Ree and Ladd Drummond Lately Had No Working Water for 12 Days

Hi, buddies! By now the dangerous winter storm is gone (effectively, if you happen to can name a few weeks gone) and all of the ice chopping and single digit temps are in our rear view mirror. For now. (I must examine the forecast!) I nonetheless have my bottle calf, Bessie Lou, and an entire lot of movies to add to the Drummond Ranch YouTube Channel, however what I actually wish to do is share with you the saga of our operating water.

First, please know that I’ve all of this in perspective. Living within the nation, we’re completely used to occasional (generally greater than occasional) inconveniences corresponding to energy outages and flooded creek crossings. This submit shouldn’t be a sob story or story of woe as a lot as a humorous glimpse inside a bizarre couple of weeks final month when Ladd and I needed to share a bathe with my brother-in-law and his spouse. (I did not imply it to return out fairly like that.) It was and is all good!

As I stated, temperatures had been within the single digits for days on finish, which meant Ladd and the cowboys needed to chop holes within the ponds each day so all of the cattle on the ranch would have entry to water. It additionally so occurred to have prompted a meltdown within the rural water system in our instant space, and a sequence response of leaks and frozen strains within the space meant that dozens of rural residents had zero operating water for what wound up being about two weeks.

We have gone with out operating water earlier than. When my ladies had been toddlers, we misplaced all water strain to The Lodge the place we lived, and had no operating water for 4 months. (Yes, I stated 4 months, and it is the place my tongue-in-cheek nickname “The Pioneer Woman” initially got here from!) So this little two-week stint wasn’t something I hadn’t skilled, however having a bottle calf (who required milk replacer, which is blended with water) and being in the midst of a winter storm made all of it really feel a bit extra inconvenient.

Here’s what you usually cannot do when you do not have operating water, in case you’ve got by no means had the pleasure!

1. Do laundry.
2. Cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
3. Do dishes (which is a part of why cooking shouldn’t be possible).
4. Shower or take a shower.
5. Use bogs. (Well, you need to use them. You simply cannot flush them. Which means you actually do not wish to use them.)
6. Feed a bottle calf.
7. Make espresso.
8. Get ice out of your ice maker.
9. Fill your canines’ water bowl.
10. Wash your arms with sizzling soapy water.
11. Clean the home.

Now once more, nothing is the top of the world. Just a short lived ache. But since I’m a bona fide Pioneer Woman (simply kidding), I’ve workarounds. And a few of them concerned moving into my husband’s pickup truck for what turned out to be our nightly journey to Sister House.

For these of you who aren’t acquainted, Sister House is the home in Pawhuska that my sister Betsy and I redid collectively again in 2022. No boys’ opinions had been allowed in Sister House, and it’s a well-loved place the place Betsy stays when she comes residence from Seattle, and as of final month, the place Ladd, his brother Tim, Tim’s spouse Missy, and I am going to bathe and do laundry each time we now have no operating water.

The factor about dwelling on a ranch is, it would not matter whether or not your energy is out or your water is out: Especially throughout a winter storm, you’ll be able to’t pack suitcases and go keep at somebody’s home or in a resort till the issue passes. There are cattle and horses and bottle calves and canines to care for, so we might need to be residence all day and thru the night—leaving a small window within the night the place the 4 of us would go have 45 minutes to an hour of civilization (bathe, laundry) earlier than heading again to the boonies.

This is the lavatory the 4 of us shared!

Now once I say “share,” I do not imply we had been all in there collectively. That can be bizarre. Actually, Tim and Missy took the 5:00 shift, then we might head in for the 7:00 shift. A sizzling bathe has by no means felt higher than these Sister House showers, and I’ve by no means appreciated having the ability to do a fast load of whites greater than I did throughout that two week interval!

Anyway, listed here are my full options to my above record, simply in case your rural water system ever melts down:

1. Do laundry. (Sister House!)
2. Cook breakfast, lunch, or dinner. (Frozen pizza, anybody?)
3. Do dishes. (Eat on paper towels.)
4. Shower or take a shower. (Sister House!)
5. Use bogs. (On the recommendation of counsel, I decline to clarify.)
6. Feed a bottle calf. (I purchased circumstances of 2-gallon jugs of consuming. Nothing however the perfect for Bessie Lou!)
7. Make espresso. (Filled the tank with consuming water from the jugs.)
8. Get ice out of your ice maker. (Bought a bag of ice on the town and stored it within the freezer.)
9. Fill your canines’ water bowl. (Jugs for everybody!)
10. Wash your arms with sizzling soapy water. (I purchased just a few of these 2-gallon jugs which have a nozzle on the aspect and used them sparingly to scrub my arms and brush my tooth. They’re nice in a pinch!)
11. Clean the home. (Swiffer mops and Clorox wipes. I advised you I used to be a Pioneer Woman!)

So in a nutshell: It was all nice! I knew it might be non permanent and whereas I stubborn and complained to myself just a few occasions, all is nice now and there are far worse issues that might be occurring.

Now if you happen to’ll excuse me, it is time for Bessie Lou’s bottle!!