Thursday, June 2, 2011

The day after the storms last week...

I could title this post, "A day without electricity" or "Blessed Simplicity." Oh, sorry; I haven't typed one sentence and already I'm rambling. You can tell what kind of post this will be--haphazard meandering thoughts. Anyway, last week, while some around us dealt with downed trees, and even worse devastation, from the storm front that came through here, our electricity went off around midnight. It was so dark and a fitful sleep without any air moving (we didn't dare open the windows, due to what it can do to my sinuses added to the dogs barking at every little noise outside). The dogs were restless as well, so I got up, lit a candle in the bathroom and that helped them to settled down.

When we got up that morning, I told JP "you go to Hardees for breakfast." I was throwing the towel in immediately. But JP said "we could boil water and run it thru the coffee filter and have coffee" - genius! We are blessed (and sometimes cursed, depending on the price of propane) to heat our home, heat our water and cook with gas, so our stove functions even when the power is out. Then he thought we could open the refrigerator one quick time to grab some ham and cheese, he was concerned that Hardees might not have power either and he would have to go hungry and w/out coffee all morning; so I did that and he got off to work with his usual coffee and a grilled ham and cheese. You can figure that that also means that I had my morning coffee - bliss.

Next came dog breakfast time - no problem. It was hard to read my Bible because it was still so cloudy and dark in the living room, but what I did manage to read was such a blessing. Next, I started my daily chores. I pulled some jeans out of the dryer. They weren't quite dry so I stretched them all over the place. As I did this simple chore I remembered that as I grew up, when we had a hard job or inconvenience like this, my Mom (champion of chores) would not complain but would make it play or an adventure - what a blessing. Oh, I must tell you that it was cool outside after the front passed, so with the windows open that day it felt like the air conditioning was on, so there was no hardship. I finished my chores and grabbed the camera to go see what I could see!

All the flowers were especially happy, and looking up close I could see the rain still on the blooms.




Behind all the other plants, I noticed that our amaryllis was blooming.


Spaceghost accompanied me during my walk around the yard. He's a good hunter and keeps the mice, etc., at bay.

Next up, the Cicadas, our visitors that come every 13 years. They aren't quite the plague that the media makes them out to be, but they are freakishly loud and really annoying when you're mowing, and they land on you like a kamikaze. Also, I find them really creepy with those red eyes...eeewww. I'll be glad when they go away.



After, my little yard tour I came in and decided this would be the perfect day to sit and harvest some oregano that I'd been drying in the house. It was so relaxing.


As I sat there, I realized that I am sensory overloaded, we all are. Technology, news, T.V., internet, all the noise that pulls at our thoughts. I think that sometimes I do too many things at once and don't do anything really well. Life isn't simple anymore.

Then,,,YIppee,,,the power came on!! The ceiling fans sart going, A/C starts running. I knew we'd sleep good tonight. Next, I felt myself pulled to turn on the Television or run to the computer. Instead, I turned the air conditioner off (it was still cool outside) and decided that I was going to gradually ease back into the noise of what it means to live in these days.

Don't get me wrong. I love my modern conveniences, but what I learned is to try and keep my heart quiet. Also, if it had been a hot day this would have been a much different post!! I can't stand to be hot. So, God gave me a little break and His peace flooded my soul. We are thankful that He protected us and our family during these storms and pray for all of those who lost loved ones or homes and possessions.

Blessings to you and yours from the holler...

10 comments:

Carmen S. said...

Beautiful pics (except those cicadas with their RED eyes:O...YIKES! Glad your safe and I think we sometimes need that "time out" from the world of modern convenience:) Enjoy the day and thanks for stopping by to visit with me!

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

We are glad you are OK, the storms this spring have been awful. How beautiful that you could find some peace amid all the turmoil.

Thanks for your sweet visits to our blog.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Covnitkepr1 said...

We made it through and glad to hear you did to.
My problem is...I would mess up taking a picture of a concrete block...honestly. I do love viewing God's creation as captured through the camera of others and you have done that quite well. I have added myself to follow your blog. You are more than welcome to visit my blog and become a follower also.

Covnitkepr1 said...

Do you really have 6 dogs???
My wife says I'm the only animal she allows in our home.lol

Covnitkepr1 said...

Thaqnks for the visit and positive comment you left. I'd love to have you as a follower as clicking on your avatar is the fastest way to return to your blog.

Covnitkepr1 said...

Wow...that was quick

Toyin O. said...

Glad to know you were spared from the devastation of the storm. We sometimes need God to take away those beloved modern convienience to able to hear him;thanks for sharing.

Sierra Rose said...

Great post!! What a storm adventure! It sometimes takes that change to find we can do with just the simple things.... The beauty around us, and the little pleasures.. ahhhh.
It's too busy around here and we get caught up in it. Hope we get a power outage!! :)

Sweet hugs,
Sierra Rose

Anonymous said...

Losing power does test us. Yes, TV, computer, music---noise all the time. I use white noise (air purifier) to sleep and cannot get along without it!! Thanks for the coffee idea---I will use that next time we lose power. I totally relate to you on the propane issue. The flowers are beautiful. You are so far ahead of us. My coreopsis is barely getting buds on it.
Oh---it's so nice to see Spaceghost! I forget about him sometimes. What a looker:)
I'm so glad you are all okay. Lots of heartache going on in our country. Have a blessed weekend. CINDY from BB WAY (I can't post without using "Anonymous." I have to figure out why.

Cindy said...

This is a test to see if I can post using my GOOGLE account.