The snow/ice storm has been at the top of the news for days and days. It was supposed to sweep over much of the country, dropping snow and freezing rain. I’m eagerly waiting to see what will happen, because if a storm is hyped for days, it rarely delivers really bad weather. It’s already over 24 hours late, which is nothing new.

David and I went to the grocery store one day before the storm. Normally people rush out at the last minute to buy bread, milk, and eggs. I’ve seen bare shelves in New York stores, but Ingles (my favorite store here) appeared normal. The shopping crowd seemed about the same. David and I noticed only one shelf that was totally bare. Want to guess what had been there? Bottled water! That makes sense, because if people with a well don’t have a generator, the pump in the well will not run if the electricity is off.

I walked as usual the morning of the storm, spotting at least 15 snowflakes drifting down. I wouldn’t have seen them if I hadn’t run into them. Snow is fun to watch when you can see it, but darkness may fall before this storm lives up to its name. On Friday, both churches I have gone to announced no services on Sunday. That includes one church on Long Island and one in Asheville, 1,261 km (783 miles) apart.

If this storm does begin and if my power fails, I won’t be reading and responding to email or blog posts until systems are put back together.