December Ice Storm, Photo Colage

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December Ice Storm, Day 3

We had a breakfast of bacon and eggs. We were still able to cook on our gas stove top. I found it easy to find things to give thanks for during this deal. Praise God for a gas stove.

Oh -- but it was a sad day. My sister Becky and her daughters Julia (4) and Sophia (9m) are leaving. Of course I act like my dad and pull out the tripod! °Ü° I tell ya -- it's genetic.

Before they left, I braided sweet Julia's hair. Too bad I didn't do anything to my hair before this photo. YUCK. Oh well. Angela -- ya like Wayne's shirt? Funny... we aren't really Iowa Fans... but we have these shirts. So -- we wear them. Especially on Day 3. The boys were digging shirts out of their dirty clothes basket. I think Day 2 was their laundry day... so -- dirty clothes it was. Actually... they could have started wearing church clothes. But they preferred dirty clothes over church clothes. LOL



Julia has on "tie dyed" socks. (Mis matched socks). Her parents are so creative. She has inherited some of their creative genes, I think. That girl is so cute. She plays and plays and plays. I'm so proud of her for never complaining about not having anything to do -- with no TV or computer. She was a blessing to have around. We can't wait until she comes again for another visit!

We still did not have any power on this day. But Becky had to get home... she was going to pick up her dear husband at the airport the next day. He had left home for a 2 week class. That's why she came a visiting. We were her distraction. Hooray!! I love being a distraction. My dear husband said she was free to come and stay every time he had a 2 week class. YEAH!! I love my dear husband. Ü



After they left the kiddos and I piled into the 4-wheel drive truck and went to town. The generator need 5 gallons of gas every 8 hours. So -- I needed to refill our containers. We took back our library books and picked out some more. Got some pizza hut personal pans that they earned through the "book-it" program, and picked up some $1 double cheese burgers from McDonald's to finish off the meal. Funny - McDonald's has power.

As we drove around we were in awe of the beauty of the ice. Some damage was done. This is the fence that goes around the graveyard by the little church down the road from us. I think that was the only damage we saw. Well -- besides the power lines.

This is our neighbors wire fence.

The offending power line that was down to our house.

After our trip to town -- which probably took longer than it should have, because I was taking pictures like crazy -- we came home. I refueled the generator and then -- I took a nap. Ü

That evening we had grilled chicken. Just about the only thing we couldn't have had was a casserole -- because we didn't use the oven. Becky and I kept marveling over the fact that it almost seemed normal. That was due to the fact that my dear husband wanted to make us so comfortable. He really did a great job with that. We had hot water to shower with, a stove to use, a warm house, lamps to clean by.

I didn't really clean my house this whole time -- no vacuuming... but we did straighten every once in a while.

This night I made a trip to my brother-in-law's shop to pick up a plug. My husband was going to fix the generator so that it would go directly into the "box". Don't ask me the official name. But he could flip those switches and turn stuff OFF that we didn't want on, and then we wouldn't have extension cords running all over the house. You could plug the appliances into the wall. So then his sleep apnea machine could plug into the wall in the bedroom. He also turned on the bathroom lights, but not the wall outlets. He was could be selective on what he would turn on.

As I was driving home, I saw the knights in shining armor out and about. In the dark cold nights the Mid American Energy and all their men who traveled from other cities and states were out fixing the down power lines. As I pulled into our country road from the highway, there was a truck working on the power line closest to our house. I told Dan, "Perhaps we'll have power in the morning."

I was right. When Dan got up to go to work, he said our pole light was on outside. It's over -- all but the story telling. 3 days with no power. Thanks to an Almighty God, and a dear husband that is a great provider and protector, we endured it with relative ease.
That's the end of day 3. All we have left are the memories... well and a generator.

Tomorrow -- some random photos. (remember, if you click on the photo it will enlarge)

2007 Christmas Tour of My *Country* Home

A Warm Winter Welcome Awaits You! Come on in... it's so nice to have you here.

I truly love having a White Christmas. Is that what this makes you think of?

Our stockings are not all hung by the chimney with care - since we don't have a chimney in the living room. But one can tack wooden stockings up on the wall, can't we?

This little guy is hanging around in my favorite corner until the festivities begin. I think he is a book worm. Just my type of snowman.

I have a few little Snowmen and Snowladies posing in my room. So I took a group photo, to hurry it a long. I know there are so many beautiful houses to see this year.


Here we are all gathered around our tree. Unsuccessfully trying to get 7 people to smiling gleefully all at the same time. Can you tell I had short people helping me decorate this year? What memories this photo will bring back in a few years ~ when my tree looks more perfect~ yet less inviting. I think I'll cherish it this way a few more years.


I'll say good bye with this one last peek at my little country angel looking down on us. I pray you have a blessed Holiday Season this year. Many happy returns to you. May God bless you.


BooMama is hosting the 2007 Christmas Tour of Homes today. So click on the link to take a peek at 100's of others homes decorated beautifully to celebrate our Lord and Saviour's Birth. Enjoy!

December Ice Storm - Day 2

Let's see -- what did we do on day 2. I think we woke up and fought for a chance to hold Sophia.

Then we had another fight.

Then I zoomed in and took about 5,000 photos of Sophia.

Yeah -- that's about it. ::snort::

OK -- we did a bit more then that. Did I mention that Sophia is a doll? I real live cute snuggly doll? She is the most patient baby -- letting my kids hug her and squeeze her and poke her and kiss her. She was amazing. All this -- while teething. I'm not sure if Becky knows this or not. But Sophia is an amazing baby. Very laid back. A few whines here and there... but no screaming fits that couldn't be quickly resolved by removing some bothersome big kids from her space.

On Day 2 we woke up to ice still and still no power. Dan had decided to take off work to get a generator. He'd asked his brother - who sells Lawn Mowers in Southern Iowa - to find him a generator. He did find him one -- and we bought it and Dan filled her up with gas and started plugging things in. We decided saving the food was more important that having lights. Praise the Lord -- I'd just gone grocery shopping on Saturday and the freezers and fridge were full of food. That would have been a big loss. I see some of the commentors told me to put my food outside. Dan did think of that -- but I wanted that to be a last resort -- because we have a dog that loves people food. (dumb dog). We would have had to hang it from the trees like you do when camping, so our dog wouldn't have eaten it. Doable I guess... Funny looking -- but doable.

We had cereal and milk for breakfast. Oh my kids loved that. That was easy to fix.

We decided to let the big kids play out in the ice again this morning. Blow off some STEAM.

We ate lunch meat sandwiches for lunch again. Easy fix.

Then during nap time. C.O.D.A. tournament. I kept telling every one that I was the Queen of C.O.D.A. I'm not really -- but I was trying to build the excitement. We decided to play that during nap time -- because there isn't a lot of counting or moving with Coda Just mostly thinking. Becky, Mansel, Tori and I played Coda It was fun. I think we all won at least 1 time. Yeah -- I'm not really the Queen of anything. Ü Oh -- it looks like you can't buy Coda any more. That's too bad. Becky -- you and Jeremy will have to come here to play Coda -- be sure to tell him I'm the Queen of Coda LOL

Then it starts getting dark fast. So I started thinking about supper. Then what do you know... Dan says, "Let's order pizza!" OK !! HURRAY!! So I did the ordering. Woo Hoo. Dan did the picking up. Oh it was D-Lish. But isn't all food that you don't have to prepare or cook for yourself? I think so. Yum...

Dan educated me on how to fill that generator up with fuel. How to rotate things around -- we couldn't just plug in everything we wanted plugged it. We had to alternate between the 2 freezers in the basement. We'd keep the fridge plugged in all the time. He even rigged up some table lamps to plug in while doing dishes in the evening. How handy was that?

That night -- I had the kids all bunched up in the living room with their "orchestra instruments" and we were singing kid songs and choruses out of the hymn book. Dan all of a sudden strode into the living room and started fiddling around... he TURNED ON THE TV!!! Oh my heavens... you'd have thought he was throwing around million dollar bills. He unplugged something and plugged in the TV and DVD player. So -- on Day 2 -- after dark -- they watched TV. Good heavens -- were we ever spoiled. How many of you think Dan had a limit on how much pot play, rolling pin pounding, spatula clanging he could handle? LOL HEY -- what ever works.

Another early bed time. It gets dark early -- did I mention that?
This is the end of Day 2.

December Ice Storm - Day 1

This is what we woke up to on Tuesday Morning. Ice covering everything... this is our first branch down.

When we woke up 5:00 ish in the a.m. we were not alarmed. Well -- our alarm DID go off, but we had no fears.

My husband did make an early start to work because of the ice. He called me after a bit of driving and listening to our local WHO News Radio Station and said, "I just drove around a tree on our road and wouldn't have made it up the hill if that truck load of something heavy hadn't of torn up the gravel going down the hill yesterday." He was able to drive up our road in the truck tracks. The gravel roads were a sheet of ice. He mentioned that several cities around us had already lost power. Perhaps I should get ready in case we lost power. He then drove by some power lines on a highway close to our home. "Oh man - these lines are sagging - a big truck wouldn't be able to drive through here."

OK -- I'll prepare. But isn't the ice beautiful?




So I started making a good hearty warm breakfast. Melissa's Breakfast Burritos. D-Lish. We decided to play Monopoly. We played the short version since I have little kiddos to attend to -- I can't dedicate 3 days to playing a Monopoly game like I'd like to. LOL So we play for an hour. While we were playing, 8:45 a.m., the power went off. Well -- it was daylight out, so I'm not sure what our first clue was. I think the furnace fan quit running. The furnace fan runs all the time because our wood heat furnace in the basement, is tied into our house furnace heat ducts. So it pushes the heat through the entire house. I didn't have a fear of getting cold. I thought if worse came to worse, we could all huddle around the wood furnace in the basement. "At least we will stay warm," I thought. So I got up and fixed the furnace to run with out electricity. I had to remove a filter.

Then we finished the Monopoly Game. Mansel won. That hoarder. He hoards in real life too. He wants me to put his cash on a "credit card" so his wallet will be slimmer. I said he could take all those 1 dollar bills and change it into a $20 dollar bill and it would be slim. He didn't like that idea. Hmm... sounds like we'll need to do some educating. He gets gifts cards for birthdays and Christmas some times. I think that is where he is getting that idea. Julia and Milo were on my team. Julia counted the dice. Milo was the mover. I was the thinker. Maybe I should have changed that up a bit, since I got beat. As you can see -- Wayne was the cheer leader.

Well -- who could look at all that ice from the window and not want to play in it. I had them promise - scouts honor - that they would stay in the backyard away from the power lines, and not camp out under any trees. They did promise... so we started the bundling process. I think that took an hour -- or three.

We decided to forgo our library trip that day. We'll play outside instead and just read some library books at home.

Even the babies were going outside.

Isn't Sophia beautiful!?! She looks like a little peanut. She fits so nicely inside her mother's coat. Becky is a great mother. She didn't let the idea of having 2 babies and no electricity bother her any. I will say -- having her and her children around during this deal made it a lot more fun! No chance to get bored with nothing to do when you have cousins to play with!

When they were playing outside, I ventured out and took some photos.


Tori was being a good big sister/cousin and making the ice fun for the little ones.

Isn't it beautiful? Did I already say that?

We had lunch meat sandwiches for lunch. Easy to prepare, and quick clean up with paper plates!

I think during nap time the big kids played outside some more. That's when I gathered up the candles.

Dan came home from work early with an inverter. He hooked it up to his truck, then ran the truck all night long to keep our wood heat furnace blower running. We noticed that hot air rises. Our upstairs got so warm, that I took off the comforter during the night.

But very quickly - it got dark, and we started supper. We had grilled hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, and something else. Maybe it was veggies. I don't remember.
Almost the only reminder that we didn't have power was the dark. We had heat and we had gas to cook with. When we didn't have the water heater plugged in to anything, we ran out of hot water. I had to ask my dear husband why we ran out of hot water with a gas water heater. He explained that we have a NEWER gas water heater. Instead of using a metal chimney for the fumes out the top of the roof, it has an electric something or other and it blows the fumes out of a PVC pipe... so when the electricity goes out -- our water heater does too. We had enough hot water to take showers with the first day. Then we boiled water the 2nd day for dishes. So Kris... does that explain it?

THEN - after supper we all gathered in the living room and wrestled in the dark.
OK -- not all of us... they eventually settled down and we sang Christmas carols by flashlight and some candle light. Those candles sure don't give off much light. No wonder the folks in the olden days went to bed early... and Becky said, "no wonder they had so many babies." LOL What else was there to do? It sure gets dark early. °Ü° Of course Becky and I sat up and talked by candle light...

That was the first day.

Ahhh ha ha ha ha haaa!

FUNNY FUNNY video... My kids wanted to watch it over and over again. Thanks for sharing Corin.

We've Made it Through

It was wonderful to see God's amazing power. Just drop a little bit of ice on those thin little wires and see what happens. OK -- I know that's not theologically sound... but it's been fun to give thanks in all things the last 3 days.


I don't have time to tell all right now -- just thought I'd post a THANK YOU FOR PRAYING note... really quick! °Ü°

We are safe and sound.

I've got pictures. LOL

I bet you can hardly wait!!

AND...I'm still the queen of C.O.D.A.!! ::snicker:: OK -- not really -- but I played C.O.D.A... does that count?? And I played Monopoly. I played pick up soggy socks. Oh wait -- that's not a game...

I'd better quit while I'm ahead --

I'll be back soon -- with the DECEMBER 2007* ICE STORM... (Hear that said with a loud announcer's voice)

Here is a peek into the past. Electricity off at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday... back on sometime while sleeping Thursday/Friday. Fun was had by all... well -- most... I'm not sure if my dear husband thought it was fun... OK -- I know he was a bit stressed... Is stress fun? I don't think so. Fun was had by most... let's keep it real.

*ETA: Yeah -- let's not get older any sooner than we have to - THANKS Dawn. ;)

ICE

Do you like to pray for strangers??

I'd appreciate it if you would pray for us today. My sister is here visiting with her 2 babies.

My dear husband just left for work -- he called and said the power lines are saaaaagging. We've got a tree down on our road. I'm praying the Lord supernaturally holds those power lines right in place! Ü

We've got a wood furnace, so we can keep warm with no power. But lights, power to the fridge, umm... I'm sure there is more than what I'm thinking about. THOSE things would need a generator to run. We do NOT have a generator, but Dan thinks he can buy one from his brother. We'll see.

What an adventure.

We were going to head to the library for story time. Umm... maybe we'll have our OWN story time!

For now -- I'm going to go fix Melissa's Breakfast Burritos.


Mid-American Energy is calling this a category 2 ice storm. 3 being the worst. So -- it could be worse. Let's give thanks in all things, shall we?

He's on a CEREAL BOX!!

Well -- it appears his picture is on the cereal box...

actually --

I think he is IN the cereal box... LOL


He's famous... among us!

New Blogs?

Are you looking for some new blogs to start out the new year with?

May I suggest ?

I put in the topic "parenting" and I found several that I frequent already -- in the top 20 no less -- but a few new ones that I hadn't heard of yet.

I noticed that it tracks the number of visitors per day. In the hundreds... Wowza... I've got a ways to go. HA HA!

Let me know if you find any good ones. I love reading blogs.

Drink Water on Empty Stomach Therapy

Have you heard of this? Drink Water on Empty Stomach Therapy. Sounds funny? Apparently in Japan and India it's a thing that works to cure ailments and disease.

Method of Treatment

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink four glasses of water each of 160 ml.
2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.
4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for two hours.
5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink four glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to four glasses per day.
6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

What do you think of it? Gonna try it?

Well -- need more convincing??

The Japanese medical society claims 100 hundred percent cure for the following diseases

• Headache
• Body Ache
• Heart System
• Arthritis
• Fast Heart Beat
• Epilepsy
• Excess
• Fatness
• Bronchitis
• Asthma
• TB
• Meningitis
  
• Kidney and Urine diseases
• Vomiting gastritis
• Diarrhea
• Piles
• Diabetes
• Constipation
• All Eye Diseases
• Menstrual Disorders
• Ear Nose
• Throat Diseases

OK -- I'll agree with the constipation one.... that seems obvious, but diarrhea? HA! Seems sort of like an oxymoron. Let's see... what do I have that it could cure. Oh hey, I see one -- Fatness. 100% cure huh?? Hmmm... let me get my glasses of water ready. I'll start tomorrow. °Ü°

Oh - what's this? The author of this page has added a p.s.

Important: Please note there are no scientific evidences of this theory to be true. I am just sharing what was shared with me. I’ve searched on the web for the Japanese medical society who claimed this water theory to be true but was unable to find any clue. If you have any clue, please post it as the comment.

::sigh:: I KNEW it -- too good to be true.

STOP TAKING MY PICTURE!!

ha ha!!!

My family loves my new camera as much as I do.

°Ü°

Soup-Tacular!

TODAY is the DAY!!

It is the perfect day for soup around here -- we've got a layer of snow on the ground. Beautiful. It's 30° outside -- very cold. And I'm ready to just sit and eat soup... well - after I clean the house... and run some errands... and take a kid or 2 on a dr. visit.

Well any way... here are the soups -- Enjoy!

CHEESY POTATO SOUP

From: Marie G. June 1999

3 c diced potatoes 2 chicken bouillon cubs ½ c chopped carrots
½ c chopped onions 1 ½ c milk ½ lb. Velveeta - cubed
½ c chopped celery 1 t parsley flakes 1 ½ c water

Combine vegetables, parsley, water and bouillon cubes. Boil, then simmer until veggies are tender. Add cheese melt. Add milk… season to taste.



BEST CHILI

2 #'s ground beef 1 chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper 2 cans tomatoes
1 jar salsa 2 T chili powder
3 t chopped garlic salt and pepper to taste
2 cans red beans 2 T brown sugar

Mix all together in big kettle or Crockpot and simmer several hours. OF COURSE we eat these with home made cinnamon rolls. What else is there?? (We are product of public school lunches).


FIVE HOUR STEW

2 #'s stewing beef (chuck roast) 1 can tomato sauce
1 can gravy (use left overs!) 1 c water
1/4 t pepper 6 carrots chopped
3 lg potatoes diced 1 c chopped celery
1 1/2 t salt 1 med. onion chopped
1 can corn 1 can of beans

Put in roast or tightly covered pan. Bake for 5 hours at 250°. Sooo easy... Any time you have left over gravy FREEZE it for this recipe!




TACO SOUP

1 # ground beef 1/4 c chopped onion
1 can chopped tomatoes 1 can kidney beans
1 can corn 1 can tomato sauce
corn chips shredded cheddar cheese

Cook covered for 15 minutes. Serve with chips and cheese. We top this with sour cream too... delish...

OK -- I'll stop now.

Enjoy!! Don't forget to to go boomama and catch all the other soups of the day!









Hey... look what I found.

After hearing about the Fair Tax... I wanted to know MORE!

I went a searching.

Look what I found!!

FAIR TAX FAQ!

Let me know what you think!

I sent it to Dan at work -- he's going to discuss it with his co-workers. So -- are their any cons to the FAIR TAX? What do all the people who have been working at the IRS do for jobs? No more tax returns to depend upon as a savings plan. LOL Hmmm...

ETA: Well -- would you look it there... I found the answer to my own question by reading the FAQ of the Fair Tax.

20. How does the FairTax affect income tax
preparers, accountants, and many
government employees? There are, of
course, still some people who are involved in
sales tax return preparation and sales tax
administration under the FairTax, but many
fewer than those involved with the income tax
FairTax Frequently Asked Questions
© 2007 Americans For Fair Taxation. All rights reserved.
Page 10 of 21
today. Those tax preparers, tax lawyers, and
Internal Revenue Service employees, who are
typically well educated and well equipped
with transferable skills, have to find other,
more productive work. The projected 10.5
percent growth in the economy during the first
year of the FairTax will provide plenty of new
jobs. But the heavy compliance costs of the
income tax are like an anchor holding back
economic growth. We have nothing to show
for the $265 billion (greater than the current
federal deficit of $205 billion) that we spend
each year measuring, tracking, sheltering,
documenting, and filing our annual income.
Surely these valuable labor and capital
resources can be employed more productively
– for example, in following the money trails
left by terrorist, drug, and other criminal
enterprises, rather than in tracking every
American wage earner.

Apparently those IRS people -- they have to get new jobs. LOL Well -- good for them.

I think I'll keep on reading -- see if I can learn anything else new today. You know what they say... "I learn something new every day."

I Like Mike

Are you a descendent of a primate? ::giggle:: That is a good line!! How far back will you go? HA!

Lots of laughs here...



OK -- one more... I'm working on our budget right now... We just got my dear husband's bonus from his work this week... the government took out 43% of it... it's almost 1/2 gone before it even gets to our bank. Then I hear Mr. Huckabee say this...



Oh me... I can't imagine how my budget would look if my dear husband would get to bring home him entire pay check. And "prebate"... what in the world??? I've never heard of such a thing. WOW!! He was talking right to me. 1 income family, 5 kids... Fair Tax. I'm all for that!!

Get Educated!!

Caught in the Act

Oh DANI!!! I caught you -- sucking your thumb.

Silly girl!!!

I thought you were supposed to only suck your thumb in your bedroom!!

Yeah -- she looks scared to me too.

::rolls eyes and shakes head::

Wordless Wednesday

Google "dripping through the light "and see what you can see

You get a TON of entries about water dripping through light fixtures from the floors above. Wowza... who knew... but my drip, drip, drip blog entry happens to be the first one you'll see. (Well -- at least on the 3rd of December it twas the first one).

Too Funny.

Too bad that is such a common problem.

Mine dripping has been fixed -- thanks to Handy Man Dan!

Which reminds me -- he can also fix Kitchen Aids. I was singing the praises of a BOSCH mixer the other day -- thinking I had one on the way -- when my dear husband informed me that he can fix Kitchen Aids too. ::sigh:: Isn't there anything that man can NOT do? Wait... am I complaining about that? Let me re-word that.

Praise God for Handy Man Dan. ;) There is whole wheat bread on the way.