Camping out at home

The power has been out now for just over 24 hours and the house is very cold. The bedroom thermometer reads 48 degrees. Now that it is dark out, its harder to walk around and do things. I have an extensive collection of candle lanterns acquired for decorative purposes a few years ago. However, I must confess the collection grew, along with the candles and matches to light them, in advance of Y2K. They were decorative, but also part of my disaster preparedness. They were a way of feeling prepared without having everyone feeling I'd gone off the deep end. The family got a lot of camping essentials for Christmas that year, without my ever really explaining why.

These days, battery operated LED lanterns that are much brighter and safer and last longer are the way to go (for the au courant disaster-ready family) but I like my lanterns with their friendly little yellow flames. It's good to have a little light in each room when you are moving around. Such a drag to have to keep one hand full of a flashlight if you don't keep something going in different rooms.

Here's a bright side to how cold it is in here: for all practical purposes the kitchen is the same temperature as the fridge should be so we don't have to minimize the times we open the door. And for those teens that just can't seem to get the milk back in the fridge, they are finally off the hook.

More bright side: I went shopping for long underwear (excuse me, base layers) last weekend. It's winter camping sale time, and I was stocking up for my trip to the Arctic next July. So now I have a chance to try them out, along with the "array of fleeces" my packing list recommends.

I hate to be cold. I often need more layers than those around me. This is especially true when sitting still if I'm working, I'll shed layers as I go. So I dress to look like the Michelin man, or the Stay-Puft marshmallow man. Right now, I have on long johns, sweat pants, a camisole, a thermal base layer, a polar fleece sweatshirt, a polar fleece hoody (with hood up), and thick wool socks. The only reason it's so little is because I'm in bed, with my bottom half under two blankets and a down comforter.

I lent part of my disaster kit to the family, so they can listen to the radio by cheerful candlelight while playing board games. Some part of them is enjoying this time mostly unplugged, though charging up smart phones to stay connected is taking on some urgency.

I'm not worried about pipes freezing- it is predicted to dip below freezing tonight, but not by much. The way my kitchen faucet drips, there's no way the flowing water will freeze.

Tonight we ate out, and I brought home a large cup of coffee. I still have hot water, and I heated the thermos before loading it with the coffee. I think it'll be warm enough to drink in the morning, making me legal to drive to work.

Of course, the power could come back on at any time, but I'm figuring sometime during the day tomorrow is more likely.

7:30 am update (post failed last night) 44 in bedroom. Coffee tepid. Off to work. Was toasty under covers however.