Ice storm 2013
The ice storm of 2013 was incredibly beautiful, I took out my camera and shot pictures everyday. Everything glistened, all the tree's looked like crystal. The only unfortunate thing is that we lost power for 3 days.
The first day was manageable because we kept thinking that the power would come back any minute now. The temperature in the house was dropping, so I pulled out the blankets and lit all the candles.
The following day, since there were no stores open, all the street lights were out, and driving became quite dangerous, we made do with snuggling up with the dogs, reading books, and using the barbeque when we needed to eat.
We heard through the grape vine that Wendy's and Tim Horton's had power, but we had to drive all the way into Oshawa, not that big a deal for a hot coffee and burger, plus we were able to get out of the cold for a little while. Luckily my son was working at the hospital, and my other son was invited to his friends home that had power.
Christmas Eve success.
Day 3 was the worst, by this time, I couldn't warm up, the house was at 51 degrees, and I started to make calls to my family to make other arrangements for Christmas Eve. I always host the event, preparing days in advance, so this year, we were all in a panic because we heard we wouldn't get power until after Christmas. We're quite fortunate to having such wonderful friends, some came to drop off propane heaters, while others invited us to their home for dinner. We were about to pack up when the power suddenly came on. What a joy, what chaos. With only a few hours until Christmas eve, I began to work, preparing food for my guests, cleaning the house, and running around trying to get things done.
Amazingly enough, with everyone's help, we managed to have one of the greatest Christmas eves, there was so much food, love and laughter.
The ice storm of 2013 was a great example of people helping each other, making sure we were warm, with countless invites to warm homes, families banding together to care for each other.
We lost a neighbour 3 hours before the power came back due to carbon monoxide poisoning. I was shocked and saddened by this news, because in crisis, there is always the news of people losing there lives, but when it's so close to home, you realize that all of the fuss over the holidays mean nothing compared to the love you share with each other.
If there is anything I learned during this time, is to take care of each other, rely on loved ones and friends, don't be afraid to ask for help, and be there to help your neighbour in times of need.
