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The Husband and I didn’t have any big plans for our Christmas, but we knew what we were having for dinner (the buffalo meat was on the counter thawing) and we planned to finish the 2008 Christmas Card Project—late, yes, but we hoped to be forgiven for the slip-up this year.
We had read all the storm warnings and it certainly sounded as though we were in for a big one, this time. But, typical of weather predictions, the forecast was way off and instead of “up to” twelve inches of snow, we got about two inches. There was something the weather channel didn’t predict, however, and that was the power failure. The power went off just before 4:00 PM and didn’t come back on in our part of Bear Valley Springs until 5:30 AM this morning.
(Stupid me, I had my computer on when the power failed—trying to get those last photos printed, along with the postcard inserts containing all our new contact information. The computer is fine, by the way, and I am busily printing again today.)
When it became clear that the power failure wasn’t to be a momentary glitch, we set about our preparations for coping. Using the battery-operated lanterns, we scrounged through the garage looking for the candles and the candle-holders that we knew were there somewhere. While we found the candles, we ended up mostly devising makeshift holders.
Our Christmas evening was our quietest ever. We had never had a completely candlelit Christmas. It’s one we will remember. After spreading the candles about and getting all the fireplaces going, we enjoyed Christmas evening—even if we did have simple bowls of soup for our Christmas dinner. It made us think of what Christmas was like long ago.
Beautiful image and a great Christmas story. I am glad things worked out well. Best wishes this holiday to you and your husband. Have a great new year too.
ReplyDeleteBeau - Thanks for visiting. I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Best wishes to you and your beautiful family. You must have had a lively Christmas with your young ones. May you all be safe, happy, and healthy in 2009.
ReplyDeleteNow that sounds like my kind of Christmas! A great story. The buffalo meat sounds tasty! I like it a lot! However, soup by candlelight. Romantic! ;-)
ReplyDeleteNow, you might want to consider getting an uninterruptable power supply, or UPS, for that computer of yours if you are going to be prone to outages. You can get smart ones that will keep your computer on for 10 or 20 minutes and then automatically shut it down safely for you.
Paul - It was romantic, in spite of some frustrations. I am so lucky that The Husband helps me maintain perspective in that type of situation.
ReplyDeleteThe UPS sounds like something I probably should think about. Thanks for the advice. I understand that this doesn't happen here frequently, yet neither is it a once every five or ten years event.
Happy Christmas, Anita. Hope you all managed to keep warm in the snow and lack of power. Sounds like fun really, once you accept it all.
ReplyDeleteQuite different from my Christmas lunch, 35C, sunny, middle of Summer here. Seafood cooked outside on a BBQ
Gordon - I hope you had a wondeful Christmas and may 2009 bring you joy, health, and happiness.
ReplyDeleteWe are staying toasty warm inside and buying winter clothes and shoes on what seems like a daily basis. I am enjoying the adventure aspect of it, but you southern guys are certainly torturing me with your reports of the weather in "God's country". Outdoor BBQ, indeed.
ah - I'm in Australia right now though. From what I've heard Austin was 80F last week. then 20F, then back to 80F. Probably on the same day.
ReplyDeleteGordon - Wow! I'm sure we are going to see some gorgeous photos from this trip. I hope you have had a wonderfully relaxing holiday.
ReplyDeleteYes, Austin has that in common with Los Angeles. Sometimes, Christmas Day is tee shirt weather.