Yes, it was
DARK. It was 6:30 a.m. in December so of
course it was DARK. But it was also quiet,
too quiet. I looked out the upper window
and saw MORE DARK. Maybe everyone in the
whole town had decided to turn off all their lights and stay in bed until
sunrise. Or not. It seems all the
electricity had stopped flowing through all the wires to everything.
The temperature
was WAY below zero at minus 9F. That’s
about minus 23C for all you metric people. It
was not only DARK it was COLD and getting colder. The good news--I was on my way to burn off
some butter on my treadmill and now how had an excellent excuse to sandbag the
idea.
I woke up DH when I went scrabbling around for candles. He turned on one of his fifty flashlights, grumbled and mumbled; got dressed, put on his arctic gear and went out for firewood.
I found a radio
with batteries and learned the power was out all over the southeast side of the
state.
Soon news
sources were reporting 50,000 customers of Rocky Mountain Power were in the
cold and dark because of a failure at one of the substations. Schools were closed. Warming centers were designated.
The power stayed
off until two in the afternoon. Our fireplace kept us
warm. We have a gas stove so we were
able to cook things, but I got out of doing laundry, got some Christmas
decorations up and never did get back to that treadmill.
(And I'm betting since this all happened in Idaho it won't make the national news.)
(And I'm betting since this all happened in Idaho it won't make the national news.)
That amount of cold just blows my mind - the coldest it gets here is about 4 Centigrade - that is without a - sign in front.
ReplyDeleteYay for firewood.
Oh brrrr Leenie, that reminds me to locate candles and flash lights! It has been very cold lately- I have not adjusted- at least you have a gas cooker!
ReplyDeleteOh my...that's not just cold...that's frigid! What about your water pipes...did they freeze? That's my greatest "fear" in the winter.
ReplyDeleteTime to stock up on candles and batteries....
ReplyDeleteAlicia, No frozen pipes. Our house is insulated pretty well and we opened doors to all the rooms with plumbing so the warmth from the fireplace would keep away disaster.
ReplyDeleteFirst I heard of it. Damn...that is cold!!
ReplyDeleteDuring Sandy we had no power for 10 days. Big pots of water steaming on the Gas stove acted as boilers and helped warm the house...of course the temperature was never below 40...pretty balmy compared to below zero.
Oh, cold and dark, just hate that combination! Specially when it is as cold as THAT!
ReplyDeleteAnother reason I'm happy I live in Southern California!!
ReplyDeleteGrrr,brrr, that is teeth chattering. We heard about it on Leenie News at six o'clock.
ReplyDeleteWe were out one winter for three days. My bil kept calling from the road, encouraging us to fire up his never tested, third hand, thirty year old generator. Women are more resourceful than that. We had a gas stove and a fireplace.
I feel your pain. Well. I feel a tiny bit of your discomfort. We have been losing power willy-nilly every time a tree limb falls on the electric lines.
ReplyDeleteWe have a sleet/snow storm heading in on Thursday. I just sent my husband to town for generator gas. We won't get that cold. Lows Friday around 9 degrees.
I'm hoping our power lines dodge this icy bullet.
Ha ha-sounds as if you benefitted from the power cut in many ways! I am glad you had your fire to keep you warm. Our school was closed this afternoon due to a power cut caused by a power surge just outside which caused a manhole cover to blow off! When the electricity goes in the school (I discovered) it also means that there is no water. Ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteSure is pretty in the dark. You would think you lived in Canada:)Take care OK Hug B
ReplyDeleteGlad you weren't without power too long, Leenie, and glad you had the gas to keep things warm. I didn't hear about this...you're right - some locations don't warrant national attention. We've been weaving in/out of those temps...and I know more is coming. It's supposed to be 2 (F) next week for a daytime high. Eeek!
ReplyDeleteThat is a HUGE power outage. Terry was a lineman/foreman for 37 years for the local power company here. I so remember those long nights where he left and didn't return until the next day or even later. We are so dependent on our electrical supply.
ReplyDeleteYou are so much colder than us! BUT THE SUN is shinning here so I can take the cold now that I can see the SUN!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
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