Twenty-four Hours Off the Grid

Twenty-four hours and six minutes to be exact.

That's how much time elapsed between our power going off on Friday afternoon and coming back on this afternoon. It's not the longest I've ever been without power--I survived the Great Blackout of 2003 in NYC when it was out for 30 hours in our neighborhood. But it was considerably warmer then.

Phantom Scribbler has written about her 15 inches of snow so early in the winter. I'm located in a different part of her fair state, one that juts farther out into the Atlantic ocean, and our weather can be vastly different from that just a few miles away. Yesterday was a prime example. Although we had a bit of snow yesterday morning, it mostly rained; rained enough, in fact, to wash away the snow left from a small snowstorm earlier in the week. Around 2pm the sun came out, bright and clear, and I thought we had missed the worst of the storm. Boy,was I ever wrong.

By 2:30 the sky was quite dark and menacing again, and the wind picked up alarmingly. And then the snow started--snow that was so thick we could hardly see across our yard. The wind howled--gale force. And a little after three the power went out. I wasn't too concerned; I retired to the couch for a nap, certain that the power would be restored within the hour. Wrong. When I woke up around 4:30 the wind was still howling, the snow was still falling, and it was dark. I collected the candles and the flashlights, and snuggled in to read for a bit. Sk8tr Boy started a movie on the laptop, but unfortunately the battery no longer holds a charge very long, and the movie didn't last very long either. He quickly became antsy and I finally suggested he call a friend so he'd have someone to talk to. That lasted as long as his cell phone battery. We ate leftovers for dinner, and finished the ice cream so that it wouldn't melt :)

By 6:30 the sky was clear and starry, the moon shone brightly on the new fallen snow, and it was quite beautiful--but still no power. The candles were numerous enough to let us read still and Sk*tr Boy fell asleep on the couch with his book before too long. I finally blew out the candles and went to bed, sure the power would return by morning.

No such luck. By this morning, the temperature had dropped considerably in the house, and it was quite chilly. One thing I learned in the Great Blackout was that I needed a corded phone, so I was still able to communicate after my cell conked out. Checking in with my boss about various meetings scheduled for today I learned that about half the people in this area were without power and that a number of large trees had fallen right after the wind picked up yesterday. I also learned that the cafe down the street had power and was open. Yippee! Hot food and a warm place to be. Brunch was great. However, it was crowded and we couldn't linger too long.

Finally, just when I was resigning myself to another cold dark evening, the power came back on. Hurrah! I quickly put on the kettle for tea, and switched on the computer.

Once again, how very dependent I am on electricity was brought home to me. There was very little of my normal daily routine that I could carry out without power. No heat. No lights. No cooking. No hairdryer. No laundry. No vacuum. NO COMPUTER !!!! Sk8tr Boy noted that if terrorists really wanted to paralyze the country they should go after the power grid. I'm sure they've already thought of that, and I think he's right. We are dependent on power. I didn't even know how to get my garage doors open! [I have learned that now--this is the first time I've ever had a garage with automatic door openers, and who knew about the little rope you can pull to open the doors!]

On a different note, I also realized how very connected to this blogging community I have become. When I got the computer back on, I wanted to see how Annika was doing, whether Casey had delivered yet (anyone heard?), how MJ, an older friend who, on top of a recent cancer diagnosis, just broke her hip, was doing. I wanted to know what LG and Baby Blue were up to, and all the rest.

I'm also aware that I was just mildly inconvenienced by this power outage, and I have little to complain about in the grand scheme of things. But I wonder about the effects of global warming on our weather patterns. Yesterday's storm was flukey, but how many more like that might we have, and ones far worse. Look at this year's hurricanes. And last winter was the snowiest in memory for this area. Coincidence? Maybe. But I wish the powers that be would take global warming more seriously.

Edited to add: And now, late Saturday night, it is warmer than it has been the last couple of days, and all the snow is melting. What gives with the sudden shifts? And more rain tomorrow....