Misery, thy name is freezing rain. It begins as a gentle rain from heaven and then freezes solid on everything it touches. A forecast of that icy, wet stuff strikes terror in the hearts of every one of us.
Our last such storm at our previous home was a doozy. It came with little warning, beginning early one morning, and lasted all day. By noon ice-sheathed tree limbs were wiping out power lines. The loud explosion signaled the demise of the transformer near our house and the beginning of our ordeal by ice.
A house deprived of electricity sinks rather quickly into a state of hibernation. There is no heat, no lights and, for some, no water. The refrigerator gets warm, and the water heater gets cold.
Within an hour of the transformer’s demise, our house was getting very chilly. To prevent hypothermia, we lit a fire in the fireplace. Minutes later our living room was filled with smoke. After we frantically opened the damper, the smoke rushed up the chimney and we could all breathe a bit easier.
Next we brought out the oil lamps and candles. Side note, remember to trim the wick of oil lamps before lighting them. Untrimmed wicks produce plumes of ceiling-coating, oily smoke. The oil lamps and the candles helped with seeing each other and whatever reading material we had grabbed before heading into the living room to suffer together as a family.
