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Day 213: Boots on the Ground!

My new boots

I went out to lunch yesterday with my kids.  We went to Chang's Mongolian Grill. It was raining buckets.  Right before we left, the UPS truck drove up and delivered my new boots! An early Christmas gift from my daughter, my son-in-law and my son.

I was so happy all day. There was standing water everywhere. But my feet remained dry! And the boots are comfortable too! They have nice high arches.

It made such a difference in my day to travel about in a sensible, comfortable fashion. I travelled light. I had my new boots, my bubble umbrella,  a light meal of yogurt, cheese, gluten free crackers, and grapefruit slices, my thermos full of hot green Jasmine tea and some stickers for my students.

I hardly  missed my Kindle.

l listened to the radio during my commute. Mostly NPR. And Clyde Lewis. His program last night was about the dark side of Christmas. He spoke about the "Krampus". As usual, very thought provoking. But also rather creepy. I switched over to 104.1 The Fish and listened to some classical Christmas carols to restore my inner peace. (I am learning from my revelation in my prior post to "change the channel". In this instance, literally!)

Here is the link for Clyde' s site, if you dare!
http://www.groundzeromedia.org/dark-christmas-the-gnomes-of-krampus-and-belsnickel/

Global warming isn't so bad. Although it was coming down in buckets yesterday (3 inches in 12 hours)and many roads closed, (Johnson Creek flooded), the temperature was lingering pleasantly in the upper 50's all day.

It's drizzling this morning, but it feels like a warm shower. The high today will be 62°. In December. Never a dull moment here in Portland, Oregon.

Last night, when I got home, I found a letter from the City of Portland advising residents what to do in case of a flood.

We had a little family meeting and talked about our plan of action should disaster strike. I felt pretty well informed. After all, I do work for the City of Portland. We have fire drills. And at the last faculty meeting we talked about what to do in case of an earthquake and (AAACK!) what to do in case of an active shooter.

But my question is, what if I become all befuddled. What if I try to fight a tsunami? Or what if during an active shooter situation I stop, drop and roll?

We are living in precarious times.  Awareness is vital. I feel good that we did talk about different situations. Next steps are weekly drills, written family plan and bug out bags!

As I have mentioned often in this blog, I do best with a plan! And I plan to survive! And I want to save my family and friends and dog and anyone else by encouraging them to plan.  There are many websites that encourage family meetings and planning.  FEMA has a website with printable wallet sized "Family Communication" documents.  http://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan

Happy Tuesday! :)

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