Twas the Freeze Before Christmas Letter 2007

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care… in hopes they would dry, so that we could wear.

 As you may know, as part of our pre-Christmas festivities the family took part in the 2007 Oklahoma Freeze and during our three days of forced power outage, we had abundant time to reflect on the blessings of the season. We discovered the blessings of natural gas fireplaces late in the first twelve hours but took another two hours to recognize the necessity of an open fireplace flue.





  While I in my kerchief and they in their caps all settled down for a long winters nap, we explore the benefits of authentic down comfort (King-sized is not big enough, nor are three layers thick.)


The moon on the breast of new fallen snow had nothing on the candelabra we had goin’ on inside. We will never again disparage Dave’s fetish for flashlights. We revisited family togetherness while reading classic literature by candlelight. (Dave Barry may be surprised to find himself in this category) and we renewed the joys of handicrafts by headlamp to stave off boredom. (Dia made hats, hats, and hats galore.)

  When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter… we marveled that in spite of the avalanche of tree limbs clamoring outside to abandon their trunks and cascade with a thump to the ground, we received no damage to rooftops or vehicles. However, fences were not withstanding.

Visions of sugarplums danced in our heads as we foraged from the freezer, struck up the gas stove and stacked the outdoor patio table with refrigerator stock. Camp food tastes ever so much better anyway.

Dressed all in fleece from our head to our foot, we like St. Nickolas, all wore the soot. After chopping branches down and hauling limbs away to uncover downed power lines (Yes, I realize now that the lines could have been live,) we learned to wear natural fibers that dry quickly and absorb some serious filth. The whole Christmas thing that started with stockings hung up to dry was once someone's daily life and I would rather not return to it. There is nothing quite like warm showers, hot food and outside contact. For us, we learned that desperate times result in … blessed measures.

You will hear us exclaim as we drive out of sight, but not in "Firebird--the Acura" because the day school resumes, Dia is t-boned by a Porche boxter on the way home from seminary.  So sad to have the car we bought when she was a baby gone.  

Yet amidst all, we are blessed by the wonder and beauty of our Saviors birth.  So, Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

 Love, the Darceys

Day 2, December Ice Storm

We spent the evening eating dinner by candle light and reading Dave Berry’s narrative of the Utah Winter Olympics. He made fun of the Ho Ho Gourmet’s name, after that the daughter escaped to a friend’s (powered-up) house for a hot shower sleepover.

Everyone has their headlamps on. No one is making fun of Dave’s fondness for flashlights and headlights now. And all the used candles that I wanted to throw out but didn’t are now being put to good use.

It seems that about two out every three houses do not have power throughout all of the city. Pretty overwhelming. It is ironic to live in a neighborhood (some of you who have visited here know what I’m talking about…) of gigantic mondo mansions who have power and running billions of gigawatts for his Christmas decorations and you’re sitting there across the street, the poor relative, with no power at all. We saw this in quite a few places.

We spent the night in our bedroom….interior house temp was 56 degrees this morning….so livable. Kids are out of school today again. Ian gets to work on a limb that fell on the back driveway, right where we normally park the Acura and pickup, but we moved them right before the limb crashed. It has trapped the van in the garage and I think of everyone who has only one vehicle, trapped.

Dave's input:

Lost quite a few limbs and trees. The 100 foot birch and maple by the back driveway are probably shot. Spent quite a bit of time knocking ice off limbs last night to try and save some more trees over back deck and front door.
Seemed to help.

Temps are warming and it is melting just in time for another round tonight.

Generators are all sold out….expecting more shipments today.
Don’t know if should buy one or not……at this pt, still saying 7 – 10 days…but managing ok.

Back to Terina: Dave seems to have an aversion to personal pronouns.

Day 2, We spent the evening eating dinner by candle light and reading Dave Berry’s narrative of the Utah Winter Olympics. He made fun of the Ho Ho Gourmet’s name, then the daughter
escaped to a friend’s house for a hotshower/sleepover.

Everyone has their headlamps on. No one is making fun of Dave’s fondness for flashlights and headlights now. And all the candles that Terina wanted to throw out but didn’t are now being put to good use.

It seems that two out every three houses do not have power throughout all of the city. Pretty overwhelming. Its sad, though, to be in a neighborhood (some of you who have visited here know what I’m talking about…) of gigantic mondo Mcmansions running billions of gigawatts for his Christmas decorations and you’re sitting there with no power at all. We saw this in quite a few places.

We spent the night in our bedroom….interior house temp was 56 degrees this morning….so livable. Kids are out of school today again. Ian gets to work on a limb that has the van trapped in the garage. It fell on the back driveway, right where we normally park the Acura and pickup.
but they were parked in our front diveway when that happened.

Dave's comments:

Lost quite a few limbs and trees. The birch and maple by back driveway are probably shot.
Spent quite a bit of time knocking ice off limbs last night to try and save some more trees over back deck and front door. Seemed to help.

Temps are warming and it is melting just in time for another round tonight.
Generators are all sold out….expecting more shipments today.
Don’t know should buy one or not……at this pt they are still saying 7 – 10 days…but managing ok.

Back to Terina: Dave has an aversion to personal pronouns.

Mad About Keys

Technology makes everything better. A simple car key now has the ability to not only open the door, but turn on the lights, warm up the engine and slowly reroute my life savings to its Swiss bank account. My van key looks pretty nondescript, incapable of none of that, but it’s smart, the customer service rep at the dealership assures me. When I lose it, I will not only be unable to start the vehicle, but the vehicle must be towed to the dealership and a lengthy, special secret reprogramming procedure will be undertaken by a specialized geek with pocket protectors who will attempt to unlock the sophisticated system—two minutes and a hundred bucks—for a key!!! He says that the dealer is prevented by the manufacturer to disengage the little thingydoodle in the ignition system that prevents the use of a cheap key and it’s all because somebody could steal my car. I said. “I won’t buy another car that does this,” and he suppressed a giggle and confounded me with his response, “It’s all about liability.” So, there is no more running to the hardware store to have an extra key cut. What was a three dollar wrinkle in my day, will be a three hundred dollar just fold me in half. An article in the Boston Globe assures me that it is industry wide and the FTC has thus far failed to act. California seems to be the only sane state thus far… (which in itself is frightening). They are requiring vehicle manufacturers to release key code to locksmiths by January 2008. I’ll try to lose my keys next in CA. I just had one last question, if these expensive, exclusive keys are so smart, how do they get lost?

AUCTION SIX-PACK HATS

Tis the season for freezin'. Donations all go to Summers Family Auction.

Since 90% of body heat flows out through the head, (and 47% of all statistics are made up spur of the moment,) put on a hat, cover that pate, and don a chapeau. You may even, in a fit of green enviro-frenzy, turn down the heat and wear one to bed.

A full family plethora of hats is up for auction. Six chapeaus, matching or not, baby, ski, fluffy or frilly, tiny or huge, whichever you choose. Handmade hats are hot on the slope and hip at college.

It's for a great cause... click on my comments and bid on a six-pack of hat.
http://sallyrollins.blogspot.com/2008/11/official-info.html)

I'll ship anywhere in the US for free! Ready in time for Christmas.

Family Fun Auction Basket

This basket is overflowing with promises of an evening of fun and delight such as your family has rarely experienced! It's a magic basket that promises hours (at least one) of uninterrupted peace and conviviality to be experienced by the buyer.

It includes:

One Blockbuster Gift Card (may cause some contention as a movie decision is made--good for two movies.)

Five packs of Microwave Popcorn (One for every person, no fighting!)

Candy - to teach the value of sharing (the evening would not be a spiritual wasteland)

Robin McGraw's newest book "From My Heart To Yours" (to soothe the beleagured referee)

Game: Double Six Color Dot Dominoes

Game: Rook (An obscure game that virtually no one has "already played" promising no whining on that front.)

Movies for every taste:

13 Going On 30 - Guaranteed Angst and teen drama

Pay it Forward - A tear jerker with a great message

Rocky Balboa - (You might be surprised how many have not seen this!)

March of the Penguins - The earth friendly tearjerker

The Pagemaster - A perpetual child favorite just complicated enough for adult viewing

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - for the Johnny Depp chocolate lover in us all.

And last, but not least, a big basket with a lovely bow--All sold to help in a great effort. See http://www.sallyrollins@blogspot.com for other auction details. I'll make sure you get this delivered if you live in the Tulsa area.

______________________________

Best of all, the magic of this basket assures somebody, somewhere that they are loved.

Best Wishes, Becky and the Summers Family

Summers Silent Auction

I'm posting my contributions to the Summers Family Auction. (details at http://sallyrollins.blogspot.com/2008/11/official-info.html)
This item has a great history. It's a closet organizer, seeking an organized home. I was sure, when I won it at the last auction that it would inspire me to organize the entire household. Then the voice of reason intruded. And it warned me that this just might cause me to organize the entire household. And I just can't go there!!!
This one will have to be picked up. It's too huge to ship.

Dump on Dia Day

Today is the day. It’s “Everyone Dump on Dia Day. Might as well make it National Everyone Dump on Dia Day and spread the fun. It started with the 4:45 wake-up to Witch Doctor song. Wouldn’t your day go downhill from there? Got through seminary but missed the school bus. So bright and early she was captive for twenty minutes of me on a non-stop harangue.

As her Mom, and thereby her resident social conscience, I covered a myriad of aspects, gas prices, elitist kids, entitlement, even visited Armagedon. I piled on the guilt, boys no lunches, Aidan left home alone, Ian missing his ride… and most of all dear to her heart, payment to me of cold hard cash.

I pretty much covered the gamut. So, it’s my recommendation that everyone for the rest of the day join me! You, the crossing guard for the teenagers start right in like usual. “You, blond girl, Stop Right There! It’s no longer the first day of school. You should know by now that you can’t get off there. What were you thinking. Don’t do that again!” You are unaware, of course, that her parent put her off there so you could have the opportunity to vent your spleen on her. (as further continued punishment). You can thank me later.

I’m also providing an opportunity for every teacher who spilled their coffee, is late to work, mad about daycare, angry about gas prices, the lack of hurricane relief, and the world’s social conscience, moreover, if you are frustrated at short term worthless fixes on the part of local, state and federal officials, this is the time for you to dump on Dia. It’s her day.

If you are in the mood—as the supposed last bastion of intellectual thought—to berate and deride because of lack of vision on the part of all government leaders, who are placing us firmer into a fiscal mire and deeper into financial manure, who are unable to see the benefit of higher gas prices on mass transit, fuel consumption, smaller vehicles, better roads and healthier alternatives, my daughter Dia is the one you should drop it all on.

If you would like to pile on homework for the weekend, (like four hours a night isn’t enough) today is the day. You can effectively put her home for more added insult by Mom by just adding to that busywork burden. No relief in sight ‘til Tuesday. (Sorry, but I’ll do my part to make the “Labor” in that holiday a reality).

Do what you can to demean her further by refusing her first amendment rights in Literature, but you’d better skip over the right to bear arms in AP History because she might decide to do something about that.

Today she’s PMSing, but she was desperate enough to risk heart attack and take a banned Vioxx. So I say, go right ahead and dump ‘cause she’s her mammas daughter.

And, I’m thinking at this point, she can hold her own.

Hawaii 2007