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Posts: 1,277We were one of the unlucky people to lose their power during the nasty winter storm last week. I think there were about 500,000 people total to lose power. All of my family were affected, but not nearly as long as we were. It started last Thursday with freezing rain and finally the tree branches were so heavy with ice that they couldn't take it any longer. Thursday night we started hearing cracking noises and then crashes as the branches broke and fell to the ground. It was pretty scary especially for my little girl. 
Just after midnight, a really huge branch fell onto the power lines connected to our house. All of the electrical service was ripped from the side of our house leaving us in the dark. We would need to have an electrician to come to repairs, but they couldn't begin their work until the downed lined were removed from our yard and disconnected. Finally on Wednesday morning, the power company came to disconnect the line. The electrician showed up on Thursday and did the repairs. Then we had to wait for the power company to come back. They finally showed up Friday afternoon. They spent an hour working and then left...but we still didn't have power! We called and on their computers it showed the job was completed and the power had been restored. I'm not sure what happened there, but they finally came back and at about 9 p.m. last night we had power!
We spent the first 2 days pretty much snuggling in bed because it was so cold. There was nowhere to go. Everyone we knew had lost power too. On day three, our neighbors offered to let us hook up to their outside outlets. So we got our furnace running again, two lamps and a 7-inch TV, with only 2 channels as we lost our cable too! And that's how we've lived the past week. Flash lights and candles. I have to say it was pretty miserable!
We ended up losing our big TV and DVD/VHS player. There were also damages to the gutters and siding, but we have to wait until Dec. 18 for the insurance adjustor to show up and assess all the damages before we can get replacements and do the other home repairs. We're thankful that we didn't lose any major appliances as it more of a pain to replace. And I missed the submission deadline for the Facebook.
So now I'm finally back to civilization and I've missed so much here that I'll never get caught up!
Sandi,
So glad to hear you and your family are safe and warm. My daughter lives in Glen Carbon and they were without power for 6 days from Friday through Thursday. There was no electricity in their subdivision. They were lucky to find a room at the Hampton Inn in Collinsville .... so they are looking into an alternative heating which does not require electricity. They could have installed a good system for what the Hampton bill totaled. But at least they had a warm place to sleep and the kids did enjoy the swimming pool.
Hope you get all your repairs done in good time.
Hugs,
Wanda
So glad that you have the power back on Sandi - that is terrible that you were without it for so long.
I hope that you get the insurance sorted and everything back working again.
Hugs
Carolyn
Delartful BearsHi Sandi,
Oh I am so terribly sorry!! I haven't really been without power apart from a few years ago in the Canberra (Australia) bush fires, we lost it for about 3 days... It was horrible. So, I can't imagine how you did without for 8 days! Amazing.
Sorry to hear you missed the face book - let's hope it's a success and they do it again next year!
Danni
I was without power once for three days and it felt like living in the dark ages -- literally and figuratively! I sympathize with you and am so glad your power is back on! Keep warm!
Patsy Lake BearsSandi I am glad to hear that you have been restored to power again..
Posts: 8,574having grown up in an area where if an angel sneezed you were out of power I do so understand....and am incredably paranoid about it. Our well is solar powered with battery backup and the hubs gave me a big ol 'Honda generator
NOTHING SAYS I LOVE YOU LIKE A GENERATOR IN A POWER FAILURE- :crackup:
water, lights, Ice for the peach tea and double schnapps, indoor plumbing,
Its the little things in life 
I am so glad you are back up and going again. I bet you aren't the only one to miss the deadline-have you sent Mindy an email?
I would
I'm pushy
You can be pushy too- we all give you permission to at least ask
Nothing ventured nothing gained hon, and it is all part of promoating yourself!
gollyhugs
dilly
DoodlebearsOh boy, and I've moaned over a four hour loss of power. I'm glad your back in the real world Sandi, it must have been so cold for all of you. It just shows how we rely on electricity doesn't it!
Enjoy the warmth and do try and contact Mindy, I'm sure she will understand.
Hugs Jane.
Bears by JodiMy goodness we lost power some last year and not for very long , thats sounds terrible. Sorry you had to go through that.Glad things are looking up for you. Will your home owners cover the tv loss and out side damage? Sure hope so.Hang in there !! Winter can be wicked... it scares me some time. Ohio is not usually to bad but every once in a while we get an ice storm and those things happen to us also.Not looking forward to it.
Posts: 1,277I truly did feel like we were living in the dark ages! And dark comes so early now, about 5:00 p.m. I think the most frustrating part was seeing all our neighbors lights on! We were the only ones on our block to lose power. I think there were a total of 4,500 in our town. We were literally the last house in town to get power back on! It was a real treat to go to Walmart or dine in at a fast food joint!
Our losses will be covered by the insurance, but since the rest of the damages aren't crucial we have to wait for the adjustor to come. She can't get here til the 18th because they are so swamped.
Wanda, I'm sorry your daughter had to go through this too. I'm happy they found a vacant room and how nice for the kids to be able to swim in the wintertime!
Posts: 3,540Its amazing how much we rely on electricity...and just how much gets lost when its gone. Glad to hear you're back in the land of warmth and light :hug:
Newcastle, OntarioSandi,
I really sympathize with you - we were in the ice storm of 1998, that swept across Eastern Canada and U.S. and were without power for 11 days in the coldest days of January. We were actually lucky as we had a gas water heater and gas fireplace that was able to heat our house. It was a luxury to be able to take a hot shower.
We are looking into getting a gas fireplace in our new house, as it's wonderful to have a back up plan at least for heat. We kept all of our frozen food buried in the snow banks and ate as much as we could. We got together with neighbours and had "community meals", cooked on barbecues and camp stoves and we had wall to wall sleeping bags in our house, as we were one of the few that had heat. The experience taught us to be resourceful and we learned a lot and played a lot of board games by candlelight.
I felt terrible for a few families that had their houses burn down, while trying to use fireplaces that were old or not maintained properly -there were seveal deaths. I also felt badly for the farmers - some of the Mennonite farmers helped the other farmers learn to do things manually. The most possitive things was seeing everyone pull together. We didn't have any damages to our house though - I'm glad you will get insurance money to cover your losses, and I'm sure you are delighted with you new found electricity!
hugs,
Brenda
Posts: 1,277We fortunately do have a gas hot water heater so I was able to take hot showers. Before we had the furnace going, I had my daughter sit and play in the bathroom while I was taking a shower so she could warm up a little. 
Kingfisher Farm Teddies and Folk ArtSandy I live in the Decatur area, very hard hit! 3 yrs ago on Thanksgiving of all days, I was about to put the potatoes on to boil, and POOF! out went our power. We were out then several days. My husband had a belly full of that, so he bought a generator. 3 yrs later it came in handy!! We lost a lot of old fruit trees. I am going to miss the heirloom apple tree that had little yellow and red apples.....sigh........We have a gas stove, but no gas water heater, but we are rethinking that!!! It came at a bad time, since I had just updated my website to coincide with the article about me in Teddy Bear and Friends. Luckily I was able to use a yahoo mail account to contact people; next time I need to learn how to access email offsite. I missed our internet most of all! We had no serious damage, but the trees will be gone forever.........but I plan on planting a new apple tree, and a cherry........I had to go to the Y to take showers. But we are warm and connected now. Pam www.kingfisherfarm.net
Apple Dumpling DesignsAs much as I love country living, I will admit that not having power is a HUGE inconvience in my book. I whine and complain when it's out for a few HOURS and can't imagine DAYS. We also have a well so that means NO water too so when there is no electricity there's no water no nothin'.
Bless you...so glad to hear you survived in one piece. Hugs!!
Cleathero CreationsI can't imagine days either. That would be scary. I spose we would survive cooking on the BBq but man who wants to do that when its freezing.
Glad its back on for you!
Past Time Bears
Thank goodness!!!!
Chaska, MinnesotaOh Sandi: what a nightmare for you and your little girl. I worry about my parents in that God forsaken state called Florida. It is the hurricanes I worry about. I wonder what would happen if they too lost power. They are elderly and the heat and oh I can't imagine, the unspeakable --looting....But at least for you and your family, you are back with power. Thank goodness your neighbor was kind to you.
Michelle
Posts: 1,277Pam, I'm sorry to hear about your tree loss. It's terribly sad, isn't it? We'll probably cut down our tree as there's not much left. I imagine I'd be a lot sadder if they were fruit trees. I'm glad to hear you're safe and warm now. :hug:
Michelle, I can't blame you for worrying about your parents safety down there. I'm thankful most of my family is very close to me...very easy to keep tabs on them.
