Another Island Adventure

 I knew that Whidbey Island is prone to power outages as a result of frequent stormy and windy weather in Winter. I knew that it's important to have a generator. So, this fall I started talking with electricians so I could get ready. This house has generator-ready wiring installed so a generator can be hooked up to automatically come on and power most of the house when the power goes out, but the previous owners had taken their generator with them and I was interviewing electricians and researching generators. It is a significant expense and process and I know nothing about it, really, so I needed advice.

Then, Friday night a huge windstorm blew through during the night. And I mean BLEW. There was a lot of crashing and banging as branches and debris from trees in the area got flung far and wide. There are two small decks on the back of my house that are covered with a sort of corrugated fiberglass, and boy, did it sound loud when bits of tree debris fell on that. 

And of course, the power went out. 

No surprise, really. But the amount of cedar tree debris all over my yard and driveway (and the street, and my neighbors' yards) really surprised me. Stuff was really blowing. Apparently a lot of roads around the island were totally blocked by downed trees.

That photo of the downed power lines up there is at the entrance to my little neighborhood. Yikes.

 Puget Sound Electric has an outage on map on their website, and after very slow cell service loading, I saw that power was out over most of the island. See that red splodge up there? That's Whidbey Island. I knew my friends in Seattle and Port Townsend had lost power for a few hours on Friday night, but it went back on quickly. 

No so on the island. So many trees! So many downed lines! 

I cleaned up debris in my yard and driveway, incredibly grateful that nothing had fallen on and damaged my car in the driveway. There was a big tree branch on the ground right next to my car. Phew. (Note to self: Time to get the unpacked boxes out of the garage so I can keep the car inside.) 

The outage would have not have been that problematic -- aside from the inconveniences of no electricity, no heat, no hot water -- but of course I had a major work deadline this week and had counted on working all weekend. Oh dear. 

 

It turns out that living this close to the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry is really convenient. After getting the critters settled, Caroline and I headed to Mukilteo with our electronics and charging cords to find a cozy place to spend a few hours. We landed at a Panera restaurant which was mobbed. Power was out in spots in Mukilteo, too, and people were looking for hot coffee and breakfast and electrical outlets. We had a very cozy time there, actually. I got work done, Caroline read and charged her electronics, and we savored the very hot and comforting soup. 

Back home that evening, things were dark and cold. I could see that some neighbors have the type of auto-on generators that I have been working on, as I heard their generators go on friday night and their houses were lit up with normal activity. But we made do with our candles (both real flame and battery-powered) and retreated to our respective beds to snuggle under our big piles of blankets. Good thing I have a lot of quilts around here! Caroline had her two cats to keep her warm, and I had Starlie and Rosie who were thrilled to be permitted onto the bed. It is a "special occasion only" sort of thing in my bedroom. 

We were reminded that our last long power outage had been a few years back, when major wildfires evacuated our whole town and we went to stay with a friend in Marin County. (Hi, Lainey!) Just after we got to her house, the power went out there and although there was no fire danger, the power stayed out for about four days. So intermittently retreating to the car to warm up and charge our phones was a familiar experience. 

I was dismayed to learn that the gas oven/cooktop unit in this house has a "safety feature" which prevents gas from flowing to the burners if the electricity is off. Really? So we could not use the gas stove or oven which was really, really irritating. On my list this week is to call around and see is that is a feature I can disable. On Saturday morning I made tea by heating water on the gas BBQ -- which, let me tell you, takes a bit of time. 

Sunday found me headed back to Mukilteo, where I camped out at a Starbucks for most of the day working. Boy, was the staff there was wonderful. They were totally happy to let me stay for the day, tucked into a corner with my laptop plugged in and hopping up for frequent coffee purchases. I didn't want to be too bad of a freeloader. The holiday cups cheered me up.

PSE was projecting that power would be restored around noon on Monday, so before heading home, I stopped by Target and got an inexpensive camping stove and some small propane canisters.

 

 Tea making was a lot easier. Just so you know, that was on my little covered deck. Propane stove use is not recommended indoors, although I was tempted.

Caroline had ramen for breakfast.

 

Then back to Mukilteo for me on Monday for more work. PSE had updated their restoration time to "11/8, 12:00 am" which led to some texts with a friend over whether that meant Monday night midnight or Tuesday night midnight. We thought (hoped!) Monday midnight. Apparently we were not the only ones confused, because not long after PSE changed the post to "11/8, 11:59 pm." 

At some point, while we were shivering inside with 40 degree weather outside, a friend in New Hampshire posted that he'd enjoyed a 72 degree day in Portsmouth by the water that same day. Somehow I did not anticipate that Whidbey Island would be colder than New Hampshire. Go figure. 

I can report that the bbq works really well for heating pizza that has cooled off on the ferry ride. Crust was wonderfully crispy!

The power came back on Tuesday morning sometime around 1 am. I was very happy to be awakened by my bedroom nightstand lamp coming on. 

So, we are getting back to normal around here. I will need to throw out a lot of stuff from the fridge and freezer that may be unsafe, so that is a project for this afternoon.

Meanwhile, here is my home office this morning. Some days it just feels good to hang out on the bed. Yes, the dogs are right up with me, snoozing happily. Work project is almost almost done - just a final review this morning. 

I'm told by long-time Whidbey Islanders that this storm was the worst in a number of years. Hopefully it will be our last without a generator to keep us functioning. 

Meanwhile, I have a Very Exciting Event to look forward to. After many months without my longarm, Bernina techs are coming a few days before Thanksgiving to get my Q24 set back up and running. I'd had to take it down last December to stage and show my house in Healdsburg (apparently buyers might think a big quilting machine in the primary bedroom is a bit odd) and it has been carefully packed and stored since I've been here. I can hardly wait to get back to longarm quilting again. I know what I'll be doing over Thanksgiving weekend! 

And speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm so grateful to be warm and cozy, living in a beautiful (if stormy) place, with friends who texted and called and kept me cheered.