I'm Back

 We got bombed by the cyclone. Here by the airport the highest wind gust was 59 MPH, enough to make trees come down or shed major limbs, take out lots of power lines and cable service.

We lost power for 13 hours, dusk or 4:40 Tuesday evening until dawn, or 6:50 Wednesday morning. We were fortunate. Some of our neighbors, and many thousands in the general area are still out on this Friday afternoon. 

Cable service was out until this morning, so no internet, no TV, no phone land line. We did have cellular data and cell phones. I missed not having TV in the evenings. Since I still don't have my glasses, making do with inadequate reading glasses is giving me headaches. 

However we have spent a lot of time outside, cleaning up.

Tuesday evening we stayed cozy with a fire in the fireplace and candle light.

When the candles burned down, about 10:30, we went to bed, with extra blankets. 

This is how it looked Wednesday morning when I walked out to the street to get the newspaper. There wasn't one. 

I laughed at this.  This grinning face on our greenhouse had caught a little twig decoration. 

No real damage was done except that our old dogwood tree came down in the neighbor's yard and took out part of their fence. 

And a fir tree branch speared a corner of our garage roof. 

Tom and I were out in the morning to begin clean up. We got the driveway cleared. Jill and Jake came over about noon. Jill got on the roof to put a temporary patch on the hole in the roof. 

Tom had stored a glass birdbath in the attic. Turns out it was right under the hole. No water damage. Now there is a bucket under it. 

Jill and Jake used power tools to cut up the dogwood and get the neighbor's yard cleaned up. Tom borrowed a pickup the next day and hauled piles to the transfer station yard waste dump, where it will eventually become compost. 

Tom and I did more clean up and hauling on Thursday. I did a lot of raking  and picking up. Now today, Friday, we are resting. Mostly. We went to our usual breakfast, took our 97 year old friend to the Dollar Store, and did our weekly Safeway shopping. 

It has been an adventure. There will be more clean up to do. The insurance company has been notified. We have another small shopping trip to make. And then, we will settle in, warm and safe, and WATCH TV AND SCROLL ON OUR TABLET AND LAP TOP. 

Ah, the modern conveniences. I don't think I would have been a very good pioneer.