Power came back on yesterday. Almost 4 complete days without water and electricity and the loss of hundreds of dollars in food and I am still not complaining...although slowly becoming exhausted. We brought the Princess (my 4-year-old granddaughter) down here yesterday and she was forced to entertain herself much of the time while I washed out the refrigerator/ freezer and the chest freezer. The positive side is that both of these fancy appliances are now sparkling clean even if mostly empty. We had dragged the old Grumman canoe up into the back yard and tied it to one of the stronger trees. Hubby left it upright so that the rain filling it would also stabilize it. That also meant we had lots of water for flushing toilets, rinsing off and washing stuff since we are on a well and there is not water when the water pump is off.
We had also filled several large camping containers for drinking water, although we had enough bottled water to get us through those days. Two of the days we stayed up at my daughters because she needed someone to watch the little girl while everyone was plugged into jobs and summer camps and that allowed me some computer access.
I think I missed the Blogging and FB and photo access the most. I will be honest enough to admit that.
There are homes across the big road toward the ocean side that have been completely destroyed by large trees and falling debris. Some will have to be gutted and completely re-built, so I cannot complain about the inconvenience of the loss of some electricity on my part.
I look around at a house filled with crunchy leaves since a carpet of dead and dying leaves covers all the entry ways and keeps getting dragged inside. The spiders have recovered the most, as they seem to do after every storm. There are many large and small ones tucked against window screens and eaves. I am too tired to move the webs. Hubby got a new Husqvarna chain saw out of this storm, and he is having fun cutting wood, some of which will go to neighbors who want it and some to the landfill.
I am warmed by all the comments from readers of this blog. Like good neighbors, you were concerned and had kind words. May your days be filled with sunny and calm weather.
We had also filled several large camping containers for drinking water, although we had enough bottled water to get us through those days. Two of the days we stayed up at my daughters because she needed someone to watch the little girl while everyone was plugged into jobs and summer camps and that allowed me some computer access.
I think I missed the Blogging and FB and photo access the most. I will be honest enough to admit that.
There are homes across the big road toward the ocean side that have been completely destroyed by large trees and falling debris. Some will have to be gutted and completely re-built, so I cannot complain about the inconvenience of the loss of some electricity on my part.
I look around at a house filled with crunchy leaves since a carpet of dead and dying leaves covers all the entry ways and keeps getting dragged inside. The spiders have recovered the most, as they seem to do after every storm. There are many large and small ones tucked against window screens and eaves. I am too tired to move the webs. Hubby got a new Husqvarna chain saw out of this storm, and he is having fun cutting wood, some of which will go to neighbors who want it and some to the landfill.
I am warmed by all the comments from readers of this blog. Like good neighbors, you were concerned and had kind words. May your days be filled with sunny and calm weather.
Oh Tabor, 'they' can say all they want about the media/weather channel over-hyping this storm. It has been so devastating in so many areas. I'm so glad you have your power back on...my sister (outside Richmond) was without her power for 4 days too. My fridge/freezer could stand a good cleaning. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's good you are getting back to normal. The aftermath of storms is rarely fun. Clean-up stinks, although I must admit the end result is great, like those sparkling appliances. And the idea of allowing the canoe to fill like that was so multi-purpose creative!
ReplyDeleteYou would have made a great pioneer woman. I would be whining throughout the entire ordeal. Bravo and God bless:)
ReplyDeleteGlad you are em-powered again. I can't imagine how hard it must be for your neighbors to see their houses wrecked and gone like that. Glad you are alive and well.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have power restored and life is clean again. You sure did wonderfully with the water, and it's grand your house is intact. I'm so happy for you.
ReplyDeleteHoorah! Glad your power is back! Four days is a long time.
ReplyDeleteThis hurricane was a tough one for so many!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Glad you now have power and water.
ReplyDeleteThought of you all through this storm.
Life continues on
enjoy your little one
this will soon be a memory.
Wishing you a good day....
Glad you are okay... I worried about my friends on the east coast as Irene passed by... Scary hurricane!!!
ReplyDeleteSorry you lost food, etc. --but as you said, your home is okay and you know that things could have been much worse.
I'm on Facebook now. Check me out at Betsy Banks Adams.
Hugs,
Betsy
Glad to see that you are back here. It must have been a really tough time, living through such a long power cut and ensuing difficulties.
ReplyDeleteThis storm and its aftermath.... awful. I hope things are back to normal for you soon.
ReplyDeleteI am really happy to hear that you and your husband are safe and well and your house is intact! Hope you never have to go through it again.
ReplyDeleteSo glad your damage was minimal and that you finally have power again. We forget so easily how hard and tiring it is to do everything manually. Rest will be welcome, yes?
ReplyDeleteOur west coast weather is so benign that I have almost forgotten what it's like to cope with a hurricane. I guess you were fortunate not to have any major damage, but I would really hate to have all my frozen food melt.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to think that good firewood is going to the landfill. We could use here for sure.
Feels great to have the power back, doesn't it? Everything takes so long to do without the gadgets, I think. I was about the same time without. I'm still exhausted from that ordeal, I spent it all alone n had no help with the prep or clean-up (not done by a long shot)
ReplyDeleteGlad your home n lives were spared. At least you have The Princess for entertainment now!
Four days without power must have been very difficult and stressful.
ReplyDeleteThat's the one thing I was concerned about - living alone and without a connection to the outside world would have been very difficult for me.
But like you said, there was no damage and everyone was fine. That was a big plus!
Losing all the food in the freezer was no joke but you are a survivor and did the very best you could with what you had.
Now the market will get more business. ;-)
Life has an inspiring way of defiantly coming back no matter what the planet throws at it.
ReplyDeleteMay the coming days, weeks and months provide all the recovery you and your community can handle, and may we always be able to see things through your pen and your lens.