Stormy Weather Leads to Leaky Roof

Apparently not much.  Well, that isn’t altogether true.  It’s just that you have to pack in as much activity during daylight hours because you really can’t do much at night without electricity.

Last week, the state of Hawai’i experienced a pretty “exciting” 72 hours, from Tuesday through Friday.  High winds and heavy rain came barreling across the state, leaving in their wake lots of downed trees and utility poles and cutting off power to more than 50,000 residents on O’ahu alone.

A few days before, I was a little apprehensive when the weather reports started talking about “wild weather” coming our way.  Looking back, I can admit that it wasn’t as bad as the actual experience felt.  The only thing that continues to plague me is a leaky roof.  This seems to be par for the course on O’ahu, especially the mountainous windward side where rain is almost a daily occurrence during the rainy season which stretches from November to April.

The demand for roof repair must be great because I’ve been waiting for almost a month to get mine fixed.  The leak started after the first big rainfall of the season a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, which dropped 14 inches, according to Kaneohe Marine Corps Base records, in one night.  Fortunately, the leak is in a part of the house that doesn’t impact me too much.

Getting Prepared for Bad Weather

Tuesday afternoon, I spent a few minutes locating candles, flashlights, and batteries just in case we lost electricity.  Hoping for the best, I settled in with my crochet project, a book, and the TV.  Then the power began flickering as the heavens opened up and the winds rose.  The first time the lights went out around 9 pm or so, I steeled myself for a dark evening and night.  But to my surprise and delight, they came back on.   Then 30 minutes later, the power was off again, but again, it came back on.

At that point, I figure I’d better  take a shower so I’d at least have hot water for bathing.  Just as I was drying off, the lights went out for a third time.  After dressing for bed, I reached for my trusty little “miner’s” flashlight, the one that has an elastic band that allows me to wear it on my forehead.  I slipped it around my neck instead and read for an hour or so.  Finally, I decided to go to bed around midnight.

 60-mph Winds Keep Me Awake

It’s just about impossible to sleep while the wind is raging outside, gusting to over 60 mph.  Several gusts actually shook the house. This is the papaya tree that’s in my backyard.  It used to stand upright, but now it’s bent from the force of the wind.  And the rain was torrential!  Thankfully, I had my buckets and pots already set out in the den to catch the water dripping down the ceiling beam.

At one point in the night, I got up to check the house to make sure it was still standing.  To my surprise, I stepped in a big puddle of water at the  base of a window in my bedroom.  The wind was so strong that it was blowing rain through the closed slats.  After wiping up the puddle, I placed a towel at the base of the window to catch whatever water got through.

Starbucks to the Rescue

Wednesday, my daughter and I went out in search of coffee and green tea respectively since we still had no power.  Thank goodness Starbucks had power!  I had prepared and eaten a tuna sandwich earlier – on plain bread, mind you, instead of my preferred toast.  No, I’m not complaining.  I was happy to be able to eat.  I also stored what little food was in my fridge in the freezer section to keep it cold as long as possible.  Starbucks’s green tea hit the spot, and I settled on the couch to do a little knitting. Late in the afternoon, we got our lunch from the Saigon Noodle House.

Electricity Comes Back On

I don’t even remember what I had for dinner.  What I do remember is sitting in the living room with the shade up over the big picture window to let in the light so I could read.  I just happened to look across the street at my neighbor’s house and noticed they had lights.  Huh?  I didn’t think they had a generator, so I just sat there wondering what was going on.  I’d turned off all of my surge protectors Tuesday night so there wouldn’t be a power surge when the lights eventually came back on.

I got up and looked up the street to see street lights on.  Oh happy day!  I rushed to the kitchen light switch, flipped it, and was showered in the most wonderful artificial light I’d ever experienced.  I think that somewhat exaggerated response was due to the fact that, with the power on, the tension I’d been holding since the storm began melted away.  The lights flickered once more later in the evening, but they’ve been steady ever since.

Stay Ready to Keep From Getting Ready

So, what do you do when the lights go out?  Make sure you’re prepared beforehand.  Thankfully, I had a big supply of candles, flashlights, and batteries that I brought with me from the mainland.  I’d stocked up on them after the big hurricane of 2002 that slammed up the east coast and hit Washington DC with a vengeance, toppling huge oak trees and leaving the area without electricity for a week.

I think I’ll get some bottled water, too.  A generator would be nice,  but that’s not in the budget right now.  Plus, it’s good to know that I can function fairly well when the lights go out, at least for a little while.