Texas GA members

[Bill W]

Does anyone know how our Texas GA members are doing?  I know we have several from there and I'm curious as to how they are making out and if there is anything we can do for them.  If you know of anything we can do, please let us know.  

[Story Reader]

26 minutes ago, Bill W said:

Does anyone know how our Texas GA members are doing?  I know we have several from there and I'm curious as to how they are making out and if there is anything we can do for them.  If you know of anything we can do, please let us know.  

I am doing alright even though I lost power for 33 hours. Just hope my pipes don't bust since they are frozen except my cold water in my kitchen sink. I also lost cable and internet during that time and it was restored this morning. I have never seen the extreme temperatures here in Texas that we have had in all the 66 yrs I have been alive.

[astone2292]

7 hours ago, Bill W said:

If you know of anything we can do, please let us know.  

As Bill said, if there's anything, feel free to let this forum thread know. It won't be much, but I'm happy to help wherever possible. 

[W_L]

As a New England native, here's some practical stuff for winter safety at home:

1. If you are using gas generators for energy/heat, make sure you do not seal your home completely or give your home a few minutes of open air each day if you are going to try to trap heat for the night. I know it's a waste of energy and heat, but trust me, dying from Carbon monoxide poisoning is not worth it.

2. Pipes: If they still work, try to run warm water ever so often to prevent your pipes from freezing up. Your temperatures are not as cold as New England in our worst winter nights, so you should have time to rotate the running of water. Again, it might be wasteful use of warm water, but it's better than paying $2-3K to tear down walls and replace interior piping.

3. Warm clothing: A sweater won't cut it throughout the night. You also don't want to be outside for an extended period of time without any winter clothing; exposure to the elements and low temperature are the basic ingredient for hypothermia, which may seem like nothing more than exhaustion at first, but can seriously become life threatening. Make sure you wear layers. If you need to go out and don't have a winter jacket, at least wear several layers and some waterproof jacket to prevent snow/sleet/rain.

4. Natural gas burners will work without electricity, you will just need a lighter or match, if your electric igniter doesn't work. Focus on simple foods like soups/stews that can be hearty and edible at various temperatures.

5. Frozen food in freezers may last a few days depending on the residual ice levels, but you may need to consider food in your refrigerator carefully, because without power it's debatable whether the internal temperature will be keep food fresh. Bacteria is a major issue there. Best to cook what you can and if you can do dry preparation of foods, the better.

6. Check on people: If you know there's family members or even neighbors who are elderly or disabled, check in on them from time to time.

There's a lot of other stuff to consider, but hopefully Texas will get through this in one piece.

[Story Reader]

I have water leaks really bad and since I am 66 yrs old and living on a small social security check every month, it is hard for me to get plumbers to help me and my siblings are not able to help me all the time. My stepson and his wife try to help me but with neither one of them not working it is hard to get by during this pandemic. I am also having car trouble and was suppose to take my car in to see what is wrong with it and find out how much it will cost to have it fixed. I am also total electric so it is impossible to have natural gas at home since it would cost thousands of dollars to have the gas line replaced after not having it since 2006 due to a bad gas leak. I also have a bad feeling I will have to have my electric hot water heater replaced. I have not had water for over a week now. I have been getting water from my neighbor for my toilet to flush. I have a half a case of bottled water that was given to me by the Salvation Army for free. Our city water is not fit to drink where I live. But at least my electricity has been restored for 6 days and my cable and internet has been restored for 4 days now. So I am doing better than some people.

[Talo Segura]

7 hours ago, Story Reader said:

I have water leaks really bad and since I am 66 yrs old and living on a small social security check every month

Perhaps you know, or someone else does, how to set up an online collection. I've seen people do it for much less important things than repairing burst water pipes. A little help from friends online can put you back on your feet, in the dry!

[Story Reader]

1 hour ago, Talo Segura said:

Perhaps you know, or someone else does, how to set up an online collection. I've seen people do it for much less important things than repairing burst water pipes. A little help from friends online can put you back on your feet, in the dry!

People are not going to help me when they see my name. Not very many people around here and some even out of town or state knows me that can not stand me at all. So not going that route.

[W_L]

11 hours ago, Story Reader said:

I have water leaks really bad and since I am 66 yrs old and living on a small social security check every month, it is hard for me to get plumbers to help me and my siblings are not able to help me all the time. My stepson and his wife try to help me but with neither one of them not working it is hard to get by during this pandemic. I am also having car trouble and was suppose to take my car in to see what is wrong with it and find out how much it will cost to have it fixed. I am also total electric so it is impossible to have natural gas at home since it would cost thousands of dollars to have the gas line replaced after not having it since 2006 due to a bad gas leak. I also have a bad feeling I will have to have my electric hot water heater replaced. I have not had water for over a week now. I have been getting water from my neighbor for my toilet to flush. I have a half a case of bottled water that was given to me by the Salvation Army for free. Our city water is not fit to drink where I live. But at least my electricity has been restored for 6 days and my cable and internet has been restored for 4 days now. So I am doing better than some people.

 

2 hours ago, Story Reader said:

People are not going to help me when they see my name. Not very many people around here and some even out of town or state knows me that can not stand me at all. So not going that route.

I'll give you some practical advice, if your resources are finite and you are unable to receive/can't get help due to your name/infamy, to me it doesn't matter what you have done, what you do now until the day you stop breathing is most important.

1. Meals on Wheels has program in Texas for home repairs, plus you can also check about getting food and other resources through their local affiliates

https://www.mealsonwheelscentraltexas.org/home-repair-form

2. Seriously consider Senior housing and Section 8, it may not be glamorous, but it will at least solve some issues of a safe shelter in the long term.

3. Individually, do not be too proud to ask for help or feel you are undeserving based on what others may think of you.

 

[Story Reader]

2 hours ago, W_L said:

 

I'll give you some practical advice, if your resources are finite and you are unable to receive/can't get help due to your name/infamy, to me it doesn't matter what you have done, what you do now until the day you stop breathing is most important.

1. Meals on Wheels has program in Texas for home repairs, plus you can also check about getting food and other resources through their local affiliates

https://www.mealsonwheelscentraltexas.org/home-repair-form

2. Seriously consider Senior housing and Section 8, it may not be glamorous, but it will at least solve some issues of a safe shelter in the long term.

3. Individually, do not be too proud to ask for help or feel you are undeserving based on what others may think of you.

 

My sister is having plumbers come work on my busted pipes and will have the electric hot water heater replaced. Plus she gave me emergency money too but she said this is the last time she will ever help me. She is retiring Friday and her income will go down a lot. Not as much as mine has when I lost my husband in 2015 and also when I had to stop working in 2012 to take care of him cause his health got worse. My social security would not even be enough to live on so that is why I live on a widows pension through him. So I will be fine. And I will have to tell my stepson to move all his crap and they will not be ale to stay here and live any more since he will not do what he is suppose to do to help me. I am also going to have to tell his wife too since she is out of town visiting her family.

[W_L]

2 hours ago, Story Reader said:

My sister is having plumbers come work on my busted pipes and will have the electric hot water heater replaced. Plus she gave me emergency money too but she said this is the last time she will ever help me. She is retiring Friday and her income will go down a lot. Not as much as mine has when I lost my husband in 2015 and also when I had to stop working in 2012 to take care of him cause his health got worse. My social security would not even be enough to live on so that is why I live on a widows pension through him. So I will be fine. And I will have to tell my stepson to move all his crap and they will not be ale to stay here and live any more since he will not do what he is suppose to do to help me. I am also going to have to tell his wife too since she is out of town visiting her family.

Sounds like you are able to weather this storm on your own

Does your stepson or his wife provide any financial support or are they just free-riders?

 

[Story Reader]

26 minutes ago, W_L said:

Sounds like you are able to weather this storm on your own

Does your stepson or his wife provide any financial support or are they just free-riders?

 

They seem to be free-riders and it is going to stop when I see my stepson. Can't talk to his wife cause she is out of town with her kids