Power!

Map of areas hit by Friday's derecho.

The power was finally restored to our house yesterday mid-afternoon after Friday's storm.  My husband and I spent the afternoon cleaning out what food I did not save from the fridge and freezer - mostly leftovers, some little used sauces, ham bones, and partial bags of frozen berries.  The berries made a mess, as you can imagine!  The rest of our food was saved, thanks to my parents and then my work place, who both loaned us freezer and refrigerator space.  It's interesting, though, because now it looks like I have no food in the house.  Both are quite empty even though they have the "essential" food in them.  I wonder how long I can keep the appliance looking nice and not clutter it up with something I probably won't use.

Many, many thanks to my parents who let us stay with them for a couple days (and still have our dog), my friends who invited us into their home once we returned to the city, my bosses who let us use the work fridge, all the fire and police workers who have kept us safe and the countless folks with the power company who have and are working tirelessly to restore power as quickly as possible.  Over 250,000 people were originally without power in just Southwest Virginia alone.

At least 30% of the city and county's population is still without power.  My thoughts and prayers continue to be with them.  Five days after the storm my husband and I are among the lucky ones who have been able to move back home.

Thank you so much to all of you who expressed concern and sympathy through emails and comments and kept us in your thoughts.  We need time here to retrieve my dog, replace some food, and return to our normal routines.  I will return to my regular blogging schedule on Saturday.