Well according to our weatherman, we just have a couple more cold fronts that will move through Oklahoma before we can expect some spring weather. One of those cold fronts is due to hit here tonight or overnight, bringing temperatures dropping down into the 20’s and followed by rain, sleet, ice and possibly snow to some parts of the state. Luckily, in the middle of the state, where I am at, they say we are likely to have a “wintery mix” and possibly up to an inch of snow that should burn off sometime late on Friday.
All I know is that it is time for some comfort food! So out comes the crock-pot and I am in the process of making some good homemade potato soup. I love my daughter’s recipe but sorry to say I don’t have all the “extra goodies” that she puts into hers. She always adds sour cream and half and half into her soup, neither of which I have on hand at the moment. So I will substitute with a can of evaporated milk and add in a little extra butter in hopes of giving it that rich full bodied flavor.
I thought about doing some meatless chili, which I may make tomorrow or perhaps a big pan of mac and cheese, one of my all time favorites.
I am so anxious for the little buds of spring to start peaking thru the ground. I have a beautiful growth of daffodils or jonquils as some people call them, that I love to cut and bring in the house to brighten things up!
It is time to go visiting some of the gardening websites, I’m already getting emails about it being time to start some seedlings indoors in preparation for spring planting. This year, I have GOT to have a good producing garden. Last year’s was a total flop!
I hope you are all pulling out your gardening magazines, or visiting your favorite gardening websites to get some ideas about what to plant this year.
Come on spring!
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Preparing For Another Cold Winter
You've probably heard the term "colder than molasses in January" if you live in the Midwestern states or Eastern states of this country. Last winter, it seems that we had an unusually cold winter with lots of wind and blowing snow and ice. This wasn't really typical weather for the middle of Oklahoma for sure. In years past we seemed to get snow that might stay on the ground for a couple of days, the sun would come out, things would warm up and it would be gone. Not this past couple of winters.
Not only did the ice and snow stick around, but there were many areas of the state who were without power for many days because of downed power lines. I had friends up in Tulsa who were without power for 11 days. Luckily they had a fireplace where they could improvise cooking and for some heat. They were eventually able to borrow a generator but others were not so lucky.
I was one of the fortunate ones, never lost power, but did feel trapped inside my home and felt like I couldn't get the house warm enough as the winds blew and the snow continued to fall. I have vowed that I am going to be better prepared this year.
I will be stocking up my pantry with canned goods and sterno heat that I can use to heat things up with if I lose power. I don't have a fireplace so having a way to heat food will be necessary if I lose power. If you don't already have a fully stocked pantry, now would be a good time to start buying some extra items each month, along with some bottled water, so that you at least have a month or two worth of goods on hand just in case you are housebound that long.
While you are at it, grab some batteries for flashlights, extra candles and oil for some oil wick lamps to provide lighting. If push comes to shove, you could always use your solar powered yard lights by bringing them inside at night to light your house.
I also plan to have de-icer on hand as well as plenty of extra cat litter to sprinkle on the sidewalk and driveway. Trying to shovel wet heavy snow and break through solid sheets of ice is not easy when you get up in age.
Before the cold weather arrives, take time to check your doors and windows and make sure that the weather stripping is good as well as check to see if they might need to be recalked.
Have your furnace inspected to make sure it is in proper working order. Grab enough filters to last you several months because you will want to change them out at least once a month during the cold winter months. With you house closed up, you are going to find that dust and dirt will accumulate on them much faster than they did during the summer.
The other thing I plan to do is make some extra heavy curtains for my windows. Back in the olden days, Grandma used to take a bed quilt and drape it up over the curtain rod as an added layer to keep the cold out and the heat in. I am going to basically use this idea but modify it. I am going to either make my own quilted material to use or see if I can find some second hand quilts at one of the thrift stores. I am going to cut them to the size of my window opening, make a placket at the top and bottom to run pressure rods through. Then I will put them up so that they fit snuggly inside the window frame opening, and they will have the rods at the top and bottom of the window frame. With the extra quilt batting between the material, this should help with insulating for warmth.
Once again this year, I will close off rooms that I don't use, either by closing doors or using drapes. If there is space under the bottom of the door which will allow drafts, I am going to make "draft dodgers" this year. Using a piece of material, the length of the door about 10-12 inches wide, sew it into a cylinder and close off one end. Take rice and put it inside a plastic bag and work it down into the cylinder. Sew the other end of the cylinder up. You could also make these for window sills if you didn't get new weatherstripping installed.
Chances are we are all going to be looking for ways to keep our utility bills down this winter as the cost of heating is expected to be on the rise. You can dress in layers, open up the curtains during the day to let the sunlight in to warm the house and close them as the sun goes down.
By preparing now you can avoid having to run around gathering things together when the first weather reports come out that a storm is on the way. It never fails, the weatherman can be predicting that snow or ice storms are headed our way but everyone seems to wait till the day before or even up to just a few hours before it is expected to arrive to go get their supplies in. Nothing is more frustrating that to go to a store and find out there is nothing on the shelves that you need. So plan ahead this year especially because it is my guess that stores won't be as well stocked as they have been in the past.
Not only did the ice and snow stick around, but there were many areas of the state who were without power for many days because of downed power lines. I had friends up in Tulsa who were without power for 11 days. Luckily they had a fireplace where they could improvise cooking and for some heat. They were eventually able to borrow a generator but others were not so lucky.
I was one of the fortunate ones, never lost power, but did feel trapped inside my home and felt like I couldn't get the house warm enough as the winds blew and the snow continued to fall. I have vowed that I am going to be better prepared this year.
I will be stocking up my pantry with canned goods and sterno heat that I can use to heat things up with if I lose power. I don't have a fireplace so having a way to heat food will be necessary if I lose power. If you don't already have a fully stocked pantry, now would be a good time to start buying some extra items each month, along with some bottled water, so that you at least have a month or two worth of goods on hand just in case you are housebound that long.
While you are at it, grab some batteries for flashlights, extra candles and oil for some oil wick lamps to provide lighting. If push comes to shove, you could always use your solar powered yard lights by bringing them inside at night to light your house.
I also plan to have de-icer on hand as well as plenty of extra cat litter to sprinkle on the sidewalk and driveway. Trying to shovel wet heavy snow and break through solid sheets of ice is not easy when you get up in age.
Before the cold weather arrives, take time to check your doors and windows and make sure that the weather stripping is good as well as check to see if they might need to be recalked.
Have your furnace inspected to make sure it is in proper working order. Grab enough filters to last you several months because you will want to change them out at least once a month during the cold winter months. With you house closed up, you are going to find that dust and dirt will accumulate on them much faster than they did during the summer.
The other thing I plan to do is make some extra heavy curtains for my windows. Back in the olden days, Grandma used to take a bed quilt and drape it up over the curtain rod as an added layer to keep the cold out and the heat in. I am going to basically use this idea but modify it. I am going to either make my own quilted material to use or see if I can find some second hand quilts at one of the thrift stores. I am going to cut them to the size of my window opening, make a placket at the top and bottom to run pressure rods through. Then I will put them up so that they fit snuggly inside the window frame opening, and they will have the rods at the top and bottom of the window frame. With the extra quilt batting between the material, this should help with insulating for warmth.
Once again this year, I will close off rooms that I don't use, either by closing doors or using drapes. If there is space under the bottom of the door which will allow drafts, I am going to make "draft dodgers" this year. Using a piece of material, the length of the door about 10-12 inches wide, sew it into a cylinder and close off one end. Take rice and put it inside a plastic bag and work it down into the cylinder. Sew the other end of the cylinder up. You could also make these for window sills if you didn't get new weatherstripping installed.
Chances are we are all going to be looking for ways to keep our utility bills down this winter as the cost of heating is expected to be on the rise. You can dress in layers, open up the curtains during the day to let the sunlight in to warm the house and close them as the sun goes down.
By preparing now you can avoid having to run around gathering things together when the first weather reports come out that a storm is on the way. It never fails, the weatherman can be predicting that snow or ice storms are headed our way but everyone seems to wait till the day before or even up to just a few hours before it is expected to arrive to go get their supplies in. Nothing is more frustrating that to go to a store and find out there is nothing on the shelves that you need. So plan ahead this year especially because it is my guess that stores won't be as well stocked as they have been in the past.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Oklahoma Snow Storm
We have just come through another snow and ice storm, not as bad as we had at Christmas this year or the one of several years ago, but we still saw quite a bit and are still blanketed with ice and the white stuff.
Thought you might like to see a few pictures:
Can we say just a might cold here?
Been hearing tree limbs falling and now chainsaws so I guess the cleanup has begun!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I Jumped The Gun!
Well, it looks like I kinda jumped the gun talking about getting ready for spring and tornado season when we were issued another Winter Storm Watch yesterday, advising us that another bad storm is expected in here on Thursday!
I was all set to be done with ice and snow! I'm already thinking gardens, spring and sunshine!
If you live in the South and Midwest and are expecting more bad winter weather, are you prepared? Some of your preparations would be similar to having your "safe place" ready for tornado season but lets go over some additional preparations that you need to consider if there is lots of ice and snow!
Loss of Power of course is one of the main things you have to worry about with ice not only accumulating on streets underneath snow and making for hazardous driving conditions, but ice accumulating on powerlines which can snap and break under the sheer weight of the ice or because they are no longer flexible and have ability to sway in high winds. Several years ago we had a horrible winter ice storm. I had friends up in Tulsa who were without power for approximately two weeks. Luckily they had both a fireplace and were able to borrow a generator about 4 days after the storm hit.
Frozen water pipes in another worry. On those outside pipes, your water spikets for hooking up your garden hose, if you don't have any of those fancy "bonnets" made of styrafoam to put over them, at least wrap them in newspaper and hold it in place with some type of tape. If your water heater is out in the garage, it would also be a good idea to have an insulation blanket around it.
Inside faucets and outlet pipes that are on exterior walls are also prone to freezing. Dripping BOTH the hot and cold faucets and opening up the cabinet doors underneath that area to circulate warm house air will help eliminate this problem.
Food, Water and Medicines are also important to have on hand in case you are stuck inside for several days unable to get to a store. If you are without power, you will need items that you can eat cold right out of the can. Now of course if you are like me, this is when you are craving a nice big bowl of hot soup or chili and you have to settle for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! If you have no way to cook anything, as in my case if I lose power, I am out of luck. You might see if you can't find a couple cans of "sterno" and use some light weight aluminum pans to try and heat things up in. But please, don't try to fire up the bar-b-q grill indoors!
Pets will also need to have protection from the elements if they are outside animals. Be sure that they have shelter to get to, warm bedding to snuggle into, plenty of food and fresh water. I know that many farmers use heating elements to keep the water flowing and not iced over. Little animals (especially cats and dogs) probably should be brought inside or if not into the house into some type of heated area if the temperatures are going to be prolonged periods of below freezing weather.
Check your neighbors, especially those that are elderly. Hopefully you will have phone service and can give them a call. If not, you might be able to venture out across the street or next door to check on them if they are living close by.
So now I batten down the hatches, in preparation for possible ice and snow with blowing winds to arrive over night tomorrow and be hanging around for a couple of days! I will curl up under a warm blanket with that seed and flower catalog and dream of spring and that new garden I plan to put in.
Stay safe and warm everyone!
I was all set to be done with ice and snow! I'm already thinking gardens, spring and sunshine!
If you live in the South and Midwest and are expecting more bad winter weather, are you prepared? Some of your preparations would be similar to having your "safe place" ready for tornado season but lets go over some additional preparations that you need to consider if there is lots of ice and snow!
Loss of Power of course is one of the main things you have to worry about with ice not only accumulating on streets underneath snow and making for hazardous driving conditions, but ice accumulating on powerlines which can snap and break under the sheer weight of the ice or because they are no longer flexible and have ability to sway in high winds. Several years ago we had a horrible winter ice storm. I had friends up in Tulsa who were without power for approximately two weeks. Luckily they had both a fireplace and were able to borrow a generator about 4 days after the storm hit.
Frozen water pipes in another worry. On those outside pipes, your water spikets for hooking up your garden hose, if you don't have any of those fancy "bonnets" made of styrafoam to put over them, at least wrap them in newspaper and hold it in place with some type of tape. If your water heater is out in the garage, it would also be a good idea to have an insulation blanket around it.
Inside faucets and outlet pipes that are on exterior walls are also prone to freezing. Dripping BOTH the hot and cold faucets and opening up the cabinet doors underneath that area to circulate warm house air will help eliminate this problem.
Food, Water and Medicines are also important to have on hand in case you are stuck inside for several days unable to get to a store. If you are without power, you will need items that you can eat cold right out of the can. Now of course if you are like me, this is when you are craving a nice big bowl of hot soup or chili and you have to settle for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! If you have no way to cook anything, as in my case if I lose power, I am out of luck. You might see if you can't find a couple cans of "sterno" and use some light weight aluminum pans to try and heat things up in. But please, don't try to fire up the bar-b-q grill indoors!
Pets will also need to have protection from the elements if they are outside animals. Be sure that they have shelter to get to, warm bedding to snuggle into, plenty of food and fresh water. I know that many farmers use heating elements to keep the water flowing and not iced over. Little animals (especially cats and dogs) probably should be brought inside or if not into the house into some type of heated area if the temperatures are going to be prolonged periods of below freezing weather.
Check your neighbors, especially those that are elderly. Hopefully you will have phone service and can give them a call. If not, you might be able to venture out across the street or next door to check on them if they are living close by.
So now I batten down the hatches, in preparation for possible ice and snow with blowing winds to arrive over night tomorrow and be hanging around for a couple of days! I will curl up under a warm blanket with that seed and flower catalog and dream of spring and that new garden I plan to put in.
Stay safe and warm everyone!
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