I had a weird feeling last night after Wife went to sleep around 10:00pm. I decided to load her bag and half a case of water bottles in her SUV so that I wouldn't be carrying a bunch of stuff at 5:00am. The difference in temperatures was really crazy. I almost felt our normal muggy feeling like maybe I should turn on the A/C inside the house. We had gone out early in the day to get some tortillas from a restaurant nearby, Rosa's Tortilla Factory, and the weather felt perfect. We got back home and almost cracked open all the windows, but after we ate brisket, super early in the day because I smoked it overnight, I got sleepy hard and slept a couple hours in the darkened cool of the house. Wife wanted to keep the blinds closed so we could nap in the dark.
By the time we got up later in the day, it was closer to 5:00pm and we figured it had cooled off outside but I guess it was cooler in the house than outside. By Sunday night, all of the snow on the ground was gone, so to us here in the neighborhood, we don't have much proof that we experienced a bad week where we were trapped in the house. The only proof that remains even right now (11:30am) on Monday morning is the trash can that was never picked up last week. We have the giant can and normally fill it to the top but can manage to close the lid. It has gotten so full that the lid does not want to stay closed. I know the city doesn't like it like this, but it is now two weeks of trash sitting out there,
I am also amazed that it looked like the trees were all going to die, covered in ice and snow, but here a few days later and looking outside I see a bunch of green grass, green trees and color all around. The white was magical and beautiful for about an hour or two. Waking up in the morning to see outside and everything is awash in white is a little spectacular until you try to step outside and notice that the cold bites hard on skin. I stayed inside most of the week while it was very cold, other than when I had to go break the ice off the A/C units in the yard, and when I grilled some steaks at one point. I don't mind cool weather and even during the normal weeks, I will go to work in shorts with the weather getting down into the 40s at night. The past week of teens and single digits was a totally different animal. I was honestly very worried about busted pipes and damage to our house. We did have the pipes freeze up on us for a few hours on multiple days, but I was quick to add heat to the areas to help thaw them out quickly.
I want to say that we will be better prepared for an event like this in the near future, but until you go through some suffering, one doesn't know what becomes essential and what to focus on. I never thought power was something we could loose long term, I accept power failures for an hour or so while they fix something, but to go through this days long without power like my folks sounds like more than I want to handle. I saw stories of people burning furniture in their chimneys to try and stay warm, and that is hard to imagine that is where we were a week ago and today we are contemplating turning on the A/C to cool.
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