Lights, Camera, Action

Heat and electricity have returned to 1817-1819 E. Hagert. On Thursday night, we began with a prayer service during which we wrote our goals for the brownout, then we lit candles, turned off the heat, and settled in on the couch to maximize our body heat and tell stories. The first night was chilly, and I believe we each accidentally turned on a light or two, but otherwise we were successful. The team left on retreat at roughly the same time we turned the lights out, so the next day I coordinated with only Katelyn, Maureen and the New Zealanders at my disposal. A couple of groups showed up (one made its appearance about 15 minutes into the meal) as well as two of our guests who have recently begun helping out at meals. I was thankful for all the help, even though we only had 158 people to serve. This was the lowest number I've ever seen at the Inn, resulting from the day being disgusting and rainy, oh yeah, and the first of the month.

Once we all got home, it was naptime. I found, with the very low temperature in our house, that it was difficult to get motivated into any kind of productivity. We also decided that our car would be off-limits during the brownout so we were effectively quarantined, much like our first 6 weeks here. After naptime, Katelyn treated us all to a beautiful picnic dinner (we decided to continue using our refrigerator for the sake of nutrition and had stocked up on fruit and veggies on Wednesday) and we finished out the night with a house meeting and some Skip-Bo (if you have not had the pleasure of playing this game, I highly encourage you to go out and buy it). That night got a little colder, and during a quick trip to the Inn Katelyn and I discovered that it was warmer outside our house than in.

Saturday dawned sunny and cold, but the Inn was warm and welcoming. I was out in the yard and we had another slower day (238) so I had the chance to chitchat instead of yelling numbers across the yard to line people up to go inside. I talked with a guy from the Last Stop who had a message from God for me to have patience regarding my future; I met a man who tried to get me to take my gloves off because he insisted my hands were not cold, and he then tried to take me home with him (I respectfully declined); and I also got some quality Rocky time. All in all, a very good day. When we got home, we counted down until the heat could be turned back on, as well as recounted what we were grateful for in light (or dark) of our brownout experience. To celebrate use of our car, we met up with Joanne to see Atonement. I cannot comment on the movie yet as I am still going over and over it in my brain.

The team returned Saturday night, and were back to work in almost full force this morning. A strain of the flu has hit our staff and 3 have already been taken down. I am eating oranges like crazy and taking my vitamins. Tonight, we celebrate the Super Bowl with a potluck dinner party. Don't ask who I'm rooting for, because I would probably just tell you "the commercials." I will be bringing chips and my knitting.