My friend asked me to go to a Buddhist meditation and darma talk last Sunday morning because she wanted to go and had never been to one. It was downtown and funny, it was really crowded. I got home, all calm and meditated, to the beginning of an incredible racket that lasted past 11 pm that night. Alternating dogs barking and kids screaming bloody murder. At 11 pm the Harley rider and the karaoke singer were still trying to entertain a two year old, who was still screaming and crying. She's tired! Put her to bed! I tried to let the noise pass through me, like a good Buddhist, but I thought about moving again instead.
Monday was hot, over 90 degrees, and that evening big winds came through town. With the wind, there was this weird grey sky, but it did not rain.
Within minutes of the start of the big winds, the power transformer in the alley blew with a big bang and my power went out. It stayed out for 30 hours, until the middle of the night Tuesday night, and made me feel unprepared.
When severe weather is coming, do not start a load of laundry. The washer was full of water when the power went out and it stayed that way for a day and a half, no way to drain it. I don't know how long it takes for it to smell, but a guy at work says 3 days. I have no cooler for the things in the fridge that will go bad, so Tuesday afternoon I went and bought one. Tuesday morning I set up the coffee maker and set it to brew before I realized I still have no power. Me with no coffee in the morning is not pretty, so I also bought a portable stove,
In the meantime, I went out for coffee Tuesday morning and got to work with wet hair really early.
It stays light late here, but I still needed the the hurricane oil lamp to read Monday and Tuesday night. I also did my meditation, since what else is there to do without power? It was a good test. No light, no laundry, no cooking, no land phone, no computer. One nice benefit is that it really quieted down, the Harley rider had no power, either.
Tuesday night it got really cold. From 90 degrees on Monday plummeting down to 40 on Tuesday. I have a gas water heater and gas heat, so I could take a hot shower, but the thermostat for the heater is electric. Gas heat, but I can't turn it on! I had to get my thermals back out and put an extra blanket on the bed. It was the heat coming on at 1:30 in the morning that woke me up to let me know I had power again.
Not much I can do about no heat, but if I move again I am looking for a place with a wood stove. I don't like the looks of a wood stove, they are not as pretty as a fireplace, but I appreciate their usefulness a whole lot more today.
52,000 homes in Idaho and Oregon were without power Monday night and 5400 were still without power Tuesday afternoon. Interesting that my neighborhood in Boise was not a priority for Idaho Power. Idaho Power's website and phone recording also provided no information, not like I could access them in a real emergency anyway, but I think they spent too much money on those smart meters and not enough on repairmen.
My boss says where she is in the country they lose power all the time, so I guess country girls need to know how to do without electricity.
Thursday night I went to the IWS annual show reception. I sat through the awards ceremony where all the old folks and sentimental favorites won awards, which did not include me. There were 50 paintings selected for the show and 25 are selected for some kind of award, which allows them into the traveling show. I was so irritated that I left the awards ceremony as soon as it was done, skipped the show juror's presentation of his work, and went to take another look at the show. There were a group of women around my painting with one talking about how much she liked it and how much she would like to have it. I told her it was my painting and thanked her, her reaction really cheered me up after that awards ceremony.
This is the painting that was in the show,
It looked completely different than anything else in the show, just like my horses painting at the Capitol show did. I do not think of myself as very creative, or as a great painter, but I do think there is an emotional quality that comes through that I do not plan, but that some people can see. Just having one person that can see it means more to me than any award.
The sun is out today and I should have a chance to clean up the mess the big winds made of the yard.
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