Day Five

It's cold this morning.  It snowed last night, just a dusting, but snow none the less.  The sun is up and it looks like it's going to be a nice day.  I open the dampers and stock the stove.  I set up the coffee pot and start a pot of tea.  I probably should have gotten up earlier and gone out hunting.  I'm sure it's too late for moose though, maybe a bird run later.  I sit by the fire and read while the house warms.

Husband gets up about the same time as the coffee is ready.  He's complaining about being hungry.  I rarely made breakfast when we had power, so I don't know what makes him think I'm going to start now.  I start three batches of bread on the table.  I am going to miss my kitchen aid.  Hopefully the makeshift oven will work well.

The boys get up and look around for food.  They find apples and cookies- breakfast of champions.  It'll work for today anyway.  I guess I am going to have to start cooking breakfast.  Or at least organizing it.

We talk about what to do today.  I figure we should go into town and see if we can get feed and propane.  Husband agrees.  Just the two of us go, on quads.  The boys stay home to do chores, and the Bigs promise to do some reading with the Littles.

It takes a lot longer to get to town on quads.  The feed store is closed, but the owners live right there, so they help us out with what we need.  They let us charge our order until the power comes back on.  That's incredibly helpful.  I get 3 bags of dog food, 2 bags of cat food, 6 bags of corn and the last four bags of duck feed.  I grab a couple of salt blocks and a bottle of penicillin too, just to be safe.  My trailer is heavily loaded.  Without future gas prospects though, who knows if we'll get another chance to come here, or when they'll be able to restock.

At the store I buy 2 bottles of propane a bottle of vodka and a bottle of rum.  There are some advantages to living in a one store town.  Everyone is milling around, talking about the black out.  It seems everyone is ok, and of course fairly well stocked at home.  There are several baskets of fruit and veggies available.  Local farmers and gardeners are sharing their late season produce.  Without refrigeration it won't last long. 

I ask if the library is open or if it has any books left.  It closed down a couple of years ago due to finances, but was housed on the side of the firehall.  Someone says that's a good idea, we all have time to read these days.  A bunch of us walk down there, but no one is around.  Someone goes to get a fireman friend, and they come back with a key.  They open up the building, but there isn't much inside, mostly empty shelves.  The books must have been shipped to the larger towns.  I suggest we start our own library.  I have lots of books at home, but they won't last long in this situation.  I can drop them off when I finish reading them, and if others would do the same we could all enjoy more books.  Everyone there agrees, and I'm sure word will spread.  The firemen agree to leave the door unlocked so people can come and go as they please.

We talk to several people, and find out that the radio station went out yesterday.  Almost everyone heats with wood, so cooking and heating aren't serious worries right now.  People are worried about plumbing and water.  There's a port-a-potty in the park which everyone seems to be using.  I hear it's getting very raunchy.  Husband suggests they start building outhouses on the outskirts of town.  A few men seem to think it's a good idea.  What's the worst that would happen?  Fields get free fertilizer later?  We all laugh.  Water though is a more serious issue.  Most people are walking to the river for water, but it's a long trek, and no one seems to have realized how much water they use every day. 

We go home with my trailer loaded.  It was good to get out and visit a bit.  Now we have feed to store.  I keep it in the bins in the work shop, and set all my mice traps.  The chipmunks and squirrels are going to have to work harder for their grain now.  The propane goes in the garage.

In the house the boys and I roll out the bread.  We have a bit of leftover soup for lunch, then decide to get firewood.  Husband and I take our guns, my trailer, the brown trailer, a bucket, and pop bottles.  Husband gets the 'spare' quad running, so all of the boys come with us, 2 on a quad.  We fill the water bottles at the creek again, get sand in the bush, and 2 loads of firewood.

It starts snowing again in the afternoon.  It seems the birds are going to wait this one out, we don't see a single one.  We're tired and wet when we get back to the house.  I hope this isn't winter setting in already.  Although it would help with the water situation.  Melting snow is much easier than hauling water. 

I still need a water filter.  There's some old PVC pipe behind the garage.  The boys help me find a piece about three feet long.  I dig out our old fish tank supplies in the garage, and grab the activated charcoal.  I'm not sure if it was used or not, so I take it in the house, pour it in a pan, set up the oven on the woodstove, and pop it in to reactivate.  The bread has risen well, so I pop a couple of loaves in with it.

#4 gets a shovel and starts scooping fresh, clean snow into the buckets we were using to collect rain water.  #1 brings them in as they're filled.

I check the freezers, and they're holding up well.  This weather will keep things frozen for a bit.  I grab a package of chicken legs for supper, and a bear roast to thaw for tomorrow.

It's time for the bread to come out.  It's kind of crispy on the bottom, but otherwise looks good.  I place my cooling rack on top of the stove, in the oven, for the second batch.  Hopefully the extra air flow will keep the crust lighter.

The charcoal is out of the oven as well.  #3 has gathered up some rocks from the driveway.  I put them in the oven with this batch of bread to sterilize (I hope). 

I wash out the PVC pipe and cover one end of with some material, holding it in place with elastics.  I get a pan of sand ready to pop in the oven with the last batch of bread.  Husband looks at the pipe, wondering what I'm doing. 

He goes to the garage and I hear the generator start.  I figure if he's going to keep doing that, I should have things set up to charge.  I ask #2 to pull a power bar off of one of the computers and take it outside to plug into the generator.  I tell him to take the flashlights and charger out as well.  I wish we had rechargeable lights for in the house.  Oh!  "Get the solar lights out of the garden shed."  That'll help.  I'm not sure how long my candle supply will last.

I put the chicken legs in a cast iron pan.  The broiler pans I normally use are too big to fit in the oven door, and I don't want to be lifting the hot oven while they're cooking.  Then I put tomorrow's roast in a pan with some water and season it.  I get the doggy stew pot ready to cook as well.

The second batch of bread turns out better than the first.  I put in the third batch with the sand.  Husband comes in with a 2X4 stand for the pipe.  I hadn't even thought of that.

Once the third batch of bread is done, and I pull the sand out, I remove the oven, restock the stove and start the chicken cooking.  The boys have prepared a pan of potatoes as well.

I pour the sand in the pipe first, then add a wad of material.  Next the charcoal, and another wad of material.  Finally, the rocks go in, and another wad of material.  Husband connects the pipe to the stand while I wash a bucket.  Now it's time to test it.  I pour the spring water that we heated last night in until the pipe is full.  It slowly drips out into the bucket.  It looks a little mucky at first, and then starts dripping through clear.  I empty the bucket, wash it out and start over.  This time it's all clear as it comes through.  I keep adding water as supper cooks, fill another pot with snow to melt and boil, and set the solar lights in the sunroom windows to charge. 

Husband sends #2 out for another bucket- this one for the bathroom.  We use far too much water to gravity flush, even with letting the yellow mellow.  I wish I had bought a chemical toilet.  No borrowing mom and dad's now, as they're using it themselves.  We're going to have to build an outhouse as well.  Or at least dig a big hole.  Taking the bucket to their place to dump in the outhouse every day is going to be a long walk.  We decide over by the garden will be the best place- away from the well and septic tiles.  The Bigs decide to start digging while supper's cooking.  The Littles go out and do chores.  They fill one of the rain barrels with snow.

I call everyone in for supper.  A jar of beets is our vegetable tonight.  I wash dishes after supper.  The boys and husband play cards.  I go to bed with a solar light and a book.  It sucks for reading.  I light a candle.

Day Four

 The dogs woke me up.  It's early.  Really early.  It's still dark outside.  They're barking at something.  I let them out, but I see nothing.  Everyone else is still sleeping.

I pour myself a glass of apple juice, thankful that tomorrow morning I will have tea.  I could have tea today, outside on the fire pit, but I'm too lazy (and scared of the dark) to bother with it.  Today husband and the boys will get the woodstove reinstalled in the sunroom, and tomorrow I will have tea.

I go to the basement and check the fire.  There are still some hot coals- what time is it?  I give them a stir, add some cardboard and kindling.  Hopefully it'll catch.  Lighting a fire without the fan is such a pain.

I let the dogs back in.  They're wet.  It's raining.  I won't be going hunting this morning.  I will stay home and can.

I look in the fridge.  It's not really cool, but not warm either.  I'll need to clean it out.  There are lots of leftovers.  I start opening containers- goulash, lasagna, cabbage rolls, potatoes.  I chop them, mix them all together, then add a bit of water.  I pour them in a casserole pan and cover it with tinfoil.  Lunch.  There are two packages of mushrooms that need to be dealt with.  A bowl of turkey bones that I had planned to make stock with.  Broccoli, celery, apples, milk.  I decide a nice cream of broccoli soup would be good for supper, and I'll can cream of mushroom soup.  I could do cream of celery as well, but I still have some in the cold room.  The celery will keep for a while in the cold room.  At this time of year it's like a big walk in fridge.  I start chopping veggies.

As the boys get up, they discover a pile of stuff from the fridge, and a mountain of dishes spread across the table.  I send one after another downstairs to the cold room with things to be kept down there.  I tell them to drink milk for breakfast, it won't keep.  I send one to the freezer with his arms full of freezer stuff from above the fridge.  Most of it has started defrosting.  I hope it's cool enough out to refreeze.

Husband gets up.  He's cranky without coffee, but I pour him a glass of apple juice and tell him the sooner he gets the stove installed, the sooner he'll get coffee.  He takes the Bigs out to get started.  About an hour later, they have it installed.  They had to take out the platform from the old stove, it was too small and the new stove doesn't need the extra height.  I get a fire started, then get the camp coffee pot from the trailer.  I fill a pot with water and put it on top of the stove as well.  That's pretty much all of the usable space, with those two items.  There might be enough room to squeeze in one more small pot.  We're going to need to extend the surface area if there's any hope of canning, heating water and cooking.

Husband looks over my campfire grills, and disappears in the garage.  I hear him start the generator, so I take my phone and flashlight outside to charge.  I debate whether to find an extension cord to plug in the freezer, but he comes out and shuts the generator back off.  So much for that.  He's welded two of the grills together to sit over top of the stove, extending the sides.  They won't work for cooking, but they should be warm enough to keep water heated.  I mention to him that I'm going to need some sort of oven as well, to bake in.  He gives me a look, and I just smile and say, "Coffee's ready."

The boys are fighting again when we go back in the house.  I send #1 and #3 out to do chores, #4 to put away clean dishes, and #2 to check the fire in the basement.  When the Bigs have finished, I send them to the add a room to get the wood rack, then all of them to get firewood to fill it.  That keeps them busy for a while.  I set up the grill over the stove and move the pot of water to one side, and put my canner on the other.  I set the casserole pan on the stove, along with my tea pot.  I'll have tea today after all.

After the tea boils I slide the water pot back onto the stove, and it too is soon boiling.  I wash dishes, starting with my soup pot.  Then I put the turkey bones, some carrots, celery, onions and spices with enough water to cover, back on the stove to make stock.  I continue washing dishes.  The dishwasher is soon overloaded with clean dishes.  It's been nothing but a dish rack for years now anyway, since it doesn't work.

The boys come in, and I send them out to find buckets.  We're going through water awfully fast, so we had best take advantage of the rain.  First I tell them to make sure all of the barrels in the pasture are up against the chicken coop wall to collect water off the roof.  I tell them to bring the barrel from my forest garden up to the house and put it under the rain gutter by the sunroom, then put 5 gallon pails under all of the other gutters and find something to go under the garden shed, so it'll be closer for the turkeys.  "One of the barrels in the pasture has been leaking.  Bring it back to the garage, maybe Dad can fix it."

Husband goes out to the garage.  He returns some time later with the top half of the leaky barrel cut off.  #1 carries in a piece as well.  He tells me to move my soup pot, and I do.  He sets the half barrel on top of the stove.  "How's that?", he asks.  The piece #1 had was a door, and they have built me a little stove top oven.

"That should work.", I smile.  I take it off the stove and set it on the floor.  I put my soup pot back on.  They go back outside.

Throughout the day I have to alternate soup and boiling water on the stove top.  I remove my canner- it heats up much faster than I expected, so I leave it sit on the floor beside the stove.  It won't take too long to get it hot enough to can with later, once the stock is done.  That frees up some space, so I grab the doggy stew pot and start some stew.  That should make the pups happier.  Luckily we had some dog food when the power went out, since it's been so unstable, but they really aren't fans of the stuff.  The doggy stew is going to have to be heavy on the veggies (dandelion, potato peels) for awhile, to stretch the rice out.  I use water from the spring for it.  It's been boiled, but I'd really like to filter it as well, especially if we have to drink it.

It rains most of the day, and we're lucky enough to fill several buckets of water.  When the rain lets up Husband and I decide to go for a bird run.  His quad won't start.  I'm not surprised.  It's newer, an automatic, computerized.  He borrows #1's quad.  I take my trailer, a bucket, empty pop bottles, and a chainsaw.  We only get one bird, but we get sand, a load of firewood, and water from the creek.  We'll have to do a lot more combined trips like this.

Back at the house, I take the boys out to the garden.  The turkeys have cleaned out almost all of the remaining veggies, leaving only the weeds and corn stalks behind.  I wish I could let them out to free range, they eat so much at this stage.  It wouldn't be safe for them though.  I've already lost a bunch to foxes this year.  The Bigs raise the sides of the greenhouses for me.  I want the snow to go inside through the winter so they won't be so dried out next spring.  Then they put the rototiller back in the garden shed.  They pull out the pea fences and move them over against the garden fence.  The Littles and I gather up garden stakes, pots and tools.   Everything is put away for the year.  Now it's ready for husband to bring over composted manure to cover the new hugelkultur bed.  I hope the tractor will start.

It's been a long, but productive day.  We're all tired.  We go in the house.  I check the turkey stock.  It's ready.  I slide it over, and put a cast iron pan on the stove.  I need to fry up the mushrooms.  I take the doggy stew pot off, and the boys take it to feed the dogs.  I put my canner back on the stove to heat.  I strain the stock from the turkey bones.  Once the mushrooms are fried, I add them to the stock, along with some salt, and bring it back to a boil.  A short while later the cream of mushroom soup is ready to can.

The boys have finished chores, and I have the cream of broccoli soup ready in another pot.  I put it on the stove beside the canner.  Supper will be ready soon.  There's still a bit of milk left, so I tell the boys to drink it with supper.  I get two large pots of rain water ready to go on the stove once the canner is done, more dishes to wash.  The boys put away clean dishes and set the table.  I put the first pot of water on when the soup comes off the stove, and the second when the canner is finished. 

After supper, I wash dishes again.  There's plenty of hot water, so I tell the boys it's bath night.  They pour two buckets of rainwater in the tub, and then the hot water.  I start another pot boiling for warm ups.  It's a shared tub, cleanest to dirtiest, but it makes them all feel better.  I splurge and have a bit of a clean bath with the water left in the pot.  Husband washes up after me.

We stock the stove, close the dampers, and add another large pot of water to heat overnight.  It's time for bed.

Day Three

Still no power.  I'm not feeling well this morning.  My stomach's upset, and I have a bit of a headache.  I gather my stuff up for moose hunt anyway.  Smitty and I leave while the house is still quiet and dark.  I figure the boys might as well sleep in, there probably won't be any school today anyway.

I find a nice spot in the woods where I can see four trails converge.  Smitty and I sit and wait.  A few birds and a squirrel entertain us for awhile, but no moose.  My stomach is doing flip flops and I feel nauseous.  The weather is changing too.  What started out as a nice morning is turning dark and cool.  I decide to pack it in and head for home.

Back at the house, I take my stuff in and drop most of it on my bed, then go to the basement to light a fire.  I don't know whether it's really cold, or just some kind of bug that's giving me a chill- either way, I'm freezing.  I get a decent fire going, trudge back upstairs, and put my guns away.

The boys are up, and arguing about what to have for breakfast.  I tell them to make pancakes outside on the firepit.  I go back to bed.

I wake up around noon.  My stomach has settled, but I feel really dragged out.  I can hear the boys arguing again.  Then the dogs start barking.  I hear the door.  I get up to see what's going on.

Husband is home!  He's tired and cranky.  I get him a glass of coke and make him a sandwich.  We're almost out of bread.  He fills us in on his adventure.

The car wouldn't start at work.  Nobody's would.  The power is out across town, although one of the guys did pick up a radio station.  It was a big solar flare, they think the biggest on record.  The power outage is definitely across the country, and assumed to be across the U.S., possibly world wide. Computers are down everywhere, and no one knows how the cars strewn all over the roads are to be repaired.  Old rotary dial phones are supposedly still working, not that it helps us, we don't even have a house line.  News is slow coming, difficult to make contact with anyone who knows what's going on.  People are recommended to get home and stay put for now.  Schools are closed until further notice.  Hospitals are open for emergencies only, all elective surgeries are cancelled, and no ambulances.  The police are to be available at various stations, but obviously there will be few patrols.  He says there were a few reports of stores that would be open on reduced hours for cash sales only.

He slept in the car the first night, hung around work.  Only two guys showed up yesterday, because they lived close by.  They brought him sandwiches and cookies.  He tried to sleep in the car last night, but it was too cold and uncomfortable.  Some time in the middle of the night he decided to walk home.  The streets are filled with cars, but there are almost no people around.  He met up with another guy who decided to walk home to the town before ours, so they walked together.  Everything was eerily quiet. 

So he's home, sore feet and tired, but otherwise no worse for wear.  He finishes his sandwich and goes to bed.

The boys eat their pancakes, I stack the plates.  I really need to wash dishes and clean the kitchen.  I fill a canning pot with bottled water from the spring and get #1 to take it out to the firepit.  It'll take awhile to heat.  I look in the freezer, and decide on steaks for supper.  Everything is still frozen.  The nights are cool, and our freezers are outside- one in the entranceway, the other in the garage.  With the nights dipping down to just below freezing they might be okay until spring.  Spring.  Did I seriously just think that?

Okay, I guess I need to think that way.  I get some paper and start making a to do list.  We don't have enough hay to make it until spring.  Casper, our steer, was supposed to go in the freezer anyway, sooner is better than later.  He can hang in the garage for a week or so, and by then it should be cool enough to freeze the meat outside.  If not, I'll have to smoke or can it.  We have a smoker, but we've never used it.  I did make jerky in the oven once, and I think I can replicate it on the woodstove.  I'll need an oven box to go on the woodstove, for baking too.  I'll need the woodstove in the house, for starters.  Our insurance company didn't like it, and made us take it out awhile ago.  Now I need it back in.  Except, I think I'll have the one my dad made in the house, and leave the manufactured one for the garage.  Dad's has a large flat top which will be better for cooking.  We should go in to town and see if the store has any propane left.  I could can on the propane cooker.  The turkeys need to be butchered.  That'll cut down on our feed needs.  We should really get to the feed store and see if we can get any feed now.

We need to dig the last of the potatoes, carrots and mangels.  The boys can do that now.  After they take the horses out back to graze.  They might as well eat what grass they can now.  The back isn't fenced, but the horses will generally stay within the natural tree line, at worst they'll be back up in the yard.  I tell them to get outside and get started. 

What else?  Starch.  We should dig up the cattails in the pond.  I have crabapples in the basement still waiting to be canned.  I should check the back field for pumpkins.  I know they didn't do well, but a little would be better than nothing.  We need more firewood.  Luckily, we filled all the jerry cans with gas last week for hunting.  We'll have to cut back on quad use and save the gas for chainsaws.

There's lots to do, nothing that wouldn't need to be done before winter anyway, but I suddenly feel like I need to rush.  I go out and check the water.  It's hot enough for dishes.  I take it in, put together another potato packet, and take it and the steaks outside.  It'll be an early supper, but I don't want to waste the wood.

I go inside and wash dishes and clean the kitchen.  The boys bring in buckets of root veggies.  More work to do.  We need sand to store them in.  I'll have to start picking it up on my hunting trips.

I wake Husband up when supper's ready.  We sit and eat and talk about the situation and everything that needs to be done.  He's still really tired, we'll start tomorrow.

He goes back to bed.  I wash dishes.  The boys do chores.  I go to bed with a book and read.

Day Two

The power was still out when I woke up this morning.  The bathroom stinks.  The toilet needs to be flushed.

It's hunting season.  I stumble in the dark to gather my things for moose hunt.  Everyone else is still sleeping.  Except maybe Husband, who hasn't made it home yet.  I turn my phone on to see if it has service, but no luck.  I shut it back off.  With my guns and pack I head out the door.  Smitty meets me at my quad.  He's my hunting buddy.  We head off into the woods.

We're almost at my chosen moose spot when I spot a partridge.  If I shoot it it'll frighten off any moose headed into the area.  The temptation is too much to resist though.  It's been a busy fall, and I've only been out bird hunting twice.  I shoot the bird.  I clean it, take the breast and the legs, and Smitty gets the rest for breakfast.

We head further up the road, and spot another two birds.  He doesn't finish his share of them, so I toss them on the back of the quad for the dogs at home.

A bit deeper into the bush, and I see I've disturbed two other hunters.  It's getting bright, and it's going to be harder to find a quiet spot for moose.  The idea is to get in quietly in the early morning and hunker down before they head to their resting places.  They sleep through the day.  I decide I might as well just make it a bird day.  I let the other hunters get a bit ahead of me- if they disturb any birds, I want them settled again when I go by.

We're out riding for a couple of hours, and I get my limit of 5 birds.  I head home.  I run into my brother and sister-in-law on the way back.  They're up for the week visiting and moose hunting.  They have a camp set up on the edge of my property.  They're on their way out for birds.

I get home and toss the remains of the birds to all of the dogs, then take the meat and my stuff in the house.  Cleaning the birds without running water is a pain.  Luckily I have pop bottles full of water stored in the basement for times like this.  Still, it's not the same as turning on the tap.  I put the birds in the freezer.  They won't freeze with the power off, but they should keep a couple of days.

The boys are up when I get back, and have already done chores, brought in water from the rain barrel to flush the toilet with, and put away clean dishes.  They made sandwiches for breakfast, since the toaster 'wasn't working'.  Sometimes kids say the funniest things.  Yesterday's laundry still needs to be hung on the clothesline, and I send #4 to do that.

It's a quiet afternoon.  Grandma stops by to see how we're doing, and invites everyone for supper.  It's Thanksgiving, and we're having a pot of chili.  That's normal for us- we don't do a big turkey meal during opening week of moose season.  Dad's got his generator running, but the truck still won't start.  I try the car, and it won't start either.  I check my phone again, still no service.  Grandma had the radio on earlier, but there's only one station that comes in at all in our area, and it's mostly static.  She thinks they were saying that the blackout is across the country, and into the states.  It could be awhile before we have electricity back on.

I go for a nap, and the boys play cards.  #3 is getting rowdy from computer withdrawal.  He's such an addict.  When I get back up I tidy up the kitchen.  The dishes are stacking up.  I don't know if there's enough water in the rain barrels for another day of chores and toilet, as well as washing dishes.  I don't want to use the bottled water from the basement, we might need it for drinking.  I send the Littles out to the recycling to find extra pop bottles.  We can fill them at the spring at Grandma and Grandpa's.

We head over shortly afterwards, and the boys fill the pop bottles before supper.  Brother and sil need water, too, so I give them a couple of bottles.  We have a nice meal together, and play cards for a while after.  I check my phone again, but still nothing.  I have no idea where Husband is, or how he's doing.  I can't imagine that there'd be many restaurants open with the power out, and if the car won't run he's got to be getting frustrated.

Back at home, I read until bed.  The boys are still mostly content with their cards, although they are starting to get loud, whiny, and cranky with each other.  If the power's still out tomorrow I'll have to find something more constructive for them to put their energy into.

Black Out

 The power's out again.  It seems every couple of days there's another solar flare messing with the grid.  This one had to be close.  We could see the sky turn  brilliant orange, red and gold.  My eyes are still stinging from the brightness.  I can only imagine how bad they'd be if I hadn't been wearing sunglasses.

It usually takes the power company a couple of days to get things back up and running after one of these 'events', so for now, all I'm worried about is what to cook for supper.  It'll have to be something simple that I can throw on the fire pit.  I grab some newspaper and kindling and go light the fire.  I'm pretty sure there's a nice package of pork chops near the top of the freezer.  That'll do.  I take them out and let them defrost a bit while the fire's building.

The boys should be home soon.  There's not much I can do in the house right now, so I grab a bucket and head for the garden.  We've already had frost, so most of the garden is done for the year, but there's still root veggies, corn, dry beans, and a few small green tomatoes in the greenhouse.  I pick all of the tomatoes and corn, and even find a couple of small cukes that look ok.  I know I should get the root veggies dug up before I let the turkeys into the garden to clean up, but their pen has been empty of greens for awhile now.  I'm done with the beets, plenty canned in the basement, so I decide to chance it on the carrots and mangels and open the gate.  Within minutes the hungry turkeys, ducks and geese are feasting on the remains in the garden.  Nanner and Sheila, a pygmy and a spring kid, are happy with this fresh abundance too.  They've been living with the birds in hopes of not getting them knocked up this year.

I putter away for quite some time, when I realize the buses haven't come yet.  Where are the boys?  I go back to the house to check the time, after 5pm.  I grab my phone to call them and discover it's got no signal.  Great.  I shut it off, because who knows when I'll be able to charge it again, and searching for signal is hard on the battery.

#4, my youngest, who is still homeschooling, has been sitting at the table drawing while I was outside.  I tell him we might as well go to Grandma's (next door) for a bit.  We head over there on my quad.  When we round the bend I can see three people walking up the road.  We sit at the end of my parent's drive and wait a bit as the people get closer.  It's the boys.  We ride up the road to meet them.

They tell me the buses quit on the highway, just outside of town.  There are vehicles stopped all over the place, and people standing around stranded not knowing what to do, and the cell phones are all out.  The Bigs talked their bus driver into letting them walk home, since she couldn't even radio for help, and it doesn't look like anyone's going to be moving for awhile.  #3's bus was a bit further up the road.  They talked to his driver who said he couldn't let any of the kids off without parental consent.  They argued with him for a bit, until #3 jumped off the bus and started running up the road.  Then they said see ya, and started walking.  Sometimes it's good to have bad kids, lol. 

We all stop in at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Grandpa tries to start his truck when we tell him about the cars on the highway.  No go.  Since my quad's running, it looks like this is a computer issue.  We were warned this could happen.  They're fine otherwise, cooking supper on the grill, and playing cards before bed.

The boys and I head back to our place.  Husband is probably stranded in the city.  It's an hour car ride on a good day, so I figure he'll probably sleep in the car at work tonight.  The boys change into farm clothes, then do chores.  The water barrels are all full, so they cart some water over to the turkey pen.  I go back to the fire pit and toss in some more wood.

I go in the house and peal potatoes, chop them, add bacon grease, lemon pepper, seasoning salt, and wrap them in tinfoil.  Back outside, I put the grill over the firepit and start cooking the potatoes and porkchops.  Pickled beets will round out our supper.

The boys join me around the firepit when they're done chores.  We talk while supper cooks, then take it in the house to eat.  I leave the dishes- I'll deal with them tomorrow.  Hopefully the power will be back on and we'll have water.  The boys play cards by candle light, and I take a candle to my room to read til I'm ready to sleep.