The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
General Category => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: nhmaf on December 14, 2008, 08:00:42 PM
-
Well, it is good to be back and connected to the internet again ! Like 400,000 other customers in new hampshire, we lost all electric power on Thursday evening due to a really big nasty ice storm that came in thursday and lasted until Friday afternoon. Fortunately, we just had our power restored around 3:30 PM today (Sunday), but there are many thousands of families still without electricity. It is tough when you throw in a couple nights with the temperature dropping to around 0 degrees ( F, not Celcius !).
Each morning I chopped a hole in the ice to lug buckets of water up from our lake (for washing, toilet, etc), and carried in 4 or 5 armloads of wood to keep our woodstove going full tilt. We moved our food into coolers outside and kept the house habitable, avoided frozen/burst pipes, and were still able to cook on the stove. But, it was tough with no electricity and all that comes with it. I wouldn't mind so much during the warmer months, but during the dark, cold winter, it really bites !
Another messy storm is coming on Tuesday - I hope that we don't lose power again, but there are plenty of folks who are still living in shelters set up in schools and churches who won't likely have power again for another week. I'll have to post some pics I took today - very pretty with all the trees completely encased in thick ice, but the consequences are not pretty.
I am glad to be "connected" to our clan again !
AND, THE MAIN reason I wanted to post here was to say that those R65.org flashlights that Justin got us are FANTABULOUS ! I used them every day for very long intervals and they are still working and still fairly bright, with the original batteries. My old oil lamp wasn't doing the job anymore of providing enough light to read by these evenings, but one of those flashlights worked perfectly. If we ever end up ordering more of those things, I' think that I'll have to get a few more.
:)
-
It's very good to hear from you Mike! I was wondering how things were going for you. I'm glad you are back online (electrically & computer wise). Thank goodness for wood stoves! Soups and stews can be cooked on them with minimal fuss.
That's great the flashlight worked so well. Glad to get a good report. You know, I think I saw a flashlight very similar to these in the latest Harbor Freight flyer. I haven't had a chance to get there yet though. I caught a bad cold (actually, it caught me :-[ ) and have sequestered myself inside all weekend. It's really cold here too. Well, comparatively. If it was just a couple degrees colder it would be snowing. Brrrrrrrrrrr. At least we're getting some rain.
I've been thinking of you all on the East Coast and wherever else the freezing storm has been and hoping you are all okay. I wonder how Sue is doing up in Ontario. I'll have to check that weather.
-
Mike, it sounds real cozy! I don't remember if you have children? Those would be good imprints.
No neighbors nearby running generators? Those things are so annoying. I learned (first-hand) to love a wood stove during my time in PA - electric baseboard heat in the house we were renting! But there was also a WB kitchen stove that we kept stoked during the worst of it.
Sorry to hear of your cold, Melena. [hug]
My finger is coming along. I have brand new skin over at least half of it. Still repairing where the sutures were...
-
Urggh.... I now remember some of the things I don't miss from living up north! :P Mike, glad you're toughing through it and still have all of your digits intact. As far as the flashlights, it's remarkable how long LED flashlights will run on a set of batteries.
-
I was wondering how Mike was making out as well Melena! Glad you are back Mike!!! It sure is a trying time and you'll not forget it! One gets to find out what can be done with so little and if you are warm and fed, the entertainment is talking, reading by whatever light you have or playing a none electrical instrument. I did the 1998 Ice Storm when I lived in Kemptville, ON..January 4th on....eastern Ontario. It was 19 days 7.5 hours of no electricity but with the woodstove going strong and propane counter top burners I was in business and had a great time except for the no pump running for water and toilet. So I used the "honey bucket" method and dumped it in my bush each morning. I had gone to the liquor store and grocery stores just before the storm luckily so I was set! Gotta say that refrigeration is not a problem in the winter so food stays OK but has to be kept away from little critters so the coolers and old coffee tins are useful to keep around. I like the soft light of the oil lamps. Todays windup radios and flashlights would have been very useful to have on hand. I remember some stores were gouging people on battery prices!! Bad. One guy who was gouging people on the cost of generators had ALL his generators confiscated by the Army! When it comes to melting ice and snow for water on the woodstove, it helped me learn not to need much water to wash my hair or do dishes. One statistic I remember compiling while in bed on the worst night was I could not count up to 10 without hearing branches on another tree collapsing to the ground from the weight of the ice! It sounded scary and sorta like someone breaking thousands of crystal glasses!! What a sight in the morning just as Mike says. All the tops of the trees were gone and the trees looked like sticks!
I for one would have had a hard time getting along here on this forum if Mike had been off-air for very long! Sure hope the next storm leaves him alone. We are melting today in Georgian Bay with lots of wind and rain and the river looks very angry. Suppose to get cold again and we will get all the lost snow back guaranteed! We missed Mike's storm completely but thank you for the concern Melena!!
-
Melena, stay away from the HF flashlights that come in the "two-pack", we tried a pack of them and they quit working after only a couple of uses. The single black ones are not too bad but I have had to re-work the battery holders in a few and it seems most of them have to be "tapped and rapped" occasionally during use as they blink out... So far, I have not experienced any of these issues with the r65 light and I like the on/off button being on the barrel instead of the end.
Sue, was the confiscation because the government needed them or as a punitive measure? Either way it seems a bit heavy-handed to confiscate private property without any kind of compensation when a good stiff fine would have done the trick...
Additional note: Thank God for "global warming" or we would likely freeze to death this winter. I don't believe it got above freezing today (now at 27 degrees F) and we have some freezing rain making a mess of things. If Algore and his cronies have their way we might very well be heading for another ice-age in another 10 years. But, that was what I remember the doomer-and-gloomers predicting in the early 70s...
-
We dropped 20 degrees (F) this morning in just a couple of hours!
10 AM (15) Dec 15 21 (-6) 14 (-10) 30.34 (1027) W 17
9 AM (14) Dec 15 21.9 (-5.6) 16.0 (-8.9) 30.26 (1024) W 21
8 AM (13) Dec 15 24 (-4) 17 (-8) 30.24 (1024) WNW 17
7 AM (12) Dec 15 26 (-3) 21 (-6) 30.17 (1021) WNW 24 light freezing rain, ice pellets
6 AM (11) Dec 15 32 (0) 28 (-2) 30.12 (1019) W 21 light freezing rain
5 AM (10) Dec 15 39.0 (3.9) 36.0 (2.2) 30.02 (1016) WNW 25 light rain
4 AM (9) Dec 15 42 (6) 39 (4) 29.98 (1015) W 26 light rain; mist
http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KIND.html
-
Officially it was 79 degrees yesterday and this morning it was in the mid 20s. :P I've gotta smoke a brisket tomorrow and it's not supposed to get above freezing until late afternoon!!! :o