Having Fun Tonight 🙄

[abcaines]

I get home from work and just as I'm sitting down to eat, phone rings.

This is John from Clearwater Sprinklers I want to come by tomorrow to begin work on your system.

OK.

Then a text comes in from the school district.

Because of a gas line rupture, there will be no school tomorrow.

OK, that's cool... but wait... the whole valley is affected... That means our furnace is out too.

Temps supposed to get down into the 30s tonight.

Rummage through my shop and dig out my oil filled space heater.

Good. It still works.

Another phone call.

This is your sister. I just got my new phone and I'm back on line.

Oh joy.

You mad Bro?

No... Just a bunch of stuff going down all at once.

Ok.

Phone rings.

Hi dear. The restaurant is closed down because there's no gas.

You don't say...

 

[AverageJoe]

I'm sorry you're being hit with all of these challenges at the same time. Just keep thinking about Job...at least you're not losing your children, your home, your business, etc. God is good all the time. And we know that all things work together for the good to those of us who are called according to his purpose. Praying for you, Brother.

 

[abcaines]

I'm sorry you're being hit with all of these challenges at the same time. Just keep thinking about Job...at least you're not losing your children, your home, your business, etc. God is good all the time. And we know that all things work together for the good to those of us who are called according to his purpose. Praying for you, Brother.

Actually, I'm finding this whole episode to be rather humorous, hence the way I presented it.

It's not that bad. The temperature in the house is still in the 60s and we slept very warmly last night. The sudden break in action means Mrs. Caines and I are going to have a nice breakfast together this morning. (A rare midweek treat) Only our furnace runs on gas so her favorite, eggs Benedict is on the menu.

 

[abcaines]

Avista utilities came by and shut our gas meter off. They have to shut 37,000 meters off so the lines can be purged. Once the repairs are made and the lines are purged, the utility will be turning on those 37,000 meters. Joy.

Weather has been mild by LC Valley standards for November; the sun came out and warmed the house up a little this afternoon. Last night, temps dipped down to 28° but the house still stayed over 60°. I have an oil filled space heater helping keep the downstairs kinda warm. We'll shut it down when we go to bed and throw extra blankets on.

School was cancelled today and tomorrow; Monday is a scheduled inservice, which results in a five day weekend for me. The restaurant where Mrs. abcaines works is shut down. She's maybe going back to work Sunday.

This is a pain in the haunches but I'm glad I'm not the operator of the excavator that hit the line that caused this mess.

 

[Ekklesian]

Was the line mismarked?

 

[abcaines]

Was the line mismarked?

IDK

Given the effort expended on the "Call before you dig" campaign around here, I would think the utilities would be pretty up on the location of lines.

The line that was hit is a supply line owned by a third party that supplies gas to the utility. From the few pictures I've seen, the line is in a remote area, as in no buildings nearby. No one is talking about the site, only the effect this has had on the community.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Maybe it’s time for a quick weekend getaway?

 

[Bob Jones V]

Dang. I hope my weekend is better than that.

 

[abcaines]

Maybe it’s time for a quick weekend getaway?

Think we can boogie down to Florida and get back by Tuesday?

We do have our camper and it has plenty of propane... In fact, we're toying with the idea of going just a few miles out of town with it for Thanksgiving.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Think we can boogie down to Florida and get back by Tuesday?

We do have our camper and it has plenty of propane... In fact, we're toying with the idea of going just a few miles out of town with it for Thanksgiving.

You don’t think this outage is gonna last all the way through Thanksgiving do you?

 

[abcaines]

You don’t think this outage is gonna last all the way through Thanksgiving do you?

Most likely, through the weekend. If the owner of the line finished repairs last night as they expected, the purge and turning on everyone's meters will last through the weekend. People are anticipating being back up Monday or Tuesday.

I just found out that it was a farmer digging on his land that hit the pipe. If he didn't call 811 prior to digging, I pray for his sake, he has good insurance.

Edit: According to Avisa the "relight" for our neighborhood is scheduled to begin Monday.

 

[abcaines]

I finally came home to a warm house tonight. After five days with no furnace, the utility crews came by earlier today and turned on our gas and lit the pilot for us.