Poor Vince. When I left in October, I truly expected he’d be here by Christmas. Between having Covid and it taking him a long time to get his strength back, and I still don’t think he’s at full capacity, and then he got his first Covid vaccine and that made him feel bad for a while, and then the weather setback, I don’t know when he’s going to get moved.
He got the house listed but it’s never shown up as for sale and there’s no sign up yet. The realtor couldn’t get there to take pictures because the weather hasn’t cooperated and she wants good outside pictures, as well as inside pictures. Last I heard, she was coming out today to get pictures so I’m hoping this week it shows up on the market.
A good selling point should be that it had no storm damage – no broken pipes, the well is in good shape. We have always prepared for as much as we could think of that could possibly happen. Since we’re no fan of whole house generators, and since small generators can be so finicky, Vince always has several around. He had sent the propane generators with me because he thought I’d need them before he did so getting gasoline was a bit of a challenge but he had some on hand, was able to fill the tanks one more time and since he only kept the generator on for the well as he needed water in the house, that didn’t take much gas. He used one generator to run the two freezers in the shop but he only ran that one a few hours a day to keep the freezers frozen. He ran one to keep the house fridge going and to run an electric heater in the kitchen. He kept a fire going in the fireplace and slept in his recliner which he can do easily and I could not do if I had been there. It got down below 50 in the house a couple of nights but he said he only got cold when he had to get out from under his covers and add wood to the fire. He was able to cook and make coffee on the gas stove.
We’re very thankful that we insisted on finding a house with an alternate source of heat, a gas stove and a well when we moved there. This last week was exactly why we had that determination.
I know it was a lot of work for Vince to keep everything running. He’ll have to get extra pampering when he gets here.
Cat survived! The first night the power went off somewhere between midnight and 1 or 2 a.m. I should remember since he called me! Cat’s heat lamp went off so he let her in the shop and fixed her a box with blankets.
The second night and third nights, it got down near zero one night and a bit below zero the next night. Vince hooked the heat lamp up to the generator that was keeping a heater going in the well house. The pump was off but he didn’t want the water in the pressure tank to freeze. Because Cat wasn’t used to the sound of the generator, she didn’t come around for two days. How on earth can a cat survive those temps?
Vince said there’s at least one more cat eating and staying under the heat lamp with Cat. There’s no telling how many cats we’ve been feeding. Vince said things are starting to feel normal there. I’d be anxious to see how the fruit trees do. You know this was the kind of weather the cherry trees love so there will probably be a bumper crop of cherries this year and I won’t be there to enjoy them. That’s ok . . they grow here too!
Wish us luck getting that house on the market and a buyer coming along soon!
The only things we learned that we need to do in MO, besides the gas stove and gas heater in the basement, is to probably put in a second propane tank and buy super warm sleeping bags. Even during the day, we could sit in the living room with our legs and lower body in the sleeping bags to stay warm.
This house didn’t have an inside water cut off valve when we bought it and that’s the first thing we did . . had a plumber come out and put in a shut off valve where the water comes inside in the basement. Next time this happens here, and it will happen here again, though less likely to happen in Texas again, we will probably turn on all the faucets, inside and outside, shut the water off to the house and drain the lines. We can just used bottled water and not risk having frozen pipes though it was -16 here and I don’t know how often it gets that cold . . not often I don’t think and hopefully not for a full two weeks like it did this time . . though only one night did it get down to -16. Most nights it was between 5 and -10.
I’m ready for normal . . which means having Vince here and having my cat back to being sweet!
Dottie Newkirk says
Hoping for all the best with the Texas house and Vince getting up there SOON…..It’s “almost” hard to believe the weather was as bad as it was because right now, we’re back to a “normal” winter. Lows around 32, highs around 50+.
Judy Laquidara says
Makes you appreciate that warmer weather, huh? Almost all the snow has melted here (MO) but the yard is a muddy mess from having so much water.
montanaclarks says
Michael would not have a house that didn’t have a water shut off value. When we leave our houses for any length of time even in summer, he shuts off the water to the house. In this community in town next door to our friends Dan and Louanne is a house that probably had water running inside for 3-4 MONTHS from a broken ice maker pipe. The entire inside of that house has been gutted, their possessions were covered in mold and had to be destroyed, Dan discovered the water running outside the walls of the house in October and notified the owner. The house is still not repaired.
Judy Laquidara says
Yes! That’s exactly why we had the water shut off valve installed in this one as soon as we bought it. I can’t imagine someone not having the shut off valve and using it every time they leave home even for overnight trips. A little water can do a whole lot of damage quickly.
Stephani in N. TX says
I want to say thank you for all the conversations you’ve put out there on your blog. Can’t think how many I have adapted or outright adopted from your suggestions and discussions. I’m in the DFW area during this last storm well outside the city, but still not in a “small” town. My son and family live close but they were at their house in Costa Rica for the month. I did wake one morning like 4 a.m., because the house was colder than what the temperature was set for, and my computer backup was beeping and I could hear it across the entire house, indicating power had been out for a while. Being alone long enough now, I keep an eagle eye on the weather forecasts, sort of sniffed at the predicted storm, but shopped and stocked up slightly more than my usual every 10 days schedule. I had meals cooked ahead, ready to microwave on the power that only came in burst of 5 minutes out of the hour at first, and then it creeped up to 25-30 minutes out of the hour. My neighbor has gone to be with her children because her house flooded. I called her when I saw Fire and Rescue parked out front. They had to come and turn off the water to the property. So, the destruction is out there and got close. I got through unscathed. One of our problems is that the water to the indiividual houses in this retirement center of 1200 homes, is the access is by pipe with a locked unit out in the driveway. I’m interested in reworking that so I can turn it off from the house. It was the first thing the plumber showed me in the brand new house I had between my far-away house and the one I live in now. I’m appreciative of the thought that access can be altered so it might be under my control if needed. Thanks again for information that makes living solo doesn’t have so many hiccups. Thanks also for the enjoyment of your blog which read every, every day.
Teri says
Maybe you can answer my question….why if you have had the coronavirus do you have to get the vaccine.
Judy Laquidara says
They aren’t sure how long the protection/immunity from having had the virus lasts and they’re also hoping the vaccine helps protect against some of the variants that having had one version of the virus might not offer. I have no idea and I don’t think anyone is certain about anything at this point, including how long protection from the vaccine lasts. So . . to answer your question . . I have no idea!
Lisa Boyer says
I think about Boots a lot! He’s on my mind several times a day, so I hope you don’t mind if I “what if” again here. I was just thinking that perhaps it’s not any one thing and maybe it’s all things put together adding up to overstimulation. Some cats just get overstimulated easily and launch into prey attack mode. You can Google “overstimulation cat” and see pictures of what you describe happening to Boots. Most articles describe it happening after too much petting, but being overwhelmed by too many new things going on can make it happen also. I think maybe Boots gets freaked out and launches at anything moving–like your feet or hands. I think you could pick up on it happening before he freaks out (ears going back, tail twitching, pupils dilating, attempting to disengage while being twitchy when he jumps out of your lap) and maybe direct his energy toward a moving wand toy to help diffuse the adrenaline fueled attack on you. Give him a toy to attack instead of your hands or feet and help him run out his nervousness. I’ve learned to think of all cats as borderline autistic–they don’t like changes in their environment, and Boots has a LOT of changes. All the newness probably lowers his freak out threshold and it doesn’t take much to send him over the edge. Time will heal all! But for now, maybe directing his energy toward a wand toy will help. Really get him going and help him deal with all the adrenaline–exercise will really help.
Judy Laquidara says
Maybe that is it. It kinda makes sense.
Judy Laquidara says
I stopped using the laser because someone thought that might be exciting him. He has no interest in his wand toy. I even got one that lights up and nope . . he pays no attention to either. He’s a weird cat. I have tried the toy trick trying to distract him but once he’s decided to bite me, he really is determined to get ME and nothing else.
Donna in KS says
My apologies….like he blames YOU for all the changes in his life? (If I should ask for forgiveness, I do)
Suzette Harris says
I saw the house listed for sale on Zillow. God luck with the sale! Did you know that Catholics believe burying a statue of St Anthony in the front yard brings luck for the sale of a house? This is what friends told. They could have been pulling my leg.
Judy Laquidara says
I’ve heard that too. I doubt Vince would go buy a statue though.
katie peterson says
Had a thought about Boot’s biting your toes/sox, Could you put a stuffed sox by your feet so he would go after the decoy sox? Or maybe more and that way he would not know which one is yours??