The Bag Lady had yesterday off from her paying job. The Rancher had to get up and go to work, though, so the alarm went off at 5 am. The Bag Lady got up and stumbled out to turn the coffee pot on, but it had only made about 3 cups of lukewarm coffee when the power went off!
She found some candles and a flashlight and phoned the power company. The recording on their emergency line said they were aware of the outage and hoped to have the power restored by 6 am. The Bag Lady went back to bed, hoping they would be right.
They weren't.
The Rancher had to go to work with a cup of lukewarm coffee and no thermos, and the Bag Lady fired up the wood stove for the first time this year. It really hasn't been cold enough to light the stove until now. Naturally, the coldest morning so far is also the morning the power went off!
The power did come back on around 8 am, and the Bag Lady sprang into action. She made a pot of coffee. She vacuumed and cleaned her kitchen. She baked shortbread cookies. The Rancher's cousin had to take a load of gravel out to the area where the Rancher was working, so he very kindly stopped by and picked up the Rancher's thermos to deliver it to him. The Bag Lady gave him a bag of cookies as a thank you!
The Bag Lady's cousin over at the Goat's Lunch Pail usually posts something she is grateful for on Mondays, and the Bag Lady is taking a page from her book today and expressing her gratitude for the wood stove that kept her warm during the power outage!
Sometimes the old-fashioned things are the best!
21 comments:
sometimes? the older I get I think its sometimes the NEWFANGLED STUFF is best :)
off to wrangle my Monday to its knees...
Thanks for the linkie, Cousin.
I'm grateful for your stove, too.
Glad your power got sorted out reasonably quickly and that you had good, proper back up heat.
Meanwhile it's -30C this a.m. Despite the heat and power I'd still love a wood stove to snuggle up to.
Those Mondays just keep coming around, faster every time it seems.
I would be grateful for firewood if I had any.
I am grateful that if we were going to get a snow storm, it happened on Saturday night because we didn't have to go anywhere yesterday.
Just when I think it's cold where I am... I guess today I'm grateful I don't live in Canada! Kidding - it would all be worth it if I could be your neighbor and snitch a shortbread cookie;)
MMm...nothing like a real fire. I like the holiday firelog channel, but nothing beats the real thing!
Poor Man in Black - working outside in this kind of cold. I bet he was really grateful for the thermos of warm coffee :)
Miz - hope you get your Monday tamed!
dfLeah - it's -30 here, too, and our water was frozen in the pumphouse. Had to go out with the heat gun and thaw it out. I am definitely grateful that it is now running! (Need to shower before work, really I do!)
JavaChick - you, too? We do have SOME firewood, but the Rancher hasn't been able to do what he usually can (pinched nerve and all), so there isn't much wood.
Charlotte - if you were my neighbour, you wouldn't have to snitch cookies - I'd be bringing you platefuls!! :)
Geo - he actually doesn't spend a lot of time outside - he's usually in a machine of one kind or another, but the coffee helps his mood! :)
I'm glad you have at least enough wood for emergencies. I'm going through mine a lot faster than I intended to, but it feels so good! I'm writing this with my feet right next to the stove and it's barely below freezing here.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
The Bag Lady is beyond nice. Kcinnova might have made sure a thermos of coffee followed him into work, but the cookies? That just proved how saintly you are! (I'm assuming the Rancher got a few, too)
PS: I'm grateful our heater is working, as it has been hovering nicely around -2C in the mornings.
YES. I LOVE woodstoves. We used to have one when we lived in a house. But that was years ago now. I really miss the woodstove, and chopping wood, and hauling it in from outside, and drinking hot chocolate beside it... sighs.
Thank goodness that your power came back on! Brrrr. I heart shortbread.
OMG, the temperatures you folks deal with--and what a time for the power to go out! I start whining when it gets below 50 degrees Farenheit.
Love the cheerful wood stove though!
I love the wood stove. Do most Canadians have a backup heat source? I know I'd want one!
The B&B Dan and I used to stay at in VT had a wood stove, but I could never be sure if it was a common thing to have above a certain latitude, or if it was just something to add to the B&B ambiance.
Geesh, Baggie. It must be winter or something. I'm glad your power didn't stay off for too long. How in the heck would you post to your blog if it did? ;)
I'm glad you have a wood stove Sis. I would hate to think of you freezing out there - mind you, the contents of your closet would keep you warm - if it didn't suffocate you ;)
Oh, wow. What a heck of a morning! Hope the power stays on! :)
We weren't able to get any firewood this year. Our usual source did not have any. Husband and his coworkers were searching around, but apparently there was none to be had. So we have the pitiful little amount that was left over from last year and we'll be saving that for when it gets really cold. I am definitely missing the heat from the wood stove. :(
Never mind the weekend, where did the year go?
A wood stove is a cheery thing, I'm glad you have one.
My wood stove is my primary heat source. My blankets are 2ndary.
Oh, and some shortbread would help.
Mary Anne in Kentucky - sounds like you are going to have to get those hunters to bring more wood! :)
kcinnova - yes, I sent cookies to the Rancher, too!
Sagan - I love the heat from the woodstove - there's nothing quite like it - warms you to the core.
Crabby - I was whining far more this morning when the water was frozen, and then my truck wouldn't start! Sigh.
BG - no, lots of people don't have a backup heat source, but I wouldn't be without one now!
Hilary - it sure feels like winter! Brrrr
Reb - yes, I suppose I could put all my clothes on, if I absolutely had to!
I'd rather use the wood stove, though!
Marste - what's that saying about cheering up, things could be worse? Well, they weren't great this morning, either!
Never did make it in to work.
JavaChick - you'll have to do some "midnight shopping" - someone in your neighbourhood must have a woodpile! :)
Messymimi - I know! This year absolutely FLEW by!
POD - you'll have to send me your address so I can send you some shortbread to help keep you warm! Is it still snowing there?
I'm glad they got it back on, and that you had the stove in the meantime!
Thanks, Gena! I was pretty glad to have the heat, too, and really glad when the power came back on!
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