The day after Christmas...

...and my house is a mess.  Ok, not all that bad, but I really need to catch up laundry, vacuum, mop, and figure out where to put various Christmas goodies.

I'm also doing my pre-storm prep.  We are forecast for 8-12 inches, 45 mph wind gusts, and zero visibility   I think we are set, as far as needing anything from the store, but I definitely want all that laundry done and the house cleaned, just in case of power outages.  I have this thing about power outages..somehow the house seems messier when the power is out and I can't vacuum.  Sure, I have a broom, but we all know the vacuum works better for those dog hair tumbleweeds that the broom just seems to send blowing across the floor to find a new corner in which to breed their nasty, itchy, allergy inducing offspring.

And of course all the dishes need to be washed,  because no power means no running water.  Oh, sure, you know-it-alls are rolling your eyes and saying "she doesn't know enough to just melt snow??".  Yep, give that a shot, why dontcha?? Let me know how long and how much snow it takes to get a gallon of water.  **rolls eyes**  Yes, in the days when I was a homesteader-know-it-all, which is to say the days before I had actually done any of this stuff, I, too, thought one could simply melt snow to meet all of my water needs. And, in the south, as a child, back when we had major snowstorms of soaking wet snowman quality snow, I'd even melted a bit on our woodstove.  The amount of water you get depends on how much water is in the snow.  Now, you'd think snow is snow and frozen water to boot.  But noooo...of course it has to be more complicated than that.  Ever notice that sometimes you can't make a snowman out of snow?  Or a decent snowball?  Some snow is actually "dry".  Generally: 1 foot of snow = 1 inch of water, give or take depending on the water content of the snow.  Maybe less once you figure in evaporation from heat.  I might also mention that snow water usually smells like wet dog to me. ick.  I'll be melting snow only if I have to.  *sigh* So,  yeah, about getting those dishes done...and all of the emergency water pails filled...

I moved a pile of wood to the front porch, and I should probably do a second stack on the back porch, just to be safe.  If we do get a foot of snow, I don't relish the thought of digging out the wood pile.  I'll be working on that as soon as the sun comes up.

The weather radio said something about a second storm system coming this weekend.  I guess we are making up for last year's lack of snow.

Eöl is working today, so we made sure his truck was fully stocked in case of emergency.  There's a story of a semi-truck driver whose truck was buried on a local road during a blizzard.  He was there for six days before they could get him out.  You can say the weather forecasts weren't as reliable back then (1978), but really, how reliable are they now?  We get forecasts for a foot of snow and wake up to a dusting, and vice versa.  It's better to be prepared.  Even the weather radio is reminding people to stock their cars with food and water if they must be out in the storm.

There's the sun (sort of).  Time for me to get busy.  Here's hoping everyone is safe and warm, and that you all had a great holiday!!