Let There Be LIGHT! And HEAT! And HOT Showers!!!

First of all, I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Southeastern Illinois Electric for getting our electricity back up and running.  WOW!  Was it COLD in my house without power!  I have always been perfectly happy with an "all electric" home, until experiencing 74.5 hours, in mid-February, without heat. 

I don't really consider myself a wimp, or a "girly" girl, actually I know I'm a bit of a "tom-boy" .  After all I spend nine days living in a tent with no running water or electricity at Sundance each summer.  Then I spend another nine days, the end of July, riding horses and sleeping in the non electrified dressing room of my horse trailer.  I always manage just fine during these times.  However doing without heat in mid-February is a completely different situation!

I can pretty much say, with complete confidence, that next winter we will have not only a power generator but a gas fireplace as well!  Live and learn.  Regardless, I am so, so happy to have heat again!  It's nice to also have television, internet and hot water.

We are so spoiled!

Oh well!  Live, Love and Laugh!

BRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

It's MISERABLE at my house!

As of right now we have been without (WITHOUT!) power for 31.5 hours. My house is almost as cold inside as the temperature outside. Did I mention our house is all electric?

So, how am I posting this on the computer without electricity? I braved the frozen, ice covered roads from my house to my daughters place, which is about 22 miles from me.
I made the drive just fine and her house is WARM!!! I'm getting to drink fresh, HOT, coffee! I'm going to take a nice HOT shower!!! Then I will have to return home to the frozen tundra of the Roberts' Ranch!

Many of our neighbors are also without power and I hope and pray they either have someplace warm to visit or the funds available to rent a room. The weather man says we may get more cold winter stuff this weekend, I hope he is wrong.

So I'll remind all of you, as I try to remind myself, to "LIVE, LOVE and LAUGH"!

Winter Wonderland

I have come to the conclusion that I, as I get older, should take up residence in a state with a much warmer year round climate. Still I have to admit that there is something so beautiful and peaceful about newly fallen snow. It's just that darn cold wind that makes my bones hurt!

I even like to go out and "play" in the snow with my dogs and, if they are out of school, my grandkids. Providing I can get on enough warm clothes and still move, I even like to go for a short horseback ride in the snow. I am however learning that it is just easier and much more comfortable to just bundle up and take a quick trip around the yard to snap a picture or two, then hurry back inside to a nice warm cup of green tea.

And then, there is Spot! Spot never seems to get cold when it comes to playing in the snow. When I decide I've had enough fun in the frigid air and re-enter the warmth of my house, closing the door in his face, Spot sits at the patio door, tilts his head to one side and stares at me through the glass. I imagine he will weigh 75 pounds by spring due to all the chew bones that head tilt earns him! He is just so darn cute!

This week the snow is all gone, we even had thunderstorms earlier this week. It's difficult to adjust to the weather since it's colder than a brass monkey one day and the next the temperature is in the 50's! It's a little strange when you are ducking for cover in early February because the tornado sirens are sounding. If the weather is so unstable in February, what is March going to bring? Snow? Thunderstorms and high winds? Gentle rain???

Oh! I AM so looking forward to SPRING!

Groundhogs?!?!?!?

Can furry little critters really forecast the weather?

Let's see.

When it's going to rain, my knees and hands hurt and if it's really going to be a major storm system my head threatens to
explode. When the barometer drops, the horses and cattle lay down. If the wind is out of the west and it is blowing cold or rain or snow, my girls (horses) will have their rumps pointed in that direction. When the weatherman says we're going to have two or more inches of snow, the local Kroger parking lot is completely full and you can't get your cart through the aisles.

All indicators of the weather?

Now I am pretty certain all animals who live above ground are directly affected by the weather, hot or cold, and all the changes
it can bring. But seriously, can a furry little fella who burrows underground for a long winters nap, be awakened by some big burly, parka wearing guy, yanked out of his warm, comfy winters nest and expected to know how many more weeks of winter we will have? And just because they are going to have six more weeks in PA, does that naturally mean we will have the same here in SOUTHERN IL???

I think they need to leave poor little Pux_______ (can't possibly spell his name) Phil alone and just wait a few weeks to see what Mother Nature has in store. I mean does it really matter what the large rodent thinks? And who speaks groundhog, after all?
I think I would rather just wait, take one winter day at a time, and not have to think about six more weeks of cold.

Just my opinion, and just another reason to ALWAYS REMEMBER to

LIVE, LOVE, and LAUGH!