Off and On the Grid and Off and On and Off and Hopefully Back On For Good
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to get back to blogging regularly. It helps clear my mind in a way I'm sure meditating would do if I could sit still long enough. Don't get me wrong I can sit with the best of them but more often than not I have to jump up because I realize I should clean something, start making the next meal or google 'why rock salt melts ice but makes ice cream freeze'. Between Facebook, Youtube, Candy Crush (which just edged out my closet McDonald's eating as my worst habit but if anyone has tips on moving beyond level 102 let me know!) I can get lost in a cyber time warp. So here I am blogging again and now I'll get to the subject matter.
This Holiday Season we have racked up more than 40 hours without power. That's not much considering some folks have been out since before Christmas and won't get power until after the New Year. We have a generator but it doesn't work. It's old and at one time we ran it when I got my period each month but after my hysterectomy that went by the wayside. It was also peed on. We keep it under the deck and Gordy, our deceased Afghan Hound found it extremely entertaining to piss on the deck. None of that goes on anymore.
The ice storm blew out our power on Monday evening the 23rd and it didn't come on until Christmas Eve at 5:30pm. It was just went out last night again for 12 hours. There are several things that you learn living in an area where ice and snow storms blow and big ass trees grow.
1. If the power goes off then on three times you're screwed.
2. As soon as the power goes out everyone has the urge to pee. (not on the deck please)
3. You will continue to turn on light switches as you enter rooms out of habit and each time you realize there is no power you die a little inside. Once you've stopped doing that depression sets in quickly, like in 7 seconds.
4. Don't open the fridge or if you need to have a plan. This isn't the time to browse.
5. Don't open the freezer at all.
6. If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down.
7. A gas stove it a life saver.
8. Headlamps aren't just for mining anymore!
9. A wood burning fireplace heats a room nicely - an entire house, ummm not so much.
10. If you drive to the Y for a hot shower, en route the power will come back on, your wife will text you, you will turn around and come home, en route the power will go back out and the Y will now be closed.
11. A big pot of snow turns into 2 tablespoons of water. Enough snow melted will allow you to refill toilet tanks and really that's the most important thing.
12. Bedtime is around 7pm (this is not far off from bedtime with power).
13. 50 degrees inside is when it starts getting uncomfortable. At this time it is advisable to haul the comforters from the bedrooms to the room with the fireplace and hunker the hell down.
14. When the power returns the mad scramble to shower, flush, refill pots, run the dishwasher is like watching an ant colony on heroin.
I should mention that there are perks to no power. Everyone has to stay in the same room, electronic devices are put away and playing board games and talking passes the time. It is kinda nice. Chilly, but nice.
We've got a new generator coming next week so we should be back in business on or off the grid. There's no one to pee on it and I'm thinking when I change the calendar in the kitchen I'll make sure it is exercised and it should get us over any outages nicely.
This Holiday Season we have racked up more than 40 hours without power. That's not much considering some folks have been out since before Christmas and won't get power until after the New Year. We have a generator but it doesn't work. It's old and at one time we ran it when I got my period each month but after my hysterectomy that went by the wayside. It was also peed on. We keep it under the deck and Gordy, our deceased Afghan Hound found it extremely entertaining to piss on the deck. None of that goes on anymore.
The ice storm blew out our power on Monday evening the 23rd and it didn't come on until Christmas Eve at 5:30pm. It was just went out last night again for 12 hours. There are several things that you learn living in an area where ice and snow storms blow and big ass trees grow.
1. If the power goes off then on three times you're screwed.
2. As soon as the power goes out everyone has the urge to pee. (not on the deck please)
3. You will continue to turn on light switches as you enter rooms out of habit and each time you realize there is no power you die a little inside. Once you've stopped doing that depression sets in quickly, like in 7 seconds.
4. Don't open the fridge or if you need to have a plan. This isn't the time to browse.
5. Don't open the freezer at all.
6. If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down.
7. A gas stove it a life saver.
8. Headlamps aren't just for mining anymore!
9. A wood burning fireplace heats a room nicely - an entire house, ummm not so much.
10. If you drive to the Y for a hot shower, en route the power will come back on, your wife will text you, you will turn around and come home, en route the power will go back out and the Y will now be closed.
11. A big pot of snow turns into 2 tablespoons of water. Enough snow melted will allow you to refill toilet tanks and really that's the most important thing.
12. Bedtime is around 7pm (this is not far off from bedtime with power).
13. 50 degrees inside is when it starts getting uncomfortable. At this time it is advisable to haul the comforters from the bedrooms to the room with the fireplace and hunker the hell down.
14. When the power returns the mad scramble to shower, flush, refill pots, run the dishwasher is like watching an ant colony on heroin.
I should mention that there are perks to no power. Everyone has to stay in the same room, electronic devices are put away and playing board games and talking passes the time. It is kinda nice. Chilly, but nice.
We've got a new generator coming next week so we should be back in business on or off the grid. There's no one to pee on it and I'm thinking when I change the calendar in the kitchen I'll make sure it is exercised and it should get us over any outages nicely.
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