I have retired now and have great plans for more herb gardening and keeping up this blog.

We had an ice storm yesterday and today here in Arkansas.  This morning right after breakfast, we lost power for two hours.  It has been bitterly cold, so the temperature in the house started dropping, and we  could not predict when power would return.  Last Christmas season, power was out three days. I immediately started thinking about pipes freezing.

Luckily, the power came back on, thank goodness, but since these power outages seem to be much more frequent in the past, I need to plan ahead for future disruptions.

*Save juice jugs for water storage.  Our water line from the street froze once, and I was grateful to have water for a sponge bath before going to work.
*Have a gas range instead of electric so we can still heat up food and water.
*Have a gas log fireplace that is vented outside.  We have gas logs in a traditional fireplace now, but we never use it because the heat goes right out the chimney.
*Have cans of soup to heat up on the gas range.
*Have plenty of matches and batteries on hand.
*Store extra ice cubes in the freezer to fill up empty spaces and keep things cold.

What ideas do you have for preparing for a power outage?