I have survived the second blackout for 2006! The first being in July, it was only 100 degrees outside! That one was a series of tornados that came blowing through. This one was due to ice and snow. The ice came first and the snow the next day. The temperatures were terribly low, and of course, we are all electric. My brother provided us with a camping heater and a camp stove so we could cook and stay relatively warm. I count my blessings because there were a lot of other people that didn't have these conveniences. We were out of power in July for nine days, and this time we were out for only 5.

As a result, I have been offline for as many days, and my, how the emails pile up! I have a lot of reading to do, and tons of writing to do. You never realize how much you depend on the computer until you don't have it for a few days! It is good to be back!