I know that we are all supposed to be ready for a potential emergency. We stock up on batteries, candles, alternative heat sources, food and whatnot to use just in case. But what I didn’t think about storing in #10 cans sealed away in the back of the closet is patience and sanity. Both were in short supply last week.

My last entry about all the snow seemed so happy and innocent. We had a wonderful warm meal that night, all cozy and tight in our little home surrounded by 18 inches of snow. We hadn’t left the house in 48 hours because of said snow. We had plenty of food, good company, the internet still serving us hour-sucking content, we knew things would be good. Then Mother Nature decided to test everyone and sent an entire night of freezing rain. If you don’t know what freezing rain is, it is not snow, it is not hail, it is slush, from the sky. So everything, including trees, were covered in a nice sheen of ice by morning. Take a wet, moisture-laden tree, and freeze it. The expanding ice will crack it right down the middle. The cracking sound of the woods falling around us was terrifying. Nothing fell on the house, but the power lines were not spared. The electricity went out at 7:08am Thursday. I went outside to check the chickens that afternoon and literally ran to the chicken house because the cracking sounds of falling tree parts had me scared for my life.

We live in a rather woodsy area, so once a year, our power goes out. Wind storms, freak freezing times, drunk revelers, whathaveyou. Trees hit power lines and we always seem to be affected. I figured this was another of those times, but when we were finally able to get out of the garage and down the street (there are only 5 snow plows in Olympia, they aren’t getting anywhere near us EVER), driving around town, we learned that most of the city was out of power. In fact, a quick check of the news revealed that upwards of half a million were out of power. There were downed trees in the road (a few roads were impassable). It was all very apocalyptic but at the same time humbling to think about how a damning combination of rain, snow and ice can completely hobble our community.

It took 5 days for our power to come back on. And even then, when we surveyed the work the power crew had done in our neighborhood, it was emergency work and the power line still hangs a mere 15 feet above the ground waiting for the more permanent crew to come in a finish the job, which probably won’t happen for a VERY LONG TIME.

The funny part is that through all this, we had a very predictable arc of behavior. I’m talking about the Kübler-Ross model of grief.

Day 1: Denial “This can’t be happening to us! It was only a little freezing rain!” We’ve had power outages before, we didn’t think this would be any different. We went about business like things were going to be fine in a few hours and we could forget it ever happened.

Day 2: Anger “Who didn’t prune their trees? This isn’t fair!” Once you’ve slept in your living room with your loud sleeping children in a sleeping bag, anger isn’t too far away.

Day 3: Bargaining “I wonder if I offer that power worker our life savings, he’d put us up the line for priority repair.” By the third day, we’d found a friends’ floor in a warm, functioning house to spend our nights. But everytime we saw a crew of power company workers, we considered following them. We really appreciated their around-the-clock work, but wondered if there was something to grease the wheels in our favor.

Day 4: Depression – On this day, we ate Burger King. I haven’t had Burger King in 4 years. Sadness set in. This didn’t look like it would ever end. Calls to the power company got recorded messages that said “repair date cannot be determined”, our house remained cold, and driving into our neighborhood after a long day away in search of warmth to a cold, dark house does not warrant positive thinking.

Day 5: Acceptance – But then it became the new normal. By the end of our no-power run, we had a routine – snack, game, movie on the portable DVD player that had charged in the car that day, charging up the kids’ crank flashlights, turn on the fireplace, and tuck everyone in. We were flushing the toilet with melted snow, drinking spring water from our gallons in storage, and eating copious amounts of donuts, like it was something we did everyday. This was our new life and it wasn’t that bad!

But then it changed again. On our last night, we tucked everyone in and out the window we saw the bright lights of a work crew across the pond from our house. We quashed any soaring hopes we had to make sure we weren’t too disappointed, but we knew deep down, that the end was coming. And sure enough, at 4AM, the lights came back on. The furnace heated up the house in no time, the water ran hot within the hour, and we were back to our first-world worries of which TV show to watch and which side of the comfy couch to sit on.

In retrospect, I’m not sure any amount of preparation can really get you ready for the stress you’ll feel. Having a stockpile of weapons, food and such can be comforting when you think about it on its face, but when you lack the basic needs such as heat and water, your ability to make whole-wheat pineapple upside down cake isn’t much use. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this experience taught me that preparing for an emergency isn’t just about food & card games, its your ability to live a day at a time with a positive attitude in those situations. So for now, I’m going to try and look at the bright side of our experience: there is a whole entire week that I won’t have to pay for electricity on my next bill.

The reports were saying between 2 and 14 inches of snow overnight. They gave themselves plenty of wiggle room, similar to the cable company saying they’ll be there between 8 and 5PM so they are never late. After all was said and done, I’d say we got well over a foot. We counted 3 trucks that were able to get out of our neighborhood, no cars. Since our vehicle is basically a car that looks like a truck, we opted to stay home. Work/School was canceled. Let the snow party begin.

Because we don’t normally get very much snow, our snow gear has dwindled to some out of fashion snowboard gear, some hand-me-down snowpants that only fit one child, and a pair of snowboots that are too big. Everyone else wore 5 layers of clothing. Boy even got to wear some old cross-country skiing wool kneesocks that went all the way up to his thighs. Reverse long underwear!

We built a snowman, a wall (that was quickly torn down by Boy with his gardening tools), and used the neighbor’s hill for some sledding. Everyone’s cheeks are chapped, and we are plum out of apple cider and mugs. Although we’ll be making up these snowdays come the end of the schoolyear, I’d say this was a fantastic way to spend the first few days of summer vacation.

With the holidays behind me, I’ve had some time to let the Christmas energy wind down. We’re well into the new year now, so I think it’s time to evaluate, looking for lessons learned to apply to 2012.

• It doesn’t matter how small you think your house is, everyone will fit, and everyone will have fun.
• A plentiful supply of cousins keeps children busy. Adult conversation is fulfilling and interesting! I never knew!
• Pizza is never a bad choice.
• Christmas Eve doesn’t mean you can’t replace the rear wheel bearing on your car. Merry Christmas, Car!
• When the kids essentially have three Christmases – all involving opening presents – they start to believe that Santa comes more frequently. Boy & Girl are already polishing up their lists. They don’t believe me when I tell them he’s on vacation until November.
• Englebert Humperdinck albums have become the extended family White Elephant gift tradition.
• Go ahead, eat five [insert dessert here]. No one will notice, they’ve already had three.
• A quiet house is nice, but is also lonely.

A wonderful Christmas holiday! We enjoyed everyone coming to visit, and to those of you who came, you are welcome any time (you too, east-coasters). Just be prepared for pizza with an Englebert Humperdinck soundtrack.

I think the craft bug thinks I smell bad because it never bit me. I’m surrounded by friends who love crafting – decorating their homes, bodies, pieces of wood, stacks of pictures – anything they can get their hands on, they are turning into something beautiful. That’s just not what floats my boat. Don’t get me wrong, I do love trying my hand at making things, but I think I get more out of making something that I can use, versus making something that is to be admired for its beauty. I think that fonts and circuit boards are beautiful, I like art that is grounded in industrial design maybe because it really has its roots in utility. But the point is, I am not crafty (the artistic sense, my ability to scheme is for another post entirely). Sewing is a skill that is used when something has a hole in it. Yup, I’ll only step up to the plate when something’s broken.

Which brings me to our dining room set. A small table and chairs set handed down from who knows how many households. The chairs have woven seats, and after one too many butts, they were wearing out. What? Something’s broken? I guess it’s time to work with my hand! Take my motivation to make something I can use, add a little YouTube and a little money for some paper rush (thank you Amazon), and you have me thinking I can re-cane the seats on our chairs.

The first chair looked horrible. 4 long hours using paper rush (which is essentially rope made from brown paper bags) with red, raw hands and I was ready to throw in the towel. That cheap Ikea chair was looking mighty fine. But I kept going, learning from my mistakes (besides, I was financially committed – always a good motivator). I’m three chairs in – each chair looking minutely better than the last. Too bad we don’t have seating for 50 – I’ll probably have it down by then.

Can you tell which chair was the first one? Remember that when you come visit – don’t sit on that one – it’s a bit wobbly.

So now I can be confident that when everything goes downhill and we’re slaves to the alien race that invades us, I’ll be able to make some chairs to sit on. It feels good to be able to contribute.

I never thought that smiling would be something you learn, but when Boy is asked to smile on-demand (such as during a photo), he cannot summon the muscle coordination to look natural. We usually get this:

He mostly looks completely away from the camera (very similar to the lead-singer of the Bangles – ’80s reference for all you young folks), and scrunches up his face angrily. He must have been looking at too many album covers because he’s sporting the metal band scowl like it’s a permanent mood:

We coached him to smile like he was laughing, so now when have a photoshoot, he usually starts laughing. And then comes the tongue:

So with more coaching, we tamed the tongue. Now we have the freaked-out cheerleader smile:

Coaching continued, this time focusing on focusing. And toning down the creepy. I think this is as good as it gets, folks: