Posted on 09/29/2005 4:40:58 PM PDT by ForGod'sSake
like the way the equipment from the shed is all still so nicely lined up....thanks for the pics
Thanks for the tip. I hadn't thought about it, but I have access to some big ones that should work nicely. Getting lined out on the backhoe will be the next trick. I'll perhaps need to fix the city maintenance crew(both of 'em) a big tall glass of iced tea and invite 'em over......with their equipment.
FGS
I know you can't live any further in the sticks than I do. Heck, we don't even have a caution light in our fair "city".
I didn't realize there was so much 'busy-work' when you don't have electricity.
Ain't it the truth! I was fortunate in that I had made preparations beforhand to cover most contingencies. Even if we had been completely blocked in, we could have managed for at least a week, probably longer, with supplies on hand. It would have been uncomfortable, but doable.
Even so, life without lights takes a little getting used to, and the little things we take for granted have to become part of a daily, and busy, routine.
How are things with you?
Not bad, considering. The gas lines on the fringes of our blacked out area have all but vanished. One doesn't have to stand in line to buy a generator or window unit any more. An aside; my brother(an eletrician) and I(his helper ;^)) have stayed pretty busy hooking up generators and a/c's for folks around here. I may be a journeyman electrician before this is over.
In any case, as long as I can afford gas for the genset(at $25 - $30 a day), I'll be like a pig in slop. So many others have nothing, so I'm all the more grateful for what I do have. Counting my blessings.
FGS
It's a little surprising the cover stayed on the riding mower. It's a snug fit but just the least bit of wind getting under it would have sent it cross country. Go figger.
If you treat any crew with what I consider normal Southern Hospitality- see that they have shade, plenty to drink, and maybe a sandwich- they'll regard you as a Prince among men- another valuable thing I learned from my parents.
LOL! No, not exactly.
My neighbors left town for a few days so we told them we would watch their house. Well, my daughter and I were here outside (and alone) when our dogs start running into the neighbor's back yard, barking their heads off. This wasn't a "Look, it's a grasshopper" bark; it was more like their "Intruder! Intruder!" bark. There's a difference, you know.
Well, a promise is a promise, so I grabbed the 12-gauge and went over there to chase off the looters. (You have to understand: Everyone has been in lockdown, curfew mentality down here for over a week now.) I knew the neighbors had already left town and were in the next state by now, and I knew my dogs were barking much louder than usual, so I couldn't just sit there and not check it out.
Bottom line: My dogs need some Xanax and I need to stop watching old reruns of Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith Show. It was the neighbors returning for something. Well, they got a good laugh out of me standing there in my Daisy Duke shorts (it's HOT down here), standing there inside their barbed wire fence with shotgun in hand. Thank God I didn't draw down on them -- I do have a little sense!
To make it worse, I looked down at my leg because it was hurting and there was blood dripping. It turns out that when I went under the barbed wire fence, I must have put my knee down on a stick or something.
I didn't think much else about it until the next day when the puncture wound was all red and my leg was hurting and I was running fever. I dug around in it awhile but couldn't find anything, then realized I hadn't had a tetanus shot in way over 10 years. So... I ended up in the ER to get penicillin and tetanus shots. And making up lame excuses about how it happened.
The only good part about the entire ordeal was that at least the FEMA doc who dug around in my leg was nice-looking. :-)
I'm glad your adventure in repelling boarders didn't involve anyone getting shot- and a note to self, boosters for immunizations would be a good idea.
Our power was restored night before last and I wish I could afford to feed all the power crews who are staged at the Mill a big steak dinner. My folks had electricity days ago so we stayed with them. But as much as I love my Momma and Daddy, there's no place like home. lol
If anyone needs anything, just holler.
I do like the vision of you running around in Daisy Duke shorts with a shotgun.
Now, I'm gonna ask a question that might ruin that vision. Have you been able to take a bath in the last week?
"Hope I'm not hijacking the thread by posting links to a couple of stories. They are about folks in Wiergate, Burkeville, Kirbyville, etc.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3377431
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/12798935.htm
Our power was restored night before last and I wish I could afford to feed all the power crews who are staged at the Mill a big steak dinner. My folks had electricity days ago so we stayed with them. But as much as I love my Momma and Daddy, there's no place like home. lol
If anyone needs anything, just holler."
Okay, I've read all your Battery-Charging 101 directions and information. (You're so nice to type all that!) I've been charging the marine battery for 2 hours. We're about to turn off the generator though, so I don't think it's been hooked up long enough yet to hold a charge.
I'm also about to get off the computer again, meaning my inverter will be free to use in order to see if the old marine battery has any charge in it. Won't that work? When we started charging it, it wouldn't even make the red "Low Battery" light come on when hooked up to the inverter. If the red light comes on now, we're getting somewhere!
This is like Y2k, only 5 years late. Ask me if I'm having fun yet!
Thanks again for your help. You're a Godsend.
This was especially useful, too. I won't tell you how long I tried to figure out the voltage.
And if anyone pings razorback-bert and his blonde jokes, I'm coming to see you with my shotgun. ;-)
"You're a Godsend..."
I'll run that by the wife-unit, and she'll die laughing!
The marine battery you have been charging 2 hours is the new one, right? It should have some charge from the factory- most ship that way now. Next time, use the higher ( I believe it was 10 amps ) charge setting to bring it up faster.
Yes, if you previously got a dead red light, and now it is glowing, even a little, it shows the battery has some life left in it- keep charging it.
How's the fuel situation for your generator?
I am dropping offline now to bed down the family, but usually arise early- I will check back first thing.
Well, yeah, we DO have caution lights. lol!
I'll never take electricity for granted again! Like you, we were prepared. Okay, maybe semi-prepared. We had everything; we just didn't know exactly where everything was and hadn't made sure it was all in working order. Oh, and we forgot how to use the stuff, obviously!
That's cool about you hooking up the gensets for people. Neighbors like you are great to have.
I finally got the photos up. http://www.angelfire.com/tx6/texan4life/rita/
Lol! Yes, I'm bathing! In fact, we lay out the "camp showers" in the sun every day so we can have WARM showers, I'll have you know. But I was in Wal-Mart today and the man behind me in line was gamey. And I DO mean gamey. He wasn't the only one, either. If you want to see people at their worst, go to a Wal-Mart in a place that hasn't had electricity in a week!
I do like the vision of you running around in Daisy Duke shorts with a shotgun.
No, you don't. I've been eating 4,000 kcalorie MREs for a week. I'm getting to be Ms. Thunder Thighs.
No, it's one of the old ones. That's why I can't wait to see if the light glows. Right now I'm using the new battery, so I guess it came with a charge already on it.
How's the fuel situation for your generator?
We have plenty of propane left; that's not gonna be a problem. I think they'll get the lights back up way before we run out.
Time to turn on all the lanterns. My daughter just informed me we'll be playing "Sorry!" tonight. Wish me luck -- she shows no mercy!
How can a Wal-Mart be open without power? I realize that they can use the old-fashioned credit card process, but I'm surprised they can even get the registers open without power.
This one operated on a generator a few days, but now it has power. It's very spotty in terms of who has electricity and who doesn't. From what I understand, the entire 22-county area is like that. Go listen to klvi.com. It's causing friction. For example, the west end of Beaumont (whites) have power, while others don't.
Gotta sign off now... I'm cooking supper. Will try to come back tomorrow morning. G'nite!
Note to self: Call ahead when in Nita's neighborhood!
BTW, didn't you, or it may have been someone else, ask about the wind speeds around this area from Rita? I ran across what appears to be the final hurricane advisory on Rita from the NWS which indicated a gust of 117 mph at the Lake Livingston dam, which engineers(?) suspect sustained some serious damage. Since Tyler county would have been between Lake Livingston and the center of Rita, it would imply we had some gusts at least as strong. All's I know is I've never seen wind gusts like I saw from Rita. I'm no expert but 100+ mph seems absolutely possible for around here.
As an odd aside, Tyler county was not mentioned in the statement. Maybe we don't have enough traffic lights???
FGS
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