Hurricane Preparedness

Have you heard? We on the east coast are about to be hit with a Cat 2 hurricane. Preparations are being made all over.

It's times like this that I'm glad that I only shop once a month. I have enough food and water to last a few days. I'm even storing pots of water on the stove and will fill the bathtub tomorrow. I'm waiting to do that until the last minute because Crash likes to jump in and run laps around the tub and I don't want to be awakened in the middle of the night by a splash and a wet cat running around.

While I was filling the pots with water I remembered the blackout back in 2003. One of my co-workers lived in downtown Manhattan and offered to let me and a few others stay. As soon as we got to her apartment, I told her to fill pots of water in case the power was out too long and we couldn't flush. The only problem we had that night was a result of dinner. She had used the stored water to cook the pasta. The next morning there was no water to flush. This time I'll know better.

I'm an optimist and can see the silver lining in this cloud. One of the items on my weekly to do list is to clean my patio. I've been looking at the pots of dead plants and telling myself that I had to do something about them. Well, today we were advised to batten down the hatches and remove anything that could be caught up in the wind. I tied the chairs to the table and emptied all the pots of dead plants and brought the rest in. As a bonus, when I was checking and removing the dead stems of basil, I found some new sprouts. What a pleasant surprise.

My next project will be to make ice cubes and store them in the freezer in case we lose power. The extra ice will keep the freezer cold. Guess I better grind some coffee beans. Can't be without my coffee.

I've started packing a bag in case of evacuation and this has Crash and Burn a little upset. They think I'm leaving them. If I have to leave, they're coming with me.

I think I'll be able to ride this storm out.