Hey, Friends.
It's the end of the year, and everyone is doing their reflections back on the last twelve months. Maybe it's already 2016 where you live. How's the year look so far? Good, good.
I just wanted to say a quick thank to all of you, Friends, for sticking with me and actually reading my ramblings here. It is very appreciated. It also means I'm not just talking to myself, which is awesome.
I don't look at the stats that Blogger provides very often because they can be very surprising, and basically lead to more questions. I do like to look at the "audience" stats though, just to see who is reading. (They are also far less strange and confusing than trying to figure out how a particular search term brought people here.)
Friends, we have a become a little family with readers worldwide! Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart? This little thing, which started out as basically only being read by a few close friends and family, is now being read all over the place! We aren't huge and about to take over the internet by storm -- that's crazy talk -- but we are growing, and I owe it all to you.
So I just want to take a minute and say thank you and I love to you to my Friends in:
The United States
Brunei
Russia
France
Germany
Latvia
Portugal
The United Kingdom
Poland
Romania
If you aren't listed, I'm sorry and I love you too. Blogger only gives me so much data. Or maybe you are just a ninja at flying under the radar, so stealthy that your tracks to my blog are undetectable.
And for those of you dying of curiosity....the post that got read the most this year? Thug Squirrels.
Yeah.
I don't know what that says about us, Friends.
The second most popular post was about my epic battle with a spider in my shower.
Kind of makes my year seem like it was filled with weird wildlife issues....which I guess is kind of true. At least my issues with Mother Nature and her creatures provided some amusement.
Thanks for reading, Friends. I hope you all have a 2016 full of love, happiness, and good health!
I'll catch you on the flip side.
Showing posts with label thankful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thankful. Show all posts
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Friday, November 28, 2014
And Now The Exciting Conclusion (Hopefully) of Our Drama
This is, I hope, the last installment of the Parental Power Outage Saga. If you need the background details, scroll back a few posts. Start here.
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*I'd like to think this is because you realized there was an error in your system somewhere and made haste to correct it. However, it is possible that it is because I wasa bit pushy a giant bitch. I'd apologize, but I'm really not sorry. Nobody screws with my parents.*
So around 6pm I checked the status report again, hoping to at least see an estimated time of restoration. No such luck.
A few minutes later my mother calls. She had tried calling the house, and she got the answering machine! The power must be back on! She was pretty stoked, no lie.
I volunteered to go over and see if the power was really back. They had already gotten the house as warm as they could, then headed out for the evening. I was also kind of hoping to see if the crew was still there, to thank them for the hard work, and to see if they were local or had traveled from afar to help.
No sign of the crew when I arrived. Who knows how long the power might have been back before my mother tried calling the house. There was definitely light, however.
The outside light is on!
OMG the power is really back on! I went in to turn up their heat a bit so it would be warm when they returned later, but also to make sure the furnace would start. I also had to check and make sure the oven was off. You see, my mother has been worried this entire time that because she had the oven on when the power went out (trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner), that it was going to come roaring back to life when the power was restored. It did not, but I did call her to tell her that.
I'm not sure what exactly the problem was, but they had obviously done some work at the pole at some point. All of the snow was neatly cleaned off.
Pretty clear pole, and the trees look sparkly with ice
I am so thankful that they got their power -- and more specifically their heat -- back and functioning! It is getting freaking cold out.
Feel like 16! And it is only going to get colder!
A great big, enormous thank you to whichever crew got the power back on! I would buy you all coffee and hand warmers if I knew who you were! I am so relieved that their power is back on before this super cold night.
And just for the record...
We are finally in agreement, Central Hudson.
*I'd like to think this is because you realized there was an error in your system somewhere and made haste to correct it. However, it is possible that it is because I was
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Because -- Turkey!
I have many things to be thankful for: my family, friends, and good health being the most important. Today I am also thankful for random acts of kindness and electricity. That may seem a bit odd, but let me explain.
I woke up this morning fully prepared to have to do battle with the heavy,wet snow we got yesterday. I hate shoveling, so I had parked my car at the bottom of my driveway with every intention of doing the bare minimum to shovel out around it and clear the front steps and sidewalk. I got bundled up and went outside and discovered that some kind soul had already done my entire driveway and the front walk! It's a Thanksgiving miracle! I know it wasn't the neighbor who shares my driveway, as her half had been left untouched. I think it was my other neighbor, and he is awesome. I will have to buy him some Heineken as a gift (that's his beverage of choice),
Feeling pretty good about the day, I went back inside to call my parents and tell them of my good luck, and to see what time I should venture on over. My mother was cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and in return I was going to play tech support for all things computer related. It was at this same time that I noticed a lot of people on Facebook were mentioning they did not have power. I was very grateful that I still had mine, as did my parents.
About half an hour later my phone rang. It was my mother, and they had just lost power. Not the whole street, just them and their next-door neighbors. Apparently the neighbor had come over to tell them he had seen what happened, and had already called Central Hudson. No estimate given for restoration, and they suggested he make alternate plans for Thanksgiving, and it might be the entire weekend before the power was back. My mother was calling to tell me that she was giving it half an hour, and then she would let me know if the power was back on or whether Thanksgiving was now going to be at my house. Thank goodness someone had cleared my entire driveway for me!
As I ran around like crazy, trying to clean and straighten as much as possible for the unexpected company, it struck me that this really shouldn't be a surprise. Every time my mother cooks a turkey there is a pretty good chance that the power will go out.
Yeah. You read that correctly. Mom cooking turkey = high chance of a power outage.
This is definitely not the first time the power has gone out when she was trying to cook a turkey. It happens with unusual regularity. I distinctly remember one time -- it wasn't even a holiday -- when she had to finish cooking a turkey on the wood stove in the living room. My grandparents even showed up, as they had been driving home from a deep-sea fishing trip and decided the weather was too bad to drive all the way home. They mistakenly thought we would have power. I remember we did eventually have the turkey, but we also got to drink the liquefied ice cream that my grandparents had thought they were going to put in our freezer. That part was pretty cool when you're a kid -- it was like getting milkshakes!
For today's mobile cooking extravaganza, my mother brought basically everything in the universe that she might need for Thanksgiving, because apparently she thinks I own nothing related to the culinary arts. Most of it was pans and dishes she had already prepped things in that just needed to go in a functional oven. There were a few odd things though:
--flour
--poultry seasoning
--potato masher
--a corkscrew
Seriously, Mom? You honestly thought I would not have a corkscrew? Do you think I just break the neck off my wine bottles? I have all my bases covered for alcohol consumption, thanks. The only thing on that list I did not have was the poultry seasoning. I have spices, we could have created something. Also, who had the turkey baster? Yeah, that was me. She did not remember to bring one.
The one thing I was sadly lacking was a meat thermometer. I have never had the need to use one, and she did not bring hers. It would have been helpful, as our turkey had a pop-up button thingy on it that never popped. I'm sure it was done though. No one has gotten sick so far.
The biggest problem is going to be the fact that my parents still don't have power, and as of now Central Hudson still has no restoration estimate for them. They have ventured back home, although I told them they should stay here. They have the fireplace, and little heaters, and swear they will be fine. Plus, the cats need them to be home to run those heat sources. Central Hudson has warming centers open, and crews coming from as far away as Canada to help. Also, we apparently sent several crews to help in Buffalo last week, and they are on the way back now.
I'd like to thank the Canadians for always being there to help. Why the Canadians, specifically, you might be wondering? A few years ago this same situation played out during a big storm, when only my parents and their immediate neighbors lost power. It took 4 days, in freezing weather, before they could get their power restored. The crew that eventually showed up was Canadian -- I know because I spoke to them. It literally took them about half an hour to fix the problem. The guy in charge said they pretty much just had to flip a switch on the pole, and apologized for the delay.
I really hope my parents get their power back soon, although that is not looking likely. At least I still have power, and they know that they are always welcome. Hopefully the Canadians get here quickly, as it might be up to them to bring back the power once again!
I wonder if it would it help if my mother swears she will never cook a turkey ever again? This is like the fourth or fifth time (that I can remember) when the power has gone out while she was trying to cook one. She might be jinxed.
I woke up this morning fully prepared to have to do battle with the heavy,wet snow we got yesterday. I hate shoveling, so I had parked my car at the bottom of my driveway with every intention of doing the bare minimum to shovel out around it and clear the front steps and sidewalk. I got bundled up and went outside and discovered that some kind soul had already done my entire driveway and the front walk! It's a Thanksgiving miracle! I know it wasn't the neighbor who shares my driveway, as her half had been left untouched. I think it was my other neighbor, and he is awesome. I will have to buy him some Heineken as a gift (that's his beverage of choice),
Feeling pretty good about the day, I went back inside to call my parents and tell them of my good luck, and to see what time I should venture on over. My mother was cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and in return I was going to play tech support for all things computer related. It was at this same time that I noticed a lot of people on Facebook were mentioning they did not have power. I was very grateful that I still had mine, as did my parents.
About half an hour later my phone rang. It was my mother, and they had just lost power. Not the whole street, just them and their next-door neighbors. Apparently the neighbor had come over to tell them he had seen what happened, and had already called Central Hudson. No estimate given for restoration, and they suggested he make alternate plans for Thanksgiving, and it might be the entire weekend before the power was back. My mother was calling to tell me that she was giving it half an hour, and then she would let me know if the power was back on or whether Thanksgiving was now going to be at my house. Thank goodness someone had cleared my entire driveway for me!
As I ran around like crazy, trying to clean and straighten as much as possible for the unexpected company, it struck me that this really shouldn't be a surprise. Every time my mother cooks a turkey there is a pretty good chance that the power will go out.
Yeah. You read that correctly. Mom cooking turkey = high chance of a power outage.
This is definitely not the first time the power has gone out when she was trying to cook a turkey. It happens with unusual regularity. I distinctly remember one time -- it wasn't even a holiday -- when she had to finish cooking a turkey on the wood stove in the living room. My grandparents even showed up, as they had been driving home from a deep-sea fishing trip and decided the weather was too bad to drive all the way home. They mistakenly thought we would have power. I remember we did eventually have the turkey, but we also got to drink the liquefied ice cream that my grandparents had thought they were going to put in our freezer. That part was pretty cool when you're a kid -- it was like getting milkshakes!
For today's mobile cooking extravaganza, my mother brought basically everything in the universe that she might need for Thanksgiving, because apparently she thinks I own nothing related to the culinary arts. Most of it was pans and dishes she had already prepped things in that just needed to go in a functional oven. There were a few odd things though:
--flour
--poultry seasoning
--potato masher
--a corkscrew
Seriously, Mom? You honestly thought I would not have a corkscrew? Do you think I just break the neck off my wine bottles? I have all my bases covered for alcohol consumption, thanks. The only thing on that list I did not have was the poultry seasoning. I have spices, we could have created something. Also, who had the turkey baster? Yeah, that was me. She did not remember to bring one.
The one thing I was sadly lacking was a meat thermometer. I have never had the need to use one, and she did not bring hers. It would have been helpful, as our turkey had a pop-up button thingy on it that never popped. I'm sure it was done though. No one has gotten sick so far.
The biggest problem is going to be the fact that my parents still don't have power, and as of now Central Hudson still has no restoration estimate for them. They have ventured back home, although I told them they should stay here. They have the fireplace, and little heaters, and swear they will be fine. Plus, the cats need them to be home to run those heat sources. Central Hudson has warming centers open, and crews coming from as far away as Canada to help. Also, we apparently sent several crews to help in Buffalo last week, and they are on the way back now.
I'd like to thank the Canadians for always being there to help. Why the Canadians, specifically, you might be wondering? A few years ago this same situation played out during a big storm, when only my parents and their immediate neighbors lost power. It took 4 days, in freezing weather, before they could get their power restored. The crew that eventually showed up was Canadian -- I know because I spoke to them. It literally took them about half an hour to fix the problem. The guy in charge said they pretty much just had to flip a switch on the pole, and apologized for the delay.
I really hope my parents get their power back soon, although that is not looking likely. At least I still have power, and they know that they are always welcome. Hopefully the Canadians get here quickly, as it might be up to them to bring back the power once again!
I wonder if it would it help if my mother swears she will never cook a turkey ever again? This is like the fourth or fifth time (that I can remember) when the power has gone out while she was trying to cook one. She might be jinxed.
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