random thoughts – Day 1,372 – (Tuesday) – power up

Candle light chocolate project.

Monday night with no electricity was a bit of an adventure. The kitchen was illuminated by pillar candles, jar candles, and a very handy LED lantern of mysterious origin that usually resides in bathroom closet. 

The gas stove was lit and an attempt made to melt chocolate, which didn’t go well. Once I remembered I had a double boiler and cell service to access Google to check what to do when the chocolate seizes, things went better. Pretzels were dipped. Chocolate coins were made. It took forever. 

At bedtime, I felt like an old-timey ghostly lady as I walked through my house holding the LED lantern. I should have been wearing a flannel nightgown and bedcap to complete the look.

The overnight featured many instances of waking up. Once, the bedroom had become bright and I woke up, excited, thinking the street light outside was on and the electricity was back. It was a false alarm, and the illumination was the headlights of a car backed into the driveway across the street, bright modern LED headlights shining straight into my house. It happens often enough that the idea of lining the windows with reflective paper is starting to sound like fun. Back at you headlights!

When it was time to get up for the day, the power was still out. Clothes were chosen by lantern light, and I  worried I looked like I had dressed in the dark (which I had). I left the house a half-hour early to get to get a jump on the day and also enjoy the electricity and a coffee. Ha! The joke was on me. It took 45 minutes to travel the two miles from home. The traffic lights were out, and people seemed to have forgotten the basic road rule of practicing a four-way stop at intersections.

Behind the scenes.

There was a photo shoot in another town with a drive that was much more civilized than the ride to the office. The route included fully functioning traffic lights and I have never appreciated them more than this morning. At the shoot, the photographer got to climb up on a step ladder and position people and I took pictures of him taking pictures of the photo subjects. I can entertain myself pretty easily. 

At 11:24 am today, 24 hours and 24 minutes after the power went out at The BungaLowell, a text came in with the exciting news that the power had been restored. That was a great moment of the day, an hour later when I saw it. Twenty minutes after the power company message, a text came from the cable/Internet provider that service had been restored.

After work, there was another kitchen workout. Tonight, it was possible to melt chocolate in the microwave, which went much better. Sugar cookies were baked from a mix which was less easy that it seemed in the directions. Cookies and treats were packed into loot bags from the party section of Dollar Tree. The bags will go to the office on Wednesday, the day all of us are in attendance.

There was a feeling of completion. Not all the planned recipes were made, partly due to the derailment caused by power outage.  Further baking will likely occur Thursday and Friday, in preparation for the family festivities to supplement what has already been done. Or not.