Blackout!

Apparently our neighborhood hasn't been rewired since the late sixties, and things are not going well underground. Every couple of months, the power goes out unexpectedly, and PG&E scrambles to fix the problem quickly. Then, a few days later, they'll have a "Scheduled Blackout", so they can try to fix things properly. When the power went out yesterday before dawn, I kind of figured that everything would be up and running by the time the sun set.
Not So.
Clara was at a sleepover, and Chad was out of town, so Trev and I made the best of it. Camp coffee, take-out, and a gorgeous walk around a dark and silent neighborhood. Trevi even invented a new reflector, using his petzl and the lid of his Tinkertoys bin. Good times. And a little gem for the out-of-the-mouths-of-babes file:
"Mummy, I've never really thought about electricity before, but I'm going to really appreciate it from now on."

The power flickered back on around 9pm, but then went out again for the rest of the night. Don't know how much of what's in the fridge and freezer is still edible.

I have to pause here and give myself a little pat on the back for awesomeness. Even though the washer and dryer were out of commission, did both of my children have clean soccer uniforms for their games? Yes, they did.
Ma Ingalls, you've got competition.