That’s the Night, that the lights went out in …
I love snow, probably more than anyone you will ever meet! What I don’t love is ICE. We recently suffered an almost 24 hour power outage, due to an ice storm. Losing one’s electricity, makes you quickly realize how spoiled we are by modern day conveniences. I did learn quite a few things that I wanted to share with my readers.
First, I asked my followers, what were their “must haves” for a power outage. (Here is where I will encourage you to follow @maradachaffins on Insta, if you aren’t already!). The obvious answer is a lighting source. The many suggestions for this included: battery operated candles, battery operated camping lanterns, flashlights…don’t forget the batteries, and of course, traditional candles. For warmth, warm blankets, fuzzy socks and layers of clothing were mentioned. Entertainment options that were suggested were board games, books, a charged Kindle (pre-loaded) and earphones.
Luckily, I have two gas fire places and my cooktop is gas. For some reason my range wouldn’t come on. Someone told me how to light it. I AM NOT SUGGESTING YOU DO THIS…NOR AM I TELLING YOU HOW…BUT I WAS GRATEFUL FOR THE LESSON, AND NOW KNOWING WHAT TO DO WHEN IT GOES OUT. ALWAYS PROCEED WITH CAUTION WHEN DEALING WITH GAS.
I keep a well stocked freezer and was troubled thinking I would lose so many groceries. A friend just so happened to post on Facebook that you could place frozen foods in a Rubbermaid bin and set it outside to preserve them. How am I 44 years old and just learning this?!
We had charged all of our electronics in preparation. I was soon asking what I was going to do with a charged laptop, but no wi-fi! LOL My gals taught me that you can charge your cellphone by hooking it up to your computer! Yet another thing I did not know!
Panic set in because I couldn’t open my garage doors. My mom lives next door and I needed to get her to my house for heat. I walked…slowly and gingerly…and told my gals before I left that if I couldn’t walk, I would crawl. I WOULD get to my mom! Now, the lesson regarding garage doors. There is a string that hangs down, most often with a handle. Pulling that down, unlocks the door and you can then manually life the door up! This worked on mom’s, but my garage doors are taller and I broke one string attempting this. I will have to research this a bit more.
Some things I learned I would like to have, are a battery powered radio, a gas grill ….and on a MUCH larger scale, a generator! We survived the Ice Storm of 2021! I count my blessings that I had the gas fireplaces, that I lived close enough to my mom to be able to get her, and for the hardworking utility workers who braved the hazardous conditions, to return power to so many.
Marada
