How-dee all!
All of us here at mi-casa are alive and well, though a bit cold. Power went out at 1900 on Thursday night, then came back on at 2200, and then died again at 0015. It hasn’t come back on since. The cable went out at 1800 Thursday and is dead. Comcast is saying Monday at the earliest. I am at The Mom’s place, getting a hot shower in and helping set up for the Yule-Time Extended Family get-together.
The windstorm was quite the breeze. My goofy neighbors left their Christmas crap in their yard and I subsequently lost both the floodlamps that light my driveway due to the wind picking the crap up and flinging it across the front of my house. I have also lost one of the roof vents. Other than that, we’re unscathed.
I have ventured out a couple times during the day after securing the house, just to see what life is like outside my sudivision. I’m not sure what other folks are experiencing in the PNW, but in my neck of the woods, it looks like we’ve taken artillery fire. Everything looks like the scene in Band of Brothers when they’re foxholed in the forest during the Battle of the Bulge. Trees and branches are everywhere and there are big fooking holes in the ground. It snowed last night, so we’ve even got white stuff.
But no complaints here. I dont’ have Nazis shelling me.
There is more than a hint of chaos in my area. No one in my town has power, but the town east of us does. Restaurants, supermarkets, gas and banks, all electrified. The trouble is, that town is smaller than the one folks are coming from so, the town isn’t twice it’s normal size, it is nearly triple the size. The roads, retaurants, supermarkets, gas stations and banks are not handling the influx very well and I’m sure that if power doesn’t come back online soon, we could see some very ugly things happening there.
Not from me though. Before the storm I topped of both the gas tank and the wallet and filled up the fridge. I haven’t even fired up the generator as of yet and I’ll show you why in the near future. The cold is kind of a mixed blessing. It is 30 degrees in garage, so the food is staying nice and cold. But, it is only 50 degrees in the house (45 at night) and I’m tired of wearing my polypropylene when I sleep.
Oh yeah, and I’m tried of watching the neighborhood teens walk past my house. The dogs know something is up and they go apeshit when the kids walk by in their groups of 6-8.
I do have a couple of mildly funny anecdotes and some reviews of SHTF equipment that I’ll share when I get back online. Until then, it is turkey time with the aunts and uncles.
Peace, yo!
Sounds like you got the worst of the blow up North, Phil. Not as bad here, but not many fences left undamaged. Lotsa trees down or damaged, I lost one on my yard, a sickly one that I was getting ready to take the saw to anyway. God saved me the trouble of felling it.
I’ll save the 18 foot trunk of that cedar, and store it over by the fence. If I ever need to erect a quickie antenna mast, all I have to do is dig a post hole and slip in the cedar trunk with the antenna attached.
Yep, the fence contractors just paid for their Christmases.
I know that most of Oly is still with out power; last I heard only the Westside and by the Hospitals have power. I know that right now my father is glad he has the 2 30k generators and wood/LPG/NG heating for the water/house. Nothing like a good windstorm to find out just how good you generators really are. Hopefully he can keep them in Diesel/Fuel oil.