amelia,where are you located?sounds like you're on the bad side.gosh my prayers are with you.i'm south of sulphur,we're due the wind and rain tonight.just a little wind for now .my thoughts and prayers are with you and others in and around that monster, let us hear from you. best of lick,patricia

Just heard that Oklahoma City got hit bad by this storm with the airport, schools and businesses already closed. Are you doing OK, Oakley? It started snowing here around 3:15PM yesterday and, although we don't have a huge amount of snow, we do have several inches with more to come today. The roads are icy everywhere and DD's school is on a 2 hour delay, but will probably be closed. I'm sitting here waiting to hear that my DH has gotten to work safely. (Sigh) There's always sick people and so he always tries to get in. I worry so much until he gets there and then I worry on his drive back home again. Anyhoo, hoping all of you in the storm's path stay safe and warm. Lynn

After not having enough T-paper and dog food (with two hugh dogs) during the blizzard in Indianapolis in the late seventies and having to walk 10 blocks to get some to hold us over, I swore that would never happen again so I always have a good supply of both. Then, after we first moved down here to the boonies on top of a high hill and experiencing many power outages while living in a mobile, I decided what I would do and get to be prepared when we got our house built. The first thing I did was research woodburning stoves until I found one that didn't take up all the room in the world yet would provide all the heat we could want, light and plus I'd be able to cook on it. Bought it a little over a year before the house was done and stored it. Then we bought a generator which the one dog tore all of the wiring out of before it could ever be used much. Lesson learned. The next generator we bought is encased. I also started stocking my pantry, overstocking it as DH always complains. I don't think there is such a thing as overstocking it. Also put in a good supply of flashlights, batteries and candles. Since we were on a well, everytime they predicted a good storm or tornado or the wind just got up high, I'd fill the bathtubs and washer plus have drinking water on hand. About two months or so ago we went on county water. Just in time. No more problems with flushing. We heard this storm was coming in and got extra gas for the generator. I'd just bought a 40 lb. bag of dogfood and had my normal back ups of everything else. Didn't need to go to the grocery at all. The ice storm hit but power didn't go out until about 1:30 a.m. so the generator, already set up and filled, was fired up and we already had the woodstove going strong. We watched some weather reports on television for a little while, then on to bed where our CPAP machines worked great off the generator. When we lose power, we also lose our land line, so we make sure our cell phones are always well charged and we can always contact relatives to make sure they are well and let them know we're okay. We do have our backpacking stoves and some battery operated Coleman lanterns as well. When we got up, the house was pretty much as warm as we always keep it. The young man from the place down the road came over to make sure we were okay. He said no one could get up the steep hill that we live on or down it. I heated water on the woodstove for hot drinks and we had cereal and fruit. Later I started dinner on the woodstove, smoked sausage, onions, carrots and potatoes, and the power came back on. This was around 4:30 p.m. Finished cooking on the kitchen stove and its just like nothing out of the ordinary never happened. When we first found out this storm was coming, DH went out to the 5th wheel, put the slide in and started up the furnace. We figured we'd just move into it if the power went out. He'd just had the two big propane tanks filled so we'd be able to stay warm and cook in there. However, he didn't like the way the furnace sounded so decided to turn it off and stick it out in the house. I'd say the first thing we were going to do once we can get out of here was take the 5th wheel to have the furnace checked, but I know better. We were supposed to leave here for a warmer climate shortly after Christmas and kept getting delayed. When we can get it out of here, we're getting in that RV and heading south or southwest. We can get that furnace checked wherever we wind up and our ceramic heater or two will work until then. Something else everyone should think of is sleeping bags. Even with heat and blankets, my DH has been putting his Marmot -20 sleeping bag over the bed. He chills so easily and can't easily warm up. I, however, do not have that problem. Anyway, sleeping bags could be life savers for some and kids love them.

I have a mastiff mix, I take everywhere. He use to ride in the back of my truck on long rides. We brought extra comforters so he did not get too stiff and had axtra padding for those nice long naps. He has a special doggy bowl for water that does not tip over easily - plus I have a huge extra plastic water container for refills. A small fold up cooler for his Natural Balance treats, and a couple of baggies full of dog cookies (biscuits, milk bones, whatever). I stop every 2 to 4 hours to run him, make sure you have leashes and current rabies paper work - the doggie motel might ask as well, one never knows. You might call ahead and ask about three dogs being okay. It has been my experience that there are a couple of concerns most establishments have. They dont want dogs left alone or unattended. When I stop and check in I ask about delivery for dinner, or I find a restauarant with a huge shade tree - if the sun is still up and it is hot. They have a hard time getting dog hair out of things and off the carpet (dont we all) I always tell the cashier that I have clean comforters for the dog to lay down on, that he is never on the bed and is never alone in the room, that seems to help alot - in my experience Motel 6 and Red Roof are good about animals. They dont want your dog barking at night and waking up others. That is about it as far as my experience goes with establishments, I have never really had a problem. Some things you might want to consider. YOur dog gets out and rolls in something horrible. We pack a duffle bag full of old beach towels and fill up some plastic gasoline cans with water so we can rinse the dog if this happens, we also have a little bottle of shampoo for emergencies - there is nothing worse that riding ina car with a stinky dog with an unknown substance on its coat. A sheet also helps if there is an emergency you can cover the area the dog is lying on, and do a wash of the dog and the beach towel and everything else when you get to the motel. This happened to us, out of the car less than a minute and a fresh cow pattie, a dive under a barbed wire fence - I had no idea he could get that small that fast!!! So extra comforters might help with extra dogs. We get ours at Goodwill for about $8 a piece. I make certain a cooler has some of those hard palstic freezie things, you never know if you are going to get stranded somewhere and need to keep cool - blocks of ice, not cubed will last longer as well. Of course lots of plastic bags and some wipes, gotta pick up those touchdowns/meadow muffins or whatever you call them and you never know if someone is going to hurl, a platic bag and wipes can be a blessing. Make certian they have their collars on and ID tags current, and you should have it made. If I have to stop, I make the extra effort to park in the deepest shade I can find, and limit my away from the car time to 15 minutes max - enough time to use the facilities and load up on muchies. Even if you have air conditioning, cars can warm up quickly with 3 pups in there. I hope everything goes without a hitch.