So let's count our blessings.
Peter and I woke up this morning to a cold, dark and rather quiet morning. We had lost power overnight.
I went out that morning to buy breakfast. The car was literally encased in ice, and it took me the better part of a half hour to crack it off. I did get a few beautiful pictures of plants just encased in ice.
Despite warnings to stay home, I did verify that the roads were clear and not too bad for us to go to the malls. Traffic was non-existent, although we did pass a scary wreck on the way to the first mall. It was perfect for Peter - lots of sales and opportunities and no packs of people to navigate around.
We weren't sure if we planned to stay home, and did have a back-up plan to stay at Peter's grandparents if we still lacked power. While we suffered a power outage in the summer, we didn't suffer the actual flooding, it was relatively brief and the temperature was balmy. Now the temperatures are below freezing, and when we came home in the afternoon, we could feel the chill.
Peter and I packed up our stuff and headed over. I cancelled downtown dinner plans - the radio was advising any non-essential traffic to stay home. We met up with Glen and Melissa and got a nice Mom-cooked dinner after setting ourselves up in the basement. Peter's mother's friend came later that night - she lives in the same area and is also without power.
Power isn't expected to come back until Christmas Day. Some Torontonians are flipping out, but let's also look at the big picture:
* Estimated 250 000 'customers' (households, buildings, etc.) without power.
* Two hospitals (Sunnybrook and East Toronto General, major hospitals) are on back-up power.
* Outages are mainly caused by frozen trees breaking on power lines. Trees are also falling on vehicles and homes.
* The weather is expected to get worse, and outages can return if more branches fall (very likely).
http://www.torontohydro.com/sites/electricsystem/PowerOutages/Pages/OutageMap.aspx
Peter and I have family who are willing to take us in, we aren't hurt, we don't have health problems that require constant monitoring or assistance, such as motorized wheelchairs or breathing machines. We have the funds to hold us over when we need to spend. The worst that happens to us is inconvenience; we're okay, thanks to everyone who's asked.
So compared to, say, two hospitals needing power, we're prepared to cool our heels (a little more literal than we like) and wait this out. I've got my laptop and camera, and the grandparents have a nice piano I can use during the day: I can even get some work done!
I went out that morning to buy breakfast. The car was literally encased in ice, and it took me the better part of a half hour to crack it off. I did get a few beautiful pictures of plants just encased in ice.
Despite warnings to stay home, I did verify that the roads were clear and not too bad for us to go to the malls. Traffic was non-existent, although we did pass a scary wreck on the way to the first mall. It was perfect for Peter - lots of sales and opportunities and no packs of people to navigate around.
We weren't sure if we planned to stay home, and did have a back-up plan to stay at Peter's grandparents if we still lacked power. While we suffered a power outage in the summer, we didn't suffer the actual flooding, it was relatively brief and the temperature was balmy. Now the temperatures are below freezing, and when we came home in the afternoon, we could feel the chill.
Peter and I packed up our stuff and headed over. I cancelled downtown dinner plans - the radio was advising any non-essential traffic to stay home. We met up with Glen and Melissa and got a nice Mom-cooked dinner after setting ourselves up in the basement. Peter's mother's friend came later that night - she lives in the same area and is also without power.
Power isn't expected to come back until Christmas Day. Some Torontonians are flipping out, but let's also look at the big picture:
* Estimated 250 000 'customers' (households, buildings, etc.) without power.
* Two hospitals (Sunnybrook and East Toronto General, major hospitals) are on back-up power.
* Outages are mainly caused by frozen trees breaking on power lines. Trees are also falling on vehicles and homes.
* The weather is expected to get worse, and outages can return if more branches fall (very likely).
http://www.torontohydro.com/sites/electricsystem/PowerOutages/Pages/OutageMap.aspx
Peter and I have family who are willing to take us in, we aren't hurt, we don't have health problems that require constant monitoring or assistance, such as motorized wheelchairs or breathing machines. We have the funds to hold us over when we need to spend. The worst that happens to us is inconvenience; we're okay, thanks to everyone who's asked.
So compared to, say, two hospitals needing power, we're prepared to cool our heels (a little more literal than we like) and wait this out. I've got my laptop and camera, and the grandparents have a nice piano I can use during the day: I can even get some work done!