Oh, it's been an adventurous weekend! I woke up on Saturday to this.....
A few hours later of heavy snow falling on trees, which were still heavy laden with autumn-colored leaves...
...and we were soon out of power!
At first I wasn't too bothered because this has happened before, and it always seemed to pop back within a few hours. Not so this time....
Our supper on Saturday night was provided for by our gas grill on the back porch. Here is my Mom trying to boil water to make noodles. Grilling and winter attire don't seem to mix...
Our supper on Saturday night was provided for by our gas grill on the back porch. Here is my Mom trying to boil water to make noodles. Grilling and winter attire don't seem to mix...
We survived fine Saturday night, lighting candles around the house and bundling in our fleece blankets, using flashlights to read books to pass the time. It was kinda like an adventure...
Although there was no power at church on Sunday, we still had a morning service. They used generators to give us some lighting in the auditorium. For the afternoon, we headed to my grandparents' house to keep warm and stopped at a diner along the way to get a hot meal.
We came back for church at 6 pm, and the power was still out at church. We had another chilly service, and then headed home to a really chilly house! Temperatures were steadily declining in the house. Mom heated some chicken noodle soup on the grill, and it sure felt good going down, let me tell you! Another evening of candles lit, fleece blanket bundling, flashlights, and tap lights. It wasn't quite as adventurous the second night...
Alayna slept down in my room so we could keep each other company in the dark and keep warm. Actually my room wasn't *that* bad because there wasn't any cold air coming in from doors opening etc. I kept waking up throughout the night though, hoping to see that the power was back on...I kept being disappointed....
This morning I bundled in multiple layers knowing it was going to be COLD. When I got upstairs I could literally see my breath as I walked about the house. The adventurous spirit inside of me was completely gone at this point! :-)
Andy came up with a unique way to heat water this morning. (I am sure we were breaking some fire code somewhere...oh well!)
For lunch, we drove to a McDonald's in a nearby town that had power, so we could enjoy some hot coffee and a lunch with some substance - other than granola bars & pretzels! On the way home, my Dad calls to inform us that the estimated time for power to go back on was 11 pm on November 3...which was another 3 full days away! He was trying to come up with some alternative plans so we wouldn't have to stay in a cold house that length of time. My spirit wasn't exactly what I would call "positive" anymore. My "secure lil' world" was feeling out of control and I didn't like it! As we continued home, I tried to get a healthy dose of perspective. I was reminded of all the devastation that earthquakes, tornadoes and tsunamis have caused to countless people around the world in recent months/years, and I felt ashamed that such a "little inconvenience" got me into such an insecure, despondent state of mind. Yes, I was quite chilled...yes, my hair was quite greasy at this point...but what was that compared to losing all your possessions and even some loved ones??? By the time we pulled in our driveway, I had given myself enough mental lectures and felt somewhat prepared to brace all the "little unknowns" that lay ahead for the rest of the week.
We walk in the door, and as Alayna walked in the kitchen, I stood there, gazing in utter disbelief. What looked different about the kitchen?? Suddenly, it clicked.....the light was on!! I literally started bouncing up and down with giddiness..."Our power is back! Our power is back!" I kept shouting. (I wasn't acting like a mature 26 year old at this point, let me tell you!) Never before have I been so glad to see that kitchen light shining bright!
Oh yes, my pioneer ancestors would be ashamed of me for being such a sissy throughout this 48 hour ordeal! But then again, they never had all these modern conveniences to begin with, so they wouldn't know what it was like to have it all taken away. Hmmm...perhaps they were lucky to not have as much to begin with??? Now there's a thought! You never realize how much you depend on electricity and modern conveniences until something like this happens. :-) How easy it is to take them for granted! Perhaps the Lord allowed this to happen to give me some new perspective on how blessed I really am! :-)
Although there was no power at church on Sunday, we still had a morning service. They used generators to give us some lighting in the auditorium. For the afternoon, we headed to my grandparents' house to keep warm and stopped at a diner along the way to get a hot meal.
We came back for church at 6 pm, and the power was still out at church. We had another chilly service, and then headed home to a really chilly house! Temperatures were steadily declining in the house. Mom heated some chicken noodle soup on the grill, and it sure felt good going down, let me tell you! Another evening of candles lit, fleece blanket bundling, flashlights, and tap lights. It wasn't quite as adventurous the second night...
Alayna slept down in my room so we could keep each other company in the dark and keep warm. Actually my room wasn't *that* bad because there wasn't any cold air coming in from doors opening etc. I kept waking up throughout the night though, hoping to see that the power was back on...I kept being disappointed....
This morning I bundled in multiple layers knowing it was going to be COLD. When I got upstairs I could literally see my breath as I walked about the house. The adventurous spirit inside of me was completely gone at this point! :-)
Andy came up with a unique way to heat water this morning. (I am sure we were breaking some fire code somewhere...oh well!)
We walk in the door, and as Alayna walked in the kitchen, I stood there, gazing in utter disbelief. What looked different about the kitchen?? Suddenly, it clicked.....the light was on!! I literally started bouncing up and down with giddiness..."Our power is back! Our power is back!" I kept shouting. (I wasn't acting like a mature 26 year old at this point, let me tell you!) Never before have I been so glad to see that kitchen light shining bright!
Oh yes, my pioneer ancestors would be ashamed of me for being such a sissy throughout this 48 hour ordeal! But then again, they never had all these modern conveniences to begin with, so they wouldn't know what it was like to have it all taken away. Hmmm...perhaps they were lucky to not have as much to begin with??? Now there's a thought! You never realize how much you depend on electricity and modern conveniences until something like this happens. :-) How easy it is to take them for granted! Perhaps the Lord allowed this to happen to give me some new perspective on how blessed I really am! :-)
Hopefully, everyone else's power turns back on soon!
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