Aren't they pretty?

This past week brought us a new experience...the remnants of Hurricane Ike made it all the way up here to Ohio, and the very high winds knocked out our power on Sunday evening. We hadn't had the T.V. on all day, so we were blissfully unaware that the storm was as strong as it was even all the way up here. Sooooo....we found ourselves without power for the first time in many, many years, and the first time ever while on well water. Those of you who have wells know that if the power goes out, the well pump goes with it. So, we were left scrambling. Thanks to the generosity of friends, we were able to scrounge up water and even go take showers, and a co-worker of Joe's who still had power kindly brought a generator over so that we could at least save the food in the refrigerators along with Katie's insulin (about $1500 worth). Our power came on Tuesday morning to our great relief.

Needless to say, this experience was a real learning experience as far as our preparedness. Mostly what we still need to get in order. These beautiful 55 gallon water barrels were sitting empty in our garage, waiting to get put in the right place and filled. Pretty though they are, you can imagine how much good they did empty. Even if you are on city water, that can go out without warning as well. So friends, learn from our experience, and take inventory of your emergency preparedness. When the next storm comes, we will be ready.