I made up a big pan of oats this morning. Hubby and I each had a bowl and the rest went to the chickens. I crumbled 2 homemade biscuits up in the mess and then when I got out to the barn I mixed in chicken feed, so I know their food was warm and hearty. I gave Power and Missi a full can of feed each instead of a half can. That should help warm their bodies a little. Sam got a ham bone and some house food along with his regular dog food. Everybody got fresh water. You have to watch all the animals in this kind of weather. When you live out in the country I think you have a firmer grasp on the fact of how important it is to be prepared for anything. If something happens you could be stranded for who knows how long and you need to be as ready as you can be for anything. We always keep the horses' heated water tank full and we keep 2 buckets of water sitting in the tack room for the chickens and 2 buckets for Sam in the shop so they maintain room temperature. This way we don't have to use our water lines to the barn and the shop and it eliminates the possibility of water in the lines freezing and breaking. Water freezes fast in these temperatures.
In the house, I always keep extra water and all my pitchers filled just in case a main line should break. I try to keep food available that does not need to be cooked or chilled, hence my canned meats. I also keep plenty of soups and teas around. If all is well with the electricity, now is the time to use your oven for baking purposes. This is just added heat for you. Hubby handles the heating for the house and he has back-up for us. I try and keep all the dishes and laundry and whatever else all caught up. If something happens and you either don't have heat or water you'll be very glad that this is accomplished. It is something hardly anyone ever really thinks about but you'd be in a real mess if all your dishes were in the dishwasher and you had no water, huh?! Do you keep your commode lids down, your dryer and washer lids shut and how about closet doors? Are they closed? Just a little less heat going into spaces that don't need it. Do you know where your candles or lighting oil, flashlights, extra blankets, batteries, radio, etc. all are or will you have to hunt for them when you need them? I know some who read about our preparations might think this is overkill and they well may be . . . but we just calmly do this on a regular basis and don't make any big deal out of it. If an emergency occurs and I don't need anything there may be someone else who does. I feel it is my responsibility to be prepared as I can be. You can't prepare for everything and if you think you can - well - you're wrong. One must always remember that God is in control and on him we MUST rely, but He gave me many gifts and I will try to use them and accept the responsibility of being a thinking, feeling, productive human being with as much grace as possible.