Be Prepared for Anything

I’ve always suspected there were zombies and other weird creatures around my home state of Illinois, but now I’ve got proof.

It seems that some pranksters in Collinsville (only about one hour or so north of me!) have been warning motorists of said potential hazards.

Here’s the proof on Yahoo!

Maybe the signs should have warned of disgraced governors???

There an interesting article online about a potential strike of refinery workers that could have a ripple effect on the U.S. economy, gas prices and the availability of gasoline.

It’s both interesting and frightening.

Due to the recent ice storms, there are plenty of areas around where I live (in southern Illinois) without power.

One unexpected side effect of the power outage is the inability to use debit cards. I’ve heard this from a few sources - including my own parents who have been unable to access correct information from their bank, or use their debit cards.

It seems as though the power outages south of us have wreaked havoc on some satellite system that many local banks use. Many banks have gone offline. Mom tried to use her debit card at WalMart yesterday but couldn’t.

My parents aren’t the only ones I’ve heard of having problems, so it’s apparently not isolated to just one bank.

So, it would be in everyone’s best interests to have a stockpile of some cash on hand - just in case of emergency.

Ahh, here in Southern Illinois, we are snowed in. So to speak.

We’ve had an ice storm dump several inches of sleet and ice and then woke up this morning to several inches of snow on top of that!

Nothing is open. No one is moving. The schools, health department, even the courthouse have closed due to the weather. My husband is off work because his employer closed up yesterday about 2 and sent everyone home. The boss decided to close up today also.

Thankfully, we don’t need to go anywhere - but if things are still snowed in by Friday, we might have a problem. We’ve got places to go and important things to do on Friday.

I can’t complain though - we have power and heat and food in the house. It was much worse last year when we got an ice storm, and it could have been worse this time.

Since today is Inauguration Day, it would be a perfect day to fly the American flag.

I bring out my flag on special days such as Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Veteran’s Day, Election Day, 9/11, and the like.

Inauguration Day should be no different. Regardless of whether you like the new President or not, we should all pull together to celebrate a new chapter in our Nation’s history.

Obama has a tall order to fill. The American people are expecting a great deal from him. I hope he has the strength of character to stand true.

Whether it’s hit your area yet or like me, you’re waiting for it to get here in the next day or two - prepare for the cold!

Make sure you have:

Scarf, gloves/mittens, winter hat, winter boots or extra warm socks if you don’t have boots, ice scraper, snow melt or salt, flashlights with batteries (in case of power outage), plenty of food in the house.

In case of ice, cleats that slip over your shoes are a great item to have.

If you have animals outdoors, make sure they have shelter and plenty of straw bedding to snuggle into for warmth. Be sure to check their water frequently - as it will freeze - and replenish it. I also feed my animals extra food during winter so they can add some fat and calories to guard against the cold.

So has it already hit your area? What’s the weather like where you are?

The weather forecast for my area is looking particularly un-fun this week. Temperatures are supposed to drop and it’s going to be COLD!

COLD as in teens and single digits.

So, I’m thinking about our preparations here at home. Just before Christmas - on one of the coldest nights (as in 7 degrees or lower) we suddenly had a power outage. The power went out to over 14,000 homes in my county and a few surrounding counties. Since we have electric heat (stupid and expensive!) we had to make plans to do something in case it didn’t come back on soon - if had just been hubby and me we would’ve closed off rooms and snuggled under blankets to wait it out, but we have three young kids. And my grandmother (who will be 80 this year) live in a trailer about 50 feet in front of us - she couldn’t stay in the cold.

We were making plans to load everyone up and go to my mom and dad’s (they have a woodburner) for the night.

After about an hour, the power was restored so we didn’t have to bug out. Then I remembered that we had a brand-new kerosene heater out in the shed. BUT no kerosene!

So, now with winter weather coming again, we’re going to need to drag out the kerosene heater and buy some fuel just in case.

Have you noticed your critters looking plumper over the last month or so? Is their coat thicker and fuller?

I’m just curious - I’ve always heard and been told by old wives that you can tell what kind of winter to expect based upon how the animals are eating or fluffing up!

My dogs and cats are looking positively plump and their coats are quite thick. Since November they’ve actually been eating like horses and filling out.

I hope that doesn’t mean bad winter weather is coming - although they did this last year and we had nasty ice quite a bit last winter.

Have you noticed the same thing with your critters?

Found a fascinating article and video clip online today.

It seems that New York Times columnist Paul Krugman says that we are heading for another Great Depression - dubbed GD2.

Watch the clip and read for yourself. Krugman has several valid points but the gist is that no matter what the U.S. government does, they can’t stop us from sliding into another Great Depression.

So what do you think? Are we halfway through this rough patch called a recession or are we on the verge of something much, much worse - Great Depression 2?

Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has escalated, the majority of world (and blogger) opinion is that Israel is an evil aggressor.

Sure, forget the fact that in the nearly four-year time period between December 2001 and August 2005 Hamas took responsibility for nearly 40 attacks in Israel that claimed more than 300 lives and injured more than 1500. These numbers of dead and injured included (but was not limited to) Americans, a 4 year-old, a 3 year-old, a 16-month-old, a bus with school children, two pregnant women and a 5 year-old.

Read about it here - and that’s only between 2001 and 2005. Hamas has had three more years to improve upon those numbers!

How about this headline from May 2007: “Defiant Hamas leader says attacks on Israel will go on despite heavy human cost in Gaza.”

Does that sound like the Hamas leaders really care about the people of Gaza?

How long should Israel be expected to just put up with terrorist attacks before they say enough is enough? Why do the people of Gaza allow Hamas to bring this violence upon them?

The responsibility for the deaths of Gaza citizens is planted firmly upon Hamas. Israel is simply saying “we’re not gonna take it anymore” and acting accordingly.

So what if I’m in the minority for my stance - I don’t care. Israel is not the evil aggressor.