Although we may have only gotten a small dusting over the weekend you never know when more snow will hit and it’s always important to remember how to handle icy and snow covered roads this time of year.
Below are some tips to help you drive safely courtesy of AAA:
Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed down hill as slowly as possible.
Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.
Believe it or not the forecast is looking good for this weekend, if you do not have anything planned below are a couple of ideas to fill your schedule on Saturday, April 30th.
Everson Garden Club Plant Sale- Taking place from 9am to 2pm at the Everson Elementary School. Bring your plant pots for recycling and reusing for your new plants.
Pregnancy, Baby and Kids Expo- 10am to 6pm at the Ferndale Events Center. Booths and vendors with crafts and products for expectant mothers, babies and children. Bouncy house, face painting and other entertainment for the kids. For more details go to www.nwspectacularevents.com
Ferndale Farmer’s Market: Open every Saturday from April 30th to October from 9am to 3pm at the corner of Main and Cherry Streets.
Well, Spring is here! Last weekend kicked off lawn mowing season around our house. While I am one of those weird people that actually enjoy mowing my lawn there are many that do not. There are several tips below that can help your lawn look great and greener over the summer months and yes, one of them is mowing less!
1. Aerate: Aerating your lawn is essentially punching holds in the lawn to loosen up the soil, help with drainage and promote root growth. There are many tools you can use to aerate you lawn and even services available to do it for you.
2. Dethatch: By dethatching your lawn you can eliminate root and stem build up in your lawn. This build up is referred to as thatch, thus the term dethatching. You can dethatch your lawn by using a garden rake or a power dethatcher.
3. Fertilizer: There are many fertilizer options available now many of which are environmentally safe. By balancing your lawn with fertilizer you can green up your lawn and establish strong grass roots.
4. Seed: If you have areas of your lawn that have been damaged by pets or insects seed the area with grass seed to promote new growth and fill in any areas that may have been damaged.
5. Sharpen your mower blade: A dull blade can lead to a dull lawn. Be sure and sharpen you mower blade after the winter to make for a great cut on your lawn.
6. Adjust your Mower Height: For those who are not huge fans of mowing your lawn this is for you. When cutting your lawn you only want to mow about 1/3 of the grass blade. As the weather gets warmer you want to mow less often and raise the height of the mower to assure you are not cutting away to much of the healthy grass.
With last night’s storm now behind us I am reminded about needing to prepare our home for a possible power outage. With a baby in the house it’s more important that ever that my husband and I take some time to prepare for storms to keep our family safe and happy during harsh Winter storms. Below are tips courtesy of the American Red Cross on how to prepare your home for winter:
- Assemble essential supplies, including: flashlight, batteries, portable radio, at least one gallon of water, and a small supply of food.
- Only use a flashlight for emergency lighting. Due to the extreme risk of fire, do not use candles during a power outage.
- Use the phone for emergencies only. Listening to a portable radio can provide the latest information. Do not call 9-1-1 for information – only call to report a life-threatening emergency.
- Do not run a generator inside a home or garage. If you use a generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator. Do not connect a generator to a home’s electrical system.
- Turn off electrical equipment you were using when the power went out. Leave one light on so you know when the power comes back on.
- Avoid opening the refrigerator and freezer.
-If you use medication that requires refrigeration, most can be kept in a closed refrigerator for several hours without a problem. If unsure, check with your physician or pharmacist.
-Stay focused on the risks of smoke and carbon monoxide. Buy a carbon monoxide alarm if you do not already have one. They are available at most hardware stores. If you have one, check the battery to make sure it is working. If the alarm sounds: get to fresh air by going outside. Contact the fire department before you go back inside your home.
If you are anything like me your house is not just painted white . You may have a variety of colors throughout the house. Lots of colors in your home is great, but can sometimes be problematic when it comes to finding the exact paint shade to do some touch up work. While reading All You Magazine yesterday I came across a great tip for helping you keep track of the different paint hues and types you have used around your house. Carole Nicksin writes,” To keep track of the paint colors I have used in my home, I write the name on the underside of the switch plate in each room. When it’s time for a touch-up, I can get an exact match.”
I just loved this tip and know it’s going to save me a lot of time in the future!
Although we may have only gotten a small dusting over the weekend you never know when more snow will hit and it’s always important to remember how to handle icy and snow covered roads this time of year. 
Believe it or not the forecast is looking good for this weekend, if you do not have anything planned below are a couple of ideas to fill your schedule on Saturday, April 30th.
Well, Spring is here! Last weekend kicked off lawn mowing season around our house. While I am one of those weird people that actually enjoy mowing my lawn there are many that do not. There are several tips below that can help your lawn look great and greener over the summer months and yes, one of them is mowing less!
With last night’s storm now behind us I am reminded about needing to prepare our home for a possible power outage. With a baby in the house it’s more important that ever that my husband and I take some time to prepare for storms to keep our family safe and happy during harsh Winter storms. Below are tips courtesy of the American Red Cross on how to prepare your home for winter:
If you are anything like me your house is not just painted white . You may have a variety of colors throughout the house. Lots of colors in your home is great, but can sometimes be problematic when it comes to finding the exact paint shade to do some touch up work. While reading All You Magazine yesterday I came across a great tip for helping you keep track of the different paint hues and types you have used around your house. Carole Nicksin writes,” To keep track of the paint colors I have used in my home, I write the name on the underside of the switch plate in each room. When it’s time for a touch-up, I can get an exact match.”
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