Just an ordinary day - not.

The power went out sometime between midnight and one this morning. The wind howled and boughs fell and two of my neighbours lost significant portions of their roofing materials. Another neighbour decided 5 AM was the perfect time to start up his VERY noisy generator - which woke up all my crew who then, of course, wanted to dash outside to see what monster was threatening us.

I struggled out of bed, let Oliver out of his crate, stumbled to the back door where I keep the big, powerful rechargeable flashlight, only to discover it had died. Permanently. Freshly charged battery worked on the (interchangeable) power drill but not on the light. Stumbled around some more looking for other flashlights. Batteries dead. Finally found the fluorescent camping lantern which gave a sufficient but not great light - enough to shepherd dogs in and out, feed cat, find treats for dogs, before heading back to bed. Listened to Oliver thump, bump, clump around (he has NO night vision) and finally put him back in his crate.

We normally get up no later than six around here, but a very dark gloomy morning meant dawn came late so I clung to my blankets as long as I could. No coffee. No heat. No warm shower. No computer. No radio or tv. May as well sleep.

The critters, of course, had other plans, and by 7:30 the dogs had sent Allie to tap, tap, tap, tap on my neck and face until I cried Uncle and got up. Oliver and I went for a long walk (the rain had stopped by then and the wind was beginning to die down), and by 9:00 the day was beginning to look promising. I headed out with Charley and Sadie to join two friends and their dogs exploring a new-to-me park between Chemainus and Ladysmith. Great park, but did we ever get rained on! It was raining so heavy I didn't even take any photos.

Three drowned rats came home, the two-legged one hoping for a warm shower but the power was still off. The phones were also dead. The sun, however, was shining and I later learned it had not rained all morning in Crofton. Murphy's Law.

Off to my writers' group, though the piece I was working on was at home on my computer - where it would remain as printers don't work without power. (Fortunately I had another piece to share in my filing cabinet, though it was far from polished). The climax of our stories paled in comparison to the excitement generated when one of our group noticed flames shooting from the chimney of a neighbouring house. Maintaining one's focus on reading and listening is challenging with firefighters climbing up ladders just outside the window!

The power came back about 3:00 PM and phone service was restored by the time I got home. Tomorrow I will buy a new rechargeable flashlight and some batteries for the other flashlights, and that should ensure we get no more power failures for at least a year - by which time the energy will have seeped away and the batteries will be dead once again.