No water and no heat – that was the reality for me when the electric was out. Now I should mention that I was able to heat the living room with the gas fireplace that I have. It runs but the fan does not work to disperse the heat.

A couple nights this past week I have enjoyed the evening without electricity. This may seem like a contradiction but I really do enjoy not hearing all of the devices that are run by electricity. It seemed like I was living like my Amish brothers and sisters. Years ago when I visited in an Amish home I remember how easily the lady of the house lit the oil lamps. I always have difficulty with this. Either the wick is too high or too low. Often the chimney gets charred.

My time without electric was unanticipated while theirs is an everyday occurrence. The house was certainly quiet. I am used to the sounds that I normally. hear but there were no sounds.

I could not hear the refrigerator running. I could not hear the water pump kick on. The furnace did not make a sound. When the telephone rang I had to run to the kitchen to answer it. The portable phones were out of commission

We had had tremendous gusts of wind that day. About 1:30 p.m. the electric clicked off and that was it. We had no power for the next twenty-six and a half hours. I kept thinking the electric would come back on but it didn’t.

I attempted to sleep downstairs that night. I had the fireplace on so it was warm. I just could not get settled so I ended up going to bed. It was fine because the power was still not on the next morning.

I called my daughter and wonder of wonders she had power. I grabbed my toothbrush and toothpaste along with some coffee and went over there after they left for work. I made myself at home knitting and reading.

Every so often I checked on the power. My son asked me to let him know when it came back on so they could come home to check on things. They have a bunch of animals that needed water.

The worst thing about losing power is that I also have no water. The toilet does not flush and you cannot have a cup of coffee. I came home to collect supplies to make chicken soup. The chicken was already cooked so I just had to find it in the refrigerator.

I cooked up a storm making two different kinds of soup. One I made with egg noodles and one with rice. I left one pot of soup at my daughters and took the other one to my son’s for to eat with them. It was a nice surprise for the girls.

Just what can you do when you have no water and no power? I got a head start on a baby blanket that I was knitting for a charity. I also finished the book I was reading. When the electric came on about 4 p.m. I went home to check on things. I had left a lamp on but that was all. My grandson checked on the barn stuff.

All was well. The next day we lost power once again. This time the power went out about 3:30 p.m. I let both of the children know the power was out again. It was only out for five hours this time.

While the Amish live without power and do well I am not used to it. I enjoy the time without the interruptions of the mechanical things, but I do not enjoy being without water. Thank goodness it was cold so my big refrigerator (the garage) was available. Everything kept cold without me going in and out of the refrigerator.

Once again the yoyo temperatures played a part in things. The wind happened when the temperature went down to a more normal range. By most estimates we got off easy. I lost no big trees. I am so glad that I took care of the big old rotten trees years ago. When the man cut them down he showed me the hollowed out insides. They would surely have fallen on my house during that tremendous wind.

We take electricity for granted. It is always there but that was not the case last week. I also took my devices to my daughter’s house to charge. The new computer at this point is a lost cause. It is not working and is due to be replaced. Of course I could not have hooked to the Internet anyway.

A big thank you to the linesmen who worked so hard to get things going again. It must have been tough working out their in that terrible weather. Please know that I appreciate your hard work.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, PA. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.