Interesting times living in place as we age ..... as if the pandemic isn't enough .....
My house at long last welcomed receiving electric power again a short time ago this Sunday night as I write this following a sudden outage Friday night. We had some pretty strong winds sweep through Friday all night long. They had such a strong force for only the second time in our area of town that I've experienced in the almost fifty years I've lived here.
I opened my door early Friday evening once to check for delivery of an expected package which I learned later had been delayed but finally came today, Sunday. The wind was so strong I could hardly push the door shut again. As the night wore on I realized the power was not coming back on so I headed into bed.
As the winds howled and whistled I could hear my small empty trash container, half the size of a full size bin, banging and thumping around from the sheltered corner area of my covered front entry where I had placed it in anticipation of easily filling it the next day. I'm so glad I hadn't yet put anything in the bin as light content weight would likely not have prevented it being upset.
The next day I found the bin, open, laying on it's side up against my car. Any contents would have been spread all over -- what a mess it would have been to clean up. I'm not sure if a few small hard pieces of material I found in my drive are from my house as I will have my gardener coming later this week double-check to see if any others in the yard, though I haven't seen any shingles as I surveyed through my windows, but then I can determine if there is any roof concern.
We knew there would be winds as there often can be every year with other communities generally receiving the worst and only minor issues in other parts of our town but not on our street. In fact, this is only the second time in the almost fifty years I've lived here our street has been even remotely close to having such a destructive wind.
Saturday when I drove out to get some hot food as I drove only a block into an adjoining small town, then others, they all seem to have some power. I didn't see any trees down on our street, but elsewhere traffic lights were out, major boulevards closed to traffic blocked by fallen trees.
We received varied reports of when we would have power again. First it wasn't known yet, then we would have power 3:30 a.m. Saturday, then back to not determined again, later some misinformation, and finally to be 9 p.m. Sunday, but the power didn't come on so they weren't predicting again. Happily an hour or so later we had electric. Certainly as winds go these were not comparable to what those having gone through tornados and hurricanes experience, but everything is relative and what anyone experiences brings its own challenges.
I kept warm but it was SoCal cold here, meaning 40 to 60 degree temperatures and I'm glad to have an interior warm house again. My body has long since acclimated to our climate so I reminded myself that where I once lived we would have thought of temperatures like these as nice winter days -- but this ol' bod just isn't impressed with my effort to influence mind over matter so I was aware of cold air.
Ironically, earlier Friday I had allowed my new iPhone to run very low before plugging in, thought it had fully charged but hadn't actually yet checked it had charged when I unplugged it. I'll always check immediately now as I discovered the phone hadn't charged, perhaps the plug had been loose. Such was also the case with my computer. So, here I was poorly prepared technologically to effectively cope with any long power outage emergency.
Once again having my landline telephone kept me connected to the rest of the world with the ability to track my electric company's progress, contact my family, and have the capability to summon emergency help should I need to do so.
Another learning experience for me in this grand experiment of living in place as I age. I have decided to finally purchase a solar charger which I first considered doing a few years ago but had not done so. I must do better emergency preparedness.
Without the ability to access the internet, publish a blog post early Sunday, see and hear the news, I did a lot more reading, completing one book and starting a second. I hadn't been in the mood for reading books for a while as periodically occurs for me, so maybe that spell is broken.
I've learned a family member who has been so very careful has somehow been caught by covid but with only mild symptoms, lots of fatigue.
Hope all of you continue to be well, Also, that your emergency plans and preparedness kits are in good order.
We too have been having erratic cold winds bringing our temperatures down below normal but, not as strong as they ones that you experienced. This is the second time in a few weeks that you have had outage and I hope that you will now get yourself an inverter. Believe me, it is a very useful thing to have at our age when we suffer outages.
ReplyDeleteI’m not familiar with inverters but will have to check into them as had thought about a generator. Thanks for the suggestion. We’re due for more Santa Ana winds this coming Tues.-Weds but whether or not they’ll whip through our area again as before we don't know.
DeleteNothing like a power outage to make us appreciate what we normally take for granted. Glad there was no serious wind damage and that you rediscovered the joys of reading. The battery I always make sure is charged is my Kindle. Glad you are back to normal again.
ReplyDeleteMy Kindle and some books are on my iPad Mini which also hadn't fully charged as I had thought. Have several paper books I hadn't read including one that had just arrived — written by Hemingway's younger brother about Ernest.
DeleteI'm glad you came through your outage with no serious outcomes. It provided at least a good look into your emergency preparedness (or lack thereof). Now you know!
ReplyDeleteYes, my timing and care was off for keeping my devices charged. The solar unit should be good insurance in the future since we generally don't lack for some sun to charge it. Read Hemingway’s brother’s book about Ernest.
DeleteHi! Brrrr. Your adventure sounds too cold. I learned something about always plugging my cell phone in at night. Sometimes the part you plug into the bottom of your phone gets worn out, and doesn't make a good connection. At first I thought it was the part on the cell phone that wouldn't connect well unless I wiggled it to see the battery charging icon. As it worsened, my son even thought we'd need to get a new phone. I bought a new charger cord and phew!: it connects just fine. The tiny tip on the end of the cord wears out. I DO have a charged pod that will run my phone for awhile, and I recharge it with the threat of bad weather. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI have a pod I didn't think to charge for backup as never expected these Santa Ana winds to charge through our area as they did. They usually get worn out east of here. Will do so for these coming days.
DeleteWell I am glad to read that you got the power back on. I admire your stoic acceptance.
ReplyDeleteShould we have a longer power cut, unannounced, we'd be in a right mess. We have rudimentary (camping style) means to cook and plenty of fire wood and a large metal fire dish/grill for an outside fire, but inside, oh dear, from the blinds to the internet/phone to the pump for the rainwater tank that feeds our toilet cisterns ... our dependency is endless.
Oh, I am sure we would figure something out eventually, we have solar power on the roof.
I watched the TV series Station Eleven just recently which partly plays in a future after a pandemic without internet, cars, fossil fuels etc. and shows incredibly imaginative ways of being creative and alive.
Yes, weeks without electricity certainly would play havoc with our lives. Eventually I would like solar for house but it’s not in the cards right now. Thar TV series sounds interesting. I see it’s streaming here on HBO Max to which I currently don't subscribe but think about doing so.
DeleteI am thinking I will probably get it. It is so contageous and with spring I will be returning to a more normal again. I actually hope that it boosts my immune if I do. (I will NOT intentionally get it!) We were without electricity for over 24 hours and in winter that can be tough. We are having a back-up generator installed in a few months. Very expensive, but it will guarantee that the local power will stay on in our neighborhood for years and we will never have to use it!
ReplyDeleteThat generator sounds like a good idea and, as you say, that will insure you’ll never need it given how life goes.
DeleteSanta Ana winds expected again last night never came here, fortunately. We could possibly have more wind Thursday to Friday but I don’t think they’ll materialize here.
We get periodic high wind outages too Joared, but thankfully this winter has seen them fixed within a few hours and not of your duration. This always make me wonder why those vulnerable power lines aren't put underground. Cost I would think but in the long run.....
ReplyDeleteTake care.
XO
WWW
Glad your power outages are much shorter. Ours was an unusually long one due to so much devastation around the city I expect. I suppose power lines underground might be an option but then I wonder about how earthquakes might affect those lines. Would it be harder to find outages? I've not read about the pros and cons of those issues.
DeleteWe seldom have power outages here in Northern Ireland but we do have very strong winds, quite enough to blow over wheelie bins and trees. You're sensible to keep a landline that you can use when the mobile has died.
ReplyDeleteGlad you have few power outages as do we -- usually. I'm better prepared now to be able to back up my mobile phone, especially with my solar charger I received a few days ago. I still find the landline most dependable though those lines are above ground, too, so am surprised some of them didn't fall to the ground, also.
DeleteYour solar charger's a good idea. My own solution is a pair of portable power banks: a smaller one that was a first purchase, and a high capacity one that I'm never without now when I travel. The larger one (an Anker) is capable of fully recharging both my ipad and my iphone -- three or four times for the phone. The power banks hold a charge nicely, but I still check them once a week, just to be sure. We never know. Despite our inclement weather -- cold and ice -- our power grid did just fine, but last night unrelated equipment failure (probably a big transformer) left 18,000 people in the dark.
ReplyDeleteYou're one of the few I know who still has a landline. Very smart. I'd have kept one, except for the monthly cost. It's a bit of a gamble, but one I'm willing to take. Some of my friends thought they had a landline, until they learned their lesson: they had cordless phones, and those don't work when the power goes out either.
I have a small power bank but hadn't charged it which, obviously, was a mistake. I, also, have several cordless phones with an answering machine which don't work when the power goes out, but my separate main phone on their same main line does which I used.
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