The second day without power was a day trudging from the woodshed to the house with a kid’s pink sled bringing firewood to the house. I lined it up in a stack almost the length of the living room – I learned Thst it took that much to last thru the night.
Temp after trip with Red alongside me, we loaded the pink plastic sled with firewood and drug it across the ice covered grass to the east door of the house. And then the process continued by hauling it inside.
I loaded up as many milk jugs as I had and drove into Mom’s to fill them and while I was there I showered and had something hot to eat. All that wood hauling took hours and then there was all those animals in the barn to care for.
I believe it was on the second day that Tony Urich (married to Sue who used to work for us) rigged up a trouble light in the kitchen that was powered by a lawn mower battery. The hook remains in our kitchen ceiling yet today as a reminder of his thoughtfulness. I no longer had to sit in the dark from 5 pm till morning. I don’t remember what I did all evening – it must have gotten very long.
When it was time to actually go to bed, I wore coveralls, my parka, stocking hat and gloves and covered up with several quilts – I laid in front of the fireplace on the couch – with Red and half a dozen grateful cats. Every time I got too cold I would wake up to a dying fire so I knew it was time to throw on more wood. It was a vicious circle.
The power poles were snapped off for many miles – no wonder we had no lights or heat.
Honestly the days run into each other now in my mind. I believe power was off until Tuesday – can anybody in the Garner area help with that? Minnesota got dumped on with a huge amount of snow – we just got below zero temps, ice covering everything nd wind. Since it was not even winter yet by the calendar, all that ice stayed with us till spring. Still no phone call.
…………………………
I had a request to see these fall pictures in my house.
Look at this fabulous medallion quilt! Imagine how many tiny pieces and each round must be pieced precisely with a quarter inch seam so that it fits the previous round. I am gobsmacked by all those tiny pinwheel blocks!!! I hope you’ve entered this quilt into competition, Diane! Please tell us the details about your quilt!
And Mortie closes out this post.
Diane your quilt is so lovely, very impressive! Mortie is such a cutie & has perfect balance! Wonder why she decided to perch on top of a jar?? Poor Hazel, hope her boo boo is healing! Could she have been stung by a bee? Trying to get outside work done before it turns really cold. Possibility of snow next week. I dread that! Tomorrow after voting & a Costco run, I’ll disconnect my garden hose & drain for storage. Thursday the new blinds will be installed in my sewing room. I finished washing all the windows today. My sewing room is a sun room, so plenty of big windows. Rescues, whether it’s dogs or cats, I think they’re just so happy to have the security of a good home & someone who loves them! Boots is never far from me & that’s why I call him a Velcro dog!😊 It baffles me as to why someone gave him up! His first owner paid a lot of money for him & spent a lot on his eye surgery.
Mortie is adorable. I’m glad you were able to make her part of your animal family. That ice storm was terrible. The pictures are amazing. I worked on pulling up my zinnias today. The ground is like rock; we haven’t had a good rain in a while. I’m having my first cataract done on Wednesday. I am excited to be able to see again. The left eye is done on December 10. I want to do a lot of sewing, and it will be good to have two eyes working again. I hope Hazel feels better. Have a good day tomorrow.
Thanks for sharing the amazing story about the 1991ice storm. One day would be bad enough, but a whole week had to be horrible. I am glad you had all that “cat power” helping to keep you warm. 😊
Cute little Morti could be a gymnast; she has great balance.
We took our camper to Southern IL for the weekend and enjoyed their peak color weekend, along with spending time with our son and family. This was probably our last camping trip of the season. We will not winterize the camper until after Thanksgiving, in the event it becomes a guest house for the holiday weekend.
Thanks Mary 🥰
Diane’s quilt is amazing! I can’t do teent weeny – I am so impressed 😍
Oh NO! Not a Hazel boo-boo – pls keep us posted! And Mortie is sooooo sweet!
I’m thrilled to report this am that the Buffalo Bills beat Kansas City last evening. Of course it came down to the final minute. The game was in Buffalo so I know our city went to sleep very happy. I also have a very special cat named Tom-Tom who never leaves my side even when I take a shower. He watches thru the glass! He was a rescue and was always hiding in the basement rafters at my daughter’s house after she adopted him but started staying by my side whenever I visited her in Hendersonville where she lives. I decided he would be happier with me and so began our very special relationship. The moral of my story is NEVER give up on a rescue pet.
What a happy ending for you and Tom-Tom— glad you “never gave up”.
Barbara – your story is suggestive of my Keeper. He is so clingy and so dependent on me and it just has to be because I fostered him and his brothers as puppies and then returned him to the shelter for an adoption appointment – which was a no show. The shelter did not let me know and I discovered he was still there by accident 2 months later!! He has horrible separation anxiety and I’m sure this is the reason. Poor guy.
Mary, we are both blessed by our “special” pets. TT wakes me up every morning with a kiss (lick) on my nose. I can’t imagine my home without him being there. I talk to him all the time and I really think he understands!!!!
Barbara – oh, I do believe they understand / without a doubt!!
I love love love your Mortie 🥰🥰🥰. My mom was born on Halloween thus we had to postpone her 80th birthday gathering because of the Halloween blizzard. I recall that weekend and always will. I was 44 years old.
I remember that blizzard. My kids wanted to go into town to go trick or treating. I told them if it snows we’re not going. When it started snowing I was like, yes. Little did I know! We had a ton of snow in SE SD.
Background story of my Challenge Quilt.
I participated in a Grab Bag Challenge at one of the local quilt shops. You purchased a bag with 3) 1/2 yd pieces of fabric, sight unseen. The challenge rules were quite simple. Create a quilt that was at least 36″ x 42″ and the quilt must use each of the 3 purchased fabrics. The fabrics were so not my style, but I was determined. I decided to start with a basket in the center and build the quilt Medallion style. I built each row around the quilt as I went. There was so much trial and error, more error than I wished. The fabric that I decided to use in alternating borders was 1 5/8″, it was so hard to make the pieced rows fit. My quilt ended up being 54′ x 54″. There are 986 pieces in the front and 362 pieces in the back. I put all the leftover and test blocks on the back. This was the last quilt I longarmed before my quilting machine was upgraded to a Statler computerized longarm. I loved doing custom work, but my hands just couldn’t take it anymore.
My husband and I got a good chuckle from Mortie sitting on that jar. So funny. Recounting your Halloween blizzard has been so readable. We watched the PBS program entitled Superfloods last night. It recounted the hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina, the flood in Texas where so many children died, and a similar flood in Valencia, Spain all within a year. According to the weather experts, due to climate warming, we will have more superfloods. I don’t want anyone to have suffer through blizzards, but neither do I want a super flood again. Diane, your quilt is so lovely. You should enter it in the State Fair.
Hi Mary, enjoying your story, must have been a scary time for you. Beautiful quilt Diane, I love it. Mortie is stealing our hearts!
These stories of ice storms are all unbelievable and shows just how strong we can be during difficult times.
Diane your quilt is beautiful.
Your ice storm story reminds me of the Southern MN blizzard in 1973 or 74 (I think). I drove home from college about 8 miles and couldn’t see anything past my car hood. Looking back now I was so lucky that no one else was on the road. Living on the dairy farm meant the cows needed to be milked twice a day. My dad and brothers rigged up a generator to run the milking machines. The next day, the guys brought in the “old” oil heater and hooked it up to the dining room chimney. We hung a blanket across the archway between the dining room and living room so we only heated two rooms. My young sister (5or 6) slept on blankets under the dining room table. That storm lasted like 5 or 6 days. Ahhh.. climate is changing so that those big winter storms are far and few between.
Oh poor Hazel. Hope her boo boo is better soon. Can’t believe Mortie is sitting on that jar. What balance!! I love your ice storm stories. So much work just to stay warm and take care of your animals. I’ve never been in a storm like that. That medallion quilt is amazing.
Mortie has great balance! Hope Hazel gets better soon. What an ice storm—something you’ll never forget. We had an ice storm in 1994 (I think). We were without power for a week. Fortunately, the temps were just warm enough that melting ice could be collected as it ran off the roof of the barn, so watering the animals was taken care of. Staying warm was impossible. Was doubly thankful for electricity afterwards.
I remember that Halloween in North Texas. The first cold front of the season arrived…….a true Blue Norther. My children were very young and we made it to ONE home to Trick or Treat. Our friend had made special treats for my children. We enjoyed the treats then headed home. Thus year the temps in North Texas were perfect for Halloween, cool enough that no one was sweating in their costume.
Thank you for allowing me to remember that Halloween.
Paula in Texas