The Big Storm

I am finally back to work today after being stuck at home after the big ice storm last weekend. We knew this storm was going to wreak havoc on our area of the state. Friday afternoon, the sleet started around 4 pm. So I headed out to the grocery store and it was a madhouse! Saturday, the power was on and off most of the day and at 6:00 pm, it went out for 36 hours straight. We were among the lucky ones to get power restored by Monday afternoon - - some in nearby communities are still without power.

The ice and cold wind created heavy sleet coats on trees, power lines, and anything else that stood still. Power lines and poles snapped like toothpicks throughout the area (over 20 poles were completely down in a two-mile stretch near our home).

We used a propane tank (for a gas grill) with a radiant heat unit on top to stay warm. My biggest concern was the freezer full of meat. We packed two 5 gallon buckets full of ice and put them inside the chest freezer. That did the trick! We still have well water, so using the toilet was also a challenge. Those with rural water did not have the same issue.

We spent a lot of time reading, working on puzzles, playing cards, and sleeping (ok, I was the only one who slept). DH gets cabin fever something awful, so when he could finally get out and about, he did. I finally ventured out to my mom's yesterday for a little socialization.We even had a dinner guest last night - - our dear friend from church was still without power, so she came out and spent the afternoon with us. We so enjoy her wisdom and company; she taught elementary school for over 35 years and has much experience we can learn from! And there is tremendous mutual admiration between her and DD... so sweet to see them together.

By Sunday afternoon, the sun came out and DH and DD worked on cleaning out the driveway. No easy task with the several inches of ice and slush - - not good for the snowblower.

We have a gas stove, so we were able to cook a couple hot meals & liquids during the outage. Also, our neighbors to the west have a generator and opened up their home on Sunday. I brought over 18 eggs, she mixed in her home-grown ground sausage, a little shredded cheese . . . voila! Dinner for 10 is ready!

Truth be told, I believe it's good to have times like this every once in a while to remind us how fortunate we are to have the luxuries of power, television, heat, and water available at the touch of a button. Imagine the millions of people living every day without those luxuries. Perspective is a wonderful, humbling thing.

More photos from the storm can be seen here.