. . . and we're back!

The power came back on around 8:30 this evening, thanks to some help from some North Carolina crews, we believe. I was upstairs getting the kids to bed, but Susan said that she could hear a collective "Woohoo!" from the neighborhood.

Having the power back on meant that it was time for us to clean out the fridge - woohoo!

Still in the Dark

We are still one of the 300,000 people who belong in one of those dots. They hope to make a lot more progress today, and I hope they do.

Duke Energy's Power Outage Map



As of Wednesday Morning

Camping Preview

We have been powerless since Sunday afternoon, when the remains of Ike swept through. We didn't get any rain, but we sure got a lot of wind. We emptied our freezers Sunday night, and put 10 1/2 gallons of ice cream in Ruth Ann's freezer. Last night we took all of our refrigerated items to a friends house.

Not much has changed in our daily routine, other than trying to find creative ways to eat. This morning I grilled some goetta. Fun times. Hopefully the power will be back on soon, but I have been enjoying the peace.

Duke Energy's Power Outage Map



As of Tuesday Morning

Lieslands on Wheels

Last night we switched things up for our evening walk - Susan and I wore our rollerblades, Andrew Biked, Mari rode her scooter, and Elliot went in the stroller.

Things went pretty well. Mari freaked out about 1/4 of the way through, so we had to load her into the stroller, but after that it was smooth sailing. I had a great time.

School Choice

We have never been sure what to do with Mari when it comes to school. She did not do so well when she went in for her observation day at the Waldorf School, but I guess that we were hoping she would grow out of the emotional roller coaster she is riding.

We recently heard that there may be some opening at the Waldorf School and we were thinking of having her go in for another observation. Susan decided to ask Mari about it. I think it went something like this:

Susan: Do you want to go to school?

Mari: Yeah, I am 3.

Susan: OK. You would be in nursery school, so you would have to go by yourself. Dad and I would not be able to go with you.

Mari: OK. I want you to take me. Last time dad took me I was scared.

Susan: OK, but I won't be able to stay there with you.

Mari: I think I will wait until I am 4.

I guess that answers that.

Growing Up

We have been noticing some changes in the kids lately -

Elliot has been acting more and more like a little boy. He is becoming more independent and playing more with Andrew and Mari.

Mari has been having conversations with Andrew and playing well with him and his friends.

Andrew has been a lot more boisterous lately. He has been getting up early and staying up late (for him).

Fun times.

All Clear

This morning the city picked up what was left of our fallen trees. Here are the numbers:
1 - Fires used to dispose of a lot of wood
4 - Chainsaws used to help clean up
5 - Trees affected
16 - People who helped with clean-up
29 - Bags of yard waste
80 - Total number of person-hours put in to get things cleaned up

Now we just need to plant some grass.