Part 6 of our Crazy Weather Week to Remember ---more from 2/21/15

Yard Damage after our Ice Storm on 2/21/15

On March 5,  I posted Part I of our HORRIBLE Ice Storm (which devastated our area on 2/21/15)... SO--today I will share 10 more photos from that storm.  If you missed any of those first 5 posts (showing pictures from ALL of the first 3 storms),  click HERE.   Just remember that they are listed in reverse order,  beginning with Part 5 --and going backwards, in that folder.  Be sure and click on today's photos for enlargements.

The ICE and heavy winds (50 mph) were just too much for many many trees in our neighborhood/area... They just CRACKED.  Some fell to the ground and some  were left broken and dangling.  This picture is what the tops of trees all over the area look like.  SAD!

That first cup of HOT TEA was fabulous... 

 Don't I look cute in my turtleneck shirt,  TWO sweatshirts, sweatpants, heavy hiking socks and slippers,  and my BIG heavy pink bathrobe!!!!!  HA HA ....BUT--thanks to the gas-log fireplace and my clothes and blankets,  I stayed warm all weekend.

On our 2nd day without power,  George was able to get to our grill on the deck and make us a pot of hot water for some HOT TEA.   Oh My Heart---that was so delicious.   I think I missed coffee and hot tea (ANYTHING hot) the most.  He also heated up a pot of homemade Chili leftovers for us in a pan on the grill --and we ate that meal on Sunday night (Feb. 22).  DELICIOUS!

 Looking toward one of our Rose Beds;  I can't believe it but in 2-3 months,  our Roses hopefully will be blooming,  if they make it through this weather this year.

This is what our sidewalk looked like next to the garage.

Coolers on our front porch--trying to save fridge/freeze items

 We have two fridge/freezers.  One of them (in the utility room) stayed closed the entire 50 hours our power was out.  The items in there were FINE.   We did however use the fridge/freezer in our kitchen.  SO--in order to save as much as we could from there,  we filled two large coolers and then added lots of ice/snow in the coolers,  and put them outside (where it was cold).  We put some heavy items on top of both to keep the night critters out... We saved all of the food in that fridge/freezer also!!!  BUT--if the power had have stayed out much longer,  I'm sure we couldn't have saved everything. 

Tree Damage in our Yard

One of about 8 'dangling' branches in our yard

 We had to hire a Tree Service to climb these trees and cut down these 'dangling' branches.  We didn't want those big branches to fall and cause more damage.   I will have a picture or two of these men in action --as they worked on our trees on 3/2/15,  in another post.

Back Yard;  Note the ICE buildup on the deck rail;

Tree down in Neighborhood

George and I 'thought' that our damage was BAD until we were able (several days after the storm) to get out and check our neighborhood and the area... OH MY ---so many people had so much more damage than we did... We truly were lucky.  We didn't lose any 'total' trees  and we had no house damage.   AND--we were only out of power/electricity for 50 hours whereas some people didn't have power for over a week.  

BLESSINGS:
-That God was with us and we knew that, through Him,  we were loved and cared for;
-That we bought a new gas-log fireplace not long ago --which kept us WARM; 
-That we had had quite a bit of tree trimming done a few months ago (to get the tree limbs away from our home);  (If we hadn't have done that,  we most likely would have had damage to our home.)
-That both George and I kept a good attitude the entire time,  trying to count our blessings, and make the best from the situation;
-That we could stay connected with our friends and family (through our iPhone, iPad and my laptop);  Even without power,  we could charge the batteries of the iPhone and iPad in the car --in our garage;  Had to use my laptop sparingly since I couldn't charge its battery;
-That our FACEBOOK friends and family (LOTS of them) were there for us --praying and commenting and giving good suggestions,  etc.  I felt as if God was with us through all of these friends.  (I know that many people don't like Facebook---but for us,  it was truly a life-saver for that 50 hours. I'm not sure what I would have done without them.)

WHAT WE LEARNED:
-That we might get a small portable generator  (to run our two fridge/freezers) under similar situations when no power is available;
-That we need (and will buy) a small camping stove so that we can cook some HOT food/drink;  OH--how I missed my coffee!!!!  It was nice having the grill --but there may be another time when George wouldn't have access to the grill....
-That someone's suggestion about filling coolers with food and then adding ice/snow from outside to them was very helpful--since the temperatures outside were still very cold;  (That would not work if the power was out during the summer for long periods of time.)
-Purchased an adapter to use in the car so that I can also charge the battery in my laptop when there is a power outage;  (Already have adaptors for the iPhone and iPad)
-That Mother Nature can be wicked ---so we always need to be prepared!

As I'm sure I said,  neither George nor I have ever gone through anything like this.   BUT---we do know,  that as hard as it was for us,  our situation was not nearly as bad as many others go through due to Mother Nature.  Life can be hard at times for ALL of us,  but with a good attitude and the love of family/friends and each other,  we can make it through these rough times...  God be with us ALL.

Thanks for listening to my thoughts on the Wicked Ice Storm of 2015. Believe it or not though,  there are still TWO more storms to come... Luckily,  the 4th one missed us--but I'll show photos from the SNOW Storm on 2/26 soon.

Hugs,

Emoticons