Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A funny thing happened while in the shower...

It's really cold! And when it gets this cold, things happen that are...unexpected. Yesterday morning was interesting. I had gone to bed the previous night, thinking..."Every one's pipes are freezing. I hope our well doesn't freeze." Doug wasn't home, so I couldn't ask if the heater had been turned on in the pump house. So, I went to sleep hoping that we would have water in the morning. We did. Faucets running, toilets flushing, good! But in the middle of getting the kids ready for school we had a 'brown out' (that's when the electricity doesn't go completely out..it just causes everything to dim). That lasted a few minutes and then we lost power...then it came back on...then we lost it again. No power...no heat...no water! I managed to get the kids to school, and came back hoping the power would be back on. Nope. I went out to our barn to get a load of firewood and while bringing in the wood...POWER! Wait...only for about 3 minutes. But then about a half hour later POWER AGAIN. I waited a little while just to make sure that it was staying on before I hopped in the shower. I turned the water on and did notice that there wasn't much pressure. I should have stopped right there. I got in and decided that I should hurry because I didn't know if the power was going to go out again. The water was really warm...but there just wasn't any pressure, so I was pretty cold. I had just put the conditioner in my hair and had started washing...soap suds everywhere...and then it happened. The water....started...to...DISAPPEAR! I started yelling at the shower head, "NO! NO! NO!" Are you kidding me? I just stood there, yelling at the shower, not really knowing what to do. I was covered in soap and goose bumps, conditioner in my hair and I just stood there. We still had power but obviously our well had frozen and whatever water we had was what was in our tank. What on earth was I supposed to do now?? There was a little bit of water in the bottom of the tub so I plugged it, crouched down and tried to splash the water on me to rinse off. Um, that didn't work because most of what was there was soap suds. So, I got out. Wiped the soap off, wrapped myself up in my towel, put on my robe and headed for the kitchen. We had water in the fridge. Too cold, but I was desperate. But then I remembered that we had gallons of water in our basement as part of our food storage. I ran down there and grabbed one, pulled out a pan from the cupboard and started warming up some water on the stove. It seemed to take forever. I don't know if I have ever been so cold before. Because we had been without power, the fireplace had not been running for that long (it has a fan on it that forces the air into the house) so there wasn't much warmth. Once the water was warm...wait, make that HOT! I filled a pitcher full of it and got back in the shower. I had let the water get too hot and it was burning my fingers as I put my washcloth in and tried to sponge myself off. So, out again to add cold water from the fridge. Then back in, poured the water over my head. Not enough. I was really wishing that I had short hair at this moment. So, back out again to refill. BURRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! Can anyone tell me the first signs of Hypothermia? Back in the shower I went. That was my last time even if my hair wasn't completely rinsed out. Oh, my goodness. I felt like I was in some sort of comedy! I needed some background music and a warm trailer to go to when my scene was finished!
I was indeed grateful for the fact that we had power so I could warm up the water on the stove. And that the power has stayed on since. And I am grateful that my brother-in-law fixed the well so that hopefully, it won't happen again. But I will say that I am a little nervous about taking a shower today.

13 comments:

Heidi said...

I'm glad you did a blog post about this... AWESOME story! ;0)

BJ Barnes said...

I was wondering how you managed to rinse after your water stopped working! What a trooper you are! One of my little fears is that the power will go out when I'm in the shower, all suds with no way to rinse! You've proved to me that with ingenuity, one can survive the experience! :)

~ My 3 sOnS ~ said...

I feel your pain!!! The same thing happened to me not to long ago....we are on a community well that sometimes just shuts off for no reason. I to had just put the conditioner in my hair and soaped up my whole body. Only thing is we are not prepared for the loss of water. We have NO Water on hand!! Thank goodness about 5 minutes later it just magically came back on:) This reminds me I need to get some jugs of water ASAP!! Lets hope this doesnt happen to either of us again!!:)

Susie Q said...

Sounds like the day from H. E double hockey sticks. You will look back and laugh at this soon enough and remember I am laughing with you not at you :)

Ali said...

Hilarious! Nothing is worse than a cold shower especially a cold one you have to get out of ....and back in and out again in your case. Terrible but is sure made for a good post. Did your head itch the rest of the day because you weren't rinsed well enough?

Rene said...

Oh that would kill me! I HATE being cold (and I am right now!). This freezing weather is SO cold that my furnace is having a hard time keeping up!

Unknown said...

You are a BRAVE BRAVE woman! I would have put clothes on, wrapped my hair in a towel and headed to my mom's house.

We would have tons of snow right now if there was any moisture in the air!

The Shelton's said...

I got colder and colder as I read that post. Normally I just worry about having a "Psycho" Norman Bates moment when I'm in the shower, but now I have to think about not being able to rinse as well!!

Jaimie said...

Oh my, I can almost see the kids just sitting there heads turning this way and that way watching you run this way and that way :oD

Kate said...

Wow- you'll definately have to share that story when you're in Relief Society and everyone is talking about food storage... you can be like "well, one day I was completely naked..." Yeah- it will be the best lesson of the year :)

BJ Barnes said...

This comment is about the new family photos you just put up!! Love 'em, love 'em, love them!!! How neat that something as simple as scarves can offer that feel of unity! Well done!! :)

neecy said...

Smile...you're on candid camera!

Anonymous said...

Where are the pictures??? All your other posts have pictures! Come on!