God and Mother Nature have their ways of reminding us that we can't control things.
These are views of the windows on the north side of the house, and no we do not have privacy glass on them.
Tuesday morning Kevin drove me to school because I am not fond of driving on ice. A mile up the road, I would have turned back but he continued. I am really glad he did because I had a great class. However, during class we were informed that most schools in the area were closing. I called home and we decided I would skip my late class and we would pick up a few things for the impending storm. In the past that has always helped cancel the storm, but not this time.
As we turned into our driveway, the view was pretty sad. These are the bushes that I photograph often, but this is a sad version. Fortunately today they are looking a little better but not much.
We got home and realized that we must still have a few of our flashlights still packed, and if the power were to go off, we would need D batteries for the fireplace starter and the flashlights we could find. So we ventured forth, again. By the time we got back from the store a 1 1/2hour trip that usually takes 45 minutes, Dad was sleeping in his chair with his trusty blanket and the power was out. When you are 80 you tend to notice the cold more, so we moved his new chair upstairs and got the fireplace going. Did not figure it would last all that long, but........................
We had brought back a hot (lukewarm) pizza for supper before setting him up. I got out lots of candles and settled in for a cozy evening. I think I lasted about an hour before the dozing began. Woke up and texted with Jodie for a hour and then cuddled up again and enjoyed my recliner. Dad snores a lot so expected it to be a long night, but I woke refreshed. The guys did not sleep as well.
Breakfast was hot chocolate and oatmeal courtesy of Sterno and patience. We spend the morning considering options and spending time thinking of what rat-race we would have been running if we had the electricity. Still the snow had not really started yet. The ice had continued to build all night, though, so Kevin went out and chipped off pieces of ice from his truck that were about 1 1/2" thick. By noon, we decided that we needed to get Dad up and moving so we took him to the mall for a walk and hot lunch. Weather was not wonderful but the road was okay. Wore Dad out so headed home. Still no electricity, so we discussed options. Power crews were working on the highway near our house, but we were told it would be 11:00 PM tonight before the lights were back on. Options considered: Just tough it out as we had been - Dad was NOT in favor of that. Rent a motel room and hope to get back home today to shovel the still predicted 6-10 inches. Buy a generator for lights and frig. Hotel rooms were scarce, so we then debated the other two options.
Found a generator for sale at Mac's and had Ray help us install it about 8:00 PM. Last of the steps completed about 8:30. Power came back on at 8:43. HA! HA! We will be quicker to start it next time.
Everyone was able to sleep in their own beds. Power stayed on even though the snow did appear and leave at least 6+ inches in places with large drifts in other spots.
We have a huge driveway and parking pads. Ray has used his plow to clear our few snow piles in the past, but he was ready for spring and had stored his blades. We were thinking we might need to wait for the Spring thaw, but a very nice neighbor/farmer brought his John Deer Tractor over and clear everything but the sidewalks which Kevin had already done. Country living is wonderful.
Today we will get back into full swing, but probably not until after lunch. We know this was not a huge storm by many standards, but I am days short of 60 and I have no memory of that kind of ice or length of power outage anywhere that I have lived. My eyes are rested and I am gearing up for school work. Kevin has headed down to finish a project in the shop (but I can still hear him chopping the ice,so...), and Dad is back to being comfortable in his own space. We gained a good deal of admiration for the weather, the frozen foods stayed frozen in the ice chests on the porch the huge chucks of ice I put in the frig did not melt so no food spoiled, and I am beginning to see out the window again.
Life is GOOD!
