Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene blew through Massachusetts this weekend, and it was largely a non-event--except that we lost power.

We still have no power.

In a way, it's not a big deal. I've been through hurricanes/extended power outages before. I had all the necessary supplies--batteries, flashlights, lots of candles, a propane camping stove, lots of non-perishable food. I hauled out the coolers and filled them with ice. We're currently in the process of eating through what was in the refrigerator, so that we lose as little as possible if the power is out for an extended period of time.

And we still have water. Trust me, no power is a cakewalk compared to no power AND no water. We even have hot water, thanks to the gas-powered hot water heater.

We didn't have any damage to speak of--lots of fallen branches, a few tomatoes blown off.

However, my stepson has apparently never been exposed to a power outage of any kind, much less an extended one. The good news is that he's reading a lot more. The bad news is that he keeps complaining of being bored. (I finally got tired of it, and sent him into the backyard to pick up all the fallen branches. He was very helpful at that, if by "helpful" you mean "running around the backyard flapping your arms at all the fallen branches and yelling 'I'm a robot!'".) I promised him s'mores tonight, roasted by candlelight.

Also, I have a freezer full of meat that I'm worried about. Everything in there was frozen solid, so it all should be good for another day or two. But if the power still isn't on then, I'm not sure what to do about it all. It's too much to eat all at once. I can handle losing some of the eggs and the chicken broth that was in the fridge; I can't handle losing alligator sausage and crawfish.

The power company claims I will almost certainly have power by 10 PM on Saturday.

Which is supremely unhelpful.

But I saw a power company truck perusing the neighborhood today, and the guy told me this was the largest block without power in my town, so I'm hopeful we will actually get power back within the next day or two, and not have to wait til Saturday.

My BFF and her kids are visiting this weekend, and I'd really like to have power for them.