Seeing Nothing- In the Dark-

The only light in my life-
After around 4:45 this morning...


Good Evening All;
I was  up around 2:30 today- Unable to  sleep, I came on here. I had many windows on the computer open- many tabs too, and was happily reading the news, and a few blogs-
I was so 'into' what I was reading too. Just one of those days.

Miss Punk lay asleep on the floor by me.

Of a sudden the power went out- Punk growled, not loud- Just enough to let me know she was up -and "something" had happened.
(It had. The power had flashed).

Flashed.
Came on.
Flickered.
Then flashed a few more times- (for good measure); finally deciding to come on, and remain on.
I looked from window to window, in case something had happened near here. Nothing.

So I fired the computer back on. And came back online. By now, everyone in the world must know I have dialup. And since I'd had all those pages up and running, I knew it would take til Tuesday to reload these so I began the new session option.

Deciding to blog, I went to Flickr and opened up my pictures, clicking on the ones I'd wanted to share with you.
Since this takes a while, and since it was 5AM, I thought to feed these beasties of mine their breakfast. (Especially after Punk had growled a second time, a bit more, and even added 2 warning "bruuf"'s -as she was trying to watch the bunny wabbits on the front lawn).

They got their food and water- And by the time I had run my dishwater and come back here, all of the pics were loaded! (YAY)!

As I went to click on the last html in the pics, the power went out.

And stayed off.

After a moment or two of wait, I went in search of a few matches to light my candles.  (A "few", heck, the piano and the book cupboard looked like mini~altars)! hehehe

Thinking of Kelli, I rechecked the windows for any smoke that could have been billowing down the road. Nothing.
...Or across the ravines to the south in the woods- Nothing.

ok-
So to settle in until I was restored.
Those many candles offered much soft light- And enjoying the quiet, I cut many pieces for my quilts- (A wee bit smug too that I had thought to turn the heat on back at 2:30 when I'd gotten up too; usually I wait)...

Peeking out the window a while later, I could see a bit of light to the east- A few headlights heading east had illuminated a portable "road closed" sign.
What?!?

I got dressed, and brushed my hair -and little toofers. Loading dog, and camera, into car.

Pushing the garage door button--- nothing happens. A llittle voice on my left shoulder exclaims, "No shit Sherlock, you don't have power."
Duh... hehehe
A bit more light on the horizon as we pull out of the driveway...


I have added "light" to these pics- so you can see what I saw...




Sure enough- "Road closed!"  So this is what Punk had growled at then...
I really DO have to pay more attention to her, even when I am 'into' something else.

Moseying down to Flintville, I pull over as I see the squad car right in front of Kelli and Tims!
(I further remember that the bedroom phone, corded, had probably been unplugged when Casey had slept up there yesterday).
A sickening feeling, that...


That is NOT good...


I park the car, leave the dog- and realize I have forgotten my darn cane at home. Too bad-
... I now absolutely need to know if Kelli is OK-
I walk-


Hmmm "Accident ahead"   ~Ya think?!



The driver had hit the power pole, leaving some wires snapped- and other barely making the connection. (That is what made it flash and flicker here).

After a few minutes, the transformer had blown.
It was that explosion that had killed any remaining hope of power that we might have had.

Already the tow truck was there-

I quickly asked Deputy Meissner if Kelli and Tim were ok?
He assured me they were, and asked if I would have one of them come out so he could speak with them.



Kelli had already repaired most of the fence that the horses had taken out as the transformer had exploded, scaring the beejeezus out of them...



Slowly but surely they calmed down-
Alfalfa has such a good and calming effect-



Kelli and Deputy Meissner- As he explained that although the rest of us would be restored, they would be without power for the better part of today. (This since the pole had to be replaced).
Kelli's reply? "The PACKER Game is on tomorrow, and I better have it restored by then!"
Yes, she was serious.



Dan Drewery and Deputy M.
Dan, and my old boss Judy Wouters, have been together forever-
Dan works for the county highway department, and responds to any accident that involves closing the road, no matter the time, the weather, or the location in the county.


Everyone so very busy-



Kelli even had to run to Suamico to get her coffee! hehehe

Slowly but surely to have the broken wires brought back together... (This was just a bandaid so the rest of us could have power).



A rude awakening for more than the horses...

After waking around 3 himself, Tim had fallen back to sleep on the couch- Soon as the accident happened, he was wide awake-
As was Kelli-
As was Tim's mom (Mary) in the other half of the duplex.
She said she heard the 'thunder', knowing it was supposed to rain, but thought it the strangest thunder too. (Add to that, the fact that it wasn't even raining yet)-

Soon had come a knock at the door- The lady who had been driving was very shaken up-  Yes she had walked away without a scratch!  These Buicks are solid. Hers had given its life to save hers- (Not to mention the deers life that she had swerved to miss). There goes the insurance claim... sad that-

As I knew all was well, I left Kelli with an invitation to come get water for the horses- (I have water whether I have power or not).
Punk and I headed back here.

Pulling back in the garage, it was just beginning to rain- About 43°  - - It is a cold and chilling dampness.

But the workers were already in the fields- Still harvesting those many wagonloads of cabbage!


Happy to see that-
Cold or not, freakin' hot or not, they are there, working hard.

Punk went potty, and we headed in the house-
Barely the door closed and the power came back on-
Back to the real world then.  And to my little quilting squares.

As I type it is still raining-
Good. We have been very dry this whole month, and quite behind with the precipitation-
(As long as it stays rain, I won't complain)! hehehe

Hope you are having a great weekend-
My love to all.

XOXO
Me

PS
A major problem with a blown transformer is collateral damage.
Any power lines previously connected to the transformer are now live,exposed wires that could still be carrying thousands of volts.
During a storm, these wires could cause major arcing and electrical shock should they be submerged in large puddles of water.
Electrical arcs from blown transformers could also potentially set telephone poles and nearby trees on fire, especially during dry seasons.
Read more: What Happens When a Transformer Blows? | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_4900128_what-happens-transformer-blows.html#ixzz13EgfMqyI

*
The above included, just to show you how very lucky everyone was this morning!
Chilled. Damp. And inconvenienced.
But oh, so very lucky!