The power is going off and then back on as fast as a "lady of the night's" nikkies go up and down. I have re-chargeable emergency lighting which I can plug into the mains and if the power goes off they come in. Also got loads of re-chargeable smaller lights which are hung all over the place but they need to be physically switched on. Also got large re-chargeable torches everywhere, plus loads of small ones - because I have to see where I am in the bungalow or else I will crash into walls. The internet goes off, comes on - does not seem to be a connection to the power though as it goes off even when I have power, but my IP is in the middle of the country where the storms are even worse and I am further down south where it is not so bad. Yet. OK, so it might not seem too bad in comparison to other countries, but Israel is not built to cope with this, especially old Moshavim like this one where the sewers cannot cope and the drainage ditches overflow, and living in an old un-insulated bungalow believe me it gets Cold with a capital C. Sfat [Safed] in the north has been closed down entirely due to snow since yesterday evening and all entrances to Jerusalem have been closed as the snowfall is expected to increase. But the snowplows and other heavy equipment were ready as this was forecast. In the past nothing was ready in advance. The ski resort on The Hermon has had to be closed due to too much snow as well! But here is a picture from the Golan this morning which might cheer things up a bit - hope you like it!
Not sure what type of internet you have put, over Tel or Broadband, it works like a spiderweb routing to and from the main hub, but if it is the main hub having issues, you will still drop, power or no power.
I have broadband and my Internet provider is Bezeq International, which is based in Petah Tikva - just outside Tel Aviv. They are in the centre of the country where the storms are really bad, which is why my internet keeps dropping. There is nothing I can do if the internet goes down - I just have to wait for it to come up again. And I am OK for lighting when the power goes off thanks to my zillions of emergency lights and torches, but due to problems with one or other of my plug in telephones they, and my fax [on my printer] are out until I get them replaced and Bezeq - phone company, not Bezeq International IP provider, get it sorted. Whenever. Of course my cordless telephones are useless with the power goes off. I do have a second telephone line which is OK but that is for the speaker/amplifier for my emergency medical service, and there is a working telephone connected but it was originally for my fax machine [before I had a computer] so the ring is off as it drove me mad. That line is listed - my main line is unlisted. And I do have a mobile but it is a rather elderly one, not a Smart one - which I keep switched off and only used for emergencies as the battery needs replacing and I cannot get out to Pelephone to get a new one because I cannot go out and leave Pereg alone for more than half hour maximum while I go across to the little store. Even that is scary enough. I do not even know if batteries are still made for older mobiles but I do not want a Smart phone - I just want a mobile that is for telephone use only. And I am stuck in because I cannot get out even to the store while it is raining, without blowing up either my electric wheelchair or my small mobility scooter. Ach - ignore me. I am just feeling miserable with a major allergic reaction to some medication and hours yesterday of emergency doctors and then paramedics, who do not seem to understand why I can not leave Pereg to go to our local useless hospital. And I am very very cold.
@Malka Have you had a forecast of how long this storm is expected to last? And how are you feeling this afternoon/evening? The situation must be pretty stressful, especially when you are sleep deprived to begin with.
@CaroleC - this is Israel - we get bad winter storms but most years they are bad but not Bad if you know what I mean. And yet most people seem to think that Israel is just a land of sun, sea and sand! Now? They just do not know. Heavy snow in the north but Jerusalem just light whereas they were expecting really heavy snow. We do not get snow where I live but have had and am still having heavy rain, with just a few breaks so Pereg will go out to pee, because no way will she go out in heavy rain. Tbh I feel lousy with a lower face looking like it has been blown up with a cycle pump, but I very much doubt I will be able to get to my GP tomorrow as she is only here 8-10am and of course I cannot get out if it is raining. Luckily I am well stocked up on food for both Pereg and myself, plus another couple of months supply of her medicationa so no desperate need to go out. And we will cope, as we always do. No choice really, is there!
Tina - on full charge both Xanadu, my lecci wheelchair, and Tontoo the little scooter, will last for ages before needing re-charging. At the moment I cannot get round to the Shack to check The Silver Monster but he was fully charged after the last time I used him and on fully charged batteries he also lasts for ages before needing more "juice". And the power never goes off for too long - well it has not yet but I suppose it could, and of course I have my manual wheelchair which I can use in the bungalow if necessary, even though it is difficult for me to use it now. But I can if I have to.
Nah - I am not very good at crawling, if on floor I have to drag myself by my elbows to the nearest heavy thing on which to get myself up. Internet currently dropping off every ten minutes although not for long, and then it takes ages for things to load properly again. And when the power goes off, even if it is for a few seconds, when it comes on again my water machine starts banging like mad and trying to walk across the floor, so needs kicking and shaking before it stops. Oh, and I have drowned yet another keyboard by dropping my coffee mug - only it is not a proper mug but an insulated travel type one with a little sliding top to just open a bit to drink out of - but I dropped it. Knocked over something on the sink unit earlier, forget what, but at least whatever was in it went into the sink and not on the floor. I think I will raid my stash of Mars bars which are hidden somewhere... ...if I can find where I hid them!
All my chocolate is in freezer inside empty cauliflower packet, its safe in there away from my great niece's nephew's hands,
And Debra, I am gonna try and stop complaining about the heat in the very long summer! But this storm is, so far, the worst for years, and although we desperately need rain a lot is not helping to fill The Kinneret or the coastal aquifer. All the rain falling where I am just runs off to the nearest drainage ditch - that is unless everything is blocked by mud - and is wasted. Such a waste, such a waste.
In the summer we get rain every day. Sometimes a few times a day. Winter, which is rather short, little or no rain. Summer can be hard because my children don't like to get their feet wet. In winter they would rather stay under the electric blanket. Now, Phoebe, my bigger outside dog, will stand in the rain like a horse and no matter what I try to bribe her with will not come in out of the cold. She heads for her tunnel under the house.
I just got home from work and they tell me they lost power for several hours. We're blessed however...even with Hurricane Sandy we had heat and hot water. No power for four days but at least we were warm. There were folks with nothing for weeks. One side story was about the candles. We set a few on the counter while we found flashlights and all. Then there was a definite scent of scorched fur. Chii our munchkin had parked her rather sizeable self over a warm spot...think she would have burst into flame if we hadn't noticed...not the brightest beast. Tomorrow the whole day is supposd to be a windchill -0
The seasons here are a very long hot and very dry summer - a week or two of cooling down, then winter. Sometimes a bit of rain during Succot and then maybe some in November, but the main rains are usually only in January and February. Never known it this bad so early in the year though. And when winter ends we get a week or two of warming up and then Summer with a capital S appears. The noise of the wind is disturbing me even though I am deaf in one ear and hard of hearing in the other, and the rain hammering on the roof... ...and the rain in this area is, as I have said, wasted. I am not actually cold as I have so many layers of clothes on and did have the air-con on warm for most of the day. Not set very high but enough to take the chill off the air. It is off now as I have put the one in my bedroom on as that room is like an icebox with three outside walls all with windows in them. The salon also has three outside walls but only one window so is a bit easier to get the chill off. For the last two nights I left the heat on in my bedroom all night - only set on 18°C - first time I have ever kept it on all night but I was rather ill with a bad allergic reaction to meds for the UTI. But I have more than enough emergency lights - two that stay plugged in and come if the power goes off and other re-chargeable ones that have to be physically switched on. Plus torches/flashlights everywhere! All re-chargeable except for the little one I keep in my pocket all the time and under the pillow at night. It is the lack of hot water that bothers me most and my hands are so sore from washing them in cold water all the time. I am not bothered about missing a shower - if I pong there is nobody around to offend and Pereg has yet to complain, so I probably do not! Mind you, adult wipes [like giant baby wipes] do a brilliant job so I feel clean. But my hands are so sore and my finger tips are beginning to split. I am not complaining though as I know there are people who are far worse off than I am. I just wish the internet would not keep dropping!
