Yes, it has been a long time since I posted, and partly because I was too busy to do more than check email occasionally.
But more than that, because we were caught right in the heart of The Big Storm on December 14, which left us without power for a week, and internet access for two weeks.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, the occasional high winds, and steady rains, are expected. But we generally avoid winds higher than 50 mph. However, on the 14th, a lot of things converged, as the meteorologists say, and caused some of the most dramatic weather we have had in recent memory.
It really started back in November with flooding that closed school for two days. We were lucky -- no flooding where we live, up a large hill, and no power outages.
But then on the 13th we had the second incidence of high winds in five days, with predictions of higher winds and heavy rains for Thursday, the 14th. One of my offspring was performing in "Nutcracker" in Seattle. #1 had a performance that night, and we had tickets to watch the amazing Patric
ia Barker dance Clara in one of the three final performances before she retire
s at the end of the season. Partnered with the incredible Stanko Milov, it was a must-see. And having a child in the production on the same evening was irresistible.
So we set off at 3:30pm so our member of the infantry would be there by 6:30. Oh, I think I forgot to mention: There was a Seattle Seahawks game that evening, as well. And any time there is a Seahawks game downtown Seattle on a weeknight, traffic is horrific. We stopped at McDonalds' for an early dinner, I had packed a cooler with sandwiches and other food for what we anticipated might be a long drive home, and in the trunk was an overnight bag just in case we didn't make it home.
But more than that, because we were caught right in the heart of The Big Storm on December 14, which left us without power for a week, and internet access for two weeks.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, the occasional high winds, and steady rains, are expected. But we generally avoid winds higher than 50 mph. However, on the 14th, a lot of things converged, as the meteorologists say, and caused some of the most dramatic weather we have had in recent memory.
It really started back in November with flooding that closed school for two days. We were lucky -- no flooding where we live, up a large hill, and no power outages.
But then on the 13th we had the second incidence of high winds in five days, with predictions of higher winds and heavy rains for Thursday, the 14th. One of my offspring was performing in "Nutcracker" in Seattle. #1 had a performance that night, and we had tickets to watch the amazing Patric
ia Barker dance Clara in one of the three final performances before she retire
s at the end of the season. Partnered with the incredible Stanko Milov, it was a must-see. And having a child in the production on the same evening was irresistible.So we set off at 3:30pm so our member of the infantry would be there by 6:30. Oh, I think I forgot to mention: There was a Seattle Seahawks game that evening, as well. And any time there is a Seahawks game downtown Seattle on a weeknight, traffic is horrific. We stopped at McDonalds' for an early dinner, I had packed a cooler with sandwiches and other food for what we anticipated might be a long drive home, and in the trunk was an overnight bag just in case we didn't make it home.
So we headed off downtown, ready to sit in heavy traffic for much of the trip. And heavy the traffic was, compounded by some flooding on the road. But we eventually made it, and early, even. Our cast member safely delivered to the Stage Door, we headed up to McCaw Hall to wait for the performance to start (and late, at that, to allow all the people caught in traffic to make it in), and watch the wind and rain blow outside.
The performance, of course, was wonderful. At the end, as the houselights came up, the announcer thanked everyone for coming and announced that Mercer Street was closed. We found out later that it was underwater in places. We pulled out the snack "lunch" I had packed, and the kids munched while we inched our way out of the parking garage.
The DOT had already announced that the 520 bridge between Seattle and "the Eastside" would be closed by 11:00pm because of the predicted high winds. When we came out of the parking garage, we realized that the heavy traffic would mean that the bridge, if not already closed, would close either before we were on it or while we were on it. Not wanting to deal with that possibility, we used the Tom Tom to give us a route to the I-90 bridge, the other way across, although not as direct home for us. And thank goodness for the Tom Tom. It took us through a deserted downtown to an entrance to I-5 (which connects with 90) that was barely being used, and we were quickly on the bridge across Lake Washington.
And what a tense drive it was. Although the bridge remained stable in spite of being a floating bridge, our windshield was regularly slapped by waves that washed up over the side of the bridge. But we made it across, and headed for home.
When we arrived home, the power was out, and many branches were already on the ground. The wind was howling and roaring, and you could hear trees cracking, although none of ours. We dressed for bed by flashlight, and tucked #1 and #2 in bed. Fortunately, they slept. We didn't, too concerned that a tree would fall on the house. By about 5am, the winds had begun to die down, so we did doze.
The next morning, our yard looked like there had never been a storm at all. But all around us, it looked kind of like a war zone. We knew not even to
ask when power would be restored. Dh went out to get gas for the small, efficient generator, and cancelled every other errand becuase it was too dangerous. Just to get to the main highway, he had to drive under three huge trees suspended from power lines.
We were lucky. We had a generator that provided television and power to keep batteries charged. We have gas hot water and a gas range, so I was able to cook, and we had hot water. But even with all that, we were still unhappy -- we had no internet access to compensate for last-minute Christmas shopping, and it started to get cold in the house, even with the fireplace burning.
Early Saturday morning, I heard my husband get up and start the fire in the fireplace. I must have dozed off, because what seemed only a few minutes later, but was more like 45 minutes, he crawled shivering back into bed and announced, "I don't think the fire makes enough difference. I took a cable from my workbench in the garage and something something something to run the furnace." At that moment I realized -- the furnace was running. What a clever man I married! So from that day we had heat.
Later that day I threw out almost everything in the refrigerator, and had a cooler on the back porch for a small amount of fresh food. I confess I grew weary of cooking on the stovetop, but we ate pretty well. Everyone was happy with grilled cheese sandwiches, so we had a lot of them.
On Sunday our member of the infantry had a 5:30 pm performance. We all piled into the car and headed into Seattle, where there was light and heat. We went to the local coffee shop and dh used the wireless available, although it was pretty sporadic. #2 and I finally went back to the Stage Door at McCaw Hall, to the waiting room where we could watch the performance on a monitor with the sound from the auditorium piped in. When #1 came up at intermission, ready to leave, we went to a Seattle Red Robin with an amazingly treacherous parking lot, and had a hot meal. I am not a big fan of Red Robin, but I have a new favorite -- the California Chicken Burger without bacon and pickle. It was right on Elliot Bay, and a cozy place. When we got home, of course, the house was dark, but it was warm. Even without power on for those few hours, the house stayed warm enough.
However, Brinks seemed surprised that we were still without power, and had tried several times to call us because of a low battery alert. Dh patiently 'slpained that we had no idea when we would have power restored, so to wait at least until Friday before the called about low battery again.
By Thursday I was ready to beg dh to take us to a hotel for the duration (at least he and #1 got out of the house for "Nutcracker" performances), when late in the morning the septic alarm started buzzing. Looking up I cried, "We have power!"
It was amazing how quickly I forgot the struggle of living in a house made for power without power. I went to the grocery store for a few lunch items, then went back in the late afternoon to stock up and replenish the frozen and fresh foods. Ironically, the heat was off -- dh was at work, and I turned off the generator when it came back on. Eventually the furnace was returned to the house circuit, and it was like we never lost power.
Except for internet access. Which didn't get restored until the following week. Given that I do so much of my family communication through email, it was frustrating, to say the least. Plus dh had a difficult time working from home, since he used his Blackberry for access. He was very happy when he could finally once again play Battlefield II online interactive.
We put the Christmas tree lights on the tree on the 22nd, the ornaments on the 23rd, and hung the stockings on the 24th. Santa came as scheduled, and all was well.
The performance, of course, was wonderful. At the end, as the houselights came up, the announcer thanked everyone for coming and announced that Mercer Street was closed. We found out later that it was underwater in places. We pulled out the snack "lunch" I had packed, and the kids munched while we inched our way out of the parking garage.
The DOT had already announced that the 520 bridge between Seattle and "the Eastside" would be closed by 11:00pm because of the predicted high winds. When we came out of the parking garage, we realized that the heavy traffic would mean that the bridge, if not already closed, would close either before we were on it or while we were on it. Not wanting to deal with that possibility, we used the Tom Tom to give us a route to the I-90 bridge, the other way across, although not as direct home for us. And thank goodness for the Tom Tom. It took us through a deserted downtown to an entrance to I-5 (which connects with 90) that was barely being used, and we were quickly on the bridge across Lake Washington.
And what a tense drive it was. Although the bridge remained stable in spite of being a floating bridge, our windshield was regularly slapped by waves that washed up over the side of the bridge. But we made it across, and headed for home.
When we arrived home, the power was out, and many branches were already on the ground. The wind was howling and roaring, and you could hear trees cracking, although none of ours. We dressed for bed by flashlight, and tucked #1 and #2 in bed. Fortunately, they slept. We didn't, too concerned that a tree would fall on the house. By about 5am, the winds had begun to die down, so we did doze.
The next morning, our yard looked like there had never been a storm at all. But all around us, it looked kind of like a war zone. We knew not even to
ask when power would be restored. Dh went out to get gas for the small, efficient generator, and cancelled every other errand becuase it was too dangerous. Just to get to the main highway, he had to drive under three huge trees suspended from power lines.We were lucky. We had a generator that provided television and power to keep batteries charged. We have gas hot water and a gas range, so I was able to cook, and we had hot water. But even with all that, we were still unhappy -- we had no internet access to compensate for last-minute Christmas shopping, and it started to get cold in the house, even with the fireplace burning.
Early Saturday morning, I heard my husband get up and start the fire in the fireplace. I must have dozed off, because what seemed only a few minutes later, but was more like 45 minutes, he crawled shivering back into bed and announced, "I don't think the fire makes enough difference. I took a cable from my workbench in the garage and something something something to run the furnace." At that moment I realized -- the furnace was running. What a clever man I married! So from that day we had heat.
Later that day I threw out almost everything in the refrigerator, and had a cooler on the back porch for a small amount of fresh food. I confess I grew weary of cooking on the stovetop, but we ate pretty well. Everyone was happy with grilled cheese sandwiches, so we had a lot of them.
On Sunday our member of the infantry had a 5:30 pm performance. We all piled into the car and headed into Seattle, where there was light and heat. We went to the local coffee shop and dh used the wireless available, although it was pretty sporadic. #2 and I finally went back to the Stage Door at McCaw Hall, to the waiting room where we could watch the performance on a monitor with the sound from the auditorium piped in. When #1 came up at intermission, ready to leave, we went to a Seattle Red Robin with an amazingly treacherous parking lot, and had a hot meal. I am not a big fan of Red Robin, but I have a new favorite -- the California Chicken Burger without bacon and pickle. It was right on Elliot Bay, and a cozy place. When we got home, of course, the house was dark, but it was warm. Even without power on for those few hours, the house stayed warm enough.
However, Brinks seemed surprised that we were still without power, and had tried several times to call us because of a low battery alert. Dh patiently 'slpained that we had no idea when we would have power restored, so to wait at least until Friday before the called about low battery again.
By Thursday I was ready to beg dh to take us to a hotel for the duration (at least he and #1 got out of the house for "Nutcracker" performances), when late in the morning the septic alarm started buzzing. Looking up I cried, "We have power!"
It was amazing how quickly I forgot the struggle of living in a house made for power without power. I went to the grocery store for a few lunch items, then went back in the late afternoon to stock up and replenish the frozen and fresh foods. Ironically, the heat was off -- dh was at work, and I turned off the generator when it came back on. Eventually the furnace was returned to the house circuit, and it was like we never lost power.
Except for internet access. Which didn't get restored until the following week. Given that I do so much of my family communication through email, it was frustrating, to say the least. Plus dh had a difficult time working from home, since he used his Blackberry for access. He was very happy when he could finally once again play Battlefield II online interactive.
We put the Christmas tree lights on the tree on the 22nd, the ornaments on the 23rd, and hung the stockings on the 24th. Santa came as scheduled, and all was well.
