one of hardship and bitter cold! The television show did not portray the brutal life they led whilst living in the 'Dakotas', and although we are far from their life, I had a brief interlude into what things were like, albeit from the comfort of an already well equipped home, and a modicum of supplies. We are safe, we are warm, we are well, and we have water.
After not risking a trip out last Saturday night, Sunday brought in a cold front that was beyond anything I remembered. The temperature dropped, and dropped again. By Sunday evening, it was almost impossible to walk around the complex, as the ice on the surface of the roads was quite thick, and very slick. Again, we chose not to venture out. The predicted temperature was supposed to be 9 Fahrenheit, which is -12.77 Celsius. The difference between -12 and -13 was really not relevant. It was biting! At 2:37 Monday morning, our power went out. Dana received a text to say that we were in a 'rolling blackout' and it should last no longer than 40 minutes. After an hour, we began to wonder.
Monday morning the ground was covered in about six inches, or more of snow. It was very fine and there was no way to make a snowman, but that was the last thing on my mind, as we had not heat inside the condo. However, as resourceful as ever, I tried to find ways of making coffee. A small burner used to cook meringues did not suffice, but it did melt the instant granules enough to have a cold brew! Neighbours texted and called, but everyone was in the same boat. The temperatures rose to fifteen during the day, but after 2pm, they started to drop again. Samantha called to say that her flight had been cancelled, and they were not able to get another one until Thursday. Three more days with the dogs was not my idea of fun! I was starting to panic.
to keep moving, not only to stay warm, but to occupy my mind. I wandered around the house, moving things from one place to another, under the guise of cleaning, but did not accomplish much. The smaller dog wanted to go out, and was quite happy to leap into the snow, until he realised he was stuck in a ditch out of which he could not get! The larger of the two quadrupeds did not want to venture past the threshold, which was understandable. Our phone batteries were dying and we had one battery charger, which thankfully was fully charged, but we knew would not last forever! Laura Ingalls had no such device with which to communicate. She was out in a shack in the middle of nowhere when the winters hit, and did not have supplies of Marks and Spencer jumpers, or JC Penny jackets. Clothes were worn and then worn out. My hoarding helped a lot! By Monday evening I wore a pair of jeans, over a pair of jogging bottoms over a pair of tights, two pairs of socks, a t-shirt, jumper, hooded cardigan, jacket, scarf and hat. That was inside my house! When I went out, I added another couple of layers. My neighbour from across the street brought us a flask of hot water so that we could make tea. I accepted with gratitude, but had to get to grips with the situation. After all, I was a girl guide, and I camped outside, in primitive conditions. If I could make a chair out of some wood and a ball of string, (something at which I was rather good when I was in my teens,) then I could survive a night of cold and no electricity! I had a barbecue grill outside, and a gas canister. There were fallen branches behind my house, so I gathered some wood for the future. This was not going to beat me. I grilled burgers, and we ate a hot meal. We were in bed by 7:30pm, and were very grateful for the dogs!
Ice appeared on the inside of my windows, and although I had used masking tape to seal the openings, and put up sheets to insulate, it was still very, very cold. The temperatures dropped to 7 Fahrenheit and the ice reappeared on the windows. (I had been sponging them dry as the sun was melting it during the previous day.) Thankfully, my old neighbours never came by to retrieve their grill and chimenea, and I rethought my camping days. Tuesday morning I took a brown paper bag, tore it, screwed up the paper into balls, and set them in the bottom, with some twigs on top. I lit the paper and stood back. Pretty soon I had a fire going. I then lit the grill, and boiled some water. Although very cold, my patio was warmer than inside the house! I presented Dana with a very hot cup of coffee, and asked him if he wanted a sandwich, as I had brought extra bread, just in case!
The two blocks opposite had been virtually abandoned. Most had gone to family or friends, and one was at an annual hospital visit. Only three units were occupied. My two immediate neighbours were not home, but the young couple at the end of my block were home. I would check on them later. I knew the Chairman of our board was walking around, checking where he could. This was my opportunity to do 'boardy' things and do something constructive, earning my place on the board, much as I was somewhat coerced on!
The sun was shining, and it was warmer outside than it was inside. I saw the elderly couple across the street, sitting on chairs outside their garage. The had found a hotel at which to stay, found someone with a truck to take them (as cars would not make it in or out) and loaded all their essentials into said truck on Monday night, after calling twice to make sure the hotel was open, only to find its doors closed when they arrived. He relies on a nebulizer to breath. The local fire brigade had told their daughter, who thankfully lives with them, to contact them directly if they needed help, and they would take him to a hospital, but whilst the equipment was functioning, they wanted to stay put! I walked, slowly, down the hill, and greeted them. "You could make a fortune selling lemonade!" I told them as I reached their unit. The young couple from the end of my block were there too. We all sat down and enjoyed the sun, swapping stories of previous disasters that we had encountered. A couple came marching up the road, having been to the grocery store, and announced that the news had just reported that the power plant was not going to continue with the 'roll over blackouts', but anyone without electricity would remain without, and anyone with, would remain with. We were astonished. It was approaching 36 hours that we had been without power. When would it be restored. The woman shrugged her shoulders and said, "I thought y'all would rather know than not", and continued on her way. We sighed in unison. Suddenly, the young guy shot up from his seat. "The light. It's on!" We all turned. "The garage light. Look!" Sure enough, the garage light was shining. Patricia, the daughter of the elderly couple, ran inside. "It's on!" she shrieked. "The power is on!" I ran, slipped, ran and slipped back up the hill. I switched on the outside light. "It's on!" I shouted to Dana, who was inside his car, trying to recharge his battery, and keeping the dogs warm. The excitement was contagious. However, we were all aware that there was going to be a great deal of pressure on our 'grid' so we continued to conserve energy. We kept lights off, where possible, and although I put a load of washing on, before thinking, I did not turn on the dryer. I texted one of my neighbours, who was at her daughter's, to say we had power, but she did not respond.
I got up Wednesday morning feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, although we still had the dogs. Samantha had thought she could get a flight out on Thursday, but apparently there was only one seat. It would be Friday before she could get to us. We could still not drive anywhere, as the slope at the side of our house was thick ice, and the entrance to our complex was impassable. There was a car that had slid into our entrance, and was stuck there. I made coffee, and Dana and I sat downstairs, and turned on the lamp by the sofa, just to feel normal! I received a call from the husband of my neighbour whom I had texted, to ask if we had power. I told him that we did, and he said that their phones had not been recharged so they did not get my message. They were on their way home.
"Do you have power?" read the message from Mike, our Chairman. "Yes", I replied. "Don't you?" I saw him outside the window. He came around to the back of our condo. It appeared that their junction box must have blown and four hours after connection, theirs had gone off again. I was quite devastated. He went home to get his phones and chargers. I went across the street and asked my elderly neighbour if she needed anything, but she declined. A while later Mike came back with flasks, and asked for hot water. I had already decided not to do as I was told, and was making shepherds pies for the three occupied units that were without power. Once the water was ready, Mike took it across, and I followed with the pies. "You are a doll!" cried my elderly neighbour. I made her promise to ask if she needed anything charged, or anymore hot water. I knew she would not! I offered my lounge as a refuge, but they did not want to leave their condo. Their next door neighbour was coming out of her unit. She said her phone was almost out of power. I gave her some pie, Mike gave her some water, and she followed me home to pick up a small charger that I had charged the previous day, for emergencies. She refused to charge her phone in my house, and didn't want to warm up! Oh well! I offered. A little while later, we saw a fire truck drive up to her house. Mike called out from our balcony. "Are you here for Bob?" he asked. It appeared the lady to whom I had given the charger had called 911 and asked for a ride to a friend. I guess to her it was an emergency, and they had gladly obliged. In a crises, all pull together! I was told that the neighbour who called me had come home, found out his power was not on, and had left again. I would speak to them later to explain!
My neighbour who was in Dallas had asked if I would check on her house, and I gladly did so. She told me her door code, as it was an electronic keypad, and I asked how to close it. "Just press the lock symbol", she said. However, she did not tell me to press the lock symbol after putting in the code. I spent about five minutes trying to get the door to open. Thoughts of burst pipes gushing out water that was freezing up against the door came to mind. I was going to call for help, after the second body slam up against the door, (sorry!) but common sense prevailed, and I punched the code again followed by the lock symbol. It opened. I wondered if they were watching me through their camera from afar! If they were, I am sure they were laughing! Perhaps they were not as they could have communicated to me my error! Everything was fine, and I dripped their taps so to prevent a leak.
Samantha sent me a message that made me a little optimistic. They had managed to check in for their flight on Friday. I was hesitant to celebrate too early, as there was a freeze due, again, during the night. However, the temperature did reach freezing, and that, surprisingly enough, made an enormous difference. Then the snow started to fall again. I looked out of the window and just stared. Snow on top of the ice, on top of the snow on top of the ice! There were large ice blocks under which could be seen water flowing, looking like tadpoles! It was quite fascinating, but I wished it was somewhere else! The snow did stop, mid-afternoon. Patricia came across and charged her father's nebulizer. She also heated up some food, and took some hot water back with her. I offered my front room, again.
A little after ten, I heard some 'beeping' and crunching, followed by some scaping and more crunching. Flashing lights could be seen from the window and I wondered if we were finally going to get some of the snow moved from the hill.
Thursday night's temperatures did not drop as much as we had feared, and Friday got warmer. The sun came out and the temperatures rose to above 40. A little after nine, Patricia came with some bagels to toast, and was delighted that she had managed to get a hotel room. It was downtown, and apparently they had power. They would leave as soon as they could, but she could not get an early check in! I went for a walk and saw Raul, and another neighbour with shovels. That was my cue! I needed to exert some energy. At midday, Samantha called to say she was on the plane. My happy dance was unreserved. As long as she made it back to Texas, I would be delighted. They had a three hour layover in Dallas, and I had been checking the temperatures there, and the weather situation. However, all seemed to be good, and the airports open. I emerged from my unit with shovel in hand, and started to crack at the ice, which was slowly getting weaker due to the sun, and rising heat. Ten degrees above freezing and the snow seemed to surrender, albeit with a little resistance. Snow plows were clearing the hill, and grit was being poured out onto the road. I shoveled and swept and managed to clear a pathway down the hill. I was doing it for two reasons. Number one was so that Dana could possibly get down the hill, and go to the office, and number two so that Samantha could get up the hill and take her dogs! We had said that if we had not had the dogs, we may have ventured to the office, crossing the main road, and walking through the neighbourhood opposite, which would have been better than climbing through the woods at the top of our complex. The dogs were too small to walk, and it would have been a mistake to carry them such a distance in case we slipped!
On checking my neighbours condo, I heard a strange tapping. I was on the bottom level of three, and the floor looked damp. I felt it but it was merely the glaze on the tile. Again, I heard the drip. I stood still and it stopped. I walked back into the bathroom and there it was again. A comedy of errors indeed it was. It took several times of going back and forth to realise that it was the cord to my 'hoodie' hitting against a metal button, that caused a sound like a drip. When I stood still, so did the cord!
Friday night was going to go down in the mid twenties but thankfully, Samantha's plane landed in Austin, and whilst she sent me a picture of the snow at the airport, and a frozen bottle of water in her truck, she made it here without a problem. The dogs were almost as delighted to see her as I was to get rid!
A little after ten, I saw some flashing lights and an EMS truck outside my elderly neighbours. They were looking in their patio, and walking up to the front door. I wondered if I should tell them that no one was home, but Dana said not to. Yes, I was being nosey! Suddenly there was a third man, not in a yellow jacket, but there were more flashing lights. I stepped back from the window. Pounding on my front door was not to be ignored, so I went down and opened it, to find a police officer on my step. "Excuse me, ma'am", he said, politely, and asked if I knew the elderly couple that lived across the way. I told him I did, and he asked when was the last time I saw them. I responded that it was during the afternoon, just before their daughter took them to a hotel. He said that a neighbour had called, concerned that she had not seen them for a while, and demanded forced entry. I was quite shocked. He was reluctant to make such an entry. I told him that anyone who was nearby would have seen them outside during the day, and obviously there would be no sign of life if all the lights were out due to the lack of power! He thanked me very much, and all the flashing lights left the area. I slept for the first time in a week!
Saturday morning was bright, and somewhat warm. We went to the warehouses, and were able to get what we needed. We avoided Walmart as there would have been long queues. Some people were still without water, and the essentials were going quickly with panic buying. As the problem was with distribution rather than supply, I did not have a concern. After making a couple of stops, we arrived at the office with some supplies for the following week. Grant and Dana were working. I had watched Dana go down the hill in the morning, and waited until he had got out of the complex before heading back inside. Samantha brought me home, and we saw Mike who was smiling brightly. The power was back on! The man had spent less than fifteen minutes at the junction box, and restored their electricity with ease. Apparently, although the customer service centre were reassuring everyone that all was well, they were just placating, and there was no communication between the workers and the call centre. A lot of revamping of a lot of things will need to take place! Everyone was smiling. Everyone started to arrive home. It was like a movie where all the residents had been forced out of their homes, and were returning after a hurricane or some such disaster. We had survived! To some it may not have seemed such an ordeal as many of the northern states suffer far worse, but we were ill equipped. Laura would have coped far better than I ever could!
After making several snowmen, on the ledge of my front porch, Matnee went home!
Dana took me out for dinner later Saturday evening. Grant joined us. He was glad to be back at work, and would have gladly worked Sunday if Dana had said he was going to the office!
Sunday started with a walk. I saw my elderly neighbour on the hill and we chatted for a while. I saw another neighbour along the way and we talked for a bit. I came in, had breakfast, went for another walk, and then continued with my day. Just before two I did what I always do on a nice, sunny Sunday afternoon, and took my book, poolside. There was still a modicum of snow around, but the temperatures were rising to mid 70's and it was glorious. I read for an hour before coming back to clear up a few things. My schedule had been wrecked this week, but somehow it didn't phase me. I was unaware of the days, for the most part, apart from Friday, as I was waiting for respite!
Our little community worked together and we managed to pull through. I could not praise our 'leader and chief', the chairman of the board, enough. He had refused to leave his unit to go to a friend until all those without power were out of the complex and in a safe place. Above and beyond the call of duty!
I have met some new neighbours and got to know some old neighbours better. It was a tough week, but I think we have come out the better for it, knowing our weaknesses. The mother of the girl two doors away said how grateful she was that the kids had found such a wonderful community in which to live. The young girl said that sitting outside on deck chairs on Tuesday afternoon had taken away some of the angst she had during the black out. I was glad.
Tonight, I am not sure what we are going to do. We may go and get some supper, we may stay in. All I know is that tomorrow is going to be warm, and by the end of the week I may need a sweater, but it will not be too cold. A couple of nights might dip into the low thirties, but they will rebound. I am going to have to think long and hard next week to beat this adventure in ............ another story!
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