Dark in the white

January 15, 2007 (12:09pm)
18º F, Light snow, NNE wind, 13 mph

Good afternoon,

So I start this on the laptop. Our power went off maybe 30 minutes ago. I called in the problem to the power company on our "back-up" phone a bit a go (have to get a new one, since it a 1984 rotary and the power company didn’t recognize the number shortcuts and I had to wait for the operator to come on line. Think I have gotten my money’s worth from it.). The gal said there had been an accident in the area, "involving one of their poles," and would add our name to the list.

We pretty much have everything covered, but Margriet decided to do some baking. Of course after she had it started! So .... it and she waits. The cook top burners are no problem as they can be match lit. Soup is on and starting to smell pretty good. The oven is relit with a "glow-plug" requiring electricity - not match lit. I probably can light it, but it will go out when it reaches temperature and needs to relight with the glow plug-again. When we bought the range, I never thought the burners and oven used two different igniting systems. I knew the top was spark-ignition, therefore match lighting. The glow plug uses about 800 w of electricity all the time the oven is on. That will need to change with the next range we buy. Not one of Whirlpool’s better ideas for sure. It is economical on gas usage though.

There was about 2" of snow on the ground this morning when I woke up. Now we have about 4"+ on the ground and it appears to be about finished for this round. The bulk of snow fell to the south of us and to the northwest. Two Rivers seems to be the dividing line, with schools closed or at least 2 hours late in starting. Some schools are also closed for the Federal holiday, so the number of school closings is down.

After shoveling off the deck, I brought the van up to the house. The snow is very light, but the wind is blowing, so imagine the roads may be drifted a bit. Especially the east/west roads, from here to the highway. In the woods it is beautiful and quiet. On the walk to the van, there was not a sign of a critter or their footprints anywhere. Just unspoiled beauty - until I walked and drove in the snow. When this storm ends, the temperature is supposed to drop to the single digits tonight, the warm a little, almost up to "normal" temperature again. Is a nice change from the hot weather we have been having!

Margriet made an excellent pork roast for supper Saturday night. We did leave some for leftovers, so tonight we have the leftover meat in gravy over mashed potatoes. Now that really sounds good to this old Norwegian. We are about out of Mrs. Miller’s Noodles, so the potatoes are a good substitute. Another inconvenience of the power being off, is we will have to switch to drinking tea. Our drip coffee maker got put in our traveling kit and is stored in the storage unit. Have to change that situation too.

January 15, 2007 (1:37pm)

The power came back on about 12:45 P.M. after being off for about an hour. It also has started to snow very lightly again. Oooooooooooo but the new coffee sure tastes good! Time to put this on a stick and get the rest of the day a-going.

In Christ My Saviour,

Chris <><