The Ice Man Cometh

This past winter we had a huge ice storm right before Christmas. It left us without power for 7 days. We were able to run the power (but not the heat) in the clinic so we could see patients. We ran an extension cord up to the office where we have a wood stove so we could keep patients on fluids and warm. The house stayed warm by the three wood stove. We played cards by candlelight (which was great!) Alli stayed over for a few nights instead of being at home in the dark and we played dominos or cards nearly every night. We used water hauled up from the pond to flush toliets. We took showers at Alli's and Thann's house when they got power back. All in all it was a pretty cool experience (other than hauling all the wood and water). We spent a lot of time together as a family. It was interesting to get a very small feel for how our anscestors did things. We heated up hot chocolate and soup on the wood stoves and we melted ice for the dogs. We do have gas stoves so Grandpa was able to cook by head lamp and candles. We listened to the radio a lot (mostly Christmas music). We had it easy compared to people who had to water their many horses three times a day. Some people were without power for weeks. While it was very nice to be able to take a shower, it was a great experience to have gone through. Here are some pictures of the beautiful ice.