All week we were preparing for a snow storm. Friday it snowed a little bit. Daycare was closed, Michael and I still had to work. We played out in the snow a bit during the day but it wasn’t powdery snow, it was icy snow. Over the night our power went out a few times but came back on.
Saturday morning I got up at maybe 6:45, came downstairs, Logan was watching cartoons. I started to feed the cats. Was about to make my coffee when BOOM. Power was out. And not coming back on.
We did some stuff around the house, waiting to see if the power would come back on. There were some downed trees on our street. They I checked the PGE website and the estimate was TWO DAYS.
We decided to head over to Michael’s mom’s house since they still had power and HEAT. The temperature was dropping quickly in the house. Our fireplace does not work.
It was nice to be somewhere warm.
On Sunday there was still no update, still no power. Our dog walker went by the house to check on the kitties, feed them, make sure they were ok. They were doing well.
It was 47 degrees in our house:
Valentine’s Day dinner:
Delicious and lovely, even if it was in not ideal circumstances.
Monday morning we got up, I checked the PGE website and it now said they couldn’t give us an estimate! UGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
We had breakfast, did some stuff and then Michael got a notification on his phone that our power was back on (we have a bunch of “Smart” stuff in the house, like the thermostat) so he was able to monitor it from afar. We packed up and headed home. And saw tons of damage!
Got home around 11. Long story short: we lost most of the food in the fridges and freezers. It sucked. I was expecting it though. I was HOPING some of the freezer stuff would be ok but most of it was defrosted. I cleaned everything out.
We also discovered a leak in the basement! ARRRRGH!!! So then we cleaned up that mess. It’s all cleaned up but I am very worried about what the leak means. No idea where it came from either!
I went to the store and the one by the house had no power and only selling dry goods. I went to another one and they had more things so I could get some essentials. It was quite the rollercoaster of a day.
Thankfully Tuesday daycare finally had power and Logan got to go back to school. I got back to work. Bella and I took a walk in the neighborhood to check out the damage:
We got lucky. Three days of no power, losing all our food, having a leak in the basement, nothing compared to the massive damage some people had. So many lost fences, destroyed trees, damaged roofs. It’s going to be a long time for people to recover. And as I write this, there are still a LOT of people, even if my town, that do not have power still.
bethh
I had my first houseguest in over a year – my sister’s power was out for the last 24 hours. We think it’s back now, so not as impacted as your part of town. Still, what a huge mess!
Lisa Eirene
It is a huge mess!
Vickie
Wow!
Glad you had no major damage.
I am in Indiana with major snow and cold temps. We had a night a week or so ago where the power blinked a few times and I started to wonder. We have a gas fireplace that works with no electricity. And my stove top has gas burners that we can light by hand. So we can keep ourselves above freezing and cook. And I can put the cold stuff outside to keep it cold, BUT I was so not looking forward to any of it. Luckily it did not go out.
Lisa Eirene
That’s great you have options. We are looking into how to convert our fireplace to a gas one for the future.
At least in Indiana, you guys are kind of prepared and used to really cold temps!
Vickie
If your chimney is still there, even though it cannot be used for fire, they can probably put a sealed pipe up the opening so you can vent the fireplace. I am all about vents on gas fireplaces. Ours is sealed. Glass front, vented chimney. Can start with manual ignition switch.
Of course when the power is out, no fan on it. But it still warms house. And heat from the room cannot go up the chimney (glass).
My mother does not have a glass front on hers. Hers is a real fireplace converted to gas. It is great for regular use, but she thinks it actually sucks heat from house up the chimney.
Lisa Eirene
We are looking into converting. The chimney is till intact!
Symone
We just had the craziest winter storm week I’ve ever seen in Austin and I’ve lived here quite a while. Like you, we were luckier than a lot of folks around the city. Our power only went out for about 2 hours total, so we had heat, which was better than what a lot of the neighborhoods around here experienced. We were also out of running water for 3 days. I will never take a flushing toilet for granted again. We still have friends without running water. I’m so grateful that the temperature has been above freezing for the last couple of days. So sorry about your food and the leak in the basement. I was worried about busted pipes, but so far so good.
Lisa Eirene
Oh wow! I hope you guys are all ok in Austin. Austin was just hammered! We have family in Fort Worth and Dallas and Dallas was hit hard but nothing compared to Austin and Houston it seems. I hope you guys are doing ok now.
Symone
Thank you! We are ok. What a difference a day makes. It was in the 70s today and it was hard to believe that we had a winter storm last week…crazy Texas weather.
Lisa Eirene
Hopefully you guys won’t have flooding!