Status report.. We are home and I am freezing… I caught a cold while we were away and I am now bundled up like, well I don’t know but I look ridiculous. The house was 8 degrees when we got here and three hours later we are up to 11. E is happily watching hockey in front of the fire.

We got back at 2:45 with two very happy dogs. The water was calm for our trip. Sami’s eye looks better. Piper seems to have grown a foot and the house is still standing. There are branches scattered around the property but nothing alarming. The island is carpeted in small debris downed from last weeks storm. I understand there are plenty of trees down but no houses damaged. As a community, we escaped fairly unscathed compared to the neighboring islands.

We unplugged everything except the fridge when we left. The batteries were fully charged. After ten days the food in the fridge and freezer was still cold. The battery charge was probably lower than it should get but we were gone longer than we wanted to be and it is unlikely to happen again.

Normally we would only go away for Christmas for two or three nights but with the storm we had to get off the island and return the baby to her parents. Ten nights is too long for me to be away. I am like the house batteries losing my charge if I am away too long.. Ugh.. I feel drained..

Tomorrow, I am hoping to get the house cleaned and then go back to bed to cough my lungs out in private. E has a new 115 volt pressure pump to install under the house.. We want shower pressure like they have in the big city… We dream big….. If we have time we can check the water storage up top.

The house should be warm enough by the time we get up tomorrow. Then it will take another day, as Murray says, til the dishes in the

cupboards are warm