5/22/09 I was doing laundry when the power went out...

It must have happened just as we stepped outside for our evening walk. As soon as we rounded the corner, suddenly several houses had people on their patios looking all around. There were kids clad in pajamas running around their front yards. It seemed that most of the neighborhood had also decided to enjoy the beautiful evening.

But then it started seeming a little excessive. There were TOO many people outside in our typically quiet neighborhood. The longer we walked the more we saw people on their patios, looking around frantically, cell phones tightly clasped to their heads. Then we came across a friend, who also had a cell phone to her head. She informed us that the power had gone out. GASP!

As we walked closer to home, the mood of the neighborhood seemed to change from "oh my gosh the power went out" to "I'm glad I have an excuse to be outside." It seemed people's worry over the power was quickly shifting into an attitude of gratefulness for being pulled away from the temptations that electricity can taunt us with.

Power outages are fun and can be a good reminder that there is life outside of your home, but power outages can also be a tad inconvenient. Case in point: I was doing laundry when the power went out. (I probably don't need to say more, but of course I will.) Luckily the load in the washer had just finished, but the clothes in the dryer were still soaking wet. If you've ever left wet clothes in the washer or dryer for a while, you know that awful smell that starts coming from your recently cleaned clothes. Hoping to avoid the nightmare of having to rewash clean clothes, we pulled all of the wet clothes out of the washer and dryer and laid them out to air-dry. Our kitchen and patio looked like the washer and dryer had exploded, leaving clothing debris scattered around. Clothes were all over our counters, tables, and chairs. Hubby even rigged up a piece of wood over the tops of the sliding laundry room doors to hang clothes. We literally had clothes hanging from the ceiling!

I wish that we could all have the block party effect of a power outage more often, minus the actual power outage. Because really, that was a pain! But I'll just take it as a gentle reminder that I CAN survive without the conveniences of electricity...even though I would rather not! Didn't you read about my kitchen?? ;)