Losing power for a day...no big deal. But losing power for several days in a row becomes a big deal. While I don't know that this is true, first hand, I do know it's true by virtue of experiences many of my friends living in the Midwest and east have shared with me.

The big dealness shows up when it's time to provide a meal for family. Sandwiches fill the bill for only so long. And after the passing of a day or so, the adventure of it all wears off and folks become truly hungry-yearning for a hot and filling meal.

This is where vintage kitchen tools can come in real handy. Not needing power to be able to do their jobs, they deliver. Here are basic vintage tools Linda, from Food Storage Moms (www.foodstoragemoms.com) suggests we'd be smart to have on hand.

She also mentions that even if you never lose your power (LUCKY you!), these tools can bring back nice memories of the days when our grandmas were doing their cooking and baking. See if you already have (and/or use) any of these:

BIG STAINLESS STEEL BOWL. You want them approximately 18 inches in diameter and you'll need one or two for making bread, cookies, and large salads. It's just good to have something like this that can accommodate large quantities of food. Folks who've been through natural disasters and outages all say that massive amounts of food are needed (you could very well be prepping meals not just for you and yours, but for the neighbors as well).

LARGE SOUP POT. For the same reasons you want a BIG stainless steel bowl...making soup or boiling water in large quantities could be on your agenda.

POTATO MASHER OR POTATO RICER. I've talked about these tools before. In truth, potatoes come out so much better when mashed by either of these than they do when mashed by a hand mixer. So power outage or not, either of these is a must have in my book.

CAST IRON GRIDDLE. Again, how nice to have something that doesn't need power to deliver. Pancakes, grilled cheese, bacon, etc. etc. etc. Folks will thank you!

HAND CRANKED EGG BEATER/MIXER. While using this entails lots more muscle and energy, how nice it would be to still be able to whip cream and egg whites.

HAND CAN OPENER. It'd be tough to manage without a can opener.

COFFE PERCOLATOR. Folks love (and often really NEED) their coffee. This seems especially true in trying situations, such as outages and disasters. So being able to accommodate this need for yourself and/or others is a blessing. And they do well over fires and on rocket or propane stoves.

POT HOLDERS. While this item never needs power to serve you, I close with this suggestion because I like the common senseness of it. Seems like you can't have too many, right? And if there's more than you doing the cooking and baking, having several can come in very handy!

Finally, we can't have too many friends. Especially friends like vintage kitchen tools...they deliver whether you have power or not!