On Set of Ice Storm Alzheimer's

I have been wondering if I have early symptoms of Alzheimer's. I cannot get past the fact that Christmas Eve (the BIG DAY at our house) is a mere 4 days away (only 3 if you're still shopping...), our 15th anniversary was 2 days ago, we are rushing to the PO to send out gifts (that will NOT reach their destination on time for any of you far off relatives reading this..). And the most puzzling to me is how BDP has gone through a whole giant bag of food so quickly... I am hoping these huge time lapses I have going on in this crazy brain are due to the fact we didn't have, what we now call the "Staple of Life", electricity for 8 verry long days. I've decided it's kinda like falling through ice. After the initial shock, you don't panic too much b/c you think maybe you can get out on your own (well, I would panic, but that doesn't fit my story...), then you realize how dire the situation really is. No hairdryer for Big Shooter! Oh No! The tragedy! The pain. The sorrow... Then you may flail around wasting precious time and energy trying in vain to get yourself out. Then you panic, wondering how to warm the house to maybe just 45 degrees or what about the 300 lbs. of meat in the freezer, or what in the world do you do with the crumb snatchers in this predicament? (Go ahead, suggest something. Just keep in mind - it's below freezing outside, 42ish inside and NO ONE in OK has electricity...) Hopefully, after a bit you calm down a little and start treading water. Translation: Drive around in a warm car wasting gas you sat in a line for an hour and a half to get or shop/loiter at Wal-mart (emergency generators I assume cause, you know, the spending must NOT stop) with your other 300,000 non-enlightened neighbors. At this point your blood starts leaving your extremities and concentrating on your vital organs (hence, the time gaps) and you just operate on instinct and autopilot 'til your rescuers come...in our case, they came in giant white trucks from Ohio, and Pennsylvania, and Georgia, and Iowa, and...! Angels suspended in the sky in buckets...ahhh, cue the celestial music here please.

Clearing a path down the street for the 4th time in a few hours.

View from the porch.

What began on the 9th as a "Great Adventure" became the "Great Dilemma" by the 12th and finally, Oklahoma's 11 "National Disaster" this year.

At this point, YIKES! is all we kept saying to each other. We were standing in the middle of the street b/c things were literally falling from the sky. We would hear a very loud CRACK then helplessly watch huge limbs or whole trees crash onto roofs and cars. What a horrible feeling watching the destruction happen before our eyes.

Looking from the corner towards our house.

Today is the 20th and this morning I did a little "We got phone/cable/Internet" jig in the kitchen with the BDP. Which by the way, is the only member of the fam who is not thrilled to return to real life. He relished the constant closeness keeping warm and safe entailed.

I am going to take pictures later today of what it looks like outside now so you can see the comparison. I'll post them and the pix of why I had Lectricity Guilt tomorrow (time allowing).

Post Script: Forgive me the weird text squeezed on the sides of pix. Looks fine on the template, then funky published. It's the first mistake I've ever made...really...no really.