When the Homily is about Immunology

No end to the lessons

One night just wasn't enough, apparently. Our power had returned around 2 or 3 am on thursday morning and it remained so until around 4:50 that (yesterday) afternoon.

Sue had taken the ferry accross to drop her Mom and Aunt Carol off at the train station and we decided that I would meet her at the Ferry terminal and sail back with them. Meanwhile, Sue had been incubating the bug that had infested the rest of the kids over the last few days and so shortly after we arrived on Bainbridge she was tossing her cookies into a Kitsap County Library bag.

Pulling into the driveway at Home had her then rushing into the house for more of such fun. As I made a run to check on something in the woodshed the kids cam running out to inform me that the power was out again. So the mad rush began again: collecting the chicks, getting a good fire going, collecting the lights, and trying to store some water.

I began to run the bathtub in the hopes of filling it enough to get a few toilet flushes worth of water. Only later did I learn from my sick wife that the tub plug leaks and so by that time there was little of it left. Lesson 1: fill buckets directly, not the tub.

Three out of four of the "moon lights" ("made in China" round lights that you press to get to turn on) which were a mere two days old had burned out bulbs - one of them came that way. Lesson 2: don't be overly thrifty when it comes to battery powered lighting products for use during power outages.

I actually fixed dinner on top of our woodstove: a pot of tasty vegetable soup. Surprisingly, the kids ate it all. Lesson 3: if the kids are being picky about their food, flip a breaker and tell them the power is out.

Needing flushing water - remember my wife is suffering form a stomach and intestinal ailment of somesort - I went out and grabbed a small hose and began to drain the water heater. I assumed this required me to release the pressure valve on the top. I would return to this slow running hose to refill a bucket three times last night.

By the time we went to bed, the power remained off. Sue's alarm woke me at some unknown time later, beckoning me to go downstairs and check the fire for the chicks. The fire was out and the hot coals that remained would not be sufficient to get a new log burning. I began to get things ready to start a new fire. Lesson 4: if the fire must be maintained, get up sooner.

As I was doing so, the power suddenly came back on. A glance at my cell phone showed it to be 1am. Water flowed back into the pipes and toilets filled. I was glad for it, but a few seconds later I heard an ominous water-spurting-all-over-the-place sort of noise. Yes, I'd left the pressure valve open on the water heater and it was spilling its contents all over the closet it resided in. I managaed to shut it off in as timely a manner as I could, such that the spillage was not too terribly bad. However, enough water was on the walls and floor that it certainly required cleanup and drying. The whole time I was cursing my idiocy and thanking God that by some miracle the power had returned while I happened to be up. Had I been asleep, the entire house might have flooded. Lesson 5: If indeed the valve needs to be released in order to drain, make sure to shut it after each draining. Lesson 6: When they tell you that the pressure release valve should vent to OUTSIDE the house, there is good reason for this. At my old house I personally ran the copper for this to be the case - project number 127 at the new house.

In two days on Kitsap, I have experienced more power outage time than I had in three years of living in Bothell. I'm told that I should not be surprised - indeed, I KNEW that this was part of the package deal...but what I failed to realize was how much I needed to learn. I reckon myself to be a humble man with regard to learning experiences and obviously I am willing to reveal my lessons to the entire blogosphere...perhaps that will assist me to be an apt pupil for the future lessons I will no doubt be receiving.