Yesterday at 5:32 am the power went out. I know it was precisely 5:32 because it woke me up. Yep, Silence woke me up. We sleep with a fan on. It creates white noise. We have slept with a fan for 27 years. We take a small version with us when we travel. We have requested them in Europe from the hotels and most of the time, they have them. So at 5:32 on Wed. morning, the silence was deafening. In the total silence, I heard everything:
The wind blowing outside
The blinds softly banging against the window every 40 seconds or so
Our big dog stretching, yawning and then snoring
Our little black dog, who is 16 1/2 years old, got up and decided to walk around. He padded across the carpet to the wood floor. Click, click, click across the floor. Stop. Go back. 10 TIMES. Shadow! Lay down! Problem is, at 16, he doesn't hear me.
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! The alarm is going off downstairs telling us that there is no power. I have to get up and turn off the chimes because it will continue to go off every 2 minutes.
I get up and walk to the top of the stairs. Flip on the light switch. DUH, no power. I carefully navigate the stairs and go to the alarm system. Flip on the light switch. DUH, no power. I don't know where a flashlight is. I go get the flame lighter thing for the barbeque, turn it on, and proceed to turn the chimes off the alarm. Go back upstairs. Try for two hours to go back to sleep and can't because I can hear EVERY LITTLE SOUND.
It's time to get up. Guess what, no power for the coffee maker. Head out to McDonalds for coffee. The sun is just coming up, the sky is pink, the neighborhood is so quiet, not a sound to be heard. I feel like I'm in a Stephen King novel. I expect when I get into the car and turn on the radio, to hear about some terrorist act in Foothill Ranch. But no, just equipment failure and the power should be on by 5pm.
3pm update: no power until 7pm.
7pm update: no power until 7am.
We go to home depot to rent a generator and buy some flashlights. We buy extention cords, a gas can, and gas. We get it home. We hook it all up and guess what? The generator DOESN'T WORK!!! Expletives are hurled around by the Handsome Husband. It's already 8:30, we decide to just go read.
Here are the things I found most valuable with no power:
This cheap Energizer flashlight. See that little stand underneath it. You can totally prop it up and aim it to light whatever you are doing. Including reading a Kindle. It had a nice clear light and big lighting area. It costs like $6.00 and came with batteries. Liked it better than the huge Maglite we bought HH which had a yellowish light and you could see the lightbulb shadow in the middle of the lighted area.
HH had these nifty little Foster Grants. He bought them after Christmas to use while reading on airplanes. They totally lighted his kindle or his path in front of him. Worth the $15. I'm getting myself a pair. Super Handy
It's funny the things you miss. We have this alarm clock. It projects the time onto the ceiling or a wall at night. When you wake up in the night, you just open your eyes to the ceiling and you can see that it is 12:38, like below. I totally missed this during my wakeful sleep.
6 comments:
I didn't mean to laugh but I did! You were really lost without power...it's amazing how much we depend on it. And you certainly have your share of gadgets!
We lose out power a few times of year so I always have flashlights and tons of candles. And a clock that runs on batteries. My white noise is usually the rain and the wind.
Glad you are all settled now, Janie!
XO,
Jane
Oh, hubby bought me a pair of those glasses and he has one too and I always smile everytime he uses it. They look pretty funny but functional. During a hurricane (Gustav) 2 years ago, we were left with no power for 4 days and that was enough for us. We installed a big generator enough to power the whole house right after and the power turns on automatically 5 seconds after the general power goes off. It's great! I am glad you have your power back, Janie..Christine
Hi Janie! I'm so glad to hear you've survived the darkness and being without power.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
Gotta have my white noise too!
Or ear plugs!
Janie, those glasses are a hoot. I may have to get my husband a pair for our next flight.
Yep, flashlights and candles are a must when you are without power.
Thanks for stopping by to visit at HFTS.
I'm right there with ya, sistah!! We are the only house on the electric line on our property. Which is, of course, outside the city limits. So,,,when power goes off anywhere in the town, we are the very last ones to be connected because after all....we're only one family. Which is fair, but really? So we got one of those huge generators that will run the whole house with every single thing runnning and it kicks on the minute our electricity goes out....I'm in the south so the few times we've ever had an ice storm, it always goes out. And after spending 4...FOUR....days in the cold....generator was a must!!
Glad you got hooked back up!
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