Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

Watching last night’s 6 o’clock news, I knew we were in for a wind storm. I’m not sure what it is about the spot where we live; the transformers must be in vulnerable positions or something. When there are wind warnings for the Lower Mainland, we typically lose power.

While Darrell was putting an early supper on the table, I sent the following tweet at precisely 6:39:17:

The power went out by 7. Thankfully, we were pretty much finished supper by then. We grabbed our handy flashlights, including the hand-crank light/radio from my Dad, which we hadn’t used yet.

With no computers and no television and with Friday night being "Us" night anyway, we decided to go to bed and listen to Delilah until Darrell got tired of cranking the radio. (Thanks Dad, that worked great!)

I don’t mind thunder and lightening. I tolerate the endless pouring rain (from inside). But I really don’t like the wind! I cringed every time it howled and made Darrell hold me, close.

With the beginning of the winter season, it is time for Darrell and I to begin hibernating, except for necessary trips out. Power outages are more than a mere inconvenience for us. Living on the third floor, we rely on the elevator to get home. No power, no elevator. If we (or one of us) happen to be out when the power goes out, then we are stranded. And, there are our power chairs that need power to go! Darrell uses his manual wheelchair inside, so he is ok, and with no elevator he won’t need his power chair to go out. But I use my small scooter inside. If the power outage lasts for a day or more, I could be hooped. (Note to self: start charging this chair nightly.)

Please forgive if we don’t accept many invitations at this time of year. Going out in the dark, cold, rain and wind isn’t safe. Forget snow!