Although, for the foreseeable future, I'm now a few miles removed from the damage that Buffalo's received, I've started a list of essential items that are should be packed away for situations just like this.
(a dented car roof/car door and spoiled food in the fridge will, hopefully, be the extent of our damage).
- candles, matches and a lighter. Duh. When it's dark, you need to be able to see what you're doing. Flashlights (a super-heavy duty one, a headlamp that runs on rechargeable batteries, and one of those "shakeable" flashlights that runs on a magnet are also in our light arsenal.)
- an inverter for the car. When I had to go out to update the college home page in the dark, and in 12 inches of snow, it was convenient, relatively, to drag a surge protector and my 'puter to have the car with the inverter at my disposal. It's absolutely vital for charging cell phones and rechargeable batteries, too.
- cell phones and chargers. I'd never seen the inside of a telephone wire outside of a textbook before yesterday.
- notepad and pen. Good for taking down info, making lists of things to buy, and doodling while wasting away the cold, dark hours. I have a moleskine. Keeping the emergency numbers for local police, NiMo and the gas company are also a good idea.
- Radio. While you can go for the kind that runs on batteries, we prefer the kind that you windup/crank, with a battery option.
- Camera - disposable or one w/ recharge batteries. Great for taking pictures of incredible snow drifts or damage to your car/house.
- shovels. I was saddened to see so many people trying to dig out their cars with brooms and dustpans. People: those don't work nearly as well as small garbage cans and large tupperware containers. This weekend we invested in a complete car emergency kit ($20 at wallyworld) that includes a collapsable shovel.
- clean water for drinking and washing, plus water for pets. I filled up a bunch of jugs with water as soon as the power went out.
- snacks. Chips and salsa are good, as are granola bars, pb&j sandwiches, canned fruit, applesauce, crackers, s'mores (substitute marshmellow fluff for the marshmellow). If you have access to a grill, propane or otherwise (use it outside, people!), cook up your soon-to-be-spoiled meat, heat water for some rice or ramen, or just hope there's a pizza place within walking distance that's open. (Just pizza on Main had power as of yesterday afternoon).
- an alternative place to crash. Enough said.

Many thanks to (e:mrmike) using his superpowers to make our internet connection work!

Hospice Buffalo does good works.
Give. Please.

I have a Trivial Pursuit Millennium edition game that is just taking up space on our shelves. Plus, I've played it a bunch, and the questions - they are no longer challenging.
It's gently used, all the cards are in good condition, and it contains all the original pieces in a super-cool, metal box that's shaped like a TP "wedge."
I'll give this away to a worthy (e:peep) - just plan to meet me at a convenient place (like spot) and buy me a cookie or similar treat.

This is some sort of Japanese (?) variety show (?). Watch closely.

Improv Everywhere's Slo-Mo Home Depot is an inspiration to rabble-rousers everywhere.
Well played.

A yummy way to use up veggies from your 'fridge.
Ingredients
1/2 box rotini pasta (corkscrew)
1/3-1/2 cup chiavettas italian dressing (or an italian version of your choice - for me, only the 'vettas will do)
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
(assorted veggies as you see fit - julienned carrots, peas, and ripped spinach would be good additions. I just did our grocery shopping tonight, and as such had very few true leftovers available.)
Steps
Cook pasta until almost done - DO NOT OVERCOOK. See my Southwestern Pasta Bake for what happens when pasta goes horribly, irretrievably wrong.
Drain and rinse with cold water.
Dump into a large bowl or a casserole dish - whichever will fit in your fridge the best.
Drizzle the dressing over the pasta.
Toss in the veggies.
Chill. Or eat. Or chill then eat.

No commentary needed:

Rachael Ray's Magazine is having a Pet of the Month contest.
This is the picture I used to enter her:



I saw two cocker spaniels on our walk this evening that rivaled Abby in cuteness, but only because they were a double threat and one looked to be an eight week old puppy.

It's a rare weekend that I'm actually in town with a day to myself. With J at at golf tournament this morning, and no other pressing commitments for me, I hopped down to the Elmwood Bidwell Market for some treats
I worked at a family-owned (not my family) market/garden center for several summers, and after countless 12 hour days of dealing with produce, produce, and nothing but produce, seeing a dozen tables of vendors hawking veggies and fruits in the summer sun doesn't really excite me.
Still, I wanted some fresh stuff, and I was pleasantly surprised by their selection. I ended up with a bunch of zucchini (for shredding/freezing for muffins), tomatoes (for salads), and purple peppers. Yes, one of the vendors had purple peppers and I think I should have bought more than the 6 I did buy. Look for my recipe for purple slaw later today.