The one where we lost power and I lost my mind...

The last I left you, dear readers, I was blissfully updating you on Sister K's visit. I was unaware that later that day, our power would disappear...and not return for six full days. So we enter, Wednesday:

Plumber comes to fix water heater, shoddy plumber, whom we have complained about but our home insurance people continue to send...Arrives, turns off power to the whole house because he can't seem to find the switch controlling the water heater. Finds the problem, tried to turn on the power. Can't do so...because it's old. And so we have no power.

Enter electrician. Gives an estimate of $2200 to replace the panel. Leaves. Call our home insurance. Claim denied. Yell, scream, kick...why? Because we have no inside cover. Yeah, the part that you write on...doesn't have any purpose, is not water or weather proof. Claim denied. Yell, kick, scream. Claim to get a second look...on Tuesday. Goodbye.

Enter Thursday, we decide to get a relative's brother to look at it (licensed contractor/electrician). He says $1500 and that the reason for denying the claim is not right.

Enter Friday, relative's brother comes to start fixing it. He gets the old one off but cannot connect the main power to it in the rain. Enter second opinion. Takes a look, leaves. Says it won't be covered because we got someone else working on it.

Enter Saturday. We all start losing our minds as we face days without running water. We have the fireplace going to heat the living room and we huddle in our separate beds to stay warm. Working Man gets the water heater in the RV working so we can shower in warmth. He also gets the generators running so we can have a television or two and a space heater here and there.

Enter Sunday. I lose my mind and my will to live. I beg to be anywhere but home. Go out to eat, run errands, even do laundry at a laundromat. We make a stop at home then go for a drive. We discovered hell...driving in the country then track housing. It made me feel dead inside. Maybe it was from the crazy week.

Enter today. Same as always. Except relative's brother fixes the power. The water heater is still busted...but at least we have water. Enter my mind. Not really. I think it's taken leave forever.

Here's some pictures, before I lost my mind. I'm so glad we're no longer "camping" at home.

This never stopped. It couldn't, if it did, we'd get dangerously close to the forties.


Running that thing all the time made us use probably close to a cord of wood.


And Friday, I spent my whole day here, in front of the fire.


Candles...we used a lot of those. With lanterns.


To keep the warmth in one place and not losing it over our big house, curtains.

Excuse me, I'm going to go flush the toilet. What? No, I don't need to...but I finally can!

FFR

The one where Sister K is still riding...

Nothing to see here folks, just some more pictures of the bestest horse in the world...oh, and Sister K.

I loved fiddling with the new Lightroom. Have I mentioned recently how much I love it?


I really like this picture of Sister K. It really makes her look so sweet.


I really like this one too.


Sister K did have to untack her own horse...and tack him too

As a result of me having to tack my own horse and untack him and ride his bucking bronco antics, I am very sore...still.

FFR

The one where Sister K rides again

The main reason Sister K wanted to come all the way up here had nothing to do with her cool, totally awesome, way-better-than-any-other sister. It had nothing to do with our cool, totally awesome, way-better-than-any-other house. It had everything to do with our cool, totally awesome, way-better-than-any-other horse, Yuma. Yep, Sister K somehow managed to convince my dad and ESM (Evil Step-Mom...not really evil, she just put that on pretty much anything she sent/wrote to me, thus ESM) to drive alllllll the way out here (6.5 hours...8 if you go the speed limit...5 if you hit no traffic) for a horse. Psh. I should not even post these pictures and encourage her despicable behavior. Except that I love Sister K and I want her to drag my dad and ESM up here again...even if it is just for the horses.

Alas, as always, there are pictures.

Hard to believe that she used to ride only once every five or six years and only in front of me.


Now she's a pro...okay, maybe not. And if she pulls that off, she'd only have her cool, totally awesome, way-better-than-any-other sister to thank for it. (Can you believe I have typed that out every time? I really should have copy and pasted. Would have saved me so much time.)


I like this picture so much, I added it to my portfolio...which nobody but me sees...but still. It's there.


It's so hard to get her to smile sometimes, but when she's on a horse, it just comes natural.


But she does have hair issues when she's on a horse...ever heard of a hair tie?


Guess it doesn't make any difference when the wind is in your face.


This is the giveaway that she's not a pro...stretching the legs. Tsk tsk. PS...I've also added this photo to my portfolio...which no one sees. But it's there too. I love the focus and color.

I have more pictures than I have space for. So I'll continue them on Wednesday.

FFR

The one where I get my dad to smile...

My dad, self-admittedly, is the man behind the camera, not the one in front of it. Both of us spent this last weekend discussing the merits and downfalls of various camera equipment. We were talking about remotes when he said he would always be behind the camera. This weekend, not so much. Oh, did I forget to mention that my sister came to visit? Here are some pictures...

Oh wait...he...he smiled! Oh my gosh, pigs, they are flying again!


This is so cute. He really doesn't like the dog at all, but it's still adorable.


And Sister K is totally bored.


And we went out for breakfast which only strengthened our resolve not to eat out for breakfast. So much better at home unless it's a specialty place...specializing in breakfast.

But it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I have to go back to work today after three days off. Everything is going to be so different, things at the hospital change so fast!

FFR

The one where we finally finish with the chores...

Actually, we weren't finishing with the chores. We finished chores that should have been done a long time ago. First of all, I'm ashamed to say that as of Friday, we still had Christmas lights up. I know, I know. We didn't have them plugged in, and in our defense, it was too muddy to get the tractor in to take down the lights on the horse. Who uses a ladder when you have a tractor? Not Working Man, he's got a terrible fear of heights. Not that I'm any better. I wouldn't get up there in the tractor even.

Additionally, the last week was insanely windy. Our sign for the ranch got completely blown to one side so we needed to fix that too.

As a bonus, before I edited these pictures, I got the new Lightroom 3. Wow, what a difference. I love it! I'm a huge fan of presets (why do the work if someone else has done it for you?) and use them to get the big changes I want, then I tweak them a little. You'll also notice I managed to get a watermark for myself.

Working Man was frustrated that I was taking pictures instead of doing what he wanted.


And the heavens parted.


And there, with no fanfare whatsoever, Working Man takes down the last of our Christmas lights. Hallelujah!

So...I think other than the second one from the bottom, all of these presets are new in Lightroom 3. Oh I love it. A lot bit. I encourage you, if Photoshop is still outside of your capabilities (as it is in mine), please invest in Lightroom 3. Your photos deserve it.

FFR