We Got The Power!

Saturday, 41 degrees is what the thermostat in the kitchen read when I got up at 3 am.  I stayed in bed an extra half hour to keep warm. I knew it was going to be very cold when I got up.  I decided to start the Jeep and get it warm, and get on out there and get it over with.  I had to feed those cats.  I luckily remember that I had purchased these little lights at Home Depot for $10 last fall, three per pack.  You stick them under your kitchen cabinets for light, they each take a AAA battery.  Those were my saving grace.  Before I thought to use those, I was burning every candle in the house, which consisted of at least 10 different scents.  It was nearly nauseating.  :) 

I got back home from feeding the kitties thinking today had to be the day I would get my power back on, but it was not soon enough.  I was expecting a woman and her father to come over at 10 to meet Melody, the little calico that I picked up off the street in heat a few weeks back.  I knew it would not be pleasant for this woman, and her older dad (obviously).  :)   Until she got there, I layed with three blankets over me and the cats on top of me.  I could see my breath in the air.  The cats seem to have a sense that something is wrong.  And they were cold.  I told them how lucky they were, they could be out like the others, homeless. 

The woman arrived, braved the cold, fell in love with Melody, but had to pass it on to her dad first, who was in the hospital for a procedure today.  So Melody is still not adopted, but hopefully will be soon.

I ran around quite a bit on Saturday, just to keep warm in my car, and friend's houses.  I visited my mother who sat huddled with her boyfriend Bob (92) in front of the fire in Webster.  You could see your breath in their house also.  We had some laughs, and some wine, and after I left, she got her power back on.  As I approached my house at 6:30, after having dinner with my cousin, I saw the smoke coming out of my furnace chimney and I was never happier in my life.  I went into the house, shouted for the kitties, turned on every light, cranked the heat, and was just pure elated.

I'm Under There Somewhere...

Oh how we take electricity and heat for granted.   I sure did.  I have a new appreciation for it.  Back in 1991 during the ice storm, when I lost my power for nine days!  Thank God for my battery powered radio and WHAM.  They kept me sane with their banter.

I learned how many kind people there are throughout this ordeal.  When my cell phone was charged, there were a number of people on Facebook offering their home and food, and generators.  Thank you Paula dropping off the roasted chicken and salads on Thursday night.  Thank you Susan (foster mom for Peaches) for dropping off the homemade borscht on Friday.  Everything was delicious and welcome – it helped ease the shock of silence and cold.

This morning the forecast for the next three days is for a significant amount of snowfall to hit the east coast, and we are smack dab in the middle of it.  I went out at 3:45 am. and made sure all my shelters were tight and battened down.  I could have used more spikes for one of the shelters, but I made the best of what I had trying to protect the homeless cats that call them their home.  I had to create a new one this morning on Pennsylvania.  I found a pallet, had a tarp, some boards, some bricks, and three flimsy shelters, and tried to make a safe haven for the three cats that I’ve fed here for years.  They lost their home a few houses down when that creep threw away their shelters while fixing up his newly purchased house.  I know that tomorrow will be horrendous, as will the next three mornings after that for me with the shoveling.  I will break my back to clear out their shelters so that they can get out and move around.

So say a prayer that the weather never happens, and that all the kitties in the world are safe and warm this week.

Have a great day.