Rationing has begun

     In our new community rationing has begun. Everything is rationed!! Everything is reused!! Our trash is reduced because we don't throw out ripped old clothes. Everything is repurposed!!  A broken zipper is no longer a reason to throw out a once favored pair of jeans; instead fix the zipper. Can't fix it?,  find someone who can. Can't find someone who can fix the zipper?, camouflage the zipper. Long shirts over the abdomen and hips helps to cover up a problem; or, change the jeans into a hobo bag or skirt. A snip here, a cut across the seam there, a stitch or two or 100 everywhere. Don't forget to reinforce!  This is no time for dainty clothes or bags. It must be durable. It has to last! 

     In the meantime, if you want new clothing there are ways to earn a share of the hard to get material. Easiest way is to turn in an item you no longer want in exchange for something new. This works especially well for children and babies. There are some children wearing full trash bags over their clothes to keep their clothes from getting ruined. 

     For adults who have completely worn out their clothes a ration for new clothes is in effect. Every person is allowed a new yard of cloth or change of clothes  every few months. Everyone has at least one set of good clothes stashed away. I try to keep one set of underwear stain free. It's hard to do. As soon as I realize I might be staining my good clothes I change into some ratty clothes. I'd like to have at least ONE stainless underwear! Ha ha ha! I doubt it'll happen though. 

You Wore My What? Eewww!

     Apparently Toni wore one of my brief panties over her panties to give it a "smooth" look. She did not, however, wear one of my bras over hers! 

     

     I found out within a day or two after Toni arrived and recuperated. My extra change of clothes was in a corner in a bag, in my tent. When I went to look at my clothes I found a pair of  paisley panties. I remembered having a pair just like it. I looked in the tag and found it was my size! Eew! She wore my underwear! Outerwear is one thing, underwear is quite another. I dunno if I want to wear that now. It's gonna take extra wash and a time to forget before I wear that. 

Me: Toni, whose panties are these?

Toni:  Oh yeah; forgot to tell ya I wore your underwear. 

Me: (giving a grimace and a scowl) "eew."

Toni: "Gimme a break! Ya got an extra pair of underwear! You're welcome!"

Me: "It's still gross." Scowling, I said "thanks a lot"

Toni's Food from home

     When Toni realized pick ups were being done she started collecting food for travel. She realized the packets had to be light but sturdy. A lot of her packets were kept in either quart or gallon bags. She made sure to secure them with masking tape over the seal.  She even labeled the food in the bags.  She originally wanted to sort them into meals ready to eat. Unfortunately she realized she was running out of time, so, she simply placed the packaged foods together by their own group.

     In one group she had oatmeal, in another group she had instant breakfast powder, still another she had powdered milk.  Those last two bags were kept together.  She had powdered drinks, cereal bars, energy bars(yuck), and Mac and cheese! Oh it's been a long time since I ate macaroni and cheese. Sigh, comfort food!  Jerky! She had jerky with her; beef, teriyaki chicken, bacon! It's meant to be eaten 2 oz at a time. If you reconstitute it (wet it) the jerky gets softer.  You can mix it in with the Mac and cheese or oatmeal! 

     What else did she have? She had various foods in wet and dry pouches. She had corn, chicken, pasta, rice, soup and tomato paste to start with! She had them all fit in her backpack! What didn't fit n her backpack she put in her pockets. Then, on top of that, she taped a few items to her body. She really wanted to make sure she had food to survive on for a long time. She didn't know what to expect when she got picked up. The food in the bag was meant to last between 1-2 weeks. Maybe longer if she went on an extreme diet.  

I have new clothes!

     I was lucky! Toni brought me a change of clothes! I'm bigger than she is so it's not like we can share clothes. She actually wore one of my shirts over her own layers. She also wore one of my denim skirts over her bottoms. Because I'm bigger my clothes were not bursting over her clothes. The fact that we reunited was a miracle as well. She didn't know what happened to me. Then she heard people were being "picked up" and "moved out" on the spot. She got herself ready in case she got "picked up" as well. She layered her clothes then put on a change of my clothes to "polish it up". She was ready to sell my clothes first if she had to.  Glad I found her first! 

Me: "Toni, isn't that my shirt?"

Toni: "uh, yeah. 

Me: "Toni, is that my skirt?

Toni: "okay. Yes it is."

Me: "Did you gain weight? Are you pregnant?"

Toni: "shhh. Shut up!. I'm wearing layers. Your clothes fit over mine easily."

Me: (surprised and insulted) "I see." "So I can have my clothes now, right?" 

Toni: (grumpily, agitated). "Yeah. Here ya go." She takes off my shirt and throws it to me. She takes off my skirt and tosses it at me. 

Me: (happy, ecstatic) "Thank you." 

Toni: "You want your socks, too?." (She flings them at me. 

Me: (surprised!) "Give 'em up now." (Doing dance of joy)

Toni: "before you say anything, here's your scarf, too!." And she rolled it in a ball and threw it at me. 

Me:  I scowled at her when she did that. However it was short lived. "Thanks!." I told her. 

     I'm so happy to have an extra pair of clothes!  A shirt, a skirt, a scarf and a pair of socks. Toni was actually happy to un-layer as well. It's warm, right now, here in camp. She said it was still freezing back home. She said she couldn't believe it when her group was told they were actually going to a warm place. Back home we've been in a deep freeze so long "warm" is actually "hot" to us. 

Cultural Reference Comparison

Me

Here are my ten cultural items;

1. World history atlas

2. Farmers Almanac (current)

3. Cookbook for die cast pots/pans and stove (small, thin)

4. Anthology book fables, fairy tales,

5. 1 Ream of paper 

6. Pencil box with: pens, pencils, erasers, sharpener, 1 box crayons, tape, glue

7. 1st-5th grade textbook: McGuffey Reader and Math combo

8. 12 piece bowling game. Ball and pins 

9.  Dominoes 

10. Puzzles 2 for 1 unit 

Toni 

1. Basketball board game with 2 die and pegs. 

2. Baseball board game with two die and pegs. 

3. Peg game board with die and pegs 

~~~~~All placed in a small plastic Tupperware~~~~~

4. 2-pk card games

5. Bingo/Loteria 

~~~~~ in a 20 Qt bag ~~~~~

6. Large print word search 

7. 3 notebooks 

8. Holy Bible 

9. Picture book of Stars 

~~~~~ in a 20 Qt bag ~~~~~

10. Pencil kit with: pens, pencils, erasures, sharpener, scissors, 12-ok crayons, tape, glue. 

Toni's Cultural Resources

     Toni's cultural resources and my cultural resources differ quite a bit. Of course she was able buy specific things and be more prepared than I was. I was picked up in the street with just the layered clothes on my back and my survival backpack due to the great blizzard! She was able to lay out her clothes and try to see what she could put on super layered for her "pickup". She tried different versions of clothes until she got the right combination I mentioned before. Now she had room in her backpack for more cultural resources. Whereas I had chosen educational materials, she had chosen recreational materials. Here's what she got: 

1. Basketball board game with 2 die and pegs. 

2. Baseball board game with two die and pegs. 

3. Peg game board with die and pegs 

~~~~~All placed in a small plastic Tupperware~~~~~

4. 2-pk card games

5. Bingo/Loteria 

~~~~~ in a 20 Qt bag ~~~~~

6. Large print word search 

7. 3 notebooks 

8. Holy Bible 

9. Picture book of Stars 

~~~~~ in a 20 Qt bag ~~~~~

10. Pencil kit with: pens, pencils, erasures, sharpener, scissors, 12-ok crayons. 

I see a lot of gambling potential with Toni. 

My Roommate, Toni

     When I finally saw my old roommate, Toni, I was very happy. Finally a familiar face. Of course she also happened to show up with some people from the neighborhood. Apparently, she was rounded up, in house, with the rest of the neighbors. However, she was prepared. She had tied to HER barrel bags and bags of personal belongings. She also had her backpack filled with personal emergency items, and a combo cane/chair! 

     What surprised me most was what she was wearing. Layers upon layers of clothes. She reminded me of Anne Frank arriving at the Secret Annex and un-layering her clothes. Seven panties!, shorts, leggings, pants! And still she had space for her long johns. For her top she had three t-shirts, three tees, two blouses, a thick pullover sweater, a sweater with a hoodie and her overcoat. Let's talk socks! She had on more socks than I ever thought possible. One of them is mine! Shoes! Regular closed shoes with galoshes over them! Perfect for this weather either way! All this layering on of clothes left her backpack free for other things. I'll leave that for another session. 

     Thank goodness she brought extra bags! That's another story.