Madeline (Giles) DeJournett is the Advance writer for the North Stoddard Countian. A retired high school English/history teacher, she spent 32 years teaching in 5 schools in Missouri and Alaska. These days, she lives quietly with a menagerie of wild and domestic animals on 52 secluded acres in the remote Tillman hills south of Advance. She graduated from Dexter High School in 1960 and Southeast Missouri State in 1964. She can be contacted at advancensc@sbcglobal.net.

ICE bound!

Posted Tuesday, February 12, 2008, at 3:30 PM

This fireplace scenerio was the center of my day - tea and soup heating on the fireplace fender, my cat Tybalt toasting on the ottoman. What more can you ask for on a cold, icy day??

Well, if this isn't a fine howdy-do! What is Mother Nature going to throw at us next, I'd like to know??

I made it home from Advance, put hay and pellets out for my goats, built a fire in the fireplace, and enjoyed a quiet night of listening to the rain, which turned into a solid sheet of ice by morning. Each time I woke up, I expected the power to be off, but that didn't happen until 7 a.m. this morning.

As you can see, the electricity has made a most welcome reappearance, as of about an hour ago! Yipee!

I learned several things in the stillness of a power-less morning, and I shall share them with you:

* A hot bowl of soup can be produced on top of the fireplace "fender."

* Those old, out-of-style leg-warmers that I stuck back in a drawer several years ago come in handy on a day like this.

* My wild birds love a sunflower snack, but they don't like ice-covered tree limbs crashing down on top of their feeder.

* It's tricky getting a wheelbarrow full of hay down an icy front yard to the goat pen.

* Nothing works w/o electricity - except a book, a flashlight, and a brain!

* It does no good for KFVS to post a list of closings, if the electricity is off - but I appreciate the effort.

* Semo Electric does amazing work!

* Four-wheel drive vehicles still slide on ice!

How about it, fellow blogger buddies - What have you learned during this icy interlude? Did anybody get to the grocery stores before the ice hit? I missed that fun activity, but a friend said it was a real experience!

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Maddie sounds like you are having a little Mich. winter. My wife and I spent the week-end in Beulah Mi.when we woke on Sunday it was -2 and the wind was blowing and snowing so hard you couldn't see 10 feet and the wind chill factor was -23 but we did have power , so have fun and enjoy mother nature. From the frozen north.

-- Posted by rusty nail on Tue, Feb 12, 2008, at 4:25 PM
Happy frozen morning to you too, Lady Madeline.

I'm SO glad no one had a video camera on me this morning. They could have titled the resulting video "Fat Chick on Ice," and made a fortune. The Ice Dancing judges would probably have given me a 5.0 (out of 10.0) based on maximum extension, good toe point and extreme efforts to avoid an actual fall.

Global Warming never sounded soooooo good. Ask me again this spring when I'm warmer and not so sore.

-- Posted by Ducky on Wed, Feb 13, 2008, at 8:52 AM
I love days like this! I found myself watching the school closings as if I could only enjoy the day if we were "off!"

It's like the world stands still. Put on a pot of soup, get your knitting out, and sit close to the fire.

-- Posted by lovebooks on Wed, Feb 13, 2008, at 11:57 AM
Good to hear you still have power, lovebooks.

-- Posted by Ducky on Wed, Feb 13, 2008, at 12:15 PM
I managed to be one of the lucky ones. Though my best friend wasn't so lucky. Her family was w/o power for over 24 hours. We were on the brink...and did lose phone service for a while (which meant no commenting on here)...but thank my lucky stars that's it. We have a tree in my alley that's still on lines, so I still have a chance of those lines snapping under the pressure...and I've never seen lines stretched so close to the ground...somewhere around 6 feet off the ground. Hope everyone else faired this ice storm ok. This is what Missouri is usually famous for...it's been a long few years since it's happened, and hope it's another long few hundred years before it does again. My kids are going nuts being out of school this long...maybe tomorrow...

-- Posted by mrsdolphin on Wed, Feb 13, 2008, at 12:52 PM
Well, Tyson Foods called me last night about 6 to tell me not to come to work today! So we got a day off because of the ice! But...I hate ice. My ice scraper finally broke after scraping ice off several cars both Monday and yesterday at work. It's back to work tomorrow!

I agree with Ducky! Where's global warming when you need it?

-- Posted by swift on Wed, Feb 13, 2008, at 2:14 PM
I had several lessons that came with the "ice."

1. Never underestimate the power of togetherness (all under the same roof and nowhere to go). It will either make you wish for more "ice" to keep this feeling alive or let you know that family members have long ago forgotten about being together so closely and the "ice" is not so pretty to look at after all.

2. I have had a lot of time inside-wearing my glasses in an attempt to catch up on my reading-and I have noticed that my house needs the attention of 5 maybe 6 ladies to get to the bottom of the layers of dirt around here. Spring cleaning could be a whole lot easier if we picked one house at a time and worked around with our friends to get the job done. It is always so much more fun to clean someone else's house than your own. I know I could just take off my glasses and go back into denial.

3. God has a way of showing us just what the basics are.

-- Posted by Grati Tude on Wed, Feb 13, 2008, at 4:59 PM
To Dream of Spring

Like a haunting memory winter lingers. It holds us prisoner like nervous hostages, begging for spring to pay our ransom. Our homes like forts, keeping us safe from our icy nemesis. He just laughs as he conquers our lawns. The children can only gaze dreamily out the window, and reminisce on happier days. Days filled with bicycles, swimming pools, and ice cream. Days when the sun melted thier worries away as flame does to wax. Neighborhoods once filled with the laughter of children, now silent with despair. But don't you worry child, be at peace. For the crown of this frosty king will soon be worn by another. One whose light will fill the sky. The birds will sing his victory song. He will free us from this frozen wasteland, and we will rejoice with the sounds of lawnmowers, laughter, and love. We will celebrate by playing hide and seek, tag, and singing songs.We will catch fireflies, and set them free to watch them bring light to the warm night sky. Once more will the smell of freshly cut grass fill the air. Again will the splendid song of the ice cream truck tickle our ears. We will once again be free. Sleep well child, and let the worries of winter melt away. Soon will be a much brighter day.

-- Posted by Daydream on Sat, Feb 16, 2008, at 2:38 PM

Madeline Dejournett's response:
Wow, Daydream - Is this original? Quite poetic!!
Well, I knew it would be fun to hear all your observations, but, unfortunately, my power went off again the same Tuesday I got it back - and I was stranded on my remote Tillman hill with no electricity from Tuesday (about 4:30 p.m.) to Friday (about 4:30 p.m.). As soon as I got the tree limbs off my road and the power back in my house, I headed for Southwest MO to spend my birthday with my sister!!!
It is SO GOOD to see the news again!! I am NEWS STARVED!!!
Now to clean up this living room, where I huddled for four days, behind sheets taped up over the doors and windows to keep the heat of the fireplace in!
I never want to be that cold again!
That is quite a wonderful poem Daydream.

Our power went off Monday night around 11:30, I believe. It was restored by Friday morning. Everything in the fridge and freezer had to be tossed.

Luckily, we stayed with my Mother through the storm. She has gas heat, so we knew even if the electric went off, we would be warm. It did go off almost everyday for at least 2 hours, and up to 6 on a couple of days.

Cooking dinner and eating with the light of a kerosene lamp was quite a different scene for my children and I.

I know that the road crews, police departments, fire departments, electric companies, and quite a few others have worked tirelessly to restore the power and clean up the mess left behind. To them, we should all be thankful. I'm sure they too were without power and most of the time away from their families. I'm sure it's hard on all of them. I just wanted to say thanks to them for all of their efforts.

-- Posted by sc1120 on Tue, Feb 19, 2008, at 1:28 AM
I agree -- but I don't believe everyone feels the same. I understand that there were some disgruntled residents. I have no idea who's right!

I saw some lines that were STILL down today, but they were in a remote location alongside a horse pasture. Of course, where did those lines lead TO? That is the question!

-- Posted by goat lady on Tue, Feb 19, 2008, at 4:24 PM
Didn't Ameren have this same controversy in the St. Louis area last winter or the winter before? Some said if they would have done updates or cut tree limbs in a timely fashion, power would have been saved in many areas. I don't remember exactly what the issues were about, but I can almost bet they come up here. I don't understand why people get so disgruntled. Granted, some had to do without power and heat for quite some time...but can't anyone use that time towards appreciation and not being disgruntled? Imagine being without power period. It's the way some of our parents and grandparents grew up...yet they managed. Being without power at any time makes me just appreciate it more when I do have it. Stuff happens...why does a human always have to be at fault for the damage mother nature has done?

-- Posted by mrsdolphin on Tue, Feb 19, 2008, at 5:50 PM
Mmmmm....I do seem to remember that issue about Ameren not trimming trees...

As for me, I'm always amazed at how quickly the power company gets out on problems - but, of course, this last storm was a once-in-50-years event, I think.

I remember one time when I called the Semo Electric office at about 3 a.m. to report a power outage, and they were out here working in the dark and had my power up by 5 a.m.! I couldn't believe it when I heard voice and saw lights out there in the dark!

-- Posted by goat lady on Thu, Feb 21, 2008, at 12:09 PM

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