Generator...check
Check oil, fuel, start-up, proper incoming voltage...check
Backup fuel...check
Sump pump...check
Backup sump pump...check
Snow blower...check
Check oil, fuel, start-up... check
Chainsaw...check
Start-up...check
Sharpened chain...check

Well, at least I have my essentials! Not a direct hit where I live but I guess were ready for the storm that is going to trickle down upon us. However, we have had rain for about week straight so the ground is soaked. Still have leaves on some of the big trees. Heavy winds, lots of rain and a mix of wet, heavy snow can still cause some significant damage. Large, widespread Cat 1 hurricane according to the weather forecasts and across HEAVILY populated areas.

Good luck to those on the East Coast! Stay safe, warm and dry!

Don't forget flashlights and batteries, You never know when you'll need to find the generator - our luck has usually been in the 2AM range.

A supply of candles is a good idea, too. In addition to light, they have a calming effect, we've found.

We didn't find out about hte storm in time to even make searching for a generator rational. Our power lines are underground, and we're pretty far inland, so we're hoping. Our power has been fairly flakey, unfortunately, but they did some repair work a few weeks ago, so maybe it'll be better.

Got a camp stove and plenty of fuel for that, a lantern, and sufficient candles. Making sure the cell phones are charged.

Plenty of food, canned and frozen, and I've got an extra tank of propane for the grill.

Cleaned, tested, and tightened all the gutters. Looks like I'll probably need to put up new ones pretty soon, oh yay, but they'll do.

Checked the block's storm drains, they all (superficially at least) look clear.

Raked up leaves this morning, but that didn't really help by evening. Heh.

We'll see how it goes.

I got an email about hurricane preparation the other day at work.... I live in Dallas!!! you would think they could target the audience a bit more...


I hope that those of you who are in the affected areas make it through safely.

I bought a Stihl 250 chainsaw (with EasyStart -- it's true!) today and I spent some time cutting branches all over the property and then splitting many of the logs. I love the power-to-weight ration of this thing! Since we now live on a wooded 13-acre property, there's no shortage of fallen branches to be found and a fair number of downed trees from storms past. I now have enough firewood to last a few days, should I need it.

We're on well water out here, so if the power goes out, so does our water. Because of that, we've stockpiled bottled water and we'll fill a few buckets to have on-hand for flushing toilets.

I cleaned the gutters over a month ago before leaves started falling. There was a lot of accumulated sludge in there -- likely would have made decent compost... Now most of the gutters have got dry leaves in them. If I have time tomorrow, I'll clear them out with my lightweight shop-vac in blow mode. I'll just take the top portion (minus bucket) up the ladder with me and have it it.

We'll need to buy a couple sandbags to put against the basement door since the bell trap drain outside it tends to get overwhelmed in sustained downpours.

Whatever happens, we've got great neighbors and I'm sure we'll all pull together if we need to make food raids into West Virginia.

Hey maaaan, I heard they got guuuns in West Virginia. Be careful, maaayn.

I have one of these little guys.. They are a little monster....! One thing you may want to think about, is getting a carbide chain from Ebay... They don't cut as fast as a steel chain, but they last forever between sharpenings.

One thing to note on that saw. When i bought mine, the store i bought mine from said changing the fuel line on it is a pain in the freaking Butt... So, i have been using Trufuel exclusively in the saw... I am not sure if you are familiar with this product or not.. It contains 0 ethanol, and has a premix of oil, as well as fuel stabilizer. The 0 ethanol is the big thing... The one downside to the fuel is it's about 6$ US a Liter.

Here is a link to amazon
http://www.amazon.com/TruFuel-50Fuel-Pre...ywords=tru+fuel

I dont know if you have an O'reilly's by you or not, but they supposedly have it for around 5$/L

I use to use a shopvac to do the gutters.. I don't know if you have a leaf blower or not... One day when i was using my shop vac, i had an epiphany.. and devised this frankenstein.... It eliminates the need for a ladder, and makes cleaning the gutters a 5 minute project instead of 30 minutes...

Nice leaf monster.

The shop where I got the saw said to use at least 89 octane fuel. They also sold me a 6-pack of oil/fuel stabilizer -- add one per gallon. They actually filled the saw and added bar oil for me at the shop at no charge. Nice place. Not exactly the cheapest, but service was great.

I used it again today to proactively take down a large branch that was hanging low over the driveway.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037731_Hurricane_Sandy_preparedness_prayer.html

Sounds like you guys are in for a bad one.

That's almost redneck! You'd do well living down here