(A friend of mine wrote this about her experiences.)

When the electric went out last year for the ice
storm we did have to change a few things. We
did the propane grill for cooking. We ran out of
propane. We took rocks big enough to hold up
an oven rack and made a fire. Good thing I had
my cast iron skillets and dutch oven. Hubby says
we got to buy another one of them gas grill tanks.
Yeah, well, I can see hes' right. At least we got
trees behind us.

For heat we put more clothes on and blankets on the
bed. We have moving blankets. We put the moving
blankets on the matress and above us for added
thickness, we also have 20 below sleeping bags.
For added comfort we heatted a rock up to put
at the toe of the bed or for when your sitting around.
We did learn with that there is a such thing as
heating it to hot, because it scortched a few
towels before we got it right.

We had kerosene laps or what type of lamps I think
they are called that. We used those a bit when sitting
around reading or what not. Had some candles too
but realized son had used them for I don't know what
now I think it was a skateboard or something like that.
He melted them to make a design on the bottom. See
if I found 10 long candles for .50 cents again. Oh I was
so mad. I had them in a box in a cool dry place so the
summer heat wouldn't melt them. Yes in certain rooms
when we have shut the doors so it doesn't cool off that
room it has melted crayons in there and candles. I found
to put them in the cellar on the shelf over the washer
cause the dryer gets too hot. anyways we did have
scented candles, but it stintches up the place when
you have to many on. We did a lot of get up early
and go to bed early.

Oh for coffee we kept the fire going during the day,
hubby and a friend built a little lean to thing around
and over it so it was actually pretty good when
sitting there doing the stuff. It didn't get to smoky
because one side was open but it did save the fire
a lot. Anyways we had that we used the filter thing
from the coffee pot to hold the filter and grounds in
boiled the water in one pan and pour it through the
filter into another one. It kept the coffee ground out
of it. I did try it the just boiling the coffee in it and
stuff, but this seemed to work nicer.

I kept small heated rocks to go in my mittens that
helped my fingers to move.

We have never really turned a light on at night to just
use the restroom, I think we just have homing devices
well except for my nephew and I just put a dang bucket
in the corner of the bedroom and aluminium foil around
the wall and the floor. It was simplier because it didn't
matter if the light would have been on he sleeps heavy
and his bathroom is off to the other side where that
bucket was placed. Lucky the water stayed on that could
of been bad.

Oh for keeping heat in more we made tents over the beds.
I sure think that was nice, but hubby can't see the t.v. at
night wiith the tent. Not like we got TV with the power off
duh. It was basically two moving blankets stapled together
and then stitch when I got them up acrossed the rope. I
think we put another folded sheet at the food and a blanket
against the wall. People complained about being cold all
night, but we were really and my husband and I have
arthritis.

I did let people know how I did it, but don't think I gave
up my supplies. If you live in a place that gets cold and
don't have extra blankets and know the heat can go off
than your just plain asking for something. Anyways we
sectioned off rooms in the same manner we didn't need
the whole living room or whole dinning room. We had
some extra lumber that temp walls were made out of.
We sectioned off bedrooms that way too. That way the
smaller the place more body heat was filing the place.
We used sheets and blankets. Good that my hubby had
a staple gun we used it a lot that week. Sheet plastic
could have worked too.

We had the neighbors come over to our place and they
brought their supplies with them and we had 7 people in
the place, but it seemed to work out real well. They had
a battery radio and some batteries. The music was good.
We also kept up on news. Like when the power was
coming back on.

One of the sections was to section son off from the
neighbor girl and then had daughter next to the
openning of the wall and then the parent weren't to
far from my son so anytime he even thought of
getting up he could feel the dad's eyes. Heck he
was 18 and the daughter 17. Something may of
been happening else were but it wasn't happening
that night. hahah

There are different things I've thought of and have it
written down were we could have done things
different and would have maybe been better, but it
is in the file cabinet hehe.

We found it easier and faster to learn some basic first aid
skills and take someone to the hospital ourselves, since the
ambulance people had to wait for a police excurit to come
in. Dang morons I just don't get that shooting at the para-
medics so they wont help the person you just shot, so that
later when your family member is hurt they wont come in fast
enough. Talk about not using their friggen heads. So when I
read your joke about the 911 it sure made me laugh about it.
Especailly since hubby had a heart attack on Thursday and
we would have had nice people here right away (well as soon
as they would have gotten out of bed since the are volunteer)
he didn't want to bother waking them up I think I can drive
he say. Yeah right! Are son drove. Wow they don't mess
around at hospitals for chest pains, right away.

Now I do make good Thanksgiving, so I know dang
well he didn't have a heart attack so he wouldn't have to
eat my turkey. I bet it was, so he didn't have to eat his
brothers wives deviled eggs. Man how you screw up
on those so bad and think they taste good who knows.
Here is her recipe cut egg in half short ways. take out
yolk smash it up with salt how much I'm not sure, but
I'm possitive the ocean has less in it. Then put smashed
up yolk in egg halves. There that is her recipe oh and
then she sprinkles dry chilli powder on it. So you are
eatting this dry salty chilli thing. The first year she cried,
because her husband and everybody else ate the deviled
eggs and were saying oh these are so great, you made
some great deviled eggs. Well my mother in law hadn't
realized she was bringing them and my mother in law
brings them each year and just sets them on the table.
SIL hadn't taken hers out of the fridge yet. I should
upload the picture I have of her sour puss hahahahaaha
Anyways we just make sure we have MIL deviled eggs
on the down low and tell SIL how good hers our so
she doesn't make our life a living hell the rest of the year.

Wonder if it came down to it if I could say the baby and
hubby could stay but she has to sleep in the barn.
Probably not I doubt anybody will build a barn for her
to stay in. hahaha Awww she isn't that bad just young.
Pretty much how a lot of people will be when their electric
gets turned off. I wish are cell phone hadn't worked at
that time, because she kept hubby last year to say what
was happening on t.v. shows or this and that. She
probably wouldn't make it long without electricity.

Well anyways. God's Blessings to ya all