DAY 5

I've come to appreciate knowing when the sun rises and when it sets; and which windows it shines into at what particular times; and the difference a full moon makes in the night.

We're leaning into the basics now, and while the day doesn't have a complete rhythm, small aspects of daily living are becoming more natural, such as how to wash your face with a jug of water in one hand, and what routines need to be done when the generator runs.  Carrying a flashlight in my pocket is second nature now.I watch someone in town spraying water simply to wash their driveway, and it comes home to me once again how valuable water is to our lives and how blessed we are in this part of the country to have so much of it (even if I myself have difficulty in getting it out of the ground at this point in time!).

The air was delicious with the smell of fresh-cut wood that night.

While the trees have been cut off the line, we're still waiting for the electric company.




Using a tree for a backdrop, the spider creates his everyday art.

Some things that have happened to me lately:

Yesterday we had 15 turkey hens and young ones browsing in our yard.

The generator stopped working yesterday afternoon.  But our friend came and fixed it.

My husband and I didn't get supper last night.  I didn't get much lunch, either, but we have plenty of fruit and some gluten-free zucchini bread.

The geese are getting ready to fly south, and they brightened the evening with their golden wings and eager cries.

Thirty minutes after our friend left, the carbon monoxide alarm went off in in our bedroom.  Today we have put a fan outside, to blow on the generator when it runs.

This morning I was awakened by a turkey gobbler.  And saw two red-shouldered hawks when I went to town.

I spent the morning at the laundry.  For the first time, I felt alone.  Always before, at the stores you can see other people who must be without electricity too--they buy cans of soup and water and batteries...but today I washed a whole lot of clothing with a bunch of single folks doing their little batches.  How blessed I am to have people living with me instead of being by myself in an apartment somewhere!

When I went to use SHOUT on the clothing stains, I saw to my dismay that last night in the dark I had grabbed the Nature's Miracle pet odor remover instead.

I forgot to take hangers.

And last, but not least:  I bought a humongous cat litter box for our new little guy and filled it.  It was like watching children playing and splashing in the surf:  what joy, what feline abandon, what racing and flopping down and scratching and happiness!  AWESOME--MOM'S GOT ME A NEW SANDBOX!