August Notes

It's back to school time... already. I am so not ready! JS is a High School freshman, and A, my right-hand-helper, is a 6th grader.  We are not homeschooling JR this year. Instead we are working toward getting him into a developmental disabilities adult program with the goal of getting him a job coach.  

The last 2 weeks have been crazy busy, cramming in canning, dentist appointments, meetings and all manner of activities. One of the best activities was the "Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" youth social. The poor & beggars are mixed together in the front, the rich are in the back to the right, and thieves to the left. We are enjoying the youth activities so much that I already regret missing out when our term is up.  

This is the latest addition to our pets. For the record, I was strongly opposed to adding Buster, but alas I was outnumbered 4-1. We have no idea what breed he is. So far he has not done anything to redeem himself in my eyes, but I suppose we get an extra feather in our wings for saving his life.

The Toss-up

   In February we experienced life with an extended power outage. This week we experienced another one following a storm with lots of lightening. Summer vs. winter. I'm trying to decide which is worse.

No heat vs. no a/c...
verdict- you can always bundle up when it's cold, so no a/c is probably worse, IMO. It got too warm in the house to do much of anything. With the school schedule breathing down my neck, the lost time makes me anxious. Not to mention the warm, coziness made it hard to sleep, and the lack of showers more evident.

No running water...
verdict- in the winter you can always melt snow, but this week we had no means of flushing toilets. And we had no drinking water, which made everyone unusually thirst.

No means of keeping food frozen and cooled...
verdict- we need a generator, that's what! In the winter we could at least set food outside to freeze/chill. After a mere 24 hours in this heat we had milkshakes (formerly ice cream).

No way to cook...
verdict- in the winter we had the woodstove; this week we ate cold sandwiches and fresh fruit. Do-able either way.

No lights...
verdict- in the winter it got dark much earlier. That is one advantage we had this time- I was able to scrapbook fairly long in the evening.

No provider...
verdict- in the winter R was here to handle the man jobs, like getting a generator around. This week he was gone on a long run- gone overnight both nights we were out of power. Bad timing. Definitely worse this round, but that's not really due to the summer vs. winter question.
To make matters even worse, our phone was out part of the time and we only have cell service select places in the yard so it was impossible to carry a whole conversation before getting cut off. Just when I was really getting desperate, my brother-in-law from down the road texted that he can bring me a generator. Thank you! Thank you! If we would practice the social custom of kissing one's hand, I would've done it, but I shall find another way to convey my gratitude (to his great relief, I'm sure).

  So would I rather do without power in the summer or winter? Not sure. It's a toss-up. Either season has it's challenges and reveals how full of luxuries & conveniences our lives really are with electric. What would be your choice?