E.coli Came To Town

  There is a very specific reason that I haven't been posting much lately. And that is that I've been sick from drinking contaminated water. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I felt slightly "off" on Wednesday, spiked a fever by Thursday, and basically have more or less been a fixture on the couch since then. Missouri has been experiencing a very WET summer, complete with lots of flooding. I guess this flood water somehow got into my county's water supply... And now ALL of it is contaminated with E.coli. Yup. Thing is, I didn't know this until Saturday; and apparently all the town's had put down a "boil order" on all city water just the day or two before. While I definitely don't have E.coli, I am for sure feeling the effects of drinking bad water.

  Not having access to news is usually a great thing in my mind; keeps my stress levels down. LOL. But, I could see how it would be very handy to know what's going on in the town when we suddenly have to boil our water because of an E.coli breakout!

  This whole thing has been a bit of a shock for me. Things like this always seem to happen to "someone else", in "some other state". And yet here we are: my town alone has almost 30,000 people; and none of us can use our water unless we boil it first. For the record, boiled water tastes horrible. My husband assures me that it's better than water with iodine tablets in it, but that really doesn't make me enjoy my boiled water any more. 

  And then with the problem of now boiling all water, I'm going through my day thinking, "Wait, how do I wash dishes now? Can I still do that with tap water? And what about taking a shower?? Or doing laundry? Surely laundry will be fine, being washed in yucky water, right???" 

  It's a mess.

  I've been reading through a library book that's half about preserving/stocking food to be frugal, and half about preserving/stocking food in case of an emergency. Now, I have to admit, that up 'til now, I've been skipping over the emergency section. The idea of storing jugs of water made me think of my mother who stored multitudes of jugs in our spacious bathroom closet, many years ago... And then dumped every single one of those jugs out years later because they never got used. This E.coli thing is probably the first emergency/disaster I've experienced (and thankfully a mild one to start with!), so up until now the idea of "prepping" seemed like something for folks who really think zombies are coming. And yet now... Here I am, wishing I had been smart and stored away bottled water, disposable plates/bowls/ utensils, and bottles of hand sanitizer. Live and learn, folks. Live and learn...

  But if nothing else, this crisis has at least opened my eyes to the fact that emergency preparedness is a good thing, and need not be taken to a crazy level. 

  And now, methinks I need a nap. Being sick is no fun guys; stay away from dirty water.