Power, and the walls, come down
Feb. 13th, 2005 09:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chelidonThursday was an interesting day. We got a fairly large snowfall overnight and during the day of extremely wet, heavy snow. The weather folks said that while most snow has about a 10-1 air/water ratio, this stuff came down at more like 4-1, so it was about 2 1/2 times as heavy as normal snow. It is incredibly beautiful and everything looked like it was covered with about a foot of marshmallow sauce, but one of the effects was that snow-covered wires and trees coming down caused the power to flicker on and off, on and off, on, and...off. From Thursday morning until about 1030pm at night, the power was totally out in the entire region.
Now this wasn't as messy as it could have been. because I put in a backup generator out in the chicken coop when we moved in, so after I fired that up, we still had those little essentials like heat (the oil furnace requires electricity to operate), well pump for water, and so on (another good reason to pull out the oil furnace and put in the gravity-fed wood furnace this summer). But the broadband Internet access works off of local power, so that was out, and no connectivity made it really hard to work. This was just another little clue-tap to make the Casa as energy self-sufficient as I can, as soon as I can. Heck, oil's not ever getting any cheaper, that's for sure, and if Peak Oil theory holds out (which I think likely), it could get a lot more expensive over the next 10-20 years, not to mention the benefit of using 100% renewable sources for our own needs. I'm looking into the possibility of converting my tractor to biodiesel, but I think I'll wait until the warranty is up... ;->
That night I had to head out in really nasty weather to pick up lovely housemates from the airport on their way back from New Orleans and Mardi Gras. Most smarter folk were off the roads, and it was kind of a harrowing drive in places (particularly the slalom run on the interstate through a flying phalanx of multiple-ton snow plow trucks), but a little experience, a bit of luck, a smidge of prudence and the wards on the car got us all home again safely later that night. Housemates regaled me all the way home with sordid tales of a solid week of splendid decadence, stupendous indulgence, wretched excess, amazing live music, massive amounts of illegal and immoral fun, and a week of unbelievable food and drink (one small example- pate plate of pheasant pate with ham and pistachio, venison pate with cherries, duck liver mousse with Grand Marnier, garnished with Creole mustard, (Stilton) blue cheese, calamata olives and thyme onion relish -- and that's just an appetizer). No, no, I'm not bitter to have missed it, no, no, no...yes. Bastards ;> Ah, well, they at least brought home excellent Carnival loot, including the leftovers of some kind of incredible wild boar dish one of them had for lunch, which I happily devoured when we got back home.
The weekend was one of mayhem and creative destruction, as we continued the process of turning this into this by way of this, this, this, and this. Number One Son (code name: "Calvin") got to go to a local winter carnival and have all kinds of fun, except that in all of the excitement he let his glamour slip and his inner self came out. Oops.
This morning, this is the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. as the sunlight glinted through newly-formed icicles hanging off the roof. Glorious. I so love it here.
I'll be spending the next 8 days offline in Minnesota (yes, my migration compass seems to have gotten a bit mixed up...;>), so if you send me any email in that time, I won't see it until I get back. Have a delightful week, my fellow truth and beauty junkies and sweetly lascivious wild things! (you know who you are)
Now this wasn't as messy as it could have been. because I put in a backup generator out in the chicken coop when we moved in, so after I fired that up, we still had those little essentials like heat (the oil furnace requires electricity to operate), well pump for water, and so on (another good reason to pull out the oil furnace and put in the gravity-fed wood furnace this summer). But the broadband Internet access works off of local power, so that was out, and no connectivity made it really hard to work. This was just another little clue-tap to make the Casa as energy self-sufficient as I can, as soon as I can. Heck, oil's not ever getting any cheaper, that's for sure, and if Peak Oil theory holds out (which I think likely), it could get a lot more expensive over the next 10-20 years, not to mention the benefit of using 100% renewable sources for our own needs. I'm looking into the possibility of converting my tractor to biodiesel, but I think I'll wait until the warranty is up... ;->
That night I had to head out in really nasty weather to pick up lovely housemates from the airport on their way back from New Orleans and Mardi Gras. Most smarter folk were off the roads, and it was kind of a harrowing drive in places (particularly the slalom run on the interstate through a flying phalanx of multiple-ton snow plow trucks), but a little experience, a bit of luck, a smidge of prudence and the wards on the car got us all home again safely later that night. Housemates regaled me all the way home with sordid tales of a solid week of splendid decadence, stupendous indulgence, wretched excess, amazing live music, massive amounts of illegal and immoral fun, and a week of unbelievable food and drink (one small example- pate plate of pheasant pate with ham and pistachio, venison pate with cherries, duck liver mousse with Grand Marnier, garnished with Creole mustard, (Stilton) blue cheese, calamata olives and thyme onion relish -- and that's just an appetizer). No, no, I'm not bitter to have missed it, no, no, no...yes. Bastards ;> Ah, well, they at least brought home excellent Carnival loot, including the leftovers of some kind of incredible wild boar dish one of them had for lunch, which I happily devoured when we got back home.
The weekend was one of mayhem and creative destruction, as we continued the process of turning this into this by way of this, this, this, and this. Number One Son (code name: "Calvin") got to go to a local winter carnival and have all kinds of fun, except that in all of the excitement he let his glamour slip and his inner self came out. Oops.
This morning, this is the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. as the sunlight glinted through newly-formed icicles hanging off the roof. Glorious. I so love it here.
I'll be spending the next 8 days offline in Minnesota (yes, my migration compass seems to have gotten a bit mixed up...;>), so if you send me any email in that time, I won't see it until I get back. Have a delightful week, my fellow truth and beauty junkies and sweetly lascivious wild things! (you know who you are)
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no subject
Date: 2005-02-14 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-14 03:38 pm (UTC)Enjoy your week away!
no subject
Date: 2005-02-14 05:18 pm (UTC)Have the grooviest Winter Camp. :-)
Ahem...
Date: 2005-02-15 02:57 am (UTC)"No, no, I'm not bitter to have missed it, no, no, no...yes. Bastards ;>"
Hmmph. Next time, no boar for you, mister... ;>
Have fun in Minnesota - see you next week!
- Lylythe