Ok here....

Just wanted to let people know that for now I'm fine. The closest fire is seven miles away, but the winds are from the north, and it's moving away from me. I am packing for evac but do not expect to be asked to leave.

The problem is, I have an appointment at 1:45.

What am I worried about?

My 16 year old cat.

I know. With people and property in danger, it's crazy but true. I am most worried about the cat. I'll take the flash drive with me.

Bastrop's gone catastrophic

Well, we're up to 14,000 acres burning in the Bastrop area. It's nowhere near contained, and every firefighter in central Texas is on one of these fires. I'm back from my appointment, and am alternating cooking dinner with setting out emergency stuff to pack.

You know how during blizzards they run closings and shelter info along the bottom of the television? Right now they're running shelter locations along the bottom, and phone numbers -- broken out by county -- to call for situation information.

If you are in the area, please do not think that you are safe from this. Austin is down to 30% firefighters in town, and they're rotating, so these guys are tired.

If you don't know what to put in your bag (or "kit") -- go to this website. It has a list.

http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html

At minimum, you should have:

1. all medications that your family members require.
2. Get your important papers (social security cards, passports,
identification cards, credit cards) together and have them ready to go.
3.A copy of your insurance papers for your house or car. If your insurance
has lapsed - CALL AND MAKE ARRANGEMENTS to reinstate them now.
4. Changes of clothes for your family.
5. A first aid kit.
6. Cell phone charger.
7. Bottled water.
8. High-protein snacks that are pre-packaged.
9. For kids - bottles, formula, diapers, packaged foods.
10. Flashlights & extra batteries (NOTE - don't put batteries in the
flashlights until you're ready to use them -- drains the batteries)
11. Copies of financial papers so that you know where your accounts are and
you can reach the financial institution after evacuation.
12. Puzzle books, etc. for passing the time while waiting to find out what
happens next.
13. Crank operated radio (in case there's no electricity -- much better than
battery operated)

I just tossed the old batteries on my storm radio last week (battery recycling!) so I can see getting a crank radio is a good idea. At least my phone is charged.

Get the carrier for your pet and set it with everything else. Remember pet meds!

Back to work.

If we're lucky, this coming weekend we can unpack these bags and be grateful.