Okay Winter, YOU WIN!

The beginning of 2014 will be one that we won't soon forget. We have met our quota for bizarre natural disasters and weather here in Georgia over the last 3 weeks.  Let's do a quick recap..

snowstorm....check

catastrophic ice storm that is being called the worst one in history for our area....check

4.4 earthquake....check

3.2 earthquake 2 days after the 4.4 earthquake....check

We do live in GEORGIA!!!  These past few weeks have truly been unbelievable.  The damage and devastation that the ice storm left is indescribable.  It's never a good sign when Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel comes to your town and broadcasts live during a storm. Our tall pine trees are not made to handle ice accumulation, and when there is an inch+ built up, they start snapping.

 The only way to describe the sounds is to compare it to a war zone.  It messes with your mind as you just sit and listen to the trees snap and hear the HUGE branches and trees hit the earth with such a loud BOOM.  You just sit, wait, and pray that one does not come through your ceiling.  Very unsettling. 

After the precipitation was over, day light brings so much disaster and destruction.  Our streets were not passable, and trees littered the ground everywhere. Many homes had trees come through their roofs.

(These are very large trees that were just doubled over and broken from all of the ice accumulation.)

  During the storm, almost everyone lost electricity.  To put it into perspective, here are some numbers for ya.  85% of our city lost power.  That's more than 600,000 customers.  SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND!!  That's a lot of cold people.  Thank goodness that our city prepared for this storm and had power crews ready to go before the storm even hit.  There were over 8,000 linemen brought in from Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and even other states.  They worked 24 hours a day to restore power.  It's day 6 now, and there are still people without power, but they are still out in full force working.  The sight of power poles, transformers, and lines laying all over the grounds was unreal. 

Bless those workers who left their families and worked LOOONG hours to help get our city up and running again.  They worked in the ice and sleet and even during the earthquakes.

 

Our area was declared a "state of emergency", and the governer came and surveyed the damage.  We have missed 6 school days in the last three weeks due to incliment weather.  The days of the ice storm put everyone into survival mode.  Generators and chain saws flew off the shelves.  I heard someone say that it seemed like we had experienced a tornado, a Winter storm, and black Friday all at the same time.  It's safe to say that many people will now be creating a survival kit after going through this. 

I could not be more thankful that all of my family and friends came out on this side of the storm unharmed.  There may be damage to houses and cars, but at least everyone took proper precaution and we are all safe.  It's nice to see so many people coming together to help each other out. 

Two nights after the storm, we had our first "big" earthquake.  It was really scary.  The whole house shook and the loud noise sounded like an 18 wheeler was coming through the wall.  We had another one 2 days later that was a little smaller.  Whew!  We just aren't used to all of this.

I purchased a new pair of flip flops in hopes of Spring coming SOON!  I am ready for our 98 degree weather, and won't even complain about the humidity being high enough to swim through the air!

Valentines Day was mostly forgotten this year due to the fact that most people were still in "survival mode" on that day.  I am glad that I did get to go out and spend some time with these funny little Valentines.  I love them!

The past few days have been gorgeous!  We were able to get outside and play while we enjoyed the warm Spring-ish weather.  It's not supposed to stay, but we will gladly take it for as long as we can get it!!!