Time for winter preps

It was cold this morning. I realize this is probably a very unnecessary statement for people who were outside at all today, but it is still one I felt the need to make.

I started my morning by shivering as I went downstairs to my living room for a few minutes before getting ready for work. The sun ? what sun there is today ? hadn?t come up yet. I sat there and shivered for a few minutes before finally giving up and going upstairs to a nice warm shower.

This was the first day this year that I wore my heavy wool coat. On my way from my car into the office, I found myself sticking my hand ? the mocha-less one ? into the pocket of my coat for warmth.

I grant you, if this temperature came in March sometime, I would probably think it was a heat wave. I also grant you that it was raining and the moisture probably had something to do with how cold it was. The good news is that it is supposed to be sunnier and warmer over the weekend. The bad news is that I think we can be sure that winter is on its way. What?s more, I?ve heard that this winter is supposed to be particularly cold. I hope not, but it is always better to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Days like this always mean to me that it is time to get ready for winter. With the memory of last winter?s blizzard and stepping off my porch only to go up to my thigh in the deep snow, I think now is the best time to get ready. Believe me, supplies have a habit of flying off the shelves when it is confirmed that a ?winter event? is on the way. There are also very few things worse than trying to put up storm windows in 20-degree weather.

I need to get a new bag of sand or kitty litter for the trunk of my car. This comes in handy for unsticking a car from an ice patch. It?s also a good idea to make sure to have a bag or two of ice melt and some solid snow shovels ready.

Speaking of cars, last year I bought this strange looking item at a gun show. The best way to describe it is as a thin sleeping bag with sleeves. If you know what a space blanket is, the inside is made of that same reflective material. It is designed to keep, I believe, Swiss pilots alive in sub-zero temperatures. I need to remember to stick that in my trunk. A sleeping bag would be good too. You never know when you will get stuck after dark and old Mr. Murphy has decided to come along for the ride in the form of a dead cellular phone area. It is also a good time to make sure I have enough anti-freeze and to get an oil change. For those lucky people who have a winch on the front of a 4x4, it might be a good time to make sure it works.

It?s also time to winterize the home. For me, this comes in the form of plastic sheeting over the windows to help keep heating bills down. For someone like me who doesn?t turn the heat on until it is absolutely necessary, this is a must. It?s also a good time to check those emergency heat sources that are meant to be used in the event of a power outage (ice storm). Of course, this also means checking those fire extinguishers. Having some supplies on hand as well as a good amount of any needed medication in case another 18 inches of snow drops on the area and you are unable to get out for several days is a good idea. It?s also a good idea to know how to shut off the water to your residence in case a pipe bursts.

Most farmers already are getting their emergency back-ups ready to look after their four-legged friends in case of an extended power outage. For them, it is pretty much standard operating procedure.

To give credit where credit is due, I have to thank the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for their help in compiling some of these ideas. I admit, most people who have lived in the Midwest for any length of time already know what they need to do to be ready for winter. Still, you can never hear it too much. It is also time to test everything that would be used in an ?if? scenario. You know ? ?if this happens, I will use this.? If something is going to go wrong, you want it to go wrong now. It is free now. When horizontal snow is in the air and your car is stopped by the side of a secondary road, it isn?t the time to find out that the batteries in your portable CB radio are dead.