End of the Dark Ages

[walbourn]

After about 36+ hours without power or heat, it's back on. During this experience, I found out a few things:

• My alarm's battery lasts about 30 hours. When it gets low, it starts beeping and eventually will set off the alarm until it runs out. Disconnecting the battery is the only remedy before that happens.
• The first thing to melt in my freezer is my mochi and popsicles. The plastic containing these deserts are not sufficient to keep melted goo from pouring out of the package.
• My hot-water heater keeps enough water for at least two days of personal grooming.
• While I have the equipment for cold-weather camping, I don't particularly enjoy getting out of a warm bed into a cold room in my own house.
• My furnace won't work without electricity, but my thermostat runs on batteries. It keep saying "By the way, it's 49 degrees in here. I've told the furnace, so what's the problem?".
• Taking a hot shower in a 49 degree bathroom creates a lot of fog.
• Not having a fireplace is a bit of a vulnerability in my house. Having a wood-burning stove in the middle of the yard is fun and quirky, but not helpful for heating the house.

Alas I still have to deal with getting an insurance estimate on my roof damage, getting it fixed, etc. Hopefully the tarps I put up there will be sufficient to prevent further damage for the next month or two while I work all that out.