BACK TO NORMAL????

It has been slow progress but we are near to getting back to normal. We have repaired and replaced (pressure tank, hot water tank, toilet etc., etc.) all the damage that was done in "THE BIG FREEZE OF 2019".  And now are moving forward with the PLANs we had for this year.   

The new water softener is being installed today.  

The first day of spring has come and gone, and the snow is still here.  But it is starting to shrink back and the predicted temperatures should see it gone shortly.  

I am starting to get over the discouragement I felt when we walked into the house on our arrival home.  As you can see it's just over 3 weeks until Easter and I'm starting to look forward to it.  

COME ON SPRING!!

WE HAVE MOVED BACK HOME

Well, it has been a week since we arrived back in Winnipeg Beach.  Dan has worked like a slave to get us up and running.  Thawed sewer line, holding tank emptied, water pump thawed, new pressure tank installed, new toilet purchased and installed, new hot water tank ready to go, now all we need is the water softener.  

We now have running water and a functioning toilet.  So we have moved back home. 

Our friends and neighbours Gord and Ellie Gowie have been so kind in taking us in and feeding us and helping us out, we will never be able to repay them.  Unless they have a disaster happen to them, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.  

I am still emptying crates and finding places for everything from basically two households.  

We still do not have hot water yet, but that will come shortly.  It's not as if I haven't lived without it before.  A water softener was going to be top of the list this spring, so we are going to do that before we hook up the new water tank.   

EVEN WITH THE KAOS, IT'S STILL GOOD TO BE HOME

WE ARRIVED HOME TO KAOS

We cleared the border without any hold-ups by 10:00 am and were well on our way home.

The roads were good and it was a quick trip around the city and heading north.  

We arrived home by 11:00 and Sea-Enna was so happy to see her yard, she dove right into the snow drifts. 

We were pretty glad to be here too, until we opened the door and found no heat on.  Everything was Icy cold.  Our newly installed furnace was not running. ??? We ran to the thermostat and found a reading of - 32 degrees.  We immediately called our Furnace installer and he sent someone out.  Too little too late.  Then we started to access the damages.  

In the bathroom, the toilet was tipped over, to one side (forced up by the ice) and cracked around the bottom where it was bolted to the floor.  

The toilet tank had one solid block of ice in it and was split right down the back.  

The hot water tank bottom was bulging out an also tipped over slightly, so we knew that it was destroyed. 

So the last couple of days have been pretty hectic.  We have been busy cleaning up dealing with insurance people and buying a new hot water tank, and toilet, (yet to be installed).  

Thank goodness for kind neighbours who have taken us in.  The furnace is now running again, but we still don't have an, answer as to WHY it happened, which I need to get to the bottom of.  Plus we can't live there until all the repairs are finished and we have proper running water and toilet facilities.  

SO, THIS WAS OUR WELCOME HOME.  

WELL, WE'RE IN IT NOW!

The further we get into North Dakota the more snow we are seeing.  

It has really accumulated in the fields.   But like I've always said. even though it is -40 degrees it is always bright, sunny and cheerful on the prairies.  I can't take too much of that overcast that we had a lot of in the Rio Grand Valley this year.  It may be warm but it's grey and sad when it's overcast.  

The plows are starting to pile it up everywhere they can.  

Oh well, it's March already, it can't last too much longer.  We are safe and warm in our motel in Grand Forks and ready to cross the boarder tomorrow morning.  We should be home to open up the house by noon. Thank goodness we got our new furnace installed before we headed south in the fall. 

WE'LL BE COZY AND WARM UNTIL SPRING  


 

WE FINALLY MADE IT TO SNOW

We left Wichita and travelled "The Flint Hills" and the rest of Kansas all the way to Kansas City, with no snow.  

Then on to I 29 and went from the bottom to the top of Iowa.  Still not snow.  Just the usual horrible Iowa roads.  The worst in the country.  

As we crossed into South Dakota we finally saw a lot more snow.  But just blowing across the road not actually falling and accumulating.  

According to the local news, they are not expecting anything tonight.  

WE WILL SEE WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS.  

 

WE GOT TO WICHITA, KANSAS

We got off to an earlier start this morning and made pretty good progress.  Yesterday it started out just cloudy, but then we got really slowed down by heavy, heavy rain.   We gave up and called it a night by Austin. Today we made better progress.  On north the rest of the way through and on out of Texas.  

Continued across Oklahoma and on into Kansas.  

We have called it a day here in Wichita Kansas.  

AND IT'S ON TO SIOUX FALLS TOMORROW.