bellowbelle Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 We were hit pretty hard with the ice storm here, lost power on Thursday and just got it back last night. So, four days without power, for us; we're lucky -- a lot of the area still has no power. Fortunately, we were able to go to relatives' and get warmed up. I stored my concertina and various other instruments and stuff -- parakeets, etc., with them. Slept at home in the cold, though, just layered on more blankets and kept the winter boots on at times! We've got tree limbs all over the place, a broken window on a shed, a bit of other damage. Phone line was snapped in two, but that's been fixed. Cable TV line snapped, but we no longer subscribe anyway... The night of the storm was pretty strange. I thought it was an earthquake, didn't know the rain outside was actually ice and that I was hearing trees falling. Trees and branches fell the entire night. Though all power was out, I managed to text message with my daughter who was about 10 miles away -- things were the same there. As I sat and played my concertina in the dark with a candle one night, after hurrying to keep my pet rabbit fed and his cage cleaned up, I realized that it wasn't just for fun or romance or meditation that people in pre-electric days played by candlelight. It's because they had to hurry up and do everything else while the sun was still up! Some grocery stores, etc., have operated by generator. I went to CVS and had to use my flashlight to find what I needed on the shelf. The gas lines were very long at the one or two open local stations, since people needed gas for generators, I guess. Most stations were closed -- like everything else. So, I drove about 20 miles to a station my daughter told me was open and didn't have lines. If nothing else, when stuff like this happens, I want to remain able to GET OUTTA HERE!!! With my concertina, though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yfried Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Thank you for sharing a very personal story. You're a great writer.......I could see in my mind's eye what you were describing. Especially the part about sleeping in the bed with more blankets and the sound of the ice/trees/branches falling around your home. It's the coldest it's been here (Ashland, Oregon) for a while. We rarely get snow where we live; maybe two or three times a year and it lasts a few days. It was 36 degrees F today, and it's supposed to get down to 21 on Friday. There's ice on the streets and sidewalks and now that I'm a little older and I hurt my ankle 4 weeks ago, I'm especially careful of slipping and falling. But our weather is nothing like you're getting back east. Good luck..... Yvonne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieppe Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Sorry to hear about your ice storm! Four days without electricity sounds very sucky indeed! And yeah, here in Los Angeles, it's been a mite chilly, windy and rainy off and on too... no ice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellowbelle Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 Thanks... And thanks for your compliment, Yvonne! I guess I did enjoy writing that, so it came out right. I started posting in forums (way back) partly because I felt like I was losing my communication skills somewhat. All adjectives were fading to zero... It helps me 'keep my ducks in a row,' to stay in touch with people, and it's certainly been well-worth the rewards of friendship and conversation that concertina.net has given. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldchief Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 We were hit pretty hard with the ice storm here, lost power on Thursday and just got it back last night. So, four days without power, for us; we're lucky -- a lot of the area still has no power. Fortunately, we were able to go to relatives' and get warmed up. I stored my concertina and various other instruments and stuff -- parakeets, etc., with them. Slept at home in the cold, though, just layered on more blankets and kept the winter boots on at times! We've got tree limbs all over the place, a broken window on a shed, a bit of other damage. Phone line was snapped in two, but that's been fixed. Cable TV line snapped, but we no longer subscribe anyway... The night of the storm was pretty strange. I thought it was an earthquake, didn't know the rain outside was actually ice and that I was hearing trees falling. Trees and branches fell the entire night. Though all power was out, I managed to text message with my daughter who was about 10 miles away -- things were the same there. As I sat and played my concertina in the dark with a candle one night, after hurrying to keep my pet rabbit fed and his cage cleaned up, I realized that it wasn't just for fun or romance or meditation that people in pre-electric days played by candlelight. It's because they had to hurry up and do everything else while the sun was still up! Some grocery stores, etc., have operated by generator. I went to CVS and had to use my flashlight to find what I needed on the shelf. The gas lines were very long at the one or two open local stations, since people needed gas for generators, I guess. Most stations were closed -- like everything else. So, I drove about 20 miles to a station my daughter told me was open and didn't have lines. If nothing else, when stuff like this happens, I want to remain able to GET OUTTA HERE!!! With my concertina, though.... The situation in southern Maine was the same, I guess, as electrical service was off from Thursday night to Monday at 11:00 AM. Thanks to a small generator we had heat and basic power for hot plate and microwave cooking. The last time I saw an extended outage like this was in 1998 when the area effected was much larger and my power was off for eleven days in sub-zero (F.) weather. The generator really earned its keep then. The one time I went out for fuel the few stations open all had long lines so I elected to fuel the generator from various other machinery in the garage. That way the fuel stays fresh as well. The fun part was there was lots of time to play. I'm trying to get up to speed with the 'Vital Spark' theme (thanks for the tune, Stuart) on EC, having some fun working on the C part with the drone effect. Now we have the snow to look forward to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Madge Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I have been advised ( by a concertina playing generator service engineer) to get a generator that runs on diesel as that takes much longer to deteriorate. Robin Madge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Bradshaw Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 Yah..we're 8 days and counting in Atkinson, NH.....finally have generator running a few hours a day after replacing flywheel and starter out in the (not as bad as it could be) cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Weinstein Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Wish us luck, we're expecting hurricane force winds tomorrow and Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Stout Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 So today was our turn for the ice storm. We were without power for about 20 hours. I followed the advice here and played my concertina for some of them. It kept my fingers warm. Fortunately, the lights, heat, and internet are back on now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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