Sunday was a busier day than our family anticipated. We wound up inaugurating our safe room! Storms were headed our way and we were tuned in to the local weather. A little after three the call was made that there was a tornado in our area and we were urged to go to our safe place. We have a big basement with a little room just beside the stairs. That room is on the outside side of the basement rather than the underground side, but the storm gurus all say to use a small enclosed area rather than a large open area (even if it is underground). So we loaded up the cats, the weather radio, and some juice (in case I had an insulin reaction), made sure we were in jeans and had shoes and socks on and headed downstairs. It didn't seem like it was going to be one of those scary EF-5 storms, but we figured it was a good practice run for the new house. Turns out that there was an EF-1 tornado that touched down 4 miles away from us. Fortunately there was a ridge between it and us and it was not a real bad one. No one was killed, no one was injured, so that was a relief. Mark and I drove out today and saw where it had touched down. We were impressed because as many trees as had come down everyone had gotten the trees off the roads and houses and already had them cut into logs by noon today. We did figure out a few things to do differently next time. Like have the safe room swept and clean (I don't know if those jeans will ever come clean again), put the cats in a cat carrier before we take them down (I know, I know; we are some of those pet-people), and have some juice boxes stashed there (juice boxes are a gift to diabetics; just the right size and easy to handle when your hands are shaky). So all we have to do next time is stuff the cats in the carrier, grab the radio, and dash down the stairs. I'm thankful that Mark got me a weather radio that has not only the NOAA weather stations but also has regular radio so we can listen to the local reports. AND it has a battery AND a crank-charge. What more could a girl want?! So we have a plan, our house is intact, and tomorrow it is supposed to be clear so I can hang my laundry out. What a relief!