February follows January

Well, the "Non" Winter of 2012 continues, as another forming ocean storm should slide out into the Atlantic well south of New England. The Rosemary still growing and surviving the winter, the daffodils are poking through and the roses beginning to show life. Snow pack, not like last year when it was measure in feet, the number this season is "0". Well, at least the heating bill will also be moderate.

Winter in Woonsocket

Save for the snow at the end of October, the strange dry and mild winter continues. In fact, I have yet to bring up the ice melt from the basement, and mid-January is upon the region. A storm towards the end of the week should bring rain. Talk of colder temps beyond that may make any storms that develop at least interesting. But up until now, "boring" is the word !!!

You will love this Autumnfest weekend in Woonsocket. Temps will be up near the 80 mark today, will be well into the 80's tomorrow, perhaps near record territory and a nice and comfy 76 on Monday, Parade Day. Perfect, perfect, perfect !!!

Post Irene

Hopefully, all have had power restored, it has been almost a week. Reports are that 200 homes in Woonsocket still out, but that should be rectified by tomorrow, Sunday 9/4. We fared well here at the house, though we did lose power for some 35 hours. Did not lose any food, save a couple of cartons of ice cream, as we had made and stocked a good quantity of ice. The only saving grace, power outages during a tropical storm do not lend to worry about the furnace not working. The emergency kit is packed away in the basement for next time, hopefully a long way into the future, but with Hurricane Katia blowing in the far Atlantic, she bears close watching. The strongest wind here was 57 mph; rainfall total was 3.08". As is "normal" the wet side of the storm is the west or "left" and if you saw video of the floods that ravaged western MA< CT, and NY and VT and NJ, that held true, the "right" or east side is typically the windiest, and this is where the highest gusts were found. Thankfully, it was only a Tropical Storm, do not even want to think of the problems if Irene made a NE landfall as a Cat 2 or 3 !!!!

Thank you NHC !!!

Well, over the years, many folks have asked where exactly is Woonsocket. Now, the National Hurricane Center has made that answer quite easy: Woonsocket is right under the top "black dot" in the 5 day projected path of Hurricane Irene ( The 2AM Monday spot):

Hard to believe the Summer is waning

Always too short, it seems especially that way this season after the horrid Winter. But the fact remains the the longer days and hot temps are surely waning. We enjoyed our camping vacation last week on Cape Cod, although Monday was trying with a good 5 inches of rain falling !!! Now thoughts are focused on "Back to School", house chores to button things up for the Winter and the ending of the garden harvest. Springtime brings thoughts of all the Summer potential, a tad sad that these days are winding down !!!

Our Family's Emergency Kit Checklist

Andy’s emergency kit

1. Shake & Standard Flashlights, large and small

2. Crank Radio, Grundig, Battery op radios

3. Light Sticks

4. Lightning Detector

5. SAME Weather Radio

6. LED Lantern

7. Fluorescent lantern

8. Butane Backpacking stove

9. Extra Butane cylinders

10. Propane Camping Stove

11. Extra Propane cylinders

12. 12 v cell phone charger

13. Various 12 volt adaptors & AC inverter

14. 3 day supply of meds (refresh every 6 months)

15. Notepads and pencils

16. 2 meter Ham Radio portable

17. Supply of extra AA, AAA, C and D cells as needed

18. Cribbage Board and cards

19. First Aid Kit

20. Supply of Bottled Water on hand

21. 12 volt mini cooler

22. Quick-Grab Bag for items if quick evacuation necessary

23. Supply of candles

24. Matches and butane lighters

25. Several days supply of prescription medications

26. Fuel vehicles

HINTS:

= 3 days before a storm, make as much ice as possible in your freezer, use plastic “Tupperware” containers, Zip Lock Bags,

etc. to fill every empty spot. If there is an extended failure, take ice from freezer and place in lower cold foods compartment.

= Charge all rechargeable items such as cell phones, radios, lamps, etc.

= Stay aware of current conditions from Weather Radio, TV, AM/FM, etc.

= Check Gas Grill Propane Supply, REMEMBER: NEVER use outdoor cooking applicances indoors, such as gas grills, charcoal, generators etc. CARBON MONOXIDE CAN KILL

= USE CAUTION WITH CANDLES, NEVER PLACE NEAR A WINDOW WHERE CURTAINS CAN CATCH FIRE OR NEAR PAPER OR OTHER FLAMMABLES OR NEAR CHILDREN

= It is also important to KNOW where all these items are located; A few times a

year check to see if you can find everything, make a list, store them in a box, a Rubbermaid container, etc for easy retrieval.

= LEARN local shelter locations, evacuation routes, etc. for your area.

=Copies of homeowners Insurance, Auto insurance and other important documents in a sturdy water proof container.

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