Hurricane prepared!

Going into hurricane season, you might be seeing a lot more shows and news about hurricane, and hurricane preparedness. I'm sure you're all sick and tired of seeing the same old information... Well, this is a lot of the same stuff. Not. Sorry.

If you're new to living in the south, or thinking of moving to the south, you really need to pay attention to all of the information they give you, it may just save your life, and your property.

Again, a lot of this is the same stuff, but as I live on the Gulf Coast (about half a mile from the beach.) I can actually give you good reasons, and my personal experiences to show you why these tips and tricks are something to pay attention to. So let's get started.

First and foremost: If you're planning on moving to the Coast, and more importantly, planning on buying a home and land down here, I have some additional things for you to add to your wish list.

1.  Look at the elevations in your area, If you can find a one story ranch on a plot of land that's at least 29 feet above sea level, JUMP ON IT. you'll be better off than having a low lying one story house what will fare well during a wind hurricane, but will flood in a surge hurricane, or a stilted house that will fare a surge hurricane but blow away in a wind hurricane. And yes, there are different types of hurricanes.
2. Look at the electrical grid. Seriously. If you can find that high elevation one story ranch on the same power grid as a hospital, that house is worth every penny you spend on it, No matter how the last owner decorated it. Hospital power is -always- brought back online first. 
3. If you do manage to find a one-story ranch on a plot of land that's 29 feet above sea level and is also on the hospital power grid, Talk to your neighbors, They can often times be helpful if you tell them that you're new to the Coast and have never experienced a hurricane before. 

Okay, so now you've got a home on the Coast, and you're going into hurricane season, What do you do?

There are many ways you can prepare for hurricane season. Let's start with the yard and the house itself.

The first one should be rather self-explanatory. 

Clean up your yard! The less stuff that you have laying around, the less likely you'll have random objects flying through your windows. There are different types of things that you should pay attention to in particular:

• Cutting dead limbs from trees. We have several trees in our yard, a magnolia and two Pecans, our poor pecan trees always end up with one or two dead looking limbs spread around it. These are dangerous during a windy storm, So we take a long limb saw and cut those limbs down. Bonus! Check your trees in general, if they're old and look like they could be leaning a little too far to one side, they probably need to go. The only... ONLY exception to this is spreading oaks. Seriously, don't touch spreading oaks, they're sacred down here.
• Keep junk out of your yard. You've seen Those houses, you know, the ones with car parts and old washing machines or grills just laying around? Yeah, that's a major storm hazard. This is a good time to look around for someone to collect that stuff. If you feel you need to keep parts for some project, make or buy a storage shed to store it in, and make sure it's as storm ready as your house. A.K.A: Don't be That house.
• Make any important repairs on your room/house that you need too now. It might seem counter-productive, but if it's not a bad storm you'd rather not have a little damage turn into a LOT of damage.And you might be able to get insurance money to repair that roof later, but the insurance company will ALWAYS get that money back out of you. They're not your friends.
• If you don't have storm shutters, INSTALL SOME. Geez, I cannot stress this enough. The old trick of taping up your glass does not work as well as you'd think. That trick is only supposed to keep glass from shattering and flying willy nilly into the house, but doesn't always work. They also make Hurricane resistant windows, so you can feel safer. Of course you can go the cheap route as well, and screw some plywood boards over your windows, No judgment here.
• Finally, if a storm impact is immanent, go outside and bring in any furniture, potted plants, and hanging baskets/wind chimes that you have outside. I hate having to remind people of this, but it's not cool getting a potted petunia though your backdoor.  

Okay, that's the cleaning and pre-housework that you can do, Now let's move into the shopping list. Yes, you have a shopping list. 

• Non-perishable foods. You ever see those movies, where people are going nuts, pulling everything off of the shelves in a grocery store, leaving shelves bare and sometimes damaged? THIS HAPPENS. Every. Freaking. Hurricane. Keep your sanity, and your wallet by shopping for canned foods now. And you get the added benefit of getting certain goods on sale as well! no price gouging here!
• Bottled water. Again, getting it last minute means sucker-punching that little old lady who's trying to mace you to get to that last 2 gallon bottle of water on the metal shelves. Don't do this, Go ahead and get your bottled water in advance, 1 gallon per person, per day. Here's a tip: WATER DOESN'T GO BAD! if you see a "best by" date on the bottle, that's the bottle, not the water inside. 
• Flashlights, Lanterns, and your NOAA hand-crank or battery powered radio. I've gradually moved from the old school battery powered lanterns to the solar/AC rechargeable ones meant for camping. You can order them easily enough on Amazon, or head over to a store that sells camping supplies. The radio is non-negotiable. You might think "Oh hey, I have a cell phone, there's an App for that! News flash; Cell towers loose power = you loose service = those apps are useless. Go ahead and go old-school for your peace of mind. Of course, after a hurricane, a solar-charger for phones/usb devices is pure gold. your friends and neighbors will want you to tell them you're safe, and  you can't do that if your phone is out. 
• Batteries! I cannot stress this enough, Pull out all of those flashlights, that radio, lanterns, and anything else that's battery powered that you'll be adding to your hurricane prep kit. Have enough batteries to power those for at least two weeks. You can also expect them to be one of the first things sold out at the stores. So get. Them. NOW!
• Bug repellent. If you've been down here for any length of time, you'll know that bugs are everywhere. Mosquitoes, Gnats, flies, Go ahead and get prepared to have them hovering around you for a week or two. Bonus tip; The original recipe Avon Skin So Soft is an excellent gnat repellent! Also, Most weather stations will tell you to not have candles, and to rely on battery powered lighting, And it's because there's no fire department available during a hurricane when your house catches on fire. If you must have a candle lit (we keep citronella around) Make sure you're keeping an eye on it. Also, it's hot enough outside without a candle bringing extra heat to the house. Just... trust me on this.
• Baby wipes! And Toilet Paper! Weird huh? But going 4 to 5 days without water is going to make you crazy stinky. And baby wipes are a decent fix for that five day funk. as for the Toilet paper... well, you should know what that's for.
• Propane and Charcoal. Nothing worse than a hurricane having come and gone and you're without power for one to two weeks, all that food in your fridge going bad and your stove not working to cook up some food. Having a grill, with fuel, will help you deal with some of that food going bad in your not-so-cold box. 
• Bonus round! We have a handy car battery DC-to-AC converter, when batteries run out, or you need AC to run a fan for a few minutes so you don't fall out, this is a lifesaver. Of course you could also put money down for a portable generator, but sometimes you just have a tighter budget. Like me. 

So your pantry is full, Now what?

•  Go ahead and take pictures of everything in your house, and keep it in a file with a handy price list, copies of receipts for more expensive items, and make sure your list is in depth. I hold no love for insurance companies. it's their job to help you get over your disaster, but they're going to find some way to get that money back, or not even giving you that money at all. Having a well thought out insurance plan handy will keep them from ripping you off.
• Any old photos, important medical and insurance files need to have digital copies made, and put into a portable HDD. This is simply a backup that will help cover your butt should the worst happen and you have to evacuate. Bonus: Take the hard copies and store them in water-proof baggies, and put into a water-proof portable safe (portable because you'll take this with you should you evacuate). This might seem like overkill, but there is no such thing when preparing for a disaster. 

So there's some other prep steps, Is that all? Nope.

Now you need to get your bug-out bag ready. What is a bug-out bag? It's what you have pre-packed should you need to "Bug Out" at the last second. Personally I have both an old overnight duffle bag, that I keep my clothing and toiletries in, and a $8 clearance backpack I got at walmart some time in the past, for all of my electronics and any paperwork that I need on me. 

So to get your bug-out bag ready, go ahead and pack underwear and socks. I've noticed that these two things, above all else, tend to be forgotten when you're packing to leave ASAP. Other items that get forgotten frequently are basic toiletries, pajamas, and the next two aren't thought about, but are necessary for cleanup:'

Work boots and Good working gloves. (Preferably rubber in case you get into live wires)

Oh, and if you evacuate? Best to have a K.I.W.Y on you. What's that? it's a quick medical reference that you can give the healthcare provider should you have a medical emergency when evacuated/in the middle of a disaster. Here's the Link. I keep mine in one of those water proof cellphone bags, along with my ID. If in an emergency situation, such as being swept away in a surge, It's tied around a loop of my jeans, and I'm identifiable. A little gruesome, I guess, but hurricanes ARE gruesome.

Another gruesome tip: Keep an ax in your attic. Strange  yes, I know, but if your house floods and you end up in your attic to escape it? You're essentially trapped. you'll drown if you can't punch through the roof. Again, gruesome, depressing, but now you know another thing you can expect. 

Now that's it for the pre-hurricane prep. Now for some story time.

We moved to the Gulf Coast in 1990, When we came down we brought our old, beat up Top-load deep freezer with us, not really thinking much about how awesome it was for living down here. I say this because between top-load and the front door style freezers, A top-load deep freezer wins out in keeping food cooler, longer. Simple Physics. Colder air tends to sink, whereas warmer air rises. This means that a front-door style freezer looses a lot of that cold air when you open it, so that the items in the top thaw out much faster. in a top-load, the cold air has no where to fall out of, so it stays in the bottom of the freezer, keeping itself cold. We also put 2 liter bottles of water (usually cleaned out soda bottles that we refill with water) in the bottom to let freeze. this effectively turns our freezer into an old fashioned "Ice box", which works like a refrigerator when the electric is out. 

Of course, one of my friends swears by MREs. Having been through Hurricane Katrina, I can easily say he has a valid point. they last for years, and it's a hot meal when you're starving. You can easily buy up some camping dehydrated meals that work in a pinch if you don't have enough food to get you through the powerless time after a hurricane. 

This next one might seem weird, but you'll thank me going though a hurricane. 

Fill your bathtub(s) with water right  before a storm hits. Also fill old 5 gallon buckets (if you have them) with water. the bathtub can be used as emergency clean water, and can also be used (along with those 5 gallon buckets) as a way to "flush" your toilet. Simply keep a smaller bucket next to your toilet, and when you need to flush, make sure there is water in the tank (that thing behind you that acts as a chair back). You can flush your toilet when there is water in it, if water pressure is out however, it won't refill on it's own like it normally does. So you use those buckets and that bathtub to refill the tank.

Thank me later. 

Also! right before a hurricane gets close to land, Fill up ALL your car gas tanks, and have an extra tank filled as backup. Gas stations can and WILL price gouge after a hurricane, as everyone needs gas to move around, and run generators after a hurricane. This is of course, why I don't use a generator. 

Bonus round!!! Right before a storm hits, it's a GOOD IDEA to turn off your utilities, especially Gas. This keeps your utility hookups from getting damaged, and your house from possibly burning down/exploding. Just... trust me on this.

Some more useful tips!

Use this opportunity to get to know your neighbors. You'll find that during a disaster most of them are willing to band together to keep everyone in good spirits/health. There will be trading of foods, street-wide cookouts, and sharing of other resources. 

If you plan to evacuate, Make that plan now. Pull out old paper maps, and mark which routes you plan to take. Have backup routes in place for when the state sanctioned evacuation routes are too congested from other states sending their people into your state. (I'm looking at YOU, Louisiana.) 

This next one was from my friend, Sarah,

Keep a list of your medications(which would be on your K.I.W.Y), and make sure you have them filled before you leave. Also check with your pharmacy, if you know where you're going when you evacuate, have your pharmacy send any prescriptions up to that city. Some substances can't have RX transfers, and in this case, call your doctor and let them know you may evacuate. Some will write an emergency RX before you leave. 

And finally, make sure that your bug-out-bag, safe with all of your (and your pet's)important info, and your HDD with pictures of everything you're leaving behind is in a quick-to-grab location. Again, GET TO KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS! if they're trustworthy, (and staying) they'll help keep an eye on your house for you when you're gone. With electric and cell service out, any security you have in your house will likely not work, and after a hurricane cities will not allow residents back into some areas. This makes prime time for looters to go out enforce.

I'd give a TL;DR, but to be honest, this is VERY FREAKING IMPORTANT!

And if this puts potential residents off of moving to the coast? Don't! No matter where you go in the country you're likely to deal with disasters. Be they Earthquakes, Blizzards, Tornadoes, Floods, or Hurricanes. Think of it this way, would you rather a disaster that you can see coming and get out of the way, or one that can literally pop up on top of you?

Memoirs of haircuts past

Seeing my hair, long and unruly, this morning had my memories pulling up old past thoughts.

My mother always cut my hair growing up. She was by no means a stylist, but as I never cared for styling my hair outside a braid or ponytail, it never bothered me.

My mother was also a bit of a prankster.
So I was trying to brush a huge knot out of my hair, as it was long and I hadn't learned to not wash it every day, and I was also complaining to my mom about cutting it. She asked if I was serious, I said yes.

Now also, my sister had some friends over to visit, and while they knew that my mom was a joker, they didn't know how far she would go with her pranks.

So there I was, braiding my hair, mom having walked out of the bathroom, when suddenly she had popped back, scissors in hand, and cut the braid from my head! It took a second for me to realise what had happened, but then I screamed. Mom laughed maniacally and ran thru the living room waving the braid of hair, me trailing after gripping what was left on my head(I did give permission, mind you!). My sister's friends started freaking out, thinking my mom had gone mad, they sat there, screaming, their hands sheltering their own heads of hair.

After they had calmed down (and me too, I was laughing so hard), mom finished trimming up my new cut, and we all laughed it off, the girls just only a tad bit weary of my mom for a long while after that.