The power went off around 11pm and the first thing the CEO did was grab his miner's light and try to ring Ergon Energy on the landline to find out what the problem was and when it would be fixed. Even though I had told him when the NBN was connected that the phone wouldn't work if the power was off I don't think it actually twigged until last night. He wasn't very impressed when he realised that. Then I rang Ergon on my mobile but they weren't even aware that our street had lost power so we never did find out what was the cause. So it is worth while keeping one's mobile phone charged over summer in case the landline doesn't work. I wonder what would happen to an elderly person with a medical alert device if they needed help during a power outage.
Something else we learned last night was that our rechargeable lantern isn't working so will need to go back to the shop as it has a 5 year warranty. I don't like using candles in this old house so these lights are a necessity as well as a good torch which the CEO can never find. Oops! I might buy a new one of those and keep it in a 'safe' place and hope I can remember where that 'safe' place is. LOL!
We will be hearing a lot about emergency kits in the coming weeks and our state government and a host of other organisations have lists of what to keep in a kit like this one. I would really like some mild Spring weather like we used to have years ago when heatwaves were unheard of in our region.
I have noticed a number of cactus plants are starting to flower and they are quite beautiful.
Some can't be bothered waiting anymore to be planted as the CEO never did get around to doing that.
The flowers don't last long but they certainly do make an impression when they are open.
The calendulas are in flower at the moment so I have been drying the petals to be infused in olive oil for soapmaking. They are great flowers to add to soap unlike some of the others which end up looking like mice droppings :-)
I hope everyone is having a nice week and that you are getting some rain if you need it although it has been a bit hit and miss here the last couple of days and we have just had a couple of very light showers. Some areas have had large hail apparently so I am more than happy that passed us by.
We didn’t lose power a few weeks ago however lost internet connection for well over 24 hours. That meant no internet or landline. I called NBN from my mobile and they said a cable was cut and crew were out fixing it. The next thing they said was I could keep updated by checking the website. Mmmmm not possible without internet connection.
ReplyDeleteAn emergency kit is a good idea and one I need to update. We do have torches handy though as we’ve been caught out before.
Your flower are so bright and vibrant. Love the calendulas.
Kylie
As some people are saying, the NBN issue hasn't been thought through very well. I think that having a smartphone is a necessity now as the NBN is just not reliable despite what the TV ads say.
DeleteOne of my goals this year is to prepare a kit for ER.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, Chrissy. We need to get new torches and a new light ASAP.
DeleteI have a solar lamp, and I need to buy a couple of more lamps and a power bank. I only have a cell phone, so I have to keep it charged all the time, in case of an emergency. When I lost power recently, I turned off all apps and internet from my phone, so it held the charge until I got power back.
ReplyDeleteNil I have a solar charger which should get me out of trouble in the short term. A solar lamp would be good too. Good tip about the phone apps. Now I just have to learn how to do that :-)
DeleteChel there have been reminders to go to the 'Get Ready Qld' website on the local news on the TV over the past couple of days. Our state Govt does provide a pretty comprehensive list of what we should have in our emergency kits. I have torches stashed all over the house. I make sure I put them away after use. I did notice that the torch from the drawer near the back door was up on the work bench in the shed. It seems to have walked up there all on its own as no one had put it there. It has now been chastised about going wandering and has been returned to its drawer.
ReplyDeleteThere was a massive storm headed this way yesterday. Poona copped it with wind and hail. We heard the thunder and the skies were very dark over Fraser. I think we ended up getting about 4 drops of rain. Might go and pull out the emergency box and see what needs updating and replacing.
I saw that site last night, Jane. I really need to buy some more torches as my hubby keeps misplacing ours. It is already muggy here and stormy looking so hopefully we won't lose power as the rechargeable light hasn't been taken back to the shop as yet.
DeleteI had the funniest conversation down at the local hardware last weekend, Chel. I went in to buy a bag of 5 in 1 and got chatting to the fellow there and we got on to the weather. He said his son lectures in meteorology and advises the weather bureau too. When I said I wasn't planting too much because I was expecting it to be very hot and dry this Summer, he said that his son was saying that they are expecting a big storm season ... so a very timely post! Better make sure all our torches have batteries, there's never a battery in this house when I need one! Meg:)
ReplyDeleteI had heard that too, Meg. I really don't like storms so am not looking forward to the next few months. I think the weather bureau said there would be 11 cyclones this season and some would make landfall :-( Large hail will destroy gardens so I am wondering whether to plant much too.
DeleteLove the flowers! Our landline depends on electricity too! We bought a little device that we charge up and then we can plug mobiles and iPads in to charge when traveling etc but maybe a solar powered one would be better?
ReplyDeleteBecause I read Annabel's blog, I now have a battery radio, as well as some LED lanterns in case of prolonged blackouts...or load shedding like we had in 1985. I was surprised at the outcry when the state govt suggested having aircon at 26 C in times of peak use to avoid load shedding...obviously too young to remember blackouts and load shedding.
Maria I well remember the blackouts back in the day :-) I meant to buy a radio last summer but couldn't find the one I wanted at the time. At the moment we would have to rely on the car radio.
DeleteIs it the phones you're using, or something they've done to the landline, when introducing NBN? Because I always kept a cabled telephone in the cupboard, for when the power went out. As my hand held phone, required electricity. I actually got tired of replacing the hand held phones, every few years, so just got the old cabled phone out. We've been using it for years!! I would have purchased at least 3 hand held sets, during that same time, if I was still using them.
ReplyDeleteChris we have the old phone with the cable and a new one you have to charge which came with the modem. Neither work when there is a power outage :-( Can you believe it?
DeleteCrikey!
DeleteHere in SA we have one of the world's worst power networks with exorbitant power costs, frequent blackouts, but don't start me on that Chel. ;) I'd hate to imagine how our state would handle the storm season such as yours in Queensland. We purchased a generator for the farm a few years ago, thank goodness, it has been worth it's cost to have that back up. Now SA dealers are doing a roaring trade in selling generators to normal household dwellers who are tired of throwing away fridge and freezers full of food frequently when the power goes off for days at a time in some areas. Gorgeous flower pics as usual. XX
ReplyDeleteYes I feel sorry for you in SA as regards your power issues. It is normally pretty good here but our suburb seems to be the one to suffer now and again for some reason which we never find out. During storm season power is restored quite quickly here but I believe it is a different situation for those who don't live in town.
DeleteWe lost power today too at 1pm and it was out all afternoon so I couldn't make soap! I found out you can look up the Ergon website for outages. It comes up with a map and you click on the mark near you to bring up a list of affected streets. We keep torches in a cupboard and I'm strict about putting them away because the last thing you want to be looking for on the dark is a torch!
ReplyDeleteLiz, unfortunately if people don't have a smartphone they wouldn't be able to look up the Ergon website as the NBN would be down due to the lack of power. I agree about the torches being in a certain place so you can find them easily in a blackout.
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