Good Sunday morning everyone! Thank you all for any prayers you prayed for the safety of me and my family. We are glad these back to back winter storms are over. We survived with heat during the daytime and very little water pressure.
We heated just the kitchen and living room, because they are open floor plan, the hall and one bath. We used our gas stove top and a propane Mr Buddy heater from our son’s deer stand and closed off the other doors to the others rooms in the house. We couldn’t use this source of heating while sleeping though because it’s unsafe. Once you opened the frigid bedroom door and made up your mind to enter the bed I told my SIL lying on the cold sheets felt like laying on a slab of ice! Once you did get warm, because we used fleece blankets and quilt you still had that ice cold air to breathe. Brr...🥶Everyday, I told my husband I hoped we didn’t get sick because we have to take our 2nd vaccine on the 8th.
Two of the kids and 3 of the grandchildren offered us to go stay with them as their electricity was restored. We told them we appreciate the invitation, thanked them but we felt it was more dangerous to get out. My place stayed frozen longer than theirs and it looked like my yards were a sheet of ice. We told them we couldn’t afford to fall and break a hip or anything else. As it turned out it’s a good thing we didn’t leave.
Our electricity was restored yesterday afternoon. However, the night before about 8 pm Richard called. He ask if we were warm. I said yes, we had the portable heater on and 2 stove burners so we hadn’t turned them off to go to bed yet. He said he wished we’d go to their house. Again we thanked but said no, we don’t want to get out and fall.
About maybe 2 minutes later, I told my husband I hear something. My husband listened and said it sounds like water. That day we had started to get better water pressure.
Anyway, he got the flashlight and walked down the hall with me right behind him. My bathroom was flooding! He told me he would have to go to the water meter outside and shut off the water because it was in the wall at the bathtub. I got my flashlight and found my mop and bucket while he got some boots on.
The water was coming in 4 or 5 times faster than I could mop up so I called our son. He didn’t answer, so I called Marsha. Now remember I had just hung up with Richard and we were relaxed and warm.
I told Marsha, “Help us! Our bathroom is flooded!” She said she thought I was joking because she said we know how you are mamma. I had my phone on speaker during this all the while still trying to mop up water and wondering why it was taking hubby so long to shut off.
I said no joke, bring the shop vac to suck up the water!
Ty stayed with Ashley’s kids and Ashley came with Richard and Marsha. Our son came too. The girls sucked up the water, mopped the floor and then went over the floor with a bath towel trying to get it dry enough you didn’t slip down.
Then the kids had an assembly line from the bathroom to a bedroom and started packing up the shelves in the bathroom closet and unloading on the bed.
Thankfully when we built our house, hubby had the forethought to wall our bathroom closet where the plumbing is, so he could easily disassemble shelves and wall to get to plumbing.
The guys proceeded to fix the pipe while the girls and I visited and ate candy-lol-then they went out and turned the water back on at the meter. Hubby said the reason it took so long to get the meter turned off is because it was frozen! He then had to get to the shed and back, without falling on ice, with a pipe wrench to get it turned off. I told him I feared he had fallen, was why it took him so long. It probably wasn’t that long but seemed that way. The water was contained to the bathroom with just a little seeping Uber the wall into one corner of my bedroom. We were able to just soak it up with the mop. We put the portable heater in the bathroom to help dry out and since electricity is restored we are keeping the Electric heater In the bathroom on to be sure it dries well.
Ashley had a broke pipe from her tankless water heater but thankful it was on the outside and they were able to shut it off without losing water to the house. She has another hot water heater, too. Lanie (Granddaughter) has a broken line under her house.
Anyway, I know others had it tougher than us and I have prayed and felt so bad for them. I am thankful we survived the cold nights (12 degrees one night) and thankful my family is safe and I told the guys thankful that our southern, country boys (and girls)know how to get things fixed! Love my family!
Has anyone heard from our Texas Cuties, like mrskiki aka Nan, mariahail, others? Are all of you okay?
Here is my yard in pictures. I picked at Nora about I was mad at Elsa (from frozen movie) freezing my place!
The lineman you see is not my grandson, he may be stork’s son, I don’t know who he is but it could have very well been one of your family members or ours. They guys need respect and appreciation!
Hope you are all well! Stay warm, healthy and know you are loved! ❤️Toogie
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109780
Oh Toogie, I have prayed for you and those affected by this terrible storm. I am glad you have your electric back on, and you and your family are safe. Your story and comments makes me breath heavy! I think we are all looking forward to spring.
1 comment
by toogie
edited 22 Feb 2021
I am glad it's over and yes, looking forward to spring. New planting, new growing. Thank you for remembering all of us in prayer.
18140Hi Toogie, glad to hear you are all well and safe.
We never get snow in the tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia, and it is so hot at the moment, so could you send some snow this way!
Here we all have generators, because when we get bad cyclones, our power goes off. One of the really bad cyclones was back in 2006, "Larry", we were without water for 2 days and without power for 3 weeks. I'd had enough of cooking on the BBQ by then, and of course the heat was unbearable!
Stay well, keep safe.
2 comments
by toogie
22 Feb 2021
We have hurricanes. Most everyone has generators or those Generac machines, thousands of dollars, so when the electricity goes off the machine automatically kicks on and runs everything by natural gas. Being rural, we don't have natural gas line. We buy and truck delivers butane for our tank. We have managed so far, without a generator, mainly because we can't start one with a pull rope. Someone told us they started making them with a push start, so we may buy one now. I can cook on my gas/butane stove top during a power outage, but not my oven, because it has an electric igniter. During a hurricane it's usually too hot to cook. I still need something to power my refrigerator and freezers, if the power stays off too long.
12452First post
www.cuteembroidery.com
109780I am glad you made this post, been thinking about you. Glad your power is back on and it is starting to get to normal in the South. I have always felt lucky to live in the Northwest, it gets cold (at times below 0 degrees F), it gets hot (above 100 degrees F), we generally get a lot of snow, but we do not get the tornados and we are too far inland for hurricanes. I have seen many pictures of linemen working in the same conditions. Sometimes it would be for weeks at a time.
2 comments
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Thank you for thinking of me. We depend so much on electricity for not only our necessary appliances, but our communication to the world as well. I came on as soon as I could to let you all know how we fared. Thank goodness for these guys even though we made it through without and had to wait our turn to be serviced.
by sewpam
22 Feb 2021
I should have added that I worked for a small rural electric compay, and we would see pictures of linemen similar to the picture you posted.
2267You don't have cold weather equipment, you have hunting equipment! Sorry you had such an un-fun time and I think a lot of folk will be buyinger generators after this. Spring, come on.
1 comment
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Most people already have generators since they use them after hurricanes. My husband nor I can start one so no use to buy unless we would find an electric start, push button. Muscles in your 70’s aren’t what they used it be In your 20’s-
lol- hunting equipment? Guess where my hubby’s heater was? .....Still in the woods in his stand!🙄😩
66915Thank Heavens your electric was back on - so you could use a shop vacuum!! One of our bathrooms flooded like that - and of course my hubby was out of town then. I could not budge the turn off valve at the street - thank goodness one of my neighbors came over and he turned it off. Such a mess to clean up. As things warm up some - people will be dealing with broken water pipes - ugh!! So sorry so many have had to go through such an awful storm!! Please stay safe and away from the ice especially! Prayers and hugs! Laura
3 comments
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
The ice has just about melted. At least if we want to go out, we can now. Our electricity was NOT back on to use the shop vac.
That same day, during the day, I had opened my upright freezer to get a couple buns and hamburger patties out. I had not opened it or the chest freezer, because I wanted to keep everything as frozen as possible. However, when I opened it my buns were thawed and I could separate my patties easily. As cold as it was you would think they would stay frozen. Not true. (My sister said she had to put the butter back in the fridge because it was freezing on the counter top!)
Richard came to the rescue, by bringing one of his generators, to run my 2 freezers and fridge. We ran the generator until dark then shut it off, because it was going to get below freezing again and that room, like the rest of the house, would have no heat.
When I called my daughter Marsha and sil Richard, to bring the shop vac, I told them come through the back door but stop & crank the generator before they come in, so we could use the shop vac.
This was all done under flashlights, cell phone lights and a Coleman light, my son brought when he came. My son had called before Richard that night wanting us to go to their house. They had electricity and water. He had asked me then what we were doing for lights. I told him we each had a flash light, if we wanted to see each other-lol-
by dailylaundry
21 Feb 2021
It is great they had a generator to help out! What a difficult time it has been for so many. And, I have read about the loss of life. So tragic! I love that you told your son that you had a flash light if you wanted to see each other!! Love your sense of humor in such a difficult situation! Hugs to you!!
96283Another thing,my sister in law Jenny, married to hubby's brother Douglas that has cancer, fell on the ice. She thinks she has broken ribs, but just taped herself up. No way to the hospital and nothing can be done for broke ribs anyway.
When the boil advisory came, she tried to to buy bottled water. She backed out of her drive and was just spinning on the ice. (Seems like she should have known better but remember, these conditions are almost unheard of here.) Anyway, the young neighbors came out and helped her push the vehicle back into the driveway. The shared their bottled water with her that they had. When Jenny went to go back inside the house, she fell.
109780Toogie your ability to make a catastrophe sound interesting is beyond me. Seriously you have been in my thoughts and I am delighted to hear that your alive and not totally frozen
1 comment
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Thank you Caroline, it's good to be thawed out, too!-lol-The kids worried because of the cold and old people-lol-and wanted us to leave. My son said, when they got the waterline fixed, 'that does it yall need to go home with some of us'. I told them that's exactly why we need to stay. Had we been gone my whole house would have flooded!
115775Toogie, So glad to hear things are starting to turn around. No, that's not my son but someone else's mother should be very proud!!! I will continue to pray for all affected by this nasty weather. Hoping it doesn't warm up too fast either.....then there will be a different set of problems. Tonya
1 comment
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Yes, pipes are breaking everywhere. It's just so troubling when you hear of someone who had their house just repaired from the hurricane flooding, to have it burn now.
Some friend of ours had a huge tree limb go through their roof, landing on their dining room table, during Hurricane Laura. They had their roof replaced and inside refinished. Now during this ice storm, the gutters froze and the weight and melting cause the gutters to pull away and water leaked into their ceiling and walls in the kitchen and living room. All their sheet rock will have to be torn out in the ceiling and walls and the roof fixed again.
20088Toogie - Bless your heart. Being in Florida we had cold weather, but nothing like the rest of the nation has been going through. I have a brother, sister, and grandson and his family in Texas. I have not heard from my brother or sister.
Grandson is in AF, and a canine instructor at the base in San Antonio. He said that he had some glitches with the electric, but no real power loss, but having to boil all their water. He has a sweet little family, our first great-grandson, his wife, and another baby on the way in a couple months.
Please stay safe and healthy.
3 comments
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Thank you we will be fine. I have and will continue to pray for our neighbors in Texas. It may be that your sister and brother don't have signal or service. We didn't and my hubby said the cell towers are frozen, I'm sure. Hope you hear everything is okay when you do hear.
My friend works for 2 doctors. The dr wife has 2 sisters around Houston. Both of them had broken water pipes and one sisters house completely flooded. I don't know if they had left their home or weren't able to turn off the water supply at the meter.
I wish we could hear from our Texas Cuties and any others that weathered these storms. I am sure as soon as they can, they will let us know their condition. Just keep praying they are ok.
by sewtired
21 Feb 2021
We're just south of Houston and we were extremely fortunate. Our power never went out and DH, a West Virginia boy knew how to protect our water pipes. We have a well pump, so we have outdoor lines. We lost our home phone service for awhile, but never lost internet or our mobile phones. Our son was not so lucky. His power was out for 3 days and though he managed to keep his lines from freezing, he had other problems with his pump. They've been working on it for 2 days and he finally has running water. It's just awful to hear of those who lost their lives to this extreme weather.
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Thank you for letting us know you are okay. Thank goodness our guys are DIY kind of men! So glad to hear from you!!!
44904Praise God!!!! I have been praying up a storm for everyone affected by this terrible freeze. Thank goodness, Your hubby was able to stay safe while getting the water shut off and your family was able to get to your house to help with the clean up. And we need to keep praying for the linemen. Their job will continue for days to come as well as for the folks whose houses will now be defrosting, frozen pipes breaking and so on. It's not over for these folks yet.
1 comment
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
You are right Karen. The sun had came out that day and that night when my pipe burst, it was below freezing again. We know a couple a little younger than us that lost their house in a house fire. No water pressure to put it out. The daughter posted on Facebook that it was the home she grew up in and please pray for her parents. It was going to be hard on them when the shock wore off. My heart just aches.
169064So glad u made it through the storm, been praying for your part of the country. good to see you back on the form. missed seeing you sewing and quilts. Thank God you are ok.
1 comment
by toogie
21 Feb 2021
Thank you (and all cuties) because once the excitement and novelty of seeing the first white on the ground was over, it got to reality. No fun at all. If this was a normal winter and way of life each year for us, people would know how to cope and be better equipped to survive. My heart just breaks for all the deaths.
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