the hemingway experience

in the rain, in the dark, alone.  sigh.

So uhm, yeah, ya know that entry that I posted last night about not having water inside the house and needing a shower, ready for hot tea, and some soup?  Well, directly after I hit "save", my power went.  I sat in the dark, waiting for the power to flicker back on.

Then, I got up and went down the hall to the window, where I could see (or rather not see) that no one else on the farm had power either.  So, I felt my way back to my chair, got the phone, and punched in the numbers by feel.  My landlords were probably dealing with their own reactions to having no power and no water.  So I called my Friend in town whose brood is ill, just to see if she had power.  Yes, but that means little really, and I realized that as I was talking with her.  She offered to put me up for the night, but I didn't think that was such a wise idear, what with sick kids sleeping on the mattress on the living room floor cuz it is warmer there than in their bedroom.  So I declined, offering to pick up some juice or something from the store on my way in.

Then, I called my mom.  This makes perfect sense.  She lives in Arkansas, a mere eight hours away and slightly more than four hundred miles.  Yeah, perfect sense.  While I was on the phone, I noticed headlights leaving the farm; like rats fleeing the ship.

When I was quite chilled, having been on the phone longer than I have been for ages (simply ages and ages, doncha know), I realized that it was doubtful the power would just flicker back on any minute now.  Especially since over a hundred minutes had passed.  I'm slow on the uptake that way.  I was the only one still on the farm.

Mom could no longer hear me over my loudly complaining stomach that had yet to be fed, so I shouted that I loved her and would talk with her soon.  Her reply was lost in the acidic roar of digestive juices eating away my organs, having escaped my stomach and colon.  So, I fed the dogs, in the dark.  Packed my meds, in the dark, and my pjs with extra socks, in the dark, and all my looms and some yarn, in the dark.  Locked the door, and got in the car and drove to the gym, just before they closed and got my little kit with extra toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, deodorant, razor, soap, and shampoo.  While I was there, I called Yet Another to ask if I could drop by for a slumber party.

I did stop by the store, picked up seven varieties of apples (cuz I couldn't remember Yet Another's favorite), two types of creamer (ditto), juice for Friend and her sick brood, bread and cheese for me.  I did drop the juice and an extra tool for the looms that I had given Friend and kids.  Friend answered the door in her down filled coat, gloves and hat.  She explained thru her muffler that she was laundering the girls' blankets that they had vomited on, so she covered them with her blankets, leaving her husband to his own devices (I suspect he was sporting the layered look, complete with skivvies and scarf).  She looked like she aged three years since I had been there earlier that day.  shudder.

Yet Another and I had a wonderful visit.  I couldn't reach anyone out here on the farm today, but I decided to brave it anyway, and returned a mere hour ago, cuz the doggies needed feeding and I was wanting to be home.  If there was no power, I planned to use the flashlight til I could get my kerosene lamps lit.  I'd forgotten I had no water.

At any rate, none of that was necessary, as I now have power and water.  So the dogs are fed, the heat is on, I'm snuggly in my jammies, tea has been brewed.  whew.  Since my landlords' house was dark, and their car was gone, I figured they weren't home.  So I do not know why we had no power and no water.

So, how have *you* been?