75 hours without electricity and temperatures down to 24 degrees two nights

 42 degrees outside right now at 2:00 pm Friday.  Predicted 29 degrees overnight tonight so will have one more freeze.  We lost electricity at 7:45 am last Monday and just got it turned on again at 11 am this morning.  Found that one space heater won't quite heat the space we have in our mobile home.

In the late 1990's we went on a train trip with our kids to Salt Lake City from Iowa.  As we went west there was some flooding right behind us and we found out later we were the last passenger train that got out of Iowa.  About a week later we were coming back and because of the rail not being operable in western Iowa we were taken off the train, with a lot of others heading east, and put on busses to go to our stations.  We rode the bus from Omaha to Osceola, IA  and when we were getting off the bus at our station a young gal (teenager or early 20's) was on the phone telling her grandma "Its been a trip from hell" and I thought of that remark this last week here without heat or lights.  Not really that bad, but it has been an experience with no lights, heat or cooking facilities.  Several of our neighbors here have found motels to stay in this last week.  I took the generator out of  the pickup, that have carried around for years, and set up a cord through window into the Texas Room and again through kitchen window.  Laid bath towels above and below the electric cord and was able to close the windows enough to keep out cold.

This was temperatures, inside and outside last week, with the windows in the house open.

Ice in the bird waterer  --

and Ice cycles off the roof of our house. 

10:37 pm Monday evening

7:16 am Tuesday morning

3:36 am Tuesday morning

Spent a lot of time, driving to Santa Rosa and then east 6 miles to the interstate to get gas for the generator.  First morning no waiting, but 2nd and 3rd days waited almost an hour in lines at gas stations.  Many cars at smaller stations and as we came back one day we were on the interstate and drove by Sam's Club in Harlingen.  They had more than 50 cars lined up on every street waiting to get gas.  Much of Harlingen was without electricity as was La Feria and Mercedes.

Picture of me in the house after cold front came in and no electricity.   I was wearing t-shirt, long sleeved shirt, sweater, rain coat and winter coat.  This is in the house -- at night I took off the winter coat and the hat for sleeping in bed. After got a space heater (from my neighbor's place) set up I did take off the winter coat part of the time.  This is one of those times that a smaller house would be better (to heat), though I like the more space 99.99% of the time.

Weather man is just giving prediction of 29 degrees overnight, so another freeze here.  Hopefully won't loose electricity.  Will have faucets dripping to avoid pipe freezes --- lots of pipes did freeze and maintenance man repaired many the other afternoon.

Later, Lynn

Cold freezes coming in the Valley

 38º with wind and rain -- a miserable day -- at 4:15 pm Sunday.  Is to be below freezing tonight for 12 hours overnight tonight and below freezing for 12 hours tomorrow night.  As low as 24 degrees both nights and with it lasting that long will devastate the crops in the area (though corn has been planted, none is up---but lots of cabbage, onions, cauliflower, etc., and the oranges and grapefruit that hasn't been picked) as well as do damage to all the exposed water pipes here.   Thousands of mobile homes in the valley have waterpipes exposed as it "never" freezes here.   I have covered as many things as possible and brought inside what flowers we can.  Know this is nothing like the below Zero readings up north, but is a problem here.

With all this cold, wet weather we developed a problem - burning smell around our main breaker box here inside the mobile home.  Discovered one of the 200 amp breakers was really hot.  Called in a licensed electrician and he declared that the main breaker was failing.  Would normally replace that breaker; however, this is 29 years old and this brand of breaker and boxes are no longer made.  No other brand of breaker will fit in this box----so a new complete box with all new breakers (to the tune of over 2k) will need to be installed.  He was on a higher-priced call because it was Saturday and said could replace it that day, but the labor would all be 1 1/2 times usual.  So we are waiting until Monday.  In the meantime we have no use of one leg of the electricity on 120v and no 240V use, which means no electric furnace, water heater, clothes dryer or electric range.  We had a couple space heaters and also borrowed a super-duper heater from our neighbors the Neher's, so are getting along. 

Am also running a small heater around the water pipes in the travel trailer.  Even though they are drained, not sure the ones around the water pump can be drained.  Could have put RV anti-freeze in the system or blown it out with air, but not equipped to do either.  With a long waterline running under the mobile home to a garden hose at the front, I am letting it run a dribble stream overnight, will see what kind of skating rink we have in the morning. 

Did go out to eat at noon at Stefano's Brooklyn Pizza on Business 83 towards Harlingen.  Good food and a lot--think we have enough for another couple meals.,

LCM

Cold, misty in the Valley

55º with 15 to 25 mph wind out of the north and mist falling at 10:53 am.  A raw day for us, though any northerners may scoff at that.

This was yesterday after noon with all house windows open.  They are closed, however, at this time.  Had bedroom window open with fan blowing in until 8 am.

On Monday we drove over to Doris Winters in Alamo and after lunch visited for some time back at her place.  Since Lyle passed away last November and Doris is here without a car, but a lot of close friends in her park who look after each other.  I just looked up Lyle's obituary and they had a god video of photos of him and family.  CLICK HERE  to view it.  His obituary is HERE

It is now 5 pm and 44 degrees here!

Phyllis has spent a lot of time in the Texas Room laying out fabric for quilts.

A year ago today we were on cruise ship and had stopped on island near Jamaica.  No cruise this year, with the Covid-19, but lining up one for next February.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A teacher asks her class if anyone can use the word 'fascinate' in a sentence.  Brian raises his hand and says, "The sky is fascinating."  The teacher says, "No that's fascinating."  Jennifer raises her hand and says, "When I saw the tigers at the zoo I was fascinated."  The teacher says, "No that's fascinated."  So finally Little Johnny raises his hand and says, "My mom bought a new blouse with 12 pearl buttons, but her chest's so big she could only fasten eight!"

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Why do bagpipe players always walk while they play?  They are trying to get away from the noise?

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Enjoying being with Freye's

 71 degrees at 6:00 pm Saturday.

Phyllis' cousin Jan (Guthrie) Freye and husband Lynn, from Lincoln, Nebraska, have been in the Valley a while with their 5-th wheel.  Wednesday we picked them up at Llano Grande RV Park and we drove to Mission, Texas and ate at Llano Grande Lake Park Resort & Country Club.  They are known for their Iowa style Tenderloins.  We arrived right at noon and they were busy.

Today they picked us up and we drove east to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, which is on the mainland just to the west of South Padre Island.

Were disappointed that the visitor's center was closed due to the Covid-19 situation, and we could not see their excellent collection of birds and small animals on display there as well as the usual film presentation.  We could walk the trails close to the Visitor's Center and then drove to their lake to the west and observed wildlife there.  The 16-mile trail along the coast was closed to auto traffic and no tram running.  We chose not to walk the trail.

Was about 11:20 when we finished walking around at Atascosa we drove the 11 miles or so to Port Isabel 5o eat at Dirty Al's at Pelican Station there.  Today is a birthday anniversary for Jan and the restaurant brought her a complimentary desert for her birthday.

 

Iowa and Nebraska have been having some terrible snow and cold.  This photo was taken from a news post on the internet.

We have had windows open for several days, but see just now they are forecasting cold (for here) 40 degree morning a week from now.  Still glad we are not at home this winter.

GROANER'S CORNER:

Not So Famous Last Words:

1. It's fireproof.
2. He's probably just hibernating.
3. What does this button do?
4. It's probably just a rash.
5. Are you sure the power is off?
6. The odds of that happening have to be a million to one!
7. Pull the pin and count to what?
8. Which wire was I supposed to cut?
9. I wonder where the mother bear is.
10. I've seen this done on TV.
11. These are the good kind of mushrooms.
12. I'll hold it and you light the fuse.
13. Let it down slowly.
14. It's strong enough for both of us.
15. This doesn't taste right.
16. I can make this light before it changes.
17. Nice doggie.
18. I can do that with my eyes closed.
19. I've done this before.
20. What duck?
21. Well, we've made it this far.
22. That's odd.
23. Don't be so superstitious.

First post of February 2021

 67º here in Kenwood a 9:24 am, with predicted high of 79º this afternoon.

Ran across some old photos of our back yard fence - January of 2003 -- and took some similar photos now.

Have done a little work in last 8 years.

Sayonara,  Lynn