Thread: OT: What a cwappy week...

On Sep 4, 5:45*pm, "Paco" <p...@taco.not> wrote:
> ...here in Southern Vermont. *Irene kicked our butts. *My family and home
> were fortunate; *power was out for 40 hours. *No big deal, we've goneas
> long as 5 days. *We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk, butter,
> etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for toilet flushing,
> filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking, etc. *But surrounding
> areas were, and some, still are, devastated. *Houses and roads gone. *Folks
> stranded for days. *Supplies being airlifted in by the National Guard.
> Patients being medivac'ed out. *Spent the week helping folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. *On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old Dalmatian
> (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. *She had stopped eating dry
> food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for her). *Then
> she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her. *Then hardly
> drank any water. *3 different vets said her time had come. *It was a very
> sad day. *But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. *Tub is full. *Pots are full. *They're predicting upto 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. *Here we go again.
>
> -- *

Damn....I'm so sorry. I think the dog would have been the biggest
heartbreak of all......or having to tell your son.

On Sun, 4 Sep 2011 20:45:28 -0400, "Paco" <[email protected]> wrote:

>...here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and home
>were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've gone as
>long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk, butter,
>etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for toilet flushing,
>filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking, etc. But surrounding
>areas were, and some, still are, devastated. Houses and roads gone. Folks
>stranded for days. Supplies being airlifted in by the National Guard.
>Patients being medivac'ed out. Spent the week helping folks out.
>
>Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old Dalmatian
>(our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped eating dry
>food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for her). Then
>she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her. Then hardly
>drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come. It was a very
>sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
>And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
>thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
>inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.

Yup, POURING here in the Catskills too, just what we need, more water.
Rest easy, Freckles.

Paco wrote:
> ...here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and
> home were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've
> gone as long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need
> (milk, butter, etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub
> for toilet flushing, filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking,
> etc. But surrounding areas were, and some, still are, devastated.
> Houses and roads gone. Folks stranded for days. Supplies being
> airlifted in by the National Guard. Patients being medivac'ed out.
> Spent the week helping folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old
> Dalmatian (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped
> eating dry food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for
> her). Then she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her.
> Then hardly drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come.
> It was a very sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.
>
> --

Oh, I really hope you don't get clobbered again, Paco.

--
Jean B.

On Sep 4, 8:45*pm, "Paco" <p...@taco.not> wrote:
> ...here in Southern Vermont. *Irene kicked our butts. *My family and home
> were fortunate; *power was out for 40 hours. *No big deal, we've goneas
> long as 5 days. *We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk, butter,
> etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for toilet flushing,
> filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking, etc. *But surrounding
> areas were, and some, still are, devastated. *Houses and roads gone. *Folks
> stranded for days. *Supplies being airlifted in by the National Guard.
> Patients being medivac'ed out. *Spent the week helping folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. *On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old Dalmatian
> (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. *She had stopped eating dry
> food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for her). *Then
> she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her. *Then hardly
> drank any water. *3 different vets said her time had come. *It was a very
> sad day. *But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. *Tub is full. *Pots are full. *They're predicting upto 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. *Here we go again.

I'm so sorry about Freckles. That has to be very hard.

Our power went out Saturday night and stayed out until Tuesday night.
(Or was it Wednesday?) The phone was out too, but cell phone worked,
so no big deal there either. I have three kerosene table lamps, 5
working storm lanterns, and a ridiculous number of flashlights, so
light was no problem. Battery radio has good reception. I was standing
outside on Sunday as the sky was clearing, when a stranger drove up
and offered his new generator for sale at cost. (His power had stayed
on.) It turned out that a KW was enough for the freezer, fridge, a
couple of lamps, and maybe more, but I didn't try. Considering
everything, we had an easy time. I couldn't take Mooch visiting
because she has fleas, but we're working on that.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can
get.

In article <[email protected]>, Jean B. <[email protected]> wrote:

>Paco wrote:

>> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
>> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
>> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.

>Oh, I really hope you don't get clobbered again, Paco.

Me either but I am wondering, why would one fill the tub with water?

Steve

"Paco" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:j4174o$2t1$[email protected]..
> ...here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and home
> were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've gone as
> long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk, butter,
> etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for toilet
> flushing, filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking, etc. But
> surrounding areas were, and some, still are, devastated. Houses and roads
> gone. Folks stranded for days. Supplies being airlifted in by the
> National Guard. Patients being medivac'ed out. Spent the week helping
> folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old
> Dalmatian (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped
> eating dry food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for
> her). Then she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her.
> Then hardly drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come. It
> was a very sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.

Curious as to why you would need the water for the toilet? I know my friend
said she had to do that when her bathroom plumbing was being replaced
because the water was shut off.

But when we lived in military housing, they always told us to keep bottled
water for the toilets in case of a power failure. And yet the toilets still
flushed. AFAIK there was nothing electric connected to the toilet.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 04:26:38 +0000 (UTC), Steve Pope wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>, Jean B. <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Paco wrote:
>
>>> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
>>> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
>>> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.
>
>>Oh, I really hope you don't get clobbered again, Paco.
>
> Me either but I am wondering, why would one fill the tub with water?
>
> Steve

Are you kidding? In case of power outage if you have a well.
Well pumps are electric.
You fill the tub so you can get a bucket of water to flush the toilet.

TFM®

On 9/4/2011 8:45 PM, Paco wrote:
> ...here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and home
> were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've gone as
> long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk,
> butter, etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for
> toilet flushing, filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking,
> etc. But surrounding areas were, and some, still are, devastated. Houses
> and roads gone. Folks stranded for days. Supplies being airlifted in by
> the National Guard. Patients being medivac'ed out. Spent the week
> helping folks out.

I feel awful about it, what I've seen on tv is devastation.
At first I thought ... Vermont? I just never heard of hurricanes
being a problem there. Bummer.

> Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old
> Dalmatian (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped
> eating dry food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for
> her). Then she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her.
> Then hardly drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come. It
> was a very sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.

How terrible. I've been through that food progression with a dog,
too, you'll do anything. I'm very sorry for your loss. Would this
be an inappropriate time to say the Freckles might be the cutest
name ever for a Dalmation?

> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.

More damned water. Grrr. Hope you're okay. Sorry you've had
such a bad week. RIP, Freckles.

nancy

"Julie Bove" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> Curious as to why you would need the water for the toilet? I know my
> friend said she had to do that when her bathroom plumbing was being
> replaced because the water was shut off.
>
> But when we lived in military housing, they always told us to keep bottled
> water for the toilets in case of a power failure. And yet the toilets
> still flushed. AFAIK there was nothing electric connected to the toilet.
>

If you have city water or a backup generator for a well, you can flush. If
you have a private well, it needs a pump to get the water our of the ground
and to the toilet. No water, no flush. You just happened to be in a place
with the ability to supply water.

On Sep 5, 12:26*am, spop...@speedymail.org (Steve Pope) wrote:
> In article <9cisr3Fc0...@mid.individual.net>, Jean B. <jb...@rcn.com> wrote:
> >Paco wrote:
> >> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> >> thunderstorms. *Tub is full. *Pots are full. *They're predictingup to 7
> >> inches of rain by Tuesday night. *Here we go again.
> >Oh, I really hope you don't get clobbered again, Paco.
>
> Me either but I am wondering, why would one fill the tub with water?

A tub is a good storage place. In most places, water is brought in by
electric pumps. Not all pumping stations have an emergency back-up
power source.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 08:33:29 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>"Julie Bove" <[email protected]> wrote
>>
>> Curious as to why you would need the water for the toilet? I know my
>> friend said she had to do that when her bathroom plumbing was being
>> replaced because the water was shut off.
>>
>> But when we lived in military housing, they always told us to keep bottled
>> water for the toilets in case of a power failure. And yet the toilets
>> still flushed. AFAIK there was nothing electric connected to the toilet.
>>
>
>If you have city water or a backup generator for a well, you can flush. If
>you have a private well, it needs a pump to get the water our of the ground
>and to the toilet. No water, no flush. You just happened to be in a place
>with the ability to supply water.

Why are you answering her, Julie doesn't even know where babies come
from. LOL

On 9/5/2011 7:56 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sun, 4 Sep 2011 22:45:17 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>
>> Curious as to why you would need the water for the toilet? I know my friend
>> said she had to do that when her bathroom plumbing was being replaced
>> because the water was shut off.
>>
>> But when we lived in military housing, they always told us to keep bottled
>> water for the toilets in case of a power failure. And yet the toilets still
>> flushed. AFAIK there was nothing electric connected to the toilet.
>
> Somewhere - there is a pump pumping water through the plumbing system.
> And it's not manned by the Keebler Elves (OBFood).
>
> -sw

Or the magic of gravity. In our area all of the water comes from
reservoirs in the nearby mountains.

On 5/09/2011 10:45 AM, Paco wrote:
> ....here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and home
> were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've gone as
> long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk,
> butter, etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for
> toilet flushing, filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking,
> etc. But surrounding areas were, and some, still are, devastated. Houses
> and roads gone. Folks stranded for days. Supplies being airlifted in by
> the National Guard. Patients being medivac'ed out. Spent the week
> helping folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old
> Dalmatian (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped
> eating dry food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for
> her). Then she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her.
> Then hardly drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come. It
> was a very sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.
>
> --

Fret not. 16 years for a largish dog like a dalmation is one hell of a
long time in human years. No doubt Freckles had a good life but, as with
all good things, it must too come to an end.

We had a fox terrier that passed away at 14. It was a little too young
for a terrier but this one had a very full life, even after his owner
(our daughter) moved out. He had been in our lives since he was 4 months
old and my only regret was that our daughter wasn't able to be there
with him when the time came as they had spent most of their growing up
years together.

Our current terrier is 16 now and a fit as a fiddle. Had his recent vet
checkup and everything is as it should be. I have noticed though that he
runs for shorter spells and tends to sleep longer now so I am mentally
preparing myself for the day when his time comes.

--

Krypsis

On Sep 4, 8:45*pm, "Paco" <p...@taco.not> wrote:
> ...here in Southern Vermont. *Irene kicked our butts. *My family and home
> were fortunate; *power was out for 40 hours. *No big deal, we've goneas
> long as 5 days. *We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk, butter,
> etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for toilet flushing,
> filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking, etc. *But surrounding
> areas were, and some, still are, devastated. *Houses and roads gone. *Folks
> stranded for days. *Supplies being airlifted in by the National Guard.
> Patients being medivac'ed out. *Spent the week helping folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. *On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old Dalmatian
> (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. *She had stopped eating dry
> food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for her). *Then
> she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her. *Then hardly
> drank any water. *3 different vets said her time had come. *It was a very
> sad day. *But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. *Tub is full. *Pots are full. *They're predicting upto 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. *Here we go again.
>
> -- *

Oh, I'm sorry you were faced with that final trip. It's never easy,
but you did the right thing. I'm sure that dog knew nothing but a
lifetime of affection and care. I hope the pain is gone soon, and
just happy memories remain.

Glad you survived the storm so well. BTDT. Gee, I think I'll go
check my clean water jug collection..........it gets the sterile
treatment once a year.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:56:09 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:40:35 -0400, George wrote:
>
>> On 9/5/2011 7:56 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2011 22:45:17 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>>> Somewhere - there is a pump pumping water through the plumbing system.
>>> And it's not manned by the Keebler Elves (OBFood).
>>
>> Or the magic of gravity. In our area all of the water comes from
>> reservoirs in the nearby mountains.
>
> I think there would still need to be pumps somewhere, no?
>
> -sw

It's gravity fed from the water towers in most locales. But yes, you do
have to pump it up to the tower.

I would guess that the exception would be a water treatment plant higher
than the water tower. I would also guess that this is extremely rare.

TFM® (of course, I could be totally wrong)

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:56:09 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:40:35 -0400, George wrote:
>
>> On 9/5/2011 7:56 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2011 22:45:17 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>>> Somewhere - there is a pump pumping water through the plumbing system.
>>> And it's not manned by the Keebler Elves (OBFood).
>>
>> Or the magic of gravity. In our area all of the water comes from
>> reservoirs in the nearby mountains.
>
> I think there would still need to be pumps somewhere, no?
>
> -sw

Sheldon's wearing them.

TFM®

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 15:01:57 -0400, TFM® <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 11:56:09 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:40:35 -0400, George wrote:
>>
>>> On 9/5/2011 7:56 AM, Sqwertz wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 4 Sep 2011 22:45:17 -0700, Julie Bove wrote:
>>>
>>>> Somewhere - there is a pump pumping water through the plumbing system.
>>>> And it's not manned by the Keebler Elves (OBFood).
>>>
>>> Or the magic of gravity. In our area all of the water comes from
>>> reservoirs in the nearby mountains.
>>
>> I think there would still need to be pumps somewhere, no?
>>
>> -sw
>
>Sheldon's wearing them.

A+

Lou

On 9/4/2011 8:45 PM, Paco wrote:
> ...here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and home
> were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've gone as
> long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk,
> butter, etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for
> toilet flushing, filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking,
> etc. But surrounding areas were, and some, still are, devastated. Houses
> and roads gone. Folks stranded for days. Supplies being airlifted in by
> the National Guard. Patients being medivac'ed out. Spent the week
> helping folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old
> Dalmatian (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped
> eating dry food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for
> her). Then she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her.
> Then hardly drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come. It
> was a very sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.

I'm glad you made it through Irene mostly ok. I understand about having
to make that final decision for your son's Freckles. No matter how many
times you have to do it, it never gets easier. You did a good thing for
her. RIP Freckles. I hope next week is better.

"Paco" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:j4174o$2t1$[email protected]..
> ...here in Southern Vermont. Irene kicked our butts. My family and home
> were fortunate; power was out for 40 hours. No big deal, we've gone as
> long as 5 days. We packed the refrigerated items we'd need (milk, butter,
> etc) into coolers and stocked up on ice, filled the tub for toilet
> flushing, filled all of our large pots for drinking, cooking, etc. But
> surrounding areas were, and some, still are, devastated. Houses and roads
> gone. Folks stranded for days. Supplies being airlifted in by the
> National Guard. Patients being medivac'ed out. Spent the week helping
> folks out.
>
> Except on Friday. On Friday we had to take our son's 16 year old
> Dalmatian (our son is in the Navy) for one last visit. She had stopped
> eating dry food, then stopped eating canned food (yuck, but we tried for
> her). Then she stopped eating the chicken and rice we cooked for her.
> Then hardly drank any water. 3 different vets said her time had come. It
> was a very sad day. But Freckles is comfortable now.
>
> And now (Sunday, 8:30 PM, Eastern) we're in the middle of a string of
> thunderstorms. Tub is full. Pots are full. They're predicting up to 7
> inches of rain by Tuesday night. Here we go again.
>
> --

Thank you to all for your condolences and good wishes.

Making the call to bring Freckles (yes, it was an appropriate name for a
Dalmatian!) to the Vet was a tough one. And making the phone call to the
boy was even tougher. He took the news fairly well. We've lost dogs
before, but never intentionally. Teddy, our first dog, a German Sheppard
mix, was 18 years old when he went to sleep for the last time. We're sure,
Gracie, a pure bred Black Lab was dog-napped. And Bandit, a wire hair Jack
Russell, met his fate with a coyote or a black bear.

Here it is Wednesday, and it is still raining. It's been on and off since
Sunday with some heavy rain, but not really comparable to Irene. More of a
hindrance than devastation. And the rain is slowing down repairs to roads
and bridges. We'll becoming into "leaf-peeper" and ski seasons soon. No
one is willing to make predictions on the economic impact on this area.
It's kind of like the Gulf Coast, but with maple syrup rather than etouffee!

I guess I didn't state that we have a private drilled well, with a submerged
pump, hence no electricity = no water, so we fill the tub to scoop out water
to flush the toilet. Most of the state is rural so there are few municipal
water systems. We're still "flexible" enough to handle living without a
generator. Our parents didn't have one and neither did their parents. So
we deal with this family tradition!

Once again, thanks for your thoughts!