Ode to Electricity

After 31 hours without power, I find myself ever so grateful for modern conveniences that I, too often, take for granted.

And, I find myself a little giddy over turning on and off every light and appliance within reach just because I can. And because they work. Finally. Thank you, Lord, and thank you, Dominion Power Company.

Not so much thanks goes to the snow plow that plowed down our transformer box at about 10 a.m. yesterday morning. In case they were wondering, having power takes priority over having cleared roads. Because without power, you can't watch the ONLY Super Bowl game you've ever cared about watching in your life, and you wake up to a house that has slowly plummeted from about 72 degrees to 54 degrees. Believe me, that's chilly.

When the power trucks pulled up this morning, a full 24 hours after we last had power, I rushed outside to offer all four of the men hot chocolate. I was willing to do about anything to insure some heat because all the candles and flashlights and lighters used to light the gas stove were giving me a headache. Oh, and because my husband was up vomiting his life away all night long. Yep, I was ready for some sanity in the form of electricity.

Ultimately, the transformer was replaced and then had to be repaired, but our house is back to a toasty 72 degrees and we've been able to shed the sweatshirts, coats, hats, gloves, extra socks, and long underwear we've been sporting for 31 or so hours.

A bit of advice: If you think you might ever move to this neck of the woods, buy a snow shovel (or two), some battery operated lanterns, a few battery operated heaters (if they even make such), and be certain to move into a house that has a gas water heater and a gas stove. When all else was failing, we could thaw our hands and wash our dishes in hot water, and we could light the stove to warm a pot of soup. You have no idea how grateful we were for natural gas.

I'm exhausted. I'm praying, desperately, for a decent night's sleep. It looks like things will still be on hold here tomorrow, but we are now expecting 10 to 20 inches of snow between tomorrow and Wednesday morning.

Lovely. I definitely think we are in a snow shortage around here and could use some more snow like we could use another hole in our collective head.

*Sigh*

When the power went out and t.v. was not an option, Ty put on his own show by telling us all about every truck he owns.

And we own a lot of trucks.

See?


Then, I had the novel idea of using mini m&ms as "dirt" to scoop in the backhoe and load into the dump truck. This activity was a hit and I felt like the Mary Poppins of parenting. Pure genius.

Lydie won't drink a bottle or eat a puff to save her life, but she was going to do her best to get one of those m&ms. Until Ty started yelling, "No, Whydie, no!" Clearly, he has a chocolate addiction.

While all the truckery was going on, Danny got started on our back deck. Literally, he had to shovel a way out the door.

That's at least two feet of snow.

Ahhhh, freedom. One little path to get out the door.

Our resident shovel pro.

Danny did not attempt to uncover this side of the deck, but he did do the other side. Anybody want to come over for a glass of lemonade on the back deck? We have some comfy chairs for you to enjoy.

Snow plow mountain at the end of our street. These are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

You can't tell, but this is documentation of our dinner by candlelight and flashlight.

Lydie just thought we were crazy, I'm sure.

This morning, our 54 degree house necessitated extra layers. Poor Lydie's hands were like ice all day long. She wasn't a fan of mittens.

Bundled up for a snack.

I took a walk to check the progress of the power recovery and snapped a shot of these downed trees...

and another snow plow mountain...

and this car that is, clearly, not going anywhere for a while.

I love that our neighbors shoveled out a grassy spot for their doggie to "go" on. She's a 15 year old german shepard that can barely walk, much less walk through two feet of snow, so this was a huge help to her and her owners. Clever. No wonder we like them.

And, finally, I couldn't resist making my mark. The right hand was first, and I applied a little too much pressure, so the left hand looks much better. I know. Pure artistry.