Mixed Nuts: No Power, No Water, No Heat, No Sanity

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

No Power, No Water, No Heat, No Sanity

Saturday, after the big snow, we lost our power. I guess 12 inches of snow on trees that still have leaves on them isn't the best. The weight of that heavy, wet snow brought down many trees and knocked out power all over New England. It was a mess.

We spent Saturday night still enjoying the left over warmth from when the power went out. I had thought ahead and turned the heat up in each room to 79 degrees, so by morning, the house was still warm. We got up, got the kids dressed in their snow gear, and went out to assess the damage. We had several large trees down in our yard and lots of loose branches. Many trees were bent all the way to the ground with the weight of the snow on them. We shoveled out our driveway, and then shook the snow off the bending trees. Mat cut down a few trees that were crushing others, but a lot of that work was going to have to wait until the snow melted. It is hard to drag tree branches through 12 inches of snow.

We were outside all morning and then decided to take the kids to lunch and to the movies to kill the afternoon. We went and saw Puss in Boots -the new kids movie that is out right now. It was really cute. By dinner time, we were back home, and disappointed to see that we still didn't have power. WE called the electric company and a very nice man told me it might not be until Monday. By now, the house was down to 60 degrees. We started the fireplace and camped out in front of there for a while Sunday night. We were dressed in many layers and had every blanket we own on us and the kids and we slept fine. It was nice and warm in the beds.

Monday morning was a different story. We woke up to the house being 54 degrees. And with an overnight low of 22, and a high during the day of 45, we weren't going to see a rise in the indoor temp. We lit the fire and huddled around it all morning. We tried to stay busy. I charged my computer in the car and the kids watched a movie. We had made a bed in front of the fire out of cushions and all the blankets, so we were nice and cozy there together. There was no school, obviously, but Mat went to work. We had no water, so we hadn't had a shower since Saturday (no fun) and we had to dump water into the toilets to flush them.

Ah, the country......

Monday afternoon the kids and I went out to lunch and did a little shopping to pass a few hours. We came home - and still no power. I called again and they told me it might not be until Wednesday.

Uh, what now?

We had a neighbor, who has a generator, come and see us in the early evening and invited us to dinner and to take a warm shower. At this point, I was done being humble, and took him up on his offer. We had a really nice evening with them and if felt so good to get washed off and get warm. We came home to a house now in the high 40's and lit the fire. We were okay over night but this morning I was cold to the bone getting dressed for the day.

We lit the fire and have been camping out in front of it all morning. I have been keeping busy around the house. I was praying today was going to be the day we would see the lights come on, so I got the mounds and mounds of laundry sorted and ready to be washed. /I loaded the first of (many) loads of dirty dishes into the dishwasher. And I started to pick up the house.

And at 11:15 - on came the lights. The kids started screaming and yelling they were so excited! We were all jumping up and down. Arlington went to every room and helped me turn the heat on. It is starting to warm up. The fire just died out. Our house is now at 60 degrees. We are getting there. We have the electric heaters running and we are still cuddling in the family room. But within a few hours, we will be back to normal.

I cannot remember the last time it snowed in October. The folks around here said they can't think of any time, and most of them are Massachusetts lifers. And a LOT of snow. And heavy, heavy. I am just glad we are getting back to normal. We have friends around us who were told they won't have power until Friday.

So - that is why there hasn't been any blogging for the last few days. I know you missed me.

In the mean time - today is Mat and my anniversary. We were married 14 years ago today. Hard to believe all that time has gone by. I think about all the places we have lived, visited, and all the things we have done. It has been an amazing 14 years.