Wednesday 9 July 2014

bad Arthur, bad

Have you ever had an unwelcome house guest?  We did.  Boy, we sure did and his name was Arthur.  He arrived uninvited and he stayed WAY PAST his welcome.  Bad Arthur, bad.  MOUSES!

Last week, the weatherpeeps were all talkin' about this rotten dude named Arthur.  Hurricane Arthur, to be exact. He was travellin' up the eastern seaboard and, I think, expected to pass just south of my fair province of Nova Scotia.

Well, that was last week.

In the wee hours of Saturday mornin', Arthur arrived.  Even though downgraded to a tropical storm, he was still packin' a punch.  The wind was a-howlin' and the skies were a-scowlin' but by mid-mornin', it seemed to be okay.  Weatherpeeps were still sayin' the entire entire province had a tropical storm warning but really and truly, we seemed to be okay.  We figured we had weathered the storm. WRONG!

Maybe we were in the eye of the storm or somethin'.  I don't know.  What I do know is that an hour or so later, Arthur was back and with a vengeance.  He was blowin' with all his might and you should have seen the trees swayin' and whatnot.

I was sittin' at the computer, workin' on my blog, when I heard bang!  BANG!  BANG!  It sounded a lot like when Ol' Peepers here is unloadin' bags of manure for the garden, from the trunk of the car, and dumps 'em on the driveway.  But the bangs were way too close together to have been caused by that.  Plus, there was hurricane - okay, tropical storm - wrecking havoc in my yard and although I did wonder, I decided that not even my peep would be so silly as to be outside in the middle of a storm like that.

I immediately ran from my office over to the front door to investigate.  I found both the peeps there, lookin' over at the neighbours' house.  Apparently, the neighbours were playin' with fireworks or somethin'.  At least that's what it looked like but in reality, it wasn't the neighbours at all.  The power pole between our house and theirs was on fire!  There were sparks flyin' everywhere and poppin' and cracklin' noises.  No flames but lots and LOTS of sparks.  Kind of scary, actually.

Peep #1 immediately went into action.  She got on the phone to tell Nova Scotia Power what was goin' on but she couldn't get through.  She tried again.  No luck.  She tried once more.  NOTHIN'. We still had power and everything but even the peep realised that power poles are just not supposed to do that sort of thing.  MOUSES!

So what does my Peep #1 decide to do?  Have a shower.  Again I say, MOUSES!

She had almost all the soap and stuff rinsed out of her hair when everything went dark.  Yeah... when you think about the flamin' power pole puttin' on the fireworks display, it was really just a matter of time.

She dried off best as she could and came downstairs.  Shortly afterwards, the power came back on. Yay!  Shortly after that, it went out...  again.  MOUSES!

This time, Peep #1 got through to the power company and they said that power would be restored by 11:30 that night.  Not fun but manageable.  Even for peeps.  But by mornin', there was still no power but supposedly, it would be back by suppertime.

The peeps headed outside to check on damage and whatnot.  I helped.

There were little twigs with leaves everywhere.  The peeps raked some of 'em up into piles but, I've noticed, the piles are still there, scattered around my front and back yards.  Apparently, it was gettin' too hot to rake any more. Plus, they were cranky 'bout the lack of power.

We were really lucky though 'cause the house at the end of the street had more than twigs fallin' on the lawn.  A whole tree fell on their house!  Everyone is okay, I think, but it must have been super scary.  Can't imagine what one thinks when a tree falls on your house in the middle of the night.  MOUSES!

Anywho...  Suppertime passed and there was still no power but it would be back before midnight. But by Monday morin', there was still no power.  They said it would be back by midnight that night and actually, by early evening, it was...  for some.  All the streets around us had power but the seven houses on our street were left in the dark.  I was beginning to think they had forgotten about us.

Peep #1 got on the phone to find out when our power would be back and they told her...  "I'm sorry Ma'am, but we're looking at Friday."  FRIDAY!  Friday?  MOUSES!

I studied my peeps closely and knew that this was not good.  They were barely holdin' onto their sanity as it was and another three, four days without power was gonna do 'em in, for sure.  I didn't think they were gonna make it.

By eleven-thirty Monday night, we had gone well over two days with no power, no water, no Internet, no nothin'.  Plus, the peep hadn't had coffee since Saturday mornin' and you can just imagine how scary that was.  And I had missed my Sunday blog post!  First time that I've ever missed a blog post. Was I going to miss Wednesday as well?  I sank back on my haunches, debating whether or not I should cry.  Eventually, I decided to wash my tail, instead.

Tuesday was a day I would rather forget.  We were half-way through this misery of miseries but whether we'd ever live to see the other side was questionable, at best.  We cats had bottled water in our bowls but were being served our meals on paper plates.  PAPER.  Yeah...  that's what I said. Peeps couldn't do any washing-up, you see.  The floor upon which we dine hadn't been washed in days.  It was a disgrace.  I was beginning to wonder if I would make 'til Friday, myself.

Then it happened.  Early this mornin', even before the sun got up, miracle of all miracles...  THE POWER CAME BACK ON.  I was jumpin' for joy.  Okay, I actually kind of slept right though it but I understand that Ol' Peepers here did a little jig.

When I eventually woke up and was told the good news, I was purrin' and purrin' and purrin'.  I was purrin' up a storm!  But a good storm.  And it WASN'T named Arthur.  I was purrin' as loudly as any cat has ever purred.  I was gonna make my Wednesday deadline after all!  Yoo-hoo!  YOO-HOO!!!

And the peep was gonna have coffee!  What's that Peepers?  You haven't had any coffee yet this mornin'?  Oh yeah...  The fridge was off for three and a half days and the milk is all sour.  Hmmm...   Well, that certainly explains that rather frazzled expression on your face.  I was actually wonderin' about that...
Tell you what Peepers.  Once we get my blog post published, you can go empty out the stinky fridge and scrub down the kitchen floor and bathrooms Once that's all done, treat yourself to a shower and then head on over to the store to get some milk for your coffee. I'm almost done with my post.  One second...  Hmmm...  Yeah...  that's it.

Okay Peepers, you can go clean up the kitchen now.  After the terrible ordeal of the unwanted house guest who overstayed his welcome, I'm kinda tired. Think I'll take a nap or somethin'.  A nap sounds really good.  Wake me in an hour or two, would you?  On second thought, never mind.  I'll wake myself up when I'm good and ready 'cause you know...  I'm a cat and that's the kind of thing that we cats do.  MOUSES!

33 comments:

  1. Wow, that was an ordeal, Nerissa! We live in a big city, and a few years ago our power went out for several days, and I barely saw my human - she was running around with her laptop to places where she could get electricity and internet!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah... the laptop has a battery but it would NEVER last long enough but the modem has to be plugged in. No modem... no Internet. MOUSES!

      Delete
    2. I am just so glad y'all are okay and that rude visitor has departed!

      Delete
  2. That is a horrible thing to go without power. We don't appreciate that power until it is gone. Anyway, glad you got it back. Sparks from the power poll sounds scary. Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mommy said once the power was out at her old place for days, too. Peanut butter sandwiches and warm water! Actually that doesn't sound bad.... Any way, glad yours came back on!
    Our current building has backup generators, so the lights have flickered a couple times. Whew! Sounds like we are lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh how awful! Imagine putting up with the hoomins through all that, Nissy. You deserve a medal, we think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Or at least an appointment to the Senate, huh? #Niss4Senate !!! purrs

      Delete
  5. dood....de food serviss gurl thinked when her started reedin yur post ya had RELATIVES at yur houz N we wuz like...

    cranbereez, we hope knot.... coz if nissy's relatives bee az inn sane crazed wacko HBO werdz ....az de food servizz gurls familee iz....well, that IZ a grate reeson ta use de werd bad in yur title !!

    glad yur houz N familee iz safe ♥ !

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hmm, we just aren't programmed to be without power for more than two seconds. Too many things to do. Oh, time for another nap.

    Glad you are all okay and your power is back on.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dear Nerissa.So glad you and the peeps survived Arthur I've been so worried about you all.That was a good idea of the peep#1 to take a shower before the power went off.Myself I would always rush to boil a kettle!So happy to see my favourite cat back safe and sound!Naughty Arthur!!!Love and purrsXXXX

    ReplyDelete
  8. How very scary! And then to have NO power for so many days. Yikes!

    We lost our power Tuesday morning due to a fire at the substation. They figured they couldn't replace the melted cables fast enough so they sent several mobile generators over to make sure WE didn't melt in our heat (doors and windows had to be shut due to the haze). Then they went to work and got the cables by replaced early Wednesday morning. We were so relieved!

    ReplyDelete
  9. OMC, that are some scary stuff! Glad y'all are ok!

    ReplyDelete
  10. OH Nissy we are so glad it was only the power (like we know how BIG of a deal that is living in Florida -- we waved at Arthur too) and your home was safe. We hope you have no more visitors!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Arthur sure was an unwelcome visitor. Aren't you glad he's gone now? Whenever we lose power, the mom goes crazy because no power means no innernets.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That is so scary! We are glad you and your peeps are safe, Nissy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Your peeps went without coffee??? That is terrible. Our peeps would have been unmanageable!
    We're glad ya'll are ok and Arthur is gone!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a rough visitor is that Arthur ! It's a good thing he's gone ! No power and no water for several days is hard to manage for your beans ! We're glad that everyone and your home are safe ! Purrs

    ReplyDelete
  15. That sounds like a horrible experience. I am glad your power is back now and your peeps can have a shower. It is lucky that you only need tongue power for your bath.
    My mum would have been climbing the walls with no coffee.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh wow, we were hoping that you wouldn't get the wrath of Arthur but no such luck...sorry to hear that you were without power so long, that is awful. So glad that the power is finally back up for you and hopefully your food losses are not too bad. Take care everyone, hope you have a better weekend and glad your peeps can have coffee again, too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow!! That sure sounds scary!!! Here in Ontario, we had a few large hail warnings and torrential downpours, damaging winds etc... But luckily, we didn't get it to to badly. A lot of rain mostly. I'm glad your all OK!
    ღ husky hugz áƒ¦ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

    ReplyDelete
  18. OMC that kind of strangers can stay home if it were up to me, but we're glad the storm is over and you are no harmed and that you have your power back. Who wouldn't want a nap after all this tension. Pawkisses for a Powerful Weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Holy COD. You cats are SAINTS to put up with the peepers through all of that!

    ReplyDelete
  20. OMC that is the worst house guest ever! So glad you are all safe, but what an ordeal! Hope your Peeps have recovered and all is back to it's state of "normal" at your house Nissy.
    Marty

    ReplyDelete
  21. OMC Nissy what a time yous all had. So sowwy Arfur came tu visit and left such a mess. But meez vewy glad yous awe all okay.

    Luv ya'

    Dezi

    ReplyDelete
  22. MOUSES, it's never a dull moment in your neck of the woods!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow that sounds terrible! So happy you all weathered the storm without any bad damage and just some spoiled food. Our humans know how scary that stuff can be. They had a 100 + year old oak tree come down in a high wind several years ago. It made flames shoot out the microwave when it hit the power wires. Lucky for them it fell away from the house. Not so lucky for the neighbor across the street. It crushed their car. Hope y'all don't get any more Arthurs or other invited guests. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    ReplyDelete
  24. Oh no! We're still trying to process the horror of what it must have been like to be living with a human who has not had coffee!! Thank goodness you are okay now and CONCATS on your pawsome Petties nomination!! We are so happy for you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Niss mate. Oooooh boy i felt scared reading your post. We lost power in the UK once - a nightmare showers at the swimming baths no fun. Your peeps must've been so relieved when it came back!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. OMC Nissy, what a CATastrophe, especially for your peeps. You seem to have handled it all in your usual ironic fashion!! We lost power earlier this year because of a storm. The Staff called it a power outrage, which is definitely what you've had!! Glad peeps have had their coffee fix now. That was a bit of a close call, eh!! xox

    ReplyDelete
  27. Sounds like an experience, typist was feeling hard done by having no hot water for two days!! Glad to hear that you have all come through it safe and sound(ish!)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Glad you and the Peeps are a-ok there Nissy. Yeah we had some 4 days of no power this past winter and the Dad was beside himself. He was so beside himself he had to call himself on the phone to see where he was. No fooling
    Anymeow
    Timmy

    ReplyDelete

I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.