I have heat and lights!!!!!!!

[Coyote_Bandit]

Service was restored late last night after a week without service. I hear there are still about 40,000 homes in the Tulsa area without electric service - plus some more that still need to have their service drop repaired by a private electrician. Today I'm doing lots of laundry and dishes and cleaning and replenishing the fridge. I'll dump the stuff in the freezers come trash day.

I was without electric since the night of the 9th. Almost all the news I've heard since then has been local news. What has happened in the rest of the world for the past week or so?

[AllegroRondo]

1. congrats! you havent missed much.

Abe Vigoda is still alive.

[seemunkee]

2. Wow, a week without power

That must have been brutal.

And Franco is still dead.

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. .

:)

Yeah, and he isn't even on the morbid deathlist:
http://www.deathlist.net/

[AllegroRondo]

5. We went 4 days with no power last December

not fun at all. At least we had a fireplace and a battery powered TV/Radio. And the water is gas heated, so I could still take a shower.

[Coyote_Bandit]

8. My battery powered transister radio batteries died

the second day. Thought I scored when I found a supply of batteries and a thing to make toasted cheese sandwiches in the fireplace. Never did find D batteries to replenish the flashlights. But I had candles which I tried not to burn because the scent made me cough.... Interesting how quick and how significantly priorities changed.

Also interesting to observe that as folks got their electirc back it seemed to take them about a day to return to normal and kind of forget about the rest of the folks in the dark and cold.

[hippywife]

4. Yaaaa!

so glad you're back on! I know how you feel. We live south of Tulsa and had no power or heat from last Sunday morning until Friday night. Really long week! All we could do was come home, grab something simple to eat, and bundle up in the bed with the cat all evening and night.

I did get my laundry done this weekend, cleaned out the fridge and freezer, went to the grocery store and refilled the fridge. After that, I was just too wiped out from the week to do much more.

Welcome back to normalcy. Really wears you out doesn't it?

[Coyote_Bandit]

6. Miserable week

Couldn't believe how tired I was last night. I typically work from home. Not good. But I had gas logs in the fireplace and hot water which was more than a lot of folks had. Kept an ice chest outside on the patio with a few food items and I had some camping equipment so I could "cook" in the fireplace if I wanted. Nobody I knew had power before Friday. I was fortunate to find a vet that would board my poor tropical bird. The dogs - including my renal boy - were left to huddle in front of the fireplace. I'm still a little worried about my renal boy.

Glad you have lights and heat too.

[sarge43]

7. Good to have you back among the living

You haven't missed much - flame wars galore in GD, Bush is still an asshole and monster.

Seriously think about getting a generator if possible. I believe we're all in for more of these storms and blackouts.

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. Thanks

GD sometimes makes me :scared:

I'm in the process of reinventing myself with the intention of leaving Oklahoma
:woohoo: and relocating to help care for aging family members.

I hope to start my own small little niche business and build a small efficient home using redundant energy systems. Hope to have the necessary skills for that little niche business in the next year or so.

[sarge43]

16. Sounds like a good plan. Here's hoping all goes well.

Himself and I are starting to look at ways to wean off the oil tit. It's only a matter of time before it's sold by the thimbleful.

A little of GD goes a long ways.

[Coyote_Bandit]

22. Thanks for the good thoughts

and well wishes. Much appreciated.

[hippywife]

10. It was miserable.

I don't want to do that again anytime soon. We camp, too, so we had a campfire coffee pot (which was a life saver for the husband), lots of matches, candles, batteries, a lantern and a sleeping bag we threw on the bed on top of all the blankets (that made a huge difference!) We could light the stove top with matches so I could cook a little and did have hot water but it was not fun getting out of the shower! Brrrr! No fireplace or other source of heat. In retrospect, the house was so cold, I think I would have lost less food if I would have left the fridge and freezer doors open.

My kitchen is still full of dirty dishes because I was too tired this weekend to do anything about it. I'm working on them now. Not feeling well today so I called in and now I'm just puttering around a little trying to get things back together as I can stand it.

I'm glad the sun came out for the first time in over a week so folks who still are without power can at least have a little warmth. Plus it was getting too depressing not having any sunshine for so long!

Glad you were able to find a place for your bird and I hope your dog gets better. Poor puppy...sick and cold too boot!

[Coyote_Bandit]

15. A campfire coffee pot

is one the the things at the top of my must buy list. Along with a cot of some sort.

My garage was actually warmer than my house. It is well insulated with the gas hot water tank and the warm brick from the back side of the fireplace. It was 70 degrees - and completely dark with no windows. Not to mention cluttered and dirty. I left the door into the house open to get what heat I could inside from the garage. The concrete floor made it too cold to sleep in the garage. My bedroom was the coldest place in the house and you could see your breath in there. My thermometer said the temp in there ghot down to about 38. I made a pallet on the floor and slept in front of the fireplace. Put down two sleeping bags toped with a blanket and a comforter. Slept on top of that and covered myself with a down blanket covered in polar fleece.

Everything in the garage freezer was completely thawed. Stuff in the freezer portion of the fridge was only partially thawed. I was quite surprised by that. I'm going to cook and then refreeze some of the meat in that freezer. Going to toss all the chicken and fish though.

I was really worried about the renal dog a couple of times when he started shivering. I worked really hard to get him to eat well but I had problems getting him to drink much. I made him wear a sweatshirt most of the week - something which he hated. He still is reluctant to come when called out of fear he is going to be dressed in that sweatshirt again.... I'm going to try to have his bloodwork done this week just to make sure he is doing okay after all the stress.

[hippywife]

18. Sounds like he could have

become dehydrated. It really is hard to drink when you're that cold. Poor guy! But I get a little giggle imagining a dog walking around in a sweatshirt. LOL

Yeah, I'm sure it was in the thirties in the house when I could see my breathe all the time. had to put on lots of layers, too. That really added to the laundry! We are experimenting with not using our dryer anymore to save energy and the husband was tempted to use it this weekend. I nixed that idea. If we got through without it through this, we can get rid of it as far as I'm concerned.

I think if I had been you, I would have been really tempted to sleep in the car in the garage (if it's in there, unlike my parents garage which is too full of junk to get a car into! LOL) with the seats reclined and the windows down a little. 70 is dang near tropical!

[MorningGlow]

9. Congrats!

My heart was with all of you in the middle states when I heard about the ice storm. We had one in WNY in '91, and some folks went nearly three weeks without power. (We were fortunate--only lost power for about 12 hours in our neighborhood.) Lost a LOT of trees and the place was a wreck for ages, but it sure brought out the kindness in folks.

[hippywife]

12. It looks like

an F-5 tornado went through here. So many trees and large limbs littering the ground everywhere! I've never seen anything like it. I don't know how folks could have taken that for three weeks. One week was a strain on my sanity!

[MorningGlow]

14. I do remember that

Exactly like a tornado's aftermath--trees, branches, and power lines everywhere. Aside from the several inches of ice on the roads, it was the downed power lines that kept us from going anywhere.

The most dramatic thing I witnessed was the tree in our front yard exploding. The ice had stopped falling, but the weight of it was taking a toll on the trees and power lines. We watched the two main branches of the tree sag lower...and lower...and lower...and then BLAM! The whole tree split in two, right down the trunk, with a sound like a gunshot. I think we were fortunate no parts of the tree hit our front door or picture window.

The folks who didn't have power for several weeks were a little squirrelly by the end of it--and they'd be the first to admit it. Lots of sponge baths with water heated over the fire, lots of hot dogs cooked over the fire or on a gas grill outdoors. But when the YMCAs and other health clubs got their power back, they let anyone who wanted to shower there for free.

Like I said, people really pulled together that March. It was heartening.

[hippywife]

17. Luckily there aren't any trees

very close to our house but there are a lot on our property. It really was like listening to gunshots in the woods all night and day Sunday and Monday. Just like it! We live in a rural area and have bubbas firing shotguns out there all the the time. Except for the sound of the branches falling afterwards, there was no difference in that sound! We have a really old, huge willow along the fence line a few acres back that we watched fall apart.

It is good to see folks pull together when things like this happen. There were some in this town that could have provided assistance but didn't. That won't soon be forgotten.

[Coyote_Bandit]

19. Lots of tree damage

I live in an older established neighborhood with lots of big old trees. I removed my two large trees a few years back because they were diseased and I had my other large tree trimmed up. Glad I did. I only have one limb that is split - and it is still hanging. Nothing on my roof. All of the new trees I planted did fine.

Both ends of my small little street were completely blocked for the first day or two as were at least two other streets in my neighborhood. Even the electrical substation in my neighborhood had limbs down all over it. Aside from young small trees there is not a tree in my neighborhood that does not have damage - and some of them will not recover.

I have a neighbor who had damage to three vehicles from falling limbs in the front yard. All six of the trees in his backyard came down and one took down an electric pole. He can no longer get into his backyard. Did I mention that he was the guy who came and complained to me when I removed my diseased trees?

[hippywife]

20. I'm really glad you didn't suffer

any damage to the house from the falling limbs. A co-worker had a large tree come through their roof. And as much as I would love trees closer to the house in the summer, I was so thankful we didn't have them last week. Oy!

I do hate to see trees have to be removed but it they're diseased, it is best. Bet your neighbor is singing a different tune now.

[Coyote_Bandit]

25. I built a pergola

a few years back over the patio on the west side of my house. It has really helped alot with the heat from the summer sun. And I don't worry about it like I would a tree.

The neighbor? He is trying to figure out how to salvage his very badly damaged trees.

[stuntcat]

13. a week, omg

I'd freak out without hot water, but I'd totally cry about throwing the food away, I'm so frugal.

We didn't have power for just 4 hours last night and we thought we'd go crazy.

[Coyote_Bandit]

21. I had hot water

from the gas hot water tank. Showering and hair washing required stripping in a room that was maybe 40 degreese before stepping into the warm water. That warm water actually felt pretty good. What didn't feel so good was the cold toilet seat. Never ever thought I would want one of those fuzzy toilet seat covers. Now I have to say that they just might have a legitimate use - provided everyone has their own of course.

The food in the freezer bums me out. Since the freezers were still cool with some ice I think I am going to toss all the fruit and veggies and pre-cooked stuff and fish and chicken. The beef and pork and lamb I am going to cook and re-freeze. Since it was still cool I think I should be able to get away with that.

[hippywife]

24. I used this guide

from the Red Cross when deciding what to throw out. Luckily we don't by meat but it really doesn't cover everything so as a caution and pitched what I wasn't sure about:

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_564_,00.html

[Coyote_Bandit]

26. Thanks for the link

I needed that info. Obviously.

Wish I knew what the freezer temp was. I do know there were still ice crystals in the fridge freezer. Not so sure about the larger garage freezer.

[hippywife]

27. Well, if the garage was that warm

I don't think I would risk it. At some point, when there is no cold air going through them, these appliances just become solely an insulator. That's why I think I should have opened them up. They probably would have stayed just as cold as if they were on.

We don't buy meat but I threw out a bunch of Morning Star Farms frozen products because I just wasn't sure they would have stayed good. I'm fairly certain they didn't. I had just been to the store on Friday and filled that damn freezer, too. I still have to toss things in the fridge like my mayo and chopped garlic but I wanted to be able to clean them out and rinse the containers for the recycle bin instead of just throwing them in the trash as is. I may want to do that with the garlic, anyway. LOL

[Coyote_Bandit]

29. Yeah, I'm sure you are right

Probably need to toss most of the stuff in that freezer. I know it was still cool but I'm not sure how cool. I didn't check for ice crystals. I just checked to see if it was still cool. It was so late when my power came back and I was so tired that I just wanted to get warm and go to sleep. I'll have to toss my Morningstar Farms stuff as well. I've been trying to eat vegetarian three or four days a week. Some weeks with more success than others.

[hippywife]

30. I did keep my plain

frozen veggies. I think they would be okay, at least I'm hoping. Husband is ova-lacto vegetarian and I don't eat meat very often, either. Really trying not to eat it at all and I'm getting there slowly. Have you tried Amy's California burgers? They are made from mushrooms and other veggies instead of soy and they are dang good! Some of the other varieties are made from soy but I haven't tried them since I like these so well. They really do help when trying not to eat meat.

[Coyote_Bandit]

31. Haven't tried them

Where did you find them?

As painful as it is, I really think the forced freezer cleaning will turn out to be a good thing for me. There is stuff in there that was still good before the power outage that I probably wouldn't buy again since I've started trying to change my diet. Most of that stuff will be easy to toss. I intend to be more focused on that diet change come first of the year. So this should help that effort....

[hippywife]

33. The Reasor's in Broken Arrow has them.

Not sure about other locations since they tend to differ just a little depending on what part of town they're in. I'd bet Wild Oats would have them, too, if you're closer to it.

We've been trying to do the same. I make my own preserves in the springtime, yogurt every weekend and bake my own cookies, etc. Even tho they still have butter and sugar, I know they don't have HFCS or any preservatives in them. I also use more whole wheat and unbleached natural flours. It's a little bit of work and added expense but I've been making these changes a little at a time and it's easier that way.

We've been trying our hand at organic gardening but the weather hasn't been too cooperative the past couple of years so we're going to try Square Foot Gardening this next year. Should make it more manageable, especially in the heat of the summer, I think.

[Coyote_Bandit]

34. Thanks

I too have been making changes slowly over time. Started by just not buying chips. Then added items to that. Then started s-l-o-w-l-y adding vegetarian meals one at a time. Somewhere in there I pretty much quit eating out. And somewhere along the way I started cooking more. A few years back I started doing a bit of gradening. Haven't been particularly successful with that effort. Partly because of the weather and partly because I seem to be away for about a week every year during the heat.

[hippywife]

35. Yeah, we don't eat out much at all, either.

Check out the Square Foot Gardening method. There is a newer version of it in the book All New Square Foot Gardening that I checked out of the library. It seems sound and will hopefully work regardless of the rain or lack thereof. This is what made me check it out:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=246&topic_id=5729&mesg_id=5729

Here's the website for it:
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

You don't need to buy anything at all from the site. The book tells you how to do it all on your own and if you're handy with a hammer, only a little upfront cost and labor.

Well, it's been fun talking to you but I had better get to those dishes. They haven't washed themselves yet! LOL

[Coyote_Bandit]

32. Delete duplicate

[Breeze54]

23. Wow!! That's great news but Gheesh! I whole week?!?

What a bummer!!! You must be ecstatic! :bounce:

How the H did you keep warm and keep your sanity?

That would have driven me nuts! :crazy:

Glad you're back online and WARM!!!!!

[Coyote_Bandit]

28. Yes, very, very happy

I'm not sure I kept warm. Th warmest place in the house was right in front of the fireplace and it was only about 50 to 55 degrees at its warmest. Amazing just how much heat goes right out the flue.

Hot showers would warm me up. After the streets were passable I left everyday to go scavage for warmth, D batteries, and any other things I might need. After folks I knew had power I spent time there (and took my dogs so they could warm up as well).

Sanity? Not sure there was much to start with. EVERYBODY was grumpy and frustrated by late Wednesday and Thursday.

Major intersections still do not have traffic lights and are now four way stops. Takes me an hour or more to travel the three miles or so that usually takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to drive.