Icy Ice Storm....

Wow... I have survived my first Ice Storm!! What a beautiful but eerie world the ice creates. In the wee hours of the morning (4am) I laid in my bed listening to the loud CRACKS...then the swishing and slashing as the ice covered branch makes it's way to the ground.... When the day light began to creep up I opened my blinds so I could watch the branches crashing down... at about 5 am Melissa came to lay in bed with me and together we listened to the storm at the same time we remembered the HUGE branch that covers the area where I park my car.... Eric has my van and Tory has been letting me drive her car (2002 Pontiac Grand AM GT) and didn't think about the branch as I came home at 11 pm the last night... I was much more worried about making it home. The highway was extremely icy and I all almost didn't make it to the top of South Hill.... When I made it home I parked the car and got myself safely into the house. Okay back to Melissa and I listening to the storm and talking about ALL the branches falling. At the same time we both think about the HUGE branch that I parked Tory's car under "oh crud" I exclaim as...I jump from bed throw on my jeans and grab my winter coat and some slippers and run to the front door.... When I walk out side it is still pretty dark, I look up and see that I am too late the branch has fallen... when I look at Tory's car I can see that the main part of the branch has missed her car... as I walk up closer I can see the somehow the branch has completely missed her car...you can see the picture of where her car WAS parked. I am not doing everything right in my life...but I must be doing something right. Just as day breaks so does the power. Bummer no power means NO HEAT!! Melissa got up and went exploring and took some of these pictures. When she got back I took my turn at snapping some shots of our world of ice. The power came back on for just an hour or so and then stayed off until about 3 pm. When the temperature of my house dropped to 63* I went out to the shed and pulled out the generator and looked for some gas cans... none in site...gotta love my kids. I went down to the feed/NAPA store to buy one. Their power was out and I asked if they would just send me a bill or if I could come back the next day and pay for

them. They clerk took down my name and address and I took my gas cans to the gas station that had power and filled them up!! I couldn't pull started rope the generator fast enough to get it to start so called Tory's boyfriend to come give me a hand... we weren't having much luck when the son of my friends drives by, Josh is a mechanic and all around helpful kid. I wave him down and he pulls in. He can't get the generator started either, so he loads it up and takes it down to his house. Replaces the spark plug, cleans the carburetor and brings it back....just as power is restored. But that is one of the main reasons I LOVE living in a small town... There is always someone to help you when there is a crisis. I am sure Josh or some other helpful folks will be back around to help me remove ALL the limbs from my yard!!

The picture of the pine tree is one that is across the street at the community center. That is how powerful a little bit of ice can be. It just snapped this tree right off!!