When the Lights Went Out

Well, my family had a very unique experience last night. The day started out great as I met with my two best friends for our annual after-Christmas get-together and gift exchange. We met at Leslie's house, taking along machines, projects, food, and gifts. We exchanged gifts, we ate (of course!), and even sewed a little bit. Got home in the later afternoon after a delightful time with my BFF's.

Then within a half hour, the electricity went out. It wasn't so bad at first. We tucked away the furry children, lit the kerosene lamps and candles, and left the basement door open so that the propane stove downstairs could help warm the rest of the house (that's after we closed the bedroom doors). A few hours later, we got some take out for dinner and ate by lamp light. It actually was quite nice except for the kerosene fumes stinging our eyes. We played a game for a while and then settled down to watch some three half hour episodes of the 1980's sitcom we've been watching (thank goodness for fully charged laptop computers!).

The lights still hadn't come on so it was time to make plans for the night. Since the bedrooms were very cold (last night the temperature dipped down into the teens), we were going to bed down in the office and the living room. So we began to make preparations for that. About the time I was changing into my jammies, the lights suddenly came on! WOnderful -- I was able to sleep in my own bed after all last night.

The experience really made me think about how much we rely on electricity in our daily lives. I can't even begin to understand how quilters in the past could even see as they quilted -- the light was so dim, it was hard to even see my food when we were eating dinner. I'm thankful for their efforts.

P.S. I'm still working on my New Year's resolutions.