Missed you guys. We just had our power restored after nearly 5 days. The PacNW was socked with snow, then ice, then wind. Since mid day, Weds. we've been without amenities like water, central heat, news and transportation, and phone service was intermittent.
Fortunately, we have a wood stove, so were able to remain warm, cook, melt and boil snow. We stock candles, batteries for a radio and 5 gal buckets of water for the animals (though our waterfowl desperately missed their kiddie pools as much as we missed brewed coffee). It's remarkably like camping inside your own home...still, it's a real grind having to haul buckets, bathe in a basin, read by candle light, boil snow to wash dishes, pack and re-pack our food with ice and snow to keep from spoiling, cook over uneven heat, and then there's the whole lack of bathroom thing
.
I know many of you have a lifestyle closer to our experience, and we're no softies. The longest we've endured is ten days without power, but for some reason, this time it seemed longer. It certainly gives us an appreciation for what we have, and respect for the endurance of our great grandmothers.
(I did attempt to bake biscuits in the wood stove over coals. Kinda worked. they were burnt on the bottom, but edible). After all of it though, we're glad to be back!
