So far nothing here except cold wind. We're as ready as we'll be. The cheapest generator Vashi could find to replace the stolen one was $600, so we decided not to get it.
We're in a rural electric coop that is usually very efficient, but under the expected conditions it can take days to get service restored. It was 5 days last time.
When we bought this double-wide mobile home (13 years ago), I worked for ONEOK (originally ONG), so we had all gas appliances put in, including the hot water heater. When the ice storm of 2007 hit, that really saved us. We didn't have heat because it was electrically fired, and we didn't have an oven, but we had hot water and the burners on top of the stove could be lit with matches. We also had a small woodburning fireplace, but we can't use it this time because the chimney needs cleaning. Friends nearby who didn't lose their electicity (I assume their lines are buried) kept trying to get us to stay with them, but we're kinda independent and worried about the poultry.
When we had the small Dutch barn renovated this spring (Vashi says it's an expensive chicken house, though only the small room is used as an incubator/brooder room), we had a new gas heater put in. It's well insulated and doesn't rely on electricity. So if worst comes to worst, we can slog back and forth through the snow--to the house to eat and back to the barn to sleep. One of the most important things is that we have hot water, so I can keep the poultry watered. Our daughter and s-i-l live no too far from here and have a generator, so if things get too bad and the roads are passable, we can gos tay with them.
