Ice Ice baby...

Lots of ice. Everywhere. We had a scarey night here, the cracking and groaning of trees kept me awake in the tense anticipation of the next fallen limb. I was scared to death one would come crashing through the roof, but we were spared. So was the roof and our van. Our neighbor's roof was not so lucky. And our trees are a sorry sorry sight. I truely hope that they will be able to recover from this. I love my trees. As I type this, we have lost another branch, and I hear the creaking of trees, trying hard to hold themselves together. Poor trees.

We have power. That is always a good thing. If you are going to spend a harrowing night, convinced you will die with a tree branch stabbing through your heart, you might as see the morning in with a warm cozy house. I have no idea how we have kept our power, but I am grateful to God- and to Ameren UE for the warmth we have, and the ability to cook our food. I have, however, decided that we need to get an emergency kit together. Should our power have gone off, we would have had no flashlight (batteries are dead from shawdow games the kids like to play) and we would have had no water suitable for drinking. You can't boil water without electricity. We do have a fireplace, but it has not been cleaned or inspected, and I would hate to add a fire to any other emergency.

Anyhow, we are fine, and God willing, we will lose no more trees, especially those over our house. Our van has been moved to a safer location. I know there are others not as fortunate as we are, and my prayers are with them.

May all of you have a cozy and warm day. I think I will make myself another cup of hot choco and bury myself into my feather bed. You?