Ice storm - Day 3

This is the worst of our damage, assuming we don't take a late hit - the crumpled fence, photographed for insurance purposes.

Here I am, studying the owner's manual for the new chainsaw. It's so loaded with warnings - dictated by Poulson's legal department, no doubt - that I was almost afraid to touch it. My confidence returned once I got it running and made the first cut on the downed tree in the driveway. The worst thing about this photo is my thinning hair - I had no idea. Pass the Rogaine.

The house is holding heat remarkably well. It was 26 outside but only 54 in our bedroom when we woke up this morning.

I let the dogs out and fired up the kerosene heater and we were soon basking in 64-degree comfort. Well, that's still a little on the cool side, but if you dress right, it's just fine.

I drove into town, stopping at the Brookland Post Office to find an empty mailbox. I could hear the postmistress and her employees on the other side of the boxes still sorting mail and comparing notes on how many layers of clothing they were wearing since there still is no electricity or heat in the building.

The del Sol was running on fumes and there was a huge line at the first gas station I passed, but the new Murphy Oil station had a vacant pump and I filled up for $1.58/gallon.

Then it was over to Hastings Hardback Cafe for a big cup of coffee and free Wifi. I'm also using the electrical outlet to charge my cell phone. My iPod's battery indicator is showing red, so I need to top it off before I leave the land of electricity.

The news from the utility crews is pretty depressing. It appears there are more than 1 million of us without power throughout the Mid-South. There are something like 3,000 utility poles down in our part of Arkansas and it looks like the whole electrical infrastructure is going to have to be rebuilt. Ditto, cable TV, and with it our Internet access. Old timers say this is the worst ice storm they've ever seen.

Maria says it looks like the two-week estimate was wildly optimistic and it may be more like four weeks before we are back to normal with electricity and cable.

Most of the stuff in the freezer side of the fridge is still frozen, but the refrigerator side is only a few degrees below ambient room temperature and something in there is starting to smell bad. We'll go through it this evening and pitch what can't be salvaged, making a list for the homeowners' insurance claim.

We bought about $25 worth of steaks over the weekend at Sam's Club and need to grill 'em and eat 'em as fast as we can.

Fortunately, our new grill has a side burner, so we still have some cooking options. Maria discovered the kerosene heater radiates considerable heat from the top, so she dug out her cast iron skillet and fried up some Italian sausage and potatoes on it for dinner last night.

The temperature is 28, headed for a forecast high of 34, so there should be some melting today. The Weather Channel site says it'll be 41 tomorrow, 47 Saturday and 52 Sunday, so the ice will be gone soon. I'm suppressing the urge to get out with the chainsaw today because there is still a very real chance of getting whacked by falling branches. That's why I kenneled the dogs when I left this morning, rather than letting them do their usual hangout on the back porch and back yard.

Maria took Pine Log Road west to work this morning and warned me to stay off of it with my no-traction-on-ice del Sol. She said it was narrowed to one lane by debris in several places.

I took it east to the U.S. 49 Brookland business route this morning and found places where low-hanging, ice-covered branches forced me into the oncoming lane. As I approached Brookland, I came up on a semitrailer truck stopped in the southbound lane while the driver tried to figure out how to get around a low-hanging power line.

So far, we've been able to treat this as a big adventure, but I can see that it's going to wear thin pretty soon. Fortunately, our BMW motorcycle friends Charlie and Deb will have power soon at their home in town and they've offered us the use of their bathroom for showers.

There was enough hot water left in the guest room water heater for me to get a shower last night, so I'm no longer gamy. We're also going to run out of clean laundry before this is over, but that's a concern for another day.