(a neighbor's home; photo by hubby)
The sudden severe storms that whooshed down on us last Friday knocked power out to an estimated million or more people across the state of Ohio before going out and doing the same in Washington, DC. The governor of Ohio called for a state of emergency. It hit in the middle of a stream of 100 degree days so being without a/c was misery. First day, the house was surprisingly cool, but that night and the next day were torment. Thankfully, we had all ready planned a trip to Harrisburg for our anniversary, so we drove away in our air conditioned car quite happily on Sunday morning. When arrived back around 10:30 pm Tuesday, we had regained power. There are still residents to the south of us who may not get their power back until this coming Tuesday. We had to throw out a fair amount of food which was sad since I work hard to buy things on sale and use coupons. Such a horrid waste. We saved what we could by packing it with ice. Thankfully, we only lost a minor tree branch which fell straight to the ground without any incurring any damage. However, one of our plastic Adirondack chairs had two legs knocked off.
(one of many blocked side-streets; photo by hubby)
While the above scenes from our neighborhood are somewhat impressive, the damage was even more terrifying to behold about thirty minutes south of us. Which is right where I happened to be when the whirlwinds descended. I had driven down to give our wedding bands their every-six-month check up, but the storm hit exactly as I drove into the mall parking lot so I did not succeed in running my errand - only driving a two hour round trip in the awful storm (kinda funny now looking back on it). There I was waiting out a storm in my tiny red car as 82 mph winds rocked it up and down. For a minute, I thought the car's body might fly right off the chassis! The lights of the town flickered on-off-on-off before snuffing out for good. Being it was a Friday night, restaurants were packed to the gills when it happened. I can only imagine the mayhem that must have caused! Large trees, branches and wires went down everywhere in a matter of 15 minutes or less. Some bushes were flattened as if by a strong down draft as their branches all lay on the ground from the center outward on every side. Severe lightning and all sorts of crazy debris swirled around outside my car window. I couldn't believe what I seeing. It took me over an hour to drive home when it had only taken about 30 minutes to get down there. All the traffic lights were out and there were several people on the roads choosing to go whenever they wanted rather than in the order of a 4-way stop as they should have. I would drive down one street, only to have to turn around to find an alternate route due to the road being blocked by huge trees laying across the way. It was like a tornado had struck. Some trees came up root and all! I was so glad to be home that night! We ended up being without power for 3 and a half days, but if you drove north just 30 minutes most of those homes didn't even get the storm or only lost power for about 2 hours that first night.
So what's a girl to do when the air conditioning is gone and the house is consequently nigh on unbearable to move around in?
She imagines herself to happier times and places planning future crafting adventures and home improvement projects. She makes mental lists of what she would still like to accomplish with this blessed summer break. She takes refuge in reading good books.
(and tries valiantly not to lament her loss of the internet)
I admire how L.M.Montgomery's Jane of Lantern Hill took to escaping away to the moon when circumstances did not quite suit her fancy. Rather than allowing perilous situations get her down, she let her imagination take her to new and delightful places:
"...she began to build for herself an existence in the moon where she ate fairy food and wandered through fairy fields, full of strange white moon-blossoms, with the companions of her fancy... Since the moon was all silver, it had to be polished every night. Jane and her moon friends had no end of fun polishing up the moon... Those were the nights when the moon seemed brighter than usual... She was supported through many a dreary day by the hope of going on a moon spree at night."
~ excerpted from Jane of Lantern Hill pages 22-23, copyright 1937, 1989 edition
My dear friends, whether you currently find yourself in sunshine or storm, I do hope that you can take it with Jane's superior attitude and find secret splendors to help you find joy in each new day.
Happy moon polishing!
