I love a good blizzard. And we got one that was so good it took the electricity out for almost a full 24 hours. I learned or was reminded of a lot of little things, including in no particular order...
- It's a good idea to own at least one functioning corded phone. That ugly $10 thing that's plugged into the phone jack in the living room that we all but forgot was there became the only working phone in the house.
- That instant Starbucks coffee is actually pretty good. Since we have a gas range, we could still boil water. I bought a package of that Starbucks Via stuff when they introduced it last summer. Finally tried it. Did the job.
- Two of our vehicles have 110 volt AC outlets in them, and they came in handy. At one point my phone, laptop and portable Wi-Fi unit were all charging in my car which was running while parked in the driveway. Had to roll it out into the storm so "Yellow Cat," the feral that lives in the garage, wouldn't be killed by the carbon monoxide. I'm considerate in that way.
- You can learn a lot from chatting it up in line at our local Piggly Wiggly. While in there late in the afternoon, I was able to find out all the areas in town that were without power, which restaurants and other places were open, people's appreciation of the shiny new Cambridge snowplow the village bought (actually used) for this season, and that people with Illinois plates don't know how to drive in the snow.
- No matter what, the dive bars in town never close. The only businesses with cars in front of them last night were the taverns.
- Yesterday marked the first time the University of Wisconsin at Madison canceled a whole day of class in advance in anyone's memory. It took a declaration of a state of emergency by the governor to get that to happen, according to the campus newspaper. Governor Doyle actually shut down the whole state, not wanting a repeat of the debacle of two years ago.
- Horses drink a lot of water. You don't know how much until you have to consider driving to friends' places with a water tank. Five gallons a day times four horses and one donkey equals no fun. The snow we offered them was not appreciated.
- The black stray cat that has taken up residence in the barn can eat three whole cans of food in one sitting. And she's not shy about asking for more.
- Tom's having access to an office in town he uses once a month is worth having for the fact alone that it has a shower.
- Our tractor has a front-end loader that is capable of making a snow pile ten feet high. I have this real urge to make a snow fort but I am not allowed to use the heavy equipment. That is so unfair.
- Regardless of what people (like Tom) who work with recovering alcoholics might say, beer and scotch do make difficult situations a lot easier to deal with... or ignore.
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