Oklahoma Ice Storm

Sunday we had an ice storm. Thunder, lightning, rain and freezing temperatures. trees were coated with ice. Not too badly at our place: lots of dead branches fell off, one tree split in two from the weight of the ice. But we were on the edge of it all. OKC area looks like a tornado went through ripping trees and left houses alone. News Monday had 500,000 homes in Oklahoma without power. We joined that number 8:30 Monday evening. Without power the well stops pumping, so we filled pitchers with water, lit candles, kept a fire going in the wood stove and waited. Power has never been down here for longer than 4 hours....but when I called in the outage I was given a 2-3 days estimate. The other power companies in the area were saying 7-10 days! Well, OEC came through in fairly good time. Power was restored this morning at 10:30. We borrowed a generator on Tuesday, so we had limited power (water, refrigeration, lights). But life was still so discombobulated. Laundry couldn't be done. that's a major issue in a house with 9 people living in it! Seem it took all my time to cook, do dishes, and keep the fire going. How did the pioneers do it? It's what they were used to, and they had the proper equipment. I could and would have done some sewing had I had a treadle machine and enough oil lamps to provide the light needed!