Wednesday, December 19, 2007

There's No Place Like Home

Ok, so rewind back to Sunday. A peaceful Sunday afternoon on the couch, watching movies and wondering where all the snow was that was predicted for the night before. Instead we got a nice, thick coating of ice on everything. It was actually quite beautiful, especially when the sunlight was on it. (Pictures to follow!)

Quickly this pastoral setting ended with a thud. Literally. And then all the lights and t.v. went dark. We quickly ran to the back window to see what happened. There it was, the approximately 40 year old pine tree, that has to be at least 50 feet tall was uprooted and laying on it's side with the power lines to my house underneath.

Immediately, a fire was built as it was late afternoon and it would soon be getting cold inside. And, I frantically began searching for the phone number for the Pennsylvania Power and Light (PPL) company. It was almost impossible to even get a recorded message with PPL as many residents in our area were without power due to the ice storm. I finally got to a person and was able to plead my case. She recorded my information and said, according to our information, the best estimate we can give you as to when your power will be restored is Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.

Needless to say I wasn't happy but we dug out flashlights and lit the candles and tried to make the best of it. We decided the next day to pack up the troops and move into a hotel till the power was back on. We just returned today. The hotel was full of people (and animals) just like us that had no power.

The good from all this: The outpouring of concern from friends and coworkers. Some of these people I barely know and were offering up their place for us to come stay. The hotel workers also enjoyed seeing us come through the lobby to take the dog out and were extremely accomodating. La Quinta rocks!!! The hotel bill wasn't as expensive and we even checked out really late and they didn't charge us for an additional day. The animals quickly adapted to their new surroundings without any "accidents." We also found that running up and down the hallway was a fine source of entertainment. And finally, yay for insurance!

Thanks to our friends who offered up their homes and showers and sympathized with our predicament. It's really good to be home!

4 comments:

MarkD60 said...

My Grandfather had a woodburning stove in his toolshed. It was so nice out there.
Sounds like you had a nice adventure!

Anonymous said...

So you're saying that you and Brian didn't tough it out by staying in bed, under the covers for the duration of the outage?

Bone said...

Well I'm glad you're back home and that the tree didn't fall on your house.

I'll be awaiting the pictures that were to follow ;-)

Anonymous said...

Merry Christmas, Carn.
That is all. :0)
~m