Are you ready?
This year's hurricane season starts June 1. Are you ready?
I'm not. Then again I never feel like I am, but I scratched a big-ticket item off the list Sunday.
Hoping Floridians will make the effort to be prepared and prepared early, the state declared a sales tax holiday on certain items from May 21 through June 1. To make matters even better, Home Depot is matching whatever Florida's sales tax would have been, with a reduction on the item's price.
Since Da Kid was off as was Herself, we three went to breakfast, saw The Da Vinci Code, then went to Barnes & Noble followed by a trip to Target, and finished our day at Home Depot — where I bought a new generator.
"Gramps," the old generator, is in the shop and we don't know yet what's wrong with it. It could be something minor and inexpensive and we become a two-generator family, OR because of its age Gramps might not be worth fixing.
The Home Depot folk were helpful and had all kinds of handouts available explaining what items are included in the state's hurricane-preparation tax holiday, and for comparison purposes a separate one with each and every generator on a spreadsheet for easy comparison.
I left with a Briggs & Stratton something-or-other model with this, that and the other that Da Kid agreed is good, and powerful enough so that if we ARE faced with a power outage for an extended period of time (which I know we won't be now that I've bought a new generator) we can keep the water pump atop the well, the refrigerator, the big freezer in the garage, and a small window A/C unit all going if we have to. (And possibly the hot water heater and / or the stove if we're careful to make sure everything's not all going at the same time.)
Not that I know how to even RUN a generator, but Da Kid said it was really simple and it is. And this one's on wheels for easy portability and has a detachable handle, which means even I could move it out of the garage and set it up if the need arises, which I know won't now that I bought the new generator.
In any case, here it's on to additional hurricane preparation: socking in additional canned goods,
Hopefully again this year after I've made every preparation here I can think of, all of Northeast Florida will once again be spared the worst.
Knock on wood.
posted by doyle at 4:54 PM
7 Comments:
I am just gonna board up and haul ass this time. A couple of years ago we went thru a couple of cat ones right over the top of us. We didn't have a lot of damage but were without power for a few days each time. If we get one coming our way this year me and sweetthing are headed up your way and on north.
My husband brought home two packs of candles and a large box of matches. I guess we're prepared.
Since the 2004 hurricanes, Doyle, we bought 2 generators and a bunch of other crap that I will forget where I put them when I need them next. However, I know just where the generators are.
And Donnah, when I said "we" I meant my wife made sure we bought the stuff. Otherwise, I would have gotten candles and matches...maybe.
We might be affected but if I buy enough stuff, we won't get hit directly. At least that's the way it's always worked out before and far be it for me to tempt fate.
If I forget something we're doomed . . . not that I'm superstitious or anything you all understand.
sweetthing always keeps enough canned goods to feed a family of 12 for a month! And she bags ice from the ice maker and keepa the freezer half full of ice--just in case you know...a couple of years ago after the first blow and loss of power she decided to make block ice and when the next one hit we had enough block ice--she makes it in square pans that hold about a gal of water and make good 8# blocks--to last until the power came back on. But I just ain't sticking around and putting up with the power outages and I had just as soon pay a Holiday Inn in Savanah as buy gasoline for a generator. Hell, it will give me an excuse to go see Catfish And acidman
doyle,
I hope your new generator runs on propane. One of the problems that people ran into was the lack of gas. Many had generators but no gas to keep it going for the two weeks we were without power. Some had to go as far away as Memphis(400 miles) to find anyplace that had gas.
<sigh>I thought about buying one that runs on propane, Seawitch, and bought another gas-powered one. More gas cans, too. It's playing the odds, I know, and not a perfect answer.
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