Rub a Dub Dub

Woke up this morning at 5:15 am to the beep of the carbon monoxide detector ... not because I was in danger of being asphyxiated but rather because the power had gone off! Luckily this time I had a flashlight in my nightstand. After setting the travel alarm clock for 6:30am, I headed downstairs to call the power company and throw another log on the fire. Garrick got up when he heard me so I suggested that he head down to the lake to get some water for his morning 'shower'. I figured this way we could at least heat it up on the wood stove for an hour or so before he would have to use it. He didn't think going out in 28 F with the wind still blowing sounded like fun so he crawled back into that cozy bed of his, not realizing that a 33 F lake water 'shower' would really not be fun! Fortunately, I had filled the kettle on the wood stove before retiring to bed last night so using that with the little bit of water I managed to get out of the faucet (as I wasn't going down to the lake to get him his water), he was able to bathe AND wash his hair before heading off to school. It is amazing that someone who normally needs 15 minutes of steaming hot water to get the dirt off, can really get by with only about a half gallon ... hmmm ... maybe I need to work on that?

In an effort to conserve energy ... mine of course ... we didn't dare open the refrigerator for breakfast as it might mean moving all the food to the porch if the power were out for too long. So I retrieved a box of soy milk and a jug of grapefruit juice from the 'storeroom' in the basement and we had cereal with a side of canned grapefruit slices. I then put the grapefruit juice and leftover soy milk on the porch which require much less effort than moving everything in the refrigerator outside. We then scooted out the door, a bit earlier than usual, putting the bike in the trunk of the truck. Not sure what we would encounter in the way of road barriers, I figured I would drive as far as I could and then send Garrick off on the bike to the bus stop if the road became impassible. It is much easier to lift a bike over a fallen tree than move a truck that way! Luck was on our side ... we made it all the way to the bus stop without having to use the bike.

The first thing I did upon returning to the camp was call the power company to find out the status of the work order I had called in at 5:21 am. I figured there would be no need to do anything if the power would be back on within an hour or so (in an effort to conserve energy, once again). But when Mark told me that they had not yet located the source of the outage, I determined it would be best to get some water. I headed to the lake with my bucket and lobster pot and after three trips had enough water to restock the kettle (Caroline and I needed 'showers' too.), fill-up the toilets, and rinse the dishes. Just as I put down the bucket containing the spare water ... you guessed it ... the power turned on. So, no sponge bath for me today. I am sure that will be a story for the future!

Karyn