Off the grid

Well, off the grid and almost off the map as we had one wild winter storm here on December 21st, which caused all kinds of damage due to over 100 mph winds. Power and phone were out for over three days, just managed to get the turkey roasted by 7:30 p.m. on Christmas day. So much for life in the slow lane as we spent most of our day either meeting our daily needs for food, water and warmth or snoozing, as there was nothing else going on. Daughter # 2 and I resorted to braving the crowds on Dec 23rd at Superstore just to get somewhere with lights and heat for a while, the groceries were a bonus.

One of the highlights of this little break from work has been the food and this morning daughter # 2 treated the two of us to chocolate waffles for breakfast. Yum. We’ve eaten so many lobsters as the kids have been requesting them in different forms that mister offered to eat leftovers for supper and bring them crustaceans as we’re getting a bit weary of them. Sorry - I can hear the groans of lobster-deprived folks everywhere as I type. And of course all that eating has been happening on my Christmas dishes, which have gotten a real workout – what a great idea they were.

We have (despite the whining of above) had a wonderful holiday as we all consciously made an effort to scale back this year. This resulted in very thoughtful, useful gifts on a smaller scale something that I’ve been wishing for. Received some lovely handmade articles, a hilarious page a day calendar for nurses, scrapbooking supplies and a date in a box – no, no not what you’re thinking but a coupon for two admissions to Empire theatres, two soft drinks and a large popcorn – woohoo, might even get the shore captain out with that one. Missing the western girl but as her Dad says “hard to feel sorry for her when she’s leaving for Cuba in three more days though” so that is a nice diversion from those frigid western temperatures.

The animals and I had a nice peaceful afternoon while the kids were respectively visiting and working and the man of the house was looking for his lobster traps, which had been thrown about with the rough weather. After a sunny but chilly dog walk and a calm session of sending Boxing Day (versus Christmas cards) online, I was right with the world. That and just heading into a weekend before heading back to work is even more reason to be grateful.