Storm Preparation – and a Friday Giveaway

January 2009 ice storm by Mary Nida Smith

It was a year ago on Wednesday that the terrible ice storm of 2009 hit.

Last year, I wondered what all of the fuss was about in the days leading up to the ice storm. I remember saying to our neighbors, “You would think the world was coming to an end the way they’re going on about the storm on the radio.”

I was used to being in the city during such storms, even if we lost power, we were still within reach of city services, within walking distance of the grocery and things usually didn’t stay bad for long.

I remember one such storm when I was a kid and it was kind of fun then, walking to the grocery store with my parents, my dad fell on his butt and my mom and I could hardly run after the tomatoes and oranges rolling down the hill for laughing so hard! We also camped out in the family room in front of the fire in our little bungalow, it was more like a party.

I had never seen an ice storm in the country and once I had, I realized it was no party.

Last year, we did stock up on batteries and about a week’s worth of groceries, but we weren’t prepared mentally for the destruction or living without power for 8 full days.

After the storm hit, all we could do was lie awake in our bed listening to the continuous loud pops, which sounded like never-ending gunfire. It was the woods all around us snapping.  Sometimes it was limbs, sometimes it was entire trees crashing down.

We were sure when the light of day made an appearance we wouldn’t have any woods left and we weren’t sure at least one of the trees falling wouldn’t take a roof from The Little House, The Belle Writer’s Studio or one of the two metal outbuildings.

The morning light revealed we had escaped damage to our buildings, but the destruction in the woods compares only with the destruction of a Kansas town I covered once that was hit by a tornado. Trees and limbs continued to crash for at least 2 more days.

It took us 5 days to be able to get to town and the landscape was the same across our region, as well as several other states. Trees down across the road, on cars and houses. Power poles lay useless on the ground, their lines strewn everywhere.

It was estimated 2 million people across the country lost electricity during that storm.

In town, Wal-Mart and the grocery stores looked like they had been looted. At the farm and home a mob of 50 or so people were waiting for a delivery truck to bring in generators and when it was late, they got a little impatient (to put it mildly). Our generator had been ordered from Kansas City and we knew it would be at least 3 more days before it arrived.

It was a terrible time and people are still cleaning up, a friend of ours practically begged Dale to come and get wood on his property just a couple of weeks ago. The landscape will never be the same, and neither will we. There were positives, we learned living skills we didn’t know (I never thought I would be like a pioneer cooking on a woodburning stove) and every person in this region found the good in ourselves and in our neighbors who helped each other out when it was needed.

When the weather forecasters started talking about an impending ice storm for last night, we took it very seriously. We stocked up on groceries and gas for the generators we purchased last year. We ran our errands and prepared ourselves mentally for the worst.

The sleet came, but no destructive freezing rain at The Little House. Only a heavy snow that is still coming down as of this post.

I’m glad we over-prepared.

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We used a lot of batteries during that storm last year. I’m sure some of you have heard of or even have used the Sanyo Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries. The company claims AA Eneloop will replace up to 1,000 disposable batteries, so they are more environmentally friendly than traditional disposables. I’ve also heard that they’re one of the highest ranked rechargeables on the market.

Sanyo is generously giving 2 lucky Living Large readers a AA battery/charger set! Disclaimer: I am not an agent or representative, nor profiting from this in any way from Sanyo.

Comment on this post between now and Monday morning about how you would use the AA rechargeable batteries should you win. I will draw two winners and post their names on Monday’s post. Winners have until Wednesday, February 3 to send me their contact info! Good luck!