Hi Friends,
I feel like I’m finally coming up for air from the hellish week we’ve had. First, let me start of by saying thank you so much for the messages checking in on me.
I had Monday off and spent a nice day hanging out but I could tell the weather was getting worse and the news was reporting the potential for rolling blackouts. At 5:37 pm we lost power and there was no rolling blackout in my area. It was just gone. We have a gas stove so at least we could ignite our stove for a bit of warm food and drink but we went to bed that night worried and hoping for the best.
Unfortunately Tuesday was more of the same. We were layered up and could barely move but could not get warm. I was super worried about my mom of course and while we could have gone to a warming center, the roads weren’t clear and we were also concerned about COVID.
Wednesday we woke up and still no power and by the afternoon I noticed our water flow was diminishing. Luckily we started collecting water in our bathtub and other containers. We had to get in our cars to charge up our phones (and that was actually a way to get warm!) but going to any store to look for any extra supplies was a wasted trip as store shelves were empty.
I stayed up late talking to my mom and trying to calm her fears and just as I was getting settled into bed, we heard our house alarm beep and my husband and I jumped out of bed. Our power was back! We finally saw the thermostat and it was 46 degrees in our house.
I tell you, I was almost in tears. We were ecstatic to have power and we could finally warm up our house. Thursday morning though we woke up to no flowing water and we haven’t had any since then and we are fortunate because I know there are other families who’ve been without power or water even longer, have experienced broken pipes, have no food and worst of all we are hearing stories about people losing family members to hypothermia.
I won’t even go into our “leaders” and their lack of accountability and action on this crisis. I say thank you to so many volunteers and good samaritans in our state who’ve really done more than them. While this weather event may have been unusual, I know I’ve had a good lesson on preparedness but I certainly hope our leaders come up with better solutions rather than just a blame game. And, while no we don’t have winters like these in central Texas, our summers can be brutal and what if the grid goes down then? Or what about the next hurricane?
It’s been crazy here but I hope soon this will be behind us. I promise to be back with regular book blog posts and blog visiting soon!
I’m so glad you and your family are safe, Iliana! We are realizing we aren’t exempt from the problems of frigid weather. I’m so thankful that our electric grid has been able to handle most problems, but Texas is an example of what extreme weather can cost in lives and in economic devastation. I’m happy that your power is back and hope water returns soon. It has truly been a dystopian landscape, and I’m pretty sure I’m not ready for living in one. When I look at the pandemic, the fires, floods, hurricanes, and now, frigid temps in the South, I suddenly understand the “prepper” outlook of trying to be prepared for the unexpected.
Iliana, glad to hear an update from your part of our Central Texas area. It was definitely scary wasn’t it? We also were without power and though we didn’t lose water completely, only a trickle was there. Things are mostly back to normal and the boil notice in our area was lifted. Had minor damage to a few things and had lost a bunch of tree limbs to the ice and snow. We have a propane tank and are not out of fuel, but some in our area have run out. Hoping the propane suppliers will get around to all of us eventually though I know we can wait for a bit especially with the warmer weather. Yesterday’s high seems crazy compared to just a few days before. I feel like we learned some things and will make some adjustments in how we prepare for emergencies. We’re a lot more used to storms and hurricane stuff and tornadoes, right? Take care and hope life will be more calm this week.
What an awful week! I’m not sure where you are in TX, but my nephew and his girlfriend in Austin were without power for 3 days and, as of yesterday, still had no water. Glad things are looking up for you… I know it will take some time to get back to normal. Take care!
I’ve been so worried about you, Kay, Trish and Deb and am glad for this update. I can only imagine how scary it would be to be without power/heat and water and how worried you would be about your mom. Thank goodness you live with her! What an unbelievable week for Texans! I know this isn’t normal, but I’m afraid it may not be the last time you have to deal with this sort of thing. I know I need to do a better job about having a good supply of drinking water, as well as fire wood (which we usually have plenty of) and fuel for our generators. We also need to test/run those periodically. So, 2021 is in competition with 2021? Enough already, right?? Sending good thoughts your way, Iliana. Please let us know if you need anything!
Oops. I meant 2021 is in competition with 2020.
I’m so glad you survived that harrowing power outtage! Not having electricity, and then losing water…what a nightmare. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again. Ever!
I’m slow with blog hopping but knew about the bad weather condition and all through your IG. I’m glad the power is back and I’m hoping that there’s water by now? Sending good thoughts your way and please stay warm and safe, Iliana!
Oh, goodness! I didn’t know you were in TX. Good to know things are on the mend. My family’s in Dallas, and they were hit pretty bad too — same problems as you described. But power came back, they got an electric kettle (because water still frozen), and a breath of relief for everyone. Stay strong, you’ve made it through. <3
I’m so glad that you and yours have had such, relatively, good fortune in all of this. There’s only been one storm that I’ve lived through that had that kind of impact and it was alarming indeed. Something that I found eye-opening about the news recently, is the fact that the state’s leadership seems so proud of the independent spirit that keeps Texas separate and off-the-grid, so that there’s no possibility of establishing alternate sources of power for the residents from out-of-state. I don’t know if the polarization is equally acute in Texas, politically, but I’m assuming that it’s not that much different from the rest of the country, with about half of the people thinking a right-wing solution (i.e. more of the same, more independence without a social infrastructure) is grand and the other half thinking NO thank you to that (i.e. public services should be public, in a left-wing way of thinking). Even though I’ve seen glimmers of this stance previously, I didn’t properly understand how systemic that mindset is, how at-risk so many people’s lives are, under that kind of “leadership”. Scary!
I’ve been following the Texas blackouts closely. We have many friends in the area and they’ve all had similar experiences. Some were luckier, sure, with rolling blackouts, but others were camped out in community centers for many days,. I applaud you for managing through but it’s not the kind of experience anyone should have. Leaders need to step up or open their doors – I’m sure many of them were in cozier circumstances or flying to Cancun, if not.
Years ago, we had something similar when I was still in Virginia – complete blackout for a week in the middle of summer. Our dog just couldn’t take the heat and was panting like crazy, so we decided to stay with a friend in another state while we waited this out. So our experience was nothing like yours but you’re right that we learn so much about how to prepare. I hope you have been able to get good mental and physical rest last week.
It sounds like such a nightmare, Iliana. I hope everything has returned to normal more or less for you. One of my friends who lost power and water came back to busted pipes. It was such a mess for her. I’m sure for everyone. My cousin and his family had just moved to to Texas a month or so ago and thought they had left that weather behind in Washington. I think they fared okay through it all thankfully.
I hope the summer won’t see similar issues with the power. Rolling blackouts seem to be common in California now, but at least those are really just rolling blackouts. So far. I can’t imagine having to go through what you all in Texas went through.