ICEBOUND!!

meower mom sez:

ice. oh, yeah. whatever you've seen on the weather channel about southwest missouri in the ice storm is probably true--and the reality is probably even worse. i'm writing this from tom's store on the southwest edge of springfield. up on the northwest side, we went off the power grid about 8:50 last night, and we're not back yet. our kid's on the east side, also with out power, nor does his girlfriend house, so we expect them over at our place later, where at least it's warm. i guess we can play UNO by lamplight. the inlaws are o.k. my workplace is without power; we drove by and the lines to the building were sagging within an inch of the ground. but not that it matters--there were NO buildings with power between our home and my work.

except for fact that buildings are still standing, you would think this was a war zone. torn trees everywhere. there were 3 places east of us on our street with trees or big limbs in the street. and 2 places to the west. people were out with chainsaws by 7:30 this morning.

our morning paper (delivery of which is a testament to a driver who evidently took the postal letter carrier's oath) said that 50,000 were without power, but by the look of the tour we made to get here, i'd have to believe that was FAR below the reality.

anyway, even if we're without power for a couple of days, we won't starve. got lots of peanut butter and crackers;-) and thanks g*d, a wood stove, oil lamps, and candles! this is an inconvenience for us, but disaster for so many who did not (or could not) get out beforehand to buy supplies, and who depend on electricity for heat. our shelters are filling up. please pray for all those who are without--and especially for those who for whatever reason live outdoors, both 2-legged and 4-legged.

now that tom's had his coffee fix, we're going to get out of here and back home before much longer . . . the roads (once you've got past the downed trees and lines) are not even slick, just wet. but that will change, now that it's been in the 20s for a considerable amount of hours.

i will blog the whole story (with pictures, even!) when we are back on power, but since it is beginning to rain again (and it's only 28 degrees), and another inch of ice is forecast for today--and sleet, ice, and snow for tomorrow. lovely; simply lovely. great weather for polar bears.

hope y'all are having better weather than we are! see you online soon, i hope!! i think i'll sign off with those immortal words of Mr. Red Green:

keep yer stick on the ice! (not a problem here, red!)