ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2018-06-25 03:00 am
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2018-06-25 03:00 am
Entry tags:
Poem: "Light Your Fire First"
This poem is spillover from the December 5, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from siliconshaman and lone_cat. It also fills the "conversation" square in my 12-3-17 card for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
genprompt_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by EdorFaus. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series and follows "Working Outside in the Elements."
"Light Your Fire First"
It took a few days after the cold snap for
Ansel to arrange everything he wanted.
Then he knocked on the doorpost of
the gazebo and waited for Turq to answer.
The caney wriggled out of his bench den,
and a moment later Turq stood up. "Hi,"
he said. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's more about what I can do
for you," Ansel said. "I got a bit worried
about you when the weather turned so bad,
so I wanted to take some precautions."
"Like what?" Turq said warily.
Ansel remembered that Turq
had come through way too much
and needed careful handling.
"I think you'll like these ideas,
they're ways to stay warm,"
Ansel said. "Walk with me?"
"Okay," Turq said, and tagged along
as Ansel headed to the firepit.
"First, I want you to know that you
have free access to the yard and house,"
Ansel said. "That means you can light a fire,
sleep in the garage, come upstairs to crash
in the living room or the loft, whatever. We
don't want you to freeze just because it gets
cold when nobody's home to invite you in."
"Um ... thanks," Turq said, looking down.
"I don't want to impose, and I'm not good at
going indoors yet, but it's a nice thought."
He was probably going to freak over
the rest of the package, but they
could get to that in a minute.
"You know we keep plenty of
firewood here, and you can always
pick up more at the depot or ask Eli
to drop off a load," Ansel went on.
"Or pick up sticks in the woods,
yeah, I do that," Turq said, nodding.
No wonder the tinder and kindling buckets
always seemed to be full nowadays.
"Thank you," Ansel said as he headed for
the birdbath. "So the next thing is over here.
I bought an electric element to keep the water
thawed during times when the passive heating
and the solar unit aren't quite enough. This way
you'll always have drinking water, even if you
don't feel like switching to human form."
They had seen Turq drinking out of
the birdbath, both in caney and deer form.
The caney could easily put his front paws on
the rim to drink from the bowl, and the deer
actually had to lean down to reach it.
"Thanks," Turq said. "That'll help."
"I'm glad you like it," Ansel said.
"On to the gazebo goodies. First,
we have a soft heating pad for
your den; and second, we have
a plain one and foam insulation
just in case you would like to keep
your storage bench above freezing."
He brought those items out of his car
and then helped Turq to install them.
"These are really nice," Turq said.
"Now I can keep bottled water or
canned goods in here, without
worrying that they'll freeze."
"I'm glad you like them,"
Ansel said, returning to the car.
"There's more?" Turq said.
"Yep, this is the big surprise,"
Ansel said, hauling the box out
of the trunk. "What do you think?"
"A Hotwire?" Turq said as he
peered at the package. "Aren't
those ... kind of expensive?"
"Worth every penny," Ansel said
with relish. "Help me carry this to
the gazebo. When Janie gets home
from her current project, then she
can install the system for you."
"This is all way too much,"
Turq said, shuffling uneasily.
"There is no way you could
afford all this stuff for me."
"I didn't," Ansel said. "First,
back when I met your parents,
they asked to help with expenses,
and they were pretty insistent about
that. So I let them buy the heaters."
"Okay, that helps, but the rest of
this stuff is still a lot," Turq said.
"Second, some of it isn't just for you,"
Ansel continued. "We've been wanting
to get an electric heater for the birdbath,
and we have actually been saving up
for a Hotwire since last winter."
Which was before they met, so
Turq couldn't complain about that part.
"I don't know ..." Turq said, hesitating.
"Third, the Snowbirds chipped in
the last bit we needed for the Hotwire,"
Ansel said. "They keep a shared fund
from donations and a few paying customers."
"I shouldn't be dipping into that," Turq said.
"Don't they need it for shovels or whatever?"
"Equipment is a common use for that,
but I assure you, this is neither the first
nor the last time they've spent money
to keep someone warm," Ansel said.
"I guess I can take a look," Turq replied,
and turned his attention to the box.
Ansel helped him unpack it. First
came the power unit that would hang
inside the roof of the gazebo. Then came
an assortment of wires and heating elements
that they could assemble however desired.
"See, the big part gets bolted overhead,
and then we can run these other parts down
along the support posts and the base of
the benches," Ansel explained. "This
should keep the gazebo comfortable."
"It seems like great hardware," Turq said.
"It really is," Ansel said. "Did you know
that the manufacturer, Basque, likes to hire
gizmologists and Super-Intellects when they can?
It gives them an edge in the heating field. They
make some of the best gear on the market.
I've been wanting a Hotwire for years."
"I guess that's not so bad, then, if you
didn't buy it just for me," Turq said.
"I really don't want to be a burden."
"I'm trying not to push anything.
I just want you to have options,"
Ansel said. "With that in mind, if
you get yourself frostbitten because
you weren't paying attention or you
didn't want to be a bother, I'll be upset.
Not angry, just worried about you."
Turq ducked his head. "I'll try,"
he said. "I can't make promises.
It's been ... I've had ... it's hard."
"You've spent enough time
living rough that you're out of
the habit of trusting people or
taking advantage of civilization,"
Ansel guessed. "Understandable."
"I just ... feel like such a mooch,"
Turq said miserably. "I know that
you keep saying you don't see it
that way, but I can't help how I feel."
"Okay, let's work the problem," Ansel said.
"You could choose to do some extra chores
for me -- I live on a lake, there's no end of work
to be done here. You could do odd jobs for
my grandparents, who are always happy
to pay in food and sometimes in cash.
Or there's always Energy Friends."
"I'm getting better, so I could probably
manage some extra work," Turq said,
perking up. "What's Energy Friends?"
"That's a program in our neighborhood
where residents or registered guests can
volunteer hours on community tasks in
exchange for credits that you can redeem
in extra firewood beyond the basic allotment,
or electricity from our solar grid, and so on,"
Ansel explained. "It's very popular here."
"Okay, I can try that one too," Turq said.
"But then how do I give it to you to make up
for all the extra power I'll be using here?"
"You can either put it on your own account
and transfer it to me when you wish, or put it
straight into mine," Ansel said, then chuckled.
"We swap energy credits all the time around here.
If you go a whole year without surprise credits
popping up in your account, then you know
you're pretty unpopular, because that's rare."
"Why are you so stuck on this?"
Turq asked, tilting his head. "I mean,
it's nice and all, but ... I gotta wonder."
"Well, the first part is just basic safety,"
Ansel said. "In cold weather a good rule is
to light your fire first before doing anything else.
It is always more sensible to keep yourself warm
rather than trying to thaw yourself out later."
"And the other part?" Turq said.
Ansel sighed. "Around here, weather
rarely gets killing-cold so people aren't
well prepared for it," he said quietly.
"I've found a few who ... didn't survive,
and it's usually either homeless people
without shelter, elders in a power outage,
or kids who get lost. That always hurts."
"I'm sorry," Turq said. "I'm being selfish.
I kept thinking about all of my baggage,
and I didn't even stop to think about yours.
I don't want to make you worry about me."
"My baggage is not your problem," Ansel said.
"You have enough of your own to deal with."
Turq quirked a smile. "Isn't that what I
say to you, and you tell me it doesn't work
that way?" he said. "It matters to me, if I get
so caught up in my own issues that don't
notice when I'm stepping on a friend. I
don't want to be that guy, you know?"
"Okay," Ansel said. "Friends can
share problems. It's fine if we take
a little time to find our footing in this.
So what do you think, Turq?"
"I think," said Turq, "that I'm
warming up to the idea."
* * *
Notes:
"In cold weather a good rule is to light your fire first before doing anything else. It is always more sensible to keep yourself warm rather than trying to thaw yourself out later."
-- Mors Kochanski
Cold weather survival requires firestarting, shelter, food, and first aid capabilities.
This is the home of Officer Pink (Ansel Nicholson) which used to be part of a resort alongside a lake. When the resort closed, the rental cabins were parceled into individual lots and sold, while some of the resort's main facilities -- such as the lodge and the main boating dock -- were set aside as neighborhood resources. See the outside, lower level, and main level. Here you can see the caney door, protected by a flap of clear plastic, and to the right is part of the workshop area.
Ansel's garage office has a leather couch and loveseat along with a tapestry rocking chair around a large square coffee table. His desk and its chair are along the inside garage wall, not visible in this picture. The carpet is short tan-and-gray pile. One stone wall has been plastered over, but the other has been left bare and features a stone bench, fireplace, and entertainment center. Ansel also has a writing desk with bookshelves along the front and drawers underneath, which faces into the room. The chair is brown instead of black, to match the couch. A matching computer desk with a tall hutch of bookshelves stands against the interior wall.
This is the forest tapestry pillow on the loveseat.
The couch has a knit afghan draped over the back. The Fall Colors pattern is free but requires registering on the Lion Brand site. There is also a kit for sale which includes both the pattern and all the yarn it needs.
Ansel's bedroom has a subtle blend of masculine and feminine features. His bathroom is through the kitchen. Not visible from here, the kitchen is divided from the living room by a dining/buffet bar. Underneath the bar is a large hinged leaf that can be brought up to form a dining table. The wide end of the loft, which faces the lake, has a game room. The side of the loft is a home gym. The small end of the loft, which faces the driveway, has a futon with a matching coffee table that can be hidden by a pair of folding screens.
Ansel's version of this gazebo has built-in storage benches where the seats lift or doors open to access the cabinets underneath. The two end benches have end doors that open at the entrance of the gazebo. The two middle benches have seats that lift up. The center back bench has front doors.
Ansel's firepit is typical of the small ones found in many of the larger yards. It's a comfortable gathering spot for about a dozen people. You can build your own, and in fact this plan is very similar to ours -- although we put a brick pentacle in the bottom.
Residents can request delivery of firewood from a communal depot. This location has a small campfire circle for gatherings at the far side of the neighborhood from the auxiliary fire circle.
There are actually three ways to heat a birdbath or similar watering device: passive solar, solar panel, and electric. Passive solar relies on something to absorb heat during the day, costs no extra to make or run, and will prevent ice in mild winters; it may get unpleasantly warm in summer, and should be shaded then or replaced with a different device. Solar panels provide considerably more protection in moderately cold weather and work efficiently; but they cost more to buy and some can be damaged by extreme cold, so the element might need to be taken indoors then. Electric is the most durable and powerful, capable of keeping the water thawed no matter what, but it costs the most to run. Really high-end birdbaths use all three, alternating based on temperature, but they're expensive. A much cheaper version, albeit requiring manual switching, is to buy a passive birdbath with removable solar and electric elements that you put in when necessary.
Ansel has a birdbath made of heavy-duty black ceramic. The pedestal is hollow but filled with sand to hold more heat and add weight for stability. The bowl is deep to make it easier to keep the water thawed in winter. It has a solar heater for mild winter weather, and Ansel just added an electric element for frigid weather. The caney can easily put his forepaws on the rim to drink out of the bowl, and the deer actually needs to bend down to reach it.
A black basalt cobblestone in the center of the birdbath adds more thermal mass and gives birds a place to perch. Basalt has fantastic thermal mass, which is why it's so popular in T-America for paving sidewalks and plazas: it melts light snowfall, reducing the need to salt or shovel the area. Basalt is so good, you can boil water with these rocks.
Accessories for pets include heating pads for kennels and water bowls that stay above freezing. These are pretty cheap to run as small electric appliances go. Turq's parents bought one of the soft padded model to heat his den (which is already lined with foam) and one plain in case he wants to keep his storage cabinet above freezing, which he does. Insulation works great for maintaining desired temperatures. See instructions for making a foam travel cooler and a cat shelter.
In T-America, one of the leading producers is Basque, a company that hires gizmologists and Super-Intellects when it can find them. It specializes in heating units of all kinds, and they produce a full lineup of patio heaters. The Hotwire has a power core that is often hung overhead or placed in a firepit, from which extend narrow wires and/or wider heating elements. Put one in a gazebo and you can run heating elements down the sides or around the edge of the floor, which is far more efficient than chandelier or pedestal models since heat rises. Because Turq's gazebo has plastic sheeting loosely tacked over the open areas, it retains heat better than the open air. Since they're not trying to make it really warm, just above freezing, the heating isn't actually as expensive as Turq thinks.
Feelings can lie to you in many ways. PTSD often comes with intrusive and distorted emotions. This can be addressed by asking questions, reframing, using logic, or changing diet. You can help a self-critical friend by sympathizing with their feelings without agreeing with them. Provide your own positive perspective and concrete examples of their worth to help reduce insecurity.
Energy Friends is a program in the Island Resort neighborhood designed to defray the expenses of living year-round in buildings that were really designed for summer vacations. Residents and registered guests can volunteer hours on community tasks in exchange for credit they can use for extra firewood beyond the allotment, portable propane tanks, kerosene, electricity from the neighborhood's solar net, etc. This is how Island Resort gets a lot of its winter work done in terms of clearing snow, hauling firewood, hanging/removing holiday lights, and so forth. The program is enormously popular. A number of other large communities have similar arrangements.
Exposure to the elements can kill people -- especially the homeless, children, elders, and other vulnerable folks. Know how to stay safe from the weather before, during, and after bouts of extreme cold.
siliconshaman and lone_cat. It also fills the "conversation" square in my 12-3-17 card for the genprompt_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by EdorFaus. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series and follows "Working Outside in the Elements." "Light Your Fire First"
It took a few days after the cold snap for
Ansel to arrange everything he wanted.
Then he knocked on the doorpost of
the gazebo and waited for Turq to answer.
The caney wriggled out of his bench den,
and a moment later Turq stood up. "Hi,"
he said. "What can I do for you?"
"Well, it's more about what I can do
for you," Ansel said. "I got a bit worried
about you when the weather turned so bad,
so I wanted to take some precautions."
"Like what?" Turq said warily.
Ansel remembered that Turq
had come through way too much
and needed careful handling.
"I think you'll like these ideas,
they're ways to stay warm,"
Ansel said. "Walk with me?"
"Okay," Turq said, and tagged along
as Ansel headed to the firepit.
"First, I want you to know that you
have free access to the yard and house,"
Ansel said. "That means you can light a fire,
sleep in the garage, come upstairs to crash
in the living room or the loft, whatever. We
don't want you to freeze just because it gets
cold when nobody's home to invite you in."
"Um ... thanks," Turq said, looking down.
"I don't want to impose, and I'm not good at
going indoors yet, but it's a nice thought."
He was probably going to freak over
the rest of the package, but they
could get to that in a minute.
"You know we keep plenty of
firewood here, and you can always
pick up more at the depot or ask Eli
to drop off a load," Ansel went on.
"Or pick up sticks in the woods,
yeah, I do that," Turq said, nodding.
No wonder the tinder and kindling buckets
always seemed to be full nowadays.
"Thank you," Ansel said as he headed for
the birdbath. "So the next thing is over here.
I bought an electric element to keep the water
thawed during times when the passive heating
and the solar unit aren't quite enough. This way
you'll always have drinking water, even if you
don't feel like switching to human form."
They had seen Turq drinking out of
the birdbath, both in caney and deer form.
The caney could easily put his front paws on
the rim to drink from the bowl, and the deer
actually had to lean down to reach it.
"Thanks," Turq said. "That'll help."
"I'm glad you like it," Ansel said.
"On to the gazebo goodies. First,
we have a soft heating pad for
your den; and second, we have
a plain one and foam insulation
just in case you would like to keep
your storage bench above freezing."
He brought those items out of his car
and then helped Turq to install them.
"These are really nice," Turq said.
"Now I can keep bottled water or
canned goods in here, without
worrying that they'll freeze."
"I'm glad you like them,"
Ansel said, returning to the car.
"There's more?" Turq said.
"Yep, this is the big surprise,"
Ansel said, hauling the box out
of the trunk. "What do you think?"
"A Hotwire?" Turq said as he
peered at the package. "Aren't
those ... kind of expensive?"
"Worth every penny," Ansel said
with relish. "Help me carry this to
the gazebo. When Janie gets home
from her current project, then she
can install the system for you."
"This is all way too much,"
Turq said, shuffling uneasily.
"There is no way you could
afford all this stuff for me."
"I didn't," Ansel said. "First,
back when I met your parents,
they asked to help with expenses,
and they were pretty insistent about
that. So I let them buy the heaters."
"Okay, that helps, but the rest of
this stuff is still a lot," Turq said.
"Second, some of it isn't just for you,"
Ansel continued. "We've been wanting
to get an electric heater for the birdbath,
and we have actually been saving up
for a Hotwire since last winter."
Which was before they met, so
Turq couldn't complain about that part.
"I don't know ..." Turq said, hesitating.
"Third, the Snowbirds chipped in
the last bit we needed for the Hotwire,"
Ansel said. "They keep a shared fund
from donations and a few paying customers."
"I shouldn't be dipping into that," Turq said.
"Don't they need it for shovels or whatever?"
"Equipment is a common use for that,
but I assure you, this is neither the first
nor the last time they've spent money
to keep someone warm," Ansel said.
"I guess I can take a look," Turq replied,
and turned his attention to the box.
Ansel helped him unpack it. First
came the power unit that would hang
inside the roof of the gazebo. Then came
an assortment of wires and heating elements
that they could assemble however desired.
"See, the big part gets bolted overhead,
and then we can run these other parts down
along the support posts and the base of
the benches," Ansel explained. "This
should keep the gazebo comfortable."
"It seems like great hardware," Turq said.
"It really is," Ansel said. "Did you know
that the manufacturer, Basque, likes to hire
gizmologists and Super-Intellects when they can?
It gives them an edge in the heating field. They
make some of the best gear on the market.
I've been wanting a Hotwire for years."
"I guess that's not so bad, then, if you
didn't buy it just for me," Turq said.
"I really don't want to be a burden."
"I'm trying not to push anything.
I just want you to have options,"
Ansel said. "With that in mind, if
you get yourself frostbitten because
you weren't paying attention or you
didn't want to be a bother, I'll be upset.
Not angry, just worried about you."
Turq ducked his head. "I'll try,"
he said. "I can't make promises.
It's been ... I've had ... it's hard."
"You've spent enough time
living rough that you're out of
the habit of trusting people or
taking advantage of civilization,"
Ansel guessed. "Understandable."
"I just ... feel like such a mooch,"
Turq said miserably. "I know that
you keep saying you don't see it
that way, but I can't help how I feel."
"Okay, let's work the problem," Ansel said.
"You could choose to do some extra chores
for me -- I live on a lake, there's no end of work
to be done here. You could do odd jobs for
my grandparents, who are always happy
to pay in food and sometimes in cash.
Or there's always Energy Friends."
"I'm getting better, so I could probably
manage some extra work," Turq said,
perking up. "What's Energy Friends?"
"That's a program in our neighborhood
where residents or registered guests can
volunteer hours on community tasks in
exchange for credits that you can redeem
in extra firewood beyond the basic allotment,
or electricity from our solar grid, and so on,"
Ansel explained. "It's very popular here."
"Okay, I can try that one too," Turq said.
"But then how do I give it to you to make up
for all the extra power I'll be using here?"
"You can either put it on your own account
and transfer it to me when you wish, or put it
straight into mine," Ansel said, then chuckled.
"We swap energy credits all the time around here.
If you go a whole year without surprise credits
popping up in your account, then you know
you're pretty unpopular, because that's rare."
"Why are you so stuck on this?"
Turq asked, tilting his head. "I mean,
it's nice and all, but ... I gotta wonder."
"Well, the first part is just basic safety,"
Ansel said. "In cold weather a good rule is
to light your fire first before doing anything else.
It is always more sensible to keep yourself warm
rather than trying to thaw yourself out later."
"And the other part?" Turq said.
Ansel sighed. "Around here, weather
rarely gets killing-cold so people aren't
well prepared for it," he said quietly.
"I've found a few who ... didn't survive,
and it's usually either homeless people
without shelter, elders in a power outage,
or kids who get lost. That always hurts."
"I'm sorry," Turq said. "I'm being selfish.
I kept thinking about all of my baggage,
and I didn't even stop to think about yours.
I don't want to make you worry about me."
"My baggage is not your problem," Ansel said.
"You have enough of your own to deal with."
Turq quirked a smile. "Isn't that what I
say to you, and you tell me it doesn't work
that way?" he said. "It matters to me, if I get
so caught up in my own issues that don't
notice when I'm stepping on a friend. I
don't want to be that guy, you know?"
"Okay," Ansel said. "Friends can
share problems. It's fine if we take
a little time to find our footing in this.
So what do you think, Turq?"
"I think," said Turq, "that I'm
warming up to the idea."
* * *
Notes:
"In cold weather a good rule is to light your fire first before doing anything else. It is always more sensible to keep yourself warm rather than trying to thaw yourself out later."
-- Mors Kochanski
Cold weather survival requires firestarting, shelter, food, and first aid capabilities.
This is the home of Officer Pink (Ansel Nicholson) which used to be part of a resort alongside a lake. When the resort closed, the rental cabins were parceled into individual lots and sold, while some of the resort's main facilities -- such as the lodge and the main boating dock -- were set aside as neighborhood resources. See the outside, lower level, and main level. Here you can see the caney door, protected by a flap of clear plastic, and to the right is part of the workshop area.
Ansel's garage office has a leather couch and loveseat along with a tapestry rocking chair around a large square coffee table. His desk and its chair are along the inside garage wall, not visible in this picture. The carpet is short tan-and-gray pile. One stone wall has been plastered over, but the other has been left bare and features a stone bench, fireplace, and entertainment center. Ansel also has a writing desk with bookshelves along the front and drawers underneath, which faces into the room. The chair is brown instead of black, to match the couch. A matching computer desk with a tall hutch of bookshelves stands against the interior wall.
This is the forest tapestry pillow on the loveseat.
The couch has a knit afghan draped over the back. The Fall Colors pattern is free but requires registering on the Lion Brand site. There is also a kit for sale which includes both the pattern and all the yarn it needs.
Ansel's bedroom has a subtle blend of masculine and feminine features. His bathroom is through the kitchen. Not visible from here, the kitchen is divided from the living room by a dining/buffet bar. Underneath the bar is a large hinged leaf that can be brought up to form a dining table. The wide end of the loft, which faces the lake, has a game room. The side of the loft is a home gym. The small end of the loft, which faces the driveway, has a futon with a matching coffee table that can be hidden by a pair of folding screens.
Ansel's version of this gazebo has built-in storage benches where the seats lift or doors open to access the cabinets underneath. The two end benches have end doors that open at the entrance of the gazebo. The two middle benches have seats that lift up. The center back bench has front doors.
Ansel's firepit is typical of the small ones found in many of the larger yards. It's a comfortable gathering spot for about a dozen people. You can build your own, and in fact this plan is very similar to ours -- although we put a brick pentacle in the bottom.
Residents can request delivery of firewood from a communal depot. This location has a small campfire circle for gatherings at the far side of the neighborhood from the auxiliary fire circle.
There are actually three ways to heat a birdbath or similar watering device: passive solar, solar panel, and electric. Passive solar relies on something to absorb heat during the day, costs no extra to make or run, and will prevent ice in mild winters; it may get unpleasantly warm in summer, and should be shaded then or replaced with a different device. Solar panels provide considerably more protection in moderately cold weather and work efficiently; but they cost more to buy and some can be damaged by extreme cold, so the element might need to be taken indoors then. Electric is the most durable and powerful, capable of keeping the water thawed no matter what, but it costs the most to run. Really high-end birdbaths use all three, alternating based on temperature, but they're expensive. A much cheaper version, albeit requiring manual switching, is to buy a passive birdbath with removable solar and electric elements that you put in when necessary.
Ansel has a birdbath made of heavy-duty black ceramic. The pedestal is hollow but filled with sand to hold more heat and add weight for stability. The bowl is deep to make it easier to keep the water thawed in winter. It has a solar heater for mild winter weather, and Ansel just added an electric element for frigid weather. The caney can easily put his forepaws on the rim to drink out of the bowl, and the deer actually needs to bend down to reach it.
A black basalt cobblestone in the center of the birdbath adds more thermal mass and gives birds a place to perch. Basalt has fantastic thermal mass, which is why it's so popular in T-America for paving sidewalks and plazas: it melts light snowfall, reducing the need to salt or shovel the area. Basalt is so good, you can boil water with these rocks.
Accessories for pets include heating pads for kennels and water bowls that stay above freezing. These are pretty cheap to run as small electric appliances go. Turq's parents bought one of the soft padded model to heat his den (which is already lined with foam) and one plain in case he wants to keep his storage cabinet above freezing, which he does. Insulation works great for maintaining desired temperatures. See instructions for making a foam travel cooler and a cat shelter.
In T-America, one of the leading producers is Basque, a company that hires gizmologists and Super-Intellects when it can find them. It specializes in heating units of all kinds, and they produce a full lineup of patio heaters. The Hotwire has a power core that is often hung overhead or placed in a firepit, from which extend narrow wires and/or wider heating elements. Put one in a gazebo and you can run heating elements down the sides or around the edge of the floor, which is far more efficient than chandelier or pedestal models since heat rises. Because Turq's gazebo has plastic sheeting loosely tacked over the open areas, it retains heat better than the open air. Since they're not trying to make it really warm, just above freezing, the heating isn't actually as expensive as Turq thinks.
Feelings can lie to you in many ways. PTSD often comes with intrusive and distorted emotions. This can be addressed by asking questions, reframing, using logic, or changing diet. You can help a self-critical friend by sympathizing with their feelings without agreeing with them. Provide your own positive perspective and concrete examples of their worth to help reduce insecurity.
Energy Friends is a program in the Island Resort neighborhood designed to defray the expenses of living year-round in buildings that were really designed for summer vacations. Residents and registered guests can volunteer hours on community tasks in exchange for credit they can use for extra firewood beyond the allotment, portable propane tanks, kerosene, electricity from the neighborhood's solar net, etc. This is how Island Resort gets a lot of its winter work done in terms of clearing snow, hauling firewood, hanging/removing holiday lights, and so forth. The program is enormously popular. A number of other large communities have similar arrangements.
Exposure to the elements can kill people -- especially the homeless, children, elders, and other vulnerable folks. Know how to stay safe from the weather before, during, and after bouts of extreme cold.
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Fixed!
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<3
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I did kind've one of those cat shelters for Major Tom before he came inside -- a big dog house with a smaller cardboard box inside, various blanket scraps & straw & such in between with a nice cat bed inside. He REALLY liked it.
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(Anonymous) 2020-05-26 07:54 pm (UTC)(link)And once Turq knows of Ansel's trauma his decency doesn't allow him to reject the gift of the Hotwire, even if it is for everyone.
Continuing onto the poem :)
~Angel
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