Connie: My prayers are with you as you try to get through this weather event. I can identify with the difficulties you are having, as I live in north-central Michigan (about 75 miles northwest of Lansing). It's a rare winter when we don't have several ice storms that knock out power for several days at a time. So, knowing that, we try to be as prepared as possible, for the "next one", as we know it will come. It's just a matter of when. Since we live on a quarter-mile deadend road, we're kinda on our own, when it comes to survival, so here's a few tips that might help you: 1. For those who think they don't have water, remember that you have a hot water tank. There is a drain, at the bottom, that will allow one to get water to drink. Of course, chilling the water is no problem with all that ice outside. 2. Try to remember if you have a corded phone tucked away, somewhere. Cordless phones are great, as long as there's electricity. They aren't worth a plugged nickel, when the power is out. We have a difficult time getting a cell phone signal in good weather. When those relay towers get covered with ice, you can forget about using a cell phone at all. It seems that the "old-fashioned" technology is still the best, when it comes to ice storms. At least, you can contact people in the "outside world" and can call for emergency assistance, if necessary. You are fortunate to have a gas range to cook on and to use for heat. We're so far off the beaten path, there's no such thing as natural gas. We don't have propane, either. Then, too, the new ranges have a "safety feature" that requires a little spark of electricity in order to ignite the oven. I thought my sister-in-law, in Ohio, was going to murder my brother, when she made that discovery, not too long after he'd surprised her with a new range. They had an ice storm that left them without electricity for over a week. It's also a good time to think about what you may have to eat, tucked away in the freezer. You can prepare several meals, at one time, and then put the cooked food in plastic storage bags and set them in a pile of ice and snow, outside. If you've got a cooler, it's better yet, 'cause you can put the food inside and cover it with that dreadful ice. It will keep better and will guarantee that no neighborhood "critters" will get at it. I could go into detail about how prepared we are, but that would serve no purpose. Suffice it to say that, for a number of years, after I first moved to MI from OH (37 years ago), my Greenbrier "pioneer roots" kicked in and we learned how to survive the vagaries of MI weather. About 10 years ago, we even got 120 mph straight-line winds in May. Boy, you should have seen what it did to the trees and power lines in this area! I do hope that all goes well for you. I always enjoy reading your posts to the list. Do you have enough medical supplies to treat your throat? I see that warmer temps are managing to find their way to KY. That will sure help the crews as they try to restore electricity. Our electric coop has sent a number of line crews down that way, to assist the local power companies. They are used to handling this type of weather, so pray for their safety, as they are hard workers. Hugs, Linda Johnston