Monday, October 31, 2005
Post Wilma - October 31, 2005
Post Wilma October 31
Because of the hurricane (Wilma that hit us a week ago today) I have been unable to post. I have had no electricity, no phones, no internet. I am posting from work right now because here there is power and phone and internet access.
We stayed at home for the storm, my son, my husband,my daughter and I .
We lost power at 8:00 a.m. but I was up early at 6 a.m. the day of, in anticipation of the power outage I was sure to experience and I made coffee.
Anticipation is the key to success in storms, that and always being prepared for the worst that can happen. Chances are it won't, but one must be prepared in case it does.
It wasn't terrible. We didn't huddle in a closet, because we were prepared. All the windows were shuttered. We had 8 gallon jugs of water and 4 cases of drinkable bottles plus 3 - 15 count cases and several cases of Coke and Pepsi or store brand sodas. We also
had bread, juices, Gatorade, etc.
You see, this isn't our first hurricane. We've done this before so often that we have the preparations down pat.
My husband and son are responisble for the exterior house shuttering and making sure we have the tools necessary for repairs. They do the manual stuff and prepare the property from as much damage as they can.
My daughter is landscape and patio. She brings in plants and yard furniture. Clears the porch and makes sure there is nothing around that can be picked up in the wind and blown into a window or car.
My job is food and storage. I check the hurricane food supplies and resupply anything that we have already eatten. I had 16 cans of tuna, two jars of Peanut Butter, 2 jars of jelly and a dozen cans of canned pasta products ready for consumption, along with making sure that the freezers were filled with ice. Beleive it or not, you can MAKE ice yourself BEFORE a storm by filling empty water bottles 1/2 full and putting them in the freezer. It serves two purposes. You get the added ice to keep the stuff in the freezer colder longer AND when the ice bottles start to defrost you get to drink "cold" water!
After the storm the jobs remain for the others but I pick up a new job - paperwork. I am the contact for insurance, government programs, repair people/ etc.
So, when you are prepared and know your job it's only inconvienent.
I will post more later on what surviving a hurricane is like for those who never have had the experience. It's not the hurricane, it's the recovery that's a pain in the ass.
Because of the hurricane (Wilma that hit us a week ago today) I have been unable to post. I have had no electricity, no phones, no internet. I am posting from work right now because here there is power and phone and internet access.
We stayed at home for the storm, my son, my husband,my daughter and I .
We lost power at 8:00 a.m. but I was up early at 6 a.m. the day of, in anticipation of the power outage I was sure to experience and I made coffee.
Anticipation is the key to success in storms, that and always being prepared for the worst that can happen. Chances are it won't, but one must be prepared in case it does.
It wasn't terrible. We didn't huddle in a closet, because we were prepared. All the windows were shuttered. We had 8 gallon jugs of water and 4 cases of drinkable bottles plus 3 - 15 count cases and several cases of Coke and Pepsi or store brand sodas. We also
had bread, juices, Gatorade, etc.
You see, this isn't our first hurricane. We've done this before so often that we have the preparations down pat.
My husband and son are responisble for the exterior house shuttering and making sure we have the tools necessary for repairs. They do the manual stuff and prepare the property from as much damage as they can.
My daughter is landscape and patio. She brings in plants and yard furniture. Clears the porch and makes sure there is nothing around that can be picked up in the wind and blown into a window or car.
My job is food and storage. I check the hurricane food supplies and resupply anything that we have already eatten. I had 16 cans of tuna, two jars of Peanut Butter, 2 jars of jelly and a dozen cans of canned pasta products ready for consumption, along with making sure that the freezers were filled with ice. Beleive it or not, you can MAKE ice yourself BEFORE a storm by filling empty water bottles 1/2 full and putting them in the freezer. It serves two purposes. You get the added ice to keep the stuff in the freezer colder longer AND when the ice bottles start to defrost you get to drink "cold" water!
After the storm the jobs remain for the others but I pick up a new job - paperwork. I am the contact for insurance, government programs, repair people/ etc.
So, when you are prepared and know your job it's only inconvienent.
I will post more later on what surviving a hurricane is like for those who never have had the experience. It's not the hurricane, it's the recovery that's a pain in the ass.
