A night without Electricity and a new determination

After spending Tuesday night with no electricity, I was determined to make good use of the daylight on Wednesday.  I made another hat from my Black Shetland top and a wool/angora blend batt that I bought from Leslie Sampson at the Midwest Felting Symposium. The good thing about making a hat is that when you're done, you're done -- except for sewing in a label and maybe an embellishment. I've also been working some felt pieces for two upcoming art shows and I'm knee deep in mat board and frames.

Stan was out of state duck hunting for the past few days. Not good timing with the nasty weather we've been having.  Our yard is full of big branches from the willow trees. I suppose that a fallen tree was what knocked out the power on Tuesday night for several hours.  I'm thinking that is the first time in my life that I've been home all alone (except for the dog and two cats) when the power went off at night. Growing up the fifth in a family of eight children and then marrying and starting a family in my twenties, I really haven't been alone as much as I am these days.  And I'm not complaining, now that the boys are gone, I am free to do all the things I've always dreamed of doing. And my cluttered up house is strewn with those things. :-)

Anyway, back to the dark and stormy night -- using my digital camera for light, I managed to find some matches stowed away with my Ukrainian egg decorating supplies. And I found candles stashed away in various cupboards.   Eventually I had candle light in the living room and kitchen.  Then it was like in the horror movies, me going down in the basement holding a candle. And when I finally found a flashlight in the basement, I headed out into the stormy night to close up the geese and check on the sheep. 

Luckily there were no axe murderers in the garage or out in the barn, but it was kind of spooky with the garage door rattling and the wind and rain whipping my face.  No, my sheep were NOT standing out in the weather like some people report theirs do.  My sheep have the good sense to come in out of the rain and the near hurricane force winds. Now the geese are another story, they will stand out in the rain and the hail, heads pointing to the sky and just weather the storm.  But at least they were back inside their pen and I locked them in for safety from predators.

I am really glad to have adequate shelter for all my sheep and birds -- the calf huts, the pole barn and the lean to -- it makes me feel better knowing that none of them have to stay outside in really bad weather.

After making sure all the outside animals were locked up for the night, I came back in to my candlelit living room and kitchen.  The smell of the candles was wonderful, I got out my Louet S51 and started spinning some BFL top.  The winds howling outside, the wheel turning, the quiet repetition of the treadling, and the cats curled up in the periphery of the candle light, it was actually pretty nice!  I did my yoga and spun a little more yarn.  The lights flickered on intrusively for a second.  I was kind of glad that they didn't stay on.  I went around and made sure all the switches were set in the off position before turning in for the night around 9:45.  My 5 pound wool comforter kept me warm until the electricity came back on during the night. 

Makes me think about what it would be like to slow down, enjoy the silence and being in the moment more often.  So Wednesday the TV stayed off and the only radio I listened to was classical music as I was felting that hat.  Which, by the way, was sheer joy with the aid of the felt rolling machine. I am finally getting the hang of how best to use it.  And it's a good thing because there's lots more felting to be done around here!

I'll close with a shot of the Shetland gander. It's hard to tell what really goes on inside that little pea brain of his.  But he is kind of cute with that inquisitive nature.