Winter has finally arrived in the Northeast, commencing with that loveliest and most dreaded of conditions, the ice storm. The last major ice storm that our locality has seen was in 2003; we seem to receive at least two per decade. The 2003 version was annoying but we toughed it out, spending the majority of our time huddled under two comforters and a pile of lesser blankets, listening to our portable radios and thanking ourselves for having plenty of batteries on hand. That year, the power was off for only a few days; in 1991 the power was off for over two weeks, and we ended up staying with some friends in the city, which naturally had a higher priority in the matter of power restoration than did the suburbs.
Yesterday was not much of anything to write about; despite the overheated excitement of the weather reporters, the coating of ice was thin and the lights only flickered a few times at midday - it would have inconvenienced my heating oatmeal had the power gone, but not much else. We are very lucky in that after the ‘91 storm, the park made a wise decision to place all lines underground, and the only way we lose power now is if a substation is taken out.
The sky is of a gray quite bright; near the brilliant circumference of the sun the atmosphere contains a hint of salmon color, very pretty in its way - it is nice to be able to enjoy the nuances and subtleties that are there represented. We are now receiving our first authentic snowfall. If we are lucky, it won’t amount to much, and we will have the pleasure of viewing the snowy landscape without having to move portions of it so as to allow us to go anywhere.
Awhile ago, when we were yet working, I remember that I had written down a few themes that I thought at the time might be nice to incorporate into a crossword someday. This was, of course, long before it occurred to us that we had some small talent for constructing puzzles - indeed, before we possessed the wherewithal to construct them. Now those themes are tucked away in the security and solitude of a binder pocket - and we have no idea which binder, in which mound of detritus, might hold those golden little products of vagary.
*Sigh*
We hope, friends, that you are all enjoying your day as much as we are ours.
Peace be with you.
Bonnie and Walt
5 comments:
Ah, the joys of a snowy day at home. I'm off today, so I'm snuggled in too, glad to have some pretty white stuff at long last -- and equally glad that it didn't amount to much. We got only a thin coating of ice here, not nearly enough to bring down trees and power lines.
:-)
Vicki
Snowy days at home are among the best things in life ever!! You two are well over due for a visit from me!! Sorry, it's very hard to keep up with journaling when moving and trying to buy a house and sharing a house with family... but I do keep you in mind and thoughts and prayers!! Hoping for a happy 2007 for us all! God Bless,
Hugs,
Lisa
How cold is it? We got up to 30 today. Hooray! LOL Hoping you can stay in, safe & warm. I had to venture out into it today and they roads were surpisingly clear. No doubt all 220,ooo dummies out driving them dry. I hit one road where a water main had burst in a construction zone no less. 2 feet of watter. Going to be a realllllll nice mess if it doesn't warm up. But it's not really going to. And we are due another chance of snow this weekenf. I stocked up on groceries, just because we have been eating at home every meal. LOL
Stay safe, warm & dry!!
Chilly hugs, Barb
Having your power lines underground is great as going thru days without electricity could be rough. I have a wood burner so I could stay warm as happened one year at 2 am when it was 15 below zero. I went and got my neighbor as I knew he only had a little electric heater in his trailor. The power came back on about 5 hours later if I can remember. It is below freezing here today in S. Illinois and I just need to do a little job outside on my mailbox and then back in. mark
We solved our power outages by installing a HUGE generator under the back deck and a nice wall of circuits just inside the basement door. Each room has a minimum of one outlet working for light, the entire kitchen is powered as is the well pump and furnace. It's nice to have lights and be able to invite our elderly neighbor in for a warm meal and some teli when the power is off for too long!
Underground lines might have been better....
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