Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Workiness, Busy-ness and Hurricaniness

Last week was crazy busy with the planning and staffing of the annual summit for two of the associations that my firm manages. But I lucked out - I got to stay at the Samoset Resort for free! Had a beautiful room with a small private deck and a view of the ocean. I got to watch the sun rise while eating breakfast and enjoy a vast array of top quality foods made with all Maine ingredients (these are food related associations). I came home with a big box of veggies from Lakeside Family Farms (carrots as big around as your wrist!!), granola from Lucy's Granola (one of my fav's) and bread from Lepage Bakeries!

It was an amazing time, but I was wiped! I took off early the next day to rest and relax...and ended up stacking wood at my parents. But it was the quintessential Autumn day, sunny but slightly windy, just perfect. I had dinner with my folks and headed for home around 8:00, forgetting that it was only Thursday and I still had to work the next day.

This past weekend, I battened down the hatches and either put away or secured everything that had the potential to be a projectile. And I'm glad I did! The wind howled all night, often sounding like a freight train.

Promptly at 9 PM, I heard a *pop* and that was it for power until nearly 10:00 this morning. The prepper in me was ready, though! The generator was full, with another 8 or so gallons of gas in reserve and a 100 ft extension cord had been purchased on Friday. The tub held 3 five gallon buckets of water for washing and flushing; 3 gallons of potable water sat in jugs in the basement for cooking and drinking; the cell phone, laptop and iPod were charged and ready; and flashlights, candles and matches were at hand. I went to bed after the power went out knowing that everything was going to be fine! And it was. Bucket bathing in cold water isn't my most favorite. Aside from the obvious that its cold water, I have hair down to mid-back and rinsing all that isn't easy, but I managed.

This was the first test of the generator and it worked slick! Fired up on the second pull, powered the microwave to make tea and oatmeal, powered the hair dryer to dry my hair and powered the fridge to cool everything down after 9 hours of being off.

Currently, its 65 degrees and we have thunder storms rolling through with torrential rain off and on, enough to cause street flooding! Crazy, crazy weather! I'll be happy when this day is done and I can head home for a hot shower.











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