Excellent first post. I grew up in a farmhouse north of you in the 50's/60's. Knowing how to start a fire safely is sorta second nature and having lots of firewood stacked outside was nothing special. While visiting at my parents house about ten years ago a cold wave was forecast so I naturally made sure firewood was available (lots) and the woodstove in the basement was cleaned and available (new stove, you can cook on it). Mom asked me to start it up and that woodstove heated the house on its own. Mom had stopped using it because she wasn't up to hauling firewood, but that stove was awesome. So while I was home, that was my job <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

As for letting your car get low on gas. . . I suppose you own that lesson now. I'm in SOCAL, and I don't ever get below 1/2 tank day-day. Driving distance it goes to 1/4 but by then I really need a pit stop anyway. Living in an urban sprawl with all the services can give you some bad habits.

Ditto the Honda EU line from the post below. They're designed to synch up. Then you can run one or both and for logistics, you can carry your 4KW generator 2KW at a time and two will store easier than one large gen set.

Batteries: My other half was always going through AA batteries while I had stuff that needed D's but rarely used them. So I transitioned to AA's (flashlights and radios) and keep them stocked. She keeps the batteries rotated. I keep fresh D's in my big Maglites, but I don't maintain a big stock.

As for cooking, I have a propane cookstove and a 20# bottle in the garage. Propane doesn't go bad. Get a 20# bottle (or two) and a propane campstove with the adaptors for a large bottle. Being able to cook is good. Then again, if you own your home, consider replacing that nice looking fireplace with a woodstove that can really pump out heat and has a flat top to cook on. Just a thought.

Enjoy, if you live in Seattle long enough, it will happen again.