We prepare by placing ice bags in our freezer, and no one lifted the lid. We hunker down next to the fireplace, play board games, and heat our dinner on the gas stove. If the impending outage is expected to last more than a day, we choose sleeping spots near the fireplace. Our children inform us that candlelight is bright enough to play board games but too dim to work on homework. Besides, we have to make tents out of sheets and castles out of books before the electricity is restored. …