October Snow

It started on Saturday. I was at my favorite bakery, Cocoluxe, with my dear friend Robin. We were sitting at a table by the window when we saw the first flakes appear. As you can see, the maple trees were still aflame with autumn color.

At first it looked beautiful -- a patchwork quilt of green grass, autumn color, and white snow. For the past three years running, we have had our first snow in late October. Those others were just a dusting, and soon melted, but this one was different.

As the morning progressed, the snow began to accumulate, and I began to hear our small town's emergency sirens go off several times.

Then we lost power.

We have a generator which runs our furnace, well pump, sump pump and kitchen and den lights. The generator kicked in, and I breathed a sigh of relief. At least our pipes would not freeze and our cellar would not flood. My husband had been in Washington D.C. and was scheduled to fly into Newark on Saturday afternoon. He took the train instead, which was probably a good thing. Newark was pretty much shut down by late afternoon. By early evening, we had around 4-5 inches of snow.

Power returned around 2:00 am Sunday. We cheered. But then it went off again at 8:30 am. And it stayed off for the next four days. I spent most of Monday trying to reach someone (anyone) at our propane supplier, to supply the generator. And I went through internet withdrawal. ;)

We were very lucky. We had a warm and dry house. And even though this huge branch came down on our deck, it did not break anything. Driving around on Sunday, we viewed hundreds of downed tree branches, hanging wires and swollen streams. Roads were closed to through traffic, and getting around town entailed several detours and a thorough knowledge of the back roads. Schools and businesses were closed. A few of our surrounding towns cancelled Halloween.

And I ate way too much Halloween candy.

So, how was your week?