The Blizzard of 2011,,,,,

Greetings!

The storms are finally over and now the clean up begins in earnest.  It is really hard to tell just how much snow we got because of all the blowing and drifting.  But I estimate it at somewhere between 14 and 18 inches.  We had drifts in some areas that were 3 and 4 feet deep.

In the heart of the worse part of the storm I had to get my dog Rusty out for a short walk so he could take care of his business.  Yes, I love my dog that much that I ventured out in it.  The snow was coming down hard,  roughly 3 to 4 inches an hour.  The winds were extremely furious, probably close to 60 mph.  It actually blew us over twice.  I thought I could handle going around one block.  I almost didn't make it back!!  It was hard to see where we were going because the snow was blowing so hard.  We round the first corner and wound up in a drift that was waist high for me.  Rusty is a fairly good sized dog but he had to stretch to keep his head above the snow.  We were stuck!!

We stood there a couple of minutes as the wind battered us around.  I felt like a punching bag for the wind.  The winds howled so loud it sounded like a freight train.  Living in tornado alley the only thought that came to mind was a tornado.  Tree branches and twigs were flying everyone.  All I could do was pray.  Lord, please watch over us and protect us, get us back home safely!!

I took a deep breath and said OK Rusty lets go!!  I pulled us both out of the snow drift and onward we pushed.  What would have been about a 10 minute slow walk in good weather took us nearly 40 minutes.  But we made it and Rusty managed to take care of his business along the way, LOL.

Shortly after we got home we lost cable and Internet.  Then the power started flickering on and off.  We completely lost power about 2:30am.  We have a gas furnace in this rental house and thought we would still have heat, but we did not.  Apparently, the furnace has an electric start that must fire up every time the furnace kicks on.  But we have a gas stove, so I fired up the oven knowing that would keep the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom warm enough to be comfortable.  I know they say you should not do that, but desperate times calls for desperate measures.  Besides, I do a lot of baking and that oven is on a lot anyway.  Haven't died of carbon monoxide yet, LOL.  It got a little cool in the house but really not that bad.

The next morning Win came over with a kerosene heater.  We set that up and used it until the power came back on.  That kept us toasty warm.  As it would have it, the power came back on later in the afternoon.

The snow was extremely wet and heavy.  I would go out and shovel a few feet then have to take a break.  Between my fibromyalgia, back problems and torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder I just could not do much at one time.  Then my friend Caleb came over to help.  Between us we managed to get half the sidewalk done and the driveway.  The other half of the sidewalk and my car will have to be shoveled out today.  We managed to get Frank's truck shoveled out so at least there is one vehicle that can get out if need be.

Today the wind chill is 5 below zero but the sun is shining.  If I get to moving a bit better I might tackle the other half of the sidewalk and my car this afternoon.  If not, it can just sit a few days.  Right now it takes a lot of effort to just put one foot in front of the other.  But yes, I will still get Rusty out for his walks when needed.  One of the walks I will try to remember to take my digital camera with me and take some pictures to post here later today or tomorrow.  But for now, everyone is asleep and I intend to take a nap.

Until next time,,,,,, Blessings!