Home Security is Nothing to Sneeze At

By Catherine Powell

image courtesy of flickr

As it so happens, I’ve been spending much of the past two weeks lying flat on my back staring up at the ceiling.  That’s what happens when you come down with a bad head cold or catch the flu.  While I’ve been lying in an over-the-counter drug stupor blowing my nose endlessly while watching more TV than I can stand, it also gave me the time to think about my home’s security.  Every afternoon as I hear the postal carrier drop the mail into the box outside my front door with a clank, I pause to think of just how easy it would be for a burglar to try to jimmy the door or any of my windows.  While I consider my home to be burglar-resistant, it never hurts to put oneself in a thief’s shoes to assess just how impregnable your home really is.

Danger on the Dashboard

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of wikimedia

Back when I was growing up, cars weren’t nearly as technologically advanced as they are nowadays.  They didn’t contain web-enabled, Bluetooth-connected apps that talked you through every turn to your destination or provided you with data on your driving habits and fuel consumption.  No, all that cars did forty years ago was get you from Point A to Point B, provided you knew the route or owned a map.  If you weren’t careful, you could easily run out of gas, since there was only one dumb gauge that showed you how much remained in the tank.  Not only couldn’t you talk to your friends by hitting the button on your steering wheel, unless they were seated in the car, you couldn’t talk to them at all, since less than one percent of drivers in the US had a mobile phone back then.  While it sounds archaic, driving in the good old days was a lot less complicated and as a result, much simpler to master.

Bulletproofing Your Bling

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of Max Pixel

When it comes to insuring your jewelry there are two things you need to know:

1.      It’s the second thing thieves are after when they break into a home.

2.      It’s quite possible your homeowner’s policy isn’t going to cover the loss in full.

Driving While Distracted

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of flickr

With yesterday being New Year’s Day, I thought I’d point out the fact that if you did celebrate the holiday with a few adult beverages, hopefully you had the good sense not to drink and drive.  That being said, I’d like to point out the fact that while drunk drivers cause more than their fair share of accidents, driving while drunk is hardly the only hazard that plagues drivers in the US.  An even more insidious and dangerous hazard is driving while distracted.  You heard me right, while drunk driving causes accidents galore, in today’s fast-paced world, this is hardly the only hazard to navigation on the highways and byways that stretch from coast to coast.  Below is my list of other potentially deadly driver distractions.   

Driving through the Snow

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of wikimedia

With the holidays in full gear, the airwaves are filled with Christmas carols.  One of my favorites is Dashing Through the Snow.  Since that and White Christmas are the closest I’ll get to snow this year, I don’t have to worry about dealing with the trials and tribulations of those who live a little further north.  However, since some of my clients drive north to visit family or ski during the winter, I thought I’d take the time to write a blog about driving through the snow.

How Safe is Your Sleigh?

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of Pixabay

I was getting ready to head out to do a little Christmas shopping this morning when I heard a neighbor’s car drive by.  I couldn’t miss it, since it sounded like an angry Florida panther.  Rowwwww!  It was apparent to anybody within earshot that a belt was crying out for attention.  Yet my neighbor drove blissfully by, totally unaware that if and when the belt broke, she’d be thumbing a ride home.  That’s because all cars made in the past 30 years have what are called serpentine belts that run everything from the alternator and power steering to the water pump and air conditioner.  When these belts break, the car stops running.  Since so many of my friends, family and clients will be out and about during the holidays, I thought I’d take the time to point out a few things that could keep you from waiting for a tow truck by the side of the road.

Are You Going to be Home for the Holidays?

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy of pinterest

The joys of the holiday season revolve around getting together with family and friends to exchange gifts and reminisce about years gone by.  For some that means traveling out of town, while with others it means staying home for the holidays.  Whether you plan on hosting this year’s holiday get together, or you are planning to pack the family up for a trip, there are several things you’ll want to keep in mind to keep the ho, ho, ho in your holiday.