Pictures of grocery store cleaned out by people desperately trying to buy supplies at the last minute are all over the 'Net.
What did your local grocery store look like?
I didn't go to the store...had plenty of food and water here and had plenty of things to do before the storm hit.
I am in El Paso and we have had black-outs, water mains bursting and natural gas shortages here, along with pipes freezing, fires, etc. to keep the city busy.
None of the above has affected my household yet and I am holding onto hope that we won't be affected.
BUT...before the storm hit, I prepared.
First and foremost, actually listen to your local weather report or look it up online. Forewarned is fore-armed for whatever comes your way!
Two days before the cold front hit, I washed and dried all the extra blankets we had in storage and placed them in the various bedrooms for easy access.
I put a flashlight beside everyones bed on the night stands.
I placed candles around the house in locations I thought would be appropriate.I put a pack of matches in each location as well!
I put extra straw in the goat pens and chicken coop so the livestock could stay warm.
I did buy a couple of extra bags of charcoal for the grill and positioned the grill on the back patio just in case we ended up having to cook on it.
Although we have plenty of stored water, I bottled up more---just in case.
In case the power went out, I put a cooler on the back patio near the door so I could put frozen foods or refrigerated food in it if need be.
Baked some bread and cookies in case we lost our gas.
Made sure all household members had ample sweaters, sweatshirts and long sleeved shirts clean and ready. Ditto for gloves and hats and socks.
By the time the snow started to fall here, I felt that I had done everything I could with my resources to prepare. We have stayed warm and well fed, as has our livestock.
Look at the word PREPARE.
PRE means "in advance of"....
We should all PREpare for situations we are forewarned about.
The economy is bad, so we should all PREpare for the possibility of losing employment by paying off debt and saving a *safety cushion* of funds "just in case".
A storm is coming so we should all PREpare for the possibility that we may lose electricity, gas and water.
If you have minimal resources, prepare as best you can...even some preparation is better than none!
Stay warm!
It's pretty sad that so many people "prepare" for the storm just a day or so in advance. I guess I shouldn't knock those that did manage to get some supplies just before the storm hit, as something is better than nothing, but what happens when there is NO warning?
ReplyDeleteI agree, Carolyn. Even if I had done absolutely NOTHING to prepare for this particular storm...I already had ample supplies and water to see me through it. I bottled extra water because doing so made ME feel better, lol!
ReplyDeleteI have seen what happens when people that have ample warning do absolutely NOTHING, I lived on the Gulf Coast when Hurricane Ike hit.
It is sad when people don't prepare. They buy oodles of electronic gadgets and get their nails done every week, but don't even have a weeks worth of food in their cupboards....so sad.
We don't get storms like you are having (somewhat to my dismay, I love the thought of hunkering down and waiting it out), however, we are in a Tsunami/Earthquake zone so I've been "prepared" for quite a while. Too many people don't think about what could happen... It's sad, but for those of us who are prepared, it's just a little break in a busy life, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I have sorta enjoyed the peace and quiet! The kids have been home from school and we have watched some movies, played board games and such and they have helped with the daily chores.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what our local market shelves look like,because i too am pretty well prepared. and don't need to go rushing out to the store.That feels pretty good. Blessings jane. they are giving ice and snow here again,oh well.
ReplyDeleteI have things more or less ready to go at any given time - I made sure all the firewood baskets were loaded and in the house, brought in a few extra logs, and like you, put up a little extra 'just in case' water. I gave the animals more hay, we brought the barn cat in, and then enjoyed a warm house, plenty to eat and do, and family time together. :)
ReplyDeleteI never could understand the mentality of those who have been born and raised in an area that receives adverse weather and yet they fail to be prepared or crash prepare at the last minute. I was driving truck and had to rescue a man who left for work in his remote start Benz in nothing but his suit. His mentality was he would only walk from the house to the car in the garage and from the car in the parking garage that was under his office building. He knew it was snowing when he left, yet he had nothing at all to prepare for his car dying on him. Interstate closed, dead car, no heat and no smarts.
ReplyDeleteI dont see why there should ever bee a mad run for batteries, flashlights, food and such right before a storm. This that do it and end up without, frankly deserved going without. I guess I was just raised better than that but I was also raised that no matter how stupid I feel these people are, you help out when you can.
homestead-hearth.com (not porn) lol
LOL! It looked like we might have gotten snowed in for a couple days. My last minute prep involved stopping at the corner gas station for a liter of coke. With two teenagers cooped up with us, I figured Pelenaka and I might need something to mix with our liquor. anything else we could possibly need we had on hand. I had a pleasant evening with a bourbon and coke in hand watching the snow fall. It was beautiful. All the nieghbors were freaking out. We just sat and watched without a worry in the world.
ReplyDeleteLove reading this and all the comments.
ReplyDeleteWe left the house on Tuesday before the storm moved in only to get some frozen snake food for hubby's pet snake,can't really stock up on those.LOL.
We had a nice roast for dinner,watched movies,and let the storm do it's thing...waited until yesterday to even leave the house again.
I simply do not understand why people don't plan ahead,even a little bit.
Living on the Texas coast and being in a hurricane prone area...I stay pretty well prepared for whatever may come about!
ReplyDeleteFinally got my 85 year old Mom to start thinking about her pantry a bit more! Always had a full larder, but a lot of it was NOT designed for long term storage!
Weather is a lot nicer to watch when you know all else is covered!