Ice Storm Jan 2009

Wow! This year, the ice storm was torrential! We were trapped in the house for days, so when we finally ventured out it was very sad. Sad to see so many trees broken and so many places dark, without power. We were really lucky. Our electricity flickered most of the time and we only lost power for a total of a few hours. I figured since Greg is the hunter/camper, we would be prepared for weeks of no power. But we squeaked by on this one. Out of sheer excitment, Greg peeled through our garage and found food that you can shake and heat (MRE's), lanterns, and butane heaters. He also gathered up all of the candles in the house and insisted this was 'gonna be so romantic'. There are still people without power at this time. I cant imagine what it must be like. I found my mind wandering to things ....like: How will they heat thier baby's bottle? Will they be able to get out to get medicine of they need it or are thier roads blocked? Are thier pets okay? Do they have enough blankets? What financial burden will the days off work cause? How do they know if school/work/ etc is closed if they have no way to communicate(our phones woudnt work for a couple of days)? It went on and on. We did lose cable for almost a week, as well as internet. We have internet on our phones, but we were only able to text for about 4 days. The rest of the time we had no phone capabilities. That was what I worried most about for those without power.....I knew many cell towers had been damaged and other families were worried. As you know, when the weather does this in NWA, many wrecks arise. This year, people were a little smarter, I think. Including my husband. He kept saying he had meetings he HAD to attend. I reminded him those people were also iced in and to just take an icy day as a reminder to chill out, literally , and relax at home. It is like a surprise free day! He DID stay home and off the roads. It drove Greg stir crazy being at home. He is a busy body...outdoors person, and there were not enough projects to keep him busy (thanks for the super cleaning and hanging the spice racks darling :) ) But John Lleyton and I loved the time together and stayed in our PJ's every day! I hope you all made it through safe and sound. I hope you all enjoyed your time trapped with your family....I know I did! I hope your electricity, cable, internet, etc is back and you are now able to communicate as needed! A big thank you to the workers that came from all over the US to ensure that our power here in NWA is on as soon as humanly possible.