On time, and if they only would sell yarn...

I when I worked, I had a boss who would send messages to all the staff on the day before a holiday around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.  These messages would be about spending TIME  with loved ones, or honoring vets, or whatever was appropriate for the season.  The messages were code for "you can leave now"!

He used to just announce that, but that got him into a lot of trouble, thus the secret code!  Everyone would await the message with great anticipation.  It was a small gift.

The greatest thing so far about being retired is the time---to sleep late, to vacuum for an hour if you want to, to knit, to spin, to bake cookies, to clean something, to read or watch a movie!  To seek out new groups to be apart of, who share your interests.  Time to research stuff on the internet.  Time to do something, or do nothing.   Time to do anything that strikes your fancy--lots of unstructured time to do with as you please.  Work, or projects, can expand infinately into this new found time!  It is such a novelty!

I love getting up when it is "time", and deciding what to do that day.  Somedays, I tackle a lot, some days, not so much, as there is always tomorrow.  After all the years of structure, deadlines, planning, appointments, etc.,  I am loving the new pace of "what do I feel like doing today."  I am finding that one event or committment a week is a good pace---just enough.  I am being selfish with my new-found time!

Of course, it helps that Mr. CP still goes to work everyday---but I think it will be easy to train him in my new time management method once he retires.  I will just have to go to Costco more often than I might go on my own, as it is his favorite hobby...

if they only sold yarn, we would be all set!

Now that i have the time...

Today I chose the barware as the target of my daily clean/organize/redistribute task.  Now everything that belongs upstairs is there, and all of the wine and beer glasses that had migrated upstairs are back in the bar.  It took much longer than anticipated to sort, match, and locate the appropriate shelf for everything.  

We do NOT, I repeat , DO NOT need any more stemwear.  I have no idea how we have acquired so many different sizes and shapes of wine glasses.  And I don't even drink wine!  

I managed to put everything away, except for 6 half pint glasses, and 6 or so wine tumblers.  And there is a new case of wine glasses... And there is the hanging rack waiting to be installed.....

Note to self and children---wine glasses are off the list---at least until a few dozen of these get broken! 

Oh, and I organized the toy cupboards, and put the toys away!  Making some progress!😊

Now that I have the time...

Maybe I could write a book.  It could be a children's book about a grandma who knits.

  There are "Phoebe's Sweater" and "Freddies Blanket" and "Shall I Knit You a Hat?"-- all whimsical stories about child-like animals who recieve knitted things--with knitting patterns at the end of the book.  I would have to find a great illustrator, as the illustrations are very important in a childs book.  And there would have to be a moral to the story, as there always is one.

I would also have to come up with a simple knitting pattern for the end of the book.  And a story line related to the knitted item... And make the whimsical child-like animals adorable squirrels....with interesting names.

And all this sounds like work....which means that I should probably think about that......

Now that I have the time...

I should resurrect my blogging---not that I really have anything amazing or profound to convey.  As the title suggests, random musings...

So, retirement is awesome!  Love not setting an alarm.  Love starting each day with what will I do today?  Love living in yoga pants not business casual.

Today, I cleaned the dryer vent, the laundry room drain(lint), did a bunch of laundry, vacuumed the stairs, and vacuumed and steam mopped the foyer and 1/2 bath floors.  I promised myself  that I would clean or organize at least one thing a day.  Think I am a few days ahead!

Also am working on the third snowstorm jig-saw of the winter...this one more challenging that the description or picture would lead one to believe.  Love some time in my sunny room each afternoon with the challenge.

And of course, I knit...then knit some more!

Awesome!

Snow!-- on May 12, 2013

Unexpected, but I suppose not without precedent.  We traveled through white-out conditions near Gaylord, MI today.   Not unusual for Gaylord, but unusual for May!  I had packed "warm" clothing, and things that I could layer---and ended up with ALL of them on, for it was freezing--literally!!

So, a jaunt to northern MI, a visit with long-time friends, where we all commiserated about getting older, and drank a little more wine with our whine......we should connect more often.  Back home safely, if a bit chilled.  Little flakes floating down as I unloaded the luggage....

And 3 continues to point out that we need not live here, and that there are places where it never snows---and where is the adventure in that??

Enabling

One of the joys of being a grandparent is that you do not live with the consequences of your gift selections! I purchased a puzzle for GS 2 that I would have loved as a child. Rows of little doors secured with real fasteners from the hardware store. From an educator perspective, it teaches manipulative skills , problem solving, patience, and handling frustration. This is not easy , as I have experienced it.

Where I saw play power, son, Daddy to GS 2 saw Houdini boot camp. He wanted to know why I would encourage developing the skills needed to operate the deterrents to escape--parental controls.

Because I do not have to live with the consequences ---but mostly because I thought it was pretty cool to have real hardware to play with!

Opportunity cost

Opportunity cost is what is given up or "lost" in order to get something else. Life if full of decisions, big and small, all of which have opportunity costs.

I learned the other day of M.'s death. We met when she joined my van pool, and because we lived along the same road, we car pooled to the van pool.

She was a vegetarian. She grew organic vegetables, practiced yoga, and swam laps several times a week. She was very health and diet conscious.

She was also a saver, using the belt and suspenders approach to retirement planning.

She sought stress relief in massage and walks in the woods. She loved garden walks and finding farms to buy produce directly from.  She grew heirloom tomatoes without pesticides, and carefully searched for the "right" variety of plant. 

She disliked her job at the end. There were a variety of reasons, all valid, and none due to her choices.

She died a year and 3 months after she retired. She had planned for the maximum pay out, passed up at least two opportunities for an early buy out, reluctantly left on an increased multiplier, and kept her sick and annual leave time at the maximum pay out amounts--and worked until the last possible day allowable under the agreement.

Sadly she did not live long enough to even see all of the pay out of the time she hoarded. Taken too soon by a rare cancer that was diagnosed shortly after her last day at work.

So in everything there is opportunity cost.

Would it have made a difference? We will never know if a different choice may have had different results. She seemed to be doing everything right, but death does not respect ones plans.

I have thought of her often. She was a good person. The world was a better place because she was here. It is sad that she did not get to enjoy the retirement she had so carefully planned for.

But maybe it was her planning that brought her joy. We can never know if the opportunity cost was worth it for someone else.

The Joys of Grandmothering

It is not often that you can manage to be on everyone's most special person list at the same time.  This week, a little child development expertise, amazon.com, and the desire to be an enabler aligned into the perfect opportunity to make two little boys happy.

GS 1 had just "graduated" from pre-preschool--A play experience for two year olds.  And although he found many things to be not of particular personal interest at "school", he did love the car/train table and the basketball hoop.  In celebration of the event, and to make the summer more fun, Amazon and I sent off a Little tykes basketball hoop.  It not only made his day, it make his week, and likely his summer!  I have an adorable picture of him, a couple of days into hoop ownership, in his pajama bottoms, rain boots, and a t- shirt, shooting hoops in the  backyard early in the morning---without adult interference in either  his outfit or the game.

GS2 was coming off an illness, and I turned to Amazon to help me find a "quite time" recuperation toy.  After reading the reviews, I selected Melissa and Doug magnetic fishing puzzle, and based on GS2's love of "helping", a wooden tools puzzle and book about a tool box.  2 puzzles and a book arrived just in time for his return from the hospital, and I thought it would be a nice relaxing activity.

Upon opening the box, according to mom, the book was tossed aside, and the puzzle got an approving "Ohhhh".  Once the over wrap was removed, and the pieces dumped out, GS2, grabbed the screwdriver (his favorite tool) and instead of looking for the right space on the puzzle, got up and ran outside, to use the "new" screwdriver to tighten some screws on the deck!!  Although I am unsure of the affection for the book, the fishing puzzle has been fun for parents and child alike, and of course the tool puzzle as multiple uses.  Thanks again to Amazon and their parent reviews for making me a better enabler!!

Two orders, two happy boys!!  100% satisfaction. 

It has been awhile...

Since a visit with GS 2.  He lives far away, and the Internet is cheaper than an airline ticket...face time causes procrastination in travel arrangements. 

So last week we experienced the adorableness.  The favorite word is "no" , used frequently, and with many shades of emphasis.  The physical ability exceeds the mental awareness of danger.  The mental processing makes connections at light speed to things you did not know he was paying attention to.  Although it seems to rarely happen, his parents got one "just like them". 

He is on warp speed, full steam ahead until he drops.  He attacks each new (and old) adventure with an enthusiasm and gusto that is both endearing and exhausting.  His baby blue eyes have a million expressions, most cleverly designed to manipulate others into doing his bidding.  He knows what he wants--and he literally runs after it.

He is beginning to command language--beyond the "no".  Cake is "happy", because at his mothers recent birthday (featuring cake, of which he discovered he is fond of) included singing of "happy birthday".  So "happy" became his current nomenclature for cake and cake-like items--which was explained the night before when a complimentary cake arrived at our table following dinner, and captures his until then restless tolerance of adult dining.   

And as Grandmother, what do you get the child who has it all?  The answer came to me in the aisle of Target---sprinkles for his nightly treat--ice cream.  What kid doesn't like sprinkles?  It is small, inexpensive, disposable, and "fun"--a gift to please parent and child alike (and probably some dentist in the future).   So as I present this to him that evening, adding it to his mini-cone, he exclaims "Happy!!!"  and with some translation help from mom, we decode the association with the sprinkles on the birthday cake---So, we now have "Happy!" on our ice cream.....and to make your heart melt, he holds up the licked Ice Cream---and says---Dad-dy, more Happy!!!! and bats the blue eyes pleadingly.

Who could not give the kid more sprinkles????  

The Unexpected

It was the disorienting situation of seeing the familiar in the "wrong" place. As I was leaving my building, there she was on the sidewalk, slightly bent forward, clutching the grips of the walker that was so familiar-- four wheels, basket, broad seat and hand brakes. In the transition to bright sun, my eyes could not register the color of the tubular supports before she had passed in front of me.

Her head was encircled in a puff of white hair, strangely topped by a baseball cap. (My brain does not compute!) The shoes were the familiar beige oxfords common to the elderly trying their best to stay upright on feet that have logged a million miles or more.

As she moves ahead on the sidewalk, I study the familiar Aqua polyester pull-on pants -- I know the creases are stitched down the front, and would bet that the pockets hold little balls of tissues, waiting to sneak out in the laundry and redistribute their linty fibers on the entire load. The hems show signs of being shortened, stitched with little cooperation from old eyes.

I reorient myself, the combination of surprise, (shock), disorientation, and disbelief giving way to clarity as my eyes adjust to the bright daylight. Yet, there is a fascination I cannot shake. I move toward my destination, following a short distance behind her, and study the jacket that had first created my... Confusion.

It was shiny synthetic material in the favored shade of aqua/green that almost exactly matched the pants. The large scarf-like design that draped the shoulders and cascaded down the back picked up the beige of the shoes, but also featured gold and multiple other colors in its intricate design. I know it has a zipper up the front, and suspect that the side seam pockets are also harboring tissues in little balls. It would not surprise me if there were faint indications of remnants of food stubbornly clinging deep in the fibers in the front, difficult to wash out and impossible for her eyes to see. I cannot see the front of the jacket, but I know what it looks like.

But the baseball cap-- that is all wrong! And the gait is different. She is shorter too, and a little wider. She crosses the street, and I am stopped by the light. As she bumps the walker up the curb, something bounces out with a loud thump and rolls toward the street.  Her hearing lacking acuity, or perhaps focused on the task at hand, she does not immediately realize it.  From somewhere deep inside myself I hear myself yelling--you dropped something!

She stops, turns around, looks down, and while grasping the walker with one hand, turns back to retrieve the item--tentative, and slow.  As she rises up, she turns slightly, and I can see the face--reflecting the passage of time and a slightly Asian heritage.  She smiles briefly, nods a thanks, and turns, stashing the item, and begins again along her way.

She was probably in her early 80's.  She may be someones mother-in-law...but not mine.  My aqua outfit owner died in 2004 or 2005--sad now that I can not remember exactly which year.  That I would see the outfit that was one of her favorites (but obviously not hers, although I have no idea what happened to it) on someone so close to her last situations of diminishing independence cross my path (literally) was disconcerting and weird.  I hadn't thought of her in awhile, and there were the memories, confronting me on the sidewalk, far from anyplace she had ever lived or been...a invasion of my space that she did not share.

It was just after Mothers Day, so I probably should have thought of her....and 4 days late probably does not matter to the deceased.    It was a bitter sweet moment in time, almost seeing what used to be, and remembering that I had almost forgotten what was.

Mothers Day, 2012

So first, happy mother's day to all who are, were, or are going to be someones mother.  It is quite a unique experience, as those of us who are one will tell you. 

The "children" , organized by 4, are cooking dinner---and actually asked what I wanted!!!  So I had the day free to do laundry, open the rest of the screen porch (requiring finding the shop vac bags, unclogging the hose, etc.), and dragging the stored cement lawn ornaments out into the flower beds.  It is a partly sunny, cool spring day, where you aren't sure if the sweater should be on , or off, and just as you take it off, you need it on again.

So, we are having olive burgers, with sweet potato fries, fruit and green salad, and chocolate ice cream for dessert.  GS 1 will be here, and we face timed with GS 2 yesterday---which is the reward for all the hassle your kids were.   A grandmother is the best kind of mothering---spoiling, loving, playing, indulging, and sending them back home!!   It is also awesome to watch what good parents your children have become, and you like to think it had something to do with your efforts years ago.

Only the white iris are blooming, the rhododendrons are in bloom, and everything is nicely green.  Spring is finally here, and I hope it stays awhile at a high of 72.  With a little sun.  I really don't need the 80's and 90's yet. 

I am looking forward to someone else doing the dishes today!!! 

The twelve days of Christmas tree: day three

Three more trips up from the basement with branches, trunk and top. Found timer, the mechanical kind, as did not want to figure out how to program the electronic kind. Had to find more of the little on and off things . Note to self: you need to get rid of some of the
junk in the junk drawer!

Top in place , wires connected, branches fluffed . Straightened the top spire. Looking good. Added rows 2,3,4. All connected, but last 1/2 of row not lighting. Chase down short ( or is it long?). Located and fixed. Step back and admire!!

Now for 5 and will be half done. It gets harder as the tree gets bigger. Have built both ways , top down and bottom up. Neither easy the end!!

Must add more branches yet tonight. Looks odd with nothing below 4 feet!

To be continued.....

The twelve days of Christmas tree:Day two

Moving toward the goal,today I move the chair, ottoman, table, and rocker. Vacuum the space. Rearrange chair, ottoman, table in corner. Remove rocker and put in dining room, requiring rearrangement of extra dining room chairs and grandma's stash of "upstairs toys".

Back to living room, vacuum space again, this time using the appropriate setting to encourage all the fibers to stand at attention (although an alarming number seem to be sucked into the vacuum). Pause to marvel at the wonder of cyclone technology, and the swirling stuff ( mostly fibers) inside!

Go to basement. Unload the storage closet-- and mutter to self that I must remember to repackage this first out,last in this year--a vow I make every year, but never seem to remember in January! Once everything is stacked outside the closet, I wrestle the 7 foot fresh cut Appalachian pine out of the closet and through the maze of furniture and other boxes to a place where it can be opened. ( and will obstruct any further access to this side of the basement until I finish the assembly phase.)

I slide the ties off without breaking a nail! Of course, the first pieces needed are in the bottom under all the other pieces. Another note to self about packing to store.

Two or three groups of branches at a time, I begin the transfer from box to living room. These are numbered, and I sort of sort them as I lay out the clumps in the living room. More branches tomorrow--I can only take so many trips up and down the stairs at a time. 4 Santa's that are in the way are distributed to their holiday home. One requires that I set up a timer and get an extension cord. I have maxed out day two!!

The 12 days of Christmas Tree: day one

On the first day of tree set up, Nov 27, I had to hem the curtains that I bought months ago, and hadn't gotten around to doing. Because the curtains are behind the tree-- and once it is up, the curtains cannot be accessed to hem. And they will be in all the pictures-- admittedly in the background. But I do not need more photographic evidence of my procrastination. Investment: take down curtains , measure, cut, measure hems, press, sew. Rehang curtains. Longer than you think or it seems it might take!

Who knew?

Thanks to Mr. Pants unprecedented streak of generosity, I am now state of the art connected to cyber- space.

Browsing "free apps", I have discovered several knitting related cool tools. One of the neatest lets you follow charts with an on-screen highlighter and row counter! No more click-a-clickas!! Or dropping that highlighter behind the chair!

The rest of I-pad land is pretty cool too!! But knitting with it takes it from toy to tool--- now if I could just move through the angry birds levels faster, I would have more time for knitting!

Amoritiztion

To  continue the spinning saga, I have produced another skein of yarn, considerably reducing the "cost per skein".  This skein is from a kit that I received with a spindle...a wool in pink, and shade of green.   It may have also included a white fleece, but I liked the pink/green combo.  It was exciting to see this one finished, as I spun the pink on a drop spindle, and the green on my wheel.  Think it will become a cowl or scarf. 

Priceless Yarn!

As if being obsessed with knitting socks wasn't strange enough, I have wandered farther afield into the wonderful world of spinning fiber---into yarn.  Eventually I may even get good enough to make yarn for socks!--someday.

So, I have the spinning wheel, and all of the "stuff"--whorls, bobbins, knitty-notty, flyers, a mother of all, and other parts and pieces, all marvelously coordinated and selected for their "old world" beauty.  This is part of my multi-year,  pre-retirement acquisition program of "toys" I want to spend time with when I have the time!   I intentionally selected this wheel (Kromski Ministrel) for its "old world" look.  And have color coordinated baskets to keep all these oddments organized and handy.  Although not its permanent home, the wheel is temporarily set up in the living room next to the fireplace....which seems appropriate for now. (Not permanent, as I am finding that spinning is a little messy, and I will probably prefer that the lint not be everywhere in the living room all the time!)

Of course, in addition to the investment in the wheel itself, and the accessories, you must have fiber.  I have spun several singles with drop spindles working up to owning a wheel.   So, once I  experimented with some "practice" un-dyed wool, I started on some "real stuff" 

And....ta-da!! I have spun my first skein of yarn!  It is a 2-ply/DK weight wool in a luscious Burgundy/pink color.   It is not perfect, but considering I have no idea what I am doing, and have only a book and the Internet as teachers, I think it is pretty good for a first try.  I have seen worse on sale in "boutique" yarn shops for what I think is an outrageous price.  I may have to rethink the value of one-of-a kind yarn based on my calculations though.......

 I don't know what I will make from it yet, but have enough for a scarf or a small shawlette.  And it only cost about $1,200 for me to make this little skein of yarn!!  

The next one will be cheaper---as I can depreciate the wheel over more product.   The next one will only cost around $600.00!

Daisies

The daisies are in full bloom.  I was not originally a Daisy person, but they are perennials, and low maintenance, so added a few to the front landscaping at our prior house.  Little did I know that they were my mothers "favorite" flower.  Her birthday is this time of the year (she would have been 103 next week), and she told me that she thought that the daisies bloomed just for her birthday.  Being raised in a poor mining community, I suppose that you looked for beauty wherever you could find it.  Or maybe it was that her sisters had March birthdays, when there were no flowers abloom!  

As her dementia progressed, she found it frustrating that the names of flowers long familiar had left her--petunias, geraniums, etc.  But the daisy was always "there".   I planted large stands of daises outside her window for her to enjoy.  When we could no longer care for her, and she moved to "the home", I marked her door with a wreath of daisies--so she could always find it. 

Now, when the daisies bloom, I think of her.   They are still outside her window, although she is long gone.  Enjoyed now by her great grandson, who thinks they are interesting.  They bloom around my yard, immune to deer nibbling, and a reminder of the time we spend gardening (I gardened, mom sat in a chair and watched).  They remind me of the birthdays of my two DIL, both sharing June as a birthday month with my mother, and each in her own way a characteristic or two (could that have influenced why they were selected?). 

This year, her 103 year of daisies, they remind me that although she has been gone for years, she is still with me.  In the sewing she taught me; the recipes that we occasionally pull out for special occasions; in the eyes of 4, who looks most like her and has her love of new recipes; in the people we are because she enriched our lives; in the memories we share of her "quirks"; and in ways our lives were better because she was here.

The daisies are blooming....a sweet reminder of a great mother and grandmother.  And although she never got to meet them, she would have loved having great grandsons!

Fiber Festival

My Friend, GZR, saw a television "spot", and asked a few weeks ago if I was interested in going to a fiber festival today---what the heck!!  Sounded like fun, and since I have a new spinning wheel (Kromski Ministrel), I figured maybe I could use some fiber (To the uninformed, people who engage in fiber arts develop "stashes"---sewers/quilters have fabrics; knitters, yarn, and spinners, various types of fiber in various forms).  Or more accurately, maybe I could begin to build a fiber stash to rival my fabric and yarn collection (pre-retirement acquisition program---my story and I am sticking to it!!). 

So we met there--to see the lamas (so ugly they are cute), rabbits, sheep, etc. all of whom provide a renewable source of fiber (so you can also be ecological as a spinner--and there is always more fiber to acquire!).  There were fleeces, baskets of washed fibers, dyed fibers, fiber processing tools, spinners spinning, knitting tools, tote bags of various types, and a lot of other fiber related things.  We discovered that fiber people seem to more or less wander in to set up their booths somewhere "around" the time the festival was to begin---laid back these people.  Maybe spinning does that for you??  So we had to zig and zag between those ready and those not, be eventually saw what everyone had brought to show, share, and sell.  Next time we can wander in....no rush to be there when it opens, it seems.

You never know what you might find at a fiber fest.....I found an adorable children's book about sheep in a jeep (bought two for the GS's), a silk "hankie" (to spin some silk thread), some shredded suri silk, for blending to make a novelty yarn, a marino/silk top in a great green color , a Blue Faced Lanchester (I think that is spelled right--it is a type of sheep) roving that is a superwash (you can machine wash the product) hand dyed in deep beautiful colors, an alpaca/tancel roll--very soft, and two learn to spin kits (because they were cute, inexpensive, and you never know when someone might ask  you to teach them to spin!--yeah right!).  So, I guess I sort of have a spinners "stash" now--I have no particular plans for any of this--it was just pretty, spoke to me, and felt great.  Am anxious to get good enough at my wheel to begin whipping up interesting novelty yarn---to transfer from one stash to another......

I talked to spinners with my type of wheel about hemp vs poly drives, scotch tension, and whorls.  I chatted with drop spindlers about technique, lots of people about their fiber, and yes, even the Lama--his name was George.  My friend, not a knitter or a spinner, wandered about the looms, gave the wool rug people more than a passing glance, fingered the buttons and also talked to George.

We also found a former colleague.....who now runs a fiber/yarn farm/business with a friend.  And later, as we went into town for lunch--we ran into another former co-worker (from a different job) and had a nice chat!  You never know what you are going to find at the fiber festival in the middle of nowhere (although technically, J was at the antique store looking for a table, not at the fiber festival).

It was fun to meet the people who do this as a "living"--I can't imagine it.  It was fun to be able to carry on a semi intelligent conversation about spinning (I have read 2 books and watched U-tube).  It was fun to fondle the fluff!  It will be fun to read the silly book about the sheep in the jeep to the boys.  Maybe I will go again to one nearer me in October.....because you can always add to your "stash"!

Back to the Future!

On this memorial day weekend, we experienced a 23-hour power outage due to storms.  Now we have a generator, so the freezers stayed frozen, refrigerators refrigerated,  pump pumping, and we were able to have hot showers and flush!! (for those who do not have a well system, trust me that you want a generator or nothing at all works!).  The generator does a great job--it is huge, and was acquired after the multiple- day inconvenience of the "east coast power outage".  Now, we can survive.  But it does not support our energy consuming lifestyle.

It was 23-hours of back to the future!  We had to wash dishes by hand (was mid party when the storm hit), no TV (yes, I do remember a time with no TV ), no Internet, vacuuming, laundry, or cooking (yeah!!)  It was HOT (90) with no air conditioning (and yes, that was not something that we routinely had until I was an adult!).   We could not print to our wireless printer, watch netflix, or find out when the power would be restored at the power company web site.

We used candles and flashlights, and listened to the tree frogs, while we made somemores over Sterno.
We were awakened in the middle of the night, when the batteries ran out on the alarm system.  We went out for breakfast.  Popped into a store for some A/C and window shopping.  And returned home to the darkness and the quiet.

Just the buzz of the generator.  A hot breeze on the porch.  A magazine to read.  A novel for 4.  Some knitting for me.  Taking advantage of the light.  A little weed pulling (something you don't need electricity for), and some hand mending.   It was a though time was standing still as we were sweating away on the porch---a luxury that I did not have in my youth--a screen porch.  At least the bugs were outside.

It seemed like more fun then---before we knew about all the modern conveniences that make our lives "easier".   You went out to move the sprinkler---there was no "system" on timers.  I guess we were used to being hot, although I remember lots of fans to move the air--but we have only one very small fan left in our possession, the rest being deemed unnecessary by central air.  You opened your garage door with an "umph"--not a button. 

Just when we were about to try to find a wi-fi hot spot to find out what was going on, the power came on--reluctantly at first.  Startled the dog, who seemed to have adapted better than the humans!  All of the touch lamps were on, all of the auto switches defaulted to on, the timers a mess, the clock blinking a menacing 12:00!!   For just a second, I almost wished it hadn't come on---wait! What was I thinking.   Turn on the news to see what was up!  Throw some soap in that dishwasher, full of dishes from last night, and turn on that air conditioning!!  Yeah! 

So although we long for the simpler times, really, our lives are much better now.  Not better living through chemistry---as the commerical said in my youth....but better living, period.  Made easier with electricity. 

So thank you to the power company work crews who were out on this hot holiday weekend to restore my power--so that I may conspicuously consume it in comfort!!!