Hurricane Preparedness

Just this evening on the local news they had a story about preparedness.  It is amazing how when you start to think about a subject sometimes information begins to pop out at you everywhere.  Tonight's news article was about being prepared for a hurricane.  Several years back we had a hurricane come this far inland and it devastated the city.  Trees were toppled over, electricity was out for weeks, and for several days our water was compromised.

I remember that time well.  We had been at the beach and we left early because we knew the hurricane was coming.  We came home to our house and when we arrived we found out that the track of the storm would likely go right over where we lived.  Not to worry.  Our house was stable, we were so far inland that we expected the storm to likely weaken, and we had necessary supplies.  We had about 24 hours to prepare for the storm.  We knew we would likely lose power as we often lost power in regular rainstorms and sometimes just with a stiff breeze.  We had plenty of candles, lanterns, and flashlights.  We secured anything not tied down in the yard and we cleaned out our rain gutters. We had plenty of food in the house and had the other essentials (milk, bread, toilet paper).   We woke early the next day (the day the storm was to come) and my husband suggested that he go out and get some ice.  He ran out and bought 80 lbs of ice and loaded it in the freezers.  We lost power early but didn't worry.  That evening we grilled on the screened porch in the pouring down rain.  We could hear tree limbs cracking and falling and we could hear some trees fall too.  We were safe though in our house.

The next morning we went out to inspect the damage.  Fortunately we didn't have much damage at all.  We had a few limbs fall and one cracked the top rung on our fence but that was all.  Our neighbors however fared much worse than we did.  There was significant damage due to downed trees.  There were power lines down everywhere.  Some roads were blocked by the trees and the power lines.  Travel was difficult in some places.  Since we didn't have power we thought we would go out to eat breakfast.  Apparently everyone else in the town had the same idea.  We went to a local grocery store when we realized that what few restaurants that were open were packed.  The grocery store was so crowded and everyone was buying food that was easy to eat or prepackaged meals.  We hadn't thought about everyone going out the day after and buying everything they could.  We weren't panicked and we ended up not buying anything but going back home.  We had food there.

Over then next couple days we learned quickly to cook most everything and anything on the grill.  We had plenty of propane and cast iron skillets and pots.  We cooked pancakes and eggs in the mornings, grilled cheese sandwiches at lunch, soups, spaghetti, and of course grilled meats and veggies for dinners.  We didn't have power for 14 days. In the process that ice that my husband had gotten at the last minute saved much of our food for a few days so we could eat more of it and not have to throw it out.  After 4 days or so we did have to throw out everything left in the freezer.  We then went to buying any refrigerated items on a daily basis.  We learned a lot about this event.

We love our cast iron cookware and while we use it almost daily we love that it can perform double duty and work on the grill in an emergency.

We learned that it is so helpful to have a plan from the start so you don't have to go out in the crowds immediately following a disaster.  We should have stayed home and not left for a few days.  But we were able to see first hand the crowds.  While these crowds on that day were civil with each other in another emergency they may not be so civil.  There could be riots, looting, and violence.  I had my children with me and that could have been a very dangerous situation.

Fast forward to today.  Am I ready for another hurricane?  I am not sure.  I need to work on this idea.

Here are some things I do know:
1. I feel confident that I can handle our basic needs for a few days with our supply of food in our house.  It isn't much, like months worth of food but it will get us through for several days if need be.
2. I feel confident that our supply of flashlights, candles, and lanterns will get us through for several days.  I need to check on our supply of extra batteries.
3.  I feel confident that we would be able to adequately prepare prior to an upcoming storm given a day or two notice that it is coming.
4.  I am not confident that we have additional tarps, plastic, duct tape, and other supplies if damage occurs to our house where we need to do some immediate temporary repairs to it.

The news article talks about stocking up on these items:
1. have at least 3 days of food and water that you can prepare or eat without power to cook it.
2. stock up on tarps, duct tape, plastic, etc for quick repairs.
3. have an emergency plan.
4. have at least 3 days of batteries for flashlights, lanterns, and other lighting sources.
5. have additional personal supplies like toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and hygiene items as well as prescription meds and pet food.

I am going to begin making a list of items that will help us be prepared for this kind of emergency.

A prepared mom purse

Last month I reorganized my purse.  I carry a bunch of junk in there and I wanted to lighten my load so to speak.  With preparedness in mind, I got rid of a bunch of stuff (mainly kids toys and such) and kept the important stuff.  I carry my purse pretty much everywhere I go so having it stocked with the right stuff seems to make sense to me.  Since we are in the height of summer I didn't include an extra pair of mittens or gloves as I would normally have in the winter.  I will add and subtract items as the seasons require.  Where I live we have all four seasons.

Here is what I have currently in my purse:
1. my wallet with emergency info.
2. cell phone with emergency info stored on it.
3. a mini first aid kit (neosporin spray, couple different sized bandaids, chapstick, travel size tube of hand lotion, alcohol pad)
4. Keys with a mini LED red light.
5. Small LED flashlight
6. couple different hair rubberbands
7. two packs of fruit chews (like gummy bears).

I used to have adult Tums and children's Tylenol chewable tabs.  My daughter tends to get headaches a lot and I carry them for her.  However, I have run out of both of these items and need to replace them.

I also carry my daily medications in my purse.  We were traveling a lot last month and they have just stayed in my purse since then.  I think it is a good idea to at least keep a few pills in there just in case I don't get home for some reason, but I don't think I need to keep the whole prescription in there.

Items I want to add to my purse:
1. kleenex
2. multi-purpose collapsable utility knife set (if anything a swiss army knife)
3. adult tylenol
4. fingernail clippers (I find I need these often and don't have them with me)
5. whistle

Can you think of anything else I need or should have?

Here are some other links I have found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0nc_aSAr8I

http://www.disaster-survival-guide.com/everyday-carry.html

http://theharriedhomemakerpreps.blogspot.com/2010/12/mommy-must-first-aid-kit-for-my-purse.html

http://theharriedhomemakerpreps.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-this-prepper-did-disney.html

An Argument for Preparedness

Why do I care?  Well, it is really simple.  When I gave birth to my first child, something happened inside of me.  I wanted to make sure that I was able to protect my child and provide for him to the very best of my ability.  I didn't want to be caught out at the mall and not have enough diapers, or an extra set of clothing.  I didn't want to go somewhere for the day and end up spending the night and not have enough food or clothing or blankets for my child.  My diaper bag was packed with everything that I could pretty much possibly need with him, including band-aids, extra washcloth, extra diapers, extra clothing, and more food than he could eat for twice the amount of time we were planning to be out.  Not only that but I tried to have extra items in the car (just in case) too.  My son liked to spit up a lot so I also often had an extra shirt for me in that bag too.

I ended up having three children in three years.  The diaper bag got bigger and with a few in diapers at the same time, I often had enough items in the diaper bag to get us through an entire weekend without worry, just in case...

I liked the feeling of being self-reliant, prepared for anything, and most of all, I loved the fact that when we went to my in-laws house and my child spit up all over themselves, I didn't need to borrow ANYTHING from my mother-in-law who would have LOVED to rub it in that I wasn't a great mom and I wasn't prepared for my children.  I didn't want to borrow one thing from that woman and I didn't want to have to ask her for anything.  (that is also a whole other story for another day.)  Most of all, I loved being ready for just about anything.

Over the years, we didn't need that diaper bag so much and eventually we didn't even need any extra items.  However, I found myself always packing an extra outfit for many outings that my family would take.  You just never know when that child of yours might decide to go into the river or water past their knees even when you told them not to.  You never know when your child might not make it to the bathroom even though they have been potty trained for years.  You never know when that bottle of ketchup in the restaurant might practically explode all over your child's shirt and pants.  So as we ran out the door, I found myself grabbing that extra pair of underwear, shirt and shorts that were sitting in the pile of clean laundry on the dryer. Many times I was so glad I did.

Now as my kids are verging on teenagehood, I want to do what I can to continue to be prepared for what comes down that pike.  I can't control everything but just the feeling of being able to provide for my family and help to keep them as safe as possible makes me feel good.

I know I have gone off topic a bit.  Back to my argument for being prepared.  My husband owns his own business.  In the winter he has a bit of a lull for about two months where he doesn't work hardly at all.  In your own business, no work equals no income.  This happens every month and it happens around and just after the holidays.  We have found that if we stock up when we can prior to the lull time, we can weather this time much better than if we don't.  So for us the economy of our family lends itself well to us having food storage as well as extra storage on items we use everyday.

Then we move to the external forces that surround us.  The American economy is terrible.  People are continuing to lose their jobs every day.  I haven't had a pay raise in 4 years and I actually took a pay cut 2 years ago.  We are living on wages of 2007.  If for some reason I were to lose my job we would be in quite a pickle.  Being prepared would help us out tremendously in those times.  Also there is the unknown.  Our country does a great job with national security but no one can be 100% sure that nothing will happen.  We haven't had war on our soil in a very long time but you never know.

Thus, being prepared is only beneficial.  And that is why I am actively working towards being as prepared as I can be.  I hope that you will too.

An Introduction

Hi, I hope that you happened on my blog because you are someone who is interested in being prepared. Prepared, no matter what.  Prepared for - well, most anything.

A bit about me.  Unfortunately, I am not going to tell you who I am or where I live because I want to keep this blog anonymous.  I have read and been told that once you begin to start preparedness you won't want anyone else to know who you are.  It helps protect you and your family.  I am a mom.  I work outside the house.  I am married and my kids are school-aged.

Several years ago I began to hear things in the news and I felt nervous about the state America is in.  Not only with our economy but also with our safety.  I began talking with my husband about it and he had similar feelings. We began to talk about emergency plans.  This led me to doing more research on the internet and led me to beginning our preparedness "training".  We have always wanted to be more self sufficient and prepared.  We didn't call it "preparedness training" though.  We didn't have those words.  Not yet.  About this time I also had a strange conversation with a friend who told me that Mormon's keep a year's supply of food in their homes "just in case...", she said.  I was very curious about this and did some more research.  I was also able to get my hands on a chart and list and eventually a food storage binder that helped to explain how they go about gathering their food storage.

Then I stopped.  Then I started back up.  Then I stopped again.  Last spring I started up again researching and gathering more information.

I now am at a point where I want to begin documenting my quest toward preparedness.  This blog will be more for me to keep the information that I gather together in one place as well as for others who want to read what it is like to accomplish this task.  Perhaps we can do this together.  Feel free to comment and make suggestions.  I know I need all the help I can get.  :)

Sparkly Cupcakes

I saw this big fat ribbon at Michaels the other day in the $1 discount bin outside of the store and I had to have it. I knew I wanted to make a card with it. I bought it and some other colors of big fat ribbon and came home and immediately made this card.

I love how the ribbon is polka dotted. I love the colors and the brown of the ribbon. I was not always a brown kind of person but over the years this color has grown on me. I used to hate how they made brown part of an infant color palette too but now I am loving how it goes so nicely with the pastel and bright colors. I played up the colors on the ribbon in the dots with matching cardstock. I had this cute cupcake bling in my stash. I got it in the $1 spot at Michaels a month or two back. I love that place (the $1 spot at Michaels). I love now that they are selling more scrappy stuff in that spot too now.

Back to the card. I put more dots around the borders to highlight the "dot" theme. It is blank inside but this card will be used as a birthday card.

Ugly Paper Challenge

participated in the Ugly Paper Challenge at Scrap Sisters Studio, a message board I love. Anyway, the challenge was to find, cut into 4x6 inch rectangles and send four of your ugliest papers to another participant.

Here is the "ugly" paper I received with a very cute card.

That card is so cute.

When I saw that grass paper I immediately thought that I could do an Easter card with the other papers as Easter Eggs "hiding" in the grass. This is what I came up with.

The idea was a good one but the execution wasn't so great. The papers that I was working with weren't really "Easter" colors which hurt the total effect of the card.

So I moved on and made a few other cards with the scraps of paper I had left. Separately the paper wasn't so bad, together they don't match.

This was a fun challenge.

Finished Sock with two toes!

I finished the sock last night that I had decided to put in an "afterthought heel". I am so glad I didn't chicken out and that I tried this method. So let's recap a bit. I was knitting a sock and I screwed up the heel because I had originally chickened out and opted to put in a regular heel but I messed it up so I ripped it all out. Then I knitted in a piece of waste yarn where the heel should go. I then just continued to knit the tube of the sock all the way to the toe.

Here is where we are now. Knitted tube and toe (real toe). In this picture you also see that I have two needles in the sock. I picked up the stitches just above and just below the waste yarn. It was easy because you can use the waste yarn as your guide so you don't pick up stitches in another row.



Then I used a small crochet hook and took out the waste yarn. I divided on side (can be top or bottom) onto two needles. Now I have three needles in and a "hole" but no loose strings. (how cool is that?? You aren't cutting any yarns)


You say, but you have a loose string right there on the bottom, I see it. Yes I do but that is the yarn I am beginning to knit with. One loose string.

Then you just knit another toe, exactly like you knit the first toe. Decrease 4 on every other round until you get to the last couple rounds of decreases and then you decrease every round (usually for me that is the last three rounds). Darn off like the toe of a sock, and voila, a heel.



How cool is that!!

Here are the things I like about this:
1. When using a stripe you have a full stripe. See how the stripe continues all around the sock even into the heel? A regular heel will give you unmatching rounds of stripes where you have to turn the heel. I never liked this look. This new heel (adding a toe) allows you to knit in the round and it makes the stripe flow better. Understand what I am saying???

2. It is pretty quick and not much counting or thought involved. Seriously, you knit a tube to the end then come back and add the extra toe for the heel. A toe is so much easier than a heel anyday. You can use this on patterned socks too because the pattern is never on the heel anyway so you don't have to worry about messing up the pattern.

3. You can do the heel and toe and cuff a different color and it will look so cool. Or even if you just to the heel in a different color. That would look fun too.

4. Did I say it was easy? No math involved???

Oh, and the sock fits great!

Okay, one little thing I didn't like about it. There is a part in the corners (side of your foot where the heel is connected) that the stitches get a bit stretched and it looks like a hole is there. I think you can fix this by making your stitches a bit tighter or picking up a row down, I think. I picked up a row down when I realized that I was going to have a "hole" and this seemed to help. I will perfect this problem on the next sock.