Without Electricity, that is…
You spend an extraordinary amount of time just making life work.
Seriously. Laundry, dishes, food, warmth, cleaning… all these things are easier with electricity. We had four days without power and nearly all those hours were spent figuring out how to keep life going. One day, I managed to spend working at my paying job, but the other three were spent cleaning, getting firewood, figuring out wattages for the generator… the smallest things took more time than expected, so life has been different—to say the least.
Staying warm was the primary need and it became our number one focus. I have kids. Making sure they have what they need takes up plenty of time normally—when you’re without electricity, it’s pretty much all the time. Laundry became a freaking pain in the butt. I finally sorted it and worked out a solution and while we were implementing that solution, the power came on.
So, many unexpected expenses later, we’re back to regular Christmas season stuff. Expecting a new storm to hit tonight, but I’m more than ready this time.
I’ll have to spend next week making up lost time to my employer.
But many good things came from this week. I learned that good lighting is essential to cleaning. Heh heh. I also went through all my old half-finished manuscripts and realized that some of this stuff is way better than I remembered.
So… I’m going to take a month to finish an older manuscript. It’s a contemporary romantic suspense—more than half written – and I can whip it into shape in no time. If I do manage to snag the interest of an agent, I’ll have more than one manuscript ready. Good, yes?
So look for a new toolbar in the column to the right soon–it will give you an update on the progress of Wired. I’ll be changing the title since a recent Shomi book already claimed it. But yes, it’s about computer hacking and lurve…. heh heh
Other than that, I learned that down time is good for a busy family of four. We actually spent hours together, talking, working together to make our lives work. I’m crazy about my kids and the last week has shown me that they are turning into some fantastic, self-sufficient human beings. Gives me lots to look forward to. J