Powerless

Tonight we have just returned to our house after having been out of power for a week. An historic, record-breaking late October snowfall wrecked havoc on trees with leaves still on them, bringing down entire trees, very large branches, and the powerlines beneath them. Property damage - houses, fences, cars parked under the falling limbs, was astonishing to see. Snowplows cleared the foot of snow from the roads, creating one-way roads around fallen branches and wires in the streets. Town shelters were full of those few who chose not to leave their cold homes. Gas station line waits exceeded hours. I obtained a chainsaw from the Sears in Waterbury, too many were sold out up here. The state still has 13% of CL&P customers w/o power after the largest power outage event ever.

We were staying at GiGi and PopPop's house; fortunately they are one of the few in Vernon who never lost power. I just started clean up in my grandparent's yard and my own yard, but it will take weeks, I'm sure. We managed well with relatively good fortune - no property damage, just many large branches and soon to be dead trees, doubled over and broken. We had a warm place to stay with power, and visits from nearby relatives to check on each other. We were even able to trick-or-treat the few houses on my grandparent's street, then visit Great Gram and Linda, who also were lucky to keep their power.

We're happy to be home, and realize all that there is to be thankful for. I'm excited about using my new chainsaw and storing some firewood to build a campfire some day to tell the tale...