In Like a Lion

Rainy Sunday. After doing some laundry, I grabbed my knitting and sat down to enjoy a movie. Since Jordan and Ryan, her friend from next door, were playing in the other room I chose Lord of the Rings - kids-safe but adult worthy. No sooner had I turned on the TV when the power went out. Nice!

Jordan and Ryan came running in, "The power's out! The power's out!" (Just in case I hadn't noticed.) Jeremy said "Why don't you two run over to Ryan's house and see if the power is out there too." They started getting their shoes and coats on. Then we heard the wind howl. Eerie how wind gusting through Doug fir trees makes a low howling sound. Since we are surrounded by trees, the sound comes before the strength of the gust. Seconds after the howl, branches were thumping the roof and the shrubs outside the window were shifting and swaying. "On second thought, why don't you kids just stay here for a bit."

The clouds opened up and released on us. Another gust pushed the trees around. They were making large stationary circles, one direction then the next. Rain was coming off the roof in steady streams; it flew sideways and back under the eves. I grabbed my camera and took some video.

The intense part of the storm only last about 10 minutes. And compared to storms in the Midwest or near the gulf, this lion was more like a kitten. I'll take it though - I miss good storms. After a bit the wind quieted and stopped. The rain went back to normal Pacific Northwest gray drizzle. But the power stayed out.

It was only about 4pm and plenty light outside, but Jordan and Ryan wanted to get out all the flashlights just-in-case. Jordan chose a blue one and Ryan a red, both with straps to wear around their wrist. Next Jordan said "Oh, we should play a game." She ran off and came back with Memory and Monopoly - we played both with the completely unnecessary flashlights. Funny how board games seem much more fun without power. Under normal, illuminated circumstances, if I suggested Monopoly I'd get a roll of the eyes and a suggestion of Wii instead.

By 5:30 the power was still out and it was getting too late to cook the pork chops and asparagus I was planning on. (Also, I had managed to turn the kitchen light on and off at least a dozen times, each time chuckling at what a creature of habit I am.) So we loaded into the car and headed to town for some delicious Mexican food. On the drive in we saw three different PGE trucks and workers busily removing branches. In one instance two trees had fallen across power lines on both sides of the street. I started to wonder if we'd have power before bed. Thankfully, as we came back home porch lights were back on. When we got home we went around resetting the clocks, which I had just set this morning for day light savings time.