Powerless

Normally as you drive off of the main roads and start venturing up the hills of Lake Forest Park toward our house, a surprisingly strong, fresh woodsy scent pervades the car through the air vents. I always wonder a bit about that—if it smells that great from inside a car, driving past the corner shop / gas station / drive-through espresso stand and the endless string of big houses with SUVs parked out front, imagine what it smelled like before humanity invaded.

Tonight as I headed up the hill to let Murphee out and give her dinner, the only thing I could smell was wood smoke. The shop / station / stand corner was dark, as were the houses, and most importantly our house. Our power went out at 11pm on Thursday night during the big storm. Want to see exactly why? Here’s a photo from the Seattle Times home page, taken on the street that leads up the hill straight into our little neighborhood of dead end cul-de-sacs. (Those are two really big trees resting peacefully on our power lines.)

We have our own photos of these trees, that Rona took on Friday past the “Road Closed” sign and over the “Police Line Do Not Cross” tape when we were trying leave the hill, but they are trapped on the camera’s hard drive until we have power or juggle enough technology around to someplace else that does. I’m currently at HotWire cafe in Shoreline’s North City neighborhood. I spent the day hanging out with Zoey in the van and various places with lights, heat, and food while Rona taught, and then Rona and Zoey headed off to spend some time together and I popped away to make sure the Internet was still here.

So, we’re all fine, if a bit cold and squinty, and hopefully we’ll have power soon. But—sadly—I’m fairly certain that no one is doing anything about those trees and our power lines yet. We’re closing in on 48 hours without power, and I wouldn’t be surprised if our neighborhood were dark for another couple days.

Tomorrow morning we’re grabbing Murphee and Zoey and heading for the ferry to Lopez Island, for Hanukkah fun at Grandma Arlene’s house. She’s got lights, she’s got heat, she’s got food and a washer ‘n’ dryer and Hanukkah candles for Zoey to help light (and then blow out like she likes to do), and we are so there. Hopefully our power will be restored on Monday when we get back.

A quick power-outage Zoey anecdote since I can’t post photos of her at the moment:
This morning when we were all trying to get ready to leave the house, Zoey decided that she needed to go on a mission to find batteries. She announced this fact while I was about to claim ownership of the toasty warm shower (thank you gas water heater!), and then said, "Wish me luck!" and marched out of the room with her little flashlight clutched in her hand like a sword. Ah, our brave little adventurer…

So, in the morning we’ll be off to Lopez Island, with fond hopes for a bright, toasty return on Monday. Wish us luck!