Thursday, August 13, 2020

The Big Blow

Just when you've had enough of 2020 and all that is happening, we got a big blow.  Thank you to all the friends for checking on me I so appreciated it and I'm grateful for my social media friends.
Hurricane Isaias hit us very hard.  It was a mostly dry event with twirly swirly wind.  We lost power about 4pm on Tues. 8/4/20

Now, I can do without power but we also lose water. .....that means no bathing and no flushing.....

My entire yard looked like my deck.
This was a common site all over our town and surrounding towns.
Mr. Fun was able to find a hotel room with poweso that he could continue to work.  I stayed home with coco and drove the 45 mins to sleep with a/c and have shower and charge up my laptop and phone.

While home I ate fresh vegetable and bread salad so I wouldn't have to open the fridge. (note the hand fan)
To break the silence of my house the roar of neighboring generators I started watching The Civil War Documentary Series by Ken Burns.  It was good company for quilting.
I also put together this puzzle.  It was a gift from my friend, Nancy, and it was a great diversion!  Thank you, Nancy, it is coming your way soon.
With the power still out on Friday afternoon, we scrambled to find a hotel that would accommodate us and our dog, coco.  (Andrew was able to stay with friends closer to the home).

I was so grateful to return home on mid-day Sunday to start the big clean out and clean up.  The fridge and freezer had to be trashed except for a few things that weren't open.
I was so grateful for power, I didn't even mind cleaning :)
Nutmeg was so happy to have us home again.  She was happy to pass judgement on my medallion quilt project.
Here is hand quilting progress on my Whig Rose.  This is the back so you can see the stitching.  I used Moda Natural wide muslin.
I'll be back for more on this project next time.

If you are missing quilt shows as much as I am, you will enjoy this short Documentary.
Hope you are all taking care and staying well.
xo

35 comments:

Linda Swanekamp said...

Oh, Barb, what an ordeal to endure! I remember, we had the "October Suprise" a number of years ago right after Columbus Day- a huge wet snowfall with all the leaves on the trees. Power was out here for 7 days, so many devasted trees, and piles of branches, etc. higher than my car on every side of the streets. Every tree was cracked off. It took years before I could stand a lit candle in my house again. Every night was dark, cold and silent. So glad you had no house damage.

Frog Quilter said...

So glad you are well and surviving. I survived hurricane Hugo years ago and will never forget it. Power out for over two weeks and lots of cold showers. Nothing like a clean refrigerator lol. Hugs.

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

glad you had no damage other than some branches - I am always so glad to have a generator and now some of the house is wired in such a way to have power in some rooms without extension cords all over the place although there are plenty of those too still

Julierose said...

Isn't it great to have power back on? I tell you this tropical storm was worse in many ways than the hurricanes we've endured. No damage here either other than to our already burdened with Covid minds:000.

We were able to stay here with our generator running fridge and two lights...it was like our early camping days...we've decided we are waaay too old for that!! Hoping for no more heavy wind storms...

Your Whig rose is just so beautiful--lovely quilting on it...
Stay safe and vigilant hugs from not too far away Julierose ;)))

Julierose said...

Oh and P.S. some people in our town are STILL without power...;000
Eversource has a lot to answer for in my opinion...

The Joyful Quilter said...

What a mess! SEW glad to hear that you are OK.

CecileD said...

Oh Barb I'm sorry for this hurricane ! I didn't know...
I'm glad you're OK with your family and pets !
Your quilting is gorgeous as always !! This quilt will be a masterpiece !
Hugs !

Anonymous said...

So glad you weathered the storm. Love to see the progress on your latest hand quilting project.

Thanks for the video. I don't know any of those women but, they are all my friends. Watching the video made me cry...I miss my quilty friends....have seen only one of my guild members since March. Oh, will this situation ever end?

Sewing soothes my soul!

Quiltdivajulie said...

"I was to glad to have power I didn't even mind cleaning" -- after an ice storm several years ago here in TN, I remember feeling the same way. Hang in there - and good luck with the longer term cleaning up.

Robin said...

Wow! You've been through a lot. This has been quite a year, hasn't it? 2020 will be the year that we had to be humbled.

Chantal said...

Ouch! I had no idea it was that rough in your neck of the wood. Happy to hear none of the trees fell on your home and that you got power back. So sad for the spoiled food but at least, everyone was safe. Will this year ever end? ;^)

Anonymous said...

How awful! I'm glad you & your family were ok, but being without power & water for an extended period is NOT fun. Here in Northern California we have power outages intentionally inflected upon us by PG&E (the power company) because of wind. But in truth its because they chose to pay their stockholders gobs of extra money for decades that was supposed to go to line maintenance & tree trimming to prevent fire. So we have a generator which we run regularly when they decide to take us down again, or we'd be replacing food several times a year. I just hope someone ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE takes over PG&E soon. They are responsible for a number of devastating fires that took the lives and homes of many people. Our property is WELL cleared and prepared for fire, but I wish my neighbors looked at it the same way...and the lines aren't any better for the future.

Loris said...

It all just seems like too much, doesn't it? It's good to hear you are back in your home safely. Now Iowa is apparently a mess too. Praying the right help is able to put people's lives back together.

Joyful Quilter said...

So sorry to hear about the storm and wind damage. So glad none of the trees did more serious damage. Although emptying and replacing everything in your refrigerator is sad for the waste and expensive for the replacements.

It looks like you made the best of the situation, your quilting looks lovely.

Kyle said...

A big blow is right. A lot of people impacted by this storm. You seemed to have stayed positive and persevered!

gladiquilts said...

So sorry you had to deal with such a bad storm and were without power for so long, but it sounds like your home survived OK, thank goodness. For me, the New Hampshire coast escaped the worst of the storm. Your hand quilting on the Whig Rose is wonderful!!! I just can't hand quilt in the heat we've been having.

Lee Prairie Designs said...

So glad you are okay...We had a very bad storm with exstremly high winds 75 to 85 miles. Did alot of damage hear in Des Moines, Iowa and many towns in Iowa. Trees uprooted and days without eletc.water,etc. Some are still without. Hope all is better now for you.

Hug's, Carolyn

Jill said...

Oh my! What an ordeal. I hope no one was injured. At least you ate healthy. Our modern conveniences are easily taken for granted until mother nature sends us a reminder. Take care!

Jocelyn said...

Oh Barb, I know what you went through. We had three back to back hurricanes in 2004 and it was the big clean up. Glad you are all right.

Janet O. said...

Oh, Barb, I am so sorry you had to go through this! We lose water when our power goes out, too, but ours has never been out that long! So glad you weren't injured in the storm, and I am happy to hear that you have power and are somewhat back to normal (what is normal anymore?).
Your hand quilting looks wonderful, Barb!

Cynthia@wabi-sabi-quilts said...

That was quite a storm - it's exhausting not knowing when power will come back on - and losing all the food is too bad (although isn't it kind of fun to start over with a like-new fridge). Looks like you took things in stride and even accomplished some things!

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Glad you are back home safe and sound! We are lucky to have a generator as we lose water too without power. We got both, lots of rain and wind and for once our road did not close down because of fallen trees!!! Your hand quilting is producing another beautiful quilt!!!

Quilting Babcia said...

So good to hear that you and your home escaped unscathed except for the yard and refrigerated items. The hand quilting on your whig rose looks like a wholecloth quilt. Love a white muslin backing for hand quilting.

Barbara said...

Oh, Barb, I had no idea that storm hit you so hard! Glad you are all okay and getting back to normal:) That is quite the puzzle! Reminds me of a design book I had years ago. Your Whig Rose quilting is perfection! Can't wait to see more.

Nancy said...

Don't we jump for joy when the power comes back on! The refrigerator is a challenge though. ugh! Glad it was just the debris rather than damage, but still it takes awhile to clean up. Nice puzzle!

Wendy Caton Reed said...

Funny, my first thought from this whole wonderful post is - I guess we need to lose power because I haven't cleaned my fridge in 2 years!! I am amazed at the back of your Whig Rose. I had no idea you were using off white thread. I surely doesn't show that from the photos. It is so absolutely gorgeous!!!

audrey said...

It does seem like 2020 is the year where we really don't need anything else going on to traumatize us! Good for you making it through so capably. Your hand quilting is looking fantastic. Love the detail and texture so much.:)

Quilter Kathy said...

This is really turning into the most challenging year isn't it? That was quite the experience! Your hand quilting looks amazing and the texture is just delicious!
Thanks for the video... I enjoyed thinking about the good old days of quilt shows!

Susie Q said...

That puzzle is amazing......... the rest of your post sounded like WORK.

Janet said...

That’s a long time to be without power! I’m glad it’s been restored. What a job to clean all that out! Your quilting is gorgeous! I just love the picture of the back.

Chantal said...

Your quilting looks fabulous! Sorry you had such a very long time without power! We have a drought going on here in NH and I was hoping for some rain. We got a whole .24" but plenty of wind. However we only lost power for 16 hours. I can't imagine what you must have felt like when it finally came on again.

Angie said...

The aftermath of a hurricane is the worst part of the storm! Glad you have your power back and the clean-up is not too stressful. The quilting on your Whig Rose looks amazing!

Mayleen said...

I hope all is getting back to normal for you! I love your hand quilting. Wish I could do some but my hands are too painful for anything more than big stitching and even that has to be done a little at a time. I'll just admire your stitching!

Lori said...

Wow! Glad you are back home safe and sound. What a mess.
I have never had power out for more than 1 day, thankfully.
Love your hand quilting!!

OPQuilt said...

So glad you made it through the Big Blow--I read about it on V & Co's instagram, and then of course, heard about it during the Roll Call during the DNC Convention. So glad you survived and were able to keep going on the quilting--your fortitude is impressive!