Winterization Quiz

Which of the following home winterization techniques did Flossie learn the hard way?

a) Lay a path of nonskid welcome mats on the front porch between the front door and the porch steps.

b) Turn off the water supply to the garden hose and unhook the hose.

c) Replace the furnace filter.

d) Run the lawn mower until it is out of gas.

e) Plug in the cord to that insulation-sock thing that covers the water pipes in our garage.

The answer, dear readers, is B. One winter the water in the hose froze and backed up into our basement, bursting the pipes. The next spring, when I turned on the hose to water my flowers, the basement got a watering instead.