Our Adventure

We got hit by that big storm last weekend, which left us without power for about 30 hours and caused some minor damage to the trampoline and the truck, as well as leaving quite a mess for us to clean up.

we really got off lightly when it comes to damage- this dent isn't big at all

The power flickered last Friday night just as I was getting ready to send some emails, so I saved everything quick and shut down my laptop. It won't hold a charge anymore, so I knew if the power went out my computer would be dead. Minutes later the power went out and stayed out.

We usually keep a flashlight in the kitchen, but we'd recently used it and not returned it (and I couldn't remember where we put it), so I went upstairs to light some candles- I knew where the matches and candles were. I read a book by candlelight for an hour or so, then went to bed.

The next morning the power was still out when we out to assess the damage. I plugged my cell into the charger in the truck (it charges even when the truck is off, which my car doesn't do), and shifted the large branch away from the truck. Luckily it only left a small dent and some small scrapes that I think should buff out ok. We then went to the back yard and moved the branch off the trampoline. It bent the upper support ring of the safety net, but that was all. We picked up the big branches, but left the smaller branches and leaf clumps for later. With temperatures in the triple digits and the A/C out, we didn't want to get all hot and sweaty and then not be able to clean up and cool off. We have a well so if the power is out so is our well pump.

After lunch we went to wallyworld. I wasn't certain they'd have power, but figured it was worth a try. Luckily, they had power, so we were able to get water (they weren't quite sold out yet), but not ice, which was sold out. We were able to find some at a grocery store on the way home, though.

Saturday night the house was quite warm so we slept in the basement, which was cooler than the rest of the house, but also getting warm. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, feeling chilly. My brain registered that the power was back on, then went back to sleep.

In the morning we got to take showers in our own bathrooms instead of driving to a friend's house to take showers before church. Yay! Not having all the modern comforts readily available sure makes you appreciate them a lot more.

Some things we learned from this:

1. Those big empty water jugs in the basement don't do us any good if they're not actually FULL. Yeah, we moved over a year ago and I still haven't refilled them.
2. Flashlights also don't do us any good if we can't remember where we put them. So I'm going to get baskets or bins for each floor of the house and put a flashlight, batteries, candles, and matches in them, then put them where they can be easily reached in an emergency.
3. We'd talked about getting a generator for the house once we bought a house, but again, it never got done. Once local stores restock and we do some research into brand and size and such, we will be getting a generator. We will also have an electrician come out and make sure the wiring is done properly. We'll at least hook up the well pump and frig/basement freezer to it, but the master bed/bath and heat and A/C would also be nice.
4. We need to start adding to our food storage again (we've been holding off while we figure out our food issues, but I have found one company that sells gluten free freeze dried food), and we need to come up with recipes to use what we have stored.

This really was a great learning experience- it went on just long enough for us to realize our weak points, but not so long as to really cause problems. We now know what we need to do to be better prepared in case we lose our power again. How prepared are you?