48 hours and counting … We’re still without power, it’s snowing again, and we have yet to see a bucket truck in our neighborhood. We’re the last folks still in our house on our block, although there might be a poor sap in the apartment buildings across the way. House temperature: 42 degrees at eye level; 32.7 at floor level. Last night, I swear I could see my breath in the bedroom. The only saving grace was that the little dog curled up under the covers with me; he’s like a giant heating pad. I also had Fat, Fluffy, and Evil Kats lined up along by back, although Danger Kitten was roaming the house.
This morning, our local electric company started a joint program with the Red Cross. They want volunteers to go door to door to make sure that people are leaving to go to the emergency shelters.
Now, that can’t be good.
So this morning, The Coach and I stopped by Home Depot and dropped $897 on a massive portable generator, a contractor’s super-duper heavy extension cord, a surge protector, and a gas can. It was so big that we had to take it out of the box to get it into the car. In fact, I’m not sure how he’s going to get it back out of the car. I told him to call one of his football buddies (who is staying in a hotel less than 2 miles from our house) to help him.
P.S. I’ve already received “helpful* (NOT) advice from a secretary. Yes, we know not to put it inside the house — really, I’m not that dumb. Yes, we are not going to wire it to the electrical box. Again, not that dumb. All we want to do is run the portable heaters in the house so our pipes won’t freeze and maybe watch a little TV tonight …
