Saturday, December 27, 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS

What a Christmas!! On the 19th the power went out and I really expected it to pop right back on. Late on the 19th the cat and I went to South Whitley to my mom's. Though SW was somewhat without power for a part of the day, by the time I got there at 10:30 that night all the power was back on except for a few houses. I stayed with my Mom for four days. Fritzie was there too. He was a riot. A scaredy cat for sure. I put his cat box down in a corner of the utility room and he stood up on his back legs in a corner of the box, in the corner of the room, with his nose in the corner. He looked like a naughty little boy on time out. When he finally quit standing in the corner, he hid under couches and beds. Sometime during the night he got out and walked around exploring, and he jumped up on mom's bed and looked at her for awhile. Then he wandered around some more. Whenever a train would go by on the train tracks he'd go hide again. During the next day he spent the entire day hiding under couches...but he came out again when the sun went down. It wasn't until the last day there that he managed to stay out longer in the daylight.

On Monday I drove Mon's car back to Fort Wayne to check on my house and do some Xmas shopping for her. Fritzie stayed behind. I had loaded up my car with all the stuff I was going to need for Xmas ... all the presents, my medicine, more clothes, more food for Fritzie, and I had it all packed in the car and ready to go. I came back in to my house (26 degrees in the living room) and was surveying the house looking for anything I should also take along when I heard the furnace ignition click on. Then the FIOS box came on and my tv started up. The Xmas lights on the porch were on. I went out on the front step and shouted Hallelujah!!! Course the neighborhood was deserted except for John down the street. I had already checked all the water and it was running all right, (thank God for leaky toilets) so I went back around and turned off all the faucets. Then I started unpacking the car and put everything back where it belonged. The house had warmed up to 40 by the time I vaccuumed the floor and dusted. Then I spent another couple hours completing Mom's Xmas shopping and I drove back to SW and Fritzie was glad to see me. I slept that night at Mom's and the next morning packed everything up and went back home. I was so glad to be back home and so was Fritzie. He was purring like crazy and then he laid down on the floor on his back to let me know how glad he was to be home. I got the "kitty I love you blinks" from him. Only trouble was, I had taken fancy feast along for convenience, and now he's addicted to it, and demands his fancy feast treat every morning. I'm weaning him down to a quarter can of it every morning.

The first Google I did on the computer was for natural gas emergency generators. I could have survived in the basement at 45 to 50 degrees if I'd had to, but I don't want to ever have to make the choice again. I didn't leave the house because I was afraid of the cold, however. I left because I felt threatened by the marauders I caught invading the neighborhood in the dark. A car pulled up and discharged half a dozen guys who ran in all directions looking for houses they could get into. They didn't come to my house because I had windows lit up with oil lamps,but all of the empty houses were their targets. I called the cops immediately and they were here in seconds. But I started packing up and then called a friend to come and guard me as I loaded the car and left for SW.

I should have been braver and known that my guardian angels are watching out for me all the time, but with the lack of communication ( my phone went out when my FIOS backup battery ran out...) And I couldn't find my car charger for my cell phone in the dark. (It was in my suitcase!...I found it when I unpacked at Mother's house).

I got back home in time to have my traditional Xmas eve party with Becky and her kids, and Whitney made the most delicious spaghetti sauce that we had over whole wheat spaghetti. We had apple salad as well. Then Xmas morning i got up early, baked some corn pudding and some scalloped potatoes packed the rest of the Xmas presents I'd got for Mom to give to people and repacked the car to go to my brother's for our family Xmas. Leigh and her husband and kids were there, and we won't be seeing them for three years as they are going to Italy, where he'll be stationed in Naples.

Zach still didn't make it home for Christmas, but he spent Xmas with his Dad again this year. He got to talk to all his cousins though and we visited on the phone. He's working taking care of an Alzheimer's patient part of every day, while he's waiting on his perfect job in the hospital.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Love and Kisses. Jana

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