The Sandholm Refugees

The Sandholm family are currently refugees staying at the Hennessey house. The Hennessey's graciously took us in yesterday afternoon, and we Sandholm's -- used to the Midwest timeframe for getting power back online -- came prepared to stay for a few hours and then return home to a house with full power and heat in the evening. Well, that didn't exactly pan out as hoped, and we called the Clampett's (the Clampett's are our neighbors across the street -- FYI, their last name really isn't Clampett, but I can explain more about that some other time) to see if the power was back on yet, and it wasn't. Our power went off on Thursday night during "the worst windstorm in the Seattle area since the Inaugural Day windstorm of '93," and it is now Saturday, for those of you keeping track, and our power still isn't on.

Seattle is the most ridiculous place when it comes to severe weather response, I swear. I understand that the severe weather situations are different here than in the Midwest, but it is so frustrating to not see power lines covered with an inch coating of ice, a foot of snow on the ground, or some other indication that a very severe storm has gone through to warrant more than 24 hours with no power. Granted, there are lots of trees and power lines down around the area, and I am very thankful that none of the power lines or trees by our house fell and that the only exposure I've had to seeing the damage is via the news coverage, but it's still odd to me how long it takes a city to get everything back online. Oh, well -- thank goodness for good friends like the Hennessey's who have power and the space for us!

In addition to the Sandholm's, the Folgedalen's were also refugees at Hostel Hennessey last night, so we just had a big 'ol sleepover. It was very exciting, aside from the fact that I personally had a breakdown about imposing on the Hennessey's, thinking I didn't have everything we needed (i.e. a change of clothes and toothbrushes), blah, blah blah...I blame it on hormones. And now I'm fine today, warm and actually sociable, although I am a bit scrounge-y, in need of a toothbrushing, shower and clean clothes. Gabe, Sullivan and I will be headed home here shortly to check on Jack and Jinxie, make sure no one broke into our house or garage, and get everything we need to return to the Hennessey's for another sleepover. We aren't confident that we have power yet, but are keeping track of things via Seattle City Light and the local news.