Viva la electricity.

After a big storm in Atlanta this week, and several downed trees in the neighborhood, I was without power at my house for a couple of nights.  What to do? No TV or music. No cooking or baking without the stove. No internet. Cell phone almost dead without the ability to charge. No hairdryer after a morning shower. Assembling what I could for meals with the contents of my rapidly warming refrigerator.

The first night was spent more worried about the raging storm outside (and whether those large, violently swaying trees in my yard were going to remain upright) than being cut off from my usual routines.

The second night was quiet without the storm... no humming of appliances, no option of having the TV on in the background or music playing from my laptop (with its now-empty battery). It was also very dark. I guess I don't generally recognize how much ambient light is generated from modern conveniences -- clock on the microwave, charging cell phone, etc. I did some dishes by candlelight, and then read a book by flashlight for a little while before going to bed early.

All in all, it was lovely.

(For 24 hours, anyway. Of course, when I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my flashing clock and realized the power was back on, I may or may not have checked my email... not because I was expecting anything, just because I could.)