Tag: chili

Storm Jonas, at last

Carol Dois Woodward4 Comments

After a week of alarming predictions Storm Jonas arrived in my little patch of Prince George, Virginia about thirty minutes ago.  I am glad.  The anticipation was raising my anxiety and possibly my blood pressure considerably.  I didn’t know until last night that this storm had been dubbed, Jonas.

I am not sure when we started naming storms, other than hurricanes, but it adds a personal connection between the machinations of weather and the reactive planning of humans.  My memories of Isabel and Irene, both hurricanes, are vivid as we were without power for about a week in both cases.  The ice storm of 1998 is just as vivid with loss of power for a week, but we were not naming non-hurricane storms at that time so I don’t have a human’s name to link to my memories of misery.  So, if The Weather Channel came up with the idea of naming storms, I am glad of it.

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Jack in a past storm, name unknown

As I write this  at 10:30 on Friday morning, I am wondering if Jonas will visit upon us another week of no electricity after the freezing rain and heavy wind arrive during the evening and early morning hours.

While I wait I am cooking, reading, tidying, blogging, and continuing my meager preparations for the storm. Chili is cooking, chicken thighs are about to go in the slow cooker, and later a London Broil (thick flank steak) will get cooked in my large cast iron skillet on top of the stove.  With my Coleman stove I can reheat food, make coffee, and wash dishes … so we will not starve.  Take that Jonas.

 

Storm Pax

Carol Dois WoodwardLeave a comment

Storm Pax and I have so much in common.  It came in with a mixture of the symptoms of winter storms … cold, snow, ice, sleet, wind.  I awoke yesterday,  the morning of Pax, with a mixture of the symptoms of the common cold … chills, sneezing, dripping, sore throat, maybe a temp.

In Prince George most of the impact of Pax was the anticipation of Pax.  We watched it approaching (is Pax a he or a she?) on the weather maps.  When would it arrive?  Would it bring snow or ice and what timing for either? Would we lose electricity?  How long would we lose it?  What if we ran out of  _____?

My own cold had no such anticipation.  It was upon me.  I was in the grip of the juicy, nasty brunt of it.  I would take a nap and awake to a new, different set of symptoms.  No longer sneezing or dripping, but stopped up,  unable to hear well and with a headache.  Another nap taken and an awakening to a return of the sneezing and sore throat and thus the day progressed.

In between naps I made efforts to continue Pax prep … cooked up some chili, meat loaf, and veggies (such things are easier to heat up on my Coleman camp stove when we lose power); filled all of my ice tea pitchers, large bowls, doggie water bowls, and water bottles with, well, water. (Oh, nearly forgot the London Broil I roasted.)  I was totally determined that we would not starve or suffer dehydration  if we lost power.

Finally, my daughter reserved a hotel room for us should we really lose power for the duration … so much cheaper than a whole house generator.

Awoke this morning with slushy snow on the ground, a heck of a lot of cooked  food in the refrigerator, a sore throat,  a juicy cold, and power.