I had my day lined out and was going gangbusters. I even declined a lunch invitation from Harold because I didn't want to break the momentum. Newton's First Law says, "An object at rest stays at rest," and I'd rested on Sunday. The first order of the day was to get a start on holiday baking. While preparing a double batch of (shhh, I can't tell), I cleaned the kitchen as I went so I could cross that off the list at the same time. Thank goodness I did. I put the big pan of (it's a secret) in the oven and went in the living room to sweet-talk Stove because the house was freezing. I knew exactly what I'd tackle next, and there was just enough time before Harold was due here and there were about fifteen minutes before the pan would come out of the oven, and then...the power went out. Are you kidding me?! And it wasn't just one of those blips we get so often; it went out and stayed out. Aaarrgh! I left the oven door shut and hoped the residual heat would be enough.
Harold brought me a pickup load of cedar rounds from a tree he'd planted maybe fifty years ago. The tree had died due to the drought of the past few years. Some of those rounds were huge and, between the two of us, we struggled to unload the truck. Cam arrived to pick up my contribution for the bobcats and jumped in to help, bless her heart. Harold loves to shop and knows I do not, and he also brought me a New York steak, a package of liverwurst, a cauliflower, and a honeydew melon. How's that for a friend?
Golly, the house gets quiet without those background noises one never really pays attention to; the refrigerator humming now and then, the television, of course, etc. It's hard to break the habit of flipping a light switch, and no matter how many times I reminded myself not to flush...well. It wasn't too bad while there was still some daylight. I had a book I've been doling out to myself because I like it so well I didn't want it to end. With a cat or two on my lap, I settled in to read. DIN had come to a screeching halt, what with no electricity and no water. I put the girls to bed at sundown, and then what. I lit a few oil lamps so I didn't trip over Bess, and read for a while with a flashlight before I remembered my wonderful hard hat with lights. I had to laugh at the picture of myself wearing that in the house, but, hey, it worked! It was a bit of an insult because I could see lights on in the house across the road while my house stayed dark. PG&E outage line is on speed dial on the landline, and the last time I checked, they said I probably wouldn't get power back until this morning. And then...ta da! After only seven hours without, let there be light!
It was quite a day. (The baked goods turned out okay.)
1 comment:
Oh yay that you didn't lose your secret baked goods!!!!
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