[Magdalen] Snowing now

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

We got a few inches yesterday of really dense snow.  I was amazed how hard
it was to shovel.  I was hearing what sounded like carpentry work as I was
out shovelling. Now I realize it was branches breaking.  Power kept going
on-off-on for some time, and finally it went out for good at eight pm, Wed.
eve.

My sweetie has the Nook, so she just settled in her chair to read. Says it
has ability to run for about eight hours. I didn't want to run down the
battery on my laptop, and since we had no power, I had no web access
anyway, so I went to bed about ten, much to the amusement of my sweetie, I
suspect (I sometimes get to bed around four or five)

We had warning, so I had the furnace set a bit higher, and it got us
through the night without losing much heat (the insulation is really good).

Giving in to the illusion of being in control of something, I called the
automatic report line of Central Hudson Power and the answer started out
with an added recording. A nice man with a very, very sad voice said that
due to the storm power was out in large areas, and CH crews would be
working around the clock to restore power, and crews were coming in from
other areas. However, it was quite possible that some people would be
without power until Friday, so we were encouraged to make alternative plans
for the holiday. I kept expecting him to give an aside groan.

Power came on in the wee hours, and failed again after an hour or so. Then
it came back about six am Thanksgiving morning.

The Lads were all on the bed inquiring about an early breakfast (actually,
Boris was hoping to get a chance to eat some more of Mama's hair, which
seems to be the big thing in his life), so I went downstairs and fed them
and me. And went back to bed for a while then watched a bit of the Macy's
Parade, got bored and went back to bed again.  I could only listen to these
clowns talk about how Spiderman's the longest balloon in the parade for so
many minutes then my brain turns to mush.

At this point, it is possible that we might get some more problems what
with falling limbs (one is hanging over the driveway in our front yard -- a
real widow-maker! My spouse helpfully suggested I go out and try to pull it
down after inquiring if the insurance was paid up [just kidding about the
last phrase]), but I think we're past he worst.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente