I am writing this from our guest suite just before 8:30 p.m. on Monday, February 15, 2021.<\/p>\n
[Note: Updates at end, February 20, 2021, 1:30 p.m.<\/strong>]<\/p>\n When we moved to Central Texas, a primary reason was because my body cannot tolerate extreme cold. Of course, it has snowed both winters in Texas and now we are experiencing our first true \u201cice storm.\u201d I\u2019ve taken photos of plants and tree branches encased in a quarter-inch or more of ice.<\/p>\n The roads are closed, the power has failed, and we\u2019re hoping for the best.<\/p>\n This is the Great Valentine\u2019s Day Freeze of 2021 in our home:<\/p>\n Before the freeze, our year-old LG Smart Refrigerator died. That was before anything else went wrong. We rushed to move food into the chest freezer, an ice chest, and outside in containers. The major roads were already closed, and the local streets were too dangerous to attempt travel.<\/p>\n As it started to snow, we turned on some water faucets in the bathrooms and kitchen. I thought about the guest suite, but didn\u2019t follow through.<\/p>\n The power was off at least twice during the night.<\/p>\n In the morning, we did out best to follow a normal routine. The girls started schoolwork, Susan started her day, and I reported the dead LG refrigerator to warranty repair. I accepted we\u2019d be without a refrigerator for at least two or three days because of the road conditions.<\/p>\n The LG customer support informed me there were no service centers nearby and they\u2019d have to call back within two days. Oh, well. By Wednesday or Thursday I could run emergency errands. That was wishful thinking. By noon, the weather forecast made clear that I was\u2019t going anywhere until at least Friday or Saturday.<\/p>\n We have dry goods, canned goods, bread, peanut butter, almond milk, shelf-stable milk, and so on. We\u2019re generally set for a day or two emergency. We\u2019re not prepared for a week-long emergency.<\/p>\n It was just before lunch that I checked the guest suite bathroom.\u00a0The water pipes to the bathtub and toilet were frozen. The guest room sink is at least okay. It\u2019s dripping cold water at this moment.<\/p>\n Then, I noticed the damp spots on the ceiling of the guest bathroom. Another in the bedroom. I rushed about checking the other rooms. Yes. Our bathroom and bedroom had damp spots, too, right along the edge where the exterior walls met the roof.<\/p>\n Susan and I rushed into action. I shoveled the driveway just enough to back out our SUV, We managed to get the 14-foot ladder into position at the front of the house. Susan cleared the ice and swept the roof. We did this around the house, breaking apart ice dams so the melting snow wouldn\u2019t cause any more damage. Of course, everything will freeze again tonight.<\/p>\n While outside, my eyes dried out. My right eye hurts\u2026 a lot. That\u2019s a pain I know too well. It\u2019s either a tear or an abrasion. This pain is something I first discovered in Minneapolis. It was the sign I had damaged my eyes forever.<\/p>\n The power went out again at 5:30, just as we were trying to feed the girls. It\u2019s been off for at least three hours now. The last update was that service might be restored by midnight. Maybe. The harsh wind and cold might make that impossible.<\/p>\n Without power, the tankless hot water heater, which sits on the exterior of the house, cannot light the gas. (It has no pilot light.) So, now we\u2019re concerned other pipes might freeze.<\/p>\n No power, no hot water, no refrigerator. Sheets of ice everywhere. Ice dams on the roof.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n We were already dealing with several family emergencies. I pet that needs to see the vet. Two girls dealing badly with anxiety and stress. My glucose readings were over 190 last night, without a good reason.<\/p>\n And here I thought the loss of the refrigerator one thing too many.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t easy for any of us, but I\u2019m especially ill-equipped for this much stress.<\/p>\n This Valentine\u2019s Freeze is unlike anything we experienced in Pennsylvania or Minnesota. They were too cold. Too difficult on my mind and body. This is Central Texas, not even North Texas. It was 80F last week, in the winter. I was wearing shorts and talking walks with the girls.<\/p>\n The freeze is going to do a lot of damage to many homes in the region. Houses here aren\u2019t designed for harsh winter weather.<\/p>\n There will be some damage to our house. We\u2019ll need a roof inspection where the leaks were from the ice dams. We\u2019ll need to check one light fixture, which is mounted in the guest bathroom. I\u2019m hoping, maybe unreasonably, that the frozen pipes won\u2019t burst and do serious damage, also leaving us without water for days or weeks.<\/p>\n The girls are camping out in our room, which has windows. Susan has candles in the bathroom and flashlights. I\u2019m in the guest room, typing this between patrols of the house for any emergency situations.<\/p>\n A week ago, the SUV\u2019s windshield cracked \u2014 while parked in the garage for days at a time.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing after another.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not enjoying 2021. We really didn\u2019t need another stressful year.<\/p>\n [Updates as of February 20, 2021, 1:30 p.m.<\/strong>]<\/p>\n During the week, we were mostly off-line. The Internet and phone services were down. Cell services was also spotty. To keep things charged, we plugged into our fileserver\u2019s UPS. While clearing the driveway, we also charged the phones inside the Subaru, letting it run for a few minutes.<\/p>\n Today, for the first time since Monday, we have water and power. The water remains under a boil advisory, but the city and county hope to have everything \u201cback to normal\u201d early next week.<\/p>\n The freeze lasted a full week. We were without power for 30 to 36 hours. We were never totally without water, but it wasn\u2019t easy. We kept the water running at a trickle and boiled what we could for drinking and washing.<\/p>\n Friday morning, we ran the master bath with hot water knowing the water heater might turn off at any moment. It was a slow, slow process filling the tub a few inches. All four of us used the bath, quickly.<\/p>\n It\u2019s wonderful when you can take a shower after two days.<\/p>\n We\u2019re okay. Most of our neighbors are okay, too.<\/p>\n Based on this experience, we\u2019ve compiled an emergency list above and beyond what we already had on hand. We already had some of these items, but the list is something we used to check in Minnesota and Pennsylvania:<\/p>\n Food in the Pantry<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Without a reliable refrigerator, the stocked pantry was essential.<\/p>\n Emergency Supplies<\/strong>:<\/p>\n We did well because we were stocked with supplies, as well as food. I\u2019ve already placed online orders to replenish the batteries, upgrade the flashlights, and replace a dying hand-crank weather radio.<\/p>\n We never imagined going through a week-long winter weather emergency in Texas.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Be prepared. Bad things can happen anywhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am writing this from our guest suite just before 8:30 p.m. on Monday, February 15, 2021. [Note: Updates at end, February 20, 2021, 1:30 p.m.] When we moved to Central Texas, a primary reason was because my body cannot tolerate extreme cold. Of course, it has snowed both winters…<\/p>\n\n
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