here's a sequence of events:
Tuesday the 27th, as the freezing rain was falling, I lost power early afternoon. At that time it was just power, no damage. About two hours later I went out to check things and found that a limb had fallen on the power line and damaged the connection to the meter. So added that to the report to the electric company.
Little later, as I was out using a pruning pole to cut back everything I could reach- including from a ladder where some stuff was leaning over the back of the house- the weight proved too much and broke my internet line.
Yes, I was out in that mess a few times that day and the next trying to keep the damage from being worse. Don't know if it helped, but nothing else got damaged, which I considered a good trade for freezing my ass off and having no good way to dry my gloves and coat off. At least I didn't fall on my head or off the ladder.
Few years ago I bought an indoor-safe kerosene heater, and this was the first time I've had to use it. It works, and was worth every penny. I've also got a propane camping stove which allowed a little cooking, and making tea and hot chocolate and such.
Note: I'd planned on getting the kerosene can filled, and some more propane bottles, before winter; so of course this bloody mess hit very early. Which is why it did so much damage: the leaves were still on the trees, so they were holding a LOT more weight than they could take.
One thing that did help is I've got a Aladdin oil lamp(similar to this one but with a metal tank). They put out a lot of light, and some heat, so this time of year welcome on both parts. I've got flashlights and a battery LED lantern, and spare batteries, but being able to use the lamp to read really was nice.
Due to having to get an electrician to fix the connection to the meter before they'd reconnect it, then waiting for someone to have the time to make the connection, I was down on power for ten days. And only got the internet line repaired today(ATT lost/dumped my original report, which delayed things. The bastards).
I did lose everything in the refrigerator, did manage to scrounge enough dry ice(barely) to save most of the stuff in the freezer.
So there's the short version of my last couple of weeks.
2 comments:
Trick for saving refrigerated stuff. If temperatures outside are below 45 degrees, just place everything from the fridge into corrugated cardboard boxes. The double layer boxes are best if you have any of that type. Place into an unheated entryway/covered porch/uncovered porch/deck (preferably covered). If temperatures are below freezing, you may have to move the boxes in and out periodically. If below freezing, you can set gallon water jugs or other suitable containers of water out to freeze and use them as a block of ice to keep the boxes of food cold inside the coldest part of the house.. You may also want to line the boxes on the bottom and sides with a towel for added insulation. I've used this method during extended power outages in the past after ice storms took out my power.
On this occasion, once the rain stopped icing things, the temperatures headed up. It'd good advice, just wouldn't have worked here.
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