I’m glad I’m already all stocked up!  I hear there is a run on generators, which is not a big surprise; that happens quite frequently.  I’m sure glad I already have mine, all set up and ready to go at a moment’s notice! 

To live in this area, you need a four wheel-drive vehicle (preferably with studded snow tires) a generator, boots and a good chain saw!  I put my snow tires on my truck two weeks ago, to beat the crazy rush of people who wait until snow is actually in the forecast to do it. 

I expect we will have a major power outage and treacherous traveling by tomorrow! Next thing you know, my customers will be calling me at all hours begging for help with plowing and sanding their driveways.

It’s going to be a busy week ahead of me, getting my fall contracts in order – a lot of customers are going to be unhappy with price increases due to fuel increases, but there’s nothing I can do about that.  When your job is driving around going from place to place to plow and sand, a big part of the cost of doing business is the price of gasoline, and the cost has to be passed on to the customer.  I’m not a big enough operation to be able to absorb that cost, I barely make enough money to pay the bills and make payroll!  I hope the price of gasoline goes down dramatically and stays down!

That’s why I think that the Kid Kraft products are superior; they are made out of durable wood.  I prefer wood products also because wood is a renewable resource, and will decompose if thrown out.  But to be honest, I don’t see many wooden play products being thrown out – they tend to be held onto for future generations.  If given a choice, I’ll choose wood just about every time!

I’ve been especially discouraged lately by the many videos I’ve seen about how America’s large companies have shifted their production to overseas; not just because the labor is cheaper, but because the environmental protection laws are practically non-existant. So these companies are polluting the world and getting cheap labor. When are we going to realize that polluting our neighbor’s yards will eventually come back and bite us in the rear end?

So I’m particularly impressed when I find companies that provide “green” services. And there are environmentally friendly web hosting companies out there. The next time I need to find a new host, I’ll be taking a good hard look at them.

Jim Stafford wrote the song, “I Don’t Like Spiders and Snakes” and made it a hit. But Loretta Lynn also sang it and then Conway Twitty sang it, too. Here is the Jim Stafford version from the YouTube “Wayback Machine.” You can still hear Jim sing it live at his theater in Branson, MO.

This is true for businesses, too. Many small businesses are located in older homes that have been converted into offices and other commercial uses. A call now to a good Commercial Pest Control can head off problems at work, too. And don’t forget about your garage. Spiders and snakes especially like a nice warm garage.

Don’t know enough about bugs and other pesky critters? Take a look at Bug Facts to read about the what, where, and how of a variety of insects. For instance, did you know that butterflies “taste” with the feet on their back legs?