A very strange Sunday indeed

Well, this is certainly a different way to start my Sunday. I am sitting here in bed in the dark (that’s not so unusual, but there is no light except for my computer screen), listening to the rain falling outside. We have been without electricity since around 11:00am yesterday. We had a huge windstorm most of the day, and when the power went off I thought it would be fairly quickly restored. But no, it’s still out.

After realizing yesterday that it wasn’t going to return, around 5:00pm I ventured out in my car to find somewhere that might have internet so I could get my Saturday post done. I found one, and to my dismay I saw many huge areas of Bellingham are without power, and perhaps half of the street lights were not working. Many stores had been forced to close, and block after block of complete darkness showed that this is a massive outage. Using my smartphone, I was able to learn that it would be “awhile” before all power would be restored. Fallen trees and telephone poles across the streets were causing major hazards.

I came home about 6:30pm, while there was still a little daylight, but it wouldn’t be long before I knew I would be unable to read my book, or do much of anything. Everything in our apartment is electric: lights, heat, stove, hot water, microwave… as I would automatically think of doing something I usually accomplished without thinking, I realized I was unable to even make myself a cup of tea!

Fortunately, I have a headlamp that I bought for walking to the bus in the dark, and I was able to set it up in my bedroom so that I could read by it for awhile. Smart Guy had gone out to see what was going on outside, and when he returned he reported that there are still huge areas of town that were completely dark. During the night, I heard a couple of explosions, which might have been electric transformers that were overloaded and blew. Who knows?

I am writing this post on my laptop in a text editor, because I discovered that when I don’t have internet connection, I cannot access the website that allows me to write a post on Blogspot. I thought at least I could write it and post it once the power returns, but that is not to be. I’ll simply cut and paste this into the post once I get to the coffee shop. And I am only able to be drinking a cup of tea right now because Smart Guy has a thermos he filled yesterday with hot water. It was still hot enough for me to brew a weak cup of tea. It does make a difference to be able to create a semblance of my normal Sunday routine. I am definitely a creature of habit.

My fall a week ago last Thursday has become a thing of the past, since I was able to walk more than eight miles on our last outing three days ago. And yesterday before the wind came, I went on my usual Saturday walk with fourteen others, who showed up despite the weather. But by the time I was returning home, I was disconcerted by the strength of the wind; once the rain stopped, the wind howled for hours and hours, tearing limbs off trees and downing small ones. I felt safe inside my little apartment, even if nothing was the same without electricity.

And now here it is the next morning, and I’m planning on getting dressed in the dark and heading out to the coffee shop as soon as they open, so I can get a hot cup of coffee and post this. When my routine is disturbed like this, I find that it’s the little things that give me comfort, not to mention having others to share it with. When will things return to normal?

At least I have plenty to read: I went to the library on Friday to pick up four books that all came in at once. I had put them on hold and waited for them, but of course they don’t come one at a time, but all at once. I must read three of them within two weeks because other people are waiting for them and I cannot renew them. I am almost finished with the first one, which is very interesting indeed: it’s called Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. It’s a memoir written at the end of his career by a brain surgeon, and he tells of many stories that inspire and terrify. I cannot imagine having taken up such a profession, but he describes why he did and how it turned out for him. It’s hard to put down, believe it or not, even if I had to read it by headlamp! I’d like to learn more about him, but that will have to wait until I have internet again. (As you can see by the link above, I am now in the coffee shop and enjoying a hot latte as I get ready to post.)

Well, I think if I dress slowly and drive to town, I’ll be able to find some place to post this very different and unusual post. I’m hoping that by the time we meet again, I’ll be back in my old routine. Until then, be safe, my dear friends. Whatever would I do without you?