ALERT! Saturday, January 24th, is the Winter 24-Hour Short Story Contest! Only 500 participants permitted so SIGN UP TODAY!

On Monday night, I checked the 10-day forecast. It said we were supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow and ice on Saturday. We could handle that. I have VERY fond memories of SPRAINING MY SHOULDER the last time I went sledding. And, it all got caught on video!

But, yesterday morning, I woke up and checked the weather again. It said:
Friday night: 1-3 inches of ice and snow
Saturday: 5-8 inches of ice and snow!!!
Sunday morning: 1-3 inches of ice and snow

I did the math. The prediction was then 7-14 inches over 2 1/2 days with a LOT of ice accumulation, and widespread power outages. UH OH!!! They were saying this was going to be like the storm of 1993. That’s when our son-in-law’s parents lost power for 2 WEEKS!

I tell you what… The BEST investment we ever made when we moved here was ripping out the gas fireplace, and having a wood stove installed!

Anyway, we are pretty well-stocked on food and essentials (even toilet paper). We have three different options for Internet service here (underground cables, a wireless Verizon card, and, of course, through our cell phones). This weekend is our Winter, 2026 24-Hour Short Story Contest. We set all that up ahead of time (it all goes live instantly at start-time at, noon Eastern time on Saturday) and our servers are out of state. So, that wouldn’t be affected.

My mind moved on to other things…

Our road doesn’t get plowed. Last year, after a small snowstorm, our neighbor’s elderly father slid off the road and his vehicle was stuck against some trees for a week until things cleared up.

Our sons live in the valley. If they lost power for an extended period, they’d be in trouble. They live in a townhouse without a fireplace. Neither of their vehicles have 4-wheel drive.

Mason can come here before the storm hits, and even get stuck on the mountain with us for an extended period because he works for our company. Mason could also bring their two cats here with him. I’m sure our cat, Rocky, will be happy to share his catnip with them (NOT!). 😉

Max is a welder, and has to be able to get to work. He can’t afford to get snowed in for a week or two. The contingency plan was for him to go stay with his dad in Chattanooga, where they DO plow the roads. They likely also get their power back on a LOT faster after an outage.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and three grandbabies (and another on the way, arriving in just 2 1/2 weeks!) DO have a fireplace so I wasn’t too worried about them.

Then, my thoughts drifted back to the homestead here…

I briefly wondered how an 8-inch tall chicken would get around in 14 inches of snow but that’s Brian’s department (he’s putting cardboard down in the elevated hen house so they can stay warm in there if they don’t like the snow). If they do like the snow, well, we’re not going to argue with them, nor interfere.

When we lived in Maine, we had a little terrier mutt named Percy. When we had snowstorms, we’d dig a path from the doggy door in the mudroom into the yard. We’d even make little different paths for him in the yard. We called those Percy’s Potty Paths. Would we need to do something similar here for Tank and Moon?

We’d need to remember to put our windshield wipers up, away from the windshields (a northerner trick so they don’t get stuck with ice to the windshield).

Brian would need to once again put our “winter kits” in the vehicles, and his tire chain kit in his truck.

The last time our power went out (for 12 hours straight, overnight, just a few weeks ago), Brian fired up our generator but it was making the WEIRDEST sound. It sounded like it was burping LOUDLY every couple of seconds. The neighbors weren’t impressed. Neither was I. The generator “shack” is right outside our bedroom. It’s very difficult to sleep when a constant, subtle “Rrrrrr…” is interrupted by, “BURP!!! BURP!!!! BURP!!!!!”

So, yesterday morning, Brian asked the neighbor to come help him load that monster into his truck. He took it in. It’s already fixed. There was some moisture in the whatchamacallit near the thingymabob. Brian picked it up today. It’s working great now!

I called the propane place yesterday morning. I wanted them to top off our tank in case we lose power for a week or two. Our generator runs on propane or gasoline (we have plenty of gas). I was on hold for eight minutes, only to learn they can’t get out here until after the storm. They were flooded with calls yesterday. Our tank is at 60% right now (we last had it filled in October, 2024) so we’re not very concerned about that. Unless the power goes out, we only use it for cooking. I’m not sure how long the tank would last if it’s running the generator 24/7. But, we have the wood stove so we won’t freeze to death, even if we run out of propane.

Also, our neighbors who don’t have generators know that we have a basement with extra beds and cots. We can easily move furniture, and line up mattresses on the floor of the living room if we need to host our friends in the event of an emergency.

After ALL of that yesterday, I got up this morning and, like the anxious woman I am, I checked the weather for the zillionth time in the past 3 days.

New forecast?

Friday night: 50% of “light rain or freezing rain”
Saturday: 100% chance of RAIN (up to 1 inch)
Sunday morning: 100% chance of RAIN (up to 1/2 inch)

At least we’re ready for the next one, which is supposed to arrive next weekend. However, I’m not holding my foggy breath…

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