kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:27:58 AM new
We were hit by a ice storm a few days back. I just now this hour got my electric turned back on.
We blanketed off one room and used candles for heat (all the oil lamps and sterno were sold out before I could get any). Work was still on, seemed like the only place in town with power. They finally had to shut down too tho, no water, no facilities.
We sat here that first night and second day listening to the trees breaking all around us. The neighbor had a huge old oak and its branches kept crashing down on my roof. All the electric lines and cable lines were dragged down under one big one.
There are trees and tops of trees down everywhere and there are crews from other states here helping clean up and get power on.
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:31:14 AM new
When the crew showed up in our alley this morning the girls and I went out and gave them a standing ovation. Ahhhhhhhhhh I feel so warm now! We were so cold you could see your breath but we had 6 quilts and blankets piled over us and we slept well 
The worst part was we have a gas heater but it works on an electric thermostat and an electric blower. I didnt know how to make it come on. I'd stare at that damn pilot light as if looking at it long enough would make it fire up. lol
[ edited by kitsch1 on Dec 30, 2000 10:36 AM ]
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networker67
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:37:59 AM new
kitsch - I was down in Tenneessee during Christmas and saw all the out of state of crews heading across I40 to the affected areas. I hope that the power is fully restored to the area soon. Those ice storms aren't anything to play with.
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shar9
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:44:19 AM new
Hi kitsch,
There were a few of us wondering where you were.
Sorry you had all that trouble sounds like you had some cold days! It's funny how inventive we can get when it happens. I'm sorry they ran out of supplies for you.
It has been a while but it used to be common for us to be without electricity for 4 or 5 days at a time. We did go out and buy one of those new kerosene heaters. We've only had to use it once but it is nice to know we have it. What I would really like to have is a generator so that when the electricity does go out we could have water because we have a well.
We've just had the snow, ice and freezing cold. Gas tank got down to 0% because I had called them 2 weeks previous to that and they forgot so they were delivering late at night on a very bad road that we happen to live on. Thank goodness we didn't lose our heat. I would have hated for our water line to have frozen. Went through that in the 70's for 6 weeks. NOT FUN.
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calamity49
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:47:24 AM new
Kelly,
You and the people affected by the ice storm have my deepest sympathies. There are few things worse than an ice storm and you all were blessed with the mother of all storms from the way it sounds on the news.
I'm glad you got your power back, finally.
Calamity
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enchanted
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:50:19 AM new
glad you're ok and got your power back!
hope everyone else gets theirs back soon too..
senk-onnanoko-san
[email protected]
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 10:51:37 AM new
Hi Networker and Shar
There are good things from this. The girls and I talked alot in the evenings. There was no looting that I know of and 3/4 of the town was without power.
It's supposed to snow tonight so I hope they are able to get everyone turned on today. It's alot to expect I think but am hoping.
I saw two transformer blow and it was so wierd! since the lines were all covered in ice they all turned blue for a second or two after the pop. way cool to see.
I lied we did have a couple cans of sterno the first night we had it in the cupboard (dont know why) but anyway that stuff puts off pretty good heat for 10 minutes anyway. I'm going to get a kerosene heater for next time; when they are in stock again.
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networker67
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posted on December 30, 2000 11:10:55 AM new
The no looting is good. And I hope everything is back to normal soon.
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shar9
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posted on December 30, 2000 11:14:51 AM new
Kitsch,
Yes, those heaters are wonderful and they do a good job of heating.
Hi enchanted,
I hope your blood pressure is better today.
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 11:18:26 AM new
Hi calamity and enchanted
I am so enjoying reading the threads! Yay for electricity and outside contact!
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Antiquary
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posted on December 30, 2000 11:22:55 AM new
Hi Kel,
Glad that they finally fixed the power problems. From the news we've heard all about the problems to the south of us; we luckily missed most of the ice here...mainly snow, but going into the third week of snow cover. Apparently a few towns were without water also. A double whammy.
It's been a long time, maybe twenty years, since we've had so much snow and consistently cold weather here in a long stretch. Hope this next storm is light. On the bright side though, maybe we will have an early and longer spring than usual, and the kids are having lots of fun playing in it.
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 11:28:32 AM new
Antiquary
For the last several years it hasnt gotten cold enough and stayed cold long enough to kill off some of the fleas and ticks, hopefully this ice and snow will clear out some of them. There is always a bright side isnt there.
edited the butchered id, sorry bout that antiquary
[ edited by kitsch1 on Dec 30, 2000 11:29 AM ]
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Antiquary
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posted on December 30, 2000 11:38:25 AM new
Yes to the death of insects. Last year our dog was still getting ticks in Januaryand the other little buggers harvested more from my garden than I did last summer.
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stockticker
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:00:46 PM new
Hi Kel,
Glad you and the girls are safe.
You mentioned buying a new house. If you haven't taken possession and the house was damaged, the purchase price may need to be adjusted. A month before I moved into my present house there was a bad storm which caused some relatively minor damage to the roof. My real estate agent arranged for the final purchase price lowered by $400 to cover the cost of fixing the damage.
Irene
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:09:15 PM new
Good point Irene. I drove over there and all is well. There arent any trees hanging over the house so no damage. I was worried till I got over to look at it.
I cant wait to move in!!!!! I told my landlord today I was leaving about a month short of my lease because I bought a house and he said no prob at all. He was happy we were able to buy a home.
Guess what????? It has a big attic area, I havent been able to climb up there yet but I'm betting I can get at least a small room up there, maybe a play room but that will be a next year project.
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:14:30 PM new
This thread reminded me of my second visit to Pensacola back in early '97, when Boston had a nasty storm. My son phoned me to say that one of the big elms on the back lot had been completely toppled by the weight of ice and snow. Because ours was a row house with no driveway access, it cost us $650 to have the "corpse" butchered and hauled away. Our insurance deductible was $500...sigh.
My deepest sympathies. Here I am whining that it's been in the '40s all day and you've been without heat, period! Brrrrr.
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:19:25 PM new
Ah we are ok HCQ,
I just had to get some whining in. Nobody got frostbite and we got along really well. We even had fun talking in the evenings.
I heard a story about a young man stuck in his car under snow for 16 days now that is tough!!!!!
Does anyone know how he is? Did he lose any fingers or toes?
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stockticker
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:22:53 PM new
That's great, Kel! I loved playing in attics as a child. There may actually be more room than you think. You don't need standing room height for a small bed, for example.
Irene
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mimigigi
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:33:44 PM new
Glad you are all safe! Isn't it amazing that no matter how far technology takes us, Mother Nature can still whomp us in the butt!
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nobs
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posted on December 30, 2000 02:51:10 PM new
{{{{Kel}}}}
It's great seeing you back! I'm so happy that you and the girls made it okay and kept each other warm.
That attic space sounds full of potential
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kitsch1
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posted on December 30, 2000 03:05:09 PM new
Hi nobs
Attic rooms are fun arent they? My Aunt and Uncle had 7 kids and they renovated their attic for a bedroom for two of the girls. There is so much potential, but I need to climb up in there to be sure it's big enough for a room. If not it will be a great storage space.
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Shadowcat
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posted on December 31, 2000 04:53:04 PM new
Kel: Well, heck. I thought you were describing my kitchen...
The young man in question was released from the hospital into military custody. Now he gets to face a military judge on charges of desertion and being AWOL. I don't know if he lost any digits.
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shar9
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posted on December 31, 2000 05:18:34 PM new
Hi Shadowcat,
Popping in to say a quick hi and Happy New Year! Haven't seen you since the last time I got in trouble for laughing with you.
Hi Kitsch,
Speaking of freezing, Son has a minor ER with plumbing. They were gone overnight and came back to a mess so they are out in this cold trying to fix it before guests arrive to party. I am hoping they get it fixed or the party may move to our house. NOT we are to party with the gk's. LOL
I hope you make a great find in the attic. Maybe someone long ago hid an "ugly" piece of glass and it is worth a fortune. Now, that would be my kind of fun!
Hi Nobs,
Just e'd you. Have a Happy New Year and Happy 34th Anniversary.
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Shadowcat
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posted on December 31, 2000 05:33:39 PM new
Shar: You shoulda considered the source and told 'em to bite you.
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HartCottageQuilts
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posted on December 31, 2000 07:25:04 PM new
Val just told me there is a couple inches of snow on the ground in Shreveport LA, and that we in Pensacola FL are supposed to expect not a dusting, not a sprinkling, but actual snow FLURRIES tonight, followed by sleet, and since it's supposed to be below freezing for most of the next 4 days, it's going to stick around if it does show up.
Yeah, yeah, I know, whining - except that there is no such thing as a snowplow down here, let alone a road salter or snow tires (or people who know how to drive on black ice). This should be interesting...
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kitsch1
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posted on January 1, 2001 04:57:09 AM new
I had trouboe driving on that ice but stayed on the road. It snowed a few inches yesterday while I was at work and driving home on it was no prob. It was fun. There was some slippin and slidin but most was intentional.
Oh dreaming of treasures in that attic now shar!
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gravid
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posted on January 1, 2001 05:12:02 AM new
HCQ - We lived for a bit in North Carolina and they would call school off if it snowed - did not even have to cover the ground. One time we had a full foot of snow and they had no idea what to do. They were hiring people off the streets to shovel snow by hand into city dump trucks and would go dump it in the river. The very next morning there were trucks from far away offering the locals snow tires and chains at huge prices. A middle aged neighbor came home with 4 snow tires all with chains on her Buick. Really sad but funny also.
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shar9
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posted on January 1, 2001 05:24:10 AM new
Shadowcat,
That's the problem. It really had nothing to do with the person per say. It was that stupid M. Form in triplicate you came up with that could only be used once every 30 days and the fact that I was too busy watching because I had a feeling that tail of yours was getting ready to do that famous *swish* that cats are noted for.
kitsch,
That little bit of extra snow actually made driving easier for us. We still have snow and ice to drive on for about 10 miles before we hit the blacktop.
It has been years since we have had snow and ice like this. It used to be a common thing in the Winter.
I had a friend that was getting ready to tear down a barn and found a set of children's dishes in the hay loft that were from her Great Grandmother. I wish I had the dishes and she had more money.
When mother and dad sold the old country grocery store that had been in the family for 60 or 70 years the girl that they sold it to tore it down and found several metal Pepsi or Coke containers and an old milk bottle and something else but I can't remember. What hurt is that they actually burned the old glass and oak counters and that was in the store that held the dry goods.
Antiquary,
Same here on the ticks. We have been having to buy that tick stuff from the vet year round for the last couple of years. There used to be about 4 months we didn't have to use it and the guys were finding a few ticks on them while out in the woods during deer season too.
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shar9
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posted on January 1, 2001 07:22:43 AM new
Sorry double post
[ edited by shar9 on Jan 1, 2001 07:24 AM ]
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