power(less)

it's been quite the interesting week!

on tuesday, i mailed in my license application and a money order for $95. on tuesday evening, my brake line rusted through as i was driving home from work. fortunately, i was only two blocks from my street, with very light traffic; even more fortunately, the repair shop we've used for years is, literally, around the block - i passed it, actually. had i been thinking clearly, i would've parked the jeep there and walked home! instead, followed by E, i drove it (sloooooooooooowly) there by the back streets early the next morning. the beautiful thing about working opposite shifts from one's beloved is, as long as you've got one working car between you at all times, you're going to be ok.

long story short: new brake line, $197. working car, priceless.

on friday, we were expecting some inclement weather, and it did not disappoint. i was camped out in Mom's recliner, catching up on Pinterest, cat on my lap, listening to the approaching storm. the minutes ticked by. the wind picked up, the rain came down, the lightning flashed, i unplugged the laptop and said, to the cat, "ok, here we go..."

...and the lights went out.  "Seriously?!", i said, indignant; but we're on the same grid as the police station, so i fully expected the lights to come back on before bed. they didn't. and they were still out the next morning when i drove to work...where the power was also out. yours truly performed three massages by the light of her headlamp before driving home, fingers crossed...

...nope.

i did as much cleaning as possible with no vacuum, hand-washed some dishes, straightened up the house, mourned my leftover Chinese food, took a nap, then went to dinner with E, where we discussed weddings and wedding bands before i left to pick up Mom from the airport. "Welcome Home, sorry the power's still out!"

this morning, our neighbor ran an extension cord from his generator to our kitchen, so we could plug in the refrigerator and (HALLELUJAH) coffee maker, and then we walked down the street to check out the generations-old willow tree that came crashing down, taking the power lines out with it:

currently, the estimated repair time is 11:30pm on tuesday. we remain optimistic. in the meantime, i'm staying the night at E's, and letting Mom have the rest of the hot water at home, lol. E is napping before work, and i am going to make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots for dinner, praying all the while for a less interesting (read: expensive) week ahead.