Prepping

Don't let his cuteness fool you.
This guy likes to bolt outside at the least convenient times. 

We spent the day:

Making candles, because if the power goes out we can use the same heating method I've been using in the greenhouse to keep us moderately chilly.  

Making multiple trips to the shed, for toilet paper, paper towels, my 1950 copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Long Winter, inventorying the board games still out there (Nope. Plenty inside. There's a reason they are there).

Cutting down the prematurely growing iris bulbs--because I didn't think covering them would matter if it's zero degrees. 

Dithering about covering the azaleas, and deciding not to because they lasted through the 2021 freeze. 

Cleaning out the garage and bringing in the glass/plastic bottles we stored in the outside pantry. Don't need frozen Dr. Pepper Zero or cracked jars of salsa.

Making enchiladas. 

Chasing an escape artist cat who thinks he's cute and an adventurer like his namesake. 

Insulating the outdoor spigots. 

Climbing into the attic to ensure the pipes are covered.

Locating the water main and making sure it is easy to turn off if we have a burst pipe.

Having a family meeting on what to do if a pipe bursts and/or the power goes out. Polly's answer: hang out at Sherman's. The rest of us start a game of Settlers of Catan.  

Reassuring the plants in the greenhouse they will be fine--but I brought one inside anyway. 

Sealing the greenhouse roof because Marty opted to bring a space heater out there and ran the extension cord through the roof. 

Loosening the caps on the spare bottles of water we store in the garage, because if they freeze, they will expand. For those who think it is excessive to keep spare bottles of (tap) water, you haven't lived in rural Texas. My family scoffed too until we needed a few gallons. 

Cleaning the house.

Checking e-mails to discover the Church of Christ is having online service. Still no news if the Catholic Church expects their parishioners to drive through ice to show up for an hour on Sunday. 

Chatting with Val, who wanted to meet up and walk the mall. Instead, we had a long text thread and wished each other well.     

All this is to say, we are totally ill-prepared and have zero idea what to expect in the next few days. 

Oh yeah... There's another storm coming next week.