Ice Storm Cometh For One Day

The bank cocktail party on Wednesday was great and for the first time (that I recall) we "networked" and G had a job interview scheduled for Friday. I had three glasses of wine and my first bacon wrapped scallop evah!

The Ice Storm began after we had gone to bed on Thursday. We awoke to no lights, heat or telephone. For some strange and wonderous reason, the electric flickered on, just when G was trying to open the garage doors. G then jump started the generator we have had since the first, memorable ice storm of 1998 (no power for 6 full days), and we plugged the coffeemaker in (priorities). We made coffee and then plugged in the toaster oven and toasted bagels. Then we heated water in the electric kettle so we could wash our hair and faces. G had the interview and I had work. The roads were covered in slush, the trees were bent under the weight of an ice coating on branches and leaves. Our road is partially blocked by three birch trees drooping down to the asphalt.

I worked on my girl scout skills and got a nice fire going in the woodstove so that by sunset it was nearly 66 degrees in the great room/kitchen (much warmer than when I heat with oil), there was no reason to go into work (icy roads = no customers), so I stayed home and read Mansfield Park and tended the fire.

I had prepared a huge pan of lasagna on Thursday. I think I was preparing for my being at Fiberworks all weekend for ArtWalk and figured we would just have leftover lasagna each evening. That lasagna came in handy Friday evening. G ran the generator line to the refrigerator for about 90 minutes to get everything COLD and then we plugged in the toaster oven and baked a small portion of the lasagna. I made salad by candlelight. While we ate dinner, we listened to the channel 6 news (TV) broadcast on the radio. Kept looking up at the television screen when they said "look at this". Duh!

When it came time to go to bed, we jumped into a freezing cold bed (no heat from the woodstove made it down there) and snuggled under the thick LL Bean down comforter and slept like we were on a tropical beach somewhere. So warm and toasty. Usually, the comforter is too warm, but Friday night, it was perfect.

This morning I got the woodstove going, we got the generator going for coffee and bagels and then plugged in the fridge to get COLD and that's when G noticed the little red light on the phone answering machine and flicked on the light switch. POWER!!!!!

My daughter still has no power and no heat. So G hooked the generator to her furnace (very tricky business and best left to someone who knows what they are doing) and heated her little house up to 69 degrees for the evening. If she still has no power tomorrow, he will take it back and hook it up again and reheat the house. Can't leave a generator untended overnight or outdoors. They get stolen.

Now we have visited the world of no job, no health insurance, no electricity, no heat and no phone. The Winter of 2008. Could be worse. If we had a well, we would include no water and all that entails.

Tonight, hot food baking in the OVEN. Ice in our drinks from the ICE MAKER. HOT SHOWERS. Clean dishes in the DISH WASHER. Heat from the FURNACE. LIGHTS to read by. TELEVISION & TiVo. BLOGGING on the INTERNET. It was only ONE day but I was flashing back on the SIX days in 1998. I am so very thankful for all my appliances, furnace and most of all for the hot shower I am going to take right now. Later!