Hurricane season starts in 10 days
May 21, 2006 
Hurricane season officially starts on June 1. Last year the first tropical storm (Arlene) ran June 8-13. So one cannot assume that the real storms come later in the season (the first hurricane last year - Cindy - reached hurricane status on July 3). OK. Time to crank the hurricane preparations into full swing.
I've recently begun using the very handy, easy-to-use, and free :) Ta-da lists from the clever folks at 37signals. Pictured here is my to-do Ta-da list of items to get done soon. Last year, I installed tracks for storm panels all around the house. And we caulked all of the windows. We bought some brackets to use to secure vertical 4x4's behind the garage doors - even though the doors are the newer variety that are reinforced to handle high winds. I feel better having a hefty post every 8 feet or so. Of course, the brackets aren't installed yet, and we need to buy the posts.
Even though we have panels to cover windows and doors around the house (leaving ourselves 2 exit points for safety), we want to buy some clear panels to let light in. We'd bought one last year to experiment with and decide if it was worth it to get more. YES! The clear panel gets installed in place of a metal one, provides the same protection, and brings in some natural light, so one can reduce the 'cave' feeling that one gets when the house is shrouded in panels and the power is out.
Yesterday I finished caulking between the soffit and wall in the peak above the garage. The gap was up to 1/2 inch (ok, a little more than that in places), and when horizontal rain is blowing with gusty winds, there's too much chance of water intrusion and flying metal soffits. So I feel real good to have that done. Then there's the updates to video/photo inventory, refilling some of the emergency supplies, etc., etc. It's going to be a bit busy around here for a couple of weeks (so what's new!).
OK, people, if you live in a hurricane area, get busy!
Florida
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