On The Flip Side

Well, we made it.  We lost some very large trees, but luckily, they were all behind the house in the woods, and managed to just miss everything.  Yes, I know we were lucky, and I want to thank you all for your well wishes.  They mean a lot to me.

We were out of power for days, which is not amusing, since we have a well, and that means no running water.  Luckily, we do have 3 streams and could lug water from them to flush the toilets.  I also have parents generous enough to offer us a hot meal and a shower, which was fantastic.

Little Boy is meticulous

But returning to a dark house every night is tiring, and I was ready to pack it in at 8:30 every night, just because I couldn't see enough to do anything.  I got WAY too much sleep, which, to me, seems worse than not enough, and I was dragging.  The cruddy weather didn't help, either.  Today we have power and the day was fairly sunny, so I ran errands.

Only to find out we're in the middle of some sort of gas shortage. 

Little Girl not so much.

Yeah, I have no idea what that's about.  I blame the fact that I don't ever watch the news.  Of course, I needed to fuel the car, and the lines were ridiculous.  I drove to the next town over (not around the corner) to fill up.  As I was doing that, they ran out of gas--except for premium.  So my car, which never gets premium, got the good stuff.  Which is expensive.  So the car will sit unless absolutely needed, and I did more errands than I would have otherwise, just because I was in the right area and don't want to make more than one trip.  Would you?

I heard some stories today about people and gas, and saw some interesting things.  Lines were out of control.  People were just STOPPED in the intersections, just because they were on line for the gas station.  No matter that there was a traffic light and people needed to get through.  In NJ, I was told the lines for gas are 3-4 miles long.  And I heard about a guy who pulled up to a gas station with a 500 gallon tank and proceeded to fill it up--to hell with the huge line behind him. 

 

So, not so much for looking out for our fellow man going on out there.  It made me very tired, and I was glad to get home.

 

We did celebrate a bit of Halloween on Halloween, which is what you see in the pics.  We never did get to pumpkin picking, with one thing or another, and instead settled on pumpkins from Agway.  Since we waited until the last minute, they were .99 each.  Can't beat that.  We carved them during the day, while we could still see.

The kids did a bit of Trick Or Treating, since the town got their lights back way before we did.  In all, they didn't miss a beat.  When we finally got our electric back, the first thing my daughter said was, "Plumbing!!!".  Yep, it is that big of a deal. 

After I got home today, I got outside for some sun and work.  There is nothing like fresh air to lighten a mood.  One of the errands I did today was to run to Home Depot for some rope lighting.  The chickens have been producing about 1 egg every 3 days, so I've decided to add a little light to their lives.

Chicken Party House!  WOOT WOOT!!

Rope lighting is inexpensive and sealed, so I hooked this strand up to the ceiling in their house, plugged it into a timer, and now the girls will have 3 hours more daylight every day.  We'll see if that will motivate them. 

After that, I took PJB (Philip Johnny Bob) into the house for a haircut.  He was rooed last week, but he has lots of butt-knots that just needed to be cut out.  So I did.  And he was very good for it, too, and stayed very still for the brushing and the scissors.  I did not take his picture out of respect--it's not the best haircut in the world  (but it works).  I like to think that PJB and I have an understanding.  He's certainly a lot calmer lately for me, and has even been sitting on my lap occasionally.  He's a good man.

Otherwise, things are ok, and I will catch up as soon as I am able.  Tomorrow we are having a work day here at Chicken Scratch and the whole family is coming over to pitch in.  I will post right after, I promise.

Have a great evening, everyone!