Ready for Matthew's arrival

Kent and I put the storm shutters on the windows last night when he got home from work.  As far as wind is concerned it could have waited until tonight but we didn't want to do it in heavy rain.

We hired a friend of ours to make these stainless brackets, bars and shutters, years ago and they have served us well.  Sadly this friend chose a path in life that ended his life far too soon.  He is missed and at times like this bringing out things that he made brings the hurt to the surface.

My coolers are packed with ice so that if we loose power I can put frequently used items in them so we are not constantly opening the fridge. I have also packed every spare piece of space in the freezer with ice packs. The more tightly packed the freezer the longer it stays cold.

We do have a small genset to run the well pump and power the fridge but we wouldn't go out to start it up until the weather is safe and/or we know the power is going to be out for a long time.

Here's a tip for you - put a small bottle 1/2 full of water in the freezer.  Before the storm turn the bottle upside down.  When the power goes out keep your freezer closed!!  Once you have power again, immediately check the bottle.  If it is mostly melted then the meat in your freezer needs to be trashed.