Ice Storm March 2014

As of 10pm last night there were over 300,000 homes still without power in my corner of North Carolina.

Mine is one of them!

One of the roads that leads from my house toward High Point (Where that 39,967 is in the center of the pink area in this map) has huge trees that have fallen due to the ice and taken down power lines with them as they fell –the power lines are down on the road.

Last evening when I asked if any crews had started into working on them yet, the answer was no – that there were no power and utility trucks to be seen in that area yet, they are all working elsewhere.

We've lost several trees in our front yard, namely two tall pines that bowed impossibly far over due to the weight of the ice and they finally gave way, one after the other, with ear splitting cracks and booming thuds as they fell to the snow covered ground.

This morning they lay in frozen heaps ---destined to become next year’s fire wood.

The Hubster shoving 6 inches of snow-cone like slush.

The thickness of the ice on this bush adds incredible weight.  no wonder trees are falling!

This morning we have sunlight and hopefully temps will get into the 50s and start to melt the slush that has now frozen solid due to low overnight temps in the 20s.

We kept warm and busy as best as we could yesterday ---Quilters are a resourceful lot, I like to say – and we proved it!

We hand-cranked by the light of kerosene lamps!

I treadled to keep my feet warm!

The one thing we agreed that we missed most was an IRON.  And more light.  When you can’t see to thread the machine needle, or a hand sewing needle –it makes you wonder how they did it, those quilters of long-ago. We missed the convenience of electric irons to press as we sewed…using our fingers to do the job for us…or little wooden pressing tools.  It was okay, but it was not the same.

The fire place is glowing with warmth, mostly to the living room area ---but it’s flat-fronted, so there is no where to even heat up an old fashioned sad iron.  Now THAT is sad!

Once twilight fell ---we did what all homesteaders without power do.  We piled into the pick up to charge our cell phones as we drove to town to get Mexican food! :cD

And we realized that when it is indeed too dark to try to sew any longer – shirts can be cut up by the warmth of the wood stove.

Tonya cutting shirts apart in the last light of the afternoon. 

All it takes is one pair of sharp scissors each, and we could talk and talk and laugh while we de-boned shirts until bed time.

Photo taken with flash this morning because the room is too dark to take it without.  I hate flash!  But look at these shirt parts all ready to be used as fabric in future quilts!

As soon as we can get Tonya’s car up the frozen driveway incline, she’ll be on her way to the warmth of Augusta, Georgia where she can spend some time with our friend Siobhan.

Since Sunday evening is our projected “power may be on by” time ---I may be packing up the van and heading to the cabin where I can get some work done that needs power ---I need to be able to print invoices and labels for processing book orders that need to go out.  As it is, my little post office here is closed due to no power there either.   

I have paperwork and contracts that also need to be taken care of before leaving on Tuesday ---I can do that at the cabin as I have a printer there.  I have power there.  I have hot water there – but we couldn't go there yesterday because the roads up the mountain were also iced over and treacherous –remember the last ice storm where we couldn't get up those roads?

By this afternoon those roads should be safe to travel as well ---and worse come to worse, I’ll get my work done, I’ll come back on Monday to pack the van, and if the power is still off ---I’ll be leaving on Tuesday morning and heading for Kentucky anyway.  The men folk can handle it.

Life is ALWAYS an adventure!

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