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bronwynrhAlright, so Ike blew through the Louisville area yesterday, with 75 mph winds. Our local weather idiots predicted a bit of wind, maybe a little rain, but they didn't prepare us even a little bit for what we got.
Hundreds of thousands are without power and we're being told it'll be "at least 10-14 days" before we can hope to have power again. Half of our power-puttin'-back people had to be called back from the South, where they'd gone to help with the recovery from Ike's efforts earlier in the weekend. All of our "mutual assistance" partners have denied our requests for help because they're all caught up in their own recovery efforts. Lots of lines are down, many many thousands of trees are down - I saw many half-downed trees holding up half-downed power poles this morning. That was fun. And something like 90+% of our substations are fubar'd, and many of those big metal power line thingies are down, too. From the sounds of it, this is far more than just righting a few wooden poles and flipping a couple of switches.
Ike was kind enough also to tear a hole in our roof. Fortunately, we live in one of Those Neighborhoods where, although we're fronted (across the street) by forest, we are backed by golf course and surrounded by 30+ of our own very young trees. So we didn't have to worry about downed trees hitting the house or our cars. But somehow, that chunk of roof was whisked away. We sat there, watching the sand blow out of the sand traps, our trees lying nearly horizontally, backing up every few seconds when the windows bulged frighteningly inward.
In a prime example of Great Timing, Jeff and I went grocery shopping yesterday morning, just in time to buy a couple of gallons of milk that are now spoiled, among other various foodstuffs that won't last long without refrigeration.
Dad (and Jeff, I assume) will be continuing the epic quest to find a generator which, if successful, should guarantee the speedy return of our LG&E electrical service. Because I just think the world works like that.
In the meantime, we'll be making heavy use of the gas grill. Thank goodness it's a fancyish one with a sideburner, so we can heat up a pot o' something on the side.
And of course, my company is operating, business as usual. It's good, because I can access the internet to talk to you good people and research locations in Louisville where those precious and hard-to-find generators are sold. It sucks, because I'd rather be home taking care of Samuel and dealing with the rotting food in the refrigerator and trying to figure out how to extricate my clothes from the front-loader, which locked its door midcycle when the power went out.
I'm not looking forward to the stink *that's* going to create.
Oh, the good news from all of this is that Jeff's stores, which were practically alone staying open yesterday, did bang-up business. Jeff had to go fetch dough from one of his former stores (all of which were closed yesterday, hah!) to resupply his own. So yay for people without power ordering pizza!
Tomorrow is my 36w OB appointment, where we'll see what my placenta is up to, and how the baby is lying, and if there's any signs of "Thar she blows!" in the near future. I have high hopes for the first two and serious doubts about the latter. I'll probably take a sick day for the day, so I can spend some time on the phone with the insurance company and see if I can't find a roofer to come cover the hole. There's no rain in the forecast, so I don't have to worry about our bedroom being renovated into a natatorium, but I do worry about critters setting up house in there.
Yay Monday :-/
Dad has found a generator. *cue singing choirs of angels* Seriously. This means the power will be back on tomorrow, doesn't it?
Hundreds of thousands are without power and we're being told it'll be "at least 10-14 days" before we can hope to have power again. Half of our power-puttin'-back people had to be called back from the South, where they'd gone to help with the recovery from Ike's efforts earlier in the weekend. All of our "mutual assistance" partners have denied our requests for help because they're all caught up in their own recovery efforts. Lots of lines are down, many many thousands of trees are down - I saw many half-downed trees holding up half-downed power poles this morning. That was fun. And something like 90+% of our substations are fubar'd, and many of those big metal power line thingies are down, too. From the sounds of it, this is far more than just righting a few wooden poles and flipping a couple of switches.
Ike was kind enough also to tear a hole in our roof. Fortunately, we live in one of Those Neighborhoods where, although we're fronted (across the street) by forest, we are backed by golf course and surrounded by 30+ of our own very young trees. So we didn't have to worry about downed trees hitting the house or our cars. But somehow, that chunk of roof was whisked away. We sat there, watching the sand blow out of the sand traps, our trees lying nearly horizontally, backing up every few seconds when the windows bulged frighteningly inward.
In a prime example of Great Timing, Jeff and I went grocery shopping yesterday morning, just in time to buy a couple of gallons of milk that are now spoiled, among other various foodstuffs that won't last long without refrigeration.
Dad (and Jeff, I assume) will be continuing the epic quest to find a generator which, if successful, should guarantee the speedy return of our LG&E electrical service. Because I just think the world works like that.
In the meantime, we'll be making heavy use of the gas grill. Thank goodness it's a fancyish one with a sideburner, so we can heat up a pot o' something on the side.
And of course, my company is operating, business as usual. It's good, because I can access the internet to talk to you good people and research locations in Louisville where those precious and hard-to-find generators are sold. It sucks, because I'd rather be home taking care of Samuel and dealing with the rotting food in the refrigerator and trying to figure out how to extricate my clothes from the front-loader, which locked its door midcycle when the power went out.
I'm not looking forward to the stink *that's* going to create.
Oh, the good news from all of this is that Jeff's stores, which were practically alone staying open yesterday, did bang-up business. Jeff had to go fetch dough from one of his former stores (all of which were closed yesterday, hah!) to resupply his own. So yay for people without power ordering pizza!
Tomorrow is my 36w OB appointment, where we'll see what my placenta is up to, and how the baby is lying, and if there's any signs of "Thar she blows!" in the near future. I have high hopes for the first two and serious doubts about the latter. I'll probably take a sick day for the day, so I can spend some time on the phone with the insurance company and see if I can't find a roofer to come cover the hole. There's no rain in the forecast, so I don't have to worry about our bedroom being renovated into a natatorium, but I do worry about critters setting up house in there.
Yay Monday :-/
Dad has found a generator. *cue singing choirs of angels* Seriously. This means the power will be back on tomorrow, doesn't it?
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(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:42 pm (UTC)We did get some heavy winds yesterday morning, which lasted about an hour or two and which the weather people hadn't really predicted.
Sorry to hear about the roof. :-( Yay for homeowner's insurance. But what a pain.
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:54 pm (UTC)And yeah, it was insane. I was trying to take a nap when it started up - which further proves the theorem that Bronwyn May Not Nap on Weekends - and I lay there, looking at the window and hoping it wouldn't blow in. I swear the furies were furious yesterday!
If your student can get to a public library, she may get lucky. Parts of Prospect and much of downtown has power, but pretty much everyone else is S.O.L.
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 08:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: September 17th, 2008 12:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:45 pm (UTC)And, that certainly answers the question of, "Did you have much damage?" Wow... That's just, well, a lot to deal with.
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:56 pm (UTC):)
And yeah, that big box o' OxiClean under the cabinet will be put to heavy use!
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:50 pm (UTC)Keeping you in my thoughts- please let me know if there's more I can do.
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 08:01 pm (UTC)I was hormonal and emotional about it, I know.
I think dad's about to get a generator, so we should be in better shape soon.
We went to bed shortly after sunset last night. How old-fashioned!
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 07:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 08:04 pm (UTC)It certainly helps to be able to vent.
(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 10:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: September 15th, 2008 11:39 pm (UTC)It was pretty hairy here, yesterday afternoon. That giant oak tree outside my back balcony looked like a giant, writhing angry kraaken, and I was rather transfixed by its wildly gyrating limbs smashing down on the roofs of the buildings on the courtyard. (Seriously, it was like being in the middle of that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean.)
I only lost power twice - once for about five minutes and once for about fifteen. I was marveling at how flexible a giant oak tree can be while thinking, "Wow, this isn't so bad!" (But then, I started reading updates from other people... eeek!)
*hugs and mojo* I hope the inevitable post-powerup cleanup is quick and painless, and that you get to take a nap, soon!
(no subject)
Date: September 16th, 2008 10:27 am (UTC)Double ick to the front-loader...I've never had that particular pleasure.
Make a list of what you toss from your fridge. It's covered by insurance. Since you know you have to file a claim for your roof, might as well file a claim for the food as well.
Ketchup and mayo and mustard, as long as they never got above room temp, are still good. Just get them back under refrigeration right away. or replace them...up to you.
Good luck with everything, ducks. I feel your pain!