Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Life without lights

The winter storm that swept through the Mid-West last week left us without electric. The storm left a blanket of snow 3-4" then approx 1/2"-3/4" ice, then another 1-2" of snow, the ice especially was terrible on trees and roads; even the local radio stations shut down. Just like earlier times in history we used our oil lamps for light, and of course our wood stove for heat, we stored food outside in the cold, heated water for dishes and washing on the wood stove, we cooked on the woodstove and white-gas camp stove. I was able to fashion a radio (we lack a battry powered radio!) out of an old car radio, a car battery, and two speakers. The outtage didnt seem to phase Jay, as he played like always. I quote my wife, "at least our house is warm and boring." Life went on as usual, went to work as usual, just closed off a few rooms to keep heat central, and ate great food, chores done the same, and played board and card games (below is a pic of our favorite new game). The electric ceased on Wednesday Jan. 28 and came back on early morning Monday Feb 2; though we borrowed a generator on Saturday the 31st, to run the refridgerator/ freezer. As much of a hassle or inconvenience as it may seem, it was a great vacation from these modern times. Mother Nature you are the boss!

1 comment:

Christine said...

It was "lights out" for us, too. Our power went out late Tuesday or early Wednesday. We are city slickers who live in an all-electric house without even a fireplace so Super 8 was our home until Sunday. It was an adventure.

Stay warm and remember that we only have 6 weeks until spring!