I last wrote about Kelly's birthday. Charlie was here that week, but had to fly back to Oklahoma a day or two after that. He's been there ever since (for a total of over 7 months), but should be home by Tuesday.
We've had an unusually snowy winter (well, snowy for us anyway) and it's been colder than normal. I've always hated winter and after this winter I hate it even more.
We had a bad ice storm almost a month ago. (Click photos to enlarge.)
The branch split. Charlie will have to remove it with a chainsaw when he gets home next week.
We lost power at my house Friday morning, March 7th. Almost the entire county (and many people in surrounding counties) lost power. My mom, who lives about a mile away from me, also lost power and came over to my house because her house was much colder than mine. (It was about 40° in her house. It got down to 54° in mine.) We couldn't cook (obviously) and all stores and restaurants were closed, so for supper that night I had a cheese sandwich and baked Cheetos; Mom and Kelly had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with chips or crackers; and Sean had Doritos.
It got pretty cold in my house, so we put on layers of clothes. It was especially cold that night. I had on a t-shirt, sweatshirt, sweater, long wool coat, long johns, sweat pants, and 3 pairs of socks. I slept in a recliner in the living room (the front of the house doesn't get as cold as the back, where my bedroom is) covered with a couple blankets (in addition to all those layers). One of my cats (Sam) slept on my belly and Charlie's dog Milo (a white Jack Russell with one tan ear) slept under the covers cuddled up to me. My mom slept in my bed (she said she was warm), Sean slept on the couch (his room is usually the coldest), and Kelly slept in her bed with our toy poodle Pippin and our cat Evie. Our cat Sadie didn't sleep with anyone.
The next day, Saturday afternoon, we got ready and drove to Siler City to look for an open restaurant. They weren't hit by the ice storm nearly as bad as we were. (It didn't look like they got touched by it much at all.) Everything there was open. We ate at Elizabeth's Pizza (I got cheese tortellini with tomato sauce) and it felt so good to eat a hot meal.
We didn't know when we'd get our power back on (when my mom called they said by late Wednesday night), so I went to Target and got some food that didn't have to be cooked or refrigerated. Cereal, bread (for peanut butter sandwiches), granola bars, muffins, nabs, chips, apple sauce cups, etc. I figured we'd eat those foods during the day and then go out for supper at night. I also got toilet paper (thank God the toilets were still working fine), paper towels, and plastic spoons.
When we got home that evening (around 5 or 6), our power was back on. Oh, we were so happy! We cheered and clapped and jumped and danced. lol So I'd spent $100 on basically junk food, but whatever. Haha.
The best thing about getting our power back on on Saturday was that we could go to church on Sunday. (Our church got their power back on, too.) After church, I went by the store for bacon, eggs, and milk so that I could fix us something to eat when we got home. I make brunch every Sunday after church. Usually French toast and bacon or pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon.
I went to the store that Monday to do the real grocery shopping. I had had to throw out a lot of food, so on top of what was already on the grocery list, I also had to get some of the basics I'd thrown out.
Greensboro/Guilford County still hasn't finished with the clean up. There are still trees and branches on sidewalks and along roadsides. We have a pile of branches on the edge of our yard (as most people do) that the city is supposed to pick up eventually.
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There are other little things I could write about (like my mom's hair being about 3-4 inches long now after finishing chemo back in November; not being able to use the dryer because it smells like something is burning, so I've been drying laundry at my mom's house; Sean's birthday coming up; books I've read; movies I've seen; etc.), but it's late (or early, depending on how you look at it - 5:10 AM) and I need to go to bed. It's Friday. Grocery day. Also, the youth group at our church is putting on a concert tonight. Sean will be singing with a group. So, we'll be going to that. And a friend is having a birthday party for her oldest son (Santiago) tomorrow and wants us to go. I think he's 3 now. I'm not big on kids parties (or any parties really), but I know she really wants us there. Then, of course, there's church on Sunday. My favorite thing all week! :-)
So, that's it for now. My next blog entry will probably be on or near Sean's birthday on April 9th, unless something really interesting or exciting happens before that.
