Anyone doing any prep for Florence?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just now, marbel said:

We don't typically use the French press but keep it around for power outages.  We try to remember to grind some beans ahead of time in stormy weather (my husband prefers to grind the beans right before he makes the coffee) but once we forgot and he used a mortar and pestle.  We have a gas grill with a burner, so we can heat water outside.  Last winter we bought a butane burner and a cartridge of gas so we wouldn't have to brave a blizzard or thunderstorm to get some water heated. We haven't had an opportunity to use it yet. Now that we have it, our power will probably never go out again... ?

 

 

That is why I keep a French press as well.  We live on acreage on a dirt road and we tend to lose power easily and take forever to get it back.  So two years ago we bought major supplies - a propane heater, etc.  No snow, ice, hurricanes, or wind storms have taken away our power since.  See, if you are prepared, it skips you.  

[Lady Florida.]

9 minutes ago, Pink and Green Mom said:

Brilliant.  I stockpile vodka and beer ?  And chips and Reeses peanut butter cups...actually that last part is a lie.  I ate my vat of chips and peanut butter cups well in advance of the hurricane.  By the time Irma arrived I was eating everyone else's comfort food.

We tend to stockpile salty snacks which would make us drink our water too soon. Fortunately we usually end up eating those snacks before the storm even arrives so that cuts down on our after-storm thirst. ? 

[Lady Florida.]

4 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

Saw this on FB:

Silly facebook hurricane memes are what kept a lot of us sane while waiting for Irma last year.

[Pawz4me]

I'm not a fan of French press coffee, but I do keep one in my arsenal just in case. If for some reason none of the five pour over devices I have will work, or the percolator won't work, then I have the French press seventh in line. ? 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Pawz4me

[alisoncooks]

17 minutes ago, Lady Florida. said:

We tend to stockpile salty snacks which would make us drink our water too soon. Fortunately we usually end up eating those snacks before the storm even arrives so that cuts down on our after-storm thirst. ? 

I also saw this on FB:

(As I'm eyeballing the bag of Halloween candy I bought...)

Edited September 12, 2018 by alisoncooks

[Penguin]

I finally have time to check in on this thread. My mom lives on the NC side of the NC/SC border only a mile off the coastline. She left Monday and is here with me in Maryland for who-knows-how-long. 

Eldest son lives in the Triad and is heading way out of town this evening for a preplanned event. He is heading toward a safe area, so he will be out of the way. I'll be glad when he gets on the road.

So lots of jitters about property, but I am feeling OK about my people.

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by Penguin

[KarenNC]

Got a suggestion from our HVAC company to make sure gutters and storm drains are clear, something I hadn't thought of. My husband's going to try to get the two areas that are usually the first to clog cleared out when he gets home. Luckily they are fairly accessible. 

We have our canned goods stocked up, meds, cat food, litter, a case of shelf stable milk, summer sausage, crackers, peanut butter, some cash in small denominations, cars gassed up, extra propane tank, a bit of firewood if that runs out, that sort of thing. I picked up some things like easy mac that, if we don't need, can go back to school with my daughter after all this.

I do need to go out to pick up some paper plates and such just in case, probably at the dollar store, and some extra toilet paper. I'm also looking for mayo packets, so that we'd have some without having to keep a jar cold. I wish I had thought about this in time to order some Duke's packets from Amazon, but not an option to get delivery before next week. Well, we all have to expect to make sacrifices in an emergency, and some of the stores say they stock Hellmans. ? I'll get some Dukes packets after the storm to keep in my emergency stash, since our usual big power outage threats come from ice storms in Jan/Feb.

We have plenty of muffins, sandwich bread, and the like that I can pull out of the freezer before the storm hits (we keep it there to keep it fresher and to keep the bread-loving cat from trying to eat it!). Thinking of making some pepperoni cheese bread a little closer to time to clear out some of the shredded cheese in the freezer, since it can sit at room temp. Anyone have favorite higher protein recipes that don't need refrigeration after cooking that we could make in advance?

[Ann.without.an.e]

Just now, KarenNC said:

Got a suggestion from our HVAC company to make sure gutters and storm drains are clear, something I hadn't thought of. My husband's going to try to get the two areas that are usually the first to clog cleared out when he gets home. Luckily they are fairly accessible. 

We have our canned goods stocked up, meds, cat food, litter, a case of shelf stable milk, summer sausage, crackers, peanut butter, some cash in small denominations, cars gassed up, extra propane tank, a bit of firewood if that runs out, that sort of thing. I picked up some things like easy mac that, if we don't need, can go back to school with my daughter after all this.

I do need to go out to pick up some paper plates and such just in case, probably at the dollar store, and some extra toilet paper. I'm also looking for mayo packets, so that we'd have some without having to keep a jar cold. I wish I had thought about this in time to order some Duke's packets from Amazon, but not an option to get delivery before next week. Well, we all have to expect to make sacrifices in an emergency, and some of the stores say they stock Hellmans. ? I'll get some Dukes packets after the storm to keep in my emergency stash, since our usual big power outage threats come from ice storms in Jan/Feb.

We have plenty of muffins, sandwich bread, and the like that I can pull out of the freezer before the storm hits (we keep it there to keep it fresher and to keep the bread-loving cat from trying to eat it!). Thinking of making some pepperoni cheese bread a little closer to time to clear out some of the shredded cheese in the freezer, since it can sit at room temp. Anyone have favorite higher protein recipes that don't need refrigeration after cooking that we could make in advance?

 

 

Only a Carolina girl will understand why Duke's is so very important and why Hellman's is a sacrifice ?

[KarenNC]

Just now, Attolia said:

 

 

Only a Carolina girl will understand why Duke's is so very important and why Hellman's is a sacrifice ?

Born and bred!

[Lady Florida.]

I tried Duke's once. Went back to Hellman's. ? 

Must be because I was born and bred in NJ. Nearly 50 years in Florida - much more of my life than in Jersey - but some things never leave you. 

[Spryte]

We have a little camping espresso maker, too, plus a hand held espresso maker we take to hotels. I guess we could use those, too.  The main things is getting that caffeine fix.  ?

[Pink and Green Mom]

To go along with the gutter issue....if you have a pool make sure you lower the water as much as you can before the rains start.  We forgot that part and were so afraid our overflow mechanism wouldn't be able to keep up with the influx.

[MEmama]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I'm not a fan of French press coffee, but I do keep one in my arsenal just in case. If for some reason none of the five pour over devices I have will work, or the percolator won't work, then I have the French press seventh in line. ? 

I ditched our emergency French press when I realized I can just pour hot water over the coffee grounds in the regular coffee maker (we have a gas stove)--no need for electricity OR French press sediment-Y coffee. ? 

[Ann.without.an.e]

I am in Charlotte and feeling really conflicted about how much to prep.  I mean, I have a French press, coffee, and creamer so I will survive.  Should I be freezing water?  Filling buckets? I have no idea!

[lavender's green]

Warning: silly post coming up. Not trying to make light of anyone's situations. :)

I think I have pretty much everything I need, except for test sticks for my fertility monitor. We use NFP to avoid, and I don't strictly need the sticks because I have other signs I can track. But it tickles me to think of walzing into CVS to stock up on (what appears to be) baby-making gear while everyone else in line is stocking up on essentials. Also DH needs to get a single dose of valium for an upcoming procedure. Might as well throw in a bottle of wine and look like we're having a real good time!

[fairfarmhand]

Whos in myrtle beach? My brother is there and wouldn’t go early because goofy exwife was not evacuating with their kids. Now she’s changed her mind. My brother can’t drive (legally blind) so his options are few. 

I’m so worried.

[Ann.without.an.e]

22 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Whos in myrtle beach? My brother is there and wouldn’t go early because goofy exwife was not evacuating with their kids. Now she’s changed her mind. My brother can’t drive (legally blind) so his options are few. 

I’m so worried.

 

His ex won't let him ride with her?  I understand they are divorced but to be at fault for stranding someone is crazy.

[fairfarmhand]

9 minutes ago, Attolia said:

 

His ex won't let him ride with her?  I understand they are divorced but to be at fault for stranding someone is crazy.

Welll. I can’t figure out how I feel about his decision. He did get the offer. But it was “want to ride 12 hours in the car with me, you, the kids, and your ex best friend that I cheated on you with?” 

So I do understand why he turned her down but I’m hoping the decision doesn’t hurt him.

[RootAnn]

19 hours ago, KarenNC said:

We have plenty of muffins, sandwich bread, and the like that I can pull out of the freezer before the storm hits (we keep it there to keep it fresher and to keep the bread-loving cat from trying to eat it!). 

Not meaning to hijack, but I had no idea there were other bread-loving cats out there. I thought ours was the only one. I've thought of buying a breadbox to keep him from running off with our loaves & buns.

[school17777]

On 9/10/2018 at 10:53 AM, EmseB said:

I am flying to RDU this week for my grandma's funeral, which is supposed to be Friday evening. Then trying to get out of RDU on Satuday.  So I guess I'm doing the opposite of preparing. ?

 

Been thinking of you and your grandma’s funeral.  Is it still happening tomorrow?  Did you fly there?

[Lady Florida.]

12 hours ago, lavender's green said:

Warning: silly post coming up. Not trying to make light of anyone's situations. ?

I think I have pretty much everything I need, except for test sticks for my fertility monitor. We use NFP to avoid, and I don't strictly need the sticks because I have other signs I can track. But it tickles me to think of walzing into CVS to stock up on (what appears to be) baby-making gear while everyone else in line is stocking up on essentials. Also DH needs to get a single dose of valium for an upcoming procedure. Might as well throw in a bottle of wine and look like we're having a real good time!

I saw this on facebook yesterday. 

I urge all family and friends in the Carolinas

And the entire East Coast, to be careful.

I can't afford to go to 27 baby showers in April

Because you lost power...

[sheryl]

10 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

Welll. I can’t figure out how I feel about his decision. He did get the offer. But it was “want to ride 12 hours in the car with me, you, the kids, and your ex best friend that I cheated on you with?” 

So I do understand why he turned her down but I’m hoping the decision doesn’t hurt him.

Many of the school here in the Carolinas (NC and SC) have turned their schools into shelters.  Tell him to go there. ALSO, EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW THAT WHEN I WATCHED THE NEWS THIS MORNING, AIRBNB IS ALLOWING THEIR SUPERHOSTS TO OPEN THEIR HOMES FOR FREE TO THOSE ESCAPING THE HURRICANE! 

[Pawz4me]

Live cam from Frying Pan tower (right off coast of NC)

[EmseB]

1 hour ago, school17777 said:

 

Been thinking of you and your grandma’s funeral.  Is it still happening tomorrow?  Did you fly there?

Yes and yes. Since the track has moved south things here (Rocky Mount) look a little better. I'm still wary of getting out on Saturday because I have a connection through Charlotte, but I'm trying to fix that today. Thanks for thinking of me!

[TechWife]

This should go under the heading of “You can’t make this stuff up.” We are supposed to be leaving for France on Monday evening. Hopefully we will have power here at the house so that we can leave on time. But - Hurricane Helene is supposed to make landfall in Ireland on Monday! Surely by the time we are supposed to land on Paris on Tuesday AM, any residual storms on the edge of the storm will have passsed through already and won’t delay our arrival. Right? Right? 

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

I saw this on facebook yesterday. 

I urge all family and friends in the Carolinas

And the entire East Coast, to be careful.

I can't afford to go to 27 baby showers in April

Because you lost power...

Copy and pasting to relatives in the area. I don't have time for this!!!! ?

[Angie in VA]

On 9/12/2018 at 11:41 AM, Pawz4me said:

I'm not a fan of French press coffee, but I do keep one in my arsenal just in case. If for some reason none of the five pour over devices I have will work, or the percolator won't work, then I have the French press seventh in line. ? 

 

Please spill your pour over favorites. I'm currently doing cold brew coffee in a mason jar in the fridge. Full disclosure: I only drink coffee w/ chocolate in it, so my DH claims I don't really drink coffee. If you agree and don't feel I deserve to know the info I requested, feel free to ignore me. ?

Edited September 24, 2018 by Angie in VA

[alisoncooks]

2 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I saw this on facebook yesterday. 

I urge all family and friends in the Carolinas

And the entire East Coast, to be careful.

I can't afford to go to 27 baby showers in April

Because you lost power...

I saw that, too! It made me LOL. 

My neighbor has been MIA for 2 days. I suspect he "evacuated" to his elderly MIL's house (also local, needs assistance). But he hasn't done any prep at his house for the potential winds. Lawn furniture and etc still out in his yard. All I can think is "that's gonna fly into my house."  I told DH that if neighbor doesn't show up by this evening, I'm going over there and moving it all to under his deck. (My kid's bedrooms are on that side! What if it hits a window!?)  

Better safe than sorry. 

[displace]

1 hour ago, TechWife said:

This should go under the heading of “You can’t make this stuff up.” We are supposed to be leaving for France on Monday evening. Hopefully we will have power here at the house so that we can leave on time. But - Hurricane Helene is supposed to make landfall in Ireland on Monday! Surely by the time we are supposed to land on Paris on Tuesday AM, any residual storms on the edge of the storm will have passsed through already and won’t delay our arrival. Right? Right? 

I think it’s headed to Ireland now.  (One of the 4 current storms in the Atlantic...). Idk if flights will avoid the hurricane paths at their altitudes.  ?

[alisoncooks]

This is where I grew up: https://www.citizen-times.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2018/09/11/incoming-hurricane-florence-forces-evacuations-and-preparation/1264595002/

My parents are riding it out. They're most concerned with storm surge (they've never had flood waters in the house but do have higher ground to retreat to, if needed). 

Prayers for these small coastal communities. This one barely bounced back from the last big flooding they had. 

[sheryl]

13 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

This is where I grew up: https://www.citizen-times.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2018/09/11/incoming-hurricane-florence-forces-evacuations-and-preparation/1264595002/

My parents are riding it out. They're most concerned with storm surge (they've never had flood waters in the house but do have higher ground to retreat to, if needed). 

Prayers for these small coastal communities. This one barely bounced back from the last big flooding they had. 

  Oh dear, yes, Swan Qtr.  Well, do they have batteries/radio/lanterns, and meds if they're on any?  Water, etc.  It will help they are on higher ground but will a compromising situation.  

[alisoncooks]

7 minutes ago, sheryl said:

  Oh dear, yes, Swan Qtr.  Well, do they have batteries/radio/lanterns, and meds if they're on any?  Water, etc.  It will help they are on higher ground but will a compromising situation.  

Oh yeah, they're pretty prepared. Whole-house generator and such. My mom works in a county department, and she was told to anticipate 2 weeks without power. Hoping it will not be that bad. 

[Pawz4me]

2 hours ago, Angie in VA said:

 

Please spill your pour over favorites. I'm currently doing cold brew coffee in a mason jar in the fridge. Full disclosure: I only drink coffee w/ chocolate in it, so my DH claims I'm don't really drink coffee. If you agree and don't feel I deserve to know the info I requested, feel free to ignore me. ?

I don't really have anything special--Over the years I managed to accumulate multiple Melitta cones, a Chemex and one rather disappointing gadget I picked up at the grocery store. And you do coffee however you like. DH occasionally likes chocolate milk, and when we have some in the fridge I sometimes use it instead of half and half in my coffee. It's pretty yummy.

[Mom25girls]

Sending prayers for safety to all impacted by the storm. 

[DawnM]

Filling up our bathtubs tonight for "bucket showers" and the ability to flush (although we can use pool water if necessary.)

ALready 400 in our county without power so we are anticipating it.  

Our biggest concern is the trees surrounding our house.  We have a dead 80 foot tree next to our house.  I told my son he has to sleep downstairs tonight (in the office) as his bedroom is right where some trees are.  Part of me doesn't mind a tree falling, I have been wanting to remodel and get a new kitchen!  HAHAHA!  As long as no one is hurt.

My school district was closed today and my guess is that it will be closed part of next week.

[DawnM]

Oh, and it isn't my preference, but I did get instant coffee so at least I can have coffee if the power goes out.

[Pawz4me]

Florence's rains have just started here. We're in the 6 to 10 inch prediction area, but very close to the 10 to 15 inch area. Trees are our main worry, too.

[Mbelle]

Did y'all see this link from National Hurricane Updates? ?

https://www.facebook.com/NationalHurricaneUpdates/photos/a.240036249456901/1685305701596608/?type=3

Comments are awesome! LOL

 

 

[KarenNC]

Well, it looks like we are through with the worst of the rain here in the Charlotte area, though flood waters are still going to be an issue for a while. We were extremely fortunate. Lots of rain, but we haven't lost power, and no flooding at our house, though one of the two ways out of our area is flooded. We've at least now laid in some supplies that we can keep back in case of power outages from ice storms this winter! ? 

Looks like we will likely have our daughter home from UNC-Wilmington for a while yet. The mayor said that it could take two weeks to get power restored to the area, so we'll see. There is literally no access via road to Wilmington at the moment, and the school hasn't been able to assess the damage yet. They are hoping to be able to let us know by mid-week what the plan will be. They've said they'll give a minimum of 72 hours notice of campus re-opening, so that tells me it will be after next weekend at minimum, which would mean two full weeks out of school. The only thing we've heard from the "grapevine" so far is that there was severe flooding damage to the chemistry building due to a roof membrane being ripped off during the storm, but the county today announced plans to open up a shelter on campus for local residents, possibly tomorrow, so parts of the campus must still be functional.

I feel really sorry for all the students who were evacuated up to UNC-Asheville and now are stuck there for an indeterminate period of time.

[DawnM]

[Pawz4me]

8 hours ago, KarenNC said:

I feel really sorry for all the students who were evacuated up to UNC-Asheville and now are stuck there for an indeterminate period of time.

I agree, but . . .better Asheville than Wilmington right now. They're safe and everything there is (at least ATM) intact. And it's not a bad place to be stuck. ?