24 Hours

Yesterday was the day from hell.  It all started slightly before midnight on Friday. 

We had some big storms coming through the area on Friday evening.  Since I never cut my lawn during the 90 degree heat wave last week, I decided to go out and 'beat the clouds' and get it mowed.  I then waited for the rain.

Actually, it was a lot of wind and noise, and with everything so dry the rain did little to sate the appetite of my plants for water.  I went to bed shortly before 11.  The wind and rain were doing their thing.  I have security lights on the back of my home and they came on thanks to the trees blowing in the wind.

I ignored the lights, figuring they would eventually turn off, but the storm woke me up shortly after midnight and the lights were still on.  I clicked them off and went back to sleep.

When I woke up Saturday morning and turned on the radio, the local classical music station came on instead of the local news station.  That could only mean that the power had gone out.  Sure enough, I walked to the other side of my ranch home and heard my generator running.  No problem.  I can still continue on with my day.

Since I had the fortune to have cut my lawn, I decided to go outside and apply the fertilizer for July.  The bag seemed abnormally heavy.   When I opened it up, it was full of fertilizer clumps.  I thought I could break it up and still use it, but no matter what setting I used on the spreader, it just didn't work.  So, I had to head off to the garden center to exchange the bag. 

Back home I fertilized the lawn, picked some weeds in the flower beds, dead-headed flowers and decided it had just gotten too hot outside to continue.  I came in the house and thought it seemed rather warm so I clicked on the air-conditioner.

I took my shower and then decided to check my email.  Oops.  No Internet.  No cable TV.  No phone.  Everything was out.  I called the cable company on my 'emergency only' cell phone and found out that the entire area was affected.  The recorded phone message tells me that I can get updates at their website.  DUH!  I have NO Internet!

While I sat here I thought that the house wasn't getting any cooler so I checked the thermostat.  Hmmm.  No change in temp.  I looked outside at the compressor unit and it was not working.  Since the generator was running, that must mean I have a problem with the A/C unit - again.

Well, actually, it turns out I don't.  As soon as the power came on around 10:30 A.M. the A/C started working.  So, that means it is not hooked up to the generator and I will have to called the installers tomorrow to get it fixed.

The mail arrives in the afternoon and I discover that my cable bill, the same cable service that is completely out, has gone up in price by $30 a month.  I check emails from them but can find no explanation.  That means a call to their billing department tomorrow.  Maybe it is now time to ditch the home phone.

My cable services were still out when I went to bed at 11.  I hit the sack just in time to hear the AWFs start up.  As best I can figure they were coming from some area well north of where I am.  They actually sounded just like the gunfire I heard last year when one of our police officers was shot and killed in a stand-off situation.  This continued on and off until 1:00 A.M. when they either stopped or I fell asleep from complete exhaustion. 

I honestly do not know how anyone with PTSD can stand this.  I actually am finding myself sitting up in a state of nervousness.  From what I read in the papers, I am not the only one who is thoroughly disgusted.

This morning the Internet and phone are back.  TV I can take or leave, though I did spend a good part of yesterday watching 'House of Cards'.  (Here is a show with not one character I would even want to say I know if they were real folks.)

I watered my flowers this morning.  It is cool and absolutely beautiful outside.  I have a wonderful video of my morning walk around the north garden.  If I can figure out how to change its .mts format in HD to something Google accepts, I may upload it in the future.  Such is my week-end.

For now, you must content yourself with this picture of the daylily Spanish Beauty.  It is one of the most prolific I have.  I even planted it many years ago at our Town Hall.  I wonder if it is still there?