September Is National Preparedness Month!!! Home Fire Extinguisher Warning, Harvest Time Continues!

September Is National Preparedness Month!!!
With hurricane Dorian and all the flooding, tornadoes, and fires on the West coast it's a good reminder that September is National Preparedness Month! In the last two days we've had lots of wind, thunder, lightning and rain here in Boise. While the rain is a blessing, the winds and lightning can always start fires. October usually brings our first big storms. One thing I'd thought of recently was buying sheets of heavy plywood to cover our large, west-facing windows and sliding door if they got hit by a storm. These take the brunt of the wind, and branches come down quite frequently-

Dining room slider

Living room picture window

Master bedroom window

Tarps won't cut it in 65 + mph winds, snow or rain! It could also be used on the roof in case of a storm downing of large branches. We're in high summer garden and harvest season, but soon I'll be prepping the coop and putting the garden to bed for the winter. WINTER, yes it's coming.  One of the things I did today was buy a new winter comforter for master bedroom bed.  I realized I only had one comforter in the entire house and ours was getting pretty worn. If we lost the furnace or power it could get pretty darn cold with just one comforter, now two is even better! I got a great deal at a local discount store for that. I'll keep the old one as a spare. As for preparedness I have several links below with really great information on what kinds of things you may want to have on hand. There's also a link below about how to save money while prepping. Don't forget one of the main things you need to have on hand is WATER as you may not have access to some depending on the emergency you might have. Extra food, fuel, pet foods, baby/child items, OTC and prescription medications are always a must. We stock up on canned goods, batteries and I am storing more water this time of year. While we have a 55 gallon rain barrel it would need to be filtered (we have a filter),  but we have to empty it for the winter. I buy a gallon jug of water for $1.00, so it's easy to buy a few at a time. I personally don't like reusing milk jugs for water storage. Some folks use alternative methods for heat, wood stove (still want one) or have a generator. We have a camping stove and several Kerosene heaters, but not for indoor use. We could use the stove in the garage for cooking in a vented area. Links here - Ready.gov  Budget Friendly Preparedness Kit   Don't forget your pets!

Home Fire Extinguisher Warning-
We found out some information recently I thought I'd share, from my husband's business Fire Safety inspector. He told Dave that most home fire extinguishers have a six year life span. The plastic handle will also break a lot, as the solution will turn to sludge. If yours is 20 plus years old it might fail when you most need it. We bought a industrial version from for $55.00. Check yours, better safe than sorry! Any welding supply company has them and they'll recharge every six years for half the price. Here's our new one-

Harvest Time Continues!

It's the land of plenty! Nothing like freezing lots of famous San Marzano plum tomatoes, dead ripe!!!

 Little babies too-

Lots of apples, froze about 15 gallons or more of apple slices for baking-

Pears are starting, we bake or eat fresh, since it's a semi-dwarf tree-

And then there's apple crumble-