harvesting of the garden. She will also help with the laundry, rest of the house keeping and cooking outside. My sil will help with it what she can but she can not do a lot outside in the winter time. She had really bad arthritis.
I also laid out the following rules during the meeting.
1. No one but me is allowed to get food out of the storage room. I know exactly how much is in there and how long it will last as long as its rationed. Same goes for the water.
2. No work, no food. Period! No excuses short of dying will be accepted.
3. All first aid needs will go through me first since I can not afford to have first aid supplies wasted for stupid stuff. A mild headache never killed anyone.
4. All forms of light will be turned off by 9 pm and everyone will have to be up by 7 am in the winter time and 6 am in the summer.
5. With 6 adult coffee drinkers in the house everyone will be limited to two cups of coffee in the morning and two at dinner time. Same with tea.
6. Until we have a renewed food source up and running again there will be no second helpings. I will make sure there is just enough food cooked at a meal to make sure every one gets their daily requirements met.
7. Sunday will be a day of rest for everyone but cooking dishes and animal care will have to be done 7 days a week. So will guard duty.
I know my nephew's wife is not happy about the way I divided up the chores and the rules I laid down but she has two choices. Either do them or find some where else to stay. My house, my rules. End of story about it.
Since my son and nephew never got a chance to rest today before starting guard duty tonight John and bil are going to do it till 3 am then they will be coming down to take over. I gave my son a wind up alarm clock to wake him up and he will wake up our nephew.
I am seeing big time problems ahead in the near future. Nephew's wife is already showing her butt and pouting. She does not think the chores were divided up evenly. She has no more chores than I do and she is 20 years younger than me. She can either do them or I will kick her butt out. No one else seems to be having a problem with the chore list or the rules.
Time will only tell how this arrangement will work out but I have a strong feeling I may have no choice but to kick her out. I hate to because that means my nephew will go with her. And he is going to be a big asset to the group's survival.
I had my son and nephew help me move all of mine and John's stuff in the room next to my food storage and gave my bil and sil our room. Their dil is not happy with me right now. I would not make my son give up his big bedroom so she could have it. Her and my nephew got the smaller room. She is also not going to be happy with the fact that she will not be allowed in the food storage area. She is always snacking and eats a lot. How she stays so skinny is beyond me. After every one was setteled in to their new sleeping quarters I called a family meeting. Months ago I had sat down and thought about all the things that would need to be done to feed a big household and I wrote out a chore list. At the meeting I would be assigning chores. Nephews wife is not going to like the fact that she either helps or she is out of the group. She is so lazy that is a wonder she even breathes at times.
I doled out the chores as follows:
John and bil will do the guardingin the day time. Since they both have severe health problems this is the one thing they can do.
Sil will help cook and do dishes and light housekeeping. She has pretty bad health problems to but she can help with those chores.
Son and nephew will take care of all outside yard work, cut wood, hunt and fix what ever needs fixing and night time guard duty. I will make sure they get their rest even if I have to hog tie nephew's wife.
The granddaughter will set the table, clean it off, feed the chickens and rabbits and gather eggs.
Nephew's wife will help me with the planting, growing, weeding, harvesting of the garden. She will also help with the laundry, rest of the house keeping and cooking outside. My sil will help with it what she can but she can not do a lot outside in the winter time. She had really bad arthritis.
I also laid out the following rules during the meeting.
1. No one but me is allowed to get food out of the storage room. I know exactly how much is in there and how long it will last as long as its rationed. Same goes for the water.
2. No work, no food. Period! No excuses short of dying will be accepted.
3. All first aid needs will go through me first since I can not afford to have first aid supplies wasted for stupid stuff. A mild headache never killed anyone.
4. All forms of light will be turned off by 9 pm and everyone will have to be up by 7 am in the winter time and 6 am in the summer.
5. With 6 adult coffee drinkers in the house everyone will be limited to two cups of coffee in the morning and two at dinner time. Same with tea.
6. Until we have a renewed food source up and running again there will be no second helpings. I will make sure there is just enough food cooked at a meal to make sure every one gets their daily requirements met.
7. Sunday will be a day of rest for everyone but cooking dishes and animal care will have to be done 7 days a week. So will guard duty.
I know my nephew's wife is not happy about the way I divided up the chores and the rules I laid down but she has two choices. Either do them or find some where else to stay. My house, my rules. End of story about it.
Since my son and nephew never got a chance to rest today before starting guard duty tonight John and bil are going to do it till 3 am then they will be coming down to take over. I gave my son a wind up alarm clock to wake him up and he will wake up our nephew.
I am seeing big time problems ahead in the near future. Nephew's wife is already showing her butt and pouting. She does not think the chores were divided up evenly. She has no more chores than I do and she is 20 years younger than me. She can either do them or I will kick her butt out. No one else seems to be having a problem with the chore list or the rules.
Time will only tell how this arrangement will work out but I have a strong feeling I may have no choice but to kick her out. I hate to because that means my nephew will go with her. And he is going to be a big asset to the group's survival.