My house is without power. My town is a bit luckier than many around us who are at 100% without power. According to Connecticut Light & Power right now 53% of us in New Milford are without power, down from yesterday's 65%. I am also lucky that my daughter has power at her house, so we piled in the car, took the dog with us, and stayed warm and informed for the night.
The other inconvenience was that our cell phones weren't working yesterday, all day! I could see I had messages, I could read emails and texts, but I could not call out, respond to anything or get on the web. I was blind! Today it seems to be working better though.
Many of us do not have alternative heat sources in our homes. It is clear that living in the modern age has not taken into account that Mother Nature could care less if we don't have alternative heat sources, if we don't have electricity, if it is October and not mid winter. She will do as she pleases and we are at her mercy.
Over the next day or so I will be throwing most of my food away, (which really hurts) clearing the mess that is in my back yard, and being grateful that none of the branches and limbs hit the house or our own wires into the house. Driving down to my daughters yesterday was an event, dodging tree limbs, downed wires, etc. Just from what I saw this should take a very long time to clean up and get everyone back up and running.
I also drove past corn fields that had not yet been harvested. This is a total disaster for the local farmers. What a mess indeed!
It would seem that the modern world has sent me back to the ice age. I have to figure out a way to get an alternative heat source in my house, and oh boy is it going to be a long, long winter (again). What I used to think was beautiful... well... today... not so much!
Andrea Swiedler, Realtor® & Liddy Adams, GRI, Broker Associate
Cell: 203.460.1775 Email: andrea@andreaswiedler.com
Swiedler & Adams, we know real estate!
Prudential Connecticut Realty, New Milford & Litchfield, CT
Swiedler & Adams
Call us at 203.460.1775
© Andrea Swiedler, 2009 - 2012
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain
Alot of snow. It's gonna be a cold winter. Great blog and good job. Thanks and good luck this year
We were without power for 6 days due to a storm once....and I feel your pain and know how much we take for granted until we don't have it....there is an end in sight...wishing it is soon !
I am glad you are staying warm...what a freaky storm this was!!!
Wow, that is just crazy. It's fun to look at your picture in your topper and then look at the photos in your blog. What a difference. I would go CRAZY being able to see text and emails, and not able to respond.
Wow! So sorry for your troubles there in such an early winter storm! 60s are about as cold as i can stand it. I wouldn't last very long in your neck of the woods. Glad you had somewhere with power to escape to. I wish you warmer days ahead!
Andrea, I know the last thing you want to hear is, "look at the bright side", but over this past weekend that will go down in the record books I've noticed that many many families have hunkered down and been forced to slow down and spend some good ol' fashioned time together- this can never be a bad thing! What I"m really wondering is how much of a baby boom will be occuring in 9 months!
Andrea: Good luck today. Those power crews have a big job ahead of them. Stay safe and warm.
Andrea, I do feel for you and I have family also going through this and it is awful...I'm hoping that it warms up enough so the Electric crews can get through and bring you on line & with heat soon...I've heard there is not a hotel withing many miles that has any vacancies right now...good luck
Think pioneer woman and stick your food out in snow bank to preserve it longer. In the meantime stay safe and warm. Hopefully the repair crews will be in your area soon.
Josh, it is certainly going to be a cold winter. Thank you!
Sally & David, it is no fun, but there is an end in sight, somewhere.... I am watching all of my grandkids today (with the help of my other daughter) because daycare has no heat either. Should be quite an interesting day. A 4 year old, a 2 year old and a 7 month old that is crawling and pulling himself up, all boys, LOL. Pray for me!
Holly, it was freaky!
Cindy, that drove me totally crazy, it is not working 100% this morning, but I hope that it gets better over the day.
Diane, thank you! I am used to the cold outside, but no power is a but much, LOL.
Faith, no real estate for me today! Not with these boys all running around here. I wonder too, I bet lots of people are keeping warm in intimate ways!
Anne, they have a huge job ahead of them. Thank goodness for those that came to us from other states and Canada!
Ginny, I hope they get their job done soon enough, at least we have good weather, no rain or snow!
Cindy, the pioneer women would have fire in the house, LOL.
Andrea, we were lucky this time. The snow storm passed over us with just a lot of rain. Hopefully, you'll be up and running soon.
Andrea...
This is just unbelievable. First the hurricane and now this. You guys have had more than your fair share of Mother Nature's assaults this year.
I hope that everything is back to "normal" soon!
Michael, you are lucky indeed. I hope we are back to normal soon enough.
Richard, we have, she must be angry at us is all I can think. But I am warm, things are good for now. Although as soon as the holy terror of a 2 year old wakes up my tune may be different indeed. LOL.
I feel sorry for you. Hopefully you will get your power back. We are so defendant now of all of the technology. We were out of power after the Ike storm, but is was in September so temperature was OK. We had cell phone service only in one spot which was 9 miles away. The good thing that we had a huge BBQ party with all neighbors so we didn't waist all from our refrigerator.
Oh Andrea, are we having fun yet???? We were working in the refrigerator yesterday throwing away some stuff and packing the coolers to take to my DIL's place as she had power, but not enough freezer space for the stuff. It's going to be an interesting week. Fortunately, the Indians are not out and about as well, otherwise it would be hell over there in the frontier
I really hate it for you Andrea, but this just makes me so glad that I live in the South. Don't get me wrong, we get snow and occassionally it can be disastrous, but nothing in comparison to a winter in Connecticut. Be safe, careful and take care.
fireplace with ventless gas logs? I have a wood burning stove. We use it all winter but it works great for power outages and doubles as a stove for cooking.
Yeah - we had a ton of snow, on the poor trees that still had leaves and couldn't bear the weight. So many trees down, so many power lines down. We were out of power one day, but it's back! :)
Hey there Andrea, Hopefully you will be able to have some fun with your grandsons and daughter today and power will be restored soon.
Andrea - saw the news of your town on the national news yesterday and it is crazy to see so much snow this time around. Hope you get your power back soon. Stay warm.
What a dedicated blogger you are! It is humbling to be without power - we don't realize how dependent we are until we lose it.
It is the end of days...............yet again.
When nature gives you snow, make a snowman!
Good stuff, thanks for sharing it.
Anna, I hope it will be back today, I know... selfish of me, isn't it? Well it was too cold for a BBQ here, I have to say.
Ed, the worst is my cell, it's still not right. Although now I can do everything with it, the calls are breaking up and the data is taking forever, LOL! I know I am losing food, will be making a trip to dump it tomorrow. How sad indeed, not like I can afford to throw food away, if you know what I mean!
Charita, last winter was more than a challenge, perhaps this will be the one and only?
Tammy, I would give someone's right arm for a wood stove.. LOL. We used to have one and it made life easier in the winter, not so scary.
Joy, good for you! One day is do-able...
JoAnn, I hope. Now that I am babysitting today I will not be going home to check until later on.
Mike, it is bad here, but many towns right around me are at 100% without power. That is horrible. Thank you!
Yvette, glad my daughter has internet access, and that I brought my laptop, LOL.
Anthony, I saw lots of those yesterday, should be scarecrows not snowmen though.
I'm thinking it might be time for a much needed break from all the electronics and maybe I should come visit you for a day or so!
Andrea I was thinking of you up there in Connecticut ..I am hoping Mother Nature nade a mistake ..wrong turn thing ..because to tell you the truth I don't think I can live through another winter like the last one . Stay warm .
Helpfulhannah your friend in Philly
Happy Halloween, I do not think many families will be out trick or treating where you are, here in San Diego we were hit with a massive power outage on 9-8-11 which was cause by man. I sympathize with you about throwing food away, when so many are going hungry, we had a record breaking heat wave at the time so our food was a total lost. At least your temperatures are in the range that all your food should not all go to wasted.
I was lucky both storms and did not loose power. However this one was far scarier. I had large limbs graze my roof and miss my truck by inches. Glad to hear you fared well.
Exactly why homes in my Palm Springs, CA area sell so well during the winter!!! Yesterday was 85 degrees and clear..gorgeous! Sorry, but I suspect winters will get even tougher as climate continues to change.
Wow, that makes our 100+ heat and drought conditions this year not look all that bad! I really hate the cold and fear I would gain 100 pounds during one of your winters.
Someone shared with me something similar to your story citing how dependent we were on outside power sources. Loss of power and its privileges causes one to see how life is without it. The trick is to visit the subject prior and prepare. On storms, I like a good one providing one can observe in comfort...i.e. roaring fire, slippers, good book, and some hot drink. Good host and post
Andrea, my heart goes to you. We were without power for a almost a week after hurricane Irene (in fact, our street was the last one in town to get power!). It was still warm weather though. We were cooking food in our fireplace. Then friends gave us a camping stove :) It's much tougher now, to keep the house warm for example.
Hope you soon get the power back! Best and warmest wishes to you from your neighbor in MA:)
When we built our house i kiddingly told my builder, "I'll take 2 of "MY PEOPLES" fireplaces, 1 in the bedroom and 1in the living room. My peoples from the ancient term, Can I just press a button and get a fire without all that Shlepping of wood? Gas fireplaces, always on, always ready and really heat the home.
Hi Andrea. I hope you can get back into your home and back to normal soon! Glad you had an alternative place to go. We only had rain and some flurries, but not to far North there were 12" and more in places... In New Jersey. In October...
People were coming out of Lowe's yesterday and it seemed like they all had generators... Not so easy going back to the ice age!
Good Luck!
Bruce
These are gorgeous photos, but I must say I will enjoy my 50 degrees today with bliss. It never occurred to me that you guys trick or treat in the snow!
Andrea: I think this may be someone's way of reminding us that we are not in charge, as much as we'd like to think so. Inasmuch as we are all so reliant on technology, this beautiful reminder teaches us that we must continue to maintain our lives , be reliant, and communicate in all ways ... even those that might seem very out-dated. I'm glad to hear that what you suffer is only temporary and did not include severe damage to you, your loved ones, or your home. Be safe ...
Gene
This happens to us on Madeline Island fairly often in Winter. I love my Jotul woodstove with the cooktop. Between that and a few candles, I'm able to stay warm, cook and have enough light to find my way around until the power goes on again!
I am lucky to have power - but I am blocked in by trees that I am slowly removing and that I have to get some extra help with over the next few days. I don't own a chain saw sadly.....
It could have been much, much worse and I anticipated the problem by going shopping early Saturday. Lucky I did - I probably won't be "free" until tomorrow sometime. Perhaps even early Wed. I have plenty to do with my business at home - so it isn't impacting business in the way it might have a month ago.
But SO MANY are without power, it is utterly amazing and frustrating. Its also dangerous for senior citizens..We need to GET SERIOUS about our infrastructure.
Hi Andrea, Watching the news coverage of your storm was amazing ! We notice that our phone calls increase when a big snow event happens up north. Stay warm and safe !
When I was living on Long Island in the 70s an ice storm froze the island and we had no power for a week. Fun for kids but miserable for parents. It's great you have power. Funny how much we depend on technology for our day-to-day lives.
Andrea I was wondering how you were faring as I watched the news this morning. I sure hope they get your power back on soon. And thankfully you had no trees coming through your roof. I went through this several times in CO and Northern AZ but both times I had a woodstove for backup. Hang in there......and let us know how you're doing. Take pics....I bet you'll have some gorgeous photos.
Hi
Good luck with everything. This is why I stayed in the Napa Valley. I used to live in Arlington, VA and attended Ohio State. One year it was cold in Columbus, the wind chill was -30.
Here in Yountville, the coldest I have every seen is 19 degrees. There has been snow on the ground only once, Christmas day about 20 years ago. It was all melted later in the afternoon. Plus this we have great summers with normal highs in the 80-90 range and humidly less than 50 per cent.
It's the end of Oct., not the end of Jan. What's up with the east coast?!?
Andrea -- Sorry to hear that you have lost power and will be losing refrigerated/frozen foodstuffs. Let's see, a wood or pellet stove and a gas range top along with kerosene lamps should take care of things for you in the future (except for the food stuffs, unfortunately.) May your clean up be uneventful.
In the meantime, enjoy the grandkids.
Andrea, glad to see you are safe in the midst of the mess. We have quite a few without power still and lots of limbs down, but no major injuries reported. This was definitely a surprise. Yeow!
Me too. I was one of them without power from Saturday through today. We got it back 2 pm today.
No heat, no electric, no water! Ugh.
Andrea, I am still without power also, and I don't see any utility trucks around town, that is not a good sign. Is there a web site to check the status of each town?
Hope things warm up a bit soon and that power is restored quickly. It can get tough for those who are weaker or elderly to survive these tough conditions.
HI Andrea,
Wow, sure hope you will be back and fully operational soon with a mimimum of trouble and aggrevation, we are so happy that snow is not very common here....
Be well
Andrea, we had the reverse after Hurricane Charlie in 2004. It was sweltering hot and we could not even sleep in the house - had to move to the screened porch. Nobody's cell phones were working except Verizon and we were without power for TWO weeks in high 90 degree weather. It was brutal and we were pioneer women and men in another way. Plus, there were trees down across our street and in our yard. I feel your pain and I guess it's better to be hot than cold, but neither one is fun! So glad your daughter has power. At least you can get warm and take a shower :) We had to go to the Y to take a shower. All the hotels were full...
Sharon
Andrea
Well it seems that Mother Nature is being particularly abusive this year. It would be cruel at any time but especially so early in the year with so many months ahead. I sure hope power gets restored for you soon. The longest I was ever without power was 9 days back in MI many years ago. But that was sumemr and NOT cold!
Jeff
I sure feel your pain- we were in the same boat for 48 hours. I hope you get power back soon and I'm glad you had a place to stay that was warm!
It is all those bumps in the road that make life interesting. Of all the things I hate about storms here in Florida it is the loss of power that hurts the most!
Andrea i am still in the same boat as you, no power going on day 4. They are starting to put power back on in the city but have not made it to my area yet. You dont know how much you take for granted modern conveniences until you dont have them.
Andrea - sending you warm thoughts......
Hi Andrea
Good to hear that you are safe and warm and hope you get the power back soon. Looking at those photos I'd love to take a shovel and go help.
Andrea- I'm so glad that you and your family are doing better now. It's amazing what we take for granted. I hope that the winter will not be that bad.
Also heard on the news that passengers were locked on a plane for SEVEN HOURS sitting on a runway in CT due to that weather. I personally would not be able to do that. I can barely sit still for 3 hours, so a 7 hour confinement would have driven me nuts. I would have grabbed a beer, pulled the emergency slide, and see you all later!
In a twist of irony, my office had no heat for 2 weeks and magically after the storm I had heat! Looking at all the downed lines up here in MA, though, it really has me thinking. Who's responsibility is it to clear tree branches from power lines? Is it the home owner or the public utility? So many problems could have been averted if those silly tree limbs were cut back and away from the power lines (and many squirrels wouldn't take the leap of death from the trees onto the power lines, either).
We were very fortunate where I live in central PA. Forecast called for 6 or more inches but only got 2. Eastern PA got hammered however, and I believe there are many there still without electricity.
Wow, those pictures are amazing. What a crazy storm indeed! And so sudden it sounds like! I have seen storms that make it look like a war zone with the tree branches and it's surreal. Keep thriving!
I was born in a remote area of Manitoba. I remember we didn't have power in the house, so I think I could handle it if I had to, remembering how we used to cope in -50 degree winters. The baby chicks had power though, my dad had a windmill over the shop hooked up to a couple of dozen old car batteries. They powered heat lamps over the brooders to keep them warm and cozy. Lucky chicks! Wasn't long before we had electricity too, a welcome treat. Didn't have much to run on it at first, except lights, but my dad was inventive and pretty soon had the water pump running on electricity and many other things, mostly that he built or converted himself. Hope your power comes on soon, and you have fun with the kids, tell them some stories.
Maybe you should be blogging on ActiveSnow?
We had the the Scouts at our door this weekend and when I donated our treats to the troops, the leader came to our door to persoanlly thank us. He told us a bit about the survival training that his troup is about to encounter. He said we are all a few days without power away from needing some survival skills. He said that when people's cell phones can't charge they lose it. I heard parts of New England are looking at 7 days without power.
We had 5 summer days without power, so we were hot, but not freezing. I am hoping you all get your pwer soon.
I live in Florida so we have a different set of issues but similar all the same. Your power outages happen most in the Winter with snow and ice bringing down the trees and wires. We have summer hurricanes that cause the same thing.
No heat in the winter is worse than no AC in the summer but they are both very very uncomfortable. The hurricanes of '04 and '05 got a lot of people taking about backup generators. We see them more and more here.
Every time the power is out, natural gas is still flowing, so far. These generators will run off of that supply and come on automatically. They will run EVERYTHING in the house, including the AC. Perfect! I imagine they would work well for you too.
If it is cold enough to have snow on the ground...load your refrigerated goods into your summer cooler and put it in the garage...or? carve out a spot in the snow bank next to your driveway...??
Bless and keep all of you safe, ... I often think how wonderful it is to live exactly where I do...temperate summer and winter...with all 4 seasons, seldom snows, seldom over 90 in summer. sssssh not saying where.
good luck and be safe!
I often wonder how people can live in an area knowing the consequences of their environment. Good luck.
Andrea,
I'm glad you have your daughter living close by! Sounds like it's time to buy a generator, which would probably cheaper than having to keep replacing your food supply!
This storm was unbelieveable. I dodged the bullet with this storm, I still have power! But I am reaching out to all my friends helping them the best I can. Your post was right on, Mother Nature doesn't have a watch or a calendar. I lost power after Irene and it was unbelieveable hard. I wish you best!
I am so sorry you and the people up north are having such a hard time of it. I pray things get better soon. I get realy scard for those that really need power...like life support!
But I do have a question or two.
Why do you have to throw your food out? Don't you have an ice chest that you could store all your frigerator foods in and place out side in the freezing weather?
Would solar pannels help? Never having learned about them I was wondering.
Might be a little late, but for those of you with thawing food....call your local missions, they have the means to preserve and prepare food that may otherwise spoil. And you are helping someone less fortunate. we are always ready to write a check, but they will appreciate the donation o=f real food as well.
Thank you everyone! My house has power, we are under 50% powerless in New Milford now. Unfortunatly some towns around still have 100% without power. Now the cleanup begins... first the fridge, then the yard.
I am relieved to be back to some sort of normal.
PS, I didn't have a big enough cooler to pack food in, and with the temps going up to 50 during the day, the snow was melting too fast to throw things in there. And I didn't travel much, still limiting my travel because the roads are still a mess. Figured it best to stay put and let the road crews do their work.
Sussie, solar panels are VERY expensive. I think I need to replace my kerosene heater this year. I was hoping to do without it, but guess it is back on the table as a backup source of heat. Could be a very bad winter after all.
Hi Andrea - You are lucky to have your power back. We are still out, and my house is so cold that I can take food out of the refrigerator and it won't spoil! I think many of us will be thinking about emergency solutions because 2 times in 3 months is just the handwriting on the wall.
Andrea, I experienced that a few months ago also when the wind knocked some tree limbs down in the backyard of my neighbor across the street and we lost power from about 7 am to about 1 that afternoon. Luckily it was a weekend and the tempratures were in the 80's, so we just curled up on the patio with books all day.
And we have a gas generator which my husband hooked up to the fridge so we didn't have to throw any food out.
We're based in NYC but didn't have the same kind of damage that seems to have occurred in your neck of the woods. Nonethless, we were equally as shocked by the freak storm. Luckily you and your family are safe and your property made it through. We have one friend in Brooklyn who lost a car to a tree branch and another in Jersey whose house was damaged in the same way.
Andrea,
I feel almost guilty that it is 70 degrees and sunny right now in NOLA. Almost
Andrea, I'm just glad you are all safe and there was no major damage. Here's to an "easy" winter - you deserve it after all the wild weather this year.
I hope things get better for you. Who needs any other distractions in this economy? Nobody.
My heart goes out to you as I can't imagine going through that, especially in October. I've had my share of some bad Chicago weather - our big tornado of 1967 followed either that year or the next with a huge snowstorm that stopped delivery trucks for a while. People were running out of food and the store shelves were empty. A few years back in our prior home we had a "micro burst" fold our rubber roof in half over our family room and it was raining inside our house, ruining everything in that room and partially ruining my Granddaughter's room. Thank goodness for Home Owner's insurance.
I hate snow and cold weather and always lament that I was born in the wrong state. We own a townhouse in Scottsdale, AZ and I'd move there permanently if it weren't for my kids and grandkids rooted here. Can't wait to be a snowbird, going there on the 14th of this month in fact.
So I'm thinking AZ is almost perfect (although 115 degrees & above is definitely too hot), and there has been news about the terrible dust storms they've been having. I was driving through one a few years back and it was scary but thankfully didn't last long.
So now I'm thinking I want to check out St. George, Utah as one of my seller clients retired out there and they told me all about it, so on my Google Chrome home page I have weather for here, Scottsdale & St. George, and so far St. George seems to be the best. I'll keep checking it out over the winter. I could never live in the North or Northeast and it really makes me think about the settlers and how they survived some of the weather they discovered in different areas.
Hope you can get back to normal soon. We do have a couple generators but they only last for so long. We'd have to huddle in the family room around the fireplace to keep warm.
Sorry for your bad luck. On the other hand some of my neighbours were without current for the last 2 weeks! For the last 200 years for that matter!
Isn't it amazing that we rely so much on modern conveniences? When we lose our internet even or our landline which is our fax and we feel frozen and unable to work we think "how did people use to do it?" Anyway, bummer about the food and it looks COLD there! Take care, keep warm! -Kasey
Best wishes for you and your situation, wondering what "evil" acts you "New Englanders" have done to upset the weather gods. Taking the hurricane in September for us in Florida was bad enough, now the early snow storm created primarily because of a weather system that missed us again is almost over the top!
A well installed wood burning Franklin stove is hard to beat for emergencies where there is no electricity. Modern gas ranges have electric igniters, modern furnaces require electricity to light and run the circulating blower, modern hydronic heating systems require electricity to ignite and circulate the water, modern gas fire places do not yield as much heat when they don't have a functioning blower, and on and on. Let's face it we are tied to the grid!
You did note one of the downsides to cell phones. They do not have a lot of back up power at some sites. Ma Bell's old fashioned land line usually have about 48 hours of battery, with the charge maintained by their own generators. If your line is down it's out but most of the time you will still have service when things go south.
Once upon a time in another life I worked for Ma Bell when she was still the finest communications system in the world (not necessarily because I worked there) and while on the job I too got snowed in for ten days at one of their sites. My wife and new born daughter were snowed in also about 5 miles away and I couldn't get to them. I got my next door neighbor to go over and take them to his house. God, you have to love Marines. Where did this little adventure take place? About 20 miles line of sight to downtown Tucson. Nature will get you no matter where you hide live.
Good luck with your adventure.
Hi Andrea, I'm glad to hear that you have power again. When the power goes out we realize just how dependent we are and how little we can do without it! So many things we take for granted. Hope life gets back to "normal" soon!
I don't know what is worse South Florida Hurricanes, or North East snow storms? What I think is neither, a Tornado can ruin your day. Hope all is well up there, stay warm and book a flight to Palm Beach County...
Hi Andrea, Been there done that! When you have had enough.....
Had Enough?
Andrea,
Wow what a mess this reminds me of that commercial "Don't mess with mother nature." I guess I am dating myself on that one. I hope everything works out for you and your state. I feel so sorry for the farmers. Thanks for stopping by my blog I appreciate and it and thanks and have a great day!
I had lost power for almost a week Andrea and I certainly felt helpless. You realize how dependant you become on things that use electricity!
Andrea - Getting a Featured post when you are without power takes talent! I wouldn't expect you to be posting with everything you have on your plate right now. I never restocked the freezer after Hurricane Irene, but then again, I was lucky and didn't lose electricity this time.
Look at all these comments! All got away from me with everything going on, I apologize. When I was much younger and lived in AZ, we lived "off the grid" and had no phone either. But we were prepared for it! Our fridge's and stoves ran off propane, I have no memory of the heat, so forgive me. We had 3 generators, but never let them run all the time. They were always off at night, and only ran during the day if we needed them. I lived with it, I was used to it, didn't bother me! (no phone was an issue at times, but we made do with that too).
Fast forward many years later, living off the grid for any amount of time can work if you are prepared! I need to find ways to be more prepared, that's for sure! As long as I have a heat source, all else can be dealt with!