When we left Sunday night, the power line off the main dirt road our little dirt road offshoots from was lying in the dirt. Bear said it was still there when he went home to feed Josie and check on the kitties, too. I haven't been home since Sunday for two reasons: I drive a '98 Honda Accord which lies low to the ground and isn't likely to handle fallen branches well a second time around, and we have trees that look like they are ready to fall onto the driveway and trap us at the house.
I try not to be spoiled, but I have no intention of being trapped in a place with no power, no AC, and no running water. I mean, we have two bathtubs filled with water from before the storm, but that's been three days now. Our place could get power back any time between the next two hours and the next two weeks.
We lost power early in the day Saturday for a little over an hour. The lights kept blinking on and off which makes me think a limb was balanced on the power lines. When the power came back we took the time to do housework and reorganize the bookshelves. We also had pretty decent cell service at this time, so I spent some time online with my phone. Of course, later we had neither power nor cell service...
We lost power halfway through watching the season pilot episode of Doctor Who, which I fixated on since it was something I could deal with. Instead of panicking about the path Irene was projected to take, I ranted about the lousiness of DirectTV and satellite in general, while texting friends to figure out what was going on in the show. It sounds silly and petty, but it gave me something to do other than freak out! Having a panicked dog and four freaked out cats clawing at you is no laughing matter! Much easier to find something else to focus on...
Despite scary winds blowing our bedroom's French doors open in my face, rising temperatures and pelting rains and howling winds, we somehow managed to emerge from the storm unscathed. Of course, I didn't actually sleep until about 6am when the storm mostly subsided. Sunday morning we left to check on my parents, who also had no power and limbs down in their yard. We live twenty miles apart, so we drove through three towns of chaos and traffic to get there! I figured my folks live in a bigger, more populated region (only 10 homes are located off our road) so they were more likely to get power sooner. I had only been there an hour when the power came back! We made the decision after another short trip home, where we found the power still out and the indoor temperature in the nineties, to return to my folks and stay until our apartment was more comfortable again.
Our kitties are pretty self-sufficient and Bear stops by every day to feed Josie, who spends most of her time in the yard while we're away, so we're not too worried about them. Staying at my childhood home is a little odd, since my old room is now my mom's craft room and we're sleeping on our inflatable mattress in the living room! However, I am getting to spend some quality time with my family and the dogs.
Shadow was our first ever pet in my life, and is now eighteen human years old. I apologize for the scary photos, but he's really old and losing his senses. His eyes have receded and his hearing and sense of smell are leaving, too. He was supposed to be my dog when I was six, but he took a liking to mom and became her little shadow; hence the name. Last night, mom went to take him to bed and he didn't move at all. We thought we lost him, but he came back. He was pretty cold though and barely breathing, so that was scary. This morning when I left for work he was doing all right. I know he won't live forever, but it's sad to see him like this.
Angel is the puppy that Shadow fathered and my dog Leise, who died last year, bore. She's nervous and shaky and twitchy but sweet and loves to love people. Especially Bear, who she constantly is climbing all over and smothering with puppy kisses. He does well putting up with her, considering his general dislike of small dogs (much to my chagrin...I LOVE small dogs!). She's already ten years old, having been born the week of 9/11 in 2001, but still acts like a puppy.
Anyway, Irene has put Bear and I in a similar nomadic existence as Snowmageddon did. We're getting pretty good at this living out of a bag at other people's homes thing. Hope everyone else is doing okay in the aftermath!
xo
Oh my goodness you poor thing! I would have been so terrified! That's interesting about pre-filling your bathtubs up so you have water down the road. I don't know that I'd be calm enough to think about something like that in the heat of the moment.
ReplyDeletePhew! I'm glad you had a comfy place to stay! Awww lil Shadow, I cant believe he's lived so long. His age gives me hope though since we plan on getting a small dog in the future, i get depressed just thinking about their life expectancy :/
ReplyDelete@Sara Bell- haha, Bear thinks of everything! We are the masters of getting weathered out of our home at least once a year. If not a snow storm, then this... but it always works to our benefit, as we can migrate wherever there's power!
ReplyDelete@Danielleorama- me too! Shadow is such a fighter! He's had a very full long life and received many snuggles and is determined to squeeze whatever remaining cuddles and milk bones we may have out of us! It's hard when a beloved pet passes, but remember the good times. It makes it a little easier to deal with when you think about all the love you are able to share with them in their lifetime. :)