I also thank the Lord who has made me more grateful for technology of today. Wendell and I had pork chops with gravy, steamed potatoes and broccoli with fresh grapes for dessert tonite.. oh, and coffee.. all made on the gas grill about an hour before the power came back. We ate at the picnic table and discussed the fact that neither of us would have made a good pioneer. Such wimps we are!
Sabbath evening was aweome. The tail end of Ike came through with some winds like none of us had ever experienced before. It was truly awesome. We all sat or stood outside watching the trees around us bending and straining.. the first 'SNAP!!!' sent us racing to the rough trail beside the house where a huge tree had fallen.. It landed on the cart that Wendell made for us many years ago.. smashed almost beyond recognition..
As we sat there, we would hear many more 'snaps' as other trees fell close to our house. There is a branch of a huge tree that hangs over our roof that had us concerned. I prayed a lot for divine intervention for all of us. I called Wendy to ask for prayer. John got his camera out and took some fantastic night photos of the big ol' full moon with trees in front. More on those later I'm sure. 
At about 8:30pm, the power went out. We figured it would come back within 24 hours, but never did we dream it would be 4 days. We carefully didn't open the big freezer, nor the refrigerator freezer. When the power came on tonite, I finally opened the freezer doors to discover the bags of ice were still in cubes, and everything had sort of a crust of frost on it.. WOW! that is incredible and amazing grace. The stuff in the very bottom of the big freezer looks dubious, but it's bread and can easily be replaced. 
Monday morning we had taken a walk through the woods to assess damages. We had escaped any damage to the house/trailer, though there was a tree pretty close to the trailer, and one that landed right below our house. 
All week we've been living the life of pioneers.. and connecting via cell phone with Paul's family and Jane. Charlie brought us apples, potatoes, and water. Wendell and I went out Tuesday after I got home from work.. and filled 4 1/2 gallons of spring water figuring that there would be a rush on water in stores. This was verified this morning as I listened to my patients telling their stories of searching for fresh drinking water while the power was out.We made instant coffee several times a day using the burner on the side of the grill. That coffee tasted so delicious where we would normally not care for it.
Several times a day when we felt like we'd never survive, we'd remind ourselves that we had a house that came through unscathed, we were all safe and fine.. and this was just an inconvenience.. and then our thoughts would turn to those folks in Galveston and Houston and parts between who lost everything and had no home to return to. It's amazing how that puts things in perspective. Our winds were not even close to what they had to live through.. and then we had no rain with this windstorm..not a drop. We were blessed.
We were glad that our generator was at Paul's home.. and he was able to use it. He has 5 kids.. we were fine. Jane had no electricity, but had hot and cold water. It was a blessing that she lives 5 minutes from Paul and family that they could run over there and get water, showers, etc.
So what does one do when there is no light in the house? Well, I found a portable radio that took 4 AA batteries, and have had it going almost non stop listening to local news and weather, and of course talk radio. Evenings brought us to using candles for light.. and by candlelight, I've finished Gayle's afghan.. and started yet another one. Wendell spent his hours reading outside and then going to bed early. I missed my computer and connecting with friends and family.I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be back again.
No comments:
Post a Comment