Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Power Makes All the Difference

Thackeray (back) and Laoise (front) snuggling to stay warm.
After a storm power outage that lasted 32 hours for me (other islanders are still without power and probably will be so until Friday, so I feel very lucky indeed!), I now have real power.  It is amazing how much better life looks with the addition of some heat.  After 2 1/2 hours with power the temperature in my living room has risen from 55 degrees to 66 degrees.  Leigh thawed my shower head for me and I was able to take my first shower since Monday morning, and it was wonderful to listen to the baby crows complaining while I was enjoying an abundance of hot water in my outside shower.  I honestly don't know if I would have survived in "olden days," before modern conveniences.  I am going to take immediate steps to find an alternative source of heat for times like this where the power goes out.  I thought I actually had done a reasonable job, but between a generator which wouldn't start and a garage door which wouldn't open, I was not able to get my alternate power source going in the first place, and the alternate source just wasn't powerful enough to provide me with real heat, although it did keep the interior between 50-59 degrees, and that really is not safe for either me or my pets.
Thackeray has found a warm spot, relatively speaking.


It just is another example that power is everything!  There were issues not only of the actual electricity, but my ability to function, my personal power, and I discovered that I have neither the knowledge nor the physical ability to handle my current system.  Thank heavens for Kathy and especially Loyd who showed up many times to refill the gas in my generator, including once at 4AM!  Even if I'd not been too cold to go outside to do that, I couldn't have done it safely with my tremor.  I was powerless and totally dependent on the generosity of very good friends, and I am most grateful to them for their assistance.


Sasha exploring near a space heater,
During the entire power outage I discovered that not only was I freezing cold, but I also felt very isolated and vulnerable.  I was most grateful that my generator allowed me to turn on my computer to stay in touch with what was going on here and the rest of the world, to read the blogs I follow, to receive comments on my blog entries which let me know that folks were sympathetic.  I was glad that I could also have my entertainment system going so I could watch Netflix streaming the series Ballykissangel (highly recommended, by the way).  I was glad that I could have my refrigerator and my microwave so that there was hot tasty food.  There were a lot of things to be most grateful for, even during the worst of it, and as tomorrow is Thanksgiving, it is fitting to remember that.  And right now, I am absolutely most grateful that my power has returned on a number of levels and life is getting back to what I call normal (as Leigh is ripping out walls behind me as I type--couldn't ask for a nicer Thanksgiving present, and when she is done for the day I'll post more photos).  


And so, I want to wish each and every one of you, my readers, a very, very Happy Thanksgiving!

5 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you have power (and a warmer house!) again.

    When I was young my family lived in Wyoming. We had a wood stove to heat the house. It worked well most of the time, but it could get a bit chilly when the really big storms came down from the Rocky Mountains. We'd pile on the blankets before bed and I'd imagine that one of my parents woke up once or twice in the night to add more fuel to the fire.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you, too.

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  2. Thanks, Lydia! Warmth is fantastic!! It is amazing what a difference it makes to one's outlook on life. And yes, a wood stove would certainly have helped, but they do need rather a lot of constant attention one way or another.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you as well, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  3. I'm so glad to hear your power is back on!

    Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

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  4. Happy Thanksgiving, Daphne! Did you stay nice and toasty last night? I hope your fellow Vashonites all have their power back on today.

    I can obviously relate to Lydia's comment! :-) It's supposed to reach a downright balmy 19ยบ here today! First day we'll have climbed out of single digits in about a week!

    I don't know if you've decided on a non-electric alternative/supplemental heat source yet, but I was telling BW about your plight and he suggested this heater. A long time ago he worked at a greenhouse/small engine repair place that sold these, and he thinks it's the best solution for you, especially if you don't want to go to the expense of a wood burning stove. Northern Tools has a lot of other non-electric heaters too (kerosene, propane, wood), maybe you'll get some ideas from their web site. Personally I love the pot-belly stove! :-)

    Wishing you and all your critters a warm and peaceful holiday!

    P.S. If not for your caption I don't think I'd have noticed there were two cats in that first photo! Laoise and Thackeray look like they've melded into a single cat! :-)

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  5. Rose: Many thanks for "being with me" through my trials! Happy Thanksgiving to you as well! I find it much easier to wish that to vegans than "regular" folks, somehow.

    Laloofah: Yes, thanks I was really nice and toasty last night as well as today and I must say that after being without, my thanks are even more heartfelt! And I can identify also with your desire to get out of the single digits. We have gotten to 34 after 2 days with really low temps (for us--our worst night dropped to 14 and believe me we don't handle that well at all!), and it has made a world of difference.

    Please also thank BW for his suggestion. I suspect that or something like it is what our Interfaith Council for the Homeless provided to our tenting homeless and they were extremely grateful. My fear of fire is extreme and I won't even fill my generator and I am really uncomfortable with it even though it is out in the garage and I'm assured very safe, so I'm not sure I could do the propane heater no matter how safe it really is. And, of course, I'd still be stuck with the generator for power to things like my septic pump and my refrigerator, not to mention my microwave so I can have hot food and then there is the computer so I don't feel so isolated. Then there is also my age to take into account and whether I could maintain say a wood burning stove. I certainly proved that because of age and ignorance of engines and my inability to handle the cold that I couldn't maintain what I currently have and I was so lucky to have Loyd willing and able to handle that. So there really are lots of complications and as you said here or in another comment, I wouldn't need it often, but when I need it I really need it--the power never goes out in good weather--always seems to pick the bitter cold. Last year's winter for us anyway was comparatively mild, but I hear that this winter's could be really bad, so I'm going to prepare for the worst. If I do, then it won't happen and lots of folks can then be grateful for my preparedness.

    And yes, Laoise and Thackeray are very similar in markings (Laoise is a bit oranger) and they do really snuggle together, and so they do look like one large cat.

    Glad things are a bit warmer on your end (did you notice that what you are looking forward justifiably for sure as a high is what we dreaded as a low?--Funny, huh!), and that you have a warm, snuggly, peaceful holiday!

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