10/5/24: Saturday Update

Welcome to the weekend, everyone.

The past week has flown by…..though at some times it seemed like it was moving at a crawling pace.

We eventually get through –

We wake up, we do all the needed things, we fix meals….run the generator when needed to keep things cold…and eventually it is time to go to bed.

We get up the next morning and start it all over again.

I’m putting something quilty at the top of this post to remind me what I need to get back to. If I can find my sew-jo again.

At some moments I’m still having to remind myself to just breathe.

Keeping it real in the kitchen.

There are 4 jar candles burning as dawn arises – this is the morning routine.

The pitcher of water next to the fridge and the tea kettle were filled full before the generator was turned off at bedtime last night.

The generator gets turned back on between 9-10 a.m. to keep things frozen/cold – but neither of us can sleep with the generator going, and it is an unnecessary use of fuel so we are only running it 12 hours a day.

I start my day by lighting the candles (It’s an odd combination of ALL the different fragrances) using a flashlight and a BBQ lighter.

Then I turn on the gas stove and use the lighter to get the flame going to heat the water that becomes our morning coffee (for me) and hot chocolate. (for Dave)

I brush my teeth at the kitchen sink, And use the remaining cooled down but still warm water in the tea kettle for my waterpik. It’s amazing how much better I feel just knowing my teeth are brushed and I am ready for the day.

Dave is still experiencing pain from the fractured clavicle more than he is the 31 staples in his head. It’s the muscles further down the arm that ache, so cold packs and some massage to the rescue.

Breakfast is easy thanks to the gas range. Today it was bacon/cheese omelets. We are not starving by any means.

I am typing this form the QPO studio where the power was restored on Friday evening. It’s nice to be able to sit at a keyboard instead of trying to compose a post on my phone using voice-to-text which presents challenges of its own.

These images keep flooding through my mind when I least expect it. We were on the ambulance for 4 1/2 hours waiting for this to recede. We are actually ON the road here…but it looks like a lake of mud. Terrifying.

Photo from ambulance window.

Before the ambulance arrived – we were in the parking lot at Corner Market watching a road across the way turn into a rolling river…and some farmer upstream had recently cut his pumpkin crop from the vines in preparation for them being picked up by truck.

We watched pumpkin races float on by…..it was incredible. It was comical in a very surreal kind of way. Much like those yellow duckie races some communities hold as a fund raiser. Only this was not for fun and games or prizes.

In talking to the Shippenstitchers before they left last Saturday for home – they too had stood on the back porch at Quiltville Inn watching the creek rise and expand and roll fiercely on by, carrying all of the pumpkins further on down toward the New River.

I do have photos from that retreat – but I think I’ll wait until Monday to post them. I still need more time.

The last loads of laundry from last week’s retreat went in the wash this morning. The inn has power. So many do not.

Today is day 9 without power at home on the mountain.
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In spite of it all – what a beautiful week of weather we’ve had in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.⁣
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The leaves are falling – thinning out the curtain of trees giving us a glimpse of long range mountain views to the east, and even the sunrises are able to peek through if we are awake enough to witness them. ⁣
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Folks are still in survival mode up here. A call went out for those with ATVs to help get supplies to families that are completely cut off.⁣
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And that makes my whole problem of the One Drive mess up on my office desktop computer less of a problem than it would have been PRE Helene. Files can be recovered. I am reminded that I can do better at backing things up.

I lost my EQ8 files. I had to uninstall and reinstall EQ8 and Blockbase because One Drive changed all of the directories and the programs couldn’t locate files.

I had to uninstall and reinstall Chrome – of course Microsoft tries to demand that you stick with edge. What a pain.

Supposedly files are still on my hard drive somewhere.

But if the ⁣worse thing I have to do is re-type up some documents, re-draft up some quilt designs and graphics – it was worth getting rid of One Drive and losing stuff in the process.

It’s all about perspective, right?

Quiltville Quote of the Day –

Our community continues to grow in love for one another by lending helping hands. ⁣
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Lifting one lifts us all. And we see ourselves reflected in the eyes of each and every one of us.

And that’s the best part of all of this.

Find small things to be grateful for this weekend no matter where you are –