Thursday, December 05, 2013

Preparing for the Impending Ice Age

We're supposed to be getting a major ice storm starting tonight. I'm actually kind of worried about this one because the local weather geek, who's all about the science and not the hype, is using phrases like "entombed in ice" in his Facebook posts, and after running the numbers from the data he got yesterday afternoon, he announced that he was going to the store to stock up and be prepared. They issued the winter storm warning yesterday afternoon, when it was about 79 degrees. I have a weather radio, so I was sitting in my office, looking out the window at a warm, sunny day, when the disembodied voice came from below, warning me about impending freezing conditions. Yesterday, I walked to the bank and got rather warm doing so. Today there may be ice. Ah, Texas weather.

But I am prepared. I hit the grocery store yesterday morning, so I've got enough food to survive on for a while. I've also got hot cocoa and found some Gluhwein. I brought in the emergency car charger, which can also be used to power other things, and made sure it's fully charged, in case I lose power. I'm in trouble if there's an extended power outage because my house is all electric, but I have a fireplace and some Duraflame logs, I have lots of candles, and I have a lot of blankets. I've been pretty much yarn bombing myself since the knitting addiction hit, so I have lots of stuff to wrap up in.

I also found a new winter coat earlier in the week when I was doing my shopping. I walked into the Burlington Coat Factory in the nearby mall, and although they had almost nothing left, they had one coat in my size that was almost exactly what I was looking for. It has a portrait collar that comes up high in the back and it's princess-seamed, fitting through the body and then flaring at the skirt. I kind of wanted it to be a little longer and to be some color other than black, but the fun thing is that in spite of it being Calvin Klein, it was about three quarters of what I'd been thinking of spending on a coat, so if somewhere down the line I find the perfect coat, I won't feel like I can't get it. Unfortunately, the ice storm may nix my Saturday night party plans, so I may not get to wear it this weekend. I also got my hair cut while I was out, since the stylists in the salon at the mall looked bored and I had a whim. My hair seems a lot happier when it hits the middle of my back instead of going below my waist.

The plan for today is to bake some bread (since most of my weekend food plans involve cooking things, and there is a chance of power outages due to ice on the lines), straighten the house and put up my Christmas decorations, which I brought in from the garage yesterday. Tomorrow if I still have power, I'll bake some Christmas cookies for the church cookie swap sale (assuming I can get there to bring cookies -- we're not supposed to get above freezing until Monday, and there will be up to half an inch of ice). All the while, I'll be doing iTunes roulette to figure out a soundtrack for my movie. I also have some new knitting needles for a new project I want to start.

You know you're an introvert when being iced in sounds like the best weekend ever, as long as you have power.

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