As the temperatures take a deep dive and create a strong cold
front that will collide with the moisture laden air from the south we are about
to find ourselves in nature’s powerful grip. Those of us who have received the
warning that it’s coming, at least have time to prepare. (Thank you to NOAA and
the assiduous meteorologists for their calculated and scientific work to give
us that warning.)
I guess preparation may be different depending on what
part of the continent you reside. Here in North Carolina where snow is not seen
as often as other parts of the country, the first thing southerners do is run
to the grocery stores to stock upon supplies. Bread and milk are famously the 2
main items on that list. Personally, because of the frequency of power outages,
I wonder why canned meals like beef stew and spaghetti that, if need be, you
can eat right from the can aren’t the main items, or crackers and peanut
butter, but that’s just me.
To assure that I’ll have heat in the event that I DO have
a power outage, I want to make sure the gas logs in my fireplace are
functioning well. Having the luck that I sometimes do, my gas logs are acting
up. The pilot light is good and strong, but when I turn on the gas for the logs
the wonderful warm flames only last about 10 minutes and the dang thing turns
itself off. Grrr! Yesterday I took the ceramic log off, cleaned off the grill
and fired it up. It took only seconds before the dang thing turned itself off
again. So today I’m going to clean the whole business up and follow that up
with some intense vacuuming. I’ll relight the pilot light and say a prayer. I
would call my heating and air conditioning guy to look at it, but he’s probably
swamped already and there’s not enough time left before the storm hits.
We are predicted to have snow in the beginning, but then
it’s going to turn into freezing rain. It’s freezing rain that is the worst.
Not only is it the hardest to drive on, (Thank goodness I don’t have to drive
to work in it any more) but it’s the very thing that will take out power lines
and bring down trees. The expectation is that we WILL have power outages and
they are already assembling emergency teams from states like Florida to help us
resolve those problems.
Stay safe and warm, my friends. And don’t forget to look
out for the birds, too.
Are you in an area that has been, or will be hit by this
winter storm? What do you do to prepare for it?
Sarah J. McNeal
Author
of Heartwarming Stories
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