Back to the old days

Now, I sort of know what the old days were like with no electricity or water.  Sort of like camping, but not as much fun.  At least, there were no mosquitoes, spiders, scorpions or snakes sharing our quarters.

Late Monday night, eight inches of wet snow fell in Redmond.  Over a foot of snow in Bend from some sources.  I can tell you why it snowed:

1.  I wore capris and Chacos on Saturday.
2.  I bought a down jacket (my first ever) on sale at Eddie Bauer several weeks ago.  AND, I told Emil I should take it back because spring was here.

Yep.  Blame me.

Tuesday morning, I wake up extra early because it's my first day of work, and the power goes off when I get out of bed.  Note to self:  Do not get out of bed again.  Since we're on a well, the water is off too.  This, I did not know until Emil explained it to me.

While the power was out, I had a couple of items on my mind.  First, I was nervous all weekend about starting my new job, and I can't make it to work now.  Second, I made these slam dunk enchiladas, a new WW recipe.  I didn't want them going bad from no power, so I whisked them away to the chest freezer after a couple of hours.

So, we hunkered down, brought in firewood to keep the pipes from freezing on one side of the home, found our headlamps, and charged our cell phones in the van with an inverter.

I also learned you can flush a toilet without having running water.  It's a cool trick.  Invite me over, and I'll show you how.

Fast forward to last night (Wednesday) at 7 p.m.  Emil is at work, and desperation has set in.  I see all our neighbors have electricity, and we don't.  What is going on?  There must be some secret switch I need to flip.  Nope.  I chatted with Joseph and Margot. No switch, but I did learn about the breakers outside.

I gave up.  I laid on the couch in front of the fire.  Turned the headlamp off.  One kitty on my chest, and one kitty on my legs.  And, I started telling them all kinds of stories and random thoughts floating through my head.  They now know the synopsis of my book and who the main character ends up with.  They also know what I am cooking for meals when my in laws visit in March.  And, they know all about my nephew, Aaron, and his first boy/girl dance and how the turkey dinner served beforehand was a bit on the dry side.

Finally, at 9:14 p.m. last night, the power was restored.  I followed Emil's instructions to flip three breakers and try both hot/cold faucets.  My sanity was restored. 

Best part of my day today?  Going to work and coming home to bake!