HELL froze over...the long night

Sasquatch and I were bound and determined to make the best of our unfortunate situation. There's no one better in an emergency than Sas...first, there's her unflagging good humor. She sees the best in everything. She can do nothing else, being a dog. That's another one of those good things about dogs...always looking on the bright side. Then, there's her dedication to duty. Instinct told her that the house and I needed special protection during this winter event, and so she took up her post on the deck and spent a large portion of the day guarding against looters and thugs. Someone suggested she looks stalwart here and I must agree....thanks B., terrific word "stalwart."

It wasn't so bad during the daylight hours. Oh, it was dull...no distractions...just empty hours filled with useless thoughts. Well, that was me...I'm sure Sas was busily working out solutions to all kinds of pressing concerns. Then the sun went down...It was still pretty warm in the house and I had bought a fake log at the grocery so we had a small fire. But the light it made was insufficient for reading and of course, no DVDs, no Hipkens or even Cole Porter. So, I made up a bed on the couch to be closer to my loved ones and the fire, dim as it was, and settled in for the night. Well, I wasn't especially sleepy, but I sure was bored, so thought insomnia wouldn't be a problem. And it wasn't...for awhile. I had covered up Paul Varjak's (Paul is a parakeet. No, he's not really mine, but it's a long story.) cage with a blanket and set him as close to the fire as possible, but sometime in the night, I woke up and thought, "Wow, it sure is cold in here. I hope Pauly doesn't freeze." But I really didn't care that much (Which reminds me of that incomparable song, The Cat Got Dead by Heywood Banks, who's no H.H. but pretty good) and so went back to sleep...until 2:14 am, when I heard a beep. I thought (hoped) I might be imagining it, but no, there it went again...beep. Beep...beep...beep. But it wasn't very loud and I knew it was a smoke detector wanting me to get in the car and find an all-night grocery, buy a battery, and install it. Well, no, I had no intention of doing that. So, once again, I went back to sleep...until 4:30 am, when an unholy screeching commenced and I was knocked from the couch. The smoke detectors had gone into full-blown panic mode. When I determined that I had not actually suffered a heart attack, I made my way in the dark and the cold through the house, disabling smoke detectors all over. I knew there was no fire...it was too freakin' cold and dark in there for the house to be burning down. Besides, Sas hardly even stirred, so I knew all was well.

There was no going back to sleep...I was afraid if I did, I'd freeze to death and not be found until Spring. I discovered that, if you have had the foresight to purchase a gas stove, you can light the burners with a match, despite the electronic ignition device. So, that's what I did and boiled water to pour through the Mr Coffee. And voila! hot delicious coffee was mine! Of course, it didn't stay hot long and I was forced to reheat it on the stove so after that first cup, it wasn't very good, but it was warm, which is more than I can say for my environment. However, if you have had the foresight to purchase a gas water heater, a hot shower is possible. Thus fortified, I decided to go to the office, and while stuck in traffic took this photo...

--Ina