Stardate 12252013: Things have taken a turn for the worse here on Day Three of the Power Outage / Blackout. The temperature outside has dropped to minus sixteen degrees Celsius (-16C / 3 degrees Fahrenheit) and inside the Enterprise, it is now 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit). I can see my breath when I exhale and there is no hot water.
Pig in a Blanket. Hold the pig, add one Kitty.
I am up to wearing two sweaters (jumpers) and am now too ‘girthy’ to fit through the kitty door. My frozen raw food meal has been served to me….still frozen.
We suspect that we will either starve or freeze to death. An emergency Away Team has been mobilized.
Scotty Cat
Three of us make up the Away Team (including myself) and we will head out on the next shuttle in search of heat and food. Two of us will stay on board the Enterprise, attempting repairs. We expect the worst but hope for the best.
We bit adieu to the Home Team (with an unspoken belief that they will perish) and begin our journey.
After some searching, we locate a cooperative race with power/electricity in an adjacent galaxy. The natives are friendly and welcome us inside. Some resistance is met by the residing Grey Queen, but we put aside our conflicts for the sake of the mission.
The Grey Queen
The locals posses a tree equipped with dangly items hung all over to play with, and they provide us with fresh catnip!!!! Joy. 🙂 We are offered hot food and a place to sleep.
It’s a Catnip Christmas, Charlie Brown.
Stardate 12262013: We venture out with the natives to explore this new galaxy. We encounter strange yet friendly races and interesting scenery. I document our travels.
Winter Wonderland
Fine Young Lad with Squirrel
Friendly Locals
Stardate 12262013PM: We are contacted by the Enterprise. Repairs have been successful and power has been restored!!!!!!!!!!! We will head back tomorrow at 0900 hours.
Stardate 12272013: Our journey back to the Enterprise is not without obstacles. Our shuttle sustains damages and we must wait for roadside assistance to arrive with aid. I remain in the tiny box within the shuttle. I am not a fan of the tiny box, but as lead of the Away Team, I stay stoic.
Flat Tire and Kitty in a Box
I am unsure at this time, who or what is trying to thwart our success, but suspect it may be the Borg. Rest assured, we will not be assimilated and we will persevere!
Repairs are made to the shuttle and we continue our journey. FINALLY, we arrive at the Enterprise, equipped with heat, power, hot water and internet. We rejoice as we are reunited with the courageous Home Team, shaken, but okay.
Sadly, casualties were incurred. Several houseplants could not withstand the temperatures and did not make it. We honour their bravery and reflect on the oxygen and beauty they provided us. (Then, I eated some of their leaves, ooopsie! 🙂 ) Mission Successful! Kitty out.
YES!!
Deer and Doe Belladone
(Thanks Kitty. In other news, I can now sew!! And, will be able to finish my Belladone (I’ll blog it next week) for Sunday when we will celebrate Christmas at our house. So, if you are in the area, drop by for some tofurkey, wine, gifts and good conversation. Thanks everyone for your concern, help and well wishes and I hope you all had a terrific Christmas and Boxing Day!)
Gjeometry 
Glad to hear your power is restored!! Woot-woot! I had heard on the news that in some places they were thinking another 3-4 days or something (Michigan, Maine, and parts of Canada was about as specific as the news got) and was afraid you were included in the “parts of Canada”. Can’t wait to see the pics of the Belladone! 🙂
Thanks!! Woot-woot is totally right. I feel bad for those places still without power and do hope they have warming centres or relatives they can go to. Minus 16 Celsius is not a time to not have heat. 🙂 I wonder if the constant cold affected the Belladone-in-progress as there is now some wrinkling at the waistline seams that wasn’t there before. ?? I wonder what happens to silk if it is too cold?
I am waaaaaaaay too traumatized by the blackout/Christmas combo to muster a blog entry of my own. Happy New Year Catja and brave Kitty! May you bring us all lots of fabulous garments, amusing blogreads, and many, many laughs! Oh yes, I do hope to see you in person one of these days!!! Warm hugs!!!
Hey Jagodas!! I hope you have heat now!! I’ve been thinking about everybody who may not have power and was worrying. Warm hugs back and let’s definitely get together very soon! Happy New Year from Kitty and I.
Yea!! So glad you have power back!! It’s such a relief and you just want to hug your machines now that you can run them again! 🙂
Glad you and kitty made it through safely! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and Kitty!
Thank you so much Em! It’s funny because after the first day with no power, I missed nothing but the heat. At first, I was disappointed that I couldn’t sew or listen to the radio or turn on a light, but after several hours of freezing, I just didn’t care about anything but heat! But, yes, now that I can use my sewing machines, I’m SO extra delighted. I wish they had a battery operated sewing machine!
Fantastic post from Kitty! I’m so glad your heat/power is back – have a great Christmas on Sunday.
Thanks Chloe! Kitty is rather adept at making the best of a bad situation. 🙂 Hope you had a nice Christmas.
Oh Kitty… your super hero powers saved the away team from the Borg and you weren’t all assimilated or frozen like statues! Sorry to hear about your casualties though and at least now that you have power restored the rest of the team should be ok.
So glad you have power back and can continue with your sewing Catja! I just can’t imagine how darn cold it must be for you over there… at least now that you have power back you won’t have to deal with a cold toilet seat. As cold as it is for you over there the snow for me really is a stunning sight to see and I still have a dream of one day experiencing a white christmas. When the day comes I’ll have to get myself a whole new wardrobe for the holiday as I have absolutely nothing in my wardrobe that would keep me warm enough to be able to venture outside to enjoy the site or to survive inside either for that matter LOL.
Fingers crossed you don’t lose power again and you all stay safe and warm 🙂
Hey, Thanks Chris!! Thank goodness Kitty was there, as I don’t know what we’d have done without him. I have to say, I was thinking about you in Bali and MORE than a little jealous!! LOL. I hope you guys are having a terrific time and had a great Christmas there.
I did have you in mind when I took the snow pics on our walk though as I know you havn’t really experienced much ‘real’ winter. It is lovely, providing, of course, you have the correct outerwear to venture out in AND, you have a warm place to come back to. Without those things, it can be SO difficult. (We also saw an emu and wallabies out on our walk at a zoo that was near where we stayed and I know they both hail from you neck of the woods. WOW, the emu is one strange looking bird.)
Happy New Year! And, if the heat does go off again (pray not), I’m going to set fire to ALL the things to keep warm.
Like the cold wasn’t enough…throw is a flat tire and dead plants…most memorable Christmas ever! So glad Kitty could keep a stiff upper lips and see the bright side and keep everyone’s spirits up. Silk might suffer from cold and also dehydration…once things warm up and settle down the wrinkles may disappear…fingers crossed! Have a super dinner on Sunday…save room for pie! happy New Year to you and Mr. Kitty…the hero!
Thank you so much Mrs. Mole! Yes, after so many things kept going wrong, I began to wonder if we were somehow being usurped by an enemy galaxy, LOL. Seriously, what would we do without Kitty??
Interesting about the silk. I just checked and wrinkles are still present so not sure if they will disappear as its finally warm in here now. Oh well. I’d trade that for heat any day. 🙂 Hope you had a great holiday and Happy New Year!
As someone who has recently started watching Star Trek for the first time (!) and loves Kitty, this was amazing. So glad you have your power back on!
Hee hee hee, thanks Kirsty! Good timing too as Kitty’s log would not be nearly as fun if you didn’t watch Star Trek. Happy New Year from Kitty and I!
Gah! I’m so glad you 3 are with power again! Sending you lots of warmth and hugs! And I cannot wait to see your Belladone – the peak-a-boo looks lovely already! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year dear Catja! xoxo
Thanks Eleyna! 🙂 If we were with you in California, it wouldn’t have been such a bother to be without power. But, in our temps….SO nasty! I can’t wait to finish the Belladone. I feel like it’s taken SO long and I’ve had so many problems with it, power outage being only the most recent issue, LOL. Hope you had a good Christmas and Happy New Year!
O, that was waaaaay tooo long to be without power! I’m glad you finally have heat and internet and all things necessary for civilization again, but mostly that you can now sew!!!!
Happy new year!
I know, right? Tooo long!! And, sadly, there are STILL folks without power, it’s pretty worrisome. Not nearly as many as there were though, thankfully. I’m so excited to be able to sew again! I’ve set the alarm for bright and early to start the day off sewing-right! Happy New Year to you too!
What a clever post, and way to turn a miserable situation into a work of art. Nice piece.
So sorry to hear you were affected by the power outage. That is a long, cold time without heat or heated water. Glad everything is restored. Too bad about the house plants. I’m stunned that it could get so cold indoors. Yikes!
Thanks Alyss! Funny thing is, while it was going on, this commentary just came to me. Perhaps I was delirious from fever and freezing but I really felt part of a ‘quest’. I think if it hadn’t been so cold outdoors, we would have been okay for the whole 4 days, but as it was, the temps decided to plummet and by day 3 indoors, it was completely unlivable. Hope your Christmas was a good one!
Omgosh, I want to be all caring and supportive because I so do sympathize (I really do). That whole ordeal was over-the-top misery but honestly I’m laughing so hard right now. This may be my most favourite post EVER. Did I ever tell you that Captain Kirk was my first crush..true story. Poor Kitty (I mean, leader of the away team) and Catja. Where did your cute doggie pop in from? ! Adorable!
Then I got down to Napolean Dynamites kooky brother Kip and totally busted a gut. That movie just cracks me up no matter how many times I see it…. “Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.” LOL, the best Nerds ever.
I can’t imagine after all that, you got a flat on the way home. I think that might push me right over the edge. I’m thinking about how we’d manage thru the same thing now. So if nothing else, we’ll all be better prepared next time. Glad every one is safe! Happy sewing.
Ha ha ha!! Hey, you know what? I am truly delighted to be able to entertain you. While I was writing it, I was entertaining myself, so it’s always fabulous when others share your sense of humour. The doggie is actually my parent’s dog. He seemed not too affected by the cold, not like Kitty, who was shivering by day 2, even with his sweater.
You had a crush on Cap’n Kirk? Heeeee! 🙂 My brother and I watched the original series dutifully and regularly when it came on tv.
I’m so thrilled you love Napoleon Dynamite!!! I LOVE that movie and have to say, not everybody shares our thoughts on it. The characters and the writing is just stupendous!! Remember when Napoleon dances as the talent for Pedro’s president speech? Ohmagosh, too funny! Deb is my favourite character, she’s such an awesome chick!
I hope you had a terrific Christmas and have a Happy New Year. And, “I caught you a delicious bass.” 🙂
We lost power once for 3.5 days and I had to buy a generator and learn to use it, in the dark, with a flash light. It was raining and had to be connected to a sump pump in a crawl space…all I’m saying is ‘GIRLS rock’! I think I bawled the NEXT day because of the stress and misery, but that night I was in defence mode. The strength just kicks in when you have to hey?
Lucky for Kitty your mom had made these cozy sweaters, ugh I would have been tempted to hotel it after a few days. Way to rock the sense of humour!
I currently have 32 Star Treks on our PVR 😀 My Jim (aka Mr B) keeps wanting to erase them and I’ve said, “No can do”. LOL. They are classics! I know what you mean about Napoleon Dynamite, Mr B has never got it. It’s the obvious humour and monotone delivery I think that makes me laugh so hard. Hey, we should all do a 70’s glamour shot sometimes, al la Deb, and post them. Maybe throw in a woven jewellery tutorial…LOL. Something for the back burner.
it’s amazing what we can do when faced with adversity! But, also amazing how TIRED being in the cold makes you, it’s truly exhausting. Affordable housing for ALL! Especially those in the colder climates. I am so IN for a Napoleon Dynamite “Deb” photoshoot. Maybe a Napoleon Dynamite Sewalong / Craftalong with “Deb” style photos?
Omgosh, that sounds like a riot. We are away from mid January to early February. Should we plan something for Mid March? Like a Spring fling of sorts? I’ll put some thought into it and we can have a little chat when I get back (we are going to Maui….and not a moment too soon…ha. YES, the cold is exhausting 😀
That sounds like a plan! I have to new research what would be considered Napoleon Dynamite outfits. The movie is set in the 1980s, but also has a bit of a 70s flair, I think just because they are in a small town and have not moved forward yet. But, methinks, 80s highschool outfits, is the way to go!
And, have fun in Maui!! How fabulous for you, I’ve never been, you must let me know how it is.
Have fun, check! Shall do 😀 Thank you Catja!
I’m going to snoop thru some old albums (currently in our locker) when we return, I graduated in 79 and remember looking a lot more like a teen than girls do now. They’re so ‘put-together’ with the nails, hair, lashes, clothes. We were pretty low maintenance back then. Well except for the curling iron bit every morning 😀
I’m glad you are all alright and that you have managed to survive the cold! Enjoy the rest of the holidays and crank up the heat a little to make up for lost time!
Thanks Wendy!! The heat is so “ON” and I actually just took off my sweater. Probably time to ease it down now, LOL. Hope you had and are having good holiday time!
So glad that you finally have heat. It’s a good thing that kitty took over the command & got you through the ordeal in one piece. The plants may still survive. Just cut off the dead leaves & I think the plant will send up fresh leaves. The roots are probably still OK.have a great belated christmas.
The heat is delightful. I can’t believe what a good cat Kitty was through the whole ordeal. The withstanding the freezing temps, the wearing the two sweaters full-time, the travelling in the tiny box and then the sleeping in another house owned by another cat. He’s just that kind of adaptable, in your face Kitty. 🙂
So glad to hear that you are restored to normal life again. I can vouch for a treadle machine being exceedingly useful in power outages – the action even keeps you a little bit warmer (though I never want to test that theory at -16C!
Yes, treadle machine!! That’s essentially the original ‘battery’ operated sewing machine isn’t it? I am going to look for one of those at the charity and thrift shoppes I go to all the time. Hmmm….I wonder if I can get Kitty to ‘treadle’ the foot lever, while I do the sewing??
I love mine – and it is still giving a perfect stitch after it’s 100th birthday. I can’t imagine my computerised marvel will be able to make the same boast. 🙂
Lady and Cat- I bow humbly before you- this post was wonderful- I am so jealous of your writing. Ok, I’m not jealous of your lack of power, but boy did you make it yours!
LOL, thanks, I TOTALLY knew you’d love this post! Me thinks that you share the same sense of humour as Kitty and I! I actually amused myself while writing it, so that’s a good thing. I think we need to plan an IRL visit as I sense that we would get on smashingly! We’ll work on the details. I’ll get Kitty’s assistant to contact your pets’ assistant and we’ll go from there.
Yes, have Kittys people skype Bruderleins people!
I have new admiration for Canadians…… Never will I complain about an overnight “freeze” of 30 Fahrenheit here in Texas! Thank you for sharing your experience, and I’m thankful your power is back on and you’re comfortable.
🙂 “I AM CANADIAN” (It’s from a beer commercial). Yes, we always laugh profusely when anybody from a non-freezing temps country remarks about how cold they are. I have friends that actually live in Iqaluit. (I’ll let you look it up on a map – it’s in Nunavut). It not only reaches negative double digit freezing temps there regularly in winter, BUT, it’s also in complete darkness (no sun) for about 4 months over winter. The dogsled is truly the preferred method of transportation. I’m pretty sure if you complained of Texas temps to them up there, you’d be politely asked to leave, LOL! I hope you had a terrific Holiday and Happy New Year!
I love this post so much! It had me giggling the whole way through – Kitty is a good writer. =)
I’m so glad you have power again and can laugh about it now! And yay for friends letting you crash at their place!
Hee hee hee! I thought of your skant and tribble post while I was writing it actually, so knew you’d like it. I honestly don’t know what we would have done if we didn’t have friends and family that still had power close enough to get to. They did have warming centres set up, BUT you couldn’t take your pets??!! This was unacceptable so we were lucky to have somewhere to crash for those intolerable 3rd and 4th nights. Hope you had a lovely Christmas!
I’m sorry your power was out over christmas, but I gotta say- this post was SO AWESOME to read. I feel like you got the voice perfectly! I’m so glad you’re a Star Trek fan. And that you now have hot water.
Ha, thanks, glad you liked it!! I’m always delighted when others share my sense of humour instead of staring at the screen blankly or confused, LOL. We are thrilled to have heat in all it’s forms back. Hope you are having terrific holidays!
Just reading your post makes me cold and shivery. Good thing it also made me laugh which warmed me up. Glad you and Kitty are ok. Can’t wait to see your dress all finished; thus far it looks worthy of being worn by a princess from a planet in uncharted space.
Hee hee, thanks Cari! We are all good now. A ‘princess from a planet in uncharted space’?? Ooooooooooh. 🙂
Wouhou! I was in Montreal for the ice storm in 1998, I saw what t hat did. I am glad you got everything back “almost” quickly.
Thanks Carmen! It’s crazy what a little ice can do. It didn’t even storm for that long or really that intensely. But, left quite the aftermath.
I am so glad you have power back (and everything that entails, like heat and sewing machines, and thawed food for furry people), My furry Ferengi’s and I have been worrying about all you fellow Canadians.
I so miss Star Trek.
Thank You ElleC! Kitty is thrilled to have thawed food once again. We just had our Christmas yesterday and it was really lovely. You can buy the Star Trek DVD box sets and never be out again! 🙂
Hi Catja,
This is Lorena from sewing class! sorry you were so cold…we were away visiting family. You have an awesome site…I browse through previous pages and my goodness you are quite the queen of sewing…anyway without further due here are the couple of ladies that I follow sometimes in youtube…I love the way they explained things and some of the videos are very useful.
http://www.youtube.com/user/FashionSewingBlogTV?feature=mhee
have an amazing 2014!
Hi Lorena, thanks for stopping by!! I’m so glad you were away and did not have to experience the cold. Thanks for your compliments, I blush. 🙂 I do have this Fashion blog site bookmarked, actually and have referred to it before. She does have some great tips, for sure! I will see you in class in January. Looking forward to it!
Oh dear GOD! I thought we had it bad by getting it back on Christmas Day but you went a whole two more days. You guys are troopers!
Hi Andrea! Glad you got your heat back earlier. We had our Christmas celebration yesterday, in the heat. Hope you are having terrific holidays and Happy New Year!
Kitty! I am so happy things have turned out ok for you and you successfully completed your mission. Looks like things got a bit hairy there for a bit! ~Laurie
Thanks Laurie! Don’t know what we would have done without our brave Kitty. He keeps things stable for the rest of us. Happy New Year!
Hahaha I’m so happy you’re back and power (and HEAT) is restored! Enjoy your new years!
Thanks Kristin, we are too!! Hope you had a good New Years. It is off to work for me next week!
So good to hear you are warm again, although Kitty sounds like a real trooper in the face of adversity, plotting up all kinds of plans to save you and the planet from evil. Happy sewing in the warm, happy new year to you and kitty, full of warmth, sewing and plenty of happiness.
Aw, thank you so much. Kitty is always a trooper, he’s really a very adaptable cat. I’ve noticed other cats balk in the face of adversity or change, but he dives right in. Happy New Year to you and yours as well. 🙂
The Grey Queen was more than happy to host Kitty and the away team for a couple of days (on this “planet”, hissing is actually a form of compliment). After Kitty left, the Grey Queen proceeded to hunker down for a much deserved 8-hour nap and then ventured out to make sure the visitors had left everything in its place. She was satisfied, and invites Kitty to come back the next time there is a 1-in-a-100-years ice storm.
On this end, we were glad to provide the warmth and hospitality. Next time, feel free to bring your sewing machine over too… we’d be honoured to be a satellite factory to the Gjeometry production line 🙂
Oh, so happy to hear the Grey Queen enjoyed our visit and invites us back again!! And, YES!!! We totally should have brought a sewing machine and made your place the Gjeometry Satellite Production location. 🙂 Next time. Oh, and “Hhhsssssssssss” to you and the Grey Queen.
I am finally reading this. What a busy couple of weeks I’ve had. Wow! I do not envy the adventure you just had. I am so glad you and Kitty survived! Your Belladone is gorgeous!!! Can’t wait to see the finished garment!
Hi Laura, I hope you had a terrific Christmas. I’m also glad you did not have the ‘adventure’ (yes, let’s call it that) we had! It was pretty trying. I have STILL not finished the Belladone. And, it’s so close to being complete! I think I’ve just been on vacation and so has my get up and go. I’m back to work next week, so hopefully that will jolt me back into more of a routine and I can finally finish and blog the dress. Happy New Year!
My good gosh that’s cold… brave work, Kitty, in leading the away team to safety and back again!! I commend the hosts for their catnip tree… I’m sure our fuzzy life forms would have adored such a treat – although they did get home made catnip toys ^__^ Love and warmth to you all!! XO
The champion of stoic bravery: Kitty. All hail. 🙂 Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
This post marks the first time I ever lol-ed at a blog. Startrek references And sewing AND a kitty? *press follow*
LOL, right back at ya; welcome to our blog and thanks for stopping by! That combination really is the trifecta for happiness, isn’t it? 🙂
LOL! But I am so glad you got your power back; that would not have been fun! Here in Australia power was out for a few days recently for some people (not us) during a heat wave of 47C… it must have been truly awful :S
Thanks! Two days ago, the power went off and everybody held their breath, daring not to even blink. But, it came back on 5 minutes later. Whew. Yes, I don’t mind if the power goes out in summer, you can BBQ and hang out outside, stand behind the dog’s wagging tail for a ‘battery’ operated fan, etc. But, I know in Australia, you had Tropical Cyclone Christine! And, that I would mind, winter or summer since a storm like that can do so much damage! I hope you did not sustain any and had a good holiday!
That’s another good thing about sewing, we can always go back and pick up a project that we thought was a little over our heads and finish it up later. Thanks for commenting on my blog!
Exactly! The trousers were coming along, not wrecked or anything, but I just found the techniques were over my head 10 months ago. I look forward to finishing them up once and for all! And, thanks for dropping by the blog, Faye!