After two nights of staying in our apartment, the temperature dropped to about 40 degrees. Realizing that we probably couldn't stay another night in the dropping temperatures, we fled to the refuge of our neighbors here at New Hope - a family with 4 older children and 2 foster kids - about 2 and 4 years old. Additional people seeking refuge were Mary and Simon, residents on the second floor of our new residence. They had a wood fireplace and made us feel quite welcome with food and warmth.
However, the strains of about three warm rooms in the house with 12 people were stressing. At bedtime Stuart took a couch in side room and two twin mattresses were laid on the floor for myself and Mary. Mary is an older lady who lives below us. Very friendly and nice. We slept fine for a couple of hours until a startling noise awakened us - Mary snoring. I am not sure if she is aware of this habit or not. Just to be direct, this is no light snore, but a snore that I have only heard on cartoons. There was no way I could sleep through it. At a certain point I just sat up and thought I would wait it out. Certainly she would roll over or something. I tried making some noise with the hope that she would arouse enough to stop the snoring long enough for me to fall back asleep.
No such luck. Stuart looked over at me sitting straight up on my twin mattress on the floor and asked me what was wrong. What was wrong? I made great, but silent, gestures toward the origin of the noise. And then the humor of the situation hit me. I started laughing and tried to keep it muffled. Although I wanted her to wake up, I certainly didn't want her to feel bad and wake up with me laughing at her. It was awful trying not to laugh.
Finally, the words of the owner of the house came back to haunt me. Just before bed, he had non-chalantly offered anyone ear plus who may need them. I couldn't fathom why I would need them at the moment of the offer.
Through God's great mercy, I heard the owner of the house putting more wood on the fire. I jumped up and pleaded for the earplugs. After receiving them, I slept much better. That morning, we found out that the water was no longer running and the only ground phone line was out as well. Stuart and I quickly agreed that it was time to move on - 12 people, one house and no water to flush the toiler - and I packed our bags quickly. Although Stuart's parents phone lines were down and they couldn't be reached, we couldn't help thinking that surely our chances with them would be better - they have a wood stove and a gas fireplace. Plus, we hoped, running water.
The only thing that stood in our way was the road. Well, specifically we knew that there was something to be dreaded - the gap in the knob....
What is the gap in the knob? Quite frankly, I didn't know before this event. It's a stretch of road on a hill with trees on either side that gets quite dangerous during snowey weather. We followed another traveler with four wheel drive, who certainly had less trouble than we did. Frankly, it was the most dangerous thing I think I have ever done. Like a scene from a scary movie, it was downhill, covered with ice and downed tree limbs on both sides. Normally a two lane road, the tree limbs blocked so much of the road that we were ping-ponging to get down the road - while trying to avoid the bluffs on either side. I took a picture before it got too dangerous, which doesn't show the worse parts. We prayed hard!!! With every slip down the road, God and the angels guided Stuart's hands on the wheel to keep us safe. It was certainly God that got us through.
We were glad to arrive at Stuart's parents house. Even though there was no electricity, Stuart's dad had been working hard to keep the wood stove going. They had coffee and plenty of food, and running water! We stayed quite comfortable and had a good time being with them for the next few nights, until we were finally informed that our electricty was back on - a few days before Stuart's parents electricity would be restored.
What an adventure! This story and the pictures will be going into the baby's scrapbook for sure!
