Power Outage #961827 in the Country

Sep
20

We had a power outage overnight and this morning. It’s not high power outage season yet, so I had to stumble around in the dark trying to find matches and a candle.

A power outage is kinda like a fake vacation. A lot of chores are related in one way or another to water and/or electricity. We still had water, of course, but you never know how long a power outage is going to last, so water must be conserved.

Or you might be sorry later if the power outage lasts longer than you anticipated.

I always anticipate power outages lasting five minutes and I become very impatient after the sixth minute.

By the time an hour has passed, I determine that the power outage is going to last FOREVER. I will never have electricity again. Electricity is but a fond memory. Life as I knew it is over.

This allows me to completely give up and do nothing for several hours.

It’s quite lovely!

Then I start thinking about the things I haven’t been doing while I’ve been on this fake vacation. The chores pile up fast when you aren’t doing them. Around the time I started feeling guilty and wondering if I was going to have to hand milk BP, the power returned! Along with the chores!

Morgan had missed the bus, of course, because we didn’t wake up in time, and not to mention she hadn’t taken a shower and couldn’t possibly have gone to school without taking a shower. After she was properly showered and groomed, and I’d let out the chickens and milked BP, she wanted me to make her some breakfast before driving her to school. Of course, the sink was full of dishes and the counters were piled up with more dishes, so I could barely operate in the kitchen.

About ten other things from the toaster to the internet weren’t working right after the power came back on, plus I could scarcely find a clean pan in the house and I hadn’t had time to do the dishes yet. While I was broiling slices of Grandmother Bread for Morgan’s egg sandwich and trying to figure out what was wrong with the router at the same time, I was really wishing…..

….that the power would go back out.





Comments

  1. Barbee says:

    Oh, dear, what a way to start the day!!

  2. Flowerpower says:

    If I am asleep and the power goes out I am instantly awake. I sleep with so many things that make noise that when its totally quiet and vewwwy dark I wake up. Panic ensues. How did anybody EVAH do without power?
    AC.. Coffeemaker…I just dont know. :no:

  3. mamajoseph says:

    And it is so quiet without any lights or fridge or other things humming, isn’t it? ahhhh, peaceful. Its sort of an enjoyable annoyance.

  4. cabynfevr says:

    Careful what you wish for!

  5. CindyP says:

    You won’t want that power going out in just a couple months 😉 But yes, it’s so peaceful…you CAN’T do so many things.

  6. KarenAnne says:

    That’s why my alarm clock runs on batteries… As to trying to navigate in the dark, you can get lights that plug into an electrical socket and only go on when the power goes off. I have those in the bathroom, near the stairs, and in enough other places around the house so I can navigate in a power failure until I can get to a flashlight, lantern, etc.

  7. Gem says:

    L-O-V-E IT!
    (My sentiments exactly when we lose power)
    YOU are the BEST, Suzanne. (writer, that is 😉

  8. steakandeggs says:

    Some things are fun doing the old-fashion way, but doing with electricity is certainly not one of them. When it rains here, and there is a lot of lighting or a power outage our router will not work. First time it happened we called our internet service, and they told us to turn off the router for 30 seconds. Then turn it back on, and it worked. I don’t know if it will be the same for you, but next time you may try it.

  9. Auntie Linda says:

    It can be fun, but after Hurricane Irene we were without power for a week. Not so bad – evenings on the front porch with a cocktail and candles were fun – but we have a well, so water was a big issue. We were pumping water once a day using a small generator, so every container in the house was full! It was right in the middle of canning season, too, and I had 100 lbs of tomatoes rotting on my dining room table. I’d never had a well before, and gained a TOTALLY new appreciation for running water!

  10. joykenn says:

    Ah, the joys of a gas range! You can at least make a cup of instant coffee to pry your eyes open. Yes, I’m like you guys…there are so many hums and such that sudden quiet wakes you up and then you have to take a turn around the house to “check on things”. By then, give up on sleep and find the candles and flashlights–and then batteries.

    I can’t imagine how hard it was on my grandmother who didn’t have electricity in remote rural areas. There are still people in mid-Texas that bless Lyndon Johnson for a rural electrification bill when he was a congressman. There’s even a plaque honoring him for his efforts to bring power in 1936 (!) to the Texas Hill country.

  11. rileysmom says:

    Ah, yes power outages….very common for us, too! The last “reason” was black birds landing on the power lines….is that code for “we have NO clue what’s going on?” 😆
    I don’t mind them….I just miss the well working.

  12. Darlene in North GA says:

    Nope, it probably really WAS a blackbird. We have squirrels that get onto the power lines to commit suicide. They get near the transformers and KAPOW!!! There goes the electricity for the neighborhood. Or the house.
    When my power goes out, I usually call the power company. If the phone is busy, then I know I’m not the only one without power and so I just hang up. If it’s not busy, then it’s usually just my neighborhood or once, it was just my house. (see afore mentioned squirrel). If it’s just your neighborhood or house and you don’t call in, then you’ll be without power until they figure out that there’s no power on that line. That could be DAYS, so I always call.

  13. brookdale says:

    Calling the power co. is a good idea. That is, if you have a plugged-into-the-phone-jack landline phone, or a cell phone. Cordless phones will not work without power!

  14. Runningtrails says:

    I love a power outage. I can always work outside of course, in the daytime in warm weather but the power never goes out then. It goes out in bad weather or the middle of winter when I can sit by candlelight. I can read an old favourite book that never gets picked up otherwise.

  15. cmashorty says:

    We here in S.W. Oklahoma have had lots of power outages, in 2002, we were out of power for 9 days, and one of the guys I teach with was out for over 3 weeks! We were hosts to 6 extra college freshman guys and they ate everything we had in the house!! Since we had rural water and gas heat, we did well, and the guys had a blast pulling each other around on a truck hood hooked to the 4 wheeler. I was able to cook on our gas stove, all the board games were busy, and every oil lamp and candle in the house saw lots of use. Flashlights were also useful. We have fond memories of our times without electricity!

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