It’s a bit of an adventure this Christmas Eve.
The house is clean. Presents are wrapped. I’ve got a plan for the holiday menu. All is on track for a happy Christmas. There’s just one little bump in the road.
We lost power around 11 pm last evening, and it’s still out (hence no lights on the Christmas tree). 70+ mile per hour wind gusts will do that. When we reported the outage, 250,000 customers in Maine were without power. That number has declined, but I understand it could be a couple of days before everyone is back online.
This morning I discovered we’re also stranded, a tree lying across the road blocking our exit. We went through this exact scenario the week after Thanksgiving. I’m grateful for friends who brought us more fuel for the generator in the event this outage runs into Christmas day.
Our generator is a small one that has to be manually connected. It runs our heat, the well pump, and one outlet in the kitchen. We’re starting to rethink the holiday menu with no stove or oven. Christmas eve dinner needs to be something that can cook in an instapot. The breakfast casserole can move to a crock pot instead of an oven. I’m still pondering Christmas dinner – ham, scalloped potatoes, pineapple stuffing, brussels sprouts, and chocolate mousse. I’m trying to figure out how to make this happen between a crockpot and an instapot. This all puts a crimp on our plans, but at least we baked our Christmas cookies yesterday.
So we’re spending a quiet day together. The big winds have subsided. It’s lightly snowing. We iced Christmas cookies, and I’m settling in with my book for a nap. Despite the challenges of the day, I sit here thinking about how blessed I am.
Each year I share a linoleum block poster created by my great-great aunt, Elizabeth Stroble. This is print #12 and reads,
Peace on Earth
Merry Christmas
The sentiment “peace on earth” featured with people from around the world hand-in-hand seems fitting this year.
On that note, I wish you and yours a peaceful, safe, and Happy Christmas!
24 Dec 2021
24 Dec 2020 – the history about and images of Elizabeth
24 Dec 2019
24 Dec 2017
24 Dec 2016
24 Dec 2015
24 Dec 2014
24 Dec 2013
24 Dec 2012
24 Dec 2011
24 Dec 2010
I want to wish you and your family a very warm and Merry Christmas. I love your stories about your land and animals and crafts. I live in upstate NY & got hit with the same storm. Luckily we didn’t lose power but it is still very cold here…..15*. Thank you so much for all of your animal patterns. Enjoy your family. From a grateful fan, Nancy DeGennaro
Oh dear .. no electricity. At least you have a generator! Good luck with your cooking dinner. Same happened here about six years ago. No electricity for five days starting Christmas Eve. Like you we are on well water so the pump wasn’t working. No showers no flushing the loo!! That’s when we decided to get a generator ….
Despite your electricity problems I wish you and yours a Happy Christmas. Bon courage!