Hi
Should have already been done but pruning especially trees Still haven't figured out how to prune the Schizolobium amazonicum recovered from the cold is topping 40 feet and loses limbs in 40 winds. i know I'm courting disaster but I wanted to see ONE flower before it's removed lol all others are topped and hopefully won't tip as happened during Frances!! Good luck everybody !!! gary

I buy a couple pieces of sod and put it on a sheet of plastic in the garage for the dog to go potty on. It is a small dog, then I can use it in the yard to fill in bare spots. :o)

Also it is good to have a spare gas bottle for the grill to cook with if need. I love grills with side burners. Also stock up with cast iron pans.

Bring in any chairs or loose objects. Have fresh batteries. Fill up you cars. Lots of canned food, peanut butter, tuna or chicken. Even canned ham or beef stew.
Be prepaired for at least 5 days with out power.

All the above, (never thought about the sod for the dog, though) plus I always try to get all the laundry washed, dried and put away, and any other household chore that requires electricity since it will be off for days.

Cut out the coconuts aka flying missiles. Add tarps to the on hand supplies. Valium for the dogs and shots for the humans. !

Dianne

We lose power often here, too, and we do a lot of camping. So earlier this year I bought a thing I saw on amazon.com that's a combo flashlight/radio/weather radio/phone charger. It has a solar panel and a hand crank. It was only $10.

After Wilma (05) we bought a small camp stove and a metal perculator. It's bad enough to have no A/C or hot water for showers. It is just too much to not have coffee. It was a good purchase. Both are still in their plastic since we've had no serious activity since then. I think they are warding it off. LOL

All good ideas katkin love the sod! I have a battery tv and a converter for it just have to figure out how to work it feel lost without the tv

Katie

> It is just too much to not have coffee.

Agreed! After Frances my sister in law got me a stovetop percolator and it was the best gift ever. But you need to remember to grind the beans before the power goes out. :)

My birthday is tomorrow, but for my birthday I wanted to go to St. Augustine for shrimp and fried okra. Okra is only available on Thursday so we went today. First thing arriving home, I checked on Emily and dern near spit nails! WE NEED RAIN. I was hoping so much for a bit of rain. Maybe it'll reform and ......

Oh, well. Terrible when a tropical storm can be so disappointing!

Publix carries frozen breaded okra that is easy to fry up. Tastes just as good as the stuff in a restaurant.

Well, at the farmer's market they had big okra pods. I've never done it at home, but I might try. Otherwise, thanks for the thought! I have one Publix that is beachside and we call it the 7/11 Publix because they cater to the condos and tourists. The other one is about 5 miles away and it is the biggest one in FL. I love going there!

Do not wait until the last minute to get gasoline. There won't be any left!

Don't wait until a couple days before the storm to see if your generator still works! Which is what my stupid butt did... guess what, it won't work!

Start stocking up on cash in small denominations.
When the power goes, stores cannot use their electric cash registers.
When you are in line with exact change you can breeze right through.
Save $1s and $5s and you will be everyone's new best friend.

This is a great thread! Being from Michigan and new to Florida I have never been through a hurricane so I could use all the advice I can get. My husband has lived here for the past 10 years so he's pretty complacent and thinks I'm nuts! When we lived in North Carolina we went through a tropical storm and I freaked out! I was 8 months pregnant at the time and he was on duty at the base so I was home alone with my 1 year old and pregnant. Our power went out for a day but that was about it. I went through the infamous blackout in the North East that lasted 4 days and that was actually a heck of a lot of fun. We just grilled every thing in the freezer and played pool volley ball a lot. The thing that worries me most about hurricanes is the safety of my girls. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thankfully my in-laws live directly behind me as well (Everybody Loves Raymond style over here!)

CorpsmanCooper
don't know ages of your kids but mine were 9,11,13 and did ok in their first one however you can google storm chasers and show them footage of a hurricane (preview first) so they know what to expect than find the safest room in your house usually an interior closet, stock it with toys, games, snacks (nothing salty causes dehydration it will get hot) pillows, blankets any favorite toys. If there was actually a storm coming I would even let the kids sleep in the closet beforehand to get use to it.
The gas and money are good tips also, all new gas stations are required to have a stand alone generator but again you can google to find the closest gas station with a generator so pumps will work.

Katie

I second the washing of the clothes, I usually try to clean up the house and disinfect everything before hand b.c it gets smelly with no power. I also usually buy the little cheapie solar lights at the big box store, they make great night lights when you have no power and you don't waste the batteries on your lamps. We bought some clothsline too since we ran out of places to hang wet and damp things last time. Make sure that if you do have a generator you have a fan, comes in very handy when it is sweltering out. If you drink beer stock up, sometimes they ban alcohol sales during a state of emergency, ;)

Don't forget your O2Cool or equivalent. They help a LOT during the weeks without electricity. The solar lights are great, as are the camping lanterns, although I prefer the non-fluorescent ones. Inverter for the car for charging stuff, too.

CorpsmanCooper, when I was kid, I thought hurricanes were exciting and so did most of my friends, but I've noticed that kids now are more upset by them. In 2004, my nephews didn't mind the actual storm but they found being without electricity afterwards really creepy, since they're used to being connected all the time.

Make sure your windows have good, solid screen and buy as many of those moisture removing packets/tubs as you can!

Publix has lists of stuff you need. Batteries for flashlights and radios, Bottled water, medications for those that need them, dehydrated meals from camping stores.

Yes Publix does that every year I was looking for more tips that were not the 'run of the mill' type, like sod for dogs hehe, moisture removal packs which will help prevent black mold (good one) oh and beer cause there will be a ban lol anyway good tips its kinda fun, we dodged a bullet but the season really starts now, humor takes away some of the edge plus getting some real good advice

Katie

My husband was born and raised in Tampa and he didn't even think of the sod idea for the dog! That is an excellent solution. We can all learn something from sharing - new and old alike. Thanks for all of the contributions.

All I can think to add is look for your hurricane shutter hardware before the storm is right in our faces and your trying to get them up in a hurry... hate when we misplace the bucket!

Beachlily - does that Publix 5 miles away have the cart escalators??? I just had to get my pic taken on those last time I was over that way. I used to live off of Sunrise and A1A, so I think I know your 7/11 Publix very well.

Oh lord! Here we go! What do you all think possibly named storm Irene is going to do?

Just saw the news about the upcoming storm. We're buying a house, closing on Thursday, supposed to move in on Friday. Hopefully Irene doesn't prevent that. We need the rain; I just hope she slows down and holds off until after Friday.

The previous owners have an established garden, small but some good stuff growing. They've already vacated. Hopefully the garden will be OK. I've been so excited about it.

JenPeteFL - congrats on your new house. Check with your insurance agent to make sure you have coverage on that new home. Insurance companies often "go dark" in offering new coverage when a storm enters the area

True on the insurance. Check and be sure. If that's the case hold off on the closing if the storm looks bad.

Very good ideas!!! After Charlie we sat down and wrote a list of things we wished we had. Bought a generator 2005 that is big enough to run the fridge and also the window AC that we got that is enough so you can at least get cooled off. We found that the worst part was trying to clean up outside and not have any place to get cooled off since the electric was out!

I had the camping percolator and was thankful to have coffee!!! But - Maxwell house also sells coffee bags (like tea bags).

Most insurance companies wont write policies with a named storm heading towards us I would wait to move in have u had a hurricane inspection? go to Mysafefloridahome.com I think that was the website anyway I got a free inspection from them and a list of things I needed to improve

Thanks for the insurance suggestions, everyone. We'll look into it. We sent them an email with lots of questions. And my engineer hubby will be reading every single word of the contract in attempt to catch any gray areas.

Glad to see that Irene is leaning towards the east coast, east of us in Orlando. We need the rain, but I'm hoping it's not damaging weather (here or anywhere). Praying for everyone in the path...

In addition to the usual (food, water, batteries), here's a few tips not mentioned above:

- Have a fair amount of cash on hand (including some small bills).
- Make copies of your insurance policy and other necessary documents and keep them in an accessible (preferably waterproof). I've scanned mine and emailed them to myself as well.
- Make sure you have some non-electronic entertainment (books, games, cards) in case you're housebound without power for a while.
- I'm sure everyone knows this, but take shelter well before, and do not go outside until well after the storm has passed - and even then, avoid moving around as much as possible. Many hurricane injuries occur immediately before and after the storm itself, as people rush their preparations or go outside to "tour" the damage.

Alan

katkin: Neat idea about sod for the dog(s). Our fence blows down in every hurricane; sod on the porch would help out till the fence gets put up again.

One thing I'm doing right now is collecting food that can be eaten without heating. Of course, I'm assuming that we will lose power during yucky weather, so no grilling. Cooking food ahead of time can help! I've got small cans of pork & beans (don't eat normally), fruit cups, juice, tuna, cooked chicken breasts, fresh fruit and I'll boil some eggs. Books, magazines, etc. to keep us busy if we have enough light. I think we've been down this path before.

Oh, don't go overboard preparing food that requires refrigeration. There won't be any.

Actually, we grilled a lot after Hurricane George. Grilled everything that was defrosting in the freezer. Speaking of which, if you've got space in your freezer, fill bottles of water and stick them in to freeze. Keeps your food just a bit longer, and gives you water.

~dianne