Dock flags on this very windy day, the second in a row. The one in the foreground is ours.
All day yesterday, last night, and all today a gale has roared here in the Bay. The day temperature has been cool but not too cold, although the constant sound of blowing wind makes me feel chilly. I keep indoors except when the dogs and I take our walks, buffeted by the breezes. Sitting on the porch is no longer comfortable. Maybe it's time to install the glass windows over the screens, but usually we don't do that till closing-up for winter. Because there's always the hope of Indian Summer!
This morning the girls woke me up at 7:15 for their breakfast and brief outdoor foray. As usual, we all returned to bed, and on the way I turned on the radio. Fell asleep sometime after 8 o'clock, after Scott Simon and Weekend Edition Saturday started. I woke again at 9:15. (Sounds lazy, I know, but I was up very late last night writing, then reading in bed.)
Scott had gone silent. I realised the radio was off. Glanced over at the electric blanket control--indicator light was out. From this I deduced that the power was off, probably caused by the high winds. Wasn't sure when it went out...the bottom bit of the electric blanket, covering my feet, was still sort of warm.
I lay there, and decided I had two options: a) pack up and return to the Lodge, or b) climb out of bed and phone the electric co-op to report the outage and get back in bed and wait for the power to be restored.
The last time I chose b was during last December's ice storm, when I spent five damn days shivering under blankets.
I used the bedroom phone so I could stay covered up in bed while on hold. After about 10 minutes a nice man picked up and I told him my problem and location.
"Yes, we've already sent a crew," he told me.
"So other people in my area have called in?" (Duh, it was after 9:30 a.m. and most people were already well into their Saturday.)
"About eight hundred of them."
Wow--so more than our secluded, private, tree-lined road was affected. "Well, thanks, and good luck to the crew." Not a pleasant day for the linemen, who had to be out in the wind.
Back to sleep I went. Woke up at 10:40 feeling warm and cosy--my electric blanket was working again. Problem solved--thanks, linemen!
By that time I was hungry but after sleeping most of the morning (and the night) the girls wanted their exercise. So we headed into the gale for our first walk of the day. It's really a lovely day--if you don't mind strong wind.
After a late start, we're back to our usual routine of me on the sofa, writing on the laptop, a sleeping Jewel pressed against me, my own personal canine heating pad, and Ruth at the other end of the sofa curled on her favourite cushion.
I'll be writing happier scenes today. Lately I've been mired in gloom, handling a death scene and funeral stuff and a sad scene that took place here:
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