You don't know what you've got till its gone

Living on the north coast of Ohio I tended to take the local weatherman's dire predictions of Superstorm Sandy's impact on my area with a grain of salt. After all 98% of the time the predictions of impending doom don't pan out. I made a few small arrangements just in case, I borrowed a camping lantern from a friend and made sure we had candles  
 and working flashlights available. I have a gas stove and knew I'd be able to still light it the old fashioned way with a lighter if I needed to, our gas hot water tank would continue to provide hot water and we had a full box of Duraflame logs for the wood burning fireplace. This time turned out to be the 2% of the time the weatherman got it right. Our power went out Monday night just as we pulled into our driveway. Since it was late we grabbed the flashlights, took care of the dogs and went to bed. All schools in the area were cancelled the next morning which meant no work for me so the kids and I piled in the car to charge our cell phones and check out storm damage. A trip through the local Dunkin donuts that still had power for coffee was a lifesaver. High winds meant not taking a chance with a fire but the temperatures weren't too horrible so we bundled up in sweaters and grabbed throw blankets and snuggies. To keep warm I made a big pot of homemade beef vegetable soup

 and lots of cups of tea. It has been a long week. Here is the reason we had no power 

 and this is some of the mess in our back yard left by the storm  

. Our power was restored after a long five days and I am so grateful. I didn't mind the candle and lantern light but I have to confess that I missed the central heating.