The clean up...

The clean up has been overwhelming and is still happening as I write this- like I said- It will be a long process.

It took us several days to clean up the yard damage (still doing) and 4 full dump trump loads to the dump of tree carnage.  I am heart broken, especially about the apple trees and pine trees.

 

We were without power for 173 hours/8 days.  You have no idea how much you use electricity until it's gone.  We lost all the food from our refrigerators and freezers.  We did our laundry in the tub.  We cooked on the grill (thank heavens for the grill). And thank heavens for our food storage plus running hot water.  All the restaurants and businesses (Walmart, Aldi's) everything ws closed due to damage or the power outage.  We actually went to Iowa City twice for ice, gas, food, and to charge phones. Thank you so much to the Riberas for the battery powered fans and lanterns!

Both Tyler and I got TONS of reading done since there was no power and no internet and no where to go.  I enjoyed some amazing books!