Cool but not cold. Sunny and windy. I think.
Yesterday got up into the 60s and it was chilly shirtsleeves temps out in the sun. And I took the day off. Did some cleaning and putting away, but mostly wasted time on the internet with my friends. Checked on a couple of friends. Mostly though, had a down day to recover.
Now the actual recovery will commence. Stuff needs to be cleaned, restocked, and put away. Damage from freezing needs to be assessed and accounted for. Then all the normal spring stuff needs to happen too. I’ve got a tree coming down on Friday, and I need to clear a path, and set up a spot for the wood we’re keeping. Eventually a plumber will install our instant hot water heater. That was supposed to be this week but I wouldn’t pull him away from emergency calls even if I could. I’ve got stuff to get to auction, and delayed pickups to make. LOTS of organizing to do too. And gardening…
Some other notes before I forget…
–those one pound bottles of propane are supposed to be removable and re-install-able, but I have about 1 in 3 leak slowly when removed. That’s one reason not to store them indoors. Squirt the top with soapy water and watch for bubbles. Bubbles = leaking.
–the lithium jumper packs from Costco, with S in the name might not be great for jumping cars but they are excellent as power packs to recharge anything with a 5v USB charger.
–buckets rock. You should have a bunch of empty food grade 5 gallon buckets and lids in storage.
–black plastic sheeting. Clear plastic sheeting. BOTH kinds of plastic sheeting. You need at least one roll in storage.
–space heaters of various types could save the day, even if you wouldn’t ordinarily use them for anything.
— the traditional advice, “storm coming, fill the bathtub with water” is excellent advice.
–a working whole house generator would have made this whole thing almost a non-issue. Water would have been my only concern.
–check your water. check your preps.
— the traditional advice, “storm coming, fill your vehicle gas tanks” is excellent advice.
–get some CO monitors. Then get a couple more. You’ll sleep better with them than without them.
–I was too busy or too tired to run any radios. I left the scanner off. I didn’t need any info we weren’t getting from the neighborhood through texts or groups on FB. I did notice the local 440mhz repeater that covers the whole city was offline. I didn’t even try any HF. Longer event and I probably would have started firing up radios, but my concerns were local local local, and tribe.
–cell coverage went down and stayed down for more than a day. Voice coverage and data were spotty before and after. Texts came through, but could be delayed.
–the Middle Earth version of Risk takes two days. Like the regular version of Risk. Two very long and frustrating days. Like regular Risk. It did keep the wife and kids out of the way– for two long days. Puzzles have a LOT less angst and conflict.
–hot chocolate is a comfort food. And we ran out. Prepper fail.
–bad stuff can happen any time. Worse stuff can happen during bad stuff.
–having extras to hand to people means you can help others without involving yourself intimately. That’s good for them and you too.
–there are knock on effects too, ie. second and third and fourth order effects. Pipes freeze and break. EVERYONE needs a plumber. No plumbers are available so everyone heads to the store to try and DIY. No plumbing supplies are left in the stores. Pipes break and flood (why? Because people don’t know or think to turn off the water and NOT turn it back on without watching). Flooring, walls and ceilings are ruined. Houstonians know how to deal with wet stuff, you rip it out. But that means no dumpsters are available. No dumpsters means piles of debris in front of the house. I’m going to buy a dumpster bag and add it to my preps. When one becomes available…
–stuff and systems fail at the worst possible time, because that’s when they are stressed the most. People too.
–it’s always something.
All good reasons to KEEP STACKING.
nick