the voice of the chainsaw is heard in our land . . .

meower mom broadcasting from work:

although STILL without power, we are doing ok. the "fridge" is right out on the front porch. we have long metal forks from the camping gear to make toast and hot dogs with when the woodstove is down to coals, and soup, etc heats nicely on top of it. it was just blistering cold last night, though. we got out tom's polar-rated oversize sleeping bag, zipped it open, and used it for another comforter on the bed. nitro and xing snuck into the bedroom, too, but with my allergies, that's verboten--so there was a lively chase until we convinced them both that they would be MUCH warmer in the living room! *sigh* why couldn't this have been my beloved SNOW?!? sun's out this morning, but hazy; temp was 5 degrees fahrenheit on our carport.

the Boy stopped by last night. he finally knuckled under, took his kitty (powder) and went to grandma & grandpa's. of course, by that time, THEY didn't have power either, but they have tons of quilts, a gas fireplace, a bbq grill built into the back (outside) of their fireplace sharing the chimney, and a screen porch around that, so at least they have ready access to real cookspace where they won't get snowed or iced on. we haven't been desperate enough to fire up the propane grill out on the carport yet, but if power doesn't come soon, it may come to that! we give SERIOUS thanks to g*d that the 2nd and 3rd waves of the storm were not even close to as severe as had been forecast!

we are fortunate to have always lived a bit on the rustic side at home (with the woodstove, clotheslines, garden, camping and scouting, etc). our accumulated old-timey tools and ways rendered this time a bit easier for us. we've always sincerely admired the folks who lived through the frontier (and earlier) days, and collected, studied (and in some cases, made and tried) the things that allowed them to do so. it's very satisfying to feel that connection going back, in some cases, to the middle ages--realizing your flesh-and-blood ancestors had done the very same things you are doing, in the very same way, with the very same motions, is just awe-some.

thanks so much for the cheerful well-wishes and purrs and purrrayers. it was very nice to log on at work this morning (i was here yesterday, too, but although there was light and heat, there was no phone service or internet) and see how kind everyone has been to purrray, purr, and wish the best for us. please continue to remember all those who are still without light and heat! the city power company says that "only" 35,000 remain without electricity. allow me to say, "bah. humbug."