power out!

we had a huge power outage last night, go here to read the story. i was at work at the time, with someone actually having a scan. luckily they were out of the bore at the moment, and so we didn't have to crawl in there and retrieve them! it was really strange; you expect a power outage during bad weather, not during a nice, sunny early evening. there wasn't anything we could do at work but lock up and go home, so that's what we did.

once i got home, we realized there was no beer in the house and i really wanted a beer, so we went on a beerventure. found one grocery store with a generator and picked up some tasty beverages and then went back home to relax and wait for the power to come back. we played farkel, nibbled on chips and salsa, and at about 8 we were sick of being inside so we headed for the part of town that did have power to eat a late supper. overall, it was a super fun night. however, in the future i think we need these things on hand just in case the power goes out again or, you know, we go camping. they'd be good for both!

• some sort of battery-free radio. my pop had a wind up radio he used in the bathroom (because you know in my family you can't be more than three feet away from a radio), and i really wished we had one last night so we could listen to the news and see what was going on.
• bigger, fatter candles. we only had some wimpy ones, and we definately needed something to cast some more light. oil lamps would also be good.
• smoked oysters and crackers. you are going to need a snack, and nothing satisfies more than smokey bivalves on saltines. chips and hot sauce were good, but we all agreed we wished we had some fishy treats as well.
• emergency beer rations. what if the store hadn't been open? what then?! i shudder to think.

i'm glad we did have games, and plenty of light to play by in the kitchen. it was fun to be sort of pioneer-esque. i remember being a kid and loving power out nights. mom and pop would light the oil lamps, we'd all hang out in the living room reading and playing games and goofing off. if it stayed off for a while, we'd build a fire in the woodstove and sleep out in the living room in sleeping bags to stay warm. it always felt neat to pretend we were camping, or were characters in a laura ingles wilder book. those are still some of my favorite childhood memories. of course, being a grown-up means now i get to drink beer during power outs, which is also nice.