Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Boxing Day - an Update on our adventures by Lee


Good evening everyone - Happy Boxing Day!

First, our Lady says we should thank everyone for their well wishes when we were in the dark. We would also like to thank our friends who offered hot meals and showers that we didn't take them up on, but we might next time.


Our adventures started on Friday the 21st, the first day of winter. It was our first real snow (we got about 50 cm in 2 days, that is about 20 inches). On Friday we lost our power from 8-10 am, and then from 10-4 it kept going on and off. Then the real adventure began at 4 pm when the power went off and we didn't have it again for 70 hours.

The fireplace that saved us!
Our people set up camp in front of the fireplace. They dragged the guest mattress out and all the blankets in the house. This is where we lived for 3 days. And by live, with the exception of taking us out a couple times a day, eating and using the bathroom, our people basically stayed in bed. They read, played games, sang and gave us lots and lots of love!

Our man was able to go to the local corner store and get some food to eat (someone had to stay home at all times to keep the fire going, and since Lady's hair looked like a bird had made a nest in it, she volunteered). Our Lady learned that being gluten free and not being about to cook or being prepared to not cook is a bit of a challenge, but the reality was she wasn't that hungry.

Things we learned during our 70 hours in the dark:
-always have bottled water in the house (our Lady had planned on picking some up next time she went shopping but the storm beat her to it).
-Baggy finds us dogs a lot less offensive when he needs us for warmth
-the 6 of us do fit in a double bed (my Lady says I should say that I hog the bed and curl up right in the middle of the bed and take the most space - my nickname for the camp out was the Lee-lee centre of the bed)
-The cats like to sleep under the covers
-When our power came back, our living space was 11 degrees C (51 F) and our people's bedroom which they had closed off was 4 C (39 C)
The disadvantage of this big fireplace
it opens above so hot air leaves living
space!
-4 days without a shower and stoking a fire every 2 hours means the bathtub will be filled with ash when the lady is done.
-don't wish for a rustic country Christmas, cause you might get it! [Our people say next year they are going somewhere warm for Christmas, but that may be all talk!]

Our Lady said the hardest part was lack of running water. She has a greater appreciation for running water. She also said that she doesn't think that we could have stayed much longer (it was like -16 C or 3 F outside) and although the idea of packing us all up was daunting she was prepared to do it (the house kept getting colder).

Our Man was out finishing last minute Christmas shopping when the power came back on, our Lady started running around the house and yelling! We didn't understand what was so exciting but we ran too!

Later that evening when our Man went to get Uncle Chris and Emma for Christmas (cause we could host it), when I took Lady outside, I pulled her and she rolled her ankle and now has a sprained ankle. She says Christmas 2012 is one to remember.

So that was the highlights of our pre-Christmas adventure.

We want to spend a special thanks to all the Hydro workers who worked around the clock (and still are cause there are  like 4000 houses without power) to try and bring our power back. There were apparently 900 places the lines were damaged and cause of the snow they couldn't get trucks in and had to snowshoe and snow mobile in places.

We are bracing for another storm tomorrow. Fingers crossed we don't end up in the dark again. [Apparently it is fairly common out here in the country, our people were going to buy a new bed for Christmas, after Christmas, but they think a generator may be in store for us.]


18 comments:

  1. Hey Lee, Hey Phod, Jet here.

    OMD, what a chilly adventure. Please tell your Lady and Man that next time, email/call Mom and hop a plane to Miami! No Joke... If they can find a safe place for all of you of course. Or... c'mon down with them! Casa Jetty is always open... Plus, Mom knows how to cook gluten free!

    Your Lady and Man were very clever and handled the camp out well... sorry about the sprained ankle part... Sending speedy quick recovery Jetty kisses and JJ hugs.

    We hope you don't have issues tomorrow... maybe you should have a Winter storm box like we have Hurricane supply boxes... they're not perfect, but... they can help.

    PS... your fireplace is beautiful. :)

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    1. Thanks when you buy a house a mason built the stone work is AMAZING! We wish it was so easy just to run somewhere warm, thanks for the invite. Lady created a Winter Storm box yesterday. She is more prepared now!
      Have a great day!

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  2. How rotten! I love how you stayed so positive! I'm so sorry about the sprained ankle! Hope things start to get better!

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    1. Our Lady knew not being positive wasn't going to help! We are hopeful that the New Year will be better!

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  3. Yikes.hope you were keeping the humans warm.happy Boxing Day
    Benny & Lily

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  4. We are glad you coped. Paws are crossed it doesn't go off again. We sending healing paw for your ankle dear lady. Have a terrific Thursday.
    Best wishes Molly

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    1. Thanks Molly. The man is teasing her that she got through the disaster ok but the minute the power comes back on gets hurt! He thinks it is to get out of more snow blowing!

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  5. That is one adventure before Christmas! Youse did a great job keeping the humans and cats warm! I hope your ladys ankle gets better soon :(
    Love Milo :)

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  6. WOW! That musta been tough! Glad you are all ok cept the lady. Give her ancle a lick or two and it will be all better!
    Lovies, Miss Mindy

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    1. The colder it got, the harder it got, but we survived and it built character!

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  7. Wow, I'm glad you guys made it through! For the water supply, I recommend getting the big 5 gallon jugs and a hand pump from Canadian tire (~$15). Also, pick up a cast iron skillet to add to the box so you can heat up food, water for coffee/tea, etc in the fireplace. The best thing to keep you warm is hot food. A generator is a good idea as well. Especially since you can get a decent one for under $500. Also, since it's the winter, you can transfer your frozen food from the (now off) freezer and fridge to a snow bank outside where you know animals can't get to it (including your own). You never know how unprepared you are until your thrown into it, so consider this a good experience. :) One more thing, if you melt some snow in a bucket, you can use that to flush the toilet. Just pour it right into the bowl and away it goes.

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    1. Some great ideas. We tried the water in the toilet, but it still wouldn't work. This is something we are going to play with when we have power (just by shutting the water off to the toilet). We know the basement one won't work because it is on a pump, but the upstairs one should . . . .

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  8. Wow. Me and Nellie were very impressed to read about your adventure with no power and how you all coped. We do not have snow like you have but here in sunny Mangamahu, back in 2004 the valley was flooded and there no access(bridge was washed out) or power for about 10 days. Mummy says there is a big storm coming this afternoon, so they are getting prepared. Love Nellie and Jasper.

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    1. 10 days is a very long time, but if it is not cold, it may be ok. Cold makes it harder. We hope the storm wasn't too big. Lee and Phod

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