This week has been so sad. I cannot believe what happened in Connecticut last Friday. I think about all those poor families constantly. I cannot imagine the pain they are going through. I am praying.
***
Last Monday, we had horrible wind. Our house lost power around 8am. The power came off and on and went off for good around 11:30am. Thankfully, we have wood heat, so we were not cold. We do not have a land line, so my cell phone was the only way I could make calls. My phone’s battery was quickly dying, so I decided to go outside, start the minivan, and charge my phone for awhile.
And for reasons yet to be determined, the van doors were all locked. With the keys AND the spare key sitting neatly inside.
Drat.
I was holding up well until about 2:30pm. I learned, dear friends, that I am strongly addicted to caffeine. You can imagine my woe when I realized that coffee will not be making its way into my cup. Seeing as how I lacked power.
Oh, sure. There is probably some way that pioneer women made coffee on wood stoves back in the days of yore.
I am not that woman.
Around 3:30, I realized it was going to get dark and I was going to need to come up with a plan. The kids and I found all the candles and flashlights and got all set up for a night of darkness.
My phone kept shutting down due to low battery, so I decided to make one last call to my beloved.
Yes, my beloved. Remember him? The guy who wanted to move out to the middle of nowhere? The guy whose dream house I am living in?
Yes, him. He who was in the big city enjoying the modern convenience of power.
Me (being dramatic, because, hello, I have had no coffee. Or power.): Hello? My phone is dying. Still no power. Keys locked in minivan. WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME?
David: I don’t know. A couple of hours. Just charge the phone in the truck.
Well. I hadn’t thought of that. Clearly I am not the brains of this operation.
Me: Ok. Well we have had no power all day. We can only eat peanut butter and jelly for dinner. Just letting you know.
David: Do you want me to pick up something?
Me: Not necessarily.
David: We could heat up soup on the wood stove.
Darn him and his pioneering ways.
Me (shouting,because my phone battery is beeping. And shouting will help.): I NEED TO HANG UP AND PUT THE PHONE ON THE CHARGER. JUST COME HOME SOON. AND PLEASE BRING COFFEE.
It is a good thing I am not a bit dramatic. David appreciates that quality about me.
I hang up and go outside to charge the phone. As I am returning, I see the pig gate is open. Because that is precisely what is missing from my day.
Loose pigs.
Thankfully, the pigs had yet to notice the good fortune of having the wind blow open their gate and all seven were safe and accounted for.
Yes. We have seven pigs. Don’t you?
As I was locking up the gate, Handsome Dude opens the front door and shouts:
“Mom! Come quick! Little Dude is hurt WILLY bad!”
So, I rush in and Little Dude is being comforted by his sisters.
Daisy Mae: Mom. He climbed onto the counter and touched the candle wax. I told him not to, but he did and now his finger hurts because he touched the hot wax.
I would like the records to show that I had already had the candle safety talk with the children mere moments ago.
The sun went down and the kids and I gathered in the living room to await the arrival of the patriarch. We told stories and sang Christmas songs. And the kids most certainly did not argue over which song we should sing when.
Nope. Not my kids.
David came home around 5:30 bearing gifts of a latte and Christmas cookies from someone from this work.
Glory!
The kids and I huddled around the cookies while David pulled our camp trailer up to our house. We have a generator in our trailer and apparently, David, the fine electrician that he is, was able to hook it up so we could have a bit of power in the house.
Don’t ask me how.
It worked and we were able to have a few lights on and the TV. David then got to work on trying to get into the locked minivan.
He makes a better electrician than a locksmith.
The power came back on later that evening and a nice, traveling glass repairman just came out here and replaced with window for many, MANY dollars.
Happy Wednesday!
Oh my Taylor – sounds like a very bad day in your neighborhood! Thankfully the power was restored before you had to figure out how to heat all those beds with rocks or something equally pioneerish!
Oh dearie me, that last paragraph and pic made me LAUGH OUT LOUD! Yup, I would say that David should definitely stick to electric circuits in the future!
i would have sworn that the broken window and your need for coffee were linked… *</=o)
Once when we were dating, Wade drove 13 hours in a snowstorm to visit me. Got halfway up the driveway, got stuck, got out to see how stuck he was, locked himself out of his car. With the motor running. Not his best moment.
Now we keep a hidden key wired somewhere to the frame of each of our vehicles. In a secret spot that I have no idea where it is. One day you will see me wriggling like a caterpillar around my van, trying to figure out which mud caked lump is a key box and not actually a part of the chassis, and now you will know why.
Your brain battery was low…you needed to charge it up with coffee.
So you are off the hook for not thinking about charging the phone
in the truck.
I can’t believe the wind blew the gate open first of all, second of all
I cannot believe there was NO pig excapees.
A traveling glass repairman…did he bring his traveling circus with him?
Is that why it cost so much?
No power! Ugh. I almost know what you feel. My hot water went out on thanksgiving day. I’m a neat freak and couldn’t take a shower….that was a bummer.
It makes perfect sense that you have a blog.
Never a dull moment!!
I’m so glad you got your coffee. 🙂
Sounds like fun, almost. At least your walls aren’t peach anymore, right? That should make the flickering candlelight more attractive.
and I’m just guessing here, but I wonder if Junie B. is popular at your house – she would fit right in! You could stand in for Barbara Parks if she retires or something…
Husband here suggested you call the sheriff next time you need in your van and your keys are locked in.
They have a tool that will get into most any vehicle.
Because replacing a window for MANY dollars is just what everyone needs in December, right?
For me it was a washing machine repair.
Life is expensive.
h2O + woodstove + instant coffee + caffeine fix assuaged
Reading your blog always makes me smile : )
This reads like a tragic comedy of errors. So glad the Patriarch showed up with Latte in hand, and cookies to boot!