Limes are an essential to any good party. You are off to a rocking good start.

Hey, *I* am the first comment!

I'm going to an earthquake BBQ party tonight in the Bay Area. We up north are celebrating these geological wonders too! Cause you know, nothing says 'party' like an impending land wave.

I am dying here....you have glass Perrier bottles for your water supply. You are a crack up.

Limes are essential....if nothing else you can suck them and keep yourself entertained by looking at your face in the mirror if the big one does hit while they're still around.

Have a great party!

Have an earthquake party - bust out your kit, tell your guests to live it up, then replenish everything on Sunday. Simple! :)

I think it's time for me to upgrade the hurricane kit a la Crazy Aunt Purl!

My First Comment Ever On Your Blog, Laurie: you need 2 things for a good party: food and drink. It does not matter a whit if you 1) prepare these yourself or 2) buy them or 3) press your friends into bringing them. I say, it's your house and your birthday, go with option 3.

This idea is not new to you, I realize, but I am trying to reinforce here. You have limes! What more could anyone want?

Oh yeah...earthquakes. I've lived in L.A. all my life (a very LONG TIME). In fact, my Mother tells me that there was an earthquake the day after I was born. She hopped outta that hospital bed quickly so she could dive under it!

When you're a Left Coast native you learn not to stack anything higher that 2 inches, never hang anything breakable on the wall over your bed and you keep your tennies next to the bed in case you have to walk over all those broken dishes in the kitchen. During the last BIG ONE...when was it? '91 or '92? I had this tray of various types of bottled hot sauce on top of my fridge. After the quake, my linoleum was permanently stained a pinkish tone and my kitchen smelled like a sizzling fajita factory. Lotsa fun.

As long as you're prepared like our Crazy Auntie, everything will be fine. It's all about Rock 'n Roll out here in California!

Need to add Mudslide mix to your kit Purl baby, just like we break out the New Orleans Pat O'Brien's Hurricane mix when a big one is supposed to hit here.

Tang and Vodka- love that. You are even prepared for disasters on the moon, which is genius. And! I adore you for having Coke, Diet Coke, and Vanilla Coke. They are not the same thing, and who knows which flavor you'll want?

I'm with you on the hoarding stuff. I love knowing that there is always more toilet paper to be had, even if you have to go to basement to get it.

I want to come to your party!! I'll bring a birthday present. I'll bring a bottle of something to drink. I'll bring my knitting!

ok I literally cracked my side, when I read the liberals are causing the earthquakes ....ROTFLOL

I also wish I could come to your party! It is going to be great, don't fret!

Okay, so I'm neurotic to, although since I live on the East Coast, my emergency kit is not specific to one disaster (tornado, terrorism, hurricane, all come to mind)! And yes, there is one in my house as well as one in my car, because I am FEMA, according to my husband! Don't forget to add cat litter to the prepared-ness, too -- it's a key factor!

And that was a small novel on your comments page. I'm not only delurking, but being totally nutso!

Earthquake? I guess we're all coming to Casa de Tia Perl [quien es Loca!]. Could we have the Stitch N Bitch meeting there over tall glasses of vodka and Tang?

Too funny! Believe me, you are NOT ALONE in being prepared for DISASTER! I live on the East Coast and my emergency kit is almost identical to yours (we have the hurricane and tornado scares in the summer and the ice storm w/power outages all winter). The only thing I suggest you add is your knitting! You'll need something to do with your hands (in between sips of wine and drags off cigs) and it may help calm you some. Throw some extra balls of yarn and spare needles and a pattern or two and you'll be all set!

As for the party, I completely agree with Cathy - break out the earthquake kit for your party and then replinish it Sunday am (and hope the big one isn't late Saturday night/early Sunday am)! ;}

Hell, I saw the picture and figured the C-Cells were for your Hello Kitty vibrator...

Looking at your map of California freaks me out a little. It occurs to me that the Bay Area is the only spot not to have gotten a quake in the last week, and I live DIRECTLY on top of the Hayward Fault. Aaaaaiiiee!

I'm envious of your earthquake kit. If there was knitting in it, it'd be perfect.

Happy B-day, Laurie! I'm sorry I can't be there, but I'm looking forward to seeing the photos on Sunday, or maybe Monday if you need an extra day to recover :)

As for the earthquakes, what the heck is with them all hitting as soon as I leave? I think it's the state's averse reaction to my absence.

Happy B-day, Laurie! I'm sorry I can't be there, but I'm looking forward to seeing the photos on Sunday, or maybe Monday if you need an extra day to recover :)

As for the earthquakes, what the heck is with them all hitting as soon as I leave? I think it's the state's averse reaction to my absence.

:::::Bowing down to Aunt Purls emergency kit:::::
I think your earthquake preparedness kit is awesome.
Especially considering not only have we been having earthquakes up & down the state of California but all up & down the west coasts of North AND South America from Alaskas Aleutian Islands to Chile.
Im in Sacramentos (pretty far inland) and am a little freaked.

OH! And I do believe I have a packet of Pat OBriens Hurricane Mix from a trip I took to New Orleans I can send you to add to your earthquake kit.

I can't believe that you wrap your emergency alcohol supply in bubblewrap. That may be the best thing I've heard all week - simply brilliant.

I wish I had the storage space to do it myself, although I'm pretty safe from earthquakes here in Boston. Still, one can't be too careful....

Now *that* is an earthquake kit. Apparently, we have an earthquake kit. And by "we", I mean K. And by "apparently", I mean that I have never seen it. It's in a cabinet. A padlocked cabinet. In the subterranean garage. Which means that when the Big One hits, and our building collapses, we will be digging down through three flattened stories to the kit. On the plus side, the collapsing building will probably take care of the padlock for us.

So as long as YOU are set for the BIG ONE, I won't have to worry about THE END coming. Please keep everything stocked. Thank you.

You should sell your earthquake kits. I'd buy one!

Have a great party tomorrow.

this is my theory on all these earthquakes...california is finally breaking off from the US and get this!! we will become our own nation and do you know what that means????? no more george w!!!!!!!!! but does that mean we get stuck w/ arnold? whatever, we'll have a revolt and california will become the greatest nation in the world because well, we already have the world's 3rd largest economy!!! so that is my theory and i'm stickin to it!

I think you're pushing it a bit with that last caption. I hope for your sake it isn't an earthquake party!

Mmm, smoked oysters. If there is an earthquake while we're partying, can we break into those?

And don't worry about the food -- the party people will provide. I'm bringing the candy crack brownies.

And if we have an earthquake, I'm s**t-out of luck. I have some canned foods (soup, beans & the like) but only have a (broken) electric can-opener. So, when the Big One hits, expect me (and husband, 2 cats and a surly turtle) on your doorstep. I'll bring wine (if my bottles aren't broken -- no bubble wrap).

hell's bells, laurie, Eureka is a thousand miles from you. it might as well be on a different continent! dude!

Heh, i say that from the relative hubris of San Francisco, where we didn't feel a damn thing all week.

I love, love, love your earthquake kit. Mine consists of one thing: hope. And now, directions to your house.

If it makes you feel any more justified, we just ran out of toilet paper.

I think you should hold a "We survived the latest 4 earthquakes and it's my birthday damn it" party. That's not to say you should break into your kit, though. I can feel the aversion to that idea from all the way up here in San Jose. Go out a get duplicate kit items, and bust out the charcoal grill, Tang and vodka, and canned food! Any leftovers can go directly to supplement your kit.

However, also tempting is Drew's option 3. It *is* your birthday and everyone attending (and a lot of us internet stalkers who aren't attending) love you and won't care one whit if they have to bring the supplies.

Meanwhile, I'll be feverishly preparing for the Bay Area's impending Big One, thanks to Shelly's above assessment of the California earthquake situation and my resulting paranoia.

Holy crap, it must totally be a cancer thing, cuz I hoard paper products and bathroom toiletrees like NO tomorrow. It's insane. It really really is. I have 3 tubes of toothpaste in my closet and I'm the ONLY one in the house. WTF!

Happy Birthday, Laurie!

You forgot duct tape. An essential to any "preparedness disaster" (terrorism, earthquake, tornado...) It can be used to gag those who are annoyingly chipper about the whole thing, or to repair shoes (when you have to hike home because the overpasses/underpasses have collapsed) or....something. Duct tape is good for everything, lol.

I'm on the Hayward fault too and I haven't felt a single quake this week. The Giants and the A's? 49'ers and the Raiders? Whoever was playing the last time. They're not playing both at home anytime soon are they?

We have a hurricane kit. Batteries, battery powered tv, radio, lights. Butane stove and butane, charcol, matches, toilet paper... ('cause I'll do without many things..but TP ain't one of them.) cat litter, cat food, dog food, a week's supply of meds (ready at all times), canned food, plastic water carriers (cause hurricanes come with prior warnings, unlike earthquakes), candles, more food, blankets, towels, airbed, air pump, cages for the critters, ('cause we ain't leaving without'm) and oh... more food. Alas, no booze....

See? you're not the only one to head off disaster thru preparation.

CAT LITTER and ALCOHOL. you forgot the most important items.

Living in south florida (hurricanes/flooding) and living in SoCal(earthquake/tsunami leading to flooding) is similar in preparation. TP, cat food, CAT LITTER, alcohol (I bought a case of pinot grigio), peanut butter, propane for the gas grill to cook all the neighbors food stuffs that have defrosted when we lost power the night before.

I can't believe your emergency kit doesnt include any knitting.

I need a kit, after the tsumani warning I realized the only thing I had prepared was the animal stuff (leashes/cat box/food) otherwise I was effed. We left Laguna and drove up to higher land, I then realized I didn't have a bra on and I was wearing flipflops. I suck at the preparedness game, I need to take lessons from you.

Yeah, I was going to mention that: cat litter. If there's actually a quake you won't want to make the cats rough it outside. Oh, and something to make a honeypot/portapotty. The water supply might be seriously disrupted so maybe no flush. (Something that seals tightly!) Otherwise that is one hell of an earthquake kit.

I bought my husband one of those wind-up flashlight/radio/cell phone-digital camera charger for Christmas last year. For some reason, those suckers are cheaper in the UK but I'm sure it will be handy during a natural disaster.

Can I please come to your Earthquake Party, if it ever happens? I was born in California, and survived an Earthquake, my mother reports.

She promptly fled California back to Colorado, where dammit, we do not have Earthquakes. Tornados, yes. Earthquakes, not really.

You forgot to tell us what's in the car emergency kit? and why don't you have tang and vodka at the office?

I am in awe. I think you may be my boyfriend's long lost sister. You can imagine the howls of laughter when, after about a year of living together, he sheepishly pulled me into the closet in the guest bedroom (I know it's odd that I never went in there in a year) and pulled out a full on survival kit.

It's in a duffel bag that would fit *ME*, and contains such items as MREs, 5 gallons of water (in a colapsable container), flashlight with batteries, water purification tablets, propane, a stove, canned goods, duct tape, plastic bags, a HUGE utility knife thing, water proof matches, a wind proof lighter and card games. And those are just the things that come to my mind right now. Because the bag? Huge. And stuffed FULL.

After I stopped laughing hysterically, and got over the paranoia that rubs off when you realize you are in love with someone who is paranoid, I promptly added kitty litter and food, vodka and tequila (with plastic shot glasses from college) and twinkies.

Because you know twinkies would survive a nuclear holocaust.

Preparedness-yes. Love it, love it, love it.

When I lived in New England, I drove around with kitty litter & blankets in the car (in case I got stuck in a snow drift - the blanket was for me, the kitty litter was for traction). When I moved to LA, I drove around with a gallon jug of water & my tennis shoes in the car. No way was I getting caught in The Big One in my "take me seriously or lie bleeding in my wake" pumps.

Now I live in Florida. Hurricanes. It is all about the hurricanes. Meals, first-aid kit, toilet paper, bleach, candles & matches, tarps, rope, water, crank radio, hand-powered flashlight, cards & dominos so we can amuse ourselves without electricity. Towels (because when a Category 4 blows a tree branch through your window during the rain storm, there is going to be some water to mop up). Grill and charcoal, plus two campstoves with fuel. Contractor-strength garbage bags, the good heavy rubber gloves. As soon as I figure out what kind of cell phone I have, I'm buying a solar recharger for it, and then I will be free of batteries forever!

Your idea of bubble-wrapping the alcohol is *genius*. And I totally support you about the emergency snacks ... I mean, if a Category 4 blows a tree into my house and everything gets wet, I am definitely going to need a crispy goodness in my life. I just can't believe that I don't have any emergency knitting.

Tang and vodka! That's hilarious! Is that any good?

My first post after weeks and weeks of laughing to myself. Excuse the following - I live in the Bay Area so wine is important. Please remove the wine from the bubble wrap because it absolutely will not store wine at the right temperature. Since you are so fond of snail mail, and I have so many styrofoam wine packing containers, I will send some to you to replace the bubble wrap...I have no preparedness kit because I am a Pisces and these things will take care of themselves without activity on my part.

You've got toilet paper, but what about that cat LITTER?

What? No yarn and needles in the disaster kit? How will you knit mushroom hats for all the survivors???

Oh - and get yourself some graham crackers to go with the chocolate and marshmallows for an instant dessert! S'mores made without electricity have no calories!

Umm, err, I think you forgot something really important about the cats. After the eating comes the pooping. Have you got a couple of tons of kitty litter?
Partee partee partee!

ah, but do you replace the water every 6 months to guard against stagnation? And it's not so much that the tsunami never arrived, it's just that it arrived 12 hours north of you, and was approximately 1 centemeter high.

That's great! Too bad I live in Ohio...but I'm thinking about a tornado-kit just in case! (or just re-naming the cases of beer in my basement to Tornade-kit Beer)

There are two things I would say to add to your kit. A) The most important one being KNITTING. B) Baby wipes. Why baby wipes you say? Because if there is no power and therefore no water for baths and showers then you will be dirty. It's not a perfect solution for on-the-go cleanliness but trust me, even wiping your hands after being gross for a day can help your state of mind. And you can clean all other kinds of things with them - wipe down the dishes, kitty bowls, etc. Target sells them in a ginormous box for under ten bucks. (Cause I know you like Target) :) I will keep my fingers crossed that neither earthquake nor tsunami comes tomorrow.

Wish I could come to the party, I know it will be a big success.

Sadly, your emergency kit supplies are better than the contents of my cupboards and refrigerator on a normal day.

LOL, I love that you call it "tin foil" - so do I, that's what it is, for feck's sake! Aluminum? What's that? It's AluminIum!!! I'm from Ireland, no one here in the US understands me when I speak, LOL!

Happy Birthday! I see the limes, but where is the tequila?

Your emergency kit is much better than mine - which consists of a flash light and some duct tape (for that chemical/biological attack - since we don't get earthquakes here in NYC) - I am going to bubble wrap the vodka!

I love it that you hoard things. I am exactly the same way except it's not for a survival kit. I hoard these kind of things all the time. Cause after all, you'll always need more toilet paper or kitty litter eventually. This drives Hubbie crazy, but now I can prove to him that it isn't just me!

I know you don't crochet (yet *grin*), but have you seen the Kitty Weed Cat Toy pattern at crochetme.com? The pic of the cat alone is worth looking, not to mention the *ahem* strange shape of the toy :)

Impressed by your kit! I have no kit. What kind of kit do you need for volcanoes anyway? Since that is what we got here in Portland. Or at least close to here...you can see St. Helens on a clear day...is that close??

Course, like Margaret above, I am a Pisces and we do kinda not worry about that kind of stuff. I figure that if I ain't got it in my house already...I probably don't need it.

Also? When I lived in Colorado (prime tornado and hail country) I didn't have a kit. It took me moving to Portland for a tornado to hit the neighborhood I lived in.

So I figure...wherever I'm at? Probably the safest place to be. It's when I move the neighbors need to be worried.

What I want to know is...what are you going to do with rubber gloves after "the big one"?

i LOVE LOVE LOVE that tang and vodka are on your survival list. nothing makes me laugh harder than a ghetto screwdriver. also, buying in bulk? i have a membership to BJ's wholesale club solely to buy giant boxes of breakfast hot pockets and 700-count boxes of tampons. it's not like i won't need them.

Your blog kills me - thanks for the laughter. Will be here often.
-Suz, who's on the Right coast of NC.

Vodka is an obvious choice for an emergency kit really. If it makes you feel any better, my bf heard about the earthquakes and said "It's finally going to happen. California's sinking into the ocean." Oh, that didn't help?? :)

ROFLOL You got Ray-O-Vac batteries. Their North American Headquarters is less than a mile from my house. I drive down Ray-O-Vac Drive every day.

Add one of those air horns to your kit. You know, just in case they can't find you under the collapsed cat hair. (jk!)

My first and only earthquake experience was shortly after I moved to Sacramento. A small (5.something) earthquake hit in the Sierras somewhere and we felt it, partly because we were in an old Victorian that was up on stilts and swayed when you BREATHED. Add an earthquake to the mix and you have a gently swaying home. It was kind of like being a boat. I happened to be on AIM with my father at the time (in Oklahoma where our only concern is getting to the fraidy hole fast enough when the tornader comes ripping through town). Here is a recap of our conversation:

Me: Dad! We just had an earthquake! It was so COOL!

Dad: OH MY GOD MOVE HOME NOW MOVE HOME NOW.

Me: No! It was so small and the house was swaying and IT WAS SO COOL.

Dad: OH MY GOD, CHILD. PACK YOUR SHIT AND COME HOME NOW YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FROM THE EARTHQUAKE.

Me: Daddy, it's OVER! We checked on the internet and it was small and far away!

Dad: OH MY GOD WE ONLY HAVE TORNADOS YOU CAN PREDICT TORNADOS. EARTHQUAKES ARE GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!

He is also a Republican. Coincidence?

Yooo hooo - Auntie Purl? Are you okaaa-aaaay?

Happy Birthday!!!!

BTW - did you survive the party? Do you need a survival kit to survive the survivial kit party?

Lovens,
Your Elf

Happy birthday! I am on tenterhooks waiting to hear about the party! Do the cats like parties?

I hope the party was a complete success . . . or you at least got a really good story out of it. :D

BTW, you should also have a kit in your car, and it should include a pair of sturdy shoes (no sandals). Also, if "the big one"hits, you should be prepared to survive on your own (no new supplies from stores, roads could be closed), so have enough to last a couple weeks. And if you take medicine daily, don't let the supply run low. When I was in So Cal I'd have enough cat food for a month. For yourself, you need food that doesn't need to be cooked. I would have crackers, cereal, tuna, etc.

You are one funny chick!!! Happy Birthday!!!

How about something to KNIT? I made a list on my blog as well and I can see I have to add a few things. edna