Tis the Season

June 1~First Day of Hurricane Season

Well there is no chubby guy with a red suit, if that is what you are thinking. No, this is Florida. We are welcoming (and trust me, not with open arms) the beginning of Hurricane Season. Now, if you are a native Floridian, or have lived her for a minimum for about five years, you know the routine by now.

*First aid kit and essential medications.
*Canned food and can opener.
*At least three gallons of water per person.
*Protective clothing, rainwear, and bedding or sleeping bags.
*Battery-powered radio, flashlight, and extra batteries.
*Special items for infants, elderly, or disabled family members.
*Written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas and water if authorities advise you to do so. (Remember, you'll need a professional to turn them back on.)

And truth be told, I do pretty darned good, except for the water part. I lack there 100% .We always have batteries, canned food, we just throw an extra few cans as we shop, and we have also learned to purchase items we will eat so we don't have to go back to the grocery store with bag fulls of items we did not use and never intended to use. Can opener, this one I had in the bag along time ago. I gave up my electric can opener so long ago that I do not even remember having one.

We did take photos of our prized and large household items a few years back, for insurance purposes. We have important papers in a plastic Ziploc bag to keep them protected. You would think that living in Florida for nearly my entire lifer, we would have it down pat...yep, we pretty much do. But beware, all is not what it seems. In 2004 we had 2 Hurricanes, and only one month apart. But those were not the storms that did the damage to our home. Oh no, it was a tropical storm...I kid you not. It was Hurricane Ivan that had been downgraded to a TS and had been flip flopping out in the Atlantic and was making its way back for landfall and it sat over our part of the state for 2 days and dumped massive amounts of rain, and 'that' was when we got the damage. So again do not underestimate the power of these storms, no matter the severity.