Our weather forecasts are rarely accurate, so we weren’t concerned about an impending snowstorm. Several people around the US asked if we were ready for the storm that was not yet on our radar. It hit. There were a few flakes Saturday morning, lots of drizzles, and finally real snow after 5:30. Power went out at 11, and we got it back about 18 hours later. Our church in Asheville was closed, and I’m sure a huge percentage of other churches in the area were shut tight. Roads, if passable at all, would have been treacherous. John is a drive-through-anything person, and he said we weren’t leaving the house. We found out later that trees fell across the road near the stop sign, and neighbors Bob and Jeff walked there and cleared the road. Our heroes!!!

We are blessed to have a generator that runs a few outlets around the house, and we had hot water. Water is not taken for granted here, because you need electricity to run the well pump. After dressing in my warmest clothes, I made pumpkin soup in the microwave. We were ready for the day. Logan and his parents, Shawn and Bob, came over to huddle with us. Neighbor Joyce joined us later. We used our collection of throws and flax warmers to keep from shivering. Not knowing how long the power would be off, we didn’t use our gas fireplace. If the house had gotten colder, we would have turned it on. We were able to make coffee and hot chocolate, with no takers for tea. Conversation never flagged, and two worked on a jigsaw puzzle. I don’t know how long they stayed, maybe four pleasant hours.  There were no unpleasant moments.

Bob left to help a neighbor start a generator, and the rest of us played balloon. We told Logan to get a new balloon, and he asked his mother to tie it. Logan and I are not good at that. Balloon is an active game that never fails to warm me up. Adults sat on chairs, and Logan was EVERYWHERE. John claims Logan could play a fierce game of toss and return all by himself.

As daylight faded, everyone went home. That’s when the power came back on. I became concerned when John didn’t come in from shoveling snow. He was still shifting the wet mess. That’s when I realized how much he missed New York weather. He cleared our driveway and was shoveling the street!