Sena's DW :: Watermelon Life

SO. We had the MOTHER OF ALL ICE STORMS come through on Saturday night, and it knocked the power out for the entire region. At first the power went out here around 6pm on Saturday and it was like "oh, nbd, it'll be back on when we get up in the morning" because that's what ALWAYS happens. BUT NOPE. NO POWER FOR THREE DAYS. It just came back on for us yesterday afternoon, and there are parts of the region that are STILL without power. The storm was a fucking MONSTER.

So, we had no power, no HEAT (at one point the house was down to 52 degrees), but at least we still had running water and a working toilet. All of our milk went bad, which fucking sucks because milk is Goddamn expensive, and anything we wanted to cook we had to do it on the barbeque. At least we had that. We could boil water for coffee and make soup and stuff which was CRUCIAL for reasons I'll explain down further. Because I thought the power would be back quickly, I had stupidly run my laptop battery down the Saturday night watching movies and stuff before I went to bed, so I couldn't even WRITE which was TORTURE. However...

The worst that of the entire thing is that Jessie had an appointment to go to the vet and be put to sleep on the Monday morning, but with no power that obviously didn't happen. So, she had to SUFFER through more days, and SO MUCH COLD when she's already EMACIATED and we all spent half our time just trying to warm her up but nothing seemed to work. Now WE have power, but we don't know if the VET does and they're supposed to call us to re-book the appointment as soon as they're up and running again. For now, Jessie is still suffering, but at least she's warm again... for now. Another ice storm is supposed to hit us tonight and could very well knock the power out again. =/

Also, no power meant the axolotls had to go with no filtration/air for three days, and I was terrified they were all going to just die like fish would have, but it turns out that even though they PRIMARILY breathe through their gills, they DO also have lungs and can swim to the surface to gulp for air if the need arises, so my poor babies had to do that until the power came back. But they're okay, that's the important thing.

On Monday afternoon Amy and Brit had power so Amy invited us over to warm up for a bit and charge our stuff (I charged my phone and my laptop), and then when we came home, she followed behind in her truck with a generator and some extra gas for us to use for the night to try to get things worked out here a little. We got the fridge plugged in for a while, and a space heater for Jessie, and a lamp so we had light past 6pm. When I went to bed Mom and Lee stayed up a little later and then turned off the generator around 10:30pm and brought it inside just in case. Then by the time I got up the next morning around 9am, they had already gotten it back outside and running again so they could cook breakfast whiiiiiich... I could not partake in, sadly.

But yeah, Amy was a real lifesaver, there.

RIGHT before the power went out I was working on a journal entry explaining how I've been sick for... well, now it's over a week. Basically, I feel fine but I can't keep much food down and haven't been able to since last Monday. I've been living on tomato soup, soda crackers and egg salad sandwiches (which I eat REALLY slowly) and not much else, though I seem to be able to DRINK most things, as long as I avoid too much dairy. YESTERDAY I ate a hotdog, which is the first real food I've eaten in eight days, but it took me TWO HOURS to finish it. BUT OTHER THAN THAT I FEEL FINE. I DON'T EVEN FEEL NAUSEOUS EXCEPT WHEN I EAT. Like, fuck me, man.

Yesterday Mom and I went out and did my monthly shop (most of it, anyway) and both Costco AND Walmart were REMARKABLY SANE, considering we're in the middle of a blackout situation, though the lineup for Costco GAS and PROPANE was crazy. I had an extra stop this month at Home Depot to pick up paint to paint the boards that will be going under the new axolotl tank, and I got like... LIME GREEN. GRINCH GREEN. I just wanted the brightest green I could get lol. I also got a new plant, which I still need to identify, but his name is Dr. Oliver Wolf, M.D., or just "Wolf" for short. (Ideally he should have been a fern but alas, I can't grow ferns in this house.)

Oh, and I renewed my DW subscription, since it was about to run out. :D;

This morning, with the power back and my laptop working again, I finished off Puppy Love, which came in at 41 pages and 19,808 words, which I think makes it the second-longest one-shot in the series. Now I'm going to work on Summer Nights and maybe get them posted before I switch back to post-SS one-shots? I still have to edit Teeth, anyway. I'm a procrastinating procrastinator or procrastinates. Especially over editing. Blegh.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to be posting Something To Be Protected first thing, for all of the two people who are reading the series, but I guess that'll depend on if I have power/internet in the morning. I'm also supposed to have an appointment with Dr. K tomorrow afternoon, but again, if there's no power again then that'll be out the window.

Fuck this ice storm shit. =/

My set of Warriors books by Erin Hunter came in this morning. #1-6, the complete first set. I'll see how I like them and then get into more of them later on if I do. I keep hearing about this series from various people but it's one I somehow missed out on growing up, but I figure you can start at any age, right? I also want to read the Silverwing series by Kenneth Oppal (I think that's the name), though those ones are very thin books. The Warriors ones will at least take me a day or two to read each one. *shrug*

I cooked dinner last night from a recipe from the Deadpool cookbook, and while Mom and Lee liked it okay I wasn't really a fan of it. And it wasn't even the honey that was in it, I couldn't even taste that for once! I dunno, something about it was just... meh. So Mom picked the zucchini out of it since that was the only part she and Lee didn't like and they said they'll eat it again. The thing with me is that I don't eat very many things as leftovers, as a general rule, so I just... I guess I'm picky. I dunno.

Yesterday the scabs came off my mangled finger. It still hurts, but it's good to know that it's holding together. There's a lot of scar tissue and still some numb spots but I'll survive. Sometimes it hurts to type, though, especially in the mornings, which is kind of a pain in the butt since that's when I do most of my writing.

Last night the HUGE parcel I sent to Sethi arrived and she videotaped her kids opening it and it was a minute-and-a-half of fabulous. They were SO excited. Seriously though, every time I send a parcel with pinback buttons in it Customs takes them out of their little baggie and they end up spread all across the box. It's annoying. I don't know why I bother. But that aside, I'm looking forward to reviews on everything as it gets played with/eaten/etc. The toys and stickers are already a hit. (I sent SO MANY STICKERS OMG.)

Last night I finished Halcyon Days (#29 in the post-SS one-shot series) and it turned out to be 37 pages and 17737 words long, before editing. It might end up a little shorter or longer, after editing. I think it's the longest of the post-SS one-shots so far, which is nice because it's the "last" one (before Serendipity which almost doesn't count) and an important one. It was fun to write, and sad sometimes, but in general I enjoyed it. Dean and Cas got to have a nice hotel in Halcyon Days, instead of the usual ratty motel, haha. Good times.

The filter in the axolotl tank is still acting up, GLUGing and spitting water everywhere when it does, but now that my finger is semi-functional and watertight again, I can stick my hand into the tank to try to deal with it. I'll have to do it tomorrow though, because Extended Family Christmas is today so I'm busy with travelling and Christmas-ing and that kind of stuff.

There's a chance that Grandma won't be able to make it today and I feel like a horrible person for saying it, but I'm hoping that turns out to be the case. Aside from being forgetful and stuff, she's become mean and accusatory and obstinate, and I just don't think I can handle being around her the way she is now. She's not my Grandma anymore and it tears me up inside.

I'm going to wear my "ew, people" Grinch hoodie today, the one that Amy and Brit got me for Christmas last year. I checked the other day and it still fits, just a little tighter around my belly because of all the NAFLD weight gain.

Update on Extended Family Christmas later.

A week from now is Christmas with me, Mom, Lee and my little brother, so I really need to get the Wiggly Foxes that I'm making for him finished like... in the next couple of days, so the paint has a chance to really set and I can spray seal them before I wrap them up for him. I have one 98% complete, and the other three are like 75% there, I just have to get off my duff and freaking DO IT.

I'm still waiting for some stuff to come in the mail which sucks because we're getting together with Amy, Brit, Sarah, etc. on the 22nd and it's like... what am I going to do if they don't arrive before then? I guess placeholder boxes of chocolates until their actual gifts arrive. I'm a little annoyed, though. I dunno, it's a pain.

I am very, very fond of the general world I created for Exit Normal and Canadian Dragon... thusly, a random drabble! Which I actually really like. So, given how I am, I can pretty much guarantee it'll end up as an entire story eventually. ^_^;

( Amy, Kassidy and Tempest )

Maaaa... I know very little about England in the way of landscape and stuff. Luckily, this scene only required an alleyway, a couple of walls, and a lattice! >^-^;;

Tempest amuses me...