AMAZON

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Winter Storm, Mom, & Alex


In yesterday’s blog post I wrote that this storm has knocked the power at my mother’s condo and she was trapped reclining in her lift chair that she couldn’t get down. I talked with her and my sister this morning: my sister and her husband made it through the snow to Mom’s house last night and thankfully rescued her from her chair.

The electricity remains out at Mom’s house and is also out at my sister’s house. I have electric power, but had no TV until a few minutes ago because my satellite dish was iced over until the sun began thawing it.

Since my mother’s condo is new and all-electric, she has no heat, lights, or means of cooking food. My sister told me that my mother is now in bed with four blankets over her.

I checked for information on the power outage caused by this storm and learned that approximately 100,000 in Louisville are without electricity and another 100,000 customers across Kentucky are without electricity.

Alex is not taking the snow any better than he has taken the nasty white water on the ground before. He is house bound, not liking it, and is hassling me. I have gotten no closer to the white world outside than Alex has:


Tasha took the following photographs of my street with my camera before she left work today













22 comments:

  1. Oh Nick, The snow is so beautiful ! Although, it would be better without the power outages! We have had several snowfalls here in Kansas, but none of them have been even an inch, and they melt away within a day or two. We have just had bitter cold temps. I wish my dogs were more like Alex. It's hard to keep the house warm with them wanting in and out all day long! But I guess they feel a need to burn some energy, because I am ABSOLUTELY NOT walking them when it's so cold outside!!!!

    I'm glad that your mom got help and that she is safe and trying to keep warm. I'm praying that your power stays connected, and that everyone gets their power back soon.

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  2. looks like my street :) well, you have a lot less snow, but still.

    I gather you don't get much snow over there for a power outtage of that magnitude to occur.

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  3. Pretty snow. Alex is a smart kitty! Don't get my paws wet! We're sunny with no snow, but chilly 45 degrees here in central Texas.

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  4. Oh your poor mother! The snow looks beautiful Nick but it causes so much havoc!

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  5. I know how pesky it can be, but I must say that snow is gorgeous, too. Sorry about your mom. Poor dear!

    Take care yourself!

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  6. That reminds me of an ice storm we got hit with back in South Jersey. I was ten at the time, and it seemed like the entire town just stopped for days at a time.

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  7. Nick, I am so thankful that your Mom is rescued. I can't imagine how cold that must be for you.

    We dodged this storm and it did not cause too many problems. Some really bad accidents early in the morn.

    Our low was 27 and the high was 38 and that is too cold down here in east Texas. Our weather has so much moisture in it that it chills you to the bone.

    I ventured out to the next big town and it took me 2 1/2 hours to get groceries from wally world.

    take care, stay warm

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  8. Thanks for the photos! Ice can be a pain and do a lot of damage, but it sure is beautiful when it coats the trees like that.

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  9. Auburn haired artist : Yep, the snow is beautiful—much more so since I don’t have to wade through it, although I do rather miss making snowballs and such. It’s not hard to keep Alex in the house when the ground is snow covered; it is difficult to convince him that the snow is outside. He has me open both doors several time a day to see if the nasty snow has gone away.

    I wish I had updated info about my mother and sister. In the last contact I had with Mom today, she had no electricity, heat, or water. I asked her to telephone me as things change so as not tp unnecessarily us up her cell phone.

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  10. Xmichra : I hope it continue that we have less snow than you! As of the last time Alex made me open the door to look outside, the snow was still coming down.
    You know, it isn’t the snow that causes the power outages; it’s the ice weighing down tree limbs that break and fall onto power lines that then break. The last I read, there 800 known line breaks affecting the power of about 500,000 consumers, the second worst ice storm in the history of the Commonwealth. It’s now estimated that some folks won’t get power for maybe 10 days.

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  11. Lizzy Frizzfrock : Yes, Alex is a smart cat. Just ask him and he’ll tell you! Alex and I would both trade your weather for what we have here!

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  12. Akelamalu : When I talked with my mother earlier today, she was holding up well. However, without power, heat, water, and the game show channel on TV I don’t know how long that will last.

    I suppose that I’d be happy with the snow if it hadn’t been for the ice.

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  13. Lynilu: Yep, the snow is beautiful. At least it was until is was all tracked up by cars and people. Yep, I’d be happy with the snow if there were no ice.

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  14. silverneurotic: Yep! That is what ice storms do: ever thing shuts down. With the report that this one is the second worst in the history of the Commonwealth, I don’t know how long this shut down will last. Some melting would be nice now, but the forecast says that the temperature will not rise above freezing until Sunday and we can expect more snow on Friday. Yuck!

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  15. Finding Pam: Thank you; yes, my mother is basically OK. If worst comes to worst there are numerous shelters that have been opened across the Commonwealth for folks without heat and power. Since my mother lives within a major city, her wait for power may not be too long. My sister, on the other hands, lives on a farm in the hinterland. It may take her much longer to get power.

    Your trip to get grocers sounds as if the was rather grueling. I’m so glad that, with Doug’s help the other day, I am well stocked with food. That’s especially true because, due to the new VA imposed schedule, Tasha will not be here until next Monday.

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  16. Carol: You’re welcome. Tasha did a shooting the photos; had it been me taking them, you would see what I can see from the front door of my house and nothing more.

    Yep, the ice does destroy lots of trees. Although I miss the huge tree that was in my neighbors yard and was cut down
    last summer, I am rather glad because it had huge limbs hanging over my bedroom.

    P.S ~ It too me quite a while to located the post of the tree cutting that I linked to above—I didn’t know that I had used the word “tree” that many times!—plus, I was interrupted by Alex and a long human/cat cuddle session.

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  17. I am envious of your beautiful snow (we received much less) but the ice is never good! The sound of branches breaking is a frightening sound indeed. Hoping that everyone's power returns soon.

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  18. kcinnova : You are so right! The sound of breaking tree limbs, weighed down by pounds of ice, is a frightening and distressing noise. So far as I can tell, I have only one broken limb in my yard; Tasha snapped a close-up of the end of it in the third photo down.

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  19. The pictures a beautiful Nick!! Stunning!

    I am going to find the Monday funnies now:)

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  20. Jennifer: I shall pass your compliment on the photos on to Tasha, the photographer. Unfortunately, because of the new VA imposed schedule, I’ll not see her until Monday. [:-(

    I hope you enjoyed Monday’s funnies!

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  21. Looks like quite a snowstorm, glad you and Alex are OK and that your mom was rescued.

    Big hugs,
    Laurie

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  22. Glad to hear that your mom is at least out of the chair. That must have been pretty scary for her.

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