With winter hitting the north, I'm passing on a few tips. We had an ice storm last night. Electricity was gone for several hours. In our North Dakota climate, we use multiple redundant heating - the garage heater in the basement, on low, kept the house from getting too cold. The electrical spike scrambled the brain of the corn stove. Unplugging it for a minute took care of that. The three speed ceiling fan is now a two speed! Upon waking up, we turned up the garage heater, started the wood stove, and got the corn stove running again. It will be warm again soon.
Windshield ice makes poor visibility. If you get the wipers going, then turn off the ignition when they are part way up, they can hold something to the outside of the window except when the wind gets too strong. This provides a large clear space. Side and rear windows still need scraping.
Two pieces of expanded metal cut to the right size aren't big. If needed they can go under the wheels for traction. A bag of cat litter or sand can also help. Have a snow shovel, in case of need. Drive carefully so you don't hit the ditch

Leaf plants can be grown for winter greens near windows. They won't grow fast, due to short days. A turnip in a container will draw on its root so turnip greens can be grown even near north windows.
This is a good time to develop an indoor hobby.
Does anyone else have a tip or two
