Massive Snow Storm Headed to the East Coast

The preparations for any major snowstorm in the Mid-Atlantic are always amusing.  People panic buy like we're going to be snowbound for a month or more.  The reality in 2025 is that we might be snowed in for a week, at most.  Even here in Maryland, our road crews are great at getting business moving again in pretty quick order.  I grew up in the Mid-West.  TBH, we are always prepared for bad weather.  We've always got enough food in the freezer and non-perishables to see us through for a couple of weeks in the winter time.  Blizzards are no joke.  We don't get many blizzards here in Maryland, and I'm not certain if this storm will be a blizzard or not.

But watching people freak out is a wonderful past time for me!  We have a turkey that I picked up on sale after Thanksgiving that we are going to cook tomorrow.  Somehow, I found a relatively small bird.  This one is less than 10 pounds.  The two of us should be set for days....  If the power does go out, it will be nice to have cooked food on hand.

I couldn't resist going to Wal-Mart yesterday.  This storm has been hyped so much, I was curious just how much people were panicking.  Let me tell you, the visit did not disappoint.  

Evidently, a lot of beef chili is going to be had in the Burg.
We need to have a chili cook off at some point!

Or maybe we're all making wings?

There's just a little milk left - all of it Lactose Free.
I love the half gallons of chocolate milk!
I really should have picked one up!
If only I wasn't on a quest to lose weight...

I enjoyed my visit.  I needed to break a $20, so I got a salad from Subway and sat down and watched the chaos at the registers for a while.  I give a lot of credit to the employees - they really kept those self check outs moving fast!  But I am wondering why someone needed 10 cartons of eggs.  If you're reading this, I want to know what you're making with them! Please tell!  Give me the recipes!

I admit, I did panic buy one item.  White acid free cardstock.  I'm working on an old scrapbook that I found from the 1950's.  Everything was glued down, front and back to the same page.  And the pages are disintegrating.  The items that were glued down are of historic significance.  I'm hoping to get at least some of the pages pulled apart and remade.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to safely do this without ruining all of the documents, please let me know!  I really would appreciate your input!

Seriously folks - if you're in the way of this storm, stay safe and warm.  This promises to be the first wild winter weather event we've had in Maryland in 10 years.  I'm thrilled to have some snow!  My hiking boots are out, and I found my sled!  There's a little hill in our back yard that I've got my eye on.  It's been 10 years since I last took a sled down that hill!

Preparing for a Major Snow Dump

Have you heard?  There's a snow storm headed to the Mid-Atlantic!  HOORAY!

Weds. night, and the stores are empty.

In general, we don't get a lot of snow in this part of Maryland.  We get several little snow storms, and a really big one every couple of years.  The problem with this kind of snow is that clearing it out so that people can get around again gets to be a huge task that takes days.  What would take the good folks in New England a day to clean out can easily take a week to clean out around here.  When Snowmaggedon hit six years ago, it took 5 days for the plows to get to our street to clean us out, and then we were hit by another massive storm a couple of days later.  It took a full week after that storm before we were able to get out of the neighborhood again.

I grew up in the Mid-West, where the snow was always more serious, and we were always prepared for the big one.  We knew that storms would hit, we just didn't know when. 

Fast forward 30 some years, and weather forecasting has improved to the point where we can predict and prepare for storms days in advance.  Being caught by surprise by the weather is no longer quite the reality it used to be back when I was a kid.

Needless to say, I spent a day earlier this week inventorying our supplies and picking up what we needed to round out what we think we'll need for a week at home.

source: Baltimore County Public Library

One of our snow shovels broke last season.  It was one of the cheap ones.  I replaced it with one of the sturdier, all metal heavy duty shovels.  I also bought another broom to supplement the one we sweep the cars off.  One extra bag of rock salt - purchased, and stored in it's water proof container outside.

For the cats, I picked up an extra bag of food.  I just bought one last week, but I bought an extra one, because I really don't want to have hungry, whiny cats roaming around the house in case if this turns out to be more than one storm that keeps us housebound for more than the week we're expecting.

The quick run to the grocery store Tuesday evening included toilet paper, almond milk, a couple of pounds of ground beef and chicken, a bag of potatoes, a bag of onions, a bag of carrots, and a bag of rice.  I'm actually out of rice.  How did that happen?  Can you believe that I had less than 12 items?  I was able to check out through the Express Lane!

Back at home, we made certain that the shovels were within easy reach of the door.

Our firewood is stacked under the carport, so for the most part, our wood stays dry when it snows.  We have some drifting, but the wood itself never gets soaked.

We are as ready as we are ever going to be for the upcoming storm!  Who knows if it will be as big as they are predicting?  The weather maps and models do look impressive!

Image: Foot's Forecast

In preparation for the storm, all of our cell phones are being charged - just in case the power goes out.  We supplement our heat with wood, so if we do lose power, we'll be warm, and we'll be able to cook.  We have solar lanterns outside, and they're storing up a charge now.  We also have a couple of old oil lamps that are on standby, just in case if we need them, as well as a hand cranked weather radio and a hand cranked LED lantern.

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic area, are you ready to be snowed in for a while?  Do you have enough to see you through a week without getting out of the house?

Getting the Cars Ready for Winter

The days are getting shorter and colder.  Parts of the United States saw snow over the weekend.  That was our reminder that we needed to get our cars ready for the winter.

We always get the oil in our cars changed every 3,000 miles.  It's how our Civic has lasted 14 years and well over 200,000 miles.  We had the oil changed in both cars just last week.

This is what we do to get our cars ready for the winter:

1) Make sure the windshield washer fluid is topped off.  We buy an extra gallon and keep it in the garage so we can add more on warmer days through the winter.

2) Replace the windshield wipers.

3) Check to make certain the jumper cables are accessible.

4) Add the collapsible snow shovel.  I tend to take this out of the trunk in the spring, because it gets in my way.  Husband leaves it in year round.

5) Change the batteries in the flashlight.

6) Add a bag of kitty gravel.  (Non-clumping).  We use this for traction in case if we get stuck in the snow.  It's happened more than once before, and that bag of litter has made a big difference in getting out.  I've seen other people use carpet remnants or gravel.  We use kitty litter.  I'm not certain, but I like to think it's easier on the environment.

7) Find wherever the ice scrapers have migrated to and move them into the pockets on the driver's side door.  Oh yeah, and clear out all of the affiliated junk in that pocket.

8) Clean out all of the loose stuff in the car, and vacuum it.  (Just because)

9) Check the tire pressure.

10) Check to make sure all of the bulbs are working - headlights, tail lights, and turn signals.  Replace as needed.  Really don't want a ticket for something we could have easily fixed for less than $5.

11) Add a blanket, and a seasonal change of clothes to the trunk.  I actually keep a suitcase in the trunk of the car year round, in case if something happens and I have to stay overnight somewhere unexpectedly.  For winter, this change includes underwear, socks, shoes, a long sleeved shirt and a sweatshirt.  (Remember, I used to teach.  You never knew what was going to happen in the course of a day, so having a change of clothing with you was always a good idea just in case.)  BTW, I also carry a large plastic bag to put a dirty change of clothing in.

12) Check the food and water supplies.  I have a big plastic box in the trunk that holds water bottles and snacks.  I can't tell you how many times I've hit up those supplies over the years.  Hungry kids, hungry me, running late, whatever the reason, I've always got fairly healthy snacks that won't melt in the trunk of my car.  If I do get stranded on a road in a snowstorm, or I am running late and starved, knowing I've got something to nosh on until I can get home and get real food is a nice feeling.

Have you gotten your car ready for winter?

Preparing for an Ice Storm

It's 6:10 am here, and we have had ice falling all night long.

I hate ice.  It's dangerous.

Yesterday, I dropped daughter off at school and then ran a couple of errands.  I ran to the grocery store and picked up some extra non-perishable canned foods and a few more bottles of water in case if we ran out of power.

I filled the car with gas.

When I returned home, we had a half cord of wood sitting in the driveway.  We spent last night moving the wood up under the carport.  If our power goes out, at least we'll have a way of keeping the house warm!  Even better, the wood is up under the carport, so it is dry.

All of our electronics have been charged and are still charging.  Cell phones, laptops, Kindles, Nooks, everything has been and is being charged.

For dinner last night, I made two huge pots of chili.  If the power goes out, we will have some cooked chili that we can heat up on the woodstove for dinner.

I have the rechargeable, hand cranked lantern ready to go.  Once the sun comes up, we'll have some kind of light.  I'd rather not pull the candles or the lantern out until tonight, if the power is out.

Even as I write this, our power keeps blanking in and out.  I have heard the explosions as transformers in the area are exploding.  I am curious how long we are going to keep power, and if it does go out, how long we stay out.

Oh- one last thing I did last night... I filled a whole bunch of water bottles with water and stuck them in the big freezer.  All of the empty spaces are filled with water bottles.  So, if our power goes out and I keep from opening the freezer, the food in there should remain good for quite some time.

The ice chest in the kitchen is on standby, too, ready to accept the stuff from our fridge, if need be.

I forgot to mention - our gas cans are filled, and we have the generator on stand by, under the carport, chained up to the bolts we installed just for the generator.

I just heard a major tree fall in our front yard.  I believe it may have taken out my Civic.

I am going to sign off now.  If  you are on the East Coast in this ice storm, stay safe.