And now we have power again...

Heaven only knows what I would have written in my blog the last few days.  It has been wild here!

Thursday we had snow, snow, snow.  Almost 10" here at our house, which doesn't really compare to the 18" they got up the road in Corvallis.  Karina was stuck down here, but fortunately classes were cancelled anyway.

Friday was a no school day for grading anyway, so Karissa had a great day outside playing in the snow with her friends.  As the afternoon progressed, I started getting texts asking if I was cancelling the birthday party for Saturday. No.  Why would I?  It wasn't that bad.  Just some snow.

The bakery called and asked if we still wanted the cake for Saturday. Yes. Of course. Why wouldn't we?

See, when they Universe tries to tell me stuff, I don't listen.

The ice storm rolled in Saturday morning.  The gymnastics place called and said they were closed and we would have to reschedule the birthday party.  What?  Telling a nine year old her birthday party is cancelled is a job they make you do in Hell.  Call twenty parents and tell them that the party is cancelled.  Slip/slide over to the store to pick up the cake that we confirmed not knowing.  Asking the few friends that live close to come down for cake at the house so we wouldn't have to eat that much pink cream cheese frosting ourselves.  Cleaning up the house that was a mess because you were anticipating everyone going to the gymnastics place.

If I had known what was coming next, I would have used my time more wisely.

Everyone is visiting and having a great time.  The kitchen lights, which can be squirrely at the best of times, start to really freak out.  Oh it will be fine.

Boom! Transformer blows and all the power goes out.  But our next door neighbors have power.  Boom! Second transformer blows.  Now they don't.

Since there is snow and ice everywhere and the temperature is hovering around freezing, my first priority is to keep the house warm.  We get both fireplaces going right away.

It shouldn't be out that long, so the freezer should be okay.  Stick the dairy products outside in a cooler just in case, dig out the candles, and settle in for a few hours of adventures with no power.

You never really realize how much wood it takes to keep your house warm until it becomes your only source of heat.  I am shoving wood in both the stove and the fire place constantly.  It seems like Kelly brought in a big pile and it is gone.

It is now dinner time and still no power.  Everyone else is fine with a sandwich and some fruit, but that doesn't really work out for me.  I whisked together some yogurt, keifer and protein powder.  Not delicious, but at least it was calories.  Surely the power will be on by the morning.

We dig out the crank radio and what little news we hear is not encouraging.  Only Karina has a "smart" phone, so she becomes our primary source of information.  The ice storm has wreaked havoc all over Eugene, leaving downed power lines everywhere.  Great.

Kelly and Karissa were brave enough to sleep in the bedrooms, but Karina and I slept out by the fire where it was marginally warmer.  I ended up feeding the fires much of the night as even what seemed like "overnighter" logs burned up amazingly quickly.

Sunday school is cancelled due to the storm and Eugene has come to a stand still.  Kelly and Karissa did go to the ballet in the afternoon, but otherwise we spend the day cooped up at home, in the candlelight, going slightly stir crazy.  My food options become even more desperate, mixing a jar of pear sauce with keifer. There just aren't that many options that I have prepared.

My worries are more focused on a quarter of a beef possibly thawing in the freezer, though.  Kelly goes and buys dry ice to load into the big freezer.

Bless Angie and Ed, to whom we already owe more than we could ever repay.  They invited us over for dinner and to use the shower.  My neck really does not appreciate the cold, so a hot shower was manna from Heaven.  The food was great, too.  Have blender, will travel.

School was on a two hour delay this morning.  Karissa's bus ended up being even later as a power line dropped in front of them on the way to school.  Scary.  Kelly and I continued feeding the fire places and contemplating what will happen if the power stays off too much longer.

I ducked out for massage therapy and speech therapy today, getting some break from the cold house.  We again imposed on the generosity of Ed and Angie tonight as most of the fridge's contents have gone south and we are just sick of staring at each other and being cold.

While the feeding tube definitely adds another complication, I don't seem to enjoy life's little adventures as much as I used to when I was younger.  It is harder for me to see it as fun challenge.  I hope they didn't take out my spirit of adventure along with my tongue. Laura Ingalls Wilder would be disappointed in me.

At 7:30 tonight, we got our power back. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to the crews who have been working non-stop for three days to restore power.  Thank you for the fireplaces and a good supply of wood, as it was only down to 61 in here.  Thank you for dry ice as the big freezer is holding at zero. We will be pitching out a lot of condiments, but overall, not as bad as it could have been.

As all this drama was unfolding, I also had physical therapy and acupuncture.  There is some thought that the swelling is starting to go down.  There are also signs the some of the muscles and nerves in my face/neck are waking up.  In the long run, this is good and will give me more function, but in the short term, it will be unpleasant.  They seldom wake up happy or cooperative.  Bring on the Motrin and the heating pad.

Tomorrow Kelly and I get to make our way up to Portland to see the doctor and the SLP.  We will see what they think of all this.  Hopefully the roads won't be too terrible as my appointment is actually in the morning this time.  At least is wasn't during all the snow or the ice storm.  If I've learned nothing else, it can always be worse. Always.

I'll give you the update from OHSU and hopefully remember the other info I was going to post.  One thing I remember-- I was supposed to come up with common phrases I need to practice for speech, things like "Where is the bathroom?" and "What time is it?"  What are some things you know I say all the time that I should be practicing. Besides swear words, I mean.

Until tomorrow...