July 5 - On the floor

July 5th found me leaving the oppressive heat and heading
to my son's to celebrate my granddaughter's birthday. Here's
my shoe on the floor of my car.

Still powerless

My experience in AA for the past 21 years has probably saved my sanity this week. I take no credit, that's for sure.

As I write this, we've been without water or electricity for 108 hours - 4.5 days. At first, fueling up the car was an issue, but the town nearest to ours (Hinton, 12 miles away) got power back Monday afternoon, and the gas stations are back in business. Big business!

Hinton has city water and my MIL's home is there (she was safe with friends in another, unaffected town), so we've been showering at her house and hauling water in buckets so we can flush our toilets. Once a day. TMI? Sorry. Heh.

My freezer and refrigerator are completely empty - and spotless - and I've given up trying to keep food cold in coolers. I salvaged a few things that are in my husband's mother's fridge - cheese and butter - and we have stocked up on peanut butter, crackers, bread and canned food you can eat without heating. Beanie Weenies, anyone?

I'll let you know if it's safe to refreeze pesto. It was easier for me to toss grass-fed T-bone streaks than my homemade pesto.

I've heard we might have power by Friday night, but the power company website says probably Sunday night. Temperatures for Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be in the low to mid-90s.

I will be leaving tomorrow for a long-planned visit with my son and his family. My daughter and her children will be there, too, and my husband is insisting I go. He doesn't want to close up the house, and he and the dog can always go to his mother's to cool off. I'm coming back Saturday.

We are cutting smaller limbs off the downed pines and hauling them to our pond to burn later. A friend with a chainsaw has offered to help cut up the trunks. We have lots of support, and much to be grateful for.

Like grills. And smartphones. And car chargers.

Just saying.

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July 4 - Fun

As I said yesterday, meals were really something to look forward to.
My Independence Day breakfast was grilled bread spread with peanut
butter topped with trail mix. Pretty fun, but it sure didn't seem like 4th of July.

July 3 - Best part of your day

The best part of just about every day of the electrical outage was mealtime.
The exception, of course, was the final day, when the lights came back on.
I made good use of the gas grill, and everything in this grill pan came from
my garden except the olive oil and spices. And it was delicious!

July 2 - Busy

Part of the mountain of dirty dishes I did at my mother-in-law's
house on the third day of the electrical outage. She had cold and
hot water during the interruption in service. The lights came back
on at her house as I was standing at the sink.

July 1 - Self-portrait

Oh, how I hate seeing pictures of myself. This was Day 2 of the outage,
outside and it was hot, hot, hot. And I think you can see I was worried,
worried, worried. 

Shelter from the storm

I wish.

The storm that hit northwest Ohio Friday afternoon arrived in southern West Virginia that evening. We had already lost power at around dinnertime due to power surge; the 70 mph winds sealed the deal. The electric company is estimating we will be restored on Friday, July 6.

Out here in the Middle of Nowhere, no power means no water, and that's the big challenge, soon to be followed by no food, and no gas in the car (and no place to get it).

My MIL, who is 91, is safe with friends nearby who weren't hit by the storm. My husband and I will begin cleaning up the yard today. We watched four huge pine trees fall onto our lawn. You've heard people talk about trees snapping like matchsticks? Tru dat.

I'm grateful for our former delegate, who has been posting frequent updates on Facebook. And for a smartphone and a car charger.

We could use your prayers, if you're so inclined. And some cooler temperatures. 98 degrees with no air conditioning is no fun.

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