Lights out

Cold showers are so much nicer in the summer. I knew having someone else pay our bills was not the best idea I'd ever heard, but I guess it could be worse. At any rate, that's the game we've been playing all day, ''I guess it could be worse!'' No electricity means no hot water in our house, and no wireless internet! These are two things I enjoy...ah well. Maybe tomorrow they'll turn it back on.

Making dinner by candlelight, I opened all the windows and entertained myself the old-fashioned way: by spying on the neighbors. One woman seemed to be having some plumbing trouble...see? It could be worse! She was outside her front door staring down the drain and occasionally bailing it out with a bucket. She stared for a long time. I started thinking maybe she'd lost something, a ring perhaps? Then her son came outside to help. They both stared for a while, then bailed some more. For some reason, I found this scene incredibly comforting.

I could also hear all the neighborhood night noises from the open window - children yelping with relief as they left church for the evening, the butcher downstairs calling across the street to his friend at the convenience store, couples whistling for their dogs as they mosey down the lane. The candles flicker in the night wind, and I am content.