2.10.2011

Powering Up!

So yesterday, about 15 minutes before I was to embark on my last interview of the day, our power went out. It had been flickering on and off prior to that, but then it finally went off and didn't come back on for several hours. Just my luck it was right before a scheduled phone call, right? I couldn't type down notes on my laptop because its battery is fried (probably all those adapters we used on the regular in the UK/Europe), so I have to be able to plug it in.


Figured I would run over to my local Starbucks for backup, so I broke open my iced-shut truck door and hauled down the street... to my first four-way stop. All the power in our entire area, not just the immediate neighborhood, was out. Meaning every traffic light was a four-way stop, and each one of those stops were backed by tons of cars. Lots of folks had left work early to pick up kids who were dismissed from school mid-afternoon, and even more folks had left their offices when the power went out. It was a "3:30 five o'clock gridlock!" Luckily, I turned around and headed back home before I spent two hours trying to get to Starbucks. Turns out, they didn't have power either.

My husband then had the genius idea of using my truck's power plug for my laptop so I could still do my interview. Genius! It's dorky, but was too funny not to take a picture. (I also look like a blueberry in that nice, warm puffy vest.) Chalk it up to "life as a freelancer." My pride and joy of owning my own freelance company is the ability to work on the go and be flexible!



Afterward, the sun was nearly down and my living room looked like this:



What's a girl to do? Thank the Lord she has a gas fireplace and a gas stove, of course!

First, I stoked up a nice roaring fire...



...then popped open this delicious $5 bottle of Little Penguin cabernet (oh yes, I took pictures!)...


...which I sipped on while cooking up my yummy sausage skillet dinner! (Get the recipe here.) It was the perfect meal for a cold, er, powerless evening. 

And I may or may not have worn a headlamp on my noggin to light the way as I navigated through my dim-lit cooking. In fact, there was a lot of kooky things going on after dark, since we had all four pets clambering for their spot at the water bowl in the kitchen. We finally brought in the dog's water bowl from outside, knocked out the frozen water and filled 'er up to hopefully ease some of the barks and hisses coming from the popular hangout. But my snobby little white kitty, Snowball, decided she needed to drink out of the dog bowl, too. Just like her momma, always looking to make a statement about something!



It was starting to get chilly in the house, but we had added more wood to the fire, bundled up in comfy clothes and were ready to launch into a game of checkers....


...when the power came back on! I was so relieved, but it was nearly 9pm and we were actually totally relaxed. So we turned off all the lights, kept the candles lit and played two rounds of checkers by the fire. Goofy, right? But sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the basics for a little while, it was such a simple and peaceful night.


We did watch the latest episode of Harry's Law before turning in, we really enjoy the show, especially since Boston Legal isn't on anymore. I have to admit, it was pretty fun there for awhile just enjoying each other's company and minimal resources, like a home-cooked meal, a bottle of wine and a board game.

3 comments:

  1. That is too cute! Sounds romantic and peaceful to me!

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  2. Sounds like the PERFECT evening! Power or no power! You are so resourceful. Glad you were able to work from home....even if it was sitting in your truck in the driveway! You WERE still technically HOME!

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  3. I want to see a photo of you with your headlamp on cooking. LOL "our" Amber as a coal miner came to my vision. LOL I know you were cute as ever in it.

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