Not to go all Laura Ingalls on your arse

But I'm contemplating the foreshadowed sneauxpocalypse with a great measure of "screw you, bring it on."

Put into context, the first winter we lived in our now-house, the electricity cut out no fewer than 5 times. Funds that might have gone toward a vacation were spent on a generator (thrill!) and wiring a separate electrical panel to run off generator power so we didn't have to throw a bunch of switches when we fired the damn thing up. As long as the gas holds out, we can use the size generator we have to run the lights, the TV, the satellite, the inside fridge, the internet, and just about any small appliance we have, including the espresso machine and the vacuum, albeit not everything at once. Switch everything over for a few hours, and we can run the hot water heater long enough for everyone to have a shower before bed.

We cannot run the heat pump. That's where the wood-burning stove comes into play. Nor can we run the washing machine, the dryer, or the dishwasher. With this weather advisory, I have not let more than one hamper's worth of dirty clothes accumulate as a precaution. No doubt TinyDoom! will withhold a poo-splosion to the very second I cannot run a load of laundry, but that cannot be helped (not without a cork and some Superglue, that is.) (I kid.) (Mostly. You should have seen how he violated his walker last night.)

As far as food goes, we have the pantry I already try to keep fully stocked and a chest freezer outside and the SUPER IN CASE OF EMERGENCY rations we purchased in case of natural disaster.

An excess of precaution? Yes. But I am responsible for myself, for the family, for the animals. The first winter, when we didn't have a generator and I was boiling water on top of the stove to put in a watering can to sprinkle over the SugarBean's head in an effort to "shower" her off as she cried about the house being dark and cold and she wanted a bath, I made a promise to myself that we would do without in some places to be better prepared the next time. The next day, our water supply cut out, and I was the one crying on the bathroom floor.

(Mental note to check the stored water, so at the very least, we can flush toilets.)

As we head into this, I hope you will all be safe. But also be responsible. And so far as it is within your power, be prepared.