LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, February 20, 2015

We Love Lucy


Lucy does not like ice and snow.  Strange because she loved romping in the snow when we lived in WI.  But now she stays inside as much as possible when we have ice and snow.

One of her favorite spots to curl up is the foyer


 Unless the fire is burning.  Then she chooses to be near the warm hearth

I have hesitated in the past to use the word "cold" weather in deference to our daughter in WI and our son in Indiana.  But when we have sub-zero, record-setting temperatures I feel entitled to use the word.  When the high winds are added to the mixture, it is cold indeed.

We had really high winds last weekend with power outages all over the western part of NC.  Thank goodness for our generator, large enough to run the entire house and for our new efficient fireplace.  Our power was off for more than five hours so we turned off the upstairs heat pump (since it pulls so much power) and used the fireplaces upstairs and downstairs to keep us warm. We were warm and cozy as we read and watched movies.

 Monday evening brought snow and then sleet, covering the mountains in ice.  We definitely weren't going off the mountain for a while.  But with the freezer and pantry stocked and plenty of propane in the tank for the generator and fireplaces, we were set.  We expected more power loss due to the heavy coating of ice on the trees but we have been lucky so far.


 Heavy ice on the trees in the back yard
(You might want to enlarge by clicking on it)


We're under another winter storm warning for tonight.  I hope it passes us by.  While we are well fixed to withstand another storm, many in our county are not.  Our thoughts go out to those less fortunate, especially the children.

John Burroughs gives us this wise quote:

What a severe yet master artist old Winter is...
No longer the canvas and pigments, but the marble and chisel.



HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL WEEKEND, EVERYONE!



 

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sure hope things warm up soon there, so you and Lucy can get out there for a walk. Glad that your generator is working and you have enough food to last. Stay warm!

Tara said...

that's some amazing ice on the trees...no wonder Lucy wants to lie by the hearth. We are experiencing very mild weather...while you, and friends in NYC and Boston are getting slammed by cold. Another friend in Australia is hunkering down in a hurricane....I feel positively LUCKY.

Hope this latest storm passes you by.

Ms. A said...

Lucy looks gorgeous on that rug! They compliment each other quite nicely!

I haven't been dealing with nearly the weather some of you have, thank goodness, but I am definitely ready for Spring! Take care and stay warm, I'm thinking about you!

Arkansas Patti said...

So glad you have a generator so that what could be miserable turned into an adventure. Hope no more bad weather hits but good to know you are prepared.
Stay warm and safe.

KGMom said...

I think it's wonderful how animals know almost instinctively where to go to be warm and cozy. Smart critters.
Lucy looks lovely on the red rug. Give her my compliments.

The Bug said...

That ice is so pretty to be so annoying :)

I don't want to jinx things (but since I don't really believe in jinxes...) - we haven't lost power in quite a while. Pretty amazing for this older house in an older neighborhood.

KB said...

That a gorgeous photo of the ice. Wow!

You are lucky to have that generator. Every time we lose our power (and therefore even our water) for a day or two, we talk about a generator, and then we forget until the next long outage. I'm so glad that you were cozy and could even watch movies!

And, I'm glad that Lucy's beloved fireplace could keep pumping out the heat!

Barbara Rogers said...

With ice and wind, I'm so grateful that my elec power hasn't gone out during the last week. Glad you had a backup plan! Only another month till Spring arrives (officially anyway!)

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

I was driving back in that ugly weather on Monday--What a storm! The best place to enjoy it really is in front of the fire!!

Hope you've had a good weekend!

troutbirder said...

Your definitely well prepared. Strangely in our old house we were. In our new one not so much. Now what does that tell you...?

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

Ms. A and Donna - Believe it or not, that rug, while one of the smallest in the house is also the most expensive. And Lucy just loves it.

KB - We had a generator installed because the year before we started building there were three consecutive hurricanes and power was out for 20 days. We have used it less than once a year, but knowing it's there is great.

Kim - I read your post about the trip. What a nightmare.