Appreciating the Simple Things

I typically leave my house early Monday mornings for Mom’s step aerobic class 35 minutes away in the foothills. But Sunday afternoon, she called and said I’d better come up that night as snow was predicted.
I was born and raised in Placerville, spent a large majority of my early years skiing at Echo Summit, and lived in Sacramento for 35 years. But I don’t remember ever seeing what greeted us Monday morning @ 6:00.

We were completely blanketed with beautiful snow. A sense of exhilaration overtook me. Then @ 6:20 a.m. the power went off. Ok. No problems. We were safe, had plenty to eat, warm clothing. But wait, as time wore on thru the day, things weren’t quite as easy as all that. But there were plenty of things to appreciate.
Gas Stove
Hallelujah! We can cook on our stovetop. And plenty of matches – the wood kind. We found out later, many of our neighbors weren’t so fortunate with their electric ranges.
Instant Coffee
I love Mom’s Keurig coffeemaker & I adore my new Hamilton Beach coffee-on-demand, but when the power is out, instant coffee is wonderful! It’s warm. It’s great for dunking cookies. And we even had cocoa for makeshift cafe mocha’s.

Magazines
I can’t begin to count how many emails I get each day. You know, ezines. Love ‘em. No stacks of magazines piling up. Read them when I want. However, no power, no internet. Luckily, my dear friend, Joy, had just given me a pile of People and Us. I usually don’t take the time to savor all the gossip. But for 2 days, I contentedly read every salacious morsel.
Nature

no words necessary.
Subaru’s
We had to get out yesterday for doctor appts in Sacramento. Hubster & Male Neighbor said, “hey, you have a Subaru. No worries!” Easy for them to say, I thought, as I looked at a foot of snow with even taller drifts near the street.

So, yesterday morning I did a trial run just to see if we’d even make it out. Easy-Peasy! I’m a believer now in Subaru all-wheel drive.

I don’t know how people in the East do it, year after year. A 2 day respite without power was more of an adventure for Mom & me. We had fun by the candlelight. We enjoyed the beauty of nature. We were thrilled when the power would flicker on and off.

But when power and cable were restored, the TV came on, the computer powered up, and we’re back to our wonderful amenities.

Today’s view @ 6:30. Heater on. Fresh coffee from Keurig. And I’m online. Life is good.
Colleen