The Q-View

“Snowfall projections have increased” is not the message you want to see on your phone. Unless you operate a ski resort.

And after last Friday’s nor’easter, which reminded us all, after a relatively benign winter, that Nature is still in charge, just about everything was preemptively shut down last night.

My Dom Wednesday was canceled, as was my mother’s annual excursion to see the Upper Perk High School musical, a trip we have been taking for the last several years.

The plan for today was to take Dom to daycare, pick up my mom in Ardmore, back to the Valley for the 1 p.m. “Gold Card” free performance, have dinner at our house, back to Ardmore, turn around, back to the Valley.

Sleep for 14 hours.

But noooo, thanks to winter storm Quinn, I’ll be home waiting for the power to go out.

At least I have time to write.

We lost power last Friday, only for a few hours that, nevertheless, seemed like an eternity. Losing power entails the obvious lack of lights, television, and internet. Ebbing power indicators on phones and computers raise the anxiety tide. No power also means no water, because we have a well, no baseboard heat, no electric range, and no sump pump.

The last item was why I bought a portable generator the day before Sandy a few years ago. Most timely purchase of my life. We used it for four days when we lost power during that storm and kept the basement from flooding.

Using the generator is a pain though. Orange extension cords snaking through the house, unplugging an appliance to be able to use another so as not to overload the generator, constant gas monitoring, trips to the gas station—while hoping it did not lose power also.

Still, beats cold darkness.

But, over the years, complacency has set in. Last week, I didn’t pre-prepare for the storm, so when our power went out, I was scrambling to read through the generator directions I had forgotten, check the shed to make sure we had enough gas, find the flashlights buried in drawers, check the batteries in lanterns.

I wasn’t even sure if the generator would start since I had not run it in several months, and I could not test it immediately because it can’t be exposed to moisture, like rain or snow, and it can’t run inside the garage.

Fortunately, the power came back before sunset.

This time I prepared, looking for the karma a friend of mine espoused yesterday: if you prepare for power outages, they don’t happen.

I started and ran the generator and fueled the snowblower. We kept the heat on in several rooms overnight.

This morning I bought an oil-filled radiator to replace our propane fireplace which, for the first time since we’ve had it, decided to stop working last night. The response from our propane supplier was basically, “That’s a shame. We’ll get back to you.”

I filled some milk and juice bottles with water for toilet flushing, which only should occur after number two’s. (It’s a blackout rule.)

I also bought more batteries and a clip-on reading light.

In honor of the ‘70’s group Three Dog Night, which took its name from the practice of shepherds using their dogs as blankets on cold nights, if it gets too chilly, Leo might be invited onto the bed.

Joy to the World.

Footnote: Score one for karma! The storm was a dud in our area. An inch of slush on paved surfaces; maybe three inches on the grass; no wind, no power problems!