Losing Electric

Last night, just as I'm finishing up one armhole for my son's sweater vest our electric goes out. This means no heat, no lights, and I'm feeling around in the dark for the matches and a candle. You can NEVER find a flashlight that works in an emergency.

I was finally able to find matches, but knew that the candle was downstairs, so lighting a match, I ventured into the cold, dark lower floor, imagining that some devious mind had cut the wire on our pole, and was certainly just outside waiting for us to quit fooling around and go to bed. Then the match went out because I was walking too quickly--must be the fear--gee, ya think?. So I light another match, and finally make it to the closet where the candles are, and suddenly, my finger feels hot--and I realize I've lit my acrylic nail on fire...

So after I scream and run to the bathroom to put the fire out, I carefully light another match, and go back into the bedroom closet and get both the candle (light it) and the hurricane lamp, which is really just a glorified votive candle holder, but it does the job. Even so, I have no idea where the votives got hidden last year--maybe with the Christmas stuff? So I hope that there is a portion of a votive remaining, and head upstairs with my WEDDING CANDLE and the hurricane lamp. The dog is growling at something outside, just outside of the line of vision--there goes my imagination again!

We call the propane company, because it's the same company that handles our electric, and it's easier and quicker than trying to call the electric company to report an outage, when you can't read the phone book--not just because you can't seem to locate your glasses in the total darkness, but because you can't read by candlelight. Lucky for me that the propane company's phone # was on my cell. We report the outtage, find out that there are others reporting outtages on our lines, and ask them to call us when the power has been restored.

We get the lamp lit, set my cell phone to go off in the morning so we're not late for work, put an extra blanket on the bed, and snuggle down in. I turn on the bedroom light, and my husband says "what are you doing that for?"

"Silly you!" says I. "I turn on the light so when the power goes on, the light goes on, and we can then get up and take care of the fire going out and reset the alarms on the clock, and then we know that you can take a shower in the morning."

He told me that I would not wake up if it came on.

I disagreed.

The dog and both cats climbed into bed with me. My better half grumbled in displeasure, and fell off to snoring land. After listening intently for the slightest footfall for about 10 minutes, because the dog is still growling at something, and the cats are climbing all over me wondering what is the commotion, I finally fall asleep.

Then the lights come on.

So up we go again at 12:30am, light the fire, reset the alarms (which had to be reset twice because my smooth as silk husband turned off the light switch that powers the electric socket), settled back down into the covers...and...

The phone rings.

Okay, it's the electric company...checking to make sure our electric has been restored. And of course, the cell phone is a "I have to get completely out of bed, out of the nice warm covers" step away. This of course, upsets the dozing husband, dog and both cats out of peaceful slumber. My BC barks at the intrusion, which makes my husband yell some undignified expletive...

Sigh. Am I going to get ANY sleep tonight?

Sometime after that, I did fall asleep, but I was still sort of listing for that unwanted intruder.