Well, he does need to make a run to the liquor store, and make sure he’s got a battery operated radio to listen to ball games in case the power goes out. But yeah, Cat 1 isn’t anything to get excited about.
Mmmmm Apocalypse French Toast.
North Central Mass is expecting it at Cat 1 which, like others in our area, means potential for tree damage and power outages. We were amongst those out for weeks in the Dec ice storm. We are picking up a new generator this morning= and it was a blessing to find it. By yesterday afternoon, all of the big box stores were sold out. I found 4 at a Tractor Supply store, asked the guy what the brand/model was. I took maybe ten minutes to read up on it and discuss the options with my SO and business partner (I need the generator to produce our paper) and by the time I called back, they were down to 2 left. Gave him the card number right then and there. I’ll rest easier once it’s in the back of the truck in a few hours.
We picked up a lot of the stuff in the yard yesterday, but looking at the forecasts, I think we need to do some more. We’ll park the cars close to the house to avoid tree damage from some pines over the driveway. We have all of our camping supplies at the ready, so that’s helpful, but will need to get fresh batteries, non-perishables and gas today/tomorrow.
Will also have to get prepared to produce the paper and get it to the printer via generator power and no internet. Had to do that twice during the ice storm. Not looking forward to this.
My most realistic fear is probably whether the window in the bird room breaks; we’ll try to keep the birds caged during the worst windy times.
We have bread, TP, and food, and I’ve started storing extra containers of the Brita-filtered water we use. I just bought a new bag of the dog kibble we like to feed the dogs. Yesterday I put gas in my car and had it lubed and the oil changed.
I also got a haircut, so if we do wind up on some TV news “survivor interview,” I’m ready. 
always important to look good for the cameras!
No! You need that shaggy, unshaven, dishevelled look so they know you’re a *real *survivor, one who’s been through *hell *and come out alive, and not just some weekend dilettante!
I think this could turn out to be a good “How to Prep” thread, let’s not limit it to just Hurricane Irene…
Here’s my “after action” report;
Supplies onhand; canned goods, water (potable and nonpotable), flashlights, batteries, candles, oil lamps, firewood, diesel fuel for tractor, fresh premix for the chain saw, all vehicles with full gas tanks, fully charged smartphone
preparing for the storm’s arrival
Five days out; take inventory of preps, create list of shortfalls
Four days out; restock and rotate canned goods stock, add a few more cans to reserves, can’t hurt anything by adding to what we use anyway
Three days out; replenish battery backstock, charge up rechargables, check stock of candles and oil lamp fuel, no replenishment needed
Two days out; move patio furniture, propane grill and anything capable of becoming a projectile indoors, move patio plants into garage, fill five gallon water cooler bottles and place where needed, check standby generator test logs, test electric chain saw
One day out; review previous days preps to find any “holes” bring in ripe garden produce, make last “prep run” (top off gas in car) purchase small gas powered chainsaw, as I hate the electric one Dad got when his old gas saw died, test gas saw
Status of preps; good, we’re ready for the worst
Day of The Storm; sit back and relax, we’re ready… power goes off at around 11 AM, 15 seconds later, the standby generator kicks on and takes over power generation
Two days later, CMP restores power…
Number of trees lost / limbs down on our property… zero
Preps used/needed? Other than the generator and it’s propane fuel? Nothing, life went on as normal, full power, tv and Internet
We drastically overprepared for this one, and everything went according to plan, but if it didn’t, or things went wrong, we would have been ready thanks to multiple backup plans
Do I feel like I wasted money on my preps, or getting that gas chainsaw? no, even though I didn’t have to use it this time, it’ll be ready the next time I need it, it’s always good to have spare canned goods and bottled water on hand, and when the next big storm blows through, we’ll be ready and won’t need to rush around at the last minute, it’ll be like this last storm, but even more relaxed
How did your prep efforts hold up under fire? Are you still using your preps and how are they holding up?
What did you learn from the experience? What would you change going forward?
That’s the nice thing about a lot of the goods you buy in a prep, at some point you’ll use them. They’re not going to go to waste.
I do want to get a standby natural gas generator installed that’ll power some designated portion of the house during an extended outage.