Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Friday, December 28, 2012

No Electricity!

Arkansas gets one or two inches of snow every other year or snow.  Rarely does it stick.  Christmas afternoon it was 32 degrees and rained for about 3 hours.  Every drop of that froze on the trees and bushes!  Then it started snowing and here at my house we got about 8 inches.  Other parts of this area got up to 15 inches.  Our electricity went out at 10:00 Christmas night and has been out ever since.

We are toasty warm at my house because we have two fireplaces.  I have a gas stove in my kitchen and a gas hot water heater so we're able to cook and to shower, unlike many who have all electric homes.  We also have a generator that will run our refrigerator and freezer.  I've been able to charge my phone so I can read your comments and your e-mails on it and today we decided to boot up the computers for a few  minutes.  Only a few since I have to turn off the freezer when we do this!

There were about 200,000 without power Wednesday.  I'm not sure how many still are but the call I got from the energy company said we would get ours back NEXT TUESDAY.  Because we live "out in the county" and not in town we will get service last because there are so few people out here.

I'm not complaining, truly I'm not.  We are blessed to be warm and to have plenty of hot water and to be able to cook.  Once before in another house we had no power for 9 days and it was a total electric house.  That was brutal.  My daughter, who grew up in the age of technology, jokingly said "we reheated Christmas dinner on top of the stove last night - who knew you could reheat food without a microwave!"

I loved all the comments to my "Welcome To The Neighborhood" post (if you didn't read it, just click on the link and join us!) and as soon as the power is back I'll start posting blog names and addresses.  See you then!

(The view off my deck toward the lake.)

35 comments:

Gail said...

We are lucky in that respect. We got seven to eight inches but the power still holds.

I hope for those with no heat, it is restored soon. We have long become accustomed to power outages but we are spoiled and prefer power to none.

Glad you're able to stay warm and cook. Stay safe and may your power return quicker than expected.

Quilting Babcia said...

Sounds like you are well set up until the power returns. That's great! We too live by generator when the power is off for long periods, with a propane fueled fireplace to keep us (and the water pipes) warm. We always stock up the cupboards in the fall in case we can't get off our hill for a week during winter. Doesn't happen often, but it has happened a couple of times over the 11 years we've been here.

Unknown said...

Hope your power is back on before their projected date. I know that after a few days it gets very old.

Margaret said...

I can feel your pain so to speak.....I live in the country in Northern Michigan. We lose power every winter several times. Usually for only a few hours but when it is below freezing your house cools off pretty fast. We have a generator that does our whole house. I just can't do laundry when the furnace is running. Glad you are all set up for this type of emergency. My hubs thought we should sell the generator this summer because we hardly ever use it. Then just last week we lost power for 26 hours. Glad we didn't sell.

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

Oh my what bonding you and the hubby will have until Tuesday!
I am hoping and praying for snow, but since I work for one of those electric compnaines I pray a little softer!
Keep warm.

Anna said...

sounds like you have have got the Pioneer spirit!!! Take care!

Denise :) said...

Oh it looks so pretty, Marlene -- which I know can be deceptive! We get a decent snow once in about twenty years or so. LOL! :)

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Oh Marlene, you sure have the right look out at a crazy situation! Glad you are safe and sure hope it comes back before Tuesday. Time for some nice hand sewing!

Kristi said...

I'm glad you are well-prepared, so the weather is more of an inconvenience than a real problem.

It sounds like you could just empty your freezer outside in the snow and then be able to be on the computer all day, if you wanted. :-)

Michelle said...

Now is when you need that hand crank sewing machine you and I talked about awhile back! ;) Stay warm and cozy. Fire up that Kindle and get some reading done! Take care and hope your electricity comes back on soon!

Belinda said...

We were blessed that our power stayed on. My son, who is a lineman has been working with only enough of a break to catch a few hours sleep. It will be a while before they have all the power back on.
We too have gas appliances and a small propane heater. They are so handy in situations like this!
I really enjoy being snow/ice bound. It gives me an excuse to just do hand sewing and painting and enjoy myself. :)

Peggy Lee said...

You have such a great attitude even with no power. I laughed about the microwave comment! Who knew??
I hope you get your power turned back on soon. Masterchief has been dying for a chance to use his generator but I'm in no rush.
~hugs

nanny said...

Ours went out at 4:pm Christmas and was back on by noon th 26th. (only because of a friend) I've never seen a snowfall like this one. I went walking around our house yesterday and in some places it was up to my knee......
You are very fortunate to have heat!! and the refrigerator running...

Marge said...

My son in Alaska lost his power on the morning of the 24th and it came on last night. Of course they also had 50 inches of new snow! They are pretty much buried! But they have a wood stove for heat, and a gas stove for cooking, so they survived just fine. We haven't lost power here in years. But I probably shouldn't say that, should I?

Michele said...

No power = no fun but I'm glad you have some modern conviences to keep you comfortable.

Ray and Jeanne said...

Take care! We got over 15" of snow last week with heavy winds but for some reason we kept power - many did not. ~Jeanne

Lesley said...

Thank goodness you are well prepared! Sounds quite cozy and the scenery is gorgeous! Stay safe and stay warm!

em's scrapbag said...

Winter storms look so pretty when they are done but the sure wreck havoc. I'm glad you're warm and safe. Enjoy the quiet peace of no electricity.

Catherine said...

Beautiful picture you took from your deck. Glad you are able to cook and stay warm. We have gas heat and a gas water heater too.

Carrie P. said...

Glad to hear you are staying warm. Isn't it amazing how quiet it is without electricity and the snow. Love your snowy photo.

Needled Mom said...

It certainly looks like winter there, but I hope you get the power back up and running soon.

Michelle May-The Raspberry Rabbits said...

It's so beautiful, but....it makes me so cold just looking at it. I'm so glad you are safe and warm. Made me laugh about your daughter and reheating food on the stove. I'm right there with her. hee,hee,hee.
Hugs and love to you my dear friend. Hoping the power comes back on very soon.

Friendship Crossing said...

That is one gorgeous sight out there! Simply beautiful!! I'm so glad you are warm and toasty! How nice to have gas/fireplaces! That certainly helps!

Arkansas is a beautiful state!

Hugs,
Tanya

Gmama Jane said...

That view from your deck is awesome!! Sounds like you are in good shape given the circumstances. We are in an all electric house so when the power goes out we are in a real pickle! Take care my friend!
Blessings
Jane

sandra said...

I am so glad you were safe and cozy in your home. You were one smart lady not to have an electric house, I thing more
people need to think along these lines because we are sure seeing a lot of these problems. I live in Canada, Ontario and we don't have a lot of snow but Montreal got 50cm over the weekend and also have a lot of power out.
Beautiful view from your deck I guess you don't often see that. Blessings Sandra

Purple Pam said...

Glad you are able to get along okay without power. Hope it gets to you sooner than later.

Carol Swift said...

Oh my goodness! We have a little fireplace that puts out no heat at all, so we'd be in big trouble if we got snow like that. I hope they surprise you and get your electricity back up and running a little sooner.

Julie Fukuda said...

Even our gas heater and stove depend on electricity to work. I suppose it is falling trees that bring down power lines. I should be glad for the way the city prunes those poor things to within an inch of their lives!

Gail said...

Hope your power is restored. We are getting more snow. Someone needs to tell the weather makers, this is Arkansas!

Jennifer M. said...

O Wow! My grandparents live in Arkansas too. They were just here in Miami for two months and went back right after Thanksgiving. They were telling me how great Arkansas is compared to Pennsylvania because the winter is not as brutal there. They said snow doesn't come often. I have to call them now. LOL They went from 80 degree Miami weather to snow and possibly no electricity now. They live out in the woods too. At least your house is not all electric. ;)

BTW, the snow picture is beautiful!

Jen

Arkansas Patti said...

Was wondering how you were doing and am so glad you do have a plan B. I am set up like you except for the generator. We got 9 inches but kept our power. I so feel for those who are in the dark and cold with no heat. I have found from years of living in Florida with no power after hurricanes that the power companies toss a date out there well beyond what they really expect so everyone will be delighted when the power comes on earlier than projected. Works every time.
Hope this will all be just a memory soon.

Love Bears All Things said...

We've been without electricity for long periods of time in my life with no generator so your situation could be worse. It makes one appreciate the blessings, doesn't it.
We've only had rain so far, I was thanking my Lord that I wasn't still living in Memphis when I saw how close the line of snow and ice was....blessings
Mama Bear

Dorian said...

I'm glad to hear you have a generator/gas. It's really hard owning an all electric house and having the power go off. We live off the grid, so thankfully don't have to be concerned with winter snows making the power go out. Enjoy your snow ;)

FlourishingPalms said...

Oh Marlene! You're definitely roughing it now, aren't you? No TV to pass the time either! Or night time lights. I feel for you, though I'm glad you have some gas things and a generator to keep you going. Hang in there! The alternative is to move to Florida!

Linda Loosli said...

Hi Marlene, my name is Linda from www.foodstoragemoms.com. My sister, Carol from www.justletmequilt.blogspot.com sent me this article you have written. Would you mind if I used your article and picture on my website? I teach people about food storage and emergency preparedness.Let me know if its okay....I really want people to know it doesn't have to be a HUGE disaster to want to be prepared for....the unexpected. Thanks so much. Linda