Our ‘Carnage’
For those of you experiencing the disaster that has happened in our area you probably won’t care to read… You are experiencing your own trials and tribulations with making it with no power, cable, phone, Internet, HEAT… I am writing this entry so I have it for us. The reason I started this blog was to use it as a journal to keep memories our family has made so we have them for when Carter and our other children are older…
Thursday our area and many others were hit with an awful ice storm. Thursday night we lost cable at about 8:30pm. As Carter and I headed up to bed I grabbed a couple flashlights out of the anticipated power outage that MAY occur. (Craig had his work holiday party and was not home til 12:30 so it was just me, Carter and our dog Pippa.) I planned for Carter to sleep in our bed because when I walked Pippa I noticed a branch covered in ice overhanging the window that was next to Carter’s bed. I was not taking any chances. We also have him sleep with us if it is ever very windy at night… Just in case. As Carter watched VHS movies on the tv I watched a movie on Netflix.com. Every so often we would lose power, hear a loud bang and then the power would return. This happened all night long. We found this to be very annoying because every time the power returned the air cleaner would beep twice, the fish tank filter would turn back on… Just too much noise to sleep through. We also listened to the sounds of what we thought was ice falling off of the roof and trees. By the time morning came we were without power all together. When we looked outside we saw our ‘carnage’. First we saw the backyard, covered in trees that were either snapped in half, lost their limbs or all together could not stand tall anymore. When I stuck my head out the window I could see that our shed did not survive. A couple large branches fell on the roof and crushed the shed. Then we checked out our side yard, where Carter plays. Not too bad. Our self made fence stopping Carter’s balls from rolling into the neighbor’s yard was crushed but fixable. Looking out the front windows proved to be a different story. Our front yard had quite a bit of broken limbs in it, there was a large limb that fell behind the truck and one of our branches was hanging from a power line. We got off easy, look wise. Our neighbor across the street had limbs, smaller trees and quite a mess in his yard. Carter wanted to rush to his room and see the last side of our house. From there we could see our neighbor, (our old house) was covered in trees and branches and had some broken fences. What a mess. Still we had hope that power would be restored. That was until….
Craig planned to work from home Friday anyway to go to my scheduled ultra sound. He did have a concall with someone outside the US and we had no cell signal what so ever. A bar would appear and the second you tried to use it, there it would go, out into the dead zone! So, Craig said he was going to head to our mall to use the Internet at Panera. I said, I want to go. There was no way I was staying behind when we had no power. We all climbed in the truck and ventured out. Craig asked Carter if he wanted to go see all the ‘carnage’. Carter was so excited just to be riding in the truck. He kept saying, oh, carnage. Going out was when we knew, it will be days before we have power restored. It was very eye opening. The first thing we saw was the street behind our house. It was impassable. There was a very large tree branch, possibly the whole tree that had fallen straight across the road. As it fell it took the power lines right off the house across the street from it. Then we headed down a couple more streets, having to squeeze by all the broken limbs and trees that took up most of the road, still covered in a thick sheet of ice. We got to another street where a very large tree fell to the ground and blocked the whole street. We had to turn around. Our goal was to get to route 2. Even in the truck we found that to be a difficult task. Each way we took proved to be blocked by some giant trees/branches and many power lines either on the road or overhanging the road. With all the damage we saw, Craig must have said Ah SNAP at least once because from there on out, every time Carter saw something broken, he would say Ah SNAP! It was so cute.
On our 4th attempt we found a way to the highway. Lots of traffic though. Just before we got on the highway we were able to reach someone on our cell. Alisha, said the mall is closed. There goes that idea. We drove to Target to see if their café might be open, but it wasn’t. Craig went inside to see if they had a vehicle phone charger for his cell… they didn’t.
We headed home. That trip took us probably over 2 hours, when normally would have been a half an hour. When home we had to take all the food out of the fridge and freezer so we did not lose it all. We put it outside hoping it would stay cold enough, but not get so cold we would have frozen fridge stuff. We were home not too long before heading out for my ultrasound appointment. We drove around looking for gas because the truck was on the verge of running out and we did not know how long it would keep driving. We could not find one open gas station. We went to the hospital and were told that they called everyone to cancel appointments. The hospital did not have power and I did not get the message because we do not have working phones. We headed home praying we would not run out of gas. We had no cell service and no nearby gas stations. What would we do, how would we call someone?
We made it home okay. Knowing we would not have power for quite some time Craig worked at getting the gas fireplace up and running. Hoping it was enough to heat the whole house so there was no damage to our pipes and our house was habitable. During the day, I was able to pick up a weak cell signal and after I called all of our family and friends to make sure everyone was okay, I called work. Where I work got rain. No ice, no ‘carnage’, no downed power lines. So, that night we decided to head to kmart out near my work to get supplies. Batteries and flashlights. It was slim pickins. We were also able to fill the car’s gas tank and eat at a restaurant with lights and tv.
Eventually we had to return home. It was not as cold as I expected it to be. The house stayed at around 60’s with the gas fireplace. I was thankful for that. We had cell service back so I was happy enough. We had bright lights to put around the house too. With nothing else to do we headed to bed. We used a laptop to start a movie to help us fall asleep.
Saturday came and still no power, as was expected. Carter could not stop asking to turn on the tv. I kept explaining we had no power because of the storm. He would then tell me the trees were broken. Grammy and Granpa came over for breakfast Saturday morning. They had no power and we were the only ones with a gas stove. We were at least able to heat our home and cook. Craig cooked a feast. Everyone was thankful for a hot meal.
Grammy and Granpa stayed til 11:30. WOOHOO half the day is over. I have never wanted time to pass so quickly, EVER. We needed something to do for the rest of the day. I called Alisha and Scott to see if they wanted to come over for dinner and games. They said sure. So, I got Carter down for his afternoon nap, I did some homework and anticipated having guests at the house again. In the middle of the day Craig got out his radio and put batteries in it. All of a sudden I hear music. I jumped up yelling ‘We have noise’. I was on cloud nine. Carter was too. He ran in the kitchen and jumped up and down and began dancing. He grabbed my hand and demanded I dance too. I love background noise. A lot of the time my tv is on just for the noise. I come from a family with four kids, it is what I grew up with. Since Carter is use to having a tv on for background noise I am sure he was going crazy with all the quiet too.
Our car ran for about 4 hours throughout the day just to charge cell phones, a lap top and Craig’s portable playstation.
I am not sure when Alisha and Scott got here, there are no working clocks and I did check my cell. We started dinner, had dinner, then played a game of Thirteen Skidoo. During dinner Scott and Alisha found out there was power back up at their house. They still stayed to keep us company. I told them they could go home, I would understand. I would want to go home. They stayed. I am thankful they did because it passed the time.
After they left we headed up to bed. It was colder that night. We knew it would be. Temps were dropping in the teens. We already lost a half a gallon of milk that turned frozen solid. By morning we woke to the house at 58 degrees. We were cold but we managed. It is now Sunday, still no power. Craig talked to his grandmother and she said she heard we would not have power til Wednesday or Thursday. Boy did that put me in one bad mood. I am tired from the lack of sleep, I am cranky because I can’t watch tv, I am moody because I am pregnant and I need a shower. I decided to go into the office and take Carter with me so I could get Monday’s hours done. I knew there was no way to log onto work on Monday and I had no one to babysit Carter so I could not go into the office. Thankfully I had enough work to occupy me for 4 hours. I welcomed the lights and heat I got from the office. I also welcomed the noise of Scooby Doo being watched behind me. I brought my laptop so Carter could sit and watch movies. He was so good for being trapped in a small cube for 4 hours. He did get into a lot of my stuff but he was quiet and did not wander. That was all I asked for.
By the time I reached home it was almost 4. Thank goodness. The day was almost over. On our drive home I saw all the ‘carnage’ differently. I saw a place that is the city that our home resides in. I saw the broken trees, the mess, the sorrow in it all. Our city will not look the same. Right now it looks so strange to me. A lot of people are comparing it to war zone. I do not know what a war zone looks like but our area does look bad, horrible. I don’t know what I can compare it to. It is devastating to me. At night you drive around and there are no lights anywhere. I came to the realization that unless you see it with your own eyes, you will not comprehend how much damage there is or how bad it is. I imagine that is the case with areas hit with tsunamis, floods, tornados and wild fires. Sure, we can look at the pictures, watch the video of the damage but until you witness it with your own eyes, it is not “real”. Our surrounding towns that were not hit are going on with their lives. Preparing for Christmas. I don’t blame them, we would be doing the same if we were not one of the ones without power. It is frustrating when driving around you see homes with full power and they have extravagant Christmas lights on outside. It makes you feel like they are saying haha, we have power. Or that they are just wasting their electricity when there are so many that can’t even turn on the bathroom light. I know that is not the case, they are just one of the lucky ones that either did not lose power or they got theirs restored sooner than others. This really has changed my perspective on what other’s go through in a disaster… or even on a daily basis when someone is struggling to pay their heat and electric bills or the homeless. I am not complaining, we at least have heat, a place to stay, a place to go if we needed to leave our home. There are some that have no heat, no place to go but a shelter. I feel for them. I can’t imagine walking in their shoes right now. I do feel fortunate that we have what we do have.
After returning home, we still had night, but Alisha and Scott invited us over for a hot cooked meal in a hot house with lights and cable. Oh and a shower. So, we packed up a bag, ok a suitcase. I was prepared to sleep over if that was what we decided to do. We headed to Alisha and Scott’s. It was nice to sit in front of the fireplace and have some yummy food with family. I was mostly thankful for the lights. After dinner we took our showers and settled at the table for another game of Thirteen Skidoo. Carter was so tired and was crying at the drop of a hat so we decided to head home. Craig insisted it would be warmer tonight. Scott and Alisha lent us lights and an air mattress with a pump in case we decided to spend the night in our living room. They also offered their house to Carter and I for today… Monday. That is why I am able to post this blog entry. I am typing it at home, it is 7 in the morning right now and I have barely any laptop battery left. The plan for today is to pick up the house as best I can. Try to sort and organize laundry since it just keeps piling up. Grab Carter’s clothes out of the washer, they have been sitting since Thursday night and put those in the car to re-wash and then dry at Alisha and Scotts. Grab our printer and my laptop so I can finish my Christmas cards and charge back up the laptop. Grab our frozen food and place it at Grammy and Granpa’s house and Alisha and Scott’s house since they now both have power. Otherwise we will lose a lot of money’s worth of food today. It is supposed to get up to 56 degrees. I know it is currently above freezing because all the ice that was still covering our tree branches last night is now melted. We will probably lose our fridge food at this point. I also need to go get my blood test done for my progesterone. I will have a busy day that will hopefully fly by and before I know it Craig will be home suffering with us. I am hoping to make it to Alisha’s some time this morning and get Carter to nap there. I will have more updates when I go to upload this entry to my blog site… Till then I am shutting down the computer, the battery is almost out.
Update… we lost all of our frozens and now need to cook 3 meals worth of meat! Ugh! Below are some pictures of our neighborhood.
For those of you experiencing the disaster that has happened in our area you probably won’t care to read… You are experiencing your own trials and tribulations with making it with no power, cable, phone, Internet, HEAT… I am writing this entry so I have it for us. The reason I started this blog was to use it as a journal to keep memories our family has made so we have them for when Carter and our other children are older…
Thursday our area and many others were hit with an awful ice storm. Thursday night we lost cable at about 8:30pm. As Carter and I headed up to bed I grabbed a couple flashlights out of the anticipated power outage that MAY occur. (Craig had his work holiday party and was not home til 12:30 so it was just me, Carter and our dog Pippa.) I planned for Carter to sleep in our bed because when I walked Pippa I noticed a branch covered in ice overhanging the window that was next to Carter’s bed. I was not taking any chances. We also have him sleep with us if it is ever very windy at night… Just in case. As Carter watched VHS movies on the tv I watched a movie on Netflix.com. Every so often we would lose power, hear a loud bang and then the power would return. This happened all night long. We found this to be very annoying because every time the power returned the air cleaner would beep twice, the fish tank filter would turn back on… Just too much noise to sleep through. We also listened to the sounds of what we thought was ice falling off of the roof and trees. By the time morning came we were without power all together. When we looked outside we saw our ‘carnage’. First we saw the backyard, covered in trees that were either snapped in half, lost their limbs or all together could not stand tall anymore. When I stuck my head out the window I could see that our shed did not survive. A couple large branches fell on the roof and crushed the shed. Then we checked out our side yard, where Carter plays. Not too bad. Our self made fence stopping Carter’s balls from rolling into the neighbor’s yard was crushed but fixable. Looking out the front windows proved to be a different story. Our front yard had quite a bit of broken limbs in it, there was a large limb that fell behind the truck and one of our branches was hanging from a power line. We got off easy, look wise. Our neighbor across the street had limbs, smaller trees and quite a mess in his yard. Carter wanted to rush to his room and see the last side of our house. From there we could see our neighbor, (our old house) was covered in trees and branches and had some broken fences. What a mess. Still we had hope that power would be restored. That was until….
Craig planned to work from home Friday anyway to go to my scheduled ultra sound. He did have a concall with someone outside the US and we had no cell signal what so ever. A bar would appear and the second you tried to use it, there it would go, out into the dead zone! So, Craig said he was going to head to our mall to use the Internet at Panera. I said, I want to go. There was no way I was staying behind when we had no power. We all climbed in the truck and ventured out. Craig asked Carter if he wanted to go see all the ‘carnage’. Carter was so excited just to be riding in the truck. He kept saying, oh, carnage. Going out was when we knew, it will be days before we have power restored. It was very eye opening. The first thing we saw was the street behind our house. It was impassable. There was a very large tree branch, possibly the whole tree that had fallen straight across the road. As it fell it took the power lines right off the house across the street from it. Then we headed down a couple more streets, having to squeeze by all the broken limbs and trees that took up most of the road, still covered in a thick sheet of ice. We got to another street where a very large tree fell to the ground and blocked the whole street. We had to turn around. Our goal was to get to route 2. Even in the truck we found that to be a difficult task. Each way we took proved to be blocked by some giant trees/branches and many power lines either on the road or overhanging the road. With all the damage we saw, Craig must have said Ah SNAP at least once because from there on out, every time Carter saw something broken, he would say Ah SNAP! It was so cute.
On our 4th attempt we found a way to the highway. Lots of traffic though. Just before we got on the highway we were able to reach someone on our cell. Alisha, said the mall is closed. There goes that idea. We drove to Target to see if their café might be open, but it wasn’t. Craig went inside to see if they had a vehicle phone charger for his cell… they didn’t.
We headed home. That trip took us probably over 2 hours, when normally would have been a half an hour. When home we had to take all the food out of the fridge and freezer so we did not lose it all. We put it outside hoping it would stay cold enough, but not get so cold we would have frozen fridge stuff. We were home not too long before heading out for my ultrasound appointment. We drove around looking for gas because the truck was on the verge of running out and we did not know how long it would keep driving. We could not find one open gas station. We went to the hospital and were told that they called everyone to cancel appointments. The hospital did not have power and I did not get the message because we do not have working phones. We headed home praying we would not run out of gas. We had no cell service and no nearby gas stations. What would we do, how would we call someone?
We made it home okay. Knowing we would not have power for quite some time Craig worked at getting the gas fireplace up and running. Hoping it was enough to heat the whole house so there was no damage to our pipes and our house was habitable. During the day, I was able to pick up a weak cell signal and after I called all of our family and friends to make sure everyone was okay, I called work. Where I work got rain. No ice, no ‘carnage’, no downed power lines. So, that night we decided to head to kmart out near my work to get supplies. Batteries and flashlights. It was slim pickins. We were also able to fill the car’s gas tank and eat at a restaurant with lights and tv.
Eventually we had to return home. It was not as cold as I expected it to be. The house stayed at around 60’s with the gas fireplace. I was thankful for that. We had cell service back so I was happy enough. We had bright lights to put around the house too. With nothing else to do we headed to bed. We used a laptop to start a movie to help us fall asleep.
Saturday came and still no power, as was expected. Carter could not stop asking to turn on the tv. I kept explaining we had no power because of the storm. He would then tell me the trees were broken. Grammy and Granpa came over for breakfast Saturday morning. They had no power and we were the only ones with a gas stove. We were at least able to heat our home and cook. Craig cooked a feast. Everyone was thankful for a hot meal.
Grammy and Granpa stayed til 11:30. WOOHOO half the day is over. I have never wanted time to pass so quickly, EVER. We needed something to do for the rest of the day. I called Alisha and Scott to see if they wanted to come over for dinner and games. They said sure. So, I got Carter down for his afternoon nap, I did some homework and anticipated having guests at the house again. In the middle of the day Craig got out his radio and put batteries in it. All of a sudden I hear music. I jumped up yelling ‘We have noise’. I was on cloud nine. Carter was too. He ran in the kitchen and jumped up and down and began dancing. He grabbed my hand and demanded I dance too. I love background noise. A lot of the time my tv is on just for the noise. I come from a family with four kids, it is what I grew up with. Since Carter is use to having a tv on for background noise I am sure he was going crazy with all the quiet too.
Our car ran for about 4 hours throughout the day just to charge cell phones, a lap top and Craig’s portable playstation.
I am not sure when Alisha and Scott got here, there are no working clocks and I did check my cell. We started dinner, had dinner, then played a game of Thirteen Skidoo. During dinner Scott and Alisha found out there was power back up at their house. They still stayed to keep us company. I told them they could go home, I would understand. I would want to go home. They stayed. I am thankful they did because it passed the time.
After they left we headed up to bed. It was colder that night. We knew it would be. Temps were dropping in the teens. We already lost a half a gallon of milk that turned frozen solid. By morning we woke to the house at 58 degrees. We were cold but we managed. It is now Sunday, still no power. Craig talked to his grandmother and she said she heard we would not have power til Wednesday or Thursday. Boy did that put me in one bad mood. I am tired from the lack of sleep, I am cranky because I can’t watch tv, I am moody because I am pregnant and I need a shower. I decided to go into the office and take Carter with me so I could get Monday’s hours done. I knew there was no way to log onto work on Monday and I had no one to babysit Carter so I could not go into the office. Thankfully I had enough work to occupy me for 4 hours. I welcomed the lights and heat I got from the office. I also welcomed the noise of Scooby Doo being watched behind me. I brought my laptop so Carter could sit and watch movies. He was so good for being trapped in a small cube for 4 hours. He did get into a lot of my stuff but he was quiet and did not wander. That was all I asked for.
By the time I reached home it was almost 4. Thank goodness. The day was almost over. On our drive home I saw all the ‘carnage’ differently. I saw a place that is the city that our home resides in. I saw the broken trees, the mess, the sorrow in it all. Our city will not look the same. Right now it looks so strange to me. A lot of people are comparing it to war zone. I do not know what a war zone looks like but our area does look bad, horrible. I don’t know what I can compare it to. It is devastating to me. At night you drive around and there are no lights anywhere. I came to the realization that unless you see it with your own eyes, you will not comprehend how much damage there is or how bad it is. I imagine that is the case with areas hit with tsunamis, floods, tornados and wild fires. Sure, we can look at the pictures, watch the video of the damage but until you witness it with your own eyes, it is not “real”. Our surrounding towns that were not hit are going on with their lives. Preparing for Christmas. I don’t blame them, we would be doing the same if we were not one of the ones without power. It is frustrating when driving around you see homes with full power and they have extravagant Christmas lights on outside. It makes you feel like they are saying haha, we have power. Or that they are just wasting their electricity when there are so many that can’t even turn on the bathroom light. I know that is not the case, they are just one of the lucky ones that either did not lose power or they got theirs restored sooner than others. This really has changed my perspective on what other’s go through in a disaster… or even on a daily basis when someone is struggling to pay their heat and electric bills or the homeless. I am not complaining, we at least have heat, a place to stay, a place to go if we needed to leave our home. There are some that have no heat, no place to go but a shelter. I feel for them. I can’t imagine walking in their shoes right now. I do feel fortunate that we have what we do have.
After returning home, we still had night, but Alisha and Scott invited us over for a hot cooked meal in a hot house with lights and cable. Oh and a shower. So, we packed up a bag, ok a suitcase. I was prepared to sleep over if that was what we decided to do. We headed to Alisha and Scott’s. It was nice to sit in front of the fireplace and have some yummy food with family. I was mostly thankful for the lights. After dinner we took our showers and settled at the table for another game of Thirteen Skidoo. Carter was so tired and was crying at the drop of a hat so we decided to head home. Craig insisted it would be warmer tonight. Scott and Alisha lent us lights and an air mattress with a pump in case we decided to spend the night in our living room. They also offered their house to Carter and I for today… Monday. That is why I am able to post this blog entry. I am typing it at home, it is 7 in the morning right now and I have barely any laptop battery left. The plan for today is to pick up the house as best I can. Try to sort and organize laundry since it just keeps piling up. Grab Carter’s clothes out of the washer, they have been sitting since Thursday night and put those in the car to re-wash and then dry at Alisha and Scotts. Grab our printer and my laptop so I can finish my Christmas cards and charge back up the laptop. Grab our frozen food and place it at Grammy and Granpa’s house and Alisha and Scott’s house since they now both have power. Otherwise we will lose a lot of money’s worth of food today. It is supposed to get up to 56 degrees. I know it is currently above freezing because all the ice that was still covering our tree branches last night is now melted. We will probably lose our fridge food at this point. I also need to go get my blood test done for my progesterone. I will have a busy day that will hopefully fly by and before I know it Craig will be home suffering with us. I am hoping to make it to Alisha’s some time this morning and get Carter to nap there. I will have more updates when I go to upload this entry to my blog site… Till then I am shutting down the computer, the battery is almost out.
Update… we lost all of our frozens and now need to cook 3 meals worth of meat! Ugh! Below are some pictures of our neighborhood.
More of our backyard
Our crushed shed
Our crushed shed
Our backyard
Neighbors back yard
Our crushed shed
Neighbors house
Our backyard
Neighbors back yard
Our crushed shed
Neighbors house
Our front yard
A street that leads to our house.
Another street that leads to our house
on our way home. This was completely blocked 
on Friday a truck was crashed into the trees too.
Near our house
A street that leads to our house.
Another street that leads to our house on our way home. This was completely blocked on Friday a truck was crashed into the trees too.
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