Power-Free Friday

How was everyone's weekend? We had a bit of a storm Thursday night. It kicked the asses of Northeastern Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. By the time we woke up on Friday morning (thanks to the battery backup on Jason's alarm clock), the power was out and everything was coated with a thick layer of ice. Trees and branches were strewn everywhere. Power lines were down. It was a mess. It still is, even though the ice is gone. But holy god, was all of that ice beautiful. When the sunshine hit the trees, it sparkled like diamonds and Swarovski crystal (two of my favorite things). The pictures don't even begin to capture how amazingly gorgeous it was. Truly, it was breathtaking. I kept going to the window to gaze in wonder at all the ice.

Since I couldn't work due to the power outages, I took some vacation time and read all day. I started with The Last Lecture, which made me cry, cry, cry. I highly recommend it. I started Nickel and Dimed, but ran out of daylight. I used to read all the time, but have not done it as much since Jason came into my life. I have a shelf full of books I've been meaning to read--some given to me as gifts, some I pilfered from my sister, some I've bought for myself over the years. And my mom has boxes and boxes of books that were mine over the years. When I was in elementary and middle school, I was rarely without a book. During high school and college, most of my reading was for classes--classic English and American literature, Shakespeare, feminist theory, French novels (as in... written in French), Russian lit (translated, of course)... books have been my constant companion. I definitely need to start reading again! I had forgotten how much I love it.

By the time Jason got home from work (where they miraculously never lost power), it was pitch black--the clouds were so thick that the moon and stars were completely blotted out. I had to meet him at the door to our building with a flashlight so he could make it up the three flights of zero-visibility stairs. I lit candles and we sat on the couch staring at each other, waiting for something to happen. I said, "I guess this is the part where the pioneers told each other interesting stories to pass the time." We couldn't think of any stories. I guess we're boring without you, Internet.

Since Jason was on call for work Friday night, we had to go somewhere with power. Our neighbor had told me that all of the hotels in the area were booked up, but luckily, the travel service that works with Jason's company was able to find us a sweet room only half an hour away. We threw whatever necessities we could find in the dark into bags, and headed out the door. We had just loaded up the car when--flicker, crackle, flash (it literally sounded like the battery commercial where the bunny powers the space shuttle up)--the power came back on. Go figure. We went to the hotel anyway since it was too late to get a refund (don't worry, we won't have to pay for it ourselves--Jason got permission to count it as a work expense) and staying at hotels is always fun.

Yesterday we finished up our Christmas shopping for Jason's family. I'm still working on my people. Hopefully I can get it all figured out before I go to Michigan! Today we're staying in. I made pancakes for breakfast and have done a few loads of laundry; Jason is getting himself ready to go on yet another work trip tomorrow.

I'm hoping for some snow to get me in the holiday spirit since we aren't getting a tree this year. I have my Silk Nog and rum ready!