Ice

Well, we have had our annual ice storm. At least we hope we have had our only ice storm of the year! We thought it wasn't going to cause us any problems, but Thursday after lunch we lost power. The automatic generator didn't start (dead battery). Fortunately I was home to hook up the tractor generator or we may have had confinement hogs suffocating. Late afternoon, the tractor generator stopped generating power. I called an electrician and my brother called a neighboring farmer that hadn't lost power and asked to borrow his generator. The electrician and the borrowed generator both arrived at about 5:30 and shortly thereafter the power company restored our power. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief!
I have since gotten both of our generators operating, but will they work for the next emergency?

The thick coating of ice on everything can be very picturesque, but also very damaging to the trees and power lines. Our sidewalk is very slick - salt is bad for new concrete, so I have just been sprinkling a little sand on them.

Yesterday, it started warming up. Beware of falling ice! Chunks of ice were falling off of trees and overhead wires all afternoon. Sheets of ice would come careening off of our metal roofed buildings like skiers off of ski jumps. You had to be on guard any time you weren't out in the open.
Even though, the temperature the last week has been much warmer than the previous weeks, the damp, cloudy, windy days feel worse than the very cold, still, sunny days we had then.
Such is winter in central Illinois!

He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

Psalm 147:17

Milkshakes & Earthquakes

We have a long-standing tradition in our home to regularly make chocolate milkshakes for our bedtime snack. We often argue over who has to make them because we are all usually tired by milkshake time. My daughter volunteered last night. She had one glass too much left in the blender when the old farmer's wife decided she wanted a strawberry shake instead. My daughter poured the remainder into a glass and set it in the freezer part of the refrigerator. A while later I went to open the freezer door and the glass (improperly placed) fell out onto the floor.
I didn't know that milkshake could become a projectile! It went everywhere! Across the floor, across the room, up the walls, and on the ceiling! We wiped chocolate shake off of the chairs, the table, the woodwork, the oven, the cabinets, and the wall decorations. What a mess. We practically had to spring clean the kitchen.
But the shakes were delicious and the tradition will no doubt continue.

I have flown into and out of Port-au-Prince, Haiti and can imagine the destruction that was caused by the devastating earthquake they experienced. It was already a poverty stricken, crime ridden, crowded, politically unstable, shanty town of a city, and now this. My heart goes out to the all of the helpless people there. It is wonderful to see the international search and rescue teams heading there, and all the action taking place by the Red Cross, churches, charities, and relief agencies from around the world. My prayer is for quick aid, medical care, stabilization, and clean up. And that God's presence can be felt by the people of Haiti.
I am very thankful that the Cayes area was mostly spared.

Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
Matthew 27:54

Rambling

For the last three weeks or so our Internet service has been variable at best and non existent most of the time. We can have an hour of blazing fast, and then two days of no connection. Frustrating!

Our California Christmas box came in the mail yesterday. We opened our last gifts, so Christmas is now officially over. I received some very nice gifts again this year, highlighted by the Dell netbook that my wife gave me. It will be great to take it with us whenever we travel so that I can keep "connected".

I believe that 2009 ended as the second wettest year for us on record. I hope 2010 is a little more normal, whatever that is! Anyway, Happy New Year to all!

Monday we drove to Oakville for Henry's funeral. What a surreal tragedy his illness and death was. Our heart hurts for his parents, siblings, and his young wife. Nineteen years old, pregnant, and a widow. She could wake up some morning and wonder if it was all a dream. But we trust God's will was accomplished though we don't understand. The service was comforting and inspiring. The church is tucked against the bluff overlooking the Mississippi bottoms. It was a tolerable, cold, partly sunny day at the church, but the cemetery is on top of the bluff. At the grave site the wind was miserable, which made for probably the coldest funeral I've ever been to. We didn't linger.

Winter is truly upon us in full force. The ground is hard and covered in white. We've had some bitter cold days and nights. But I love the cold, crisp, winter nights when the sky is clear and the wind lays down, and the stars are bright. You can bundle up and go for a walk and enjoy the beauty of winter. And you can tell how cold it is by the way the snow squeaks as you walk on it.
Wednesday night and into Thursday, we had six inches of fresh snow. I was very thankful that the fierce winds that were predicted to follow the snow for a couple of days never materialized. Instead, the sun quickly returned and blessed us.
I spent most most of the week working outside, and have been told that I have a red face. We've had a feed line freeze up, a water line freeze up, several fans not working properly, and various other winter related problems. We spend all our time on maintenance and keeping livestock fed, watered, and comfortable. I really need to spend more time in the office this time of year.

I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Psalm 91:2