Monday, December 23, 2013

Sorry for the silence!

We've had a terrible ice storm and there were 250,000 homes without electricity. Our home was one of them. We had a very chilly couple of days but the power is on but there are still almost 200,000 without and my Mom is one of them. The authorities are saying it may be another couple of days before power is restored.

There was lots of damage to the trees. One month ago I took this picture of a willow tree that I look at from my kitchen window.


This is what it looked like this morning. In the lower left corner the birch tree is missing. Many in the neighbourhood are bent over but not broken so perhaps when the ice melts it will straighten up if it isn't broken.


Willows suffer terribly in this kind of storm. Look at the icicles on this redwood!


The icicles formed on the wisteria vine but the weight of the ice on the juniper made it bend so that the icicles on the wisteria appear to be growing sideways!


Here you can see the ice on the mugo pine needles


and the mountain ash berries!


All of this has meant no sewing or blogging for me! Hopefully things will improve in the next few days so that I can resume work on my projects.

If I'm not able to post before December 25th I wish you and yours all the best of the season. And as always, happy sewing!

19 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas and try to stay warm.....Burr

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    1. Well I'm a quilter so there are loads of quilts that we can cuddle under to keep nice an toasty warm! Merry Christmas to you too!

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  2. Oh Karen I wondered how you were making out. Glad your power is back on. Hope your Mom stays warm and does not get sick from all this.
    We however escaped all the ice none here in Stoney Creek. Our place in burlington was bad and our two daughters that live there were without power for 24 hours. But we were able to celebrate our Christmas at our sons we had a great time. They are all going away today to my daughters new cottage so we are home tomorrow and our son and his finance will come here. Then a gang for turkey dinner on Saturday.
    Merry Christmas and stay warm. Hugs bunny

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    1. Thanks Bunny! We have fresh provisions so we are warm and will be well fed! Hopefully the power doesn't go off again! Merry Christmas to you too!

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  3. Oh I am sorry you had to go through this ice storm, we had one too but our ice was not as thick as yours and we only lost power for an hour.
    6 years ago we had devastating ice storm here that cracked almost all of the electric poles we were with out power and water for over 2 weeks back then-so I can totally relate to what you are dealing with.
    Merry Christmas-hope your Moms power comes on soon

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    1. There are so many who have had it worse that this, the people in the Philippines for example. So if we are cold and shivering for a few days it will be uncomfortable but we'll get over it and life will get back to normal. For those in the Philippines it is a very different story so I really can't complain.
      Merry Christmas to you too!

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  4. Glad to hear you are okay. I wondered how The old neighbourhood was doing. We were out for 14 hours. We were getting worried for the dogs so we went to a pet store to warm them up. Hope everything survived the cold. Merry Christmas.
    Barb@Witsend

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    1. Hi Barb - more trees came down overnight and we saw more cars smashed by tree limbs. City officials are now saying it may be the weekend before power is fully restored. I feel so badly for the elderly who are alone in the cold and dark. Hopefully they are being cared for by friends, family and neighbours.
      Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  5. Merry Christmas Karen! I'm glad your power is back on and hope your mom gets hers back soon!

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    1. Thanks Deb. Hope you have a safe drive up here and that you have a nice visit with family. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well!

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  6. Glad you are ok Karen, we had power, what we don't have is hot water and I thought it was storm related but after talking to my neighbours it turns out to be my water heater so the technician will come today, of course can't give me an exact time so I'm stuck in the hourse but that's ok.
    Merry Christmas to you and yours, and best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

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    1. Hi Grace and thanks! Hope you have a very Merry Christmas with your girls. And Happy New Year to you too!

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  7. Glad to hear you are okay, I have relatives in Toronto and Mississauga so I have been following the news closely. I didn't realize you were in that area as well. I'm originally from Peterborough, and lived in North Bay and Sudbury as well, and remember the Ontario winters (and ice storms) well! There's a good reason my parents decided to stay in BC when my dad retired from the military ;o) Take care of yourself and your family and neighbours, we are all thinking of you.

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    1. Thanks Terri! I think my part of Toronto was the hardest hit and there are still thousands without power on day six. I feel for those who are still in the cold and the dark. Fortunately Mom's power is now back up so she can go home and enjoy the comforts of her own place.

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  8. Thank goodness you have plenty of quilts to keep you from freezing! Merry Christmas Karen, stay safe and warm! xx

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    1. I piled the quilts on Mom's bed and she was toasty warm...even hot!

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  9. This is why we quilt, don't you think. Partly, at least.....so, when the lights go out, we can snuggle under one of our masterpieces. We've been through ice storms here in Washington State and it's no picnic. Makes you not want to have tall trees too close to the house. We were without power for a week in the worst one but had a wood stove, so were able to stay warm. Neighbors had a gas water heater, so we all trooped over there for showers. Relatives shared food and cooking facilities. Now, I have a wood cook range as well as a wood heating stove, so we may be okay in future. Hope all will be back to normal for you as soon as possible. Come on over to Prairie Cottage and I'll give you a virtual cup of something warm and a scone.....and a quilt to wrap up in. We're having a heat wave, actually. It's 32 degrees F, for a change (from single digits recently).

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    1. I agree! I make quilts to use them (well most of them anyway) so when the temperature drops it is great to have something warm to snuggle under!

      Tall trees are beautiful but they can take a real beating during storms and if they are close to a house or power line that can mean trouble! Our temperature is just below 32 so the ice and snow won't be going anywhere for a while. Oh well, at least we had a white Christmas!

      I'll definitely drop by Prairie Cottage for a virtual cuppa or two and a scone!

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  10. I'm only seeing these pictures now as I'm catching up with blogs and wow, it's scary and beautiful at the same time. Poor willow tree, though.
    Did the birch survive at least?

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