Thursday, May 14, 2009

When the electricity dies







Okay, when I said "stormy" yesterday I had no idea what that would entail. We were without electricity for two and a half hours last night due to a storm that hit Madison. Being without electricity can be very romantic, all moody and dim, but I didn't have candles I could read or make books by and I couldn’t boil a kettle of water on our electric stove so tea was even out! I did a lot of sitting on the couch listening to the thunder. The world stops when the electricity dies.

What do you do when the electricity goes out?

Images found here, here and here

42 comments:

erin said...

ooh goodness. strange to think how dependent we are, eh? note to self: keep loads of candles around! xoxo!

Beth said...

It doesn't go out nearly as much as I would like, but when it does..... I slip into a very quiet peaceful place, listening to all the wonderful quiet and distant sounds around me. Very meditative

Amy@Old Sweet Song said...

It sounds kind of cool, I like the idea of it forcing you to chill out, relax and not do anything. I can't even remember the last time the lights went out. I probably just jinxed myself.

AMM blog said...

We usually gripe and complain because our neighbors across the street still have their power!
Happens every time!

naphtali said...

I love storms...when I have candles, but w/out them -- I'd probably have done the same as you.

Anonymous said...

There is something in the air right now--I've heard that mercury is in retrograde--because things like power and transportation are acting up all over the place! Yesterday I was hired to cook a dinner party for 8 people, and of course right when I was about to get started I discovered that the gas lines to my stove had been cut! then the freeway onramp was closed, and this morning my husband's train was cancelled. honestly, something in the air...

carolina @ patagonia gifts said...

oh yes, we're so electricity dependant! when electricity dies it's a good time to play cards or table games with my kids!

Christina said...

that's quite some time to be without power. i'd curl up with a flashlight and a good book!

Poke Salad Annie said...

black outs are one of my very favourite things :) i like to go for walks or just stare at the darkened city from my balcony. it's funny too, black outs always make me want to whisper.

Lizzy said...

Oh my gosh! I do not remember the last time the power went out, but I always go on my laptop until it dies!

Suzanne : : S.HOPtalk said...

I'm lost when the electricity goes out. Especially if it's in the evening...kind of creeps me out unless I'm snuggled up with my favorite people. Glad you're safe and sound. LOVE that first photo.

Karen said...

This makes me thankful that I just bought two new candles last week...never hurts to have them around!

Cupcakes and Cashmere said...

i love lighting tons of candles and taking a bath. it's the one time that i don't feel like i should be doing other things.

Spots and Stripes said...

I love to light a fire in our grate and watch it until the power comes back on. Also I try to remember where I keep matches, candles and a torch! Makes you think what it must have been like 100 years ago.

PS~Erin said...

It's amazing how many things I decide I need to do when the electricity goes out. It's daunting to think abt how much we depend on it.

Hope all is well for you today!

Unknown said...

these are all such great ideas!

i generally either grasp around for my flashlight (which is generally hidden in the furthest, darkest corner in the cupboard, often with dead batteries) and, if i find it, i'll read a book.

if all else fails, i'll just go to bed early.

it reminds me of the big blackout in 2003 .. or was it 2004? a bunch of my friends and i got together and had a barbecue by the pool, and we sat outside with a huuuge camping torch and a cooler full of beer, playing cards til the wee hours of the morning. it was so much fun!

picciolo said...

it always seems to happen here when I am on my own, but I do have some candles under the kitchen sink
: )

pve design said...

we have had our fair share of outages, we usually go outside, take a walk, light candles...and enjoy the "off" button that has been granted.
pve

Ali said...

Do you live in Madison, Wisconsin or Madison, Connecticut? Because I lived in Madison (CT)!

tanya said...

oh wow, I have to agree with you--my first thought would be light some candles, snuggle in with a good book...but without those things...it quite literally would be sitting alone in the dark!

Rachel said...

We're lucky and we've never had it go out for more than a minute or two.

But we did spend a weekend in our apartment without electricity. We'd just closed the lease, and we forgot to get it turned on. All we had was a coffee table, but walked to the store and bought some good beer and then lit tons of candles and toasted our first place together. And then we had to sleep on the floor because we didn't have a bed yet!

Ginger said...

I have a few oil lamps I light, and I sit and read while trying to keep the animals calm;)

Debra said...

That always catches me! I think of all the things I could do- but so many require power. I usually listen to the rain on the metal roof and decide it's a time-out that I should take advantage of.

Rachel Follett said...

When the electricity or internet goes out I have no more excuses and so I go to the beach like everyone else here. :) If it's dark out we play cards and chess. But I hate playing chess because whenever either one of us looses we are so sore about it.

Bonbon Oiseau said...

it's one of my favorite times, when you an imagine what life was like before all this...stuff...beautiful post jewels...(insert sound of THUNDER here!)

Cindy said...

i listen to my transistor radio and scott is really good about having flashlights. making those shadow animals on the wall is fun for about 5 minutes! i need the juice, even if it's partial power.

nichole said...

Is it just me? I LOVE it when the electricity fails. An excuse to light candles, and put off doing the things you "have" to do.

I love storms as well ... my favorite weather.

Hello Lindello said...

I love it when the lights go out! 2 years ago Duluth had a major storm and all the power went for 2 days! There were a few places with power for some reason, and one happened to be the Brewhouse. A bunch of us gathered there for beer and then we ended up having a "lights out" party at our place with flashlights and candles. It was so much fun!

Callie Grayson said...

oh no! I was worried about the storm too. the lights kept dimming (small brown outs) but we didn't loose power.

I think you need to pack a fun box!
box of candles, cards, small games: yahtez (sp??) uno, othello, oh and small camping stove for heating water & food, bottle of wine and light snacks:)
for next time the electricity goes out:)
xx
callie

Blair Friedeman said...

I secretly love when the electricity goes out! Especially when you have someone to cuddle with:)

Mrs.French said...

I'm terrible...I pace...it went out this winter for a couple of hours and I thought we were in for a city-wide blackout for days...I wanted to get in my car and head out your way (family in the midwest don't ya know)...of course it came back on and everything was fine...xo t

Miss | A said...

seeing as though I just have been out with friends having a great meal and cocktails++++ maybe I should not be commenting...but um...life is great when the lights go out! right? well that is if the kids are sleeping. Ha!
xo

Silvana Kulyk said...

When the light goes out, I ussually wait in patience and think about future...:)))

Tina { Luphia Loves... } said...

beautiful photos!!

we used to get frequent short electricity cuts when i was younger, i used to lit the candles & listen to music (battery powered!!)

paula said...

we break out the flashlights and the kiddos could not be more thrilled.

bronwyn said...

That tutu picture is amazing! When the power goes out, I cross my fingers that we have candles or fresh batteries in the flashlights so I can read. It hasn't happened in a few years, so I imagine now I would tell spooky stories to the kiddo. Many years ago, half the state of California had a major blackout. I was without power for 5 days! No fun.

georgia b. said...

how funny.

i do the same. i just sit and wait. for some reason, when it goes out in my town, we are the last neighborhood to get it back. it takes hours sometimes. :(

guess i should be taking advantage of it and making time for some romance with the hubby. :)

Joyce said...

If the power goes out during the night we lite candles and my love plays his guitar. Or not too long ago with a snow storm that knocked everything out we lit the fireplace.
It is raining again here today. At least the trees and grass are turning a bright green.

Have a golden weekend! xoxo

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Of course I fell in love with the winged deer (: But the first photo felt very Wuthering Heights...so romantic.

hmstrjam said...

love that first image, reminds me of the vineyard- no electricity sounds good right now

dojski said...

What do I do? I scream and curse! kidding. =)

Sometimes, the most probing/intimate/candid talks happen when the lights are out. ;)

I hope things are all right there now. ;)

Unknown said...

we live in NYC and we only had the electricity go out once here and that was during the blackout in the summer of 2003. My poor husband, then fiancee, had to walk home over the Brooklyn Bridge from midtown...that's far. Luckily, I decided to take a cab home that day bc it was just way too hot out so by complete chance I didn't get stuck on the subway somewhere below Manhattan or worse somewhere under the river between Manhattan and Brooklyn. But when we finally were home together, we had a bbq with all the people in our building - it was very melrose place..we had to eat all the food and drink all the beer bc otherwise it was going to go bad! lol. we went for a walk in the neighborhood and it was surreal. we went to the promenade in Brooklyn and NYC across the river was completely blacked out. and there was soemthing really calming and sexy about going to bed that night with no lights and no AC even though it was so hot out....
sometimes I wish the lights would go out...that is what I call real quiet:)