It's been like that since the New Year's Day earthquake wrecked her home in the coastal city of Suzu on Japan's isolated Noto peninsula.
"We're getting used to this life, it's becoming kind of normal so one way or another we'll get through it. We have no choice but to get through it."
A month on from the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's west coast, tens of thousands of homes remain without running water, leaving survivors battling freezing and unsanitary conditions.
Some areas of the Noto peninsula may not have water restored for another two months, the government of Ishikawa prefecture said.
It adds to risks for those living in cramped evacuation centers where authorities say respiratory infections and gastroenteritis have been detected.
Yoshio Binsaki was among residents collecting 20-liter tanks of water to take home.
"We mainly use the water for the toilet. Because there's no water at home we can't wash clothes or bathe."
The quake became Japan's deadliest in eight years, claiming more than 230 lives.
It also left 44,000 homes fully or partially destroyed while 40,000 have no running water. More than 13,000 residents are living in evacuation centers, according to the Ishikawa government.
Bitter cold is also posing a challenge, especially for scores of residents who are sleeping in their cars after their homes were wrecked.
Over 900 deaths from the devastating Kobe earthquake of 1995 happened after the quake, due in part to the spread of flu and lack of medical care at evacuation centers, according to public health experts.
