My powerless days
Posted by: TammyA lot of people have asked what I did while we had no power. Perhaps it speaks to the fact that I really do live a simple life that I did a lot of what I normally do and more! I know many people I’ve spoken to complained that they had nothing to do but sit around the entire time they lost power. I was also surprised at how many people weren’t prepared to make meals and provide to their basic needs without power.
The forecasters had warned us to expect power outages in our region. The day before we lost power, I made a triple batch of no-knead artisan bread and put it in the fridge. When the power was out, I was able to place my pizza stone in the grill and turn my grill into an oven. I was able to make artisan bread just like I normally did with the exception of sliding the dough into the grill. My girlfriend had made pasta for her family and I shared the two loaves I had made with her family. She couldn’t believe I could make bread without electricity! I do admit that I didn’t get daring enough to make anything like cookies on the grill but I suppose if push had come to shove, I could have done it.
I cleaned! A lot! I didn’t have distractions like kids to get off to school (school was canceled), laundry to do, phone calls, work , the internet and television. My main responsibilities were keeping the generator running (and making sure to alternate things we needed to plug in), keeping the fire going and the kerosene heater going as needed. The boys had fun playing outside and took responsibility for keeping the buckets collecting the snow melt for the toilets. I wanted to make good use of the daylight hours while I had sun so I cleaned. I organized. I sorted through piles of paperwork that I kept meaning to get to. Once the electricity came back on, the house looked good!
I sewed and knitted. I had two pairs of pants I promised to hem for a friend. In the rising morning sun, I was able to cut the pants and pin them in my sewing room downstairs. The afternoon sun gave me plenty of light to sew by in the upstairs living room. I was able to knit by the same afternoon light, slowly but surely working at a vest that’s been on my needles since last winter (I’m still learning how to knit so it’s slow 
). I did think on working with my treadle sewing machine seeing as it doesn’t require electricity but I honestly found it a bit hard to focus on the detailed seams required of piecing together quilt blocks. Still, I took satisfaction in knowing that I could have been productive with my quilting without electricity.
I was able to spend extra time reading my Bible. It’s easy to see how the world and it’s business can draw us away from God. Without electricity, you quickly get down to the basics of living and find time for other things. When the house is so still and quiet without the hum of the computer, the spinning sound of the washing machine, the phone ringing and the television blaring, you can hear God clearly speaking to your heart.