calm before the storm

So I'm sure you've heard, there's a storm a coming. 

All the smarty weather people say it is going to be bad.  Word is that the worst will be from about 8:00 a.m. Monday to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, when we're supposed to get really heavy wind (up to 80 miles an hour) and rain (5 to 10 inches), which if accurate, will almost certainly mean we'll lose power.

Washington has officially shut down.  No government.  No transportation.  No schools.  Those of us who live here are used to the over-hyped prognostications about winter storms that never seem to be as serious as they are made out to be.  Hope that's the case this time.

The power company called a couple days ago to tell us to expect to lose power for multiple days.  Guess that's what passes for customer service these days.

The medical supply called to see if we needed anything, and when we said we needed some oxygen, said they'd put in an order, which means we'll get it who knows when. 

And the hospital called to see if we had any alternate plans other than shelter-in-place, which, not to their surprise, will be to go to the hospital if we lose power for too long so we can keep the ventilator operational.  We're hoping though that we can sufficiently charge the equipment in the van and avoid any hospital visits. 

We've prepared about as much as we can.  All the back-up power for Zachary's medical equipment is charged.  We've got lots of canned food and water to ride out the storm and its aftermath.  Fresh batteries for flashlights abound.  All the cars are filled with gas. 

So we're just sitting and waiting.  Just a cold light rain right now.  Soon to change though.