little house on the prairie

Snowpocalypse 2014 has been eventful in all ways thus far.

At first it was pretty...

Beautiful shot of the backyard

Then it was heavy...

 

That limb used to be attached to the tree...

 

I started wondering about the structural integrity of my trampoline

Then it was disastrous.

Yeah, that's the power line

 

At first I was still a little unsure as to what was going on. C insisted I call the power company (despite having no idea what happened) while he snowblowed the driveway for them. Once he came back in, he set up a kerosene heater. Little did we know that it would save our house from disaster.

 

The little kerosene heater that could

Inexplicably, night fell, and we saw neither hide nor hair from the power company. We had thought initially about shacking up at a friend's house, but it was still snowing, the roads were terrible, and C was afraid the pipes would freeze if we left (we didn't want to leave the kerosene heater running unattended). So we set up camp on the living room floor.

 

The puppy was a fan of the giant-sized dog bed he suddenly acquired

When we woke up the next morning, it had gotten considerably colder.

 

Ice on the INSIDE of my windows. Depressing.

One thing that wasn't getting any colder? All the food that I had JUST BOUGHT in the fridge. I asked C if there was anything I could do, and he recommended collecting ice and putting it in a metal bowl in the fridge. So that is what I did. Icicles ho!

 

Guess it worked, because I saved most everything in the fridge!!

The day dragged on. It was cold and there was nothing to do. I alternated between reading a book and hiding under the covers. My fingers were freezing, and all I wanted was a hot meal. C had gone out earlier in the day (he put chains on his tires) to get kerosene, and he let me know that Denny's was open. So Denny's for dinner it was. [Side note: The last time I had eaten at Denny's was on our honeymoon, when I was also freezing cold, but that's a story for another time.]

 

Note to self: no one's stomach feels good after eating Denny's

We went back home to our dark and cold house. We had turned off the kerosene heater, so it was even colder when we got home.

 

55 doesn't sound that cold, until it's the indoor temp

 On Tuesday morning we got up and there was really nothing to do but wait. C had tried to get the furnace running on Monday with a generator loaned to us by our across-the-street neighbor (who had power still) with no success, so there really wasn't anything else for him to DO. He does not do well in those sorts of situations. So we slept in and snuggled with the puppy.

 

Don't get used to it, puppy. You're still not allowed on the bed.

We went to lunch at Panera (mmmmmmm, warm soup!) and surveyed the landscape. The roads were a bit better, although still not fantastic.

 

Soup in a bread bowl. Nothing quite like it on a cold day!

Back at home, C was really getting cabin fever. He called his boss and asked if it would be ok if the three of us came to the office for the afternoon. His boss, who's super nice, said yes. So Grove and I went with Dad to work. I got to snuggle up on a couch and use a bathroom in which the toilet seat was warmer than 40 degrees.

 

Grove got to sniff lots of things

I ventured out for dinner. Not much of anything was open (what I would have given for some mexican food...), so I pulled into a Papa John's and ordered a pizza.

 

Thank you, Papa John's of Westfield, for being open

We ate dinner relatively quickly and headed back home. C had decided to hedge his bets and leave the heater on while we were gone, as we couldn't afford to lose any more heat. He left it on low though, so it was still colder when we got home.

 

The rock bottom

We went to sleep, although it was only 7:00. What else can you do when it's 50 degrees and dark in your house? Plus, it wasn't like we'd been getting quality sleep over the past couple of days; we were exhausted.

This morning at about 5:30, C jumps out of bed and says "They're here." He puts on his Carhartt bibs and heads outside. A few minutes later, he comes back with the news that it's just the tree guys, here to cut the tree down off the line. I was disappointed, but only marginally so; where the tree guys go, the power guys soon follow, right?! I got up and went to work, and was able to take my first shower since Sunday morning upon arrival. (The perks (?) of working in a converted nursing home, I suppose.) That shower room is creeptastic, but lord was I grateful to have a hot shower. We had hot water still at home, but when the temperature in the bathroom is hovering in the 30s, all the hot water in the world isn't going to make it a hot shower.

C just called and said that the power has finally been restored. Hooray!!!!!! I almost cried. He says that everything appears to be ok: the furnace is running, most everything in the fridge is salvageable, and he's started on the laundry so we can get the kerosene stink out. So grateful that I have a prepared and handy husband, and I'm grateful to the IPL workers who I'm sure have been working 24/7 since Sunday morning.

Hope everyone else fared better than we did, and here's to happier (and warmer!) days ahead!