In Texas we have a lot of storms during the year with only winter sparing us any strong storms.  Some of the storms turn severe and the result is we have power outages.  Some of the power outages may last a few hours, some longer if a hurricane comes on shore and knocks out power for weeks at a time.  But most of the time here in Central Texas we get your garden variety thunderstorms.  While we need the rain, the high wind and lightning not so much.  They almost always cause power outages.  I finally found some lighting options to use that really made a difference for me during our last power failure.  During one particularly bad storm last year I didn’t have the correct size batteries for my one and only large flashlight nor any 6v for my camping lantern.  So as I was sitting there in candle light, while flattering, not very good for trying to find something to do to entertain myself, like read or work on a craft.  So I thought, I have solar yard lights, I will bring them inside.  I also brought in a couple of small planters so I could stick the landscape lights in.

Now granted, it looked a little funny but it illuminated my living room enough so that I didn’t feel like I was trying to function in low light.  In bringing in my solar powered landscape lights I was able to blow out the candles and not feel like I was being smothered with candle fragrance.  One candle is nice, ten is overpowering.

My power was restored within 4 hours so it wasn’t too bad except it was hot and in Central Texas it is really hot during the summer months.  Think 105 degrees and 100 percent humidity during the day and the evenings even with rain in the area rarely cooled down below 90.   Makes you wish you had a generator to run at least a fan and move some air around.

The next day I decided to do some research and looked around on the web at various emergency lanterns.  I wanted to be prepared for the next outage whether it was next week, next month or next year.  As much as I liked the idea of my solar yard lights, it wasn’t a practical thing to have to do each time we had a power outage, after all there was a storm raging and running out in the rain and lightning to grab some landscape lighting wasn’t the best plan.   I needed to have something handy that batteries would either last a long time in, was rechargeable and didn’t need batteries at all.

Needless to say, I found a lot of cool things.  I have several of the shaker kinds of flashlights scattered around the house.  I even have one in all of the bathroom cabinets, who wants to be caught on the toilet when the lights go out and you can’t see a thing.  Not a good plan at all.  But now with this type of flashlight, I don’t have to worry about it anymore.  There are some great benefits such as no battery or bulb replacement necessary, a good shake of a minute or more and the light can last up to an hour and a half.  Then when the light begins to dim all you have to do is shake, shake, shake and let there be light.  These wonderful little flashlights are both water-proof and shock proof.  Come to think of it, these would make great stocking stuffers or even a gift for the hard to buy for person on your list.

Another thing that would make a great gift that I found while doing my research was the crank type emergency radios, some even had built in emergency lighting.  How cool is that?  I can crank the emergency radio and listen to weather channels, entertainment channels, news channels and have light too.  Plus there are even models that will charge your cell phone also.  Some of the models can be charged with the hand crank or even solar power.  You are never without light or news.  I think I will buy one for each of my loved ones for a Christmas gift.  I really think everyone should be prepared for any type of power outage whether it is from a garden variety thunderstorm, tornado, heavy snowflall or a hurricane.   What a great gift, knowing your friend or family member can stay informed and safe during uncomfortable times.Think about one for the college student who is attending school in another city, they can stay informed about any approaching storms or the situation and they can charge their cell phones and phone home to let us know they are ok.