still in it (and how you can help)
Hi, friends — we seem to have internet for the first time in two days, so I thought I’d pop in with a check-in:
As I write this, we’re on hour 50 and counting of no power — which therefore means that we’ve had no central heating during that time. We lost internet for about 36 hours, but it just came back — but no guarantees that it will hang around. Our water is down to a trickle (but we’ve filled up coolers and bathtubs with water, and have a few gallons of bottled so we’re good for now). That said, the entire city is on a “boil-water notice” — in other words, the pressure is so low citywide there’s no guarantee it’s safe to drink. Problem is, there isn’t any bottled water on the grocery store shelves right now — we’ve looked.
But our generator chugs along during daylight hours powering our fridge, so our food is safe, and we have a gas stovetop, so we can cook hot meals. We have enough generator fuel for another day or two, so that’s good. Our fireplace continues to roar, and we have a lot of blankets, so while our home is chilly, it’s certainly bearable. Right now, our biggest concern is making sure our pipes don’t burst — having had to deal with a flooded home in the past, we’d really like to avoid a repeat of that.
All this to say that we’re hanging in there pretty well. The weather is supposed to warm up by the weekend, and although there are news reports that we’re likely not going to get our utilities back online with any confidence until then, there’s at least an end somewhat in sight. It’s all good.
Here’s the important point, though: shelters have opened up, as well as warming centres around the city, so if you’re in Houston and haven’t had any heat in your home (or you know someone who is suffering), here’s where you can go to warm up. and even get a hot meal. And of course, wherever you are, if you’d like to donate, here are some places in and around Austin and Dallas, and some places around Houston that are accepting donations.
That’s it for now, lovelies. Will check in again when I can. In the meantime, stay safe, and take care of each other.
It’s all about rhythm.