For a while, the weather guy has been saying we have a good chance of ice – up to a 1″ coating – this weekend. That’s a lot of ice for trees and lines so we’ve prepared like there’s a 100% chance it’s going to happen. As of now, it looks like the ice is going to stay north of us. I think the ice/rain line is about 30 miles north of us. Chad may not be in great shape but he does have a fireplace and they’ll be fine. They have backup ways to cook and he’s close enough to the hospital there that hopefully his power would be restored quickly. Here . . not so much!
I made a couple of kinds of soup that are quick and easy to heat. I’ll make more bread in the morning.
When we built the greenhouse in Texas, we added a propane heater and it lasted about two months. We bought another one and it did make it through the winter but barely. Before the next winter we were trying to decide what to get to heat the greenhouse. We liked our propane guy there and he recommended this Rinnai heater.
When it was time to move, Vince said “I am not leaving that heater!” so we brought it with us.
There’s a propane line into the house for the fireplace (one downstairs and one upstairs) so it was easy for the plumber to run the propane to the kitchen for the gas stove, the line for the gas stove in the basement garage and a line for the Rinnai heater in the basement garage.
I’m so glad we bought that heater and brought it here. It’s good to have for a backup heat source. Because of the way our house is built, if we run that heater in the basement garage with the door to the house open, it heats the basement family room and the family room, kitchen and dining room area of the main level. Even though it’s supposed to be safe and has an “oxygen depletion sensor”, I would never sleep with it running. While it does need to be plugged in for the thermostat to run (and it will not run if it isn’t plugged in), we can plug it into a solar battery and that will keep it running if the power is off.
All that to say, Vince fired it up today and made sure it was working and it is.
We don’t keep the pilots lit on our gas fireplaces. We don’t even use them but would if we had no power. The blowers are electric but they will easily run off a solar battery too.
Since we’re on community water, we don’t have to worry about keeping a well running but I did fill some containers of water just in case the power is off long enough that the community water runs into a problem.
We brought a big trash can of straw into the downstairs garage. We’ll throw that out, as needed, to help us safely navigate icy concrete or grass when we take the dogs out.
I will cross stitch so long as we have electricity for the magnifying lamp and if we lose power, I’ll switch to knitting.
I think we’re ready – but I’m not really expecting any issues where we are.
There’s a large area expected to be impacted by this storm so I’m hoping everyone stays safe and has what they need to keep their families fed and entertained.
Joyce says
Right now we are right on the line between snow and a wintery mix (snow, sleet, freezing rain). I hope that line dips a little so we just get snow. Sleet and freezing rain is painful here, because of all the hills! I have a fireplace, so I should be ok on heat. Hopefully, any tree branches that come down (Holly tree), fall to the east where there is nothing but yard…
judy.blog@gmail.com says
We’re right on the line of freezing rain to the north and snow for us and south but only a few inches of snow. That’s very much ok with me but I wish we were a bit farther from the freezing line rain. I sure hope you don’t get the nasty stuff and I do hope any branches fall where you need them to fall! 🙂 Experience tells me that’s likely not going to happen but it does make me giggle thinking about watch the limbs and saying “Fall EAST!!”
We have river birch trees and they never stop dropping branches but thankfully, they’re small branches and, so far, haven’t caused damage.