A Valuable Lesson.....

Now that we have squeaked by another fire event, I just wanted to encourage each and every one of you to consider backing up your photos/momentos to another location/viewing type.

All of us at one time or another think about what we would do if there was a fire, and what we would grab if we had just a few minutes to pack up valuables. The trouble is, as I was made painfully aware of yesterday, you may not get the opportunity to get anything out...and could lose everything in the blink of an eye.

I can't express how thankful I was that I had taken the time to scan all of our family photos and get them saved outside the house. It was a hellish evening, and the thought of losing my great grandfather's journals 25 years of genealogical research and photos more than 100 years old was heartbreaking....but I was comforted by the fact that the photos were safe on my Flickr site.

There are a ton of sites out there, many of them free, that will allow you to back up your photos. If you're not comfortable putting things out on a website, you can always save your photos to a CD, then give that CD to another family member or friend.

Scanning is easy, and I'm happy to help if you need it. Even if photos don't seem like that big a deal to you, think about your family who may see them as extremely important.

Just my little PSA for the evening. Going to try to get some sleep.