last night:

The wind is gusting to 120km/h.

our blinds keep moving and rattling:

the houses across the street had their power out for several hours. There was a lull in the wind, and the power came back, but now their windows are black again. This is truly scary, as our heating is electrical, and the houses get chilled very fast. Our own power has been flickering on and off, sometimes for a few minutes, mostly for a few seconds, and there is no internet right now, but so far we have been lucky. I have extra clothing in the bedroom -- winter jackets, hats and mitts, for the kids, in case our power shuts down. The loud howling from the wind is spooky. With the kids asleep, the blizzard isn't 'fun' anymore. The house is shaking and creaking. Snow is finding cracks in the windows and piling up on the window sills.



We collected enough to make a small snowman.



The temperature is very high, -5C, though it feels like -25C with the wind chill, and at one point I wanted to open the door and stick my head out. The instant I turned the lock, the door flew right at me banging me hard on my head. Lesson learned. I convinced the kids that on blizzard nights we go to bed early, so this mean they will wake up early as well. I am wide awake and too anxious to sleep. I know this is irrational, as we are not in any danger, but the constant movement of the house and the overwhelming noise of the wind...

Lost power there. Still no internet. Will post it tomorrow. Going to drink some chamomile tea with honey and try to relax.

* * *
we woke up at 8:30AM and immediately lost power. it came back around 2PM. we stayed in the bedroom the entire time -- i ran out a dozen times for snacks, toys, and what not. since it was only -6C outside, the house didn't get icy, but it did get rather uncomfortably chilly. the wind kept gusting at 100km/h, but the sky was clear blue.

i wasn't able to find the local radio station on our little radio, our reception is poor. we need to get a satellite radio. and a thermos. and a non-electric heater (do they even exist?).

the power customer service line was not being picked up. i called several people but they were out, or their phones were not charged. in any case, i remain blissfully unaware what is happening with the power situation. is it back, or are they rolling it? i'm fully preparing not to have it again tonight.