Dallas: The Great Freeze of 2021

Unprepared for this weather would be a gross understatement!

Being a resident of a Dallas suburb this past week has not been a fun experience. I live and run my business in Plano, TX. Every once in a while, we get a freeze in the winter that results in black ice and a couple of below feezing days.  This year marks the rudest blast of winter I have ever experienced in Texas. Now I have experienced a very cold winter in Denver – but the difference there is that they are prepared for that.

What happened in Texas this week and is still happening to many of us is a humbling realization that mother nature is in charge and texas was not prepared. My townhouse was without power for the greater part of three days in which the thermostat inside read 39 degrees. While one can say that layers of clothes and quilts is all you need – I gotta say, that’s not the case. Especially when I looked over at my dog, Emerson and saw him shivering like he has never shivered before.

I love my dog like a child, which I know many pet owners do. It was heart-breaking to see him so cold. And not to mention the ice and snow that to some dogs might be fun, but my little guy was not interested whatsoever.

So we finally got fulltime power back on after several days of 6-8 hours being off with 1-3 hours being on at a time. Nights were rough, but I ended up pulling out some chunky yarn to see if I remembered how to crochet. Funny how some things are muscle memorized. I did a few rows, but not really my thing anymore and I knew I didn’t have the desire to actually finish it.

Once power was back on to stay, I would be put through another test – water torture. Not in dripping, but in no water at all. So like many others, the underground pipes in my area froze up and neighbors had bursting pipes. I was good about doing the slow flow and drip, so no problems in my place. But yet – main water was shut off to us all and continues to be shut off.

Needless to say, I laughed and laughed when I read what my mom wrote. When would I ever hear this phrase again – “…if you see any water leaking out of your building, you could get some.” LOL. It’s the first thing that made me laugh in several days. – Thanks, Mom!

So here is a typical day in the back of my car until water is restored – the update I recently received is “maybe Tuesday end of day.” (today is Friday).

Lastly – Sorry this is not a quilting related post, but I wanted to document it here, so that I don’t forget about it. one day I will look back at my blog archives and recall the joy of Feb 2021. (Not that Covid hasn’t been enough…LOL). But yet – I still survive and I live for quilting!