Saturday, December 17, 2022

FNSI and Which is Worse........

No power or no water.    It was just on 12 months ago that a destructive storm ripped through our area and left us without power for 30 hours.   No power means no hot showers, cooking, sewing, watching  tv or access to the internet, using of washing machine or dishwasher, no mobile phones or landlines.  If you are lucky and can find some batteries the right size you can listen to the radio for current updates as you are completely cut off from the outside world.  

On Tuesday a water main burst not far from where we live and as a consequence there was no water.  No water means no showers of any kind - hot or cold - no use of washing machine or dishwasher,  cooking is limited to something that does not involve water, no toilet flushing, having a sink full of dirty dishes.  Using hand sanitiser instead of good old soap and water for many washes results in "sticky" hands.   Trying to clean one's teeth using mineral water  was a "frothy" disaster  and one that would not want to be repeated again.  

The water went off around 1 pm and had still not been restored at 11 pm when I went to bed although we could hear much drilling and could see bright lights around the area that was being worked on throughout the night.  Getting up at 5.30 am on Wednesday morning found that we had a little bit of running water.   The pressure was very low but enough to get a quick shower and organise breakfast.    It was lovely to finally wash all that sanitiser off our hands and clean our teeth properly.    

On driving out of the driveway I was confronted by this.   There were two water tankers hooked into our water supply hence the low pressure but having said that we were very grateful for the flowing water again.     

It would be interesting to know how many tankers would have been needed to cater for the needs of our retirement village as the property is spread out over 11 acres.   

Looking further up the road this was the scene with many more vehicles coming and going during the time that it took to do the necessary repair work.

It took over 28 hours to restore water to the whole of the affected suburbs.  

The plan was to head to the supermarket early on Wednesday morning if we still had no water and buy quite a few litres to at least give us drinking water and fill up a basin for handwashing.   Once the water began to trickle again I did pull some jugs out of the cupboard and fill them up  "just in case" it went off again.  

So after these two experiences of no power and water for an extended period of time on each occasion I still do not know which is worse.    I am glad that I was not a pioneer woman as neither of these life necessities would have been available to me at the flick of a switch or turn of a tap.  

FNSI

Fortunately having no water did not stop me from using my sewing machine.

Two items remained on the  sewing "to do list" before Christmas and they have now been ticked off.  First up is the set of 3 placemats which were finished off last night when joining in the FNSI.    


Miss M and her parents are big cat lovers so these placemats  have found their way into their Christmas stockings.  

During the week a peasant top was completed for Miss M.


As well as a twirly skirt for her.


That is it for me as far as my Christmas sewing is concerned.   All that is left to do is the last minute food shopping as I have been asked to bring a fruit and cheese platter on Christmas Day.   An easy one to organise.  

The big red ball of yarn is still going.  Another two beanies have been completed.    That makes 15 beanies so far from that ball of red yarn.    My knitting group is of the opinion that the ball is definitely shrinking.   


I keep buying those berries each week when shopping and often add in some passionfruits as well.  They go down very well on our breakfast cereal of a morning. 
 

I caught up with some friends for a pre-Christmas lunch and was gifted this gorgeous bundle of 20 Tula Pink fq's.    Now to find a design to showcase these mouthwatering fabrics.    


That was the last FNSI for 2022.   Thanks to Wendy for organising and I look forward to joining in again in the New Year.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all  

11 comments:

Anorina @SameliasMum said...

I'm glad that your power and water are all back to running again. You've been a busy lady, sewing up a storm lately. I'll bet your little lady will love the twirly skirt. How fun are those Tula fabrics! I look forward to seeing what you create with them :)

ButterZ said...

Hi Karen. How annoying. no water or electricity makes it so hard. Glad it’s back on now.

Jeanette said...

I don't know which would be worse either but at least with water you can buy some at the shop or ask family if you can fill a few jugs up. Glad your water issue is all sorted now. Love the placemats. The skirt & top are lovely. Merry Christmas.

Janice said...

It makes us realise how we take these services for granted. When we had the recent gas outage it made us appreciate just a tiny bit how difficult it must be for the population of Ukraine. I’m glad all is back to normal now. Your last bit of stitching looks good. Have fun with the Tula fabrics.

kiwikid said...

Being without both power and water would be a challenge!! We are inclined to take it for granted these days. Great sewing and knitting, enjoy your new fabric.

Lin said...

I would far rather be without electricity than water! We had a big storm once in France and the water was off for 3 days - fortunately we had a cistern that collects rainwater and so we were able to flush the loo but but there were many people who had to find other methods of disposal - dont ask! When we moved here a gas hob was one of my priorities as at least we are able to cook and boil water in the event of a power cut.
Anyway, glad all is back to normal for you now. xx

Fiona said...

I think no water is worse than no electricity . we get so used to having everything available . Good to see you found lots to do - lovely bundle of fabrics... looking forward to seeing what you make with those...
Hugz

Ondrea said...

We take things for granted these days and itshows us how quickly things can change. Fortunately, I buy purified water each week to drink which has come in handy a couple of times for having a wash and cleaning teeth when we have had no water.At least you had power this time. Love the placemats , skirt and top. You are a very clever gal! I still say it is a magic ball of wool!

Susan said...

Oh dear - no power IS really bad - but no water - maybe worse - no flushing toilets . . igh

anyway

Well done on your last FNSI - love twirly skirts for girls..and how lucky to get a bundle of Tula fabrics!

Merry Christmas and Happy Sewing!

Susie H said...

Both options of no water or no power are awful. Each terrible in their own right. Glad things are restored to normal again for you. You managed to get quite a bit done for Christmas gifts. The never-ending ball of yarn is hilarious. Kind of like our quilt scraps, eh?

Maria said...

It just goes to show how much we rely on power and water from the tap.
We've had power outages the past two days. Thankfully we have a generator and one of our water tanks aren't hooked up to the pump which needs power.......

I'm sure Miss M will love her new cloths and that RED ball of wool is never ending....