So sorry to hear about your leg, I would say feel better soon but I have hurt myself with deep bruise's before and it will be weeks before you are really better, given that this was a metal bar, if you can get to the doc, it might be idea to make sure you don't have a bone bruise, just a thought?

I will most likely do a very large post on here once the power has been back on for a while and I am not posting from my phone.

I think the biggest thing I learned was how little people are prepared and don't give a sh$t that they aren't.

Well, what I learned during my black out time.. that I like to nap when there is no sounds in the house, finished up the chores, thought about doing a lamp, went na.. and had a sleep.. it was just perfect, I was not lacking anything.. had awesome baked beans for supper that night, with homemade lemonade.

All was good on the homestead...

I will look forward to hearing the report when you get it written..

Still having power issues, no Internet except for my phone and that keeps going down, no house phones, no cable. I guess the update and pictures will have to wait.

I did learn that we had a microburst which turns out is as powerful as a tornado. I guess that is why my neighbors tree top from their front yard "flew" over the top of a 3 story house to land in my back yard. I should say most of it as I still have large branches on my roof.

Woo Hoo I am back on line. I posted a few pictures of my poor little house http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=4072

Ok now for the things that I learned and now need to address that I thought I should share.

Critter care
I don't know if it was the storm or the heat but all 3 of my cats were throwing up all over the house for 2 days. - I need to ask the vet if it could be stress & if so what can I give them to stop it.
Cats throwing up on hardwood floors can not be seen with low level flashlights - need at least one very strong flashlight.
Freckles, my axolotl was going nuts trying to jump out of his tank although I was doing water changes to try to keep the water at the right temp - not sure what to do about this
fish, was doing water changes every few hours to keep the temperature down and the oxygen levels up - finally found something for the oxygen levels; Azoo Battery Backup Pump http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3669+8044+8120&pcatid=8120 , not sure what to do about the temperature without opening the freezer

Garden / Yard
Although I had planted duplicate herbs in different beds, all the beds got flattened - need to have a few in pots in the house
Lack of bbq space due to the tree bits I had no place "safe" to bbq in the back yard - need to get a folding metal stand to keep in the house to set the bbqs on (I just have mini ones)
I will continue to keep a set of garden/yard tools in the house - need to bring a small snow shovel in

Food / Inside the house / Me
OK I admit I have a coffee problem – need to quit drinking or reduce the amount plus by caffeine pills (I got just a bit nasty without it and broke down & bought a cup of coffee)
Better organize my preps – I have been working on this anyway but think I will change a few things around
I got bored; I tried to read but just could not pay attention to what I was reading – need to put one of my woodworking projects that can be done in low light in a box for easy access to work on

Well that is about all of my oops that I can think of for the moment.

if you drop your phone and the screen breaks it could cost as much as $300. to fix

lesson learned - don't drop my phone or I won't have internet access accept for Sat & Sun mornings 🙁

It has been a while since I added to this thread although I have learned a lot in the time in between posts.

I think the biggest one that I learned this weekend is - do more research before planting. I am still in shock over the sweet potatoes. lol

You should be in shock over the sweet potatoes! Miracles do happen haha.

I plan to go through my get home bag in the truck, and my truck kit and tool kit this weekend. It'll be good to know what I may need restocking on....winter is just around the corner (as always), so Ill need to get extra blankets and a winter coat in there soon to replace my spring and fall jacket that I keep just in case.

i tend to check my preps for the car every 1-2 months and change them over seasonally

lesson learned over the last 2 weeks

always ask/speak to Farmgal before taking in a stray cat

I checked my spare regularly, also made sure I have a jack etc., even did a practise run changing a flat. Had a flat last spring, I thought OK, I can do this no problem. Didn't count on the tire company who put my summer tires back on using that gun and had those lug nuts on so tight I couldn't even move them. After I called CAA, and cursing the tire company, I went back to the company and had them hand torque all my tires. Lesson learned for me: I'm really not that strong. lol

No you were not to weak...those stupid tire wrenches that come with cars and trucks are useless or nearly so, maybe 12, 14 inches long at most doesn't really give you any leverage, and the stamped in socket head doesn't grip the nut tight. Go to Canadian tire and by a proper star tire wrench, the kind you can put your boot on one bar to push down and your hand on the opposite bar to pull up. Or buy a breaker bar, roughly a 30 inch one or 36 inch, then buy a proper socket to put on the end. A 30 inch breaker bar with a quality socket makes changing a tire something my grand mother could do. Princess auto has them as well.

Thank you Peppercorn, I'll go out this week or better yet I'll put it on my Christmas List. lol

http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/3-4-in-dr-x-36-in-breaker-bar/A-p8254997e

that's the one I carry in the truck, but I would wait for a half price sale.They have ratcheting ones but I have found them not to be that strong (in the head), so I stick with these strong simple ones.

Meeshy, I have a 30" pipe in my car so I can put it over the tire iron to get the lug nuts off (as an extension), if necessary. It gives me more 'umph' to grab and yank.