The latest weather forecast is dire and many people are scrambling to prepare for the incoming winter storm. They are calling for freezing rain followed by at least a foot of snow and I only hope that we don’t lose power. Whenever there is ice in the mix there is always the chance that the power lines come down and that leaves many in trouble because they have no heat. I know that my family took precautions a few years back and installed a wood burning stove, but they have not had this year’s firewood delivered as yet. Any long term power outage will be a big problem. When I asked my dad if he wanted to use the truck to go pick up some firewood he declined the offer and said he would be fine. He joked and said that he could burn the dining room chairs if he needed to. I don’t think that my mom would find that funny. Instead, I took over an extra generator that I had in the garage along with a gas can. I instructed dad on how to use it just in case. They have a few space heaters that can run off of that if needed. I hope that it will never come to that or that my dad is not serious about burning the chairs. We have been through storms like this before and all we can do is hope for the best. I really think that my folks should look into the installation of a whole house generator too at this point.