All the powers that BE!

Posted on March 10, 2017 | 36 Comments

Oh boy… what an amazing journey my family has just been through. We lost our electric power on Wednesday, March 8th, around 10:30am.  It was an hellacious windy day, hurricane force winds and according to our power company, that was the cause.  Of course we were not the only household, neighborhood or City in the State of Michigan to experience this loss.

The first day, the house was relatively warm enough that we were just somewhat uncomfortable. My sister ran out for burgers and fries (a real treat, as neither of us really eats like that – but it was her birthday). By Thursday morning, we noticed that the water heater was working like a champ.  Being as it is powered with natural gas, we were so grateful. At least we could wash up, without adding insult to injury, eh?

By Thursday night, all reserve power in any of our electronic devices had long since expired, as well as the back up battery on the landline phone. The temperature in the house had plummeted to 50 degrees and the cats, as well as the humans were not amused.

My siblings work outside the home but i do not. Also, I have mobility issues that preclude be leaving to just go hang out somewhere.  If end up being somewhere, they must be equipped to handle my needs.  They got to leave, get into nice warm  vehicles and go to nice warm work places. This meant that me and the kitties got to hold down the fort.  We did a terrific job!  If you ever need a fort held down, call on us!

By this morning, we had all had our fill of freezing while sleeping, take away meals and not even being able to have a cup of hot tea with which to warm ourselves.  As my brother left for work, we braced ourselves for a predicted night time low of 10 degrees (F).

Thank you to ALL the powers that BE, we do not have to go through that without lights, heat and HOT TEA!  The power came back on early this evening and as I type this, I have  hot cup of tea that I have been sipping.

So, if you have missed me as much as I have missed all of you….

May you all be safe and sound,

Love, Annette Rochelle

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36 responses to “All the powers that BE!”

  1. Rae Longest | March 10, 2017 at 6:59 pm | Reply

    Oh my, what you’ve been through. You really soldiered on to hold down your fortress!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Jennie | March 10, 2017 at 8:38 pm | Reply

    Annette! How awful. Your Michigan weather is headed my way. Massachusetts will be blasted with snow and wind on Tuesday. My best to you. Thank goodness your power came on. 50 degrees is tough!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. nildamacedopaulino | March 10, 2017 at 8:42 pm | Reply

    Gorgeous your BLOG !!! I’m following !!! Follow mine too !!! Kisses !!!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. robbiesinspiration | March 11, 2017 at 12:10 am | Reply

    Sorry to hear about your uncomfortable experience, Annette. I did notice you were not on line. We have the occasional power fail here in SA and went through a bad spate of load shedding due to power production issues for a period at the end of 2015. I definitely feel your pain although, of course, it isn’t cold here like the weather you are describing. That would make it much worse.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Annette Rochelle Aben | March 11, 2017 at 7:41 am | Reply

      Thanks, Robbie. The last time we had anything of this magnitude was July 1-7th of 2011. At that time, I did not live here, but my sister did. The worst thing was that smell everyone had, like raw meat that had been sitting out for days. We had scheduled a family reunion here on July 4th, as we had a terminally ill cousin visiting from out of state. Because we ha a downed powerline in our backyard, we had to assemble on the front yard. We couldn’t cook, so we ordered pizzas. Close to 40 people showed up and we did have a great time. Our cousin was gone, 16 months later.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. robbiesinspiration | March 11, 2017 at 12:33 am | Reply

    Your post inspired me to post a poem about sitting in the dark that I wrote a while ago. This is the link https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2017/03/11/in-the-dark-a-poem/

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC | March 11, 2017 at 3:19 am | Reply

    This was a tough one to “like” – we REALLY need a “read it” button. I’m glad you have hot tea and warm toes again – as well as internet.

    It’s getting colder outside here with every click of my keyboard, so I could really relate as my fingers grew ever stiffer. I do have power, but the so-called heat here is limply supplied by radiators that only warm up enough that they do not add injury to freezing insult were I to lay my hand there.

    Spring will be here soon, we pray, and ere long we’ll have heat to complain about. 🙂 Meanwhile, I’m crawling under the covers! Welcome back.
    xx,
    mgh
    (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
    ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
    “It takes a village to educate a world!”

    Liked by 2 people

    • Annette Rochelle Aben | March 11, 2017 at 7:36 am | Reply

      Wow… radiator heat. I haven’t had that since my first apartment back in the 70’s. God Bless you, here’s to everyone being warm, safe and comfortable regardless of their circumstances. ❤ And I agree about the "READ IT" button. Let's see if we can convince Word Press to do something about that. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      • Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC | March 11, 2017 at 5:45 pm |

        Yeah – pre-war building, which I prefer in many respects. Large apartments with large windows, high ceilings, gorgeous molding and pocket doors, hardwood floors throughout – and radiator heat the building management doesn’t maintain very well.

        Many apartments in NYC are similar – and I lived in one for almost 20 years. So I KNOW that radiator heat can actually over-heat a building’s top floors when it is properly maintained. There, I kept my windows cracked in my 5th floor digs every winter and was perfectly comfortable.

        Not here, however, but I doubt anything will ever change since the owners target college students who rarely stay more than a year or two for all of their many holdings in this nabe. ::sigh:: Spring is coming, and I’ll be warm again for a few months before the chore becomes remaining cool in the summer heat. When I’m forced to bundle up inside I try to remember that, since my body doesn’t tolerate heat well at all.
        xx,
        mgh

        Liked by 1 person

  8. The Story Reading Ape | March 11, 2017 at 4:40 am | Reply

    WOW – Glad you’re all back to normal Annette – I noticed you weren’t around but thought you were busy with work – not busy trying to keep warm… ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Bernadette | March 11, 2017 at 1:04 pm | Reply

    Annette, I am glad that your horrid living conditions have been put right. Have a toasty weekend😎

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Judy E Martin | March 11, 2017 at 3:55 pm | Reply

    That sounds a horrendous experience, Annette. I am glad that you have all thawed out now. I would be lost without my tea let alone the internet and phone!!! 💖

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Tina Frisco | March 12, 2017 at 7:46 pm | Reply

    Holy crap, girlfriend, what a nightmare! It’s bad enough being without electricity for a few hours, but a few days certainly challenges one’s resolve. Your commitment to an attitude of gratitude served you well. So glad you’re back here with us. Feel a big hug, luv ♥

    Liked by 1 person

  12. dgkaye | March 13, 2017 at 12:54 am | Reply

    How awful Annette. I can sympathize. I’ve been in 2 blackouts, one in the hot days of summer for 3 days and one during winter for 3 days. We wore our coats in bed! By the 3rd day I drove to a mall to spend most of the day keeping warm. Glad you’re back in business. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Hugh's Views and News | March 13, 2017 at 12:42 pm | Reply

    Sorry to hear you had to go through all of this, Annette. The last time it happened to us, I joined all of our neighbours outside asking the same question “What’s happened?” One thing it did do was make me find an emergency number for the power company so that I could report the problem if it ever happened again. It did, and I was very thankful I had written that number down.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Annette Rochelle Aben | March 13, 2017 at 2:16 pm | Reply

      You got that right! Thanks Hugh. You know, I called as soon as it happened, reported this incident to the automated service, no worries. Called back the next day to see if they had an estimate of when they they might have things back to normal, but no luck. By the third day, I called out of sheer frustration and they announced they were NOT accepting messages, as they were doing the very best they could with the enormity of the situation. Still, 6 days later, there are still those without power. God Bless us, everyone.

      Liked by 1 person

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