Ice is Not Nice - Preparing for the Storm

Over this last weekend, the TV weather people began preparing us for what they called the "Ice Storm of The
Decade". Indeed, for three days now they have reported, reported, and reported.

I know it is good for people to be prepared, and we are certainly trying to be prepared. Yesterday (Monday) I went to volunteer at the hospital as I do on every Monday afternoon. In the morning Don and I discussed what steps we needed to take to be prepared to ride out the coming storm. We had enough food, but thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to get a few more candles and batteries. Don checked out our kerosene heater to make sure it worked. I found the glass chimneys for our candle holders to protect the curious cat from the flames. At lunch it occurred to us that if we had no power, our heat tape would not prevent out pipes from freezing. This is very bad in a modular home. We would not only have no water supply, but the bursting pipes could do a great deal of expensive damage.

We decided that it might be cheaper to buy a generator than to repair all the plumbing damage. So, while I worked in the afternoon, Don went out shopping for a generator. All that he found out was that all the generators had already been purchased. He did get candles, lighters, some more food supplies, instant coffee, and things like that.

At the hospital, all the talk was about the coming storm. The day was sunny and bright, the lobby full of cheerful warmth, and it didn't look like a coming storm.
Tuesday was to bring a full surgery schedule. Mike, the therapist and the surgery room volunteers were concerned about the doctors and patients making it to the hospital.
As Elaine and I looked out on the sunny day, the storm seemed far away.

However, by the time Elaine drove me home at 4:00 o'clock, the skies had clouded over and looked threatening. Don and I listened to the TV news as we ate supper, and they reported that the storm was in Western Indiana coming our way. By 5:30 we could hear the freezing rain or hail hitting the house. It didn't take long for the streets and walks to be iced over. There was no wind. Some of our windows iced over, but we were warm and comfy in our house. I watched my evening shows, watched a Netflix movie, and went to bed.

Son-in-law, Jon, worked his first full day at his new job at Meijer's on Monday. He is their new produce manager. What a day to start a new job in a grocery. I am sure that Meijer was very happy to have a very experienced produce manager(he has over 30 years of experience.) Of course, the groceries were all slammed with buyers preparing to be snowed in. They ran out of all produce, and would have none until trucks delivered on Tuesday. Jon not only has this storm to deal with this week, but then the Super Bowl is this week end. That is another big grocery shopping event. We are just happy that Jon does not have to drive to Indianapolis anymore for his work.

This morning I awoke to find that Don had been to Menards, and they had had a new shipment of generators. So we are now the proud owners of one. Don has spent the morning getting it assembled, put into place, and preparing all the cords necessary for hook-ups. It wasn't easy, believe me. After an omelet, toast, fruit salad lunch/brunch, he is taking a long winter's nap.

Well, we lived through both the blizzard of '78 and the ice storm of '90, so I hope we shall survive the ice storm/blizzard of 2011. This is a new version because we live in a modular home. We don't have the huge trees around us that we had in Rolling Hills, so the danger of falling limbs is diminished. I just hope we can keep our water pipes from freezing. It is nice to have water.

Best of luck to all of you. It seemed like Indiana had dodged the severe weather all this last year. But it seems that our luck has run out. It will be interesting to see how the Super Bowl plays out in the Dallas blizzard. It may give us some hints about next year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis.