("Night and Day," Cole Porter, 1932)
When I wake up, I get up. It's always dark in the early hours at this time of year, so nothing unusual there, but yesterday it was really dark, as in no clock, no little blue computer light, as in no power. Thankful for the battery-operated nightlights, I made my way to the kitchen where I'd put the LED lantern that Deb and Craig had given me. It has a periodic flashing red light so I knew I could find it easily, and I did. What a godsend. Actually easier to use than a flashlight, I was able to find my cellphone (which I'd left to charge overnight) and was surprised to see that it wasn't even 2:30 a.m. Oh well, when you're up, you're up. My Girl Scout training wasn't wasted and I was prepared. I keep the tea kettle filled with water and had instant coffee in the cupboard. The propane stovetop can be lit with a match, so I was in business. Not only that, I had a new book to fill the time.
The storm continued to rage outside, but fortified with a cup of hot coffee (I indulged and had two) and a good book, I sat at the dining room table and whiled away the hours until daybreak. I got a good soaking when going out to tend to the animals. When I opened the door for the girls, they said, "Yeah, thanks Mom, but we're not going out in that." It's a good thing the chickens are a hefty breed or they'd have been plastered up against the chain link fence and held there by the wind when they stepped out. Stanley was too distracted to come after me.
No water, no electricity. The perfect excuse to sit and read all day. I was hoarding wood and cellphone power, not knowing how long the outage or storm would last. I started and finished the Kellerman book (I like his psychological mysteries) before Helper Dude came in the afternoon to trim Bessie's nails. It had quit raining by then and the wind had lessened, but still no lights. After putting the critters to bed, I started to reread one of Patrick Taylor's "Country Doctor" series, always entertaining, when boop! the lights came back on and I could catch up on the news of the day (and flush the toilets).
It was almost surprising that we were without power for only a night and a day. We've certainly gone longer. PG&E has gotten a bad rap lately (and probably deservedly), but they got us up and running in the worst of weather yesterday.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Good you are back in gear......worried about you
Weather man/ lady got it all wrong here predicting strong winds and rain..which didn't amount to much
Amazing to see it is going up to 60 tomorrow, maybe .
Glad it didn't last so long that you were damaged with the lack of electricity. Go to Amazon and check out 2 things that would make your life easier in a power outage...one that is pretty cheap, and one that is more money: a Moki Pot (cheap design of old fashioned stove top percolator), and a Jackery power supply thingy. My son made our coffee in Argentina in the cheap moki pot that they now travel with, and it was great. And he also turned me on to the Jackery. You get it fully charged and then it can transfer its charge to your phone more rapidly and with less drain than the traditional phone charger. My phone battery drains rapidly so I keep my Jackery charged, and if I need a quick boost for my phone before bed, where I keep it charging overnight, and don't want to wait for the standard charge, OR I want to have my phone beside me on the couch while it is being charged, I use the Jackery. I had no idea that I would use it so frequently, so it has been a good investment for me. Oh, and back to the coffee pot...there is alway a Chemex or an individual cone that you rest on your coffee cup, put a filter and coffee in, and drip brew one cup after you have heated the water. But, if you like instant, then you are good to go!!!
P.S. You turned me on to Patrick Taylor and I LOVE his books. I shall start #12 in the Country Doctor series next. If you need to borrow any...let me know!
Post a Comment