Blackout

Yes, it is officially summer in California. How do I know? We’ve had our first electrical blackout. ;)
Over the past few weeks we’ve been experiencing blackout “blinks,” but on Tuesday, just as I was about to put dinner into the oven, the lights went off, the air conditioner hummed to a stop, and a choirs of beeping surge protectors all sounded at once. A few minutes later one of our neighbors came over to inform us that, while outside washing his car, he heard an explosion like sound coming out of the PG&E electrical vault in our front yard.

So, just in case you experience the same issue, we’ve come up with a list of things to do while waiting for electricity to be restored.
-Trade out that great dinner you were planning for cold cut sandwiches.
-Watch smoke float out of the vault when the PG&E worker opens it. (I kid you not.)
-Try to find something by the light of a decorative votive candle.
-Think about blogging about a power outage and hope you’ll remember it when the internet comes back up.
-Listen to the automated PG&E voice during status calls.
-Watch the temperature on the thermostat rise and then calculate the difference between the outside and inside temperature.
-And of course, stay as still as possible in hopes that you won’t overheat. (Hard to do when it’s 102 degrees just beyond the walls.)

:) All and all, this one wasn’t too bad. Three hours later the power came back on. Frankly, it’s a little amusing these days. Ah, beloved California. ;)