It's a cloudy rainy day and I LOVE it!

We hardly get rain over here, it's usually dry and hot, so when the rain comes I welcome it with open arms and quickly become the mom sitting on the couch with the blanket and the book in her hand, the cup of hot tea at my side and a silly grin on my face.


Last night at around 6pm, we were all sitting around doing the usual things, some playing games on computers, others watching tv, me about to blog and Jasmine was in her bedroom, her door closed and her tv on. She was watching cartoons while drawing. She's always had a love for crayons and drawing and coloring so she's perfectly happy sitting on the floor in her room surrounded by paper and colors.

I had just finished taking my shower, my towel was still wrapped around my hair and I sat at the computer desk....."I'll check on my bloglines and maybe visit some blogs"......the minute I touched the mouse POOF. There was a power outtage all over the base. Jasmine is screaming her head off in her bedroom, poor thing had the blinds and curtains closed AND her door closed so she was terrified (though I'm sorry but I still laugh about it LOL). I slowly make my way to her bedroom......and I mean SLOWLY because you could not see a hand in front of your face, it's the most petrifying feeling in the world.

I reached her and she clung to me as we made our way back to the living room. One good thing about knowing where everything is, I was able to reach the display cases that hold all my candles and had left the lighter on there too, I started lighting them and our house became this glow of candlelit lights. It was comfy and cozy.


I took one of the candles to my bedroom and removed the towel from my hair, brushed it out and threw on some sweat pants to go outside. When I say it was pitch black, I am NOT joking. The whole base was like a scene from one of those movies about the end of the world?


People slowly emerging from their homes, talking in hushed tones, people running to their cars looking for batteries and others like us, with flashlights in hand, staring around, trying to figure out what the problem was. My mind of course went straight to "I Am Legend", I had just seen the movie last week and now I wished I dug a hole in the backyard and filled it with extra food LOL


While outside, the kids of course enjoyed using the flashlights to make scary faces and to play, while I simply marveled at the beautiful stars, the sky a soft pinkish hue from the big cloud just behind us and the rest, dark, black, menacing with tiny little spots of lights spread out, visible nebulas and clusters of stars. You know me, before we even left the house, the camera was in hand.......while the rest of the family is saying "wow, we have a black out", I'm running to the door saying "come on, hurry up, this is my blog post for tomorrow" LOL
Don't even try to deny it, I KNOW most of you bloggers out there do the same!

I just love this one LOL Their cute little faces make me smile :)

Love this one too, there's something about catching the little ones off guard, just doing their own thing.

Here's a picture I took of the night sky, I LOVE astronomy photos as a matter of fact, if you've been reading my blog for a while you know that we are avid Star Gazers and Amateur Astrophotographers.

I am just in awe and so fascinated by this one. I can't figure out what the heck it is. All I've done to the photo is lighten it and then duplicated the original and did a "Dodge" on it, which pretty much just makes any light source brighter. If you can figure out what the heck is on the photo, please let me know LOL


We sat in the backyard for a good 30 to 45 minutes, in the dark, flashlights turned off and just the light of the stars and the night......Jasmine enjoyed sitting on the swing, softly pumping her legs and enjoying the fresh air, she even said "this is so nice, we never get to do this". And it's true, we don't!

Funny thing, after we had been outside we all came back in and sat around, it showed me and again reminded me that nowadays people are SO dependent on technology for entertainment that when faced with a power outage they have no clue what to do. We even had a good laugh when Curt turned to us and said "Man, I guess we have to talk to each other now" LOL

All in all it was a good night, we sat around by candle light, we talked, we laughed and it was deadly quiet all around. Something I actually enjoyed......usually there's so much noise in the house, there's kids and us and tv's and computers and radios, there's noise outside and neighbors cars driving by with the music blaring. But last night for those few hours we had no electricity.....NOTHING, just quiet and calm. Thank you Lord, thank you for giving us a reprieve from the craziness of everyday life and noise, I enjoyed it and I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and thankful for everything that I have in my life.

I remembered the pioneer days and the fact that they made do without running water and power, there was no show on television or game on the computer or even music on the radio, they just lived with what they had and even though there were struggles, they still managed to be happy. How envious I am at times.

The rain is still pouring outside, so I'm going to try and get some reading done, but before I leave, I want to remind those of you who are Jane Austen Fans.....PBS is doing a Masterpiece Theatre of Jane Austen's Movies and tonight they're showing Mansfield Park.

Here's the list of upcoming ones:

• 

  January 13, 2008
  PERSUASION
  Sally Hawkins appears as Anne Elliot, a woman destined for spinsterhood after a proposal eight years earlier. Then her spurned suitor reappears.

• 

  January 20, 2008
  NORTHANGER ABBEY
  In a medieval house that appeals to her most lurid fantasies, romance addict Catherine Moreland (Felicity Jones) begins a relationship with the younger son of the estate.

• 

  January 27, 2008
  MANSFIELD PARK
  After being sent to live at Mansfield Park, Fanny Price played by Billie Piper, navigates a labyrinth of intrigues and affairs among its occupants.

• 

  February 3, 2008
  MISS AUSTEN REGRETS
  Courtship she knew well; only the last act eluded her. A film biography that dramatizes the author's lost loves.

• 

  February 10, 17 and 24, 2008
  PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
  Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle is Elizabeth Bennet in the definitive adaptation of the most-loved of all Austen novels.

• 

  March 23, 2008
  EMMA
  Kate Beckinsale stars in the title role as the tireless matchmaker who professes no interest in matrimony for herself, only for her orphaned protégée, Harriet Smith (Samantha Morton).

• 

  March 30 and April 6, 2008
  SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
  Though poor, levelheaded Elinor Dashwood (Hattie Morahan) and her impulsive sister Marianne (Charity Wakefield) attract a trio of promising gentlemen.

• 

  April 13, 2008
  A ROOM WITH A VIEW
  Elaine Cassidy is Lucy Honeychurch, who arrives at an Italian guest house and is offered a room with a view by Mr. Emerson and his eccentric son George. Adapted by Andrew Davies.

• 

  April 20, 2008
  MY BOY JACK
  Daniel Radcliffe, in his first TV role since finding fame as Harry Potter, plays Jack, the son of Rudyard Kipling, in this moving family drama set during World War I. Also stars Kim Cattrall.

• 

  May 4, 11 and 18, 2008
  CRANFORD
  In 1842, Cranford is a village on the brink of change, where some find romance and opportunity, and others fear the breakdown of social order. Cast includes Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Imelda Staunton.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone :)