This post started out as a posting of all my snow pictures... until the power and internet went out last Wednesday. Pictures are at the end of the post if you want to see all 2.5 feet of snow we got.
I always thought it would be fun to experience pioneer life. After the power outage last week I know that life would be tough. When you think about how much of our lives in modern times depends on electricity, having it out for a week, I have an new appreciation for the small things in life. Our power went out Wednesday night from branches, heavy with snow, fell and broke power lines. The power came back on briefly, only to go back out with the ice storm that broke off tree tops and split trees in half. In all we probably lost around 100 trees, either that were topped or split right down the middle.Living in the boonies is lots of fun, and believe me I LOVE the privacy, but if you've never been a country person, snow storms and power outages are very different in the country. We live at the end of a private road in a private development, located off a small, no-shoulder country road. My girlfriends always love to tell me how steep the hill is just to get to my house. Being in the country means no snowplows!Tony and I took the kids out in the new (to us) truck Wednesday to get dinner and escape the house for a while. I remember driving down the hill and clearly seeing the tire tracks, and figured out that the line in the snow between the tires was the trailer hitch leaving a mark in the snow. Yes, that's how deep the snow was! None of the country roads were plowed, and not even the highway was until on our way home. Even with four-wheel-drive, it was tough getting back up our road and we wound up parking in the cul-de-sac because our second hill was just too much. Our neighbor got her little Rav4 stuck there on Monday night in the snow and waited for AAA to come and help tow her, they didn't make it to her door, only a few hundred feet more up the slick hill.Once the power went out we started up our generator. Tony got a great deal on it a couple years ago, but we've never really needed it until now. Most of the time our power is restored pretty quickly. We discovered the generator is very particular about it's oil level and likes it topped off every several hours. Having our power out is a big deal. I've got minimal heat from our propane stove, but no fan, no way to cook, and the worst: no water. Without power our well doesn't work so no flushing toilets or washing hands. We melted snow for washing and flushing the best we could, but I still felt gross. The kids all wanted to play but it is hard with only candle light. Tony gave them a glow stick to use as a night light, but I didn't sleep much because I was always listening for Cooper to wake up and me not hear him since the monitor was out.
Thursday morning came and Tony was going on call and went into work. As he was walking up the drive to his truck the generator died. We didn't know about the oil level touchiness then so he left for work and I had no generator. Tony called an hour later to let me know he made it into our small town, and that he'd had to cut his way through all the downed trees and branches to get there. With a dead (to us) generator and bad road conditions, Tony told me to take the kids and dogs and abandon ship to head to my mom's. Being on call with the bad weather, Tony figured he'd be working round-the-clock until the power was restored to his plants, and I didn't see him again until 48 hours later.
It took my brother and dad 2 hours to reach my house, which is only 2 miles away. My brother had not only 4WD, but chains also, and the two of them made quick work of all the trees on the roads. Power lines were down everywhere so any hopes of wanting power back soon were gone. Trees were falling so often that as we were loading things up we had to dodge the branches coming down. You'd hear a loud crack and immediately look up ready to run if a tree was coming your way. We couldn't get my jeep out so we all piled into the truck and made the slow trip back to my parent's house. They were without power, but my great-grandmother's wood cook stove was great heat and the propane range let us cook; two things I couldn't do at my house without a generator. They also have a generator that runs their well so we could take hot showers and run the fridge occasionally. That night the cell tower lost power and we had no communication with the outside world at all. Tony was working and I was dealing with my kids and dogs, but I got to talk to him really quick Friday morning from the neighbor's house.
I never realized how fast my kids got dirty just playing inside. I'd never be able to be a pioneer with basin baths! EWW! My kids were filthy! It was hard not being able to see well in the dark either. Lantern light is better than the dark, but try reading a book or seeing what's cooking! My mom and I decided to make biscuits one morning and got the cook stove all fired up. It took 30 minutes just for the oven to get to 200! It needed to be 400 for biscuits. Dad had the generator going so we decided to cook them in her range oven. Much faster and much bigger than the little stove!I went home on Saturday because Tony got the generator going and was able to come home from working for a while. I even got the jeep out eventually. Monday we got our generator transfer hooked up so we were really comfortable being able to run our house electrical panel with the generator! Yeah for our furnace and a microwave!
Having the power out was really tough on the kids. They couldn't go outside with trees and branches falling like crazy and they couldn't play with so many things they were used to having inside. My kindle and iPod were well used for games and we would plug all the chargers in when my dad was running the fridge.
The power company finally restored power Tuesday afternoon, so we were out of power for six days total. I was most bummed about having to miss my girl's weekend at the beach. I really wanted to go, but couldn't even get my jeep out for the drive.Most people were surprised at how much more severe the snow was at my house, but I think just the little bit of higher elevation makes the biggest difference. My parents only live two miles away, but they got a foot less of snow. I love my hill, but I don't like it in the snow, though it is GREAT for sledding! Not only do I get more and worse weather, but I can't get up the hill. I'm grateful for our gas-guzzling SUVs that are able to get through it most of the time though. Living in the boonies is great, but I pay the price with lack of road clearing and being the last one to get power at the end of the line. Saying I'm out of power is different than living in town without power. Out here I'm isolated without basics and have only myself and my generator to depend on.
Here's what my poor trees look like now! My FIL has plenty of yard work awaiting him this spring when he returns.
Thursday morning came and Tony was going on call and went into work. As he was walking up the drive to his truck the generator died. We didn't know about the oil level touchiness then so he left for work and I had no generator. Tony called an hour later to let me know he made it into our small town, and that he'd had to cut his way through all the downed trees and branches to get there. With a dead (to us) generator and bad road conditions, Tony told me to take the kids and dogs and abandon ship to head to my mom's. Being on call with the bad weather, Tony figured he'd be working round-the-clock until the power was restored to his plants, and I didn't see him again until 48 hours later.
It took my brother and dad 2 hours to reach my house, which is only 2 miles away. My brother had not only 4WD, but chains also, and the two of them made quick work of all the trees on the roads. Power lines were down everywhere so any hopes of wanting power back soon were gone. Trees were falling so often that as we were loading things up we had to dodge the branches coming down. You'd hear a loud crack and immediately look up ready to run if a tree was coming your way. We couldn't get my jeep out so we all piled into the truck and made the slow trip back to my parent's house. They were without power, but my great-grandmother's wood cook stove was great heat and the propane range let us cook; two things I couldn't do at my house without a generator. They also have a generator that runs their well so we could take hot showers and run the fridge occasionally. That night the cell tower lost power and we had no communication with the outside world at all. Tony was working and I was dealing with my kids and dogs, but I got to talk to him really quick Friday morning from the neighbor's house.
I never realized how fast my kids got dirty just playing inside. I'd never be able to be a pioneer with basin baths! EWW! My kids were filthy! It was hard not being able to see well in the dark either. Lantern light is better than the dark, but try reading a book or seeing what's cooking! My mom and I decided to make biscuits one morning and got the cook stove all fired up. It took 30 minutes just for the oven to get to 200! It needed to be 400 for biscuits. Dad had the generator going so we decided to cook them in her range oven. Much faster and much bigger than the little stove!I went home on Saturday because Tony got the generator going and was able to come home from working for a while. I even got the jeep out eventually. Monday we got our generator transfer hooked up so we were really comfortable being able to run our house electrical panel with the generator! Yeah for our furnace and a microwave!
Having the power out was really tough on the kids. They couldn't go outside with trees and branches falling like crazy and they couldn't play with so many things they were used to having inside. My kindle and iPod were well used for games and we would plug all the chargers in when my dad was running the fridge.
The power company finally restored power Tuesday afternoon, so we were out of power for six days total. I was most bummed about having to miss my girl's weekend at the beach. I really wanted to go, but couldn't even get my jeep out for the drive.Most people were surprised at how much more severe the snow was at my house, but I think just the little bit of higher elevation makes the biggest difference. My parents only live two miles away, but they got a foot less of snow. I love my hill, but I don't like it in the snow, though it is GREAT for sledding! Not only do I get more and worse weather, but I can't get up the hill. I'm grateful for our gas-guzzling SUVs that are able to get through it most of the time though. Living in the boonies is great, but I pay the price with lack of road clearing and being the last one to get power at the end of the line. Saying I'm out of power is different than living in town without power. Out here I'm isolated without basics and have only myself and my generator to depend on.
Here's what my poor trees look like now! My FIL has plenty of yard work awaiting him this spring when he returns.
