I was ready!  The forecast?  Winter weather, ice, snow, sleet, freezing rain…and potential loss of power.  Any time there is a forecast with the threat of power outage, our house is sure to comply.  Power loss is one thing but we have the added joy of also losing water when the power departs.  Ah, the joy of the private well.  Downstairs tub filled, drinking water ready to go, flashlights in place, time to wait.

The sleet started in the morning and it didn’t take long for our green deck to turn white.  It looked like a Winter Wonderland but wasn’t very fun to go walking in.  There were tiny little ice pellets falling from the sky!  So we watched from the safety and warmth of the inside.  It stopped sleeting for a little while and then the rain started.  Ugh!

Freezing…rain!  In the south, even the mention of those two words together can bring cities to a screeching halt.  I know we southerners get made fun of for not being able to drive in the snow but this isn’t snow, it’s ice.  Think driving a car on an ice skating rink, because that’s what we were looking at.  I’m pretty sure the kids could have put on their ice skates and skated on the deck, driveway or even the streets.

A few hours after the start of the freezing rain, it happened.  The lights began to flicker signaling the inevitable.  I was still ready.  I made sure everyone knew to keep the water in the tub and told them where the filled water bottles sat.  Flashlights were in their special drawer.  This storm was not going to get the better of me.

The freezing rain finally stopped just before dusk.  The trees did look beautiful and shiny with their ice coating.  They also looked dangerous as they swayed in the wind.  The ice was heavy forcing the landscape to yield to it’s weight.  Some tree branches touched the ground while other trees bowed their entire treetops to the ice.

Our driveway was nice and slippery now and in perfect shape for sledding.  The kids grabbed their plastic sleds and headed outside.  Sledding on our driveway is fun but can also be rather tricky.  We have a steep driveway and you can get some good speed but at the bottom you have three choices: hit the house, hit the lamppost or safely turn into the play area.  It took some fancy sledding skills to safely navigate the bottom but my kids were handling it like experts.  I stood in front of the lamppost just in case.  The first time I ever went down our driveway I came to an abrupt stop when I met the lamppost.  I like to think my sledding skills are a little more advance now…

It was starting to get dark and I noticed a very bright light coming from inside the house.  The light was coming from the floor.  Strange, I didn’t remember our stair lights being that bright.  Then I realized it wasn’t the stair lights at all, it was one of our flashlights.  My husband set it on the stairs so we could see when we went into our house.  The power finally gave up.  It was dark!

Join me tomorrow for more about our Winter Wonderland adventures.