Woefully underprepared

FIT_Goat
FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
I have no pemmican. And, my unrefrigerated supplies are just enough for a day or two. I had a month worth of meat frozen and in the fridge. But, the majority of that (if not all) is going to have to be thrown out if they don't get power back on here.

I have to go check on the other property. At this property, the storm took out my fence and most of the trees that I tried to save in the backyard when I just had it redone. It is going to take a lot of work to clear it out. But, the house is undamaged and no one is hurt. Losing several hundred dollars worth of meat will suck.

I am here. Just conserving phone battery.
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Replies

  • SuperCarLori
    SuperCarLori Posts: 1,248 Member
    :/
    I'm sorry to hear that.
  • jmd543
    jmd543 Posts: 174 Member
    @FIT_Goat Glad to hear you are safe and hope your power is returned soon. Fortunately it's not as hot here for Matthew as others. Still have power in Wilmington, but today is supposed to be our worst day. Take care.
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
    I'm glad to hear you're okay and that your house is in one piece. Sorry about the food though. I'm sure that's incredibly frustrating, the financial loss and the lack of proper food to eat while everything gets cleaned up. Hope you get your power back soon!
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,018 Member
    Glad to hear you are alright, Kevin. Very sorry about the torn up yard and the meat. NOT THE MEAT! :tired_face: Sending positive vibes your way.

    My dad came in to visit last minute Monday, and I suspect he timed it due to the hurricane. He lives on the SC coast. I don't expect he'll come home to any damage though. At least I didn't have to worry about him being safe. Even though his neurotic tendencies have been driving me bonkers.
  • dasher602014
    dasher602014 Posts: 1,992 Member
    Glad to hear you are OK. The property damage sucks.

    I know it is pouring outside but we have in the past cooked a whole freezer worth of meat over the BBQ rather than lose it all. But we were dealing with an ice storm rather than water in its liquid state. We were able to keep the meat for an additional time and we were able to refreeze some that was cooked. (Of course, we could hike it outside in the ice storm but it wasn't reliable to trust with raw and we had to watch for animals.)

    I hope you get power before it thaws. :'(
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    @FIT_Goat Any idea when you'll get power back? Where are you? It can be pretty bad in the aftermath too. No adapter in your car to charge your phone? Bummer about those trees.

    Hope your other house is OK. As a Realtor, I could share some stories about houses listed and buyers backing out legally due to "material changes" in the property (which includes land and loss of trees) but I'm sure you don't want to hear those today. Hopefully your other property is OK and you can get there to check it out.

    My lessons learned after the inland devastation by Fran in '98 were cash, gas (in car), extra propane (to cook that meat since we have/had an electric range).

    In the aftermath of destruction we needed cash @ the few grocery stores that opened their doors because cash registers weren't working. ATM machines weren't working. Gas pumps weren't working. Heaven knows you couldn't find full propane tanks, ice and water when finally able to get to a destination.

    I'm a couple hours inland in NC so we'll just get rain, rain, rain and flooding. Keep us posted so we know you're managing OK.
  • Roseygirl1
    Roseygirl1 Posts: 196 Member
    Sorry to hear about the destruction you've suffered, but very happy you are ok!
  • sherryrichie
    sherryrichie Posts: 114 Member
    Hope your power comes on soon. What a mess for you! I live in SW FL where we were spared from Matthew. My thoughts are with you.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Oh no. Glad you are okay. I hope you get the power back soon and can BBQ some of that meat up and refreeze it.

    We have the opposite weather up here. We had the first snow that stayed the other day. There's an inch or two on the ground. It's cold enough that if we lost power the meat would stay frozen, no problem, but then we'd be dealing with avoiding frozen pipes and keeping warm. LOL

    Best wishes.
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
    So sorry to hear this
  • MiamiDawn
    MiamiDawn Posts: 90 Member
    So sorry to hear, but glad you're OK. Your area was hit pretty hard. We were in Miami which didn't have much problem. My house in Central Florida is also without power so I expect I'll be throwing out lots of food when we get up there next weekend. Been trying to decide whether I need to drive up just to clean out the freezer before the food spoils. We have a downed power line, so I don't know how long it will be before power is restored. Throwing out the food will suck, but the important part is your made it through with your life and home intact.

    Do you have a grill where you can start cooking some of the meat as it defrosts ? If not maybe a neighbor can share their grill in exchange for you supplying the meat. We've ended up doing this with storms in the past -- a sort of block party where everyone brought what they had available.


  • bametels
    bametels Posts: 950 Member
    I don't know if this is the case with all insurance companies, but when my daughter lost power for days in a winter storm, her insurance paid for all the spoiled food in their refrigerator and stand alone freezer without a deductible. They were shocked because there was nothing about this benefit in their policy. Might be worth checking with your company.
  • DarlingNikki2011
    DarlingNikki2011 Posts: 287 Member
    Glad to hear you're okay. Sorry about the meat though. Been there. I don't know where you are relative to Matthew's current location, but I agree with the others. If you can, get out and do some grilling. I mean, you do have to eat. Lol. How long have the lights been out @FIT_Goat ? Are there lines down in your neighborhood? Ours went out for a few hours, but were back on quickly. My sister is closer to the coast and hers were off overnight but have been restored now. Hoping you get power back soon.
  • kpk54
    kpk54 Posts: 4,474 Member
    Gonna take a lot of work to clean up the debris. Egad. Look at the trees laying across the street. Are those loblolly pines, still standing, in the 1st pic? Amazed they didn't all snap off.

    Isn't it utterly amazing how after the hurricane and bands pass, the sun comes out and the skies are blue making it seem all is right with the world?

    Glad you have that car charger.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    edited October 2016
    I am not sure what kind of pines there are. We have a variety. But yeah, some streets (including mine) are completely blocked by trees. It can take a long time to clear up all the debris. I am shocked a lot of the trees are still up. You should have seen them in the wind.

    Everything here, weather wise, is beautiful right now. It is very odd, considering what it was like 24 hours ago.
  • BaconSan2
    BaconSan2 Posts: 260 Member
    FIT_Goat: Can you you get an inverter hook to the car battery run just the fridge off of that? You can get it at Fry's electronics just make sure it is big enough to run the fridge. We live on an island & trees come down all the time leaving us without power so we bought a generator (the kind you can run a small village on. Also will be helpful for us & our neighbours if BC ever gets the big one.) So hope you don't have to throw out your meat - this is always my first thought when the power went before the generator. Sometimes we were days without it. Hoping the power will be on soon. Glad you are all safe too!
  • dasher602014
    dasher602014 Posts: 1,992 Member
    Wow! A lot of trees down. I suspect it will be some time before they get to the smaller streets. Glad you are able to cook some of that meat. We often get that sort of tree damage in winter. To me the photos look odd when everything isn't covered in white stuff. Lots of work ahead in the year. You did get lucky indeed and with the other property too.

    Glad to hear you are OK and the dogs are having a good day!
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    What a mess. :( I'm glad it wasn't worse for you.
  • Catawampous
    Catawampous Posts: 447 Member
    Very glad you are okay. That does look like a HUGE mess :(
  • Cadori
    Cadori Posts: 4,810 Member
    So glad you're ok!
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    Still no power. And other random issues arose. It seems like my list of junk that stresses me out only gets longer.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear you're having such a hard time. I hope things turn around really soon.
  • MyriiStorm
    MyriiStorm Posts: 609 Member
    @FIT_Goat - any news? Hope you're doing okay!
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    No real updates. Still without power. Grilling steak and bacon to get by. Keeping things charged by cycling through my car charger. But, there is a growing puddle of oil coming from the engine block under the car. So, I am avoiding starting it until I am ready to drive it to a mechanic. That is unrelated to the storm, just coincidental with it. Same with everything else. Whole lot of everything happening at once.

    No work for the next few days. Volunteer firefighters aren't being called up for anything at this time, not that I could help with an active shingles rash anyway.

    So, bored, stressed, and just trying to get through. I refuse to open my deep freeze. I had 50 bottles of water frozen on top of all the meat. I am hoping it holds up.
  • dasher602014
    dasher602014 Posts: 1,992 Member
    Still thinking of you. Shingles are so awful and with no power, hard to find things to take your mind off it.
  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
    Glad your and family/pets are safe! Just a thought.... our house insurance covers loss of food in our deep freeze. Maybe your insurance does too?
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    Sending all the good thoughts, my friend. Glad you're able to cook up some things to keep them from spoiling... I'm incredible sorry to hear about the rash, but yeah, I can only imagine how that is going... Worries me a bit, as I had about the oddest case of chicken pox ever as a kid (missed school only one day, a Wednesday, but got all my siblings so ill with it that one had it a full week, the other two had it two weeks)...

    Sending up good thoughts for all those working to remedy the hurricane damage, as well as for all those suffering from it...
  • supergal3
    supergal3 Posts: 523 Member
    @FIT_Goat Hang in there. Went through something similar years back. I know first hand how stressfuly it can be. One by one, things will turn around.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    Power won't be restored today. Maybe not tomorrow. Deep freeze is a total loss. I lost hundreds of dollars in meat. Some I can't replace (goat meat).