Monday, March 28, 2016

Power Outage Fun and Games

Because of high winds this afternoon, our neighborhood power went out at 4:10 pm today. First off, I texted another resident, a friend, here in our senior mobile home park, to be sure it was not just my own home. It wasn't. That saved me the trouble of checking my circuit breakers outside in this wicked wind. We had 78 mph in one area but most places did not go over 50 mph.

Then I called two friends to let them know it was not them, and save them the trouble of checking, as well.

I found my Coleman and put it in a central place for when it would be needed in a little while. I found my "head lamp," a cute little thingie I got as a freebie one time from Harbor Freight. It has an elastic adjustable head band. But it didn't work, so I took it into the pantry to change the batteries. In the pantry, I made the battery swap and hit the switch and stepped back a bit to see if the light came on. I jumped when I realized the heel of my hard-sole slipper had stepped on the front paw of Silkie, just behind me. Talk about GUILT! After a lot of apologies on my side, and feeling her paw to be sure I didn't break it, and opening the door to the wicked wind because at that point she wanted to get away from this clumsy old lady and outside where she thought it was safe, I continued in my "power outage" mode.

By then it was close to my dinner (I usually eat just around 5) and I had planned to nuke one of my frozen meals from the upright freezer. Now I had to take out a couple of pots and do something up on the gas stove. That went well and I was grateful that I was not all-electric because at least I had hot water for hand washing my dishes and pots.

Meanwhile, I was trying to avoid opening the fridge door so it would stay chilled inside but of course, this was exactly the time when I thought of this and then that and then something else that I needed to either put into, or take out of, that fridge.

With the TV off, it was quiet. I decided maybe I could call the electric company and find out if there was an estimated "back on" time, and they said around 7 pm. - that was good news. Nothing would defrost or spoil in just 3 hours. As soon as I hung up, at 5:10 pm, power went back on.

My little power outage adventure only lasted an hour, but it was long enough. The older I get, the less I like unplanned events.

I really MUST remember to look down at my feet now that I am older - my poor kitty has only so many lives - and if I keep stepping on her, they will only last so long.

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