Have you checked your tires lately?

Well, the long and short of it is I hadn't about two weeks ago, and so one of my tires decided to "check out" on its own.

At the time, I had a child in the car with me, and we had just recently entered a really busy highway. Suddenly, I heard a strange noise, (although I have had a flat tire before, I always discovered that I had a flat while the car was stationary, so this was a new experience for me) and thought/did the following:

1. Turned off the radio, and thought, "Is that my car?"

2. Thought (very) briefly that it might be the wind, since I had increased speed, but even though it does get windy in Idaho, it doesn't get that windy.

3. Checked the dashboard, thinking that something was wrong with the innards of the car, since the sound was coming from that direction. There was nothing wrong.

4. Started to smell burning rubber, and immediately started to look for a place to pull off the road. Unfortunately, at that point of the highway in question, there really is no place to pull off the road, and it was right before an exit ramp. There is a white line that indicates the edge of the road, but after that there is very little concrete, and a lot of hill sloping immediately downward. So not a lot of options, considering the above-mentioned exit ramp coming up.

5. Pulled off the road, as close to the edge as possible, put on the hazard lights, and called my husband, who was, fortunately, not very far away. Then I, and the child accompanying me, exited on the hill side of the car, and waited. I figured if one of the many cars passing by bumped into the car, we wouldn't want to be anywhere in or around it.

Ok, I am the first to admit that I should definitely know how to change my own tire, but I don't, even though I have been shown how before. Thing is, in this particular situation, I wouldn't have changed the tire even if I had known how--I was unwilling to even go around the side of the car and see the extent of the damage done, due to the location I was in and the amount of traffic going by.

Then, YAY, an Idaho state trooper stopped behind me. I was impressed by how much this state trooper helped us, though I never knew his name.

He came up and I told him what had happened, and that my husband was on the way. He asked if my husband was in town, and then said, "Is that him?" and yes. Yes, it was. He was backing up to my car.

My husband proceeded to work on the tire, and the state trooper moved his car out so that anyone coming toward our car would have to go around him. Then he got out and helped my husband, and they were done in like, no time flat. No pun intended.

The state trooper then asked how long I had been waiting before he showed up, and I said, "Oh, five to seven minutes." He then said that they try to patrol the roads so that no one has to wait long for help, but sometimes in the more isolated areas it takes a lot longer. He was very nice, and didn't have to help my husband, but I am so grateful that he did. It was a dangerous spot, and he made it a lot safer. He also went above and beyond the call of duty. He deserves more than a YAY!, but perhaps and maybe he will see this post and know how much we appreciate his help.

Soooo, turns out that it was the tread on the tires that was bad that caused this unfortunate situation. Now we have a good tire in place, but I feel that I was blessed in many ways when this happened to me:

1. There was no snow on the ground at the time, just as there is no snow on the ground in this area as I write this. When I think about how slick the roads can get around here, and try to imagine what slick roads + flat blown out tire + no place to turn off to speak of when there is good (but windy) weather, well, it doesn't add up to anything good.

2. I had someone to call that could help me, and if my husband had been farther away, the state trooper was there quickly, and as mentioned, he made it a lot safer by locating his car to minimize the chances of an accident as the tire was changed.

3. We had a good tire, (not a donut) as the spare, so I didn't have to worry about the spare blowing up on my way home. Which is where I went immediately, and was not late for something I had to be home for. (Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about "donuts" so the likelihood of one blowing out on my way home is not something I know a lot about. However, I did feel better that I had a regular tire as a replacement.)

So, I reiterate, have you checked your tires lately? I am surprised that we haven't had more snow yet, at least in this part of Idaho, but it does give us more of a chance to check (and if necessary) improve our situation before the roads get slick...

Happy Veteran's Day!

Wanted to express my gratitude to those who have served and sacrificed for our country in the armed forces-- I could never say it enough, and will never forget it. Thank you for your service.

Nothing like the 31st...

...to make you realize that you have once again procrastinated, and it is past time to post those things you have been thinking about writing about...

First, a huge thank you to those who have contributed information on Idaho on the last post. If you read the comments, you will find varying opinions about Idaho and a lot of info. There is also a comment from my friend Carl, who asks a very specific question about a particular region. You can go to the comments section under the last post for the comment in its entirety, but the following excerpt is where I come to my readers for help:

"We are looking at Idaho again, but I am concerned about hospitals in the Northern Idaho area near Spokane. I am wondering if any of your readers can comment?"

I will ask around here to see if I can get some info, but thank you in advance for any information you may be able to offer on this specific area!

On another subject, at an emergency preparedness presentation I attended recently, there were a couple of things that stuck out that I don't remember seeing mentioned anywhere else on the internet, or at other presentations:

--The presenter asked if we kept a permanent marker in our 72-hour kits. Turns out that when Hurricane Katrina and all the accompanying problems happened, that families would sometimes need to be separated, and some parents had the brilliant idea to write vital information on their childrens' arms in permanent marker--things like contact information with important phone numbers, etc., so it would be easier for the families to be reunited again. I can't remember what was specifically said, (and that is what is wrong with procrastination) but it seems that things like medication information for children and/or others who might need help with such issues might also benefit from having it written down where others can see what is needed and render aid.

--When a sample 72-hour kit was presented, there was an empty gallon jug attached to the backpack, so that when this person and their family were headed out the door, they could quickly fill it up, and have the "extra" water with them. No doubt it would be a little heavy, but like I always tell my children, even if you have to lighten your pack, you keep the water...I wouldn't expect my children to carry an extra gallon, but I can imagine that there would be great benefits from the adults to carry one each, and if you are able to fill it up before there are water issues and are able to stay home or evacuate by vehicle, all the better....

And, you have probably heard about the prices on peanut butter going up--this article has more information, and in the video in the article, has the percentages for some brand names for how much, as well as when, the prices are expected to rise. This to me is one of those examples of how it's good to have a couple jars/bags/containers of products you use regularly put aside, so that you have a little leeway on when you have to stock up again, and can hopefully hold out until you have coupons and/or a sale...Unfortunately, the massive price increase on some brands of peanut butter have already started, if I have understood correctly, and the others will not be far behind--stock up on what you can, while you can, if peanut butter is one of your preferred preparedness items....

Thanks again to those who commented on Idaho, and thanks for coming back to read despite my procrastination--hope all is well with everyone!

Need information on different areas of Idaho...

...to answer questions from someone interested in possibly relocating to Idaho. Readers of this blog may remember and/or been affected by the fact that I sometimes am slow in checking the e-mail account connected to this blog, (sorry!) but recently I did check it and found an e-mail from D.S., who sent, in part, the following:

" I live in Chicago and I need to get out of here before things get ugly and I have been thinking about moving to Idaho somewhere. The problem I'm having, and the reason for this email, is that I have no idea where a good place would be to buy a home for someone with a "prepper" mentality. It seems like Idaho is completely off the grid, in the mountains, and wooded which is great but makes it difficult to know where a good spot would be for someone like me who lives in a big city and has never lived in any kind of rural area."

Readers may remember me talking about things that go on in my neighborhood, so may have guessed that my neighborhood wouldn't really fit the description of an area that D.S. is looking for. So I replied, in part:

"I personally don't live in the kind of area that you are looking for, (hey, but Idaho is great everywhere that I have seen :) but I know that at least some of my readers have more info on different areas from where I am located. Even if I did, I have often found that my readers give out a lot more information than I do, and I learn a lot from them..."

So, I am requesting info from anyone who does have more information on areas that are more along the lines of what D.S. is interested in. Many thanks in advance for input that you are willing to share!

A little on the late side...

As in it's the last day of a sale at Albertson's, but they're pretty good deals. You have to buy 10 items that are included in the deal (General Mills products) to get the $5.00 off, but many of the items are pretty good:

--Progresso soups end up being $1.29/can when you buy 10, and put any of those soups with mashed potatoes or rice, and you would have a pretty filling meal.

--Handily enough, if you buy packages of Betty Crocker specialty potatoes, they are $.50/package if you buy 10.

-- Also $.50 are select varieties of Green Giant vegetables (11-15.25 oz.).

Those are my favorites this week, although I must say that in my opinion, Albertson's has got a lot of great deals this week. No, no one I am related to works at Albertson's, that I know of. And yes, as usual, if you are not sure that your particular Albertson's is participating in the festivities, please call ahead and ask if they are having these deals. Thanks, Albertson's!!

Sorry for the late notice--hopefully many of you have already found these deals and saved lots of money...

And for those who may not be located near an Albertson's (much as I am not located near an Albi's store, although I hear they have great deals), perhaps you are located near a Sam's Club, and would like the chance to win a $40 gift card. Regardless of your proximity to an Albertson's, you can enter for a chance to win by commenting on this post over at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. That giveaway ends tomorrow at 10 pm Eastern Time. So a little more notice than the end of the Albertson's sale (tonight), but not much. Thanks, Harried Homemaker!

In any case, hope you get a chance to get to Albertson's if those deals interest you, and good luck on the giveaway, if you decide to enter!

On the question of sanitation

I have read various ways of dealing with the sanitation issue, something that is of concern when dealing with situations where there is little to no water, or even in the case of running out of (hopefully massively stockpiles of) toilet paper. I recently received a link in an e-mail from a preparedness expert that I know in Utah that deals with this issue, and thought I would share. There's a video and everything!

Seems like an appropriate time to thank everyone who continues to read even though I don't have exciting things like videos on this blog...thanks!

Anyway, also on the linked site are info for storing a 3-month supply, and info for turning off your water at the street. Thanks to the creator(s) of the site for sharing such useful information!

Preparedness Expo July 31--in Spokane

Thanks to idahobob for sending the information link about the Sustainable Preparedness Expo this coming weekend in Spokane. From that page, when you "click here for more info", you will find that there is a lot more info. It may not work for everyone in Idaho, but for those who would be interested, the information is there.

Sounds like a lot of valuable information in one place...thanks, idahobob!