Someday I Hope to Laugh and Tell Stories About This

Have you ever tried to fill 8 ice cube trays from a one gallon bottle of water? Without a lot of waste and spillage? 

I had to deal with that today in my no-running-water situation of the last 4 days. I have a container in the sink for rinsing. Without running water, rinsing dishes is also interesting. So I poured into the trays, one by one, over that container. That way, any spillage would still be useful one way or another. I do like ice water and I keep 8 trays filled in my fridge-top freezer. I toss those into a recycled 5-qt ice cream container from another time in my less-healthy eating life. Another hurdle leaped.

Over the past two years, I've slowly but steadily come to depend a lot on healthier food choices. which usually means cooking from scratch and fresh produce. The produce already in my fridge bins were rinsed off whatever day I brought it home, before putting it away. Very soon, that will be gone and I will face rinsing-without-waste when I bring more home. One hurdle to deal with soon.

Some of the water I am using came from a friend who filled up his empty one-gallon water bottles. That is not for drinking. I use it for the bathroom tanks, dishwater, and other needs. Drinking water (and for coffee, etc.) comes from the 3-gallon bottles I usually fill at either Walmart or Smith's. I was beginning to mix them up so I grabbed a Sharpie and scribbled DW on the drinking water. Another hurdle leaped.

The one thing that I'm slow adjusting to is that I am slow now. Everything takes longer. When things are going right, when we have hot and cold running water, we do not give a thought to how often we run to a sink or whatever and use the water. Even using paper pleats and plastic cutlery, I still need to empty things from my upright freezer or cut this or that, or stir this or that. I need to mix things. But by the time I get back to normal, which looks like a long way down the line (and I have to pray the pipes don't crumble before that), I should be even more patient than I once thought I already was.

Take making coffee, for example. I use a tiny old fashioned percolator which makes enough for one of those 16 oz insulated cups but the basket is tiny and I cut down the smallest filters I find - this means they do not fit exactly and grounds are in the basket when I am finished and washing. Well, now it is not wise to make more washing than I need. So I hauled out my little manual drip basket. You put a filter into the basket, toss in the coffee, and place it over the mug or cup, then pour the hot water into it, carefully. That method is great for right now because after I remove the filter/grounds, I simply rinse that drip basket. But it takes more attention and more time. Another lesson in patience.