Head Toward the Light.....

Deb's Daily Musings, Post-storm:
Today, the sun was shining. The sky was clear.
Last night, it was a crisp freezing winter night with a million stars twinkling above.
A lovely and welcome respite from the past week's devastating weather...

Thursday it was 'the Mother of all Windstorms' that nearly swept the NorthWest off to Siberia, along with torrential rain yet again to swell the rivers and bring hillsides crashing down.
Friday, it was the Big Freeze as temps dropped and power outages affected almost every county in the state.
Saturday it was gray and cloudy and still getting colder, the threat of SNOW hanging on the lips of every weatherman on the news. We all shuddered just thinking about it. 'White Christmas' has a lovely nostalgic tone to it, but not when you have been fighting the ravages of Mother Nature for two months straight. You want clear, dry, warm, CALM weather.Then there is the memory of the LAST snowstorm, which hit during rush hour on the Monday after Thanksgiving, when people were stuck on the roads for hours, even overnight, just trying to get home from work (Or the Seahawks game, for the diehard fans).

People still without power have started burning everything they own to keep warm....holding out hope that the PSE, PUD, SCL, and assorted other agencies will be able to get the lines replaced, the transformers repaired, and the grids operational again. FAST. It's getting there, bless the utility company's hearts (they are working non-stop) but there are still areas in blackout...about 200,00 households still.So many people without power and warmth....please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. While this might not be as horrific as Katrina or the Tsunami, it is awful for those families who are struggling to survive the cold and darkness. Especially at this time of year.

Just a note to anyone reading this: Remember this, and tell your loved ones:
DO NOT EVER BURN A BBQ FIRE (charcoal, etc.) IN YOUR HOME TO KEEP WARM. Carbon Minoxide poisoning results, and it kills. More people have been hospitalized here due to this than ever before...including babies.Hubby is a contractor, and he says that homes are built so airtight now, that there is no venting of toxic fumes. Even if you have a gas fireplace or burn a Prestolog, etc. in your fireplace, you should crack a window open to help vent the fumes.
DO NOT EVER LEAVE A BURNING CANDLE UNATTENDED. Fires result, and fires kill people. Get handcrank or 'shaker' flashlights to use in a blackout, not candles. And if you DO use candles, place them inside glass hurricanes or deep vases for safety.