Let it Snow.

Most people know I live in a place that has the potential to be fairly isolated. The closest city to me has around 5000 people. I have lived around here for close to nine years and I am fairly used to a coouple things I never had to get used to in southern alberta wheere I hail from. 

First of all after late October -15 c is a warm day. The average is around -20c. Second of all the power goes out. When the power goes out it usually hits all of the small communities within a two hour radius on the Saskatchewan side of the grid, so the closest power is generally in Alberta. 

Most of the time these power outages are a mild annoyance that last an hour or two but occasionally there is serious infrastructure damage and it is out for a long time. Power surges killing appliances is a fact of life around here. 

The first year I lived in the area Tiny But Mighty was still in the seed stage on my birthday and the power was out for ten hours, the big excitement that day happened when I tried to blow out a candle and caught my piano on fire. 

The last couple of days have been a bit interesting in our area. 

As I have mentioned previously we have had a ton of rain this year but it came late. Sunday morning it started raining, then it started snowing, and by supper time the snow was easily half a foot deep. The snow was heavy and wet and slushy and before too long the roads were impassable. This is fine, I mean into every life some rain must fall. I was supposed to go to work and I knew there was no way I was even going to get to the highway. We adjusted. We had a meal, played cards, kept warm and dry. Mama Chaos and Big Chill drove back to their house three blocks away in the dakota of doom and only had to be dug out a few times :) . 

Sunday night as we all slept the power went out. 

At first it was no big deal, it happens all the time, unfortunately our home has clean and convenient propane heat which dear reader needs power to work. TBM and I grabbed out ipads and stayed snuggled in the bedroom, which stayed about ten degrees warmer than the rest of the house probably due to the slumbering pack of "wolves" live there with us. I grumbled as I pulled the blankets around me about the weather and the fact that it is just way too early for this. I phoned my manager who told me not to worry about coming in since we really cant do business without power. 

The morning passed and I went into the kitchen to make lunch at which point I realised the house was actually cooling off pretty rapidly. I phoned Government Utility and they said the crews had been working most of the night and all morning but the damage was very extensive and it would still be awhile. I began to feel a bit concerned. 

My local friends started posting photos of damages on social media and I peered out my window at the towering trees in my yard and said a prayer that they wouldn't succumb to the storm and come crashing through the roof. I though briefly about an ice storm in Ontario some years ago where the power was out or days and the temperature plummeted and people died in their homes waiting, as we were, for the power to come back on.  

I thought about how messy wood heat is and looked at the skim of ice in my toilet bowl. I was cold dear reader and TBM was cold and bored and sick of hiding under the blankets playing on her ipad. 

At 2 pm the power flicked on for just long enough to give hope and then snatch it away, and I prayed thankful that it wasnt actually cold outside, only -1 or -2 c. The dogs begged to go out and Im sure they couldnt understand why they were staying in so late. I took tyhe dogs out and fed the animals and waited and I must tell you I was becoming genuinely concerned for those with elders and young children in their homes and for us too. If the temperature dropped significantly over night this could become a very tragic story.. 

At 4pm the power started flipping on and off... the lights flickered and several bulbs burned out as I dashed around the house turning them off and unplugging televisions and toasters. Finally around 4:30 the outage was over and I was able to reset the furnace and begin my day. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at wood fireplaces. 

I am going to say right here and now how much I appreciate the people who got up Monday morning and fixed several kilometers of power grid to restore power before it got cold last night. I am grateful for the people in the call center answering questions and taking the brunt of peoples' frustrations. I am grateful for the repair staff who risk their lives tromping through the forrest to cut trees off of downed lines and put them back together. The communities around here are small but combined there were probably ten thousand people sitting in the dark, waiting. 

Today I am shoveling my car out and the world is back to normal but it sure made me think. Some people couldn't get gas, some people couldn't get groceries. I was reminded that I need to keep the shelves stocked and the car full because the amenities we take for granted are not guaranteed. 

On that note dear reader, I'm off to town to get groceries and fuel and to work :) I pray you all are safe and warm and that you know where the candles are. ;)