Late Night Thoughts

Okay. I can't sleep. I was almost asleep until the snoring distracted me (not Steve. It's our cat). So I'm awake now & thinking of a question someone asked me about storing the necessities. I think I have an answer for her. You just have to image this.
It is the middle (or end or beginning) of winter. An ice storm rolls in. Power goes out. Trees are blocking the roads. Streets & main roads are a sheet of ice. No snowplows are going to salt. No one is going to come & save you. Things could be this way for days. I know for some it is hard to imagine. In the sixties, we had an ice storm like that. We lived in the country. Only a mile or so from town. But for a couple days, we lived with no electricity. Our family had friends in town so after a few days we went to their house & ate some hot meals. We also had a fireplace, but that really wasn't an efficient heat source. There were four of us kids. No flushing toilet. We had a basement which was warmer than upstairs so we slept down there.
What I am saying is that it could happen. It has happened. Recently. Down South. It really is wise to be prepared.
So what should you stock up on? I have been going over this the last few weeks myself. We have two homes. The townhome in Illinois & the farm in Wisconsin. Some things are here, some there. Not very good preparations. It's difficult to buy for both places. With that in mind though I have been looking up one-burner camp stoves & small propane heaters for the townhome. I am asking myself "Could we live here for a week without electricity, which means no heat or cooking meals?" I can say "yes" to the farm for that. We have lived there that way. We have a wood stove & camping equipment there. Most of our food stores are here though. We do have Amish neighbors that can get to town with the horses through almost any weather but would stores in town be open? Here we hardly know the neighbors. Everyone is gone working (including us) & we are gone most weekends.
So, the answer is... store those necessities. Water (drinking & for flushing the toilet), toilet paper, canned foods, extra dog food, can openers, medical needs like band aids & medications, etc. Have an alternative heat & cooking source. Go to a website or blog that survivalists write. They have lists of what you might need in an emergency. You're not being radical. Your being smart. Go with your gut feeling.
Now I can go to sleep....