What A NOT so Beautiful Mess I'm In.

Geez! My weeks just get better and better. First off Dave is on vacation this week (he's been off since Friday) so that's good right? lol Well, we had heard bad weather was headed our way but I guess didn't realize it was going to be THAT bad. Monday morning we tried going to our grocery store and at 10 am there was no parking. I figured it was just because all the old retired people go there in the morning so we tried again at 1 and it was still the same way. We parked way out (making our own parking place) and went in. It was a mad house and then I started noticing all the water being bought which meant people were thinking this was gonna be a dozy! When we left it had started to rain quite a bit and it was in the 30's. Well I started writing a blog post Monday evening to report that Dave found a recipe for 1/2 Vinegar and 1/2 Mouthwash and we killed all the remaining lice in Alex's hair using that recipe! Then the lights started to flicker. They kept going dim and then lighting back up till eventually at 10:30 PM the house went dark. I had already lit about 10 candles "just in case." We live out in the country so looking outside it was pitch black, raining, freezing cold, and the trees were creaking with ice. Our back tree was teetering on our power line to our house making us a nervous wreck. We went ahead and brought Alex up from the basement to the couch and went to bed HOPING they'd come back on by dawn.

My Apple Tree has taken quite the beating.

It rained all night and by Tuesday morning we were freezing in our beds and no lights. Did I mention in the country? This also means no water because our water is pulled from a well. Yeah. So no lights, no water Tuesday morning, it's freezing and branches of ice are cracking everywhere around us. We went out to start our generator that I made Dave get as a rewards incentive for work because I knew living in the country we needed one. Our neighbor's 100 year old Cottonwood was losing massive branches left and right while we were standing outside. Not only was it sad it was frightening because the crack of the branches breaking sound like lightning.

Our Power line with a heavy branch just waiting to take it out if the wind picks up.

So Tuesday morning we warmed up the house with our Kerosene heater and put our refrigerator on the generator and turned on a radio. We decided by 10 am we'd take the monkeys to Walmart since power obviously wasn't coming on soon. We ended up buying an electric cook top, a camping water storage container, board games, a Carbon Monoxide detector so the kerosene wouldn't kill us. lol We came home and I hooked the stove top in to a generator cord and made burritos for lunch. I thought for sure we'd get power soon. It didn't. We made it threw all Tuesday and Wednesday using our generator for electric items and gallons of water to flush our toilet. Yes because with no power we have no water, I keep 20 gallons of spare water in the basement for flushing the toilet. lol Our poor kids were so bored. We colored, played games, Leapster, etc. They were stir crazy because we shut all the doors to the bedrooms and they were forced to do everything in the frontroom so we could keep us all warmer. Mia was screaming so much out of pure confusion I'm sure. All of us sleeping in the front room together was a bit different for her and the others. We told them we were having a slumber party. lol Out of the blue, the power came on tonight at 5 PM right as it was getting dark and I was lighting candles all over the place to prepare for another night in the dark. None of us had taken showers or baths in 2 1/2 days so we flew as fast as possible to the bathroom to get started just in case this was just a cruel joke and it was going to go out again.

The lights are flickering again as I write this so I may not get it posted. We'll see. There's over 10,000 people out of our town of 40,000 out of power last I knew. They were estimating 7-10 days to get everyone back on. I heard that before our's came back on and I figured with how far out we are we'd be in 10 days. Thank God I was wrong. Our town though is trashed. My step grandmother's laundry room caught on fire from a branch hitting her power box and igniting. My grandparents yard is a disaster. My mom has an evergreen blocking her driveway and still has no power. Most of the trees are either doing ok or look like a peeled banana. Just standing outside makes you cringe because the sound of crashing limbs is so frequent and you can only wonder what they are hitting. My brain is fried from playing Chutes and Ladders about 100 times in 2 days but Dave and I honestly did enjoy all the extra bonding time with the kids. It was refreshing! (and so were today's showers! lol) Dave is just lovin' this vacation so far.

Trees fallen on Echo's horse pen. I'm hoping the poles don't break because I really don't want her out. The branches spooked her yesterday and she almost ran me over on accident from running away.